text:
[Cheetos, the brand that took cheese curls mainstream.]
Cheetos, the brand that took cheese curls mainstream. Mike Mozart/CC BY 2.0
_A version of this post originally appeared on _Tedium_, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail._

They change the color of our skin. They get stuck in our teeth. But for some reason, we can’t stop eating cheese curls, the puffiest snack food ever created.

But these corn-and-powder snacks didn’t just fall like manna from the sky into our bowls, always there for us ahead of our _Bojack Horseman_ marathon.

The story of the cheese curl is one of the more unusual creation stories in snack-food history, starting, of course, in Wisconsin, an agricultural hub that has given us a lot of food innovations over the years. (Three words:fried cheese curds.)

Some of these were intentional, others not, but the accident that made the cheese curl proved hugely fruitful for Flakall Corporation, a Beloit, Wisconsin animal feed manufacturer whose owners later switched gears to producing snack foods, all thanks to the way the company cleaned its machines. The company’s approach to producing animal feed was to put the material through a grinder, effectively flaking out the corn to get as much material as possible from the grain, as well as to ensure cows weren’t chewing any sharp kernels.

“This flaking of the feed is of advantage because it avoids loss of a good percentage of material which otherwise is thrown off as dust, and gives a material which keeps better in storage by reason of the voids left between the flakes, such that there can be proper aeration, not to mention the important fact that flaked feed is more palatable and easily digested by the animal,”the firm stated in a 1932 patent filing.

The grinder did its job, but it wasn’t perfect, and periodically required cleaning to ensure it wouldn’t clog. One strategy that Flakall workers used was to put moistened corn into the grinder. During this process, however, something unusual happened: the moist corn ran directly into the heat of the machine, and when it exited the grinder, it didn’t flake out anymore—it puffed up, like popcorn, except without the annoying kernels.

[A 1932 patent for a feed grinder, a process that led to the cheese curl. ]
A 1932 patent for a feed grinder, a process that led to the cheese curl. Google Patents US1987941A
By complete accident, Flakall had invented the world’s first corn snack extruder.

Edward Wilson, an observant Flakall employee, saw these puffs come out of the machine, and decided to take those puffs home, season them up, and turn them into an edible snack for humans—a snack he called Korn Kurls.

You’re noshing, in other words, on repurposed animal feed.

This state of affairs led to the _second_ patent in Flakall’s history, a 1939 filing titled “Process for preparing food products.” A key line from the patent:

  The device preferably is designed so as to be self-heated by friction between the particles of the material and between the particles and the surfaces of contacting metal and to progressively build up pressure during the heating period. Thus the uncooked raw material, having a predetermined moisture content is processed into a somewhat viscous liquid having a temperature high enough to cook the mass and heat the water particles to a temperature high enough for evaporation at atmospheric pressure but being under sufficient pressure to prevent it.

If that’s a little complicated to understand, a 2012 clip from BBC’s _Food Factory_ does the trick.

In the video, host Stefan Gates takes an extruder and connects it to a tractor,making the extruder move so fast that it puffs the corn out in an extremely fast, extremely dramatic way.

Clearly, Flakall had something big. The firm eventually changed its name to Adams Corporation, which helped take some attention off the fact that it was selling a food product to humans that was originally intended for cows.

Flakall wasn’t the only early claimant to the cheese curl throne, however. In Louisiana, a firm called the Elmer Candy Corporation, developed a product eventually called Chee Wees, that they said was the actual first. And later the New York-based Old London Foods came out with its own popular variation, the Cheez Doodle, in the late 1950s.

But the most notable brand that still sells cheese curls wasn’t the first mover, just the one with the best marketing and distribution.

That would be, of course, Cheetos, which came about in 1948. While Cheetos came along later than its competitors, the Frito company’s variation quickly overtook the market, in part because Cheetos had gained national distribution due to the prior success of its namesake.

That company’s founder, Elmer Doolan, worked out a deal with H.W. Lay and Company to market Cheetos to the broader market. It quickly became a massive hit.

The success of Cheetos was so impressive that it played a large role in the merger of Frito with Lay in 1961, as well as the company’s later merger with PepsiCo just four years later.

[Cheez doodles. ]
Cheez doodles. Mike Mozart/CC BY 2.0
And that success continues to the modern day. Cheetosare by far the most popular brand of cheese curls in the United States: According to Statista, the Cheetos brand had an estimated $969.5 million in sales in 2016, with the next most popular brand being Frito-Lay’s more-upscale Chester’s brand, which garnered up just 7 percent of Cheetos’ total sales.

These days, here are two main varieties of Cheetos—crunchy, the most common kind, and puffed, which only came about in 1971 or so. Each is made through different variations on the corn snack extruder process.

Yet despite the early success of the Cheeto, its mascot, Chester Cheetah, didn’t come about until well after the product’s launch.

These days, Chester Cheetah istrying to goad Beyoncé on Twitter just like every other advertising mascot worth its weight in salt, but there was a time that the cheetah was seen as so impressive that there was chatter it could become a cartoon lynchpin.

In fact, Frito-Lay got pretty far down the road with Fox in turning the mascot, launched in 1986, into a cartoon. _Yo! It’s the Chester Cheetah Show_, as the toon would have been called, was developed as a potential part of Fox’s Saturday morning cartoon slate. (CBS also considered making the show, but rejected it.)

Problem was, advocacy groups were not happy with the idea for the show, because of the fact that its roots were very clearly as advertising. Action for Children’s Television (ACT) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) were among the groups that petitioned the FCC regarding the program.

“His only previous television appearances, indeed his entire existence, have been in traditional commercial spots designed to sell a product,” the FCC petition stated, according to the _New York Times_.

[The 1942 patent for the preparation of cheese curls. ]
The 1942 patent for the preparation of cheese curls. Google Patents US2295868A
ACT noted that it was rare to petition the FCC about a cartoon only in the planning stages, but felt it had to speak up due to what it felt was the unprecedented nature of the idea.

It didn’t help that Kraft was trying to sell Cheesasaurus Rex, its macaroni and cheese mascot, as a TV show around the same time.

Just a few weeks after the controversy blew up, Frito Lay and Fox shelved the idea, with Fox claiming that differences in creative control and long negotiations killed the show—not protests.

“I still believe he’s one of the best characters since Bugs Bunny, and the fact he is associated with a product was irrelevant to us,” Fox Kids President Margaret Loeschtold the _Times_.

Frito Lay spokesman Tod MacKenzie, in comments to the _Associated Press_, was a bit more honest.

“Since Chester came out in 1986, he’s been wildly popular,” MacKenzie told the _AP_. “We don’t want to jeopardize the job he’s doing here.”

[Cheese puff close up. ]
Cheese puff close up. tisay/CC BY-ND 2.0
The book _Saturday Morning Censors: Television Regulation Before the V-chip_, published in 1998 by Duke University Press, pointed out that while ACT didn’t officially win the case with the FCC—which, during the Bush era, was in no mood to censor a show that wasn’t indecent—the group acted like it did, especially after its efforts also killed off the Cheesasaurus Rex show.

“We feel we have zapped, for the time being, the problem of logos turning into half-hour programs,” ACT President Peggy Charred stated at the end of the controversy.

But you still have to wonder what might have happened if the show got the green light after all this. (This wiki page certainly does.) Would we be eating fewer cheese curls? Maybe more?

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

Clearly, the cheese curl has come a long way from the days when it was a happy agricultural accident.

But one firm that didn’t see the success of the Cheeto is the firm that was Flakall. Well, at least not directly.Its successor organization is a firm called Maddox Metal Works, which literally makes machines designed to manufacture corn-based foods. Here’s the one for cheese curls.

The company acquired Flakall’s successor company, Adams International, in 1993. It was an acquisition that makes a lot of sense. In the 1950s, Maddox Machine Shop worked directly with the Frito company to build the machinery used to produce the company’s snack foods, and it grew from there.

In Beloit, Wisconsin, there is a Frito-Lay factory—a big one, one that the companyhas invested millions of dollars into. One that makes extruded snacks.

I’d like to think that a Frito-Lay executive put the factory there because they wanted this story to come full circle.

_A version of this post originally appeared on_ Tedium_, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail._

[]
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question: What does the article say about innovation in snack food?

answer: Wisconsin is a place that saw a lot of innovation in food since it's an agricultural hub. One of those innovations happened at Flakall, an animal feed manufacturer, where the cleaning process for its machines ended up discovering cheese curls as snacks. Decades after its invention, however, Flakall (which changed its name to Adams Corporation) is nowhere to be seen. Cheetos, which came up with its cheese curls a couple of decades later, is the most popular brand of cheese curls. Their success is the result of great marketing and not of innovation.

question: What does the text say about Flakall?

answer: Flakall is the company that discovered cheese curls as snacks. They were an animal feed company, and the cleaning process for their machines led to the discovery of tasty snacks. The company, after filing a patent for its snack, also changed its name to Adams Corporation to distance itself from its animal feed roots. However, they didn't reap the success of cheese curls; Cheetos did. Flakall's successor company is Maddox Metal Works, and they produce machines to produce cheese snacks for Frito-Lay, which owns Cheetos.

question: What does the text say about Ruffles?


split: test

text:
"Hey idiot, I told you not to walk this way after school! You can't sneak past me, Eyes! Hey Eyes, come over here and block the wind so I can light my cigarette. You gotta be useful for something since you broke the rules. Sheesh, you really are a dweeb and you smell like broccoli.

Are you gonna cry? Eyes Cries bleh bleh bleh haha you sound like a total bitch! Let me feel your face you turd. Yeah, your face feels like a bitch's would! Geez, the contour of your face is so ugly I'm gonna barf. I could draw a better face than yours hahah!

Do you see anyone around to help you? Cuz I definitely don't. I could mess you up right here right now, Eyes. This is a carbon fiber cane, it would hurt! And it was crazy expensive. My doctor got it for me. What has your doctor ever gotten you, huh? A sight exam? Something with a spectrum of color? Bet that's pretty cool. NOT. You know that all colors equals gay, right?

I bet you're the kind of loser geek that likes to play visually stimulating video games. Down in your basement all day, probs searching for tiddies on the internet, too. Tell you what, Eyes, describe to me what a tiddy is like and I won't whoop your ass.

Don't go lying to me about the tiddy, Eyes. My instinct is too strong for you. Remember that one time you lied to me? When I made you give me your Snickers bar but it was actually an Almond Joy? You shouldn't swindle people with handicaps. That's why I gave you a swirly the other day. At least I think it was you. Eyes, you really need to start wearing a big funny hat so I can echo locate your dumb ass from all the other geeks.

Quit your sobbing and tell me if there are any cars coming! I swear you suck major dick. If you show up on my turf tomorrow, you'll be sorry. I'll make you walk me across the street and into my house! Then I'll make you cook dinner and tuck me in at night! My mom is never home, she's usually at the casino. She's a bitch. And so are you, Eyes!"

title: [HM] DarkHM: The Bully

question: What does the bully want the kid to tell him, to prevent him from beating him up?

answer: The bully wants the kid to describe what a "tiddy" is like.


text:
GENTLEMEN AFTERDARK were an American rock band from Tucson, Arizona. Formed as a successor to the punk group THE PILLS, Gentlemen Afterdark played new wave music until their breakup in 1989. They saw a revival in the 2010s, particularly after a song of theirs was prominently featured in Season 3 of the show _Stranger Things_.

History

The Pills formed in 1979 in Tucson and played locally in venues on Tucson's North Fourth Avenue bar strip.[1] They released a four-track, self-titled EP soon after, and the song “DC-10” received airplay on local station KWFM.[2] At this time, the band's members were Brian Smith, Robin Johnson, Mark Smythe, Rex Estell, and Fred Cross. Smythe departed around 1981 and was replaced by Brian Smith's brother Barry Smith. In 1982, the members decided to move to Phoenix and change their name to Gentlemen Afterdark, which was the name of a song the Pills had written.[3] There, they opened for groups such as X, Wall of Voodoo,[4] Culture Club, and New Order.[5] In 1983, Alice Cooper saw them perform and co-produced (with Dick Wagner) their debut EP, which they released shortly after moving once again to Los Angeles.[6] They then were featured in _People_ as a “star of the future” in the magazine's tenth anniversary special issue, alongside Tom Cruise and Glenn Close.[7] They opened for Billy Preston and Midge Ure on tours in 1984.[8]

Keyboardist and violinist Barry Smith left the group in 1984 to start a solo career,[9] shortly after the release of the _Gentlemen Afterdark_ EP. The group's constitution at this time was Brian Smith, Winston Watson, Fred Cross, and Robin Johnson.

The group took a hiatus in 1985, and Brian Smith returned to Los Angeles to write songs with Doug Hopkins, later of the Gin Blossoms, though the partnership did not last long.[10] Smith then reconstituted the band with Johnson and Watson, but Watson eventually left, and the group solidified again with the addition of Jon Norwood on drums and Kevin Pate on bass.[11] They signed with A&M Records in 1989 and recorded a demo with Rob Jacobs, but were unable to release any material with the label.[12] They broke up for good shortly after.

In 2008, the group reunited for a single performance at the HoCo Festival.[13] They reunited again for two shows in Arizona in 2010,[14] and then for HoCo again in 2015.[15] Arizona musician Cait Brennan covered “DC-10” in 2017.[16] In 2019, the third season of the Netflix show _Stranger Things_ prominently featured the song “Open the Door”, which appeared on their self-titled 1983 EP.[17] The placement happened due to Gentlemen Afterdark's partnership with Fervor Records, which also licensed a Pills track for an episode of _GLOW_.[18] “Open the Door” appears in the first episode of the third season of _Stranger Things_, during a scene at breakfast.[19] _Stranger Things_ musical supervisor Nora Felder used “Open the Door” to illustrate what she called “retroactive A&R” - providing a wider platform for overlooked artists and songs from past eras.[20]

Members

-   Robin Johnson - vocals, guitar
-   Kevin Pate - bass
-   Jon Norwood - drums
-   Brian Smith - vocals
-   Stuart Smith - keyboards, guitar, vocals
-   Winston Watson - drums
-   Barry Smith - violin, keyboards, saxophone
-   Mark Smythe - guitar, vocals
-   Rex Estell - drums
-   Fred Cross - bass

[1] Gentlemen back together for night. Tucson.com, August 28, 2008.

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8] Almost Famous. _Tucson Weekly_, September 3, 2015.

[9] Electric Violinist Barry Smith Returns After Taking a Slightly Different Path. _Phoenix New Times_, December 2, 2016.

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14] Gentlemen Afterdark. _Phoenix New Times_, September 2, 2010.

[15] Heritage Hump Day: Gentlemen Afterdark - “Promises”. _Phoenix New Times_, September 2, 2015.

[16] How 'Stranger Things' revived the career of an '80s band from Phoenix, Gentlemen Afterdark. _Arizona Republic_, July 26, 2019.

[17] Gentlemen Afterdark Land On Stranger Things Soundtrack. _Tucson Weekly_, July 10, 2019.

[18]

[19] 'Stranger Things' Music Supervisor Nora Felder Talks 'Retroactive A&R' on Season 3. _Billboard_, July 26, 2019.

[20]

title: Gentlemen Afterdark

question: How long did the band go on hiatus?

answer: 4 years

question: What event led to renewed interest in the band?

answer: The inclusion of their songs in the Stranger Things soundtrack

question: Which famous musician co-produced the band's EP?

answer: Alice Cooper

question: Which actors occurred alongside the band in an issue of People?

answer: Tom Cruise and Glenn Close

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes the history of the band Gentlemen Afterdark. It lists some of their album and record releases, their troubles with various record labels, and their breakups and brief reunions. It attributes recent interest in the band to the inclusion of one of their songs in the show Stranger Things.


text:
Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms.

To the west The Dredges.  Where sat a Parkinson king,  inhabited by foaming Neander folk.  At dawn, the king would greet his swaying congregants.  In showers of inflation yet undeserved.  And spin unverified tales of personal glory.

East the Queendom.  Ruled by a spider empress.  Neith her, a never\-ending coil of dagger toothed critics.  Each slitting the throat of the one ahead.  Yearly the Queen would list off personal annoyances, proclaiming the Queendom under attack.

The land boiled in war.  A tarry foe, built of lies and ignorance.  Steaming from the fringes of each kingdom, and sticking to everything.  Unnoticed.  Like silent magma pulsing from an underground volcano.

Ignorant or with intent, the kingdoms skirmished one another.  Resurrecting their dead, endlessly.  Continuously front lining the fallen.  Only to retreat confused by the others lack of empathy.   Stalemate.

Till one day came a prince.  With seven fools in tow.  That did taunt the two kingdoms from afar.  With vulgar displays and songs.  The two kingdoms both offended, set differences aside.  And laid a plan to destroy the prince.

Upon their unification, and marching drums of war.  The two saw what they had not.  The sticky tarry foe.  But not the prince or his band of seven fools in tow.  The kingdoms in agreement waged war upon that foe.  And won a long painful battle for the betterment of all.

THE END  Thanks for reading.

title: [FN] The Two Kingdoms

question: What happens to the Kingdom and Queendom?

answer: They are at war.

question: Do the two nations ever find peace?

answer: They come together.

question: Who brings the nations together?

answer: A prince with seven fools in tow.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Two nations (a Kingdom and a Queendom) fight for supremacy until a prince with seven fools unites them under one banner


text:
I am getting married next year and I had this nightmare I wrote down.  It made me cry in a way I rarely experience.  I apologize for its inevitable typos and poor quality.  I just had to share.

Jaclyn,
We were together for 8 magical years.  Three blessed years of marriage.  Every moment was amazing.  It had its ups and downs but no one in the world could doubt our love.    Nothing in the world matter besides you, then came that day.  August 12th  the day the world turned upside down.   A rainy day, warm and gentle on my face as I wheeled you in the hospital, the doctor took you from me and told me to wait in the lobby.  Four hours of pacing, four hours of never knowing what was coming next, no notice of progress or status.  Then the nurse came out and said, “Mr. MacRory, please come with me.”  I was brought to a hallway and shown a little girl in a pink cap and socks.  My daughter, Melody, smiling back at me, I had never felt such joy.  Then it all came crashing back.  I was told there were complications with the birth and that my wife, my wife who was my rock, had not survived the violent birth.  I was given a few minutes to say my good byes.  How could I express my loss or say what I wanted to.  How could I possibly say good bye to the woman who made very day brighter.  I cried and said how much I loved you, or how I could never go on living without you.  Two or three minutes I was given with her before I had to be removed from the room.   Two minutes and that was the last time I ever saw that soft delicate face.  I asked the nurse if you had seen your daughter before you left us.  She said you had and that your face beamed with pleasure at seeing your little girl cry, before your heart gave out.  I had to place you in the ground the same week that I had to care for our new and lovely daughter.   It was the ultimate perversion.  The joy in seeing my daughter, every moment with her is special, yet every time I saw her smile or see her eyes light up, I saw you, my wife who was not here to enjoy these moments.  I went to your grave every night for 3 months and stared at that piece of rock that was all I had left of you.  I struggled to keep a grip on my life for a bit, but I pulled through knowing you would have had I left you.  After all, I had a wonderful new daughter, who would need to grow up knowing what a magnificent woman her mother was.  Being a single dad was no picnic but I pulled through knowing there were others that counted on me.    I also knew what I saw your face again that you, always joking, would have something witty to say had I failed.   I wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of being able to say you would have done better.  I was going to raise Melody to be as amazing and special as you were.  I had a picture of you by my bed and I would look at it every night and softly cry in bed missing you lying next to me.  I know you would always have something comforting to say to me.  I would grade my student’s papers and come across something amusing and I would stand up to go show you and forget that the house was quiet and that I had no one to show this to.  I started to get better day by day, time heals all wounds as they say.  It never takes away the scars.  I took Melody to figure skating classes knowing that you would have loved to see her doing her jumps and winning those trophies.  Not only did she have your smile and eyes, she had your brain thank god.  She succeeded in almost everything she tried.  I raised her with not only my ideals but I would always considered what you would say when an issue aroused.  I would always tell her stories about you and what an amazing person you were.  It is something I can never forget.  I miss you still after all these years, always stopping to look at a cat or a hummingbird knowing how much you would have smiled at those sights.  Melody got into high school with incredible grades, not only finding success at figure skating but also taking up my skills at bowling.  She won 3 gold medals in figure skating and made the varsity bowling team.  I even, against my better judgment, gave her my blessing when she started dating her dancing partner Kurt, knowing you would have.   She went to college and earned her doctorate in Pharmacology, something I know would have filled you with endless joy.  She got a job testing new medication for cancers.  Soon after she married her high school sweetheart like I did.  Our granddaughter was born July 16th, your birthday.  Melody named her after you.  I held baby Jaclyn in my arms and my eyes filled with tears instantly, joy at having a beautiful healthy granddaughter, and immense sadness knowing you weren’t there to share this moment with me.

I lost you 33 years ago.  I never once took off my wedding band.  I lay here in my hospital bed knowing I will finally get to see you soon.  Melody is working around the clock trying to find something to slow the cancer eating at my body, but I know nothing can help.  I feel dread knowing how she will feel losing her father, or knowing I will never get to attend my granddaughter’s graduation.  I told her not to worry, but she has your stubbornness built deep inside her.  I looked at that picture of you every night before I went to bed and talked to you, told you about my day and what was troubling me, knowing you would have known the right thing to say every time.  I wish I had that picture with me now.  Looking at your beautiful face would always ease my fears.   Childish as it seems, I fear the end.  I always feared the unknown.  Tomorrow though I will be back in your arms a place that seems so far off and yet so familiar it seems like I last kissed you a few minutes ago.  I have, since our first moment together, loved you.  After losing you all those years ago, that love never ceased, and I will continue loving you into whatever awaits me.  "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"  I will see you soon my love, we have so much to catch up on..

Your loving and dedicated husband,

Eddie

title: A wrote this after a dream, it truly made me cry.

question: How does the narrator feel about dying?

answer: While the narrator fears the end, and fears the unknown, they also look forward to the moment when they will be back in their wife's arms.


text:
So the two senators took matters into their own hands. Using a list of 580 terrorism-related defendants provided by the Justice Department, Sessions assigned the staff of the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, which he chaired at the time, to research the country of origin and immigration status of each defendant. The committee staff found that of the 580 terrorism defendants they researched, 375 were born outside the United States. To Sessions and Cruz, this validated their view that terrorism was a largely foreign threat.

In another letter to the Obama administration in June 2016, Sessions and Cruz wrote that the information “makes clear that the United States lacks the ability to properly screen individuals prior to their arrival to the United States. It further makes clear that our nation has a serious assimilation problem.”

The Sessions data, which included country of origin and immigration data for some, but not all, of the defendants, was among the sources used by The Intercept to build a database of international terrorism prosecutions since the 9/11 attacks. (The Intercept intends to keep the database up to date and expand the fields regularly; at present, staff members are researching, among other data, the country of origin for approximately 350 international terrorism-related defendants not found by the subcommittee staff.)

A review of the Sessions data, however, suggests that neither country of origin nor immigration status is a clear indicator of heightened national security concern.

  ---------------------------- ------------------
  COUNTRY OF ORIGIN            NUMBER OF PEOPLE
  United States                73
  Pakistan                     61
  Lebanon                      27
  Somalia                      21
  Colombia                     20
  Yemen                        20
  Iraq                         19
  Egypt                        17
  Jordan                       16
  Afghanistan                  10
  Palestine                    9
  Saudi Arabia                 9
  India                        8
  Gaza                         7
  Syria                        7
  Morocco                      6
  West Bank                    6
  Indonesia                    5
  Kuwait                       5
  Canada                       4
  El Salvador                  4
  Iran                         4
  Turkey                       4
  United Kingdom               4
  Albania                      3
  Bangladesh                   3
  Guyana                       3
  Mali                         3
  Sri Lanka                    3
  Sudan                        3
  Tunisia                      3
  Algeria                      2
  Bosnia                       2
  Eritrea                      2
  Ethiopia                     2
  France                       2
  Haiti                        2
  Kazakhstan                   2
  Kosovo                       2
  Libya                        2
  Nigeria                      2
  Senegal                      2
  Singapore                    2
  South Africa                 2
  Tanzania                     2
  Venezuela                    2
  Angola                       1
  Australia                    1
  Brazil                       1
  Cambodia                     1
  Chile                        1
  Denmark                      1
  Djibouti                     1
  Dominican Republic           1
  Germany                      1
  Greece                       1
  Guatemala                    1
  Israel                       1
  Ivory Coast                  1
  Kuwait – Citizen of Jordan   1
  Lebanon – Canada             1
  Malaysia                     1
  Mexico                       1
  Nicaragua                    1
  Pakistan – Canada            1
  Panama                       1
  Paraguay                     1
  Peru                         1
  Philippines                  1
  Qatar                        1
  Russia                       1
  South Korea                  1
  Trinidad & Tobago            1
  United Kingdom – India       1
  Uzbekistan                   1
  Vietnam                      1
  Yugoslavia                   1
  ---------------------------- ------------------

In June 2016, the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest chaired by Jeff Sessions released data on 580 terrorism defendants, including country of origin for 448, as part of his campaign to limit Muslim immigration. The data shows that national birthplace is a poor predictor of terrorist threat.

While at first blush the Sessions data may seem to suggest disproportionate numbers of terrorism defendants from countries affected by the travel ban, or by immigrants who came to the United States as refugees, the data is incomplete — country of origin is not known for 132 defendants, or 23 percent — and inherently biased by prosecutorial targeting. Following the 9/11 attacks, with the FBI increasing its number of informants in Muslim communities due to a presidential mandate, Muslims became the primary focus of terrorism investigations and, by extension, prosecutions for charges related to international terrorism. Many of these prosecutions were not for serious offenses such as material support or weapons of mass destruction, but instead for nonviolent crimes such as immigration violations or lying to FBI agents.

In addition, the U.S. government segregates terrorism prosecutions into two types — domestic and international. The Sessions data includes only prosecutions related to international terrorism and leaves out all prosecutions of domestic terrorists, who are in most cases born in the United States.

Of the 580 defendants in the list, Sessions’s committee staff found the country of birth for 448 based on open-source research. Of those, U.S.-born American citizens represented the single largest group, with 73 defendants. The second largest group, consisting of 61 defendants, was from Pakistan, which is not affected by the travel ban.

The numbers fall precipitously from there. The third-largest group, consisting of 21 defendants, was from Somalia, which is included in the travel ban. The other countries included in Trump’s travel ban were Iran (four), Libya (two), Sudan (three), Syria (seven), and Yemen (20). Iraq, which was in the first version of the travel ban but not the second, had 19 terrorism defendants in Sessions’s data.

For comparison, 20 of the terrorism defendants in the Sessions data were born in Colombia, the same number of defendants who were born in Yemen. If the travel ban were indeed about restricting travel from terror-prone nations, as the Trump administration has claimed, the Sessions data would in theory provide a compelling case for adding Colombia, a Catholic-majority nation, to the ban list.

The Trump administration’s travel ban, which was established by executive order and affected seven Muslim-majority nations in its first iteration and six in its second, also temporarily blocks refugees from entering the country. Of the 448 defendants for whom Sessions’s committee staffers could find information, 24 entered the United States as refugees. According to the Sessions data, not a single refugee from Syria has been charged with terrorism-related offenses in the United States. Trump’s first travel ban blocked Syrian refugees indefinitely. The current travel ban places a temporary halt on the entry of all refugees.

Neither version of Trump’s travel ban is in effect, following multiple successful court challenges arguing that the executive orders discriminate against Muslims. The Trump administration has filed notice to appeal at least one ruling that halted the second version of the travel ban.

Top photo: High school students protest policies affecting Muslim and immigrant students at Foley Square in New York City, Feb. 7, 2017.

question: What did the letter to Obama state?

answer: The letter written by Sessions and Cruz stated that the United States was lacking the ability to properly screen people prior to their arrival in the country, making it clear that the nation has a serious assimilation problem.

question: What methods did The Intercept adopt to draw conclusions?

answer: The Intercept used the Sessions data to build a database of international terrorism prosecutions since the 9/11 attacks. They intend to keep the data up to date.


text:
I awoke in an unknown place at an unknown time. This wasn’t completely out of the norm for me, given my losing consciousness after rather “exciting” moments. Regardless, I must figure out my surroundings. I opened my eyes, and sat up. There was an abundance of fog, and it was very dark. There were roughly 13 houses, at least what I could make out in the fog. The fog itself had characteristics, as if it were a living, breathing thing. Many houses were in disrepair, and some were in flames. The road was truly in disrepair, with grass and trees (How long has this street been like this?) growing out of broken asphalt. Each door had a pristine white note on it, untouched from the devastated road. “Maybe I will be able to find out what happened if I read the notes?” I thought aloud. Like a game of detective, which was a favorite of mine in my youth.

My name is Siegfried Möller. My home from which I am thoroughly misplaced from is Langenburg, Germany. I walked down the foggy road, made sure to walk around the growing fire, and set out for the first house. 6503 was imprinted on the door, the 3 hanging off it’s hinge. I read the note, “Remember to thaw out the chicken! Love, Mom”

That is rather ordinary, compared to what I assumed would be on the note. I thought “I’m gonna kill all a ya’ll” or something dark like that, assuming the sorry state of the street. I continue down the road, with lack of any alternative. The next note said “Log 5/30/27: The tests have been going at an adequate pace. The virus is manifesting from the subject from across the road. It won’t be very long. R. Burke- out.” This may be a clue as to what happened here. I continued down the road, the notes getting further along time, and darker as I progressed. From the simple note from a mother, to the doctor’s logs, to people in panic, to finally dwindling survivor groups at the end of the road. There was one final, pristine house, with a black note firmly placed on the door, with letters at a fine font. It read “Get busy running, or get busy dying.” What on Earth could that mean? I looked behind my self. Eyes. White eyes piercing the fog in which I had recently traversed. White eyes... looking at me. They were coming closer... I have to run. Fast. I ran, yet not faster than they were coming. One look behind me told  me that they weren’t human, although they may have been at one point. I ran through the forest, thinking that I left behind them. I rested at the base of a large oak. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds. When I opened them, they were all right there. I then closed my eyes, but not on my own accord.

I awoke. I felt a great chill in the air, as if there was no warmth left in the entire world. I felt very tense, as if I were on a plane. I looked down, through the wood planks I was sitting on. The ground is so far away. That is when I realized. This is the city of Rothenburg, recently industrialized. And I am 300 feet from the ground. My fear of heights got the best of me, I could not move. I was on the outskirts of town, with a chain link fence behind me. I started to walk along the planks. This is the place I used to be with my friends in, used to have fun in. As I walked around a corner, I heard something behind me. The distinctive noise I heard, was one I had heard before, but could not place now. Then as it got colder, and the noise got louder, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Them. I ran along the rickety boards unlike I had ever ran before, and before I turned the corner I saw them. There were dozens of them, going straight through buildings as if they weren’t there. I increased my pace. I jumped on the smaller rooftops, yet they still persisted. There was a hatch, open, on one of the rooftops. It became my goal. I glanced behind, they couldn’t have been ten feet away from me. I vaulted off of the current rooftop, landed on the other, and rolled into the hatch. It closed behind me, mysteriously. It was a normal studio apartment, spanning two floors. I didn’t exactly question its existence, nor did I wonder why the hatch was left open, ready for anyone to fall into. I scanned the room. Lights were on and  it seems that it was a completely average place to live. That was remarkable to me given what I had witnessed before it. I looked out the window. They were gone, and for that I was happy. I went to the bottom floor to a mostly empty room, with not much more than a telecommunication device mounted on the wall, complete with a video camera. As I advanced into its field of view, a woman began speaking, her voice heard through the device. “Hello? Is someone there?” I was unsteady, and taken aback by the sudden sound. I spoke back, “Who are you?” She responded,” My name is Charlotte. What are you doing in there?” “I guess you can say I dropped in.” “That isn’t important. What is important is if you know what is happening.” “I honestly have no idea. It seems to be a virus of sorts. Do you know any way to stop them?” After a moment’s hesitation, she said,” We think a weapon may, but those of us that got close to them are no longer who they once were.” “So there are more of you?” “Yes” “Where are you, exactly?” “We are just about a kilometer north of you, but you’d never make it. Take the Walkie-talkie off of the hook next to this, so we can keep in touch.” “Where should I go, then?” “If it is a virus, like you said it was, you should go to the old laboratory, which is 2 kilometers to the west. There is a gun in the cupboard.” “Alright. So I have to figure out what happened.” “Exactly” I left the building, and set out west.

I had always been opposed to violent weapons, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right? The road I set out on was in apparently better condition as I progressed. This was the old commercial area, where many bought groceries and the like. It was now deserted, and mysteriously so. I hadn’t eaten or drank anything for a very long time, and I was already mentally unstable before this. I was hearing things... or was I? Maybe the things I heard or the things I saw were, in fact, of my own imagination. What if this was a dream? I thought better of it, although the thought lingered in the back of my mind for quite some time. I checked my pockets, and felt my wallet and not much more. That was rather distressing, that I had lost all other items that typically were in my pockets, such as my phone and keys. After all, this was a long walk, and the simple pleasures of messing around with your phone are long forgotten at this point. I thought on that Charlotte character. What if she didn’t exist? I mean, I have thought up crazier things, but this one is rather unlikely. The pristine lab was ahead. I pressed the green button on the walkie, and said “I am near the facility, and I have a bad feeling about this.” about 15 seconds later, Charlotte responded, “You have to go in and find out what happened.” Huh. She had a much darker tone of voice that time. I disregarded it. I was at the front steps, and the whiteness of the building was only affected by the dark, characteristic fog around it, which seemed to emanate from the open windows and doors of the place. I walked into the open door, and stepped inside.The door slammed behind me, sending me into a panic. I pressed the button on the Walkie, “Charlotte?” She responded, nearly in tears, “I am so sorry.” “What?” The walkie went silent. Just then, the absence of warmth was felt, and as I looked through the windows into other rooms, and outside, I saw dozens upon hundreds of Them. Their gleaming white eyes disproportionate to their heads, they were staring at me. Once again, I was alone. But not completely. I ran to the wooden door down the hall, the faces moving as I ran. I hit the door with all my strength, yet to no avail. It didn’t move a centimeter. As I looked behind my self, I saw They were looking at me, but not moving. Sure, the ones behind those in the front row were moving, as if to get a closer look, but they didn’t get closer to me. All of their eyes shifted to the door from whence I came. It slammed open, much as it had slammed shut earlier. There was one of Them in the doorway, much larger and darker than the others. He appeared to be wearing prison stripes, with  a block lettered BURKE on the front. Where have I heard that before? He shifted over to me, shifting being the correct word, as he wasn’t walking on land or flying in air. I pulled out the handgun I had gotten from the apartment earlier. “This has to be worth a shot.” I said, under my breath. When he got to 10 meters away from me, I discharged the weapon once. He recoiled, obviously shaken from the blow, then regained his balance. What are they? What is he? I proclaimed, my thoughts heard out loud, “WHAT ARE YOU?!?” I discharged what was left of the weapon, and threw it down the hall. He fell down, and was motionless. I couldn’t believe it, I had killed it. Maybe this was over. He rotated upwards, as if on an axis. He then ran to me, in a very human- like way. The name of Burke finally hit me. The scientist. He seemed to grow in size and wrapped around me in a way that a constricting snake would to its prey. I was enveloped in darkness, for now and eternity.

Or so I thought.

I am 14, and this was made for a assignment in English. Thoughts?

title: I made this for a project to accompany my game, what do you guys think?

question: What does the story say about the notes that Siegfried finds?

answer: Siegfried finds several notes. The first one is a mother's note to thaw out the chicken, and the second one is the doctor's log about the virus. As he continues down the road, the notes get darker. The last note says get busy running or get busy dying. He is not sure what that could mean.

question: What does the story say about Siegfried's feelings?

answer: Siegfried is confused when he finds the notes as he does not know what could they mean. He gets scared when he realizes that some creatures that are not human are chasing him. He is happy when they finally go. He is distressed when he realized that he lost his phone and keys. He panics when the door slams behind him and sees the creatures. He is shocked when he kills one of the creatures.

question: What does the story say about Siegfried's motivation to walk down the road?

answer: He is curious to find out where he is.

question: What does the story say about what happens to Charlotte after Burke hits Siegfried?


text:
Show caption
Emmanuel Macron, left, with Theresa May in Salzburg. Photograph: Kerstin Joensson/AP

Brexit
The UK dropped a bombshell on the Irish issue, and France ripped up the summit plan

The spin from Downing Street had been that Theresa May’s meeting with her Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, shortly after breakfast in the margins of an EU summit in Austria, had been “relatively warm”, albeit “frank”. The dawning truth later that evening was that, in a premiership littered with missteps, May had made one of her worst errors of judgment as the two leaders and their teams met in a private room in Salzburg’s Mozarteum University.

For weeks the working assumption in Brussels had been that, on the Irish issue at least, a major step forward would be made by the next leaders’ summit in October. But over the coffee the prime minister dropped a bombshell. She did not believe it would be possible for the British government and Brussels to come to a solution by then. Six months after promising to come up with a fix that would avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in all possible circumstances, the British appeared to be stalling for time again.

The message reverberated around the Salzburg summit and reached the ear of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

The intention had been that this would be a good summit for the prime minister, giving her something to work with on the eve of a difficult Conservative party conference. “Things didn’t happen as we expected,” an EU official admitted.

The French president ripped up the plan to offer Theresa May warm words along with an extraordinary Brexit summit on 17 and 18 November in order to finalise the terms of a Brexit deal. During a two-hour Brexit discussion over lunch among the EU27 heads of state and government, Macron told his fellow leaders that the prime minister should not be allowed to drag her heels. The pressure for a result needed to be increased.

May was to be set a threshold that she would have to reach if she wanted a deal. The EU’s leaders were instructed to increase their preparations for a no-deal Brexit. Viktor Orbán, the populist Hungarian prime minister, who had bowed and kissed May’s hand the previous evening before dinner, and boasted to reporters on Thursday of being part of a growing camp of leaders opposed to “punishing the British”, did not demur. “He did not say a word,” said a source.

After informing May of the developments in a brief and cursory meeting, Donald Tusk, the European council president, who did not appear happy in his task, informed reporters at a press conference at the end of the day: “The moment of truth for Brexit negotiations will be the October European council. In October we expect maximum progress and results in the Brexit talks. Then we will decide whether conditions are there to call an extraordinary summit in November to finalise and formalise the deal.”

The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said: “A no deal is not my working assumption but would it happen we are prepared … Don’t worry, be happy.”

A senior EU official, who could not rise to Juncker’s challenge, lamented: “This makes it more difficult. Macron and others wanted a higher degree of pressure in the negotiations and more uncertainty. But this does make things more difficult.”

The morning mistake from May, was then followed, it appears, by a misjudgment by the EU’s leaders. Along with Tusk’s ultimatum, came a kick, perhaps one that will prove fatal, at the Chequers proposals.

Downing Street had taken some hope, understandably, from Tusk’s words the previous day when he had said that Chequers was indicative of an “evolution” in British thinking. In return, it was suggested the EU would evolve its position. Now Tusk said of the leaders’ Brexit discussions: “Everybody shared the view that while there are positive elements in the Chequers proposal, the suggested framework for economic cooperation will not work. Not least because it risks undermining the single market.”

EU officials and diplomats insisted shortly afterwards that the choice of language was not designed to scupper May. “On the indivisibility of the four freedoms, and the integrity of the single market, the position has not changed and there is absolute unity,” said one.

A second said that the very fact that Tusk and others had not dismissed Chequers in its entirety was an example of the EU being “nice”. After all, the official said, all the prime minister had done over dinner the evening before during a much-hyped appeal to the EU for compromise was to “read out an op-ed” she had written for that morning’s Die Welt newspaper.

The strident tone of that article, published on the eve of the summit, was another cause of irritation among some, sources said.

One European minister said they had withheld their true feelings about the hopelessness of the prime minister’s plan.

But if Tusk’s words were not meant to hurt, Macron’s comments surely did have menace. “It was a good and brave step by the prime minister,” Macron said of Chequers. “But we all agreed on this today, the proposals in their current state are not acceptable, especially on the economic side of it.” He said of the suggestion from May that the only alternative was a no-deal scenario: “The Chequers plan cannot be take it or leave it.”

With Orbán’s thinly veiled attack on his tough approach to the UK no doubt in mind, Macron added: “Those who explain that we can easily live without Europe, that everything is going to be all right, and that it’s going to bring a lot of money home are liars. It’s even more true since they left the day after so as not to have to deal with it.”

The British prime minister, despite her furious protestations in her own press conference that her Brexit plan remains on track, is unlikely to disagree.

Topics

-   Brexit

-   Theresa May
-   European Union
-   Foreign policy
-   Ireland
-   Europe
-   Conservatives
-   analysis

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question: What does the article say about Brexit?

answer: Macron told EU leaders that Theresa May should be pressured for a result needed to be increased. The EU’s leaders were instructed to increase their preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

question: What does the article say about Germany?


text:
DANNY LEE FREAD (July 17, 1939 - February 5, 2009) was an American hydraulic engineer and Senior Research Hydrologist, best known for his computer-based mathematical simulation programs for rainfall and runoff to forecast the flow of flooding rivers and dam failures.[1]

Early life and education

Danny Fread was born on July 17, 1939 in Tuscola, IL, the son of Harold and Margaret E. Dyer Fread. Danny graduated from Lovington High School, in Lovington, Illinois.[2] He began his undergraduate studies at Carthage College, in Carthage, IL, where he studied liberal arts and excelled in track and field as well as basketball. Danny set a school record for his javelin throw in 1959 and was reputedly the “team's best pole vaulter.”[3] and lettered in basketball,[4] where he was known for his “deadly jump shot.” Fread then transferred to the University of Missouri-Rolla, in Rolla, Missouri and received his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1961. He ranked first in his graduating class.[5]

Career

After completing his undergraduate degree, Danny Fread worked six years for Texaco, where he was promoted to Senior Engineer, specializing in the design of gravity and pressurized piping systems. He then returned to University of Missouri-Rolla to complete his Ph.D. in civil engineering in 1971.[6] His studies focused on hydraulics / hydrology / mathematics, and his research was centered on unsteady flow and numerical / experimental simulation of breached dams. After earning his degree, he became a research hydrologist with the National Weather Service, where he spent 29 years. Inspired by the tragedy of the failure of the Grand Teton Dam in 1976, he undertook research on the development of computer models to forecast the flow of flooding rivers and dam failures. His 1973 ASCE paper presented a conceptual model to alleviate flood damages due to overtopping failures of small earthfill dams. It discussed erosion patterns and the potential reduction in the reservoir release due base on a proposed erosion retarding layer.[7]

During the 70's and 80's he personally formulated, coded, and tested mathematical simulation programs, including:

-   The DWOPER model simulates unsteady flows from rainfall runoff in river systems
-   The DAMBRK and SMPDBK models simulate unsteady flows from breached dams in a single river
-   BREACH simulates the erosive formation of breaches in earthen dams
-   FLDWAV is an improved simulation model of unsteady flows from rainfall-runoff and from breached

dams in a single river or network of rivers. These models have been utilized for unsteady river flow modeling by Federal and State Agencies, as well as private agencies and consulting firms across the United States and Canada and over 20 countries worldwide. Dr. Fread taught numerous training workshops; authored 50 and co-authored 42 professional scientific papers; and contributed chapters to four books including the Handbook of Hydrology.[8] He was also a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. His career culminated with the position as the Director of the Office of Hydrology with the National Weather Service.

Awards and recognition

Danny Fread received several national awards for his work, including:

-   Department of Commerce Gold Medal
-   Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
-   J.C. Stevens Award from the ASCE
-   Association of State Dam Safety Officials National Award of Merit

Published works

-   Fread, D., & United States. National Weather Service. Hydrologic Research Laboratory. (1988). BREACH, an erosion model for earthen dam failures. Silver Spring, Md.: Hydrologic Research Laboratory, National Weather Service, NOAA.
-   Fread, D., & United States. National Weather Service. Hydrologic Research Laboratory. (1984). DWOPER: National weather service operational dynamic wave model (Hydro technical note, no. 3). Silver Spring, Md.: Hydrologic Research Laboratory, National Weather Service, NOAA.
-   Fread, D., & United States. National Weather Service. (1982). A dynamic model of stage-discharge relations affected by changing discharge (Rev. Oct. 1976, repr. July 1982 ed., Noaa technical memorandum nws hydro, 16). Silver Spring, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service.
-   Fread, D., & United States. Office of Hydrology. (1974). Numerical properties of implicit four-point finite difference equations of unsteady flow (Noaa technical memorandum NWS hydro, 18). Washington, D.C.: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service.
-   Fread, D., & United States. National Weather Service. Hydrologic Research Laboratory. (1988). The NWS DAMBRK model: Theoretical background/user documentation. Silver Spring, Md.: Hydrologic Research Laboratory, National Weather Service, NOAA.
-   Fread, D., & United States. Office of Water Resources Research. (1971). Transient hydraulic simulation: Breached earth dams (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Missouri--Rolla.
-   Fread, D. L., & Harbaugh, T. E. (1971). Open-channel profiles by Newton's iteration technique. _Journal of Hydrology_, 13, 78–80.
-   Jin, M., Fread, D., & Lewis, J. (2000). Application of relaxation scheme to wave-propagation simulation in open-channel networks. _Journal of Hydraulic Engineering_ -New York-, 126, 89-90.
-   Jin, M., & Fread, D., Member, ASCE. (1997). Dynamic flood routing with explicit and implicit numerical solution schemes. _Journal of Hydraulic Engineering_, 123(3), 166-173. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1997)123:3(166)

Personal life

Fread had one daughter, Kristin with Helen Hale Fread in 1962. After his retirement, he and his wife moved to Pennsylvania to be near their daughter and family. He died on February 5, 2009, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the age of 70, and was buried there.[9]

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title: Danny Lee Fread

question: Who was Danny Lee Fread?

answer: An American hydraulic engineer and Senior Research Hydrologist, best known for his computer-based mathematical simulation programs for rainfall and runoff to forecast the flow of flooding rivers and dam failures.

question: Where was Danny born?

answer: Tuscola, Illinois.

question: What is the highest level of education Danny achieved?

answer: A B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla

question: What is the DWOPER model?

answer: A mathematical simulation program developed by Danny Fread that simulates unsteady flows from rainfall runoff in river systems.

question: List the awards Danny received.

answer: The Department of Commerce Gold Medal, the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the J.C. Stevens Award from the ASCE, and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials National Award of Merit

question: How did Danny die?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Danny Fread was an American hydraulic engineer. He is best known for his mathematical simulation programs for rainfall and runoff to forecast the flow of flooding rivers and dam failures. He received several national awards for his work. In addition to the models he developed, he taught numerous training workshops, authored and co-authored scientific papers, and contributed chapters to four books. He also served as Director of the Office of Hydrology with the National Weather Service.


text:
DePaul University's men's basketball team would have to more than triple its annual attendance to meet the estimates made by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier) for a new event center near McCormick Place.

Attendance at Blue Demons home games in suburban Rosemont has averaged around 2,900 over the past three years, according to Allstate Arena ticket records obtained by Crain's. That's about 35 percent of the school's reported numbers and 30 percent of what McPier officials are projecting for the new arena. The city PLANS TO SPEND MORE THAN $100 MILLION IN TAX MONEY on the facility to give the near South Side an economic jolt.

THIS PAST SEASON, the official average number of fans that went to DePaul home games at Allstate Arena was even lower: 2,610 based on the Ticketmaster scan system, which tracks exactly how many people come inside.

That is far below DePaul's reported average home game attendance of 7,938 over those 16 home games. Over the course of the entire season, the school reported total attendance at Allstate Arena at 127,020. The actual attendance was 41,771.

The discrepancy comes from the Blue Demons counting tickets rather than people. Their reported attendance, said an athletic department spokesman, includes "a couple thousand" tickets the school buys for each game to block out seats for students, who can go to any DePaul athletic event "free of charge" if they pay a quarterly $25 student activities fee. Many of those students, however, don't go to the games. The school also counts complimentary tickets given to charities and other groups toward their attendance number each game.

That practice of inflating attendance numbers based on ticket sales is not new among private institutions and professional teams, particularly those that own their facilities. The problem in this case, though, is that the ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY prepared by Mineola, N.Y.-based hospitality consulting firm HVS and commissioned by McPier to validate the demand for an event center appears to be based on DePaul's reported number, not the actual number.

That report projects an average attendance of 9,500 at DePaul men's basketball games in the new 10,000-seat arena, or 152,000 people over 16 games. That's more than 40 percent of the projected annual attendance of 370,000 for all events at the arena, including concerts, shows and conventions.

While the school would likely still pay to reserve student seats to games at the new arena, recent history suggests the butts won't actually be in the seats, nor would the fans be out and about spending money in the neighborhood.

That's not to suggest that moving the team to the city won't boost attendance, to an extent. More casual fans may flock to watch BIG EAST BASKETBALL downtown, student attendance could improve, better recruiting could help and the planned new GREEN LINE CTA STOP AT MCCORMICK PLACE will ease the trip.

But finding an extra 7,000 people to consistently show up is a daunting task, especially for weeknight games in the winter when DePaul competes with the Bulls and Blackhawks for the Chicago fan dollar.

SMALLER ATTENDANCE HAS RIPPLE EFFECTS

A smaller attendance figure at DePaul games also would cut away estimates for food and beverage sales, merchandise purchases and parking revenue, which is collectively pegged at almost $1.9 million a year (or 36 percent of the arena's entire projected gross income), according to a pro forma operating statement prepared for DePaul by AECOM, a Los Angeles-based engineering and design management firm.

Sales of 22 luxury suites in the arena at $45,000 each per year and 300 club seats are also projected to account for near $500,000 in operating income.

The HVS report also identifies "non-Chicago metro-area residents making day trips" to attend DePaul basketball games as a key economic generator stemming from the event center. Based on the current attendance levels, those may be more difficult to come by than originally thought.

McPier officials have said the arena will break even on operating expenses in its first year and net $1 million after five years. Of course, they aren't exactly counting on that to make the $70 million they're contributing for construction through already-sold bonds worth it. It's important to remember that DePaul home games aren't tied to filling hotel rooms that will help pay off those McPier bonds. McPier officials have even conceded that the arena could be a "loss leader" to spur more activity and spending in the near South Side area.

McPier CEO Jim Reilly, who has maintained that the arena will be able to cover its own operating expenses, was not available for comment yesterday.

In the meantime, legislation that would enable the proposed event center to move forward is being introduced in Springfield this week and the goal for McPier remains the same: LINING UP AS MANY EVENTS AS POSSIBLE in case Blue Demons games come up short.

question: How much would the DePaul University Basketball team have to triple its attendance to fill a new event center?

answer: The DePaul University Basketball team would have to triple its annual attendance to fill the new event center they are trying to build. The school has been over-reporting its attendance: they stated it was 127,020 in the past year, when in fact it was 41,771.


text:
By Mike Johnson on 2018-01-30 09:17:00

Longtime Impact Wrestling personality Jeremy Borash has been hired by World Wrestling Entertainment, PWInsider.com has confirmed.  Several Impact sources confirmed this morning that Borash has given them notice that he was leaving.

Borash was backstage at the WWE events over the last several days in Philadelphia, but initially was telling those who asked that he was just visiting friends.  However, the word backstage at Raw last night was that Borash has been hired by WWE.

Borash was doing commentary voiceovers for upcoming episodes of Impact Wrestling this past Thursday and was at Friday night's House of Hardcore event in Philly filming material for Impact as well, which appear to have been his final duties for the company.

It’s not an understatement that Borash was in many ways the heart and soul of Impact Wrestling behind the scenes.  His exit is probably one of the most shocking in Impact history.  The departure is as major as Gene Okerlund jumping from Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association to the WWF in the 1980s in terms of perception, only it’s a far worse loss for Impact.

Borash has been one of the longest tenured Impact employees, dating back to the company's formation in 2002.  He held many different hats there, most notably ring announcing, commentating and doing backstage interviews at different points in front of the camera.   In recent months, he had been the lead announcer, which means WWE just signed Impact’s lead announcer right after Impact has tons of episodes with his work in the can that will air for the next several months.

Behind the scenes, Borash was really the company MVP as he could be counted on to handle everything asked of him.  He worked on the creative side and was a tireless producer and content creator forthe company, most famously editing and putting together the Hardy "Broken Universe" material and Impact's _British Bootcamp_ reality series.    He would run production and execution of live events.  He spearheaded the company’s dive into social media and was a massive cheerleader for all things Impact Wrestling.

Borash was the glue that at times, helped to hold Impact together behind the scenes.  He was the constant that could always be counted on by those running the company, especially in the Dixie Carter era.  Without Borash, that company will never be the same.  It cannot be overstated: this is a massive loss.

Prior to Impact Wrestling, Borash worked for WCW as a ring announcer and one of the hosts of the WCW Live internet program, coming into pro wrestling following a career in the radio industry.  Outside of Impact, Borash promoted the 2005 Hardcore Homecoming ECW nostalgia events, the first of which still holds the record for the highest pro wrestling gate in the history of the 2300 Arena.  He also produced the well-received _Forever Hardcore_ documentary on the ECW era.

In recent years, Borash has also worked with television personality Chef Robert Irvine’s production company, working on Irvine’s television productions and emceeing his live events.  Borash has also worked regularly as the emcee for WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross’ events.

_IF YOU ENJOY PWINSIDER.COM YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE AD-FREE PWINSIDER ELITE SECTION, WHICH FEATURES EXCLUSIVE AUDIO UPDATES, NEWS, OUR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PODCASTS, INTERVIEWS AND MORE BY CLICKING HERE!_

Use our reports with online gambling where you can play casino games or bet on different kind of sports!

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question: Where was Borash working previously?

answer: Impact Wrestling.

question: Why did Borash switch companies?

answer: Information not found.

question: How did the staff at Impact Wrestling take the news?

answer: Information not found.

question: What were some of Borash's duties at Impact Wrestling?

answer: Ring announcing, commentating, doing backstage interviews but also some behind the scenes duties.

question: When did he start working at Impact Wrestling?

answer: In 2002.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article looks at Jemery Borash's time at Impact Wrestling with some saying he was the heart and soul of the company. He was very invested in the production and content-making process for the company. At the time of this article, Borash moved from impact Wrestling to World Wrestling Entertainment.


text:
She trembles as I run my fingers along the edges of her shoulder where warm flesh meets cold steel. I trace a line with the tip of my finger, curving under her breast. She lifts up her head and kisses me. From up close I can see her eyes have been augmented, the miniscule iris shutter opens and contract as I pull back. I reach down and touch her. Tiny servomotors in her spine hum at the dullest edge of my hearing as she arches her back. A moan escapes her lips as her neural implants release a flood of dopamine. I enter her. Her eyes clench shut.
Everything goes white as my operating system takes a moment to come to grips with the overload. Our bodies rush to meet each other, flesh pressing against flesh, steel against titanium. I kiss her neck, as she runs her fingers down my back. Her bio-mechanical steel hand grips my titanium shoulder and clenches with a force designed to rip a tank to shreds.
The world falls away.
The war a distant memory.

title: [SF] Not What We're Built For (little idea i've been mulling over let me know what you think)

question: Who are the two characters?

answer: A man and a woman.

question: What are the man and woman doing?

answer: Having sex.

question: What are their names?

answer: That information is not available.

question: What is special about the two people?

answer: They have mechanical parts.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A man and a woman both with bio mechanical implants in various parts of their bodies are having sex. It is some unspecified amount of time after a war has ended.


text:
LONDON — Debrett’s, the publishers of a famous handbook on social skills and manners, has released a new guide to modern-day etiquette.

For the first time in its 245-year history, the authority behind the 480-page guide has shared the most frequently asked questions submitted by the public, and published some pointers in response.

Debrett's receives over 10,000 enquiries a year, suggesting that a more permissive and modern existence, free of _Downton Abbey_-like constraints but driven by technology, is rife with dilemmas.

Editor Jo Bryant told _Good Morning Britain_: “I think it really shows that as we live in a more relaxed society, the rules are less clear.”

“In years gone by, generations knew what was expected of them and it was much more rigid, whereas now that fluidity has actually created more confusion.”

Should you apply makeup on the tube? Is it OK to vape at work? Is reclining your airline seat acceptable?

It's a minefield out there, and their pointers aim to answer those questions definitively.

PHONE USE

Among the agonised enquiries, mobile phone use is one of the hottest topics. Debrett’s insist your phone must be switched off in theatres, cinemas and galleries, and put away when you’re paying for something in shop.

[]

Jo Bryant explained further: "The rule is that you should always give the other person more attention than technology. It’s incredibly rude to prioritise your phone over the person you’re dealing with.”

EMAIL

Debrett’s take umbrage at blind copying. While CC’ing half the office on banal emails seems to be OK, they deem a BCC “deceptive,” insisting that “blind copying should be used discerningly."

"Instead the email should be forwarded on to the third party, with a short note explaining any confidentiality, after its distribution."

GREETINGS

When should you kiss someone? Only among friends and not on the first meeting, apparently.

“An air kiss, without contact, may seem rude or impersonal, so very slight contact is best but no sound effects are needed,” they insist. So steer clear of the “mwahs.”

E-CIGARETTES

The rules here are simple: “Vaping shows that you’re not focused on your work and may also be a distraction to your colleagues.”

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Some of their advice is basic common sense — vacate your seat for the elderly and the pregnant — while other tips are somewhat more open to debate.

The controversial Women Who Eat On Tubes site, which aimed to shame people eating underground, and a subsequent protest picnic, highlighted what a divisive issue snacking on the move can be.

Debrett’s wades in to the debate, declaring, “it’s inconsiderate to eat smelly food in a confined environment.” They also attempt to settle the issue of applying make-up on the way to work, suggesting that it makes you look “disorganised.”

FLYING

In answer to the age-old debate about reclining your seat: the official line is it’s selfish and should be avoided, during short daytime flights at least. Hogging the armrest is also a no-no.

[]

EATING

You should wait until everyone is served before starting, but you knew that already, right?

Debrett’s dates back to 1769, when it began advising Britain’s ruling class from its Mayfair headquarters in London. Mentioned in works by Oscar Wilde, George Orwell and P.G. Wodehouse, it’s long been established as the final word in etiquette.

However, much of its advice is somewhat distant from everyday concerns. Its guide  covers everything from how to wear a kilt to how to serve port, among "tables of precedence" for ladies and gentlemen and tips for addressing the queen.

At least now they’ve turned their attention to some of our more pressing concerns.

question: What does the text say about sleeping in public?

question: What does the text say about Debrett's?

answer: Debrett's are the publishers of a famous 480-page handbook on social skills and manners. For the first time in its 245-year history, Debrett's has released a new guide to modern-day etiquette based on questions submitted by the public and driven by modern technology. The publisher receives over 10,000 inquiries a year. Jo Bryant, an editor for Debrett's, said that in today's more relaxed society, the rules are less clear. Generations of years gone by knew what was expected of them and it was more rigid. The fluidity of today has created more confusion. Debrett's dates back to 1769 when it started advising Britain's ruling class from its Mayfair headquarters in London.

question: Summarize the basic etiquette guidelines shared by Debrett's.

answer: Debrett's insist that phones must be switched off in theatres, cinemas, galleries, and put away when paying for something in a shop to give the other person more attention because it's rude not to. CC'ing half the office on banal emails is OK, but a BCC is deceptive. An air kiss without contact may seem rude or impersonal. The best greeting is very slight contact with no sound effects. Vaping while at work shows that the person is not focused on work and may cause a distraction to others. On public transport, giving up one's seat for the elderly or pregnant women is still good. Debrett's declared that it is inconsiderate to eat smelly food in a confined space like buses or trains, and applying make-up on the way to work makes the person look "disorganized". Debrett's official comment on reclining seats on airplanes is that it is selfish and should be avoided, especially during short daytime flights. Hogging the armrest is also frowned on. For eating, people should still follow the old rule of not starting until everyone is served.


text:
This is a list of the MAMMAL SPECIES RECORDED IN MONTSERRAT. Of the mammal species in Montserrat, one is endangered, one is vulnerable, and one is considered extinct.[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

  ---- ----------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  EX   EXTINCT                 No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
  EW   EXTINCT IN THE WILD     Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
  CR   CRITICALLY ENDANGERED   The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
  EN   ENDANGERED              The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
  VU   VULNERABLE              The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
  NT   NEAR THREATENED         The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
  LC   LEAST CONCERN           There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
  DD   DATA DEFICIENT          There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.
  ---- ----------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

  ------- ----------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  LR/cd   LOWER RISK/CONSERVATION DEPENDENT   Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
  LR/nt   LOWER RISK/NEAR THREATENED          Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
  LR/lc   LOWER RISK/LEAST CONCERN            Species for which there are no identifiable risks.
  ------- ----------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

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

[West Indian manatees] Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.

-   Family: Trichechidae
    -   Genus: _Trichechus_
        -   West Indian manatee, _Trichechus manatus_ VU

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

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

[Mexican free-tailed bats] The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

-   Family: Noctilionidae
    -   Genus: _Noctilio_
        -   Greater bulldog bat, _Noctilio leporinus_ LR/lc
-   Family: Molossidae
    -   Genus: _Tadarida_
        -   Mexican free-tailed bat, _Tadarida brasiliensis_ LR/nt
-   Family: Phyllostomidae
    -   Subfamily: Brachyphyllinae
        -   Genus: _Brachyphylla_
            -   Antillean fruit-eating bat, _Brachyphylla cavernarum_ LR/lc
    -   Subfamily: Glossophaginae
        -   Genus: _Monophyllus_
            -   Insular single leaf bat, _Monophyllus plethodon_ LR/nt
    -   Subfamily: Stenodermatinae
        -   Genus: _Ardops_
            -   Tree bat, _Ardops nichollsi_ LR/nt
        -   Genus: _Artibeus_
            -   Jamaican fruit bat, _Artibeus jamaicensis_ LR/lc
        -   Genus: _Chiroderma_
            -   Guadeloupe big-eyed bat, _Chiroderma improvisum_ EN
-   Family: Natalidae
    -   Genus: _Natalus_
        -   Mexican funnel-eared bat, _Natalus stramineus_ LR/lc

Order: Cetacea (whales)

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

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

-   Suborder: Mysticeti
    -   Family: Balaenopteridae (baleen whales)
        -   Genus: _Balaenoptera_
            -   Common minke whale, _Balaenoptera acutorostrata_
            -   Sei whale, _Balaenoptera borealis_
            -   Bryde's whale, _Balaenoptera brydei_
            -   Blue whale, _Balaenoptera musculus_
        -   Genus: _Megaptera_
            -   Humpback whale, _Megaptera novaeangliae_
-   Suborder: Odontoceti
    -   Superfamily: Platanistoidea
        -   Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
            -   Genus: _Delphinus_
                -   Short-beaked common dolphin, _Delphinus delphis_ DD
            -   Genus: _Feresa_
                -   Pygmy killer whale, _Feresa attenuata_ DD
            -   Genus: _Globicephala_
                -   Short-finned pilot whale, _Globicephala macrorhyncus_ DD
            -   Genus: _Lagenodelphis_
                -   Fraser's dolphin, _Lagenodelphis hosei_ DD
            -   Genus: _Grampus_
                -   Risso's dolphin, _Grampus griseus_ DD
            -   Genus: _Orcinus_
                -   Killer whale, _Orcinus orca_ DD
            -   Genus: _Peponocephala_
                -   Melon-headed whale, _Peponocephala electra_ DD
            -   Genus: _Pseudorca_
                -   False killer whale, _Pseudorca crassidens_ DD
            -   Genus: _Stenella_
                -   Pantropical spotted dolphin, _Stenella attenuata_ DD
                -   Clymene dolphin, _Stenella clymene_ DD
                -   Striped dolphin, _Stenella coeruleoalba_ DD
                -   Atlantic spotted dolphin, _Stenella frontalis_ DD
                -   Spinner dolphin, _Stenella longirostris_ DD
            -   Genus: _Steno_
                -   Rough-toothed dolphin, _Steno bredanensis_ DD
            -   Genus: _Tursiops_
                -   Common bottlenose dolphin, _Tursiops truncatus_
        -   Family: Physeteridae (sperm whales)
            -   Genus: _Physeter_
                -   Sperm whale, _Physeter catodon_ DD
        -   Family: Kogiidae (dwarf sperm whales)
            -   Genus: _Kogia_
                -   Pygmy sperm whale, _Kogia breviceps_ DD
                -   Dwarf sperm whale, _Kogia sima_ DD
    -   Superfamily Ziphioidea
        -   Family: Ziphidae (beaked whales)
            -   Genus: _Mesoplodon_
                -   Gervais' beaked whale, _Mesoplodon europaeus_ DD
            -   Genus: _Ziphius_
                -   Cuvier's beaked whale, _Ziphius cavirostris_ DD

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

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

[Caribbean monk seal] There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

-   Suborder: Pinnipedia
    -   Family: Phocidae (earless seals)
        -   Genus: _Neomonachus_
            -   Caribbean monk seal, _Neomonachus tropicalis_ EX

Notes

[1] This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.

title: List of mammals of Montserrat

question: What order of mammals are the most well adapted to aquatic life?

answer: The order Cetacea including whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They have a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

question: What is the conservation status for manatees?

answer: Manatees and dugongs belong to the order Sirenia, fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.

question: How significant a proportion of all mammals in Montserrat are bats?

answer: Bat species in Montserrat account for about twenty percent of all mammals. Their distinguishing features is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight.

question: How many tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature?

answer: There are eleven tags for highlighting species' conservation status including Lower Risk/Least Concern, Lower Risk/Near Threatened, Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, and Extinct.


text:
“THE GIRL WITH THE CAKE-DAY”
I feel nothing. No emotions occurring. No happiness. I took my hand out from under the sheets, as I let out a disappointed sigh. It was one of those nights where it was simply too hot to masturbate. It felt like I was melting with all the sweat I was producing. It was a shame it was too hot out to masturbate, because typically, there were three reasons why I did it. The first of which is pretty obvious, and that is, it felt great. That’s why everyone does it. To my knowledge, though, I’m the only one who does it for the second two reasons. The second reason: it made me sleepy. I’d always been pretty bad about my sleep, staying up far past the recommended bed time. Soon into my teen years, I learned that masturbating felt both great, and it made me tired, which is why I normally did it around bed time. The third, and most important reason, is because it makes me feel human. It makes me feel alive to do such a thing. To focus all of my energy, all of time on thoughts, memories, and women… Well, it made me more in-touch with myself, no pun intended.
So as I lay on my bed in the dead of the heat, I realize the alternative source to make me sleep, and to make me feel alive, though, not nearly as fun. I lifted my right hand off of my head, and raised it up. On the way, it touched the metal post of my bed. Cold. Lifeless. I suppose an analogy can be made there. I then flipped on my stomach, and waved my hand in front of my face. I thought of all the things that made me human, made me realize I was still a person. My past. The people I loved. My memories. I thought of all this, while moving my hand. It always led to me being aware of my own thoughts, and minute actions, to where I became self-aware. In this moment, I became euphoric. I stopped moving my hand as a whole, and instead wiggled each of my fingers, going further into this bizarre trance of memories. I wiggled my thumb.
It was the first part of my hand to touch the raft. It was a burning hot day out, but the pools made up for it. I heard the screams and laughter of children, as they raced around the pools, and grabbed the rafts for the numerous water slides. As I grabbed my own raft, I wondered to myself, why was I here? How did this come about to be? As I was deep in thought, a girl of unimaginable sincerity and beauty came before me. That’s when I remembered. The Girl with the Cake-Day. I still wasn’t sure what it meant, but she did. So, I went along with it. Getting a message from this beautiful woman, exclaiming it’s her cake-day, doesn’t happen too often. At first, I lied, only because in my mind, she was hot, and I wanted to fuck her. One thing led to another, and first thing I knew, I was at Waplehorst, with The Girl with the Cake-Day. I wiggled my thumb. There was the three of us, her and her friend, but for all I cared, it was just the two of us. The day progressed, and I found myself actually having fun. Normally in these situations, I stress at the idea of having to show-off for women, but The Girl with the Cake-Day was different. I found myself actually laughing around her. There were plenty of times when I could have made a move on her, but that would have spoiled all the fun we were having. I wiggled my thumb. When it was all over, and I had to leave, I walked with The Girl with the Cake-Day down her long driveway. She turned to me, and gave me one of the most awkward hugs I had ever received. She looked at me, and smiled. I smiled back. I stopped wiggling my thumb. I was surrounded by darkness, with the heat not letting up. I wiggled to my index finger.
I pointed up to the cool, night sky. “I just don’t see it!” I exclaimed. The Girl with the Cake-Day laughed, and gently pushed my arm into the direction of what she saw. A flash across the sky occurred. “Okay, I saw that one,” I said as she laughed, and moved closer to me. It was a beautiful Summer night, and the most beautiful of meteor showers was occurring. I wiggled my index finger. I had grown to like The Girl with the Cake-Day. I liked her so much, that we started to date. It was the happiest time of my life, up to that point in time. “You’re an idiot,” said a voice next to us. Along with us on this evening, was my best friend, The Boy with Glasses. I looked at him, laughed, and made a joke. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and that made me happy. It made me happy to know that everyone enjoyed the company of The Girl with the Cake-Day. I wiggled my index finger. I finally had someone to brag about, and show off. That night ended like many other nights with her, and she kissed me goodnight. The exception was, I was with The Boy with Glasses, and being the friend I am, I drove him home. On the drive home, it occurred to me, that while I was having fun, my mother was dying. While that should have been the forefront of my thoughts, it was not. The Girl with the Cake-Day was. It was, oddly enough, a blissful time in my life. I stopped wiggling my index finger. My hand dropped, and hit me in the face. I still continued the process, this time moving on to my middle finger. I wiggled my middle finger.
I flicked off the screen, in blind rage. What was the happiest moment in my life, was reduced to one of the worst. On the screen, laid out in front of me, was the relationship status of The Girl with the Cake-Day, and The Boy with Glasses. I had never felt this way before. I had, of course, felt anger plenty of times. This was not just anger, though. This was something far worse. This was love. I, The Boy with the Same Name, fell in love. I wiggled my middle finger. I wondered to myself how such a thing could happen. I surely felt nothing. I had never felt. I tried to rationalize it. Perhaps I hated that I was betrayed by The Guy with Glasses. While that thought did sound correct, it was not the cause. I missed her smile, her laugh. I hated this feeling. I hated the fact that I loved The Girl with the Cake day. I wiggled my middle finger. I felt weak. I just wanted to give up, move on, and try again with someone else. I couldn’t, though. Feeling no real emotions, it’s easy for me to give up on something, and move on. But this wasn’t normal. As much as I wanted to, I could not. I wiggled my middle finger one last time. I stopped. Coated in sweat, I did feel slightly more tired. Nothing was going to break my concentration though, and I forged on, with my ring finger on the line now. I wiggled my ring finger.
It was freezing, along with all my other fingers. For some reason, though, my ring finger always got really cold. As cold as my hands were, I tried my hardest to pack in as much snow as possible, and formed it into a ball. Excited, she tried to dodge, but in the end, The Girl with the Cake-Day got hit square in the chest with a snowball. She did a playful scream, and I chased her, only to turn around, and run from her own snowball. I wiggled my ring finger. I had lost The Guy with Glasses. He hated me for taking The Girl with the Cake-Day away from him. I would too. I did. She was mine now. I knew this time, I loved her. I loved every minute of being with her. I could be myself, and she knew that. Still, I hid from The Girl with the Cake-Day. While she was the one who tapped into my emotions, it was still a foreign concept to me. To tell her how I felt about her. To tell her why I’m sad. To let her mend my problems. I wiggled my ring finger. Despite all that, life was good for The Girl with the Cake-Day and I. I dodged her snowball, then quickly turned around, and pushed her gently to the snowy ground. I was on top of her, and we were both panting. That’s when she locked eyes with me, and I said what I had never said to anyone but The Girl with the Cake-Day. “I love you, Alex.” She smiled at me, used all five of her fingers to pull my head down, and kissed me softly. “I love you too, Alex.” I wiggled my ring finger.
The heat took over in my room, and the memories of the snows from yesteryear faded away. The sun was coming up now, and the heat went up with it. I stop wiggling my ringer finger, and reflected on the memories I had with The Girl with the Cake-Day. I then reflected on the more recent memories of her, with The Boy with the Car, and then, with anger, I made a fist, with the pinky finger leading the charge. I squeezed as hard as I could. I hit the wall as hard as I could, surely waking up the guests in my house. I paused, then, a tear came rolling down my left check. I stopped wiggling my fingers, wiggling my hands, and in fact, stopped moving all together. I had accomplished part of what I set out to do tonight. I felt alive. I felt human. I let all the emotions I felt about The Girl with the Cake-Day run down my checks, and flow into streams of tears. I wasn’t tired, though. Not even close to it. Not yet.

title: The Girl with the Cake-Day

question: Describe the complexity of the narrator's love life.

answer: The narrator fell in love with the Girl with the Cake Day and was taken by her beauty. In time, they grew closer and began to date, and it was the happiest time of his life. Throughout their relationship, he loved every minute of it. However, even though his relationship with her was the most exciting moment of his life, the narrator hated that he felt love and felt like he had betrayed himself for having feelings because he usually found it easy to give up on something and move on. But his relationship with the girl was different. And as much as he wanted to move on from his relationship with her, he couldn't.

question: What does the story say about heartbreaks?