text:
_RUMFUDDLE_ is a science fiction story by Jack Vance published in ‘’Three Trips in Time and Space’’, a 1973 anthology of original science fiction novellas edited by Robert Silverberg. In _Rumfuddle_, a genius scientist named Alan Robertson has discovered that there are an infinite number of parallel universes. He creates a machine that can inexpensively access portals between universes that are similar to our own, which he calls “cognates”. At first, this technological leap leads to positive effects, such as infinite access to natural resources from other parallel worlds. As time goes on, though, people realize that this new power may have negative consequences.

Plot

San Francisco-based scientist Alan Robertson discovers portals to parallel universes and worlds. At first, this is heralded as a great benefit, as it has created a post-scarcity society; any raw resources can be harvested by going through a portal and getting them from a planet in another universe. As well, the problems of overpopulation and the resultant shortage of living space is also solved, because every family can live in a different parallel universe’s Earth-like world.

Many other fields are revolutionized, because the portal device can also transport you to other time periods, like a time machine. As such, a historian can travel back hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years to observe the world. Despite the technology’s benefits, Alan worries that it may lead to “new vices” and decadent lifestyles.

One example of the problems that the portals can cause is the use of the technology by Alan’s adult son Bob. Bob gives access to the portal device to a small group of friends, who he calls “Rumfuddlers,” to set up complex practical jokes that change historical figures. The Rumfuddlers turn Nazi leader Hitler into a kosher restaurant worker and they make Marx, Lenin and Stalin into servants to Czar Nicholas.

Alan Robertson’s adopted grandson, now an adult, is a construction worker named Gilbert Duray. Gilbert is a bulldozer operator for Robertson’s company. As so many Old Earth inhabitants are living in parallel worlds, entire Earth towns have been abandoned. Gilbert’s job is to bulldoze the empty houses and businesses and then take the waste to a parallel world for disposal. With this work, former towns are converting back to natural forests.

Gilbert works on Earth but lives with his wife Elizabeth and three daughters in a parallel Earth-like planet called “Home” that he accesses via the portal. He travels through the portal to work in his the Old Earth, then returns to the Home planet in the evening. At the end of his day bulldozing Earth towns, Gilbert finds that he cannot access the portal to Home. Gilbert thinks the portal might be shut to him because he refused to meet his Grandfather’s elite friends, the practical joke-playing “rumfuddlers”. If the portal is permanently closed, this would mean his wife would be stuck in Home forever, all alone.

Gilbert asks this Grandfather Alan for help getting the portal to Home opened up, but Alan says he is not able to control the activities of Bob’s “Rumfuddlers”. The Rumfuddlers’ jokes and meddling in parallel worlds is getting increasingly complex and problematic. Alan does not agree with these activities, but he cannot get Bob and his friends to stop. Gilbert suspects that his loss of access to his wife and the Home world may be due to a Rumfuddler intervention.

Eventually, the reader learns that there are multiple Gilberts and multiple Elizabeths in different parallel worlds, with the copies being fairly close to the originals but not quite the same. Gilbert learns that Elizabeth has cooperated with the Rumfuddlers in closing off Gilbert’s portal to her, for reasons that Gilbert does not understand. Elizabeth eventually seeks to spend time with a number of different Gilberts on different parallel worlds.

Reception

The story is a parable about the dangers of new technologies and the unintended consequences that scientific innovations can produce.

Category:Short stories by Jack Vance

title: Rumfuddle

question: Summarize the activities of the Rumfuddlers.

answer: The Rumfuddlers were started by Alan Robertson's son, Bob. Bob gives a group of his friends, which he calls the Rumfuddlers, access to a portal device that allows them to travel through space and time. They use it to play practical jokes on historical figures that dramatically change their lives. Their jokes and activities in parallel worlds become increasingly problematic.

question: What does the text say about the relationship between Jack Vance's parents?

question: Summarize the benefits of Alan Robertson's portal device.

answer: It eliminates scarcity because it allows resources from parallel universes to be transported and used. It removes any concern about overpopulation because people can move to and live in other Earth-like worlds. It solves waste disposal problems by offering up infinitely more options for disposal locations and solutions. It creates more jobs by giving people the ability to access and travel between parallel worlds.


split: test

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Updated 12:39 AM ET, Mon August 14, 2017

Story highlights

-   The island is about 85% Roman Catholic
-   Many residents have spoken about faith as a response to threats from North Korea

Hagatña, Guam (CNN)Father Paul Gofigan began his homily with a question for the parishioners in Guam's biggest place of worship -- the Catholic Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica.

"If we were given 14 minutes to decide what to do with our lives, do you think you'd have enough time?"

Gofigan was referring to the length of time the Guam Homeland Security department estimates it would take a North Korean missile to reach the island. It's not idle debate.

No-one knows how close or how far the US may be from conflict with North Korea but officials in Guam have released a two-page fact sheet on how to survive a nuclear attack.

Among the tips: don't use hair conditioner. "It will bind radioactive material to you," the sheet said.

There's no suggestion that any missiles fired from North Korea would be armed with nuclear warheads.

[Father Paul Gofigan preaches at Sunday mass on August 13.]

Guam has been US territory since 1898 and, although its residents can't vote, it's home to two important military installations -- likely targets for an adversary in any potential Pacific conflict.

Caught in North Korea's crosshairs, Guam's largely Catholic population has been turning to its faith.

Father Gofigan confesses it can be hard to find the right words for his congregation.

"It's very difficult to try to really, specially with the threat of a nuclear explosion... it's very difficult to bring that message of inner peace."

[Local residents attend Sunday Mass on August 13 at Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatña, Guam. ]

Prayer, faith and family

Of the nearly two dozen people CNN has spoken to about the looming threat, most have taken it in stride and nearly all of them have mentioned their religion.

[Caught in the middle]

Their answers have centered around the idea that they can find peace through prayer, faith and family.

Some are stoic, and say what happens is in God's hands, even if they were to die. Others take a more optimistic train of thought -- it's in God's hands, so no need to worry.

"I'm sure that we all are worried but when we do trust in the Lord, we have to leave our worries up to Him," local resident Maureen Lujan said.

Domingo Santos, an 85-year-old survivor of the Japanese occupation during World War II, told CNN he asks himself what is going to happen, but falls back on his faith. "As a Catholic, I believe all I have to do is pray," he said.

Local resident Barbara Delgado told CNN she was getting her family prepared "for the what ifs."

"We have faith in our military defense -- that they will protect us and of course we have also faith in Blessed Mother and Dear Lord," she said. "They will watch over this island as they always have."

Despite the different answers, the importance of faith in Guam stands in stark contrast to North Korea -- a communist state where atheism is the official policy andforeigners have been imprisoned for years for allegedly bringing bibles into the country.

'Taken over by faith'

The pews in the cavernous cathedral were about a third full for Sunday mass -- about average according to Father Gofigan.

Construction on Guam's first Catholic church began in 1669, after the arrival of Spanish priests.

That building was damaged in WWII. The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica stands on the same ground as its predecessor. Along with the Guam Museum, the church is one of the two most impressive structures that sit between the verdant mountains and vast ocean in the heart of the Guamanian capital of Hagataña.

[Heavy clouds hover over Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna, Guam on August 13.]

Catholicism is omnipresent in Guam. The island is 85% Roman Catholic, according to figures from the CIA World Factbook, and the island is dotted with churches, many in small villages, administered by the Archdiocese of Agana (another name for Hagataña).

It's testament to the power that religion holds here, perhaps at the expense of the culture of the island's indigenous Chamorro people, who have been in Guam for about 4,000 years.

"The first missionaries came here in the 1600s and brought the faith to our island," Father Gofigan told CNN. "It's really so rooted, so much so that some of our own culture has disappeared and been taken over by the faith."

Don't worry

At Sunday mass, Father Gofigan gave a special blessing to 18-year-old Leonard Calvo, an active participant in the church who's headed off soon for his first year at the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic college in Indiana. He's also the nephew of Guam governor Eddie Baza Calvo.

Leonard's faith played a role in choosing his college, and it plays a role in how he views the North Korea-US tensions.

"It's not really the first time that we've had this kind of situation," he told CNN.

Routine helps, he says, whether it's going to mass or getting up early in the morning to fish on the beach.

"Keeping calm and having faith, I think that's really important for a crisis like this," said the younger Calvo. "In the words of Bob Marley, everything's going to be alright."

CNN's Martin Savidge and Tristan Smith and journalist Dontana Keraskes contributed to this report

question: What do residents of Guam fall back on when they contemplate a nuclear attack?

answer: Residents of Guam are Catholic, and they fall back on their faith. Many claim that the Blessed Mother and Dear Lord will watch over them, and all they have to do is pray. Some are stoic, and say what happens is in God's hands, even if they were to die. Others take a more optimistic train of thought -- it's in God's hands, so no need to worry.


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|population_ref =(, wards )[1] |area_total_km2=6.89 |civil_parish = |static_image_2_name= Tudor House, Castle Way, Hanworth - geograph.org.uk - 1750752.jpg |static_image_2_caption= Tudor House in Castle Way, Hanworth. |constituency_westminster = Feltham and Heston |post_town = FELTHAM |postcode_area = TW |postcode_district = TW13 |london_borough = Hounslow |dial_code = 020 |os_grid_reference = TQ3682 |static_image_name = |static_image_caption = }} HANWORTH is an urban and suburban district in the Feltham district of West London, England. Historically in Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Hounslow since 1965. Hanworth adjoins Feltham to the northwest, Twickenham to the northeast and Hampton to the southeast, with Sunbury-on-Thames to the southwest.

The name is thought to come from the Anglo-Saxon words “haen/han” and “worth”, meaning “small homestead”.

History

During Edward the Confessor’s time, Hanworth was a sparsely populated manor and parish held by Ulf, a “huscarl” of the King. Huscarls were the bodyguards of Scandinavian Kings and were often the only professional soldiers in the Kingdom. The majority of huscarls in the kingdom were killed at Hastings in 1066, and William the Conqueror granted Hanworth to Robert under Roger de Montgomery, the Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury. After his death, his second son held the land until his death in the Mowbray conspiracy of 1098, after which it passed to his eldest son, Robert de Bellesme, who also rebelled against the Crown in 1102 with the result that the lands were confiscated.

Towards the end of the 14th century, the manor was occupied by Sir Nicholas Brembre, who was Mayor of London in 1377 and 1378. Sir Nicholas was hanged at Tyburn in 1387, having been accused of treason.

In 1512 Hanworth came to the Crown, and Henry VIII, who enjoyed hunting on the heath surrounding the village, gave the manor to Anne Boleyn for life. After her execution, the manor returned to the King who held it until his death in 1547 but passing to Katherine Parr, who lived in the house with her stepdaughter Princess Elizabeth. When the princess became Queen, she stayed at Hanworth Manor several times, often hunting on the heath.

In 1784 General Sir William Roy, the military draughtsman, supervised the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain project. That measured a base line from King's Arbour, across Hounslow Heath passing through Hanworth Park, to Hampton Poor House. This measurement, which earned the General the Copley medal of the Royal Society, was the origin of all subsequent surveys of the United Kingdom, and still forms the basis of the Ordnance Survey maps today.

In 1797 the manor house was destroyed by fire, leaving only the stable block, which survives today as flats, and the coach house, which was converted into homes. _c._ 1799 a new house was built on the same site known as Hanworth House. In 1827 the house and estate of _c._ 680 acres (known as Hanworth Great Park), including three farms was sold outright to Henry Perkins.[2] During the 1830s the current building known as Hanworth Park House was built.[3] This building is currently sitting derelict in the middle of Hanworth Park. There is a local campaign currently running to get the house restored to its former glory.[4]

By the end of the 19th century, William Whiteley, of Whiteleys in Bayswater, had bought of farmland that had previously been Butts and Glebe farms. Renamed Hanworth Farms, these supplied all the produce for the store's food hall having been transported daily by horse and cart. Following Whiteley's murder by his illegitimate son in 1907, his legitimate sons sold the farm to a jam manufacturer who operated there until selling the land for new homes in 1933.

Manors

The Ambassador to Charles I, negotiating the secret treaty of 1631 with Spain, who had good knowledge of the country, was raised to the peerage as Baron Cottington of Hanworth, referring to his Hanworth Park estate, receiving the honour 'at Greenwich in a very solemn manner.' As the Civil War drew near he declared himself an active Royalist, and after hostilities had broken out he joined the king at Oxford. He was excepted by Parliament from 'indemnity and composition', and spent the remainder of his life abroad, dying in Spain in 1652. His estates were assigned in 1649 to John Bradshaw who had earlier insisted on Charles's execution and were recovered at the English Restoration by his nephew and heir Charles Cottington who sold it in 1670 to Sir Thomas Chamber.

Chamber died in 1692 and was succeeded by his son Thomas. Thomas Chamber left two daughters and co-heiresses, and Hanworth passed, through agreement on marriage of the elder, to Vere Beauclerk, who was created Baron Vere, of Hanworth in 1750. The manor was inherited by his son and heir, Aubrey, in 1781, who succeeded his cousin as Duke of St. Albans six years later but who sold it shortly after 1802 to James Ramsey Cuthbert. Frederick John Cuthbert was lord of the manor in 1816 from whom it passed to Henry Perkins. After the death of his heir Algernon Perkins it passed to a firm of solicitors, and the main home was acquired in the early part of the next century by Court of Appeal judge turned politician Ernest Murray Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth.

Churches

Saint George's Church

Hanworth's main parish church is dedicated to Saint George. There has been a church on the site, in Castle Way, since at least the fourteenth century; the church was first mentioned in 1293. The first known rector was Adam de Brome, founder of Oriel College, Oxford, in 1309.[5]

All Saints' Church

[All Saints' Church] In 1935, Hanworth had a jam factory belonging to Whiteley's. It was decided that a chapel of ease should be set up. It was founded by Bertram Pollock, Bishop of Norwich, and the Rector of Saint George's. Bishop Pollock had been born at Woodlawn, a house in Hanworth, near Hampton Road West, and part of it was used as the chapel.[6]

After the Second World War, in 1947, it was originally decided that a Nissen hut should be used to house the chapel. However, when the architect Nugent Cachemaille-Day was approached, he decided that a proper church should be built, and a site on the opposite side of Hampton Road West was chosen.[7]

The Parish of All Saints was split off from Saint George's in 1950, and the foundation stone of the new church was laid on 14 July 1951 by the Bishop of Guildford, Henry Montgomery Campbell, in the presence of Lord Latham, Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex. The church was finally consecrated on 28 September 1957 by Campbell, who by then was Bishop of London.[8]

The church now also offers an “International Service” in Ukrainian.[9]

St Richard's Church

Hanworth's third church, St Richard's, was built in 1965 and is located at the end of Forge Lane, near the village boundary with Hampton. It is currently fundraising to completely renovate \ refurbish the church. [10]

Hanworth Aerodrome

Hanworth Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational from 1917 to 1919 and 1929–1947. It was located in Hanworth Park and included the grounds of Hanworth Park House, an 1802 rebuild of Hanworth Palace but currently empty and disused having been used as a clubhouse in the 1930s and more recently as an old people's home. In the 1930s, named London Air Park, it was best known as a centre for private flying, society events, aircraft manufactured by General Aircraft Limited (GAL) 1934–1949, and the visit by the Graf Zeppelin airship in 1932. Amelia Earhart flew to Hanworth after landing in Ireland at the end of her 1932 crossing of the Atlantic; Walter Sickert recorded _Miss Earhart's Arrival_ in a painting now owned by the Tate Gallery.[11] There is a public house nearby named “The Airman” in recognition of its close proximity to the aerodrome and a large aircraft propeller sculpture marks the site of the General Aircraft factory. Feltham District Council purchased the park in 1956. Feltham Swimming Baths was built on parkland beside the Uxbridge Road in 1965, later refurbished and renamed Feltham Airparcs Leisure Centre. That public sports facility was renamed in 2010 as Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre & Library[12]

1970s

The construction of an elevated M3 feeder road (now part of the A316) in the 1970s cut Hanworth in two; in preparation for this, the library was relocated to _Mount Corner_, so-named for being opposite the Hanworth Park House icehouse mound.[13] Forge Lane Infants and Junior School was built on the south side of the new road, and the war memorial was relocated.

Sport and leisure

Hanworth has a Non-League football club Hanworth Villa F.C. who play at Rectory Meadow and play in county level leagues.

Hanworth Air Park is the home of Feltham Rugby Football Club, founded 1947.

Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre & Library (formerly Feltham Airparcs), also in Hanworth Air Park, has a gym and a swimming pool.

Staines Rugby Football Club THE REEVES play home games and train at a rugby ground in Snakey Lane.

Geography

Soil, watercourses and elevation

Soil in Hanworth varies between gravel close to the surface and a clay-rich loam, with very narrow belts of alluvium closest to the streams. The land is relatively flat and drained by two watercourses heading southward and eastward respectively to meet the Thames in neighbouring historic parishes, the River Crane marking much of the northern border with Twickenham and the Port Lane stream matching approximately the western boundary. Elevations range from 11m to 16m OD.

Neighbouring localities

Transport

The nearest railway stations serving the area are: Feltham railway station, Hampton and Kempton Park. Feltham railway station is on the northern edge of the district, situated on the boundary between Feltham and Hanworth in the Hanworth Park ward.

There are no underground ('tube') stations serving the area, but the nearest ones are Hounslow East (to the north) and Hatton Cross (to the west); both stations are on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line.

London bus routes serving Hanworth are: the 111, 285, 290, 490, H25 and R70.

Notable people

-   Henry Killigrew (1613-1700), playwright and chaplain to James, Duke of York (the future king), was born in Hanworth.
-   Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539-1621) was in 1563 removed to Hanworth from the Tower of London, where he had been imprisoned on account of his marriage with Lady Catherine Grey.[14]
-   The Viscounts Hanworth, particularly the 1st Viscount, a former Court of Appeal judge, who established his family seat at Hanworth Park until his estate parted with it as liable to considerable inheritance tax.
-   Bertram Pollock (1863-1943), Bishop of Norwich, was born in Hanworth.

Demography and housing

  Ward            Detached   Semi-detached   Terraced   Flats and apartments   Caravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboats   Shared between households[15]
  --------------- ---------- --------------- ---------- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
  Hanworth        175        1,347           1,370      1,748                  4                                            7
  Hanworth Park   309        1,534           1,146      1,479                  8                                            9

  : 2011 CENSUS HOMES

  Ward            Population   Households   % Owned outright   % Owned with a loan   hectares[16]
  --------------- ------------ ------------ ------------------ --------------------- --------------
  Hanworth        12,155       4,651        18                 29                    325
  Hanworth Park   11,408       4,485        25                 36                    364

  : 2011 CENSUS HOUSEHOLDS

The 2011 ethnic groups of Hanworth were:

-   58.5% White British
-   9% Other White (Not covering Irish/Gypsy)
-   17.9% Asian
-   6.9% Black

[1] Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density 2011 census _Office for National Statistics_

[2] '' The Morning Post'' 6th June 1827''''

[3] The Articles of Sale for the auction of 19th June 1873 (London Metropolitan Archive ref. ACC/1023/383) state that Hanworth Park House was built _c._1832.

[4] Hanworth Park House: Listed building 'could fall down' without restoration, _BBC News_

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9] http://www.allsaintshanworth.com/internationalservice.html

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

title: Hanworth

question: What was the Principal Triangulation of the Great Britain Project?

answer: The Principal Triangulation is the measurement of a baseline from King's Arbour, across Hounslow Heath passing through Hanworth Park, to Hampton Poor House. This measurement is also the origin of all subsequent surveys of the United Kingdom and is still the basis of the Ordnance Survey maps today.

question: Summarize everything about Saint George's Church.

answer: This is the main parish church in Hanworth. It was first mentioned in 1293 and its first known rector was Adam de Brome.

question: What is the use of the Hanworth Aerodrome?

answer: The aerodrome was a grass airfield. It was named the London Air Park and was best known as a center for private flying.

question: How do the people of Hanworth pass their time?

answer: It may be implied that the people of Hanworth spend their time playing football, reading at the library, or using the gym and swimming pool at the Hanworth Air Park.


text:
Look, anyone who is in a creative field of work never wants to hear bad reviews. It doesn’t matter if you’re the world’s greatest musical artist, filmmaker, or actor, terrible criticisms are…well, terrible. So, even if you have a hit TV show on NBC and are on the eve of your second feature film as writer-director, it’s never fun to hear such harsh criticism. That’s exactly what happened to writer-director DAN FOGELMAN, who’s probably best known for his work as creator of “THIS IS US” and is about to see his latest film “LIFE ITSELF” hit theaters this weekend. He’s heard all the reviews for “Life Itself,” and he wants you to know he’s not very happy about it.

In a new interview with TooFab, Fogelman is asked about the early reviews for his film, which are overwhelmingly horrible. “Life Itself” currently sits at a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes (it fell from 14% over the course of this writing) and it appears that film critics have been taken pleasure at lobbing some harsh words at the melodrama. Well, as mentioned, the writer-director thinks he knows why.

READ MORE: ‘Life Itself’ Pushes Buttons Just To Push Buttons [TIFF Review]

“I think that something is inherently a little bit broken in our film criticism right now,” Fogelman said. “I also think it’s somewhat broken in our television criticism, I think that the people with the widest reach are getting increasingly cynical and vitriolic and I think there are a couple of genres and a couple of ideas that they [attack, which] doesn’t speak to not just a mainstream audience, but also a sophisticated audience.”

He continued, “I think a couple of the early reviews that have come out about this movie [‘Life Itself’] feel so out of left field to everybody who’s a part of this movie and to people who have been screening this film for the better part of a year now to both fancy filmmakers, critics, and audiences. There’s a disconnect between something that is happening between our primarily white male critics who don’t like anything that has any emotion.”

There you have it. The crux of his argument, and the source of some recent debate — the white male critic. For those that haven’t been following along, there have been some recent controversy over the fact that white males have dominated film criticism for decades. And there’s a real need for diverse voices.

BRIE LARSON brought this up during a speech, where she called out the poor reviews for “A WRINKLE IN TIME,” saying she’d rather hear from a woman of color than a white male about the film. Fair enough.

READ MORE: TIFF Pledges To Use Charitable Donations To Bring Diverse Film Critics To The Festival

Fogelman continued his discussion a bit more, “Something’s happened with these 10 people who kind of speak in this ‘group speak’ and say [my work is] ’emotionally manipulative’ every time they [see] anything where [my] characters go through anything. And it’s concerning because it is important, it tells people what to go see. I don’t feel that often now our pop and film critics are speaking for a sophisticated audience anymore.”

Don’t worry, this isn’t an article trying to save the white male critic. As a white male who sometimes reviews stuff, I totally can see why the frustration exists. And to give credence to Fogelman’s plea, let’s look at what white male Peter Travers said about “Life Itself” (via Rolling Stone), “How do you rate a cinematic black hole that doesn’t deserve a single star? Do you simply give it five eyerolls?”

Okay, Fogelman might have a point.

But for fairness’ sake, let’s take a look at what some non-white males had to say about the film. Surely, they will understand “Life Itself” in a way that white males surely can’t, right?

JESSICA KIANG (via Variety) said this in her review, “It is sentimental and sprawling, which are not necessarily bad things, but also manipulative and contrived, which very much are.” Oof.

What about Washington Post reviewer KRISTEN PAGE-KIRBY? “Movies should invite viewers in, taking them on a journey together with the characters on-screen. Unfortunately, ‘Life Itself’ is less journey than lecture,” she said in her review. Ummm.

Well, US Weekly really should be the prime audience for anything from the creator of “This is Us!” Reviewer MARA REINSTEIN said, “Everything happens for a reason. While that cliché may be comforting in theory — my heartbreak now will end in bliss later! — it’s lazy when used in a film. The self-aware Life Itself shoves this message down your throat along with a vat of sugar. Open at your own risk. “

Okay, but KATIE WALSH (Via the Post-Bulletin) should be the voice of reason, right? “The worst thing about ‘Life Itself’ is not that it is emotionally sadistic. It’s just how much it wants to be emotionally sadistic, while simultaneously missing the mark by a mile,” said her review.

Oh, and before you think I’m cherry-picking here, understand that I pulled these from the “Top Critics” section of Rotten Tomatoes, where 14 out of 15 gave it a “Rotten” review. The lone “Fresh?” Well, that came from a man. Go Figure!

Yes, white male critics are probably not the best audience for “Life Itself.” And Fogelman’s right to want more diversity in criticism. However, at some point, you just have to understand that, as of now, your work just isn’t clicking with people. But hey, maybe audiences will eat it up?

question: What does Dan Fogelman have to say about the issues surrounding the film critics of today?

answer: Fogelman appears to believe that the lack of diversity in the film critic world is what is to blame for the poor reception of his film 'Life Itself'. He believes that white males are generally emotionally stunted and that they don't represent a wider sophisticated audience.

question: What does the author of the article do to show that 'Life Itself' has been reviewed fairly?

answer: The author takes Fogelman's point about the white male critic and spins it on its head - he takes the critiques of female writers and uses them to point out that it is not just the white male contingent that found his film lacking. The author also points out that the single favourable review Fogelman recieved was from a man.

question: What is the connection between Brie Larson and Dan Fogelman?


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TADAO TSUGE (; real name ; b. 1941)[1] is an alternative manga artist from Japan.[2] He is known to write stories about the _kimin_ (; the “abandoned” people) and _burakumin_ of Japanese society,[3] as well the men who tried to reintegrate into Japanese society after World War II.[4] Tsuge is one of the first artists to create autobiographical work about growing up in poverty in Tokyo.[5] Some themes explored in his work include post-war trauma, class, poverty, masculinity, sex work, geography, and neighborhood environments.[6][7] He currently lives in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.[8]

Early life

Tsuge grew up in the Keisei Tateishi neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. As a child, he would often escape physical abuse at home by wandering the streets of the red-light district.[9] In _Granta_, Tsuge wrote of his neighborhood, “...I would say that it was a red-light district and a plywood market and a town of hoodlums in one. I'll add one more thing: the whole place stunk of sewage.” He continued, “In short, there was nothing special about Keisei Tateishi. It was a neighborhood like so many during the postwar recovery. What was it, then, about the place that left me with so many indelible impressions?”[10]

In the 1950s, when he was a teenager, Tsuge began working for a blood bank business. While working there, he encountered people commonly considered “misfits,” “lowlifes,” or “damaged,” who regularly sold their blood plasma. He continued to work at the blood bank into the 1960s.[11][12][13] He also began writing the stories that would appear in _Trash Market_ in the 1960s.[14]

He is the younger brother of Yoshiharu Tsuge, a Japanese cartoon artist.[15]

Work

In 2015, the graphic novel, _Trash Market_, was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and was edited by Ryan Holmberg. The book, a collection of stories focusing on post-war Japan, follows the _gekiga_ style of manga. The majority of work in the book was originally published between 1968 and 1972 in _Garo_, an alternative manga magazine.[16] Tsuge also drew from personal experiences in his stories, such as the title story, which recalls his time at the blood bank, and “Song of Showa," which explores his childhood in the red-light district.[17]

The graphic novel _Slum Wolf_ was published by New York Review Comics in 2018, with an introduction by Ryan Holmberg. The book primarily focuses on Tsuge's work published between 1969 and 1976 in _Garo_. The stories have a bleak and film noir quality, focusing on disenfranchised people in 1960s and 1970s Japan.[18] One main character, Kesei Sabu, was a trained kamikaze pilot, and he roams the streets of Tokyo, looking for fights with men and encounters with sex workers. Another character, Mr. Aogishi, is a relatively submissive business supervisor, who is traumatized by his experiences in World War II.[19] Many of the characters in the book live in precarious housing situations, including temporary homes and rundown buildings.[20]

Ryan Holberg wrote that Kesei Sabu and Mr. Aogishi were “...the two paradigms of Japanese masculinity that Tadao kept returning to while drawing for manga magazines _Garo_ and _Yagyō_ in the '60s and '70s. As different as they are—one an essay in machismo, the other in impotence—they are two sides of the same coin.”[21] Gregory Smith wrote in _PopMatters_, “One notable feature of these works is the absence of post-war progress or vision of the future. Tsuge creates an eternal present devoid of any benefits of an improving economy or possibility of climbing out of a landscape of ruin and defeat.”[22]

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[13] |url=http://www.tcj.com/reviews/trash-market/%7Caccess-date=2020-08-03%7Clanguage=en-US}}

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title: Tadao Tsuge

question: Summarize the early life of Tadao.

answer: Tadao Tsuge grew up in the Keisei Tateishi neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. He tried to escape physical abuse as a child by walking through the red-light district. He said that his neighborhood was a district packed with hoodlums and it stunk of sewage. It left him with indelible impressions. When he was a teen, he began to work for a blood bank. There, he encountered people donating their blood plasma even though they were considered misfits. Eventually, he began to write stories.

question: Summarize the work done by Tadao.

answer: Tadao published the graphic novel Trash Market, which had a collection of stories from post-war era in Japan. He wrote a lot of personal experiences in the stories as well. Additionally, Tadao's works were published in the graphic novel, Slum Wolf. This focused on his work between 1969 and 1976. Tadao regularly drew for manga magazines Garo and Yagyo.

question: Summarize the marriage life of Tadao.


text:
..\
	For the third time that week, Will woke up to screaming kids. Swearing, he looked over for his wife of fifteen years but noticed she was missing, in fact he had not seen her since last night. He put the thought behind him as he swung his legs over the bed and scratched his morning stubble. He got up after a few minutes and half stumbled half walked over to the bathroom. As he grabbed for his razor, he heard a sharp snapping sound and swore once more, then lumbered down stairs.

.
         He hit the bottom step just as the door opened and his wife, who he was not entirely pleased to see entered, "Look who decided to show up." He mumbled, and staring at his feet he shuffled towards the broken lamp and his two youngest children. She retorted back but he pretended not to hear it, he started back up the stairs with his kids.

..
         "YOU KNOW GOOD AND WELL YOU HEARD ME AND YO---", she stopped as a chair broke against the wall, sending splinters in every direction. Will just glared at her and thought about what a wreck she had become, in her hayday she was quite the looker but fifteen years of marriage had taken its toll. Will was always mild tempered, he cursed but ofcourse everyone around here did, and he was never violent, but the last year of her walking in at daybreak and dealing with a four and six year old had changed him, he was still level headed though, so he walked up the stairs, grabbed some clothes, his wallet, his phone, and his keys, then left to a dumbstruck wife, and two crying children.

.
.
          Will reached for his phone to dail up his old friend Terrance, he was a charter captian and Will could think of no better escape then some open sea. He decided to call in sick to work first, to groans from his boss. After 3 rings Terrance picked up and agreed to take him out, he drove out the five miles it took to get to the old wooden dock. He walked along the side, avoiding the numerous cracks, and got to Terrance's boat. They silently greeted and started prepping, and soon enough they were off.

.
         After an hour of relaxing silence Will heard a shout that made him go from sleeping to wide awake in no time, he ran to the captains quaters and saw Terrance slumped over in his seat, he checked his pulse and felt nothing. Will killed the engine and just sat there, staring as the sun lightened the sea, while his friend was slumped confortably in death beside him. Eventually Will slumped against the wall, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and fell asleep.

.
         Will jolted awake, feeling he just awoke from the worst nightmare ever, he reached over and put his hand on his wife, except she was cold, so cold. Will jumped up and stared at Terrance with horrorfying realization. He walked back up to the deck and looked at the night sky, it hit him that his kids and wife would be worrying about him. He snorted. Might be worrying about him was more like it. Still, he did miss them, which was surprising. He sat on the side of the boat and started dozing off.

.
         He was sitting on a chair in his living room with his family, but his wife was younger, he looked around doubtfully for his two kids, and only found them when he looked under the table. They were joyfully pushing his chair back, laughing and smiling. Will started laughing too, it was contagious and soon his wife joined it. "I love you guys." As his chair tipped too far and he fell backwards through his floor and into the dark.

Edit**** the '.'s are to help formatting

title: Story I wrote for Creative Writing class, CC appreciated.

question: What happens to Will in the story?

answer: Will wakes up to an empty bed, and hears the sounds of his wife of 15 years coming through the door downstairs. They have a disagreement and Will decides to call in sick for work and meet his friend Terrance, a charter captain, to go out on the open ocean. Whilst on the water, Terrance dies leaving Will alone on the boat. Will falls asleep, dreams of his wife and then it is insinuated he falls into the ocean.

question: How old are Will's kids?

answer: Four and Six.

question: How does Terrance die?

answer: The story does not make it clear.

question: Does Will fall into the sea at the end?

answer: It's not made clear, though it is heavily insinuated.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Will is in an unhappy marriage. He escapes to the sea with his friend Terrance. Terrance dies whilst they are on the water and Will falls asleep, only to dream of his wife.


text:
There was once an old homeless man who lived on the corner of fifth and first, in a frigid alleyway that resembled underground Bangkok. Cluttered with heaps of trash and feces from the locals. It was nicknamed The Devil’s Taint by the crack-addicts that dwelled in its air of despair.
	 This old man was a heron addict has been for 12 years since he lost his job as a news anchor. Wife left him for the best man at their wedding, DeMarcus. She took the kids to Costa Rica so they would forget he ever existed. Yeah his life was in a real shitter. He would try to fix himself up and get his life straight. Every time he tried a black lab would come to keep him company, but would leave if he picked up a needle. The dog reminded him of the fortune he once had and lost at a snap of a finger. Happiness…

	Today’s the first of June, and the homeless man was ready for his Katabasis. He’s been preparing for weeks by now. The sun begins its descent down the horizon, and with its departure, arrived a familiar face. The black lab he adored. The dog approached him and laid its head on his lap, then fell asleep. With a smile on his face, he looked at the heavens and somehow felt at peace. Time passed, hours to days, days to weeks, and weeks to months. It was around December when the tailored man came.
	The tailored man was in his mid 30’s, a stunning doppelganger to the homeless man’s past. He was in a rush when he scurried past the old man and the dog. Stunned the tailored man turned around to observe the dog. A joyous smiled appeared on his face. He turned to the old man with delight and asked, “How much for this dog?”
	Startled the old man replied, “He’s not for sale.”
	“How about $1,000,” protested the tailored man?
	“No,” the old man yelled.
	“$10,000,” the tailored man rebuttal.
	“No,” the old man yelled infuriated.
	The tailored man got down on his knees and begged, “Please I’ll give you a millionaire dollars this dog.”
	“Why do you want this dog so bad,” the old man asked?
	‘You see when I was a boy I had a dog named Maverick, who was a black lab. He looked exactly like that dog over there. One day my mother got sick of him and decided to let him go in the woods. I cried for weeks because I lost the only person who understood me. And now here I am looking at a clone of him. So please Sir, I’m begging sell me your dog.”
	The Old man contemplated whether or not to give up the dog. It was a symbol for everything he once had, but with the money he could get it all back.  Thoroughly thought through he decided to sell the dog. The tailored man’s faced lighted up like a virgin who was about to lose his virginity to a cheerleader. He signed a check, handed it over to the old man and left feeling whole again. As for the old man he started over again.
	Cleaned up and fresh out of rehab he invested his money into nanotechnology, which turned him into a Billionaire. He lived in 10-acre mansion with a 3-acre yard, Olympic sized ground pool and Jacuzzi. He had a trophy wife with a bust of a goddess, and trophy cars to match. This old man had it all, except the dog. The only true serenity he had in his life. Now he’s the tailored man. The empty tailored man.

title: False Smile

question: What is the twist at the end of the story?

answer: The twist is that even after becoming a billionaire and having more than he ever did, the man feels empty because he sold the dog that kept him company while he was homeless.

question: Why is the homeless man in the situation that he is in at the start of the story?

answer: The man has been a heroin addict for 12 years after he lost his job as a news anchor. His wife left him for the best man at their wedding.

question: What does the tailored man do for a living?


text:
[]

There is a great schism in the mixed martial arts community.

Some say Conor McGregor, Ireland's great featherweight hope, is a champion in the making—Jose Aldo's kryptonite. Others say that he's being fed easy wins. Wherever fans fall on the issue they tend to be vocal.

Of course, both sides are caricatures of the truth. McGregor hasn't met a single great wrestler in a sport built around them, and that is unlikely to be a coincidence this far into his UFC tenure. However, this is a combat sport and McGregor is a cash cow. If you cannot, as an adult with a healthy sense of cynicism, realize that matchmaking is as much about brand management as it is about putting on entertaining fights, you're not going to enjoy the fight game as much as you can once you realize that fact and get over it.

And who could begrudge the UFC for not putting McGregor in with a takedown dynamo like Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri or Chad Mendes just yet? It's a postponement of having to deal with the great wrestlers if anything, you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride as McGregor moves an entire country's population to involve themselves in a niche sport. I was visiting friends out in the sticks of Ireland last week and was astounded that even they knew about “that cage fighter”. McGregor as an icon has worked marvels for the sport.

But as a fighter? Well, McGregor is just sublime.

In this writer's humble opinion, McGregor embodies everything that the sport of mixed martial arts needs. And I don't mean the smack talking and the call outs. Nor am I talking about the man who can absorb the attention of the whole room when sat between two fighters twice his size at the press conferences. I don't even mean the surprisingly understated and thoughtful guy who quietly mingled and chatted with press before watching his friend Gunnar Nelson fight at the O2.

Conor McGregor represents the future of the sport because he is a man who fought his way into the big league, and hasn't stopped growing since. He doesn't sit back and repeat the same things that got him there, nor does he attempt to diversify so much that he forgets his best trained tools. If you cannot recognize his fighting skill and the changes in McGregor from just a year ago, please allow me to elaborate.

MEAT AND POTATOES

A year ago I released a short, simple video called “Conor McGregor in Five Techniques”. It was cobbled together pretty quickly as an excuse to do something different. McGregor had taken part in just one fight in the UFC at the time, and little footage of him was available. I settled on five elements of McGregor's game which seemed to either act as staple in his work, or were noticeable characteristics or quirks of his personality in the Octagon.

To recap quickly, a lot of what McGregor does—or did before he really hit the big time and had the freedom to train as much as he wanted—is basic, thoughtful boxing with a bit of karate / taekwondo stuff mixed in. Of course the beauty of it is that it isn't any one discipline, he just plays around and makes eclectic elements work together.

I'm assuming that—as this is a Conor McGregor article—I will have a few new readers who aren't familiar with some of the concepts we discuss regularly. For a start, McGregor is a southpaw—a left hander—and so stands with his right foot forward, the reverse of the norm. A southpaw versus orthodox engagement is a completely different dynamic to an orthodox versus orthodox or southpaw versus southpaw engagement. The most important point is that both men will find it easier to sneak their rear hand straights in than they would their jab.

This is because of the hand fight. The lead hands of the fighters get in the way of each other and create what some term “crossed swords”. Consequently, what we call the hand fight is more important. The man who has the outside hand position usually has control—allowing him to slap his opponent's lead hand down, across or sometimes upwards. You will see McGregor supressing his opponent's hands a great deal.

[]

The important point is that it doesn't just cut off the lead hand, it is very difficult to step in and throw a good rear hand strike while the opponent is controlling your lead hand and looking to step outside your lead leg. Certainly, few people feel truly comfortable lunging in and punching with their back hand while their lead hand is still out in front of them, under the opponent's control.

This is a basic southpaw strategy that we looked at in good detail when studying Lyoto Machida, and Manny Pacquiao. Hand control kills the options of the opponent.

When McGregor's hand isn't on his opponent's, it's usually because he wants them to step in and commit to a punch.

[]

If you are constantly suppressing an opponent's lead hand, then release it for a moment, they will often step in and throw without realizing that there's probably a reason you're letting them.

The karate style front snap kicks of McGregor have always been a joy to watch. Front snap kicks are similar to the jab in boxing in that they can be thrown a number of ways. They can be thrown heavy—snapping out hard into the opponent's ribcage and then dropping back to the floor—as Katsunori Kikuno was famous for before he discarded his guard altogether and committed career seppuku.

[]

They can also snap out more rapidly, as one would flick out a jab. If you catch an opponent under the chin with this it can be enough to put him down for the count. It takes little commitment so I cannot believe we don't see this more from _every_ mixed martial arts fighter.

[]

So that's McGregor at a quick glance. Snappy kicks, good hand fighting, wicked counter left. But in recent fights, McGregor has shown some new stuff. Some stuff that makes me glad that a man like this can now afford to train full time and bring himself to his fullest potential.

THE ART OF FLAMBOYANT LEADS

So we know he likes the counter left straight, so far so normal for a southpaw. He likes the front snap kick? That's pretty unusual, but the technique is gaining popularity among young fighters. What makes McGregor fascinating is that he takes to other, more spectacular techniques and those set up the basics which he has down to an art.

Fighting competent opponents, you aren't going to get them to swing wildly at you when they _know_ you're just waiting to let them fall short and come back in with a counter left straight. Especially if you're getting as much public attention as the Notorious Conor McGregor. But seconds into his bout with Diego Brandao, McGregor had convinced the Brazilian to swing clumsily at him and landed a stinging counter left straight. How did he accomplish it? Baited Brandao with the fancy stuff!

[]

Now if you watched that opening, it looks like McGregor is jumping in arrogantly, thinking he can get stuff done with leaping, spinning nonsense. But notice where his feet land after the wheel kick. Perfectly back into his stance.

That stance has attracted a lot of attention because it is so much wider than the norm. It's often likened to a karate stance. No surprises there—he likes to move back and then spring in, and he doesn't move to the side all that much. The way you specialize your stance to move quickly to the front or rear is to make it longer and thinner so that you have a foot to drive off of in front of you and one behind you at all times. It's the same in karate, as it is in fencing, as it is for a boxer who really likes to use in and out movement on a line. There's no specific name for it, it's just how the human body accomplishes that goal best.

And that is the theme in Conor McGregor's fights. There's a lot of flash and dazzle, but he's _always_ on the hair trigger, waiting to dart back and then in again with his left straight. Smoke and mirrors—that's all the fight game is about after all. If you're a counter fighter, you might as well find some weird, spectacular offense that's going to ruffle some feathers and convince people that they want to throw back at you, rather than have you spinning all around and gurning at them while they do nothing and fall behind on points.

McGregor's boxing is actually pretty meat and potatoes. Not much razzle dazzle there—just a great left straight and split second timing. When he's working on offense he'll use the handfight (as demonstrated  above) to smother the opponent until he reckons he can sneak through one of those venemous lefts. Other times he's used the classic Marvin Hagler / Prince Naseem lead hand uppercut to rear straight—a real dangerous set up on any southpaw.

[]
_Lean out the window, sneak the right hand under then hop past and into the straight. Just lovely._

Other times, when the opponent is reaching for dominant hand positioning to check McGregor's lead hand, he'll change tempo and shoot it up the inside. This is working at a mechanical disadvantage because you're shooting inside an opponent's parry, but again it's a matter of timing and McGregor uses it well.

One of the techniques which McGregor has begun using is the hook kick. The hook kick was a vitally important technique in the days of early American kickboxing and you'll remember Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris using it in the seventies. The problem is that generally, it doesn't carry a lot of power because it is difficult to get the hips into, and when it misses by an inch, you've kindly placed your leg on your opponent's shoulder.

From the Open Guard (southpaw vs orthodox or vice versa) position it is certainly more applicable, and that is, of course, where McGregor attempts it from. He's yet to land it decently, but it's certainly another thing to think about!

And there have been a few instances of the hook kick being used successfully in mixed martial arts, so as always we can't write it off outright. Shannon Ritch pulled off a tasty knockout with it, Holly Holm landed a great one against Nikki Knudsen, and Cung Le will regularly throw one, then spin into a backfist (he did this against Frank Shamrock and knocked down Wanderlei Silva in this manner).

[]
_And of course the great Larry Kelley, whom I wouldn't have known about if Joe Rogan hadn't mentioned him during McGregor's bout with Holloway._

Here's McGregor channelling the spirit of Andy Hug as he attempts a hook kick, a hook kick to the inner leg (which can be pretty darn painful), and a wheel kick to the leg—the famous Hug Tornado.

[]

The Notorious One's kicking arsenal has evolved in other ways though. The big change is McGregor's pairing of his lead leg side kick with a bicycle kick. I don't know what McGregor gets up to in his spare time, but as he's a student of the game I would be surprised if he hadn't watched some Saenchai.

Saenchai, who might well be remembered in generations to come as a minor deity or the patron saint of Muay Thai, adores his bicycle teep. Saenchai, also a southpaw, utilizes his lead leg teep not to do damage, but to knock opponents off balance and score points. The thing about any kind of bicycle kick / jumping switch kick is that you have to convince the opponent that the faking leg is worth worrying about.

[]

Look at the difference between Lyoto Machida's _nidan-geri_ against Randy Couture and the numerous attempts at it that Dong Hyun Kim made in his bout with Sean Pierson. Machida's worked because he had been throwing left kicks and knees all fight—he had Couture concerned about that kick, feinted it, and leapt in with a kick from the other leg. Couture fell for it hook line and sinker.

[]
_Notice how Couture leans towards the left kick, ready for the impact, before the right sails into his chin._

Meanwhile Kim dived through the air a dozen times, missing every time, until finally Pierson had a brain fart and managed to get caught by it.

In mixed martial arts, the lead leg teep or side kick to the bodywhich Saenchai loves so much can  be conceding an easy leg to anyone who wanted to grab it. So McGregor utilizes the low line kicks we are now used to seeing in mixed martial arts. Kick at the knee or below and it's pretty hard to pick up a leg—kick at the thigh and your leg can ride up the opponent's quad and gift him a takedown attempt he hasn't earned.

[]

Notice the glide in of the standing leg. This is something you'll see combined with round kicks a lot in karate, and followed by a knee in Muay Thai. In karate it is an application of tobi-komi—leaping in.

Now if you get an opponent used to this hopping in motion, you can quickly graduate to those beautiful bicycle kicks. Saenchai does his winding body work with his rear leg, McGregor seems to moving towards that method too.

Here are McGregor's beautiful bicycle kicks and knees in action. Notice that he uses it as an entry and is immediately controlling his opponent's lead hand when he lands.

And this is what I mean when I say that McGregor represents the future. He learns techniques from everywhere. He attempted a _kaiten-geri_ or “Rolling Thunder” kick against Max Holloway, and just the other day footage went up of him training the jumping, spinning roundhouse kick on a taekwondo kicking pad.

_You can never have enough Rolling Thunder!_

There's a ton more to talk about—that weird looking high forearm guard that reminds us all of the old Boston Celtics logo, for instance—but I hope that I've made my case well enough that you'll be convinced to come back before UFC 178, when we'll look at the specifics of his match up with Poirier, and the main event.

_Pick up Jack Slack's ebook, Fighting Karate at his blog Fights Gone By. Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter._

_Check out these related stories:_

Title Shots: Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor: A Different Swagger

question: What does the text say about Jack Slack?

answer: Jack Slack is the author of an ebook, Fighting Karate. He runs a blog called Fights Gone By. He can be found on Facebook and Twitter. He is (presumably) the author of this article on Conor McGregor.

question: Summarize what the text says about Ireland.

answer: Conor McGregor is an Irish featherweight fighter in mixed martial arts whom the author credits with getting Ireland's general population involved in the niche sport. The author learned this when they were visiting friends out in rural Ireland.

question: Summarize the history of judo.

question: What does the text say about McGregor's personal life?

question: What does the text say about southpaw?

answer: Conor McGregor is a southpaw. Saenchai is also a southpaw. 'Southpaw' refers to a left-handed fighter who stands with the right foot forward, the reverse of the norm, the opposite of 'orthodox'. A southpaw versus orthodox engagement is a completely different dynamic to an orthodox versus orthodox or southpaw versus southpaw engagement. The hand fight becomes more important, because the lead hands of the fighters get in the way of each other and create what some term “crossed swords”.


text:
    This is the first short story I've ever written so be brutal with your critiques.
    I want to improve.

You could feel the heat from the earth. The sun had been out to leave its mark and close to an hour had passed since its exit.

“How 'bout,” She turned away and let out her drag.

“How about when we turn 22 we get tattoos.”

The wind blew back into his face but it never bothered him. He'd taken to smoking himself and recently it'd crossed his mind one too many times that he's been smoking more than he ought. He'd planned on controlling it by only smoking while drinking.

His inner monologue couldn't help but laugh. It did always have a soft spot for irony.

A light smile worked it's way out.

“You mean matching ones?” he said, his sarcasm almost too subtle for himself.

“No.”

A pause. A drag and a sip of hard coffee between them.

“What do you think?”

“Why not 21?”

“Not sure. I just think we'd be more independent then, you know? I'd be almost done with school. Probably have a full-time job lined up. Would've moved out by then, hopefully. Our lives would actually be starting.”

He paused for a moment. That thought was sharper than others. It sunk in and its weight hurt. His plans for when he's 22 were painfully absent.

“I'll hold you to it, you know.” he finally said.

“You think I'm going to forget?”

“I think you're going to change your mind” he said with smile.

Her mouth began to peak into a smirk as she struck out her hand.

He'd been thinking about getting a tattoo for a little while now. Once he had the money, he told himself. Nothing small either. Maybe a half sleeve with some Mucha inspired female form. He'd joked with the thought of keeping it completely secret and getting during a holiday so it can heal in private, enough that it's presentable at least, and just showing up to work one day in a t-shirt.

He took her hand.

“Deal.”

“Where ever we are on our 22nd, we're getting tattoos.”

He found it convenient that their birthdays were just a few days off. They'd already planned nights of drinking and pub crawling on their 21th, but the pessimist who'd been taking the reigns lately always made it quite clear how dangerous planning friendships can be. Especially one with such a shoddy foundation.

Never the less the alcohol pushed that thought away and left him to enjoy the view, content in friendship.

The sky was still a deep dark blue where they could see. Behind them it had been pulled to black. A hint of brown forced up from the city lights kept the stars hidden despite the lack of clouds. 	You could feel how hot the day had been. A steady but most-times gentle breeze dried out the air. “These are the days I'll miss the most”, he told himself. Earlier that day he went by himself to a beach from his childhood and sat on a rough granite boulder midway up a rise from the water. The crystal white beach strained his eyes to look at.

It had been years since he'd last been there. He could see the far end with it's protective mound made up of boulders like the one he sat on. Years ago he and his brother made homes there and caught tad-poles in the freshwater not far too back from the water. Scraped knees and hands stung with salt in the tidal pools. A day of climbing through the endless caves perched on the side of what seemed like a cliff and you were bound to get a few scrapes here and there; like any good adventurer.

It shook him how small it looked. Even from a distance he could tell that time had taken its toll on those memories. A flush of disappointment welled up behind his heart with the reoccurring realization he's lost his childhood wonder and innocence.

Before too long the sun became too much to sit under and he felt the emptiness of the bleached blue sky. He felt defeated and tired. He'd just let himself down. A failure of some sort but he couldn't quite pick it out. He passed the freshwater pools on his way back to his car. They sat like puddles, evaporating with his memories, rippling with the tad-poles that might as well have been the same ones he and his brother caught in beach pales over a decade before.

He finished his lukewarm coffee but held on to the cup. His eyes followed the flickering lights of cars as they traced out the grid of the neighbourhood.

She had introduced him to this area. The park they were resting in was unique in the way it was seemingly plotted on the peak of the neighbourhood. Its sloped sides were walled in by either trees or houses., but if you took the time to walk its perimeter you'd quickly find views that make it special. They'd found one spot in particular facing the sunset on a grassy bluff higher than the rooftops with the neighbourhood sprawled out below them.

She flicked the butt of her cigarette down the slope. A thin trail of orange traced its way through the summer dark and held for and instant in both their eyes.

The buzzing silence of the summer night reigned.

He worked comfortably into the ground beneath him and glanced at her. In the dark her eyes reflected the flickering oranges and yellows of the city. He could feel its hum but it seemed to blend with the night. The branches and bushes nodding in the wind at the same frequency while the tall grass on the bluff  rose and sank like waves on the crystal beach. Her eyes as wonderful as the caves.

title: "Innocence, in a way" (~1000 words) Critique wanted.

question: Why did the narrator suggest the girl he was with would change her mind on both of them getting tattoos?

answer: Maybe because she changes her mind frequently on things she is not sure of.

question: What does the narrator think of the girls he is with?

answer: He thinks she is quite attractive.


text:
Syrian opposition groups are using Facebook and Twitter sites to call for a "day of rage" protest in the country Friday.

Drawing inspiration from the Internet-savvy Egyptian protesters, an online campaign called for anti-government demonstrations Friday and Saturday in the Syrian capital Damascus.

The activists are demanding reforms from the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria's ruler for a decade, the Voice of America said.

"Together for a Day of Rage in Syria," read one Facebook page joined by more than 2,500 people. It says the goal is to "end the state of emergency in Syria and end corruption."

Another 850 joined a page backing Assad, a British-trained physician who in 2000 inherited power from his father, who ruled for three decades.

Syria, like Egypt, is plagued by poverty, unemployment and corruption.

Social networking sites were integral to rallying protesters in Tunisia and Egypt, but Facebook is banned in Syria, which makes organizing more difficult. Syrians manage to access the social networking site anyway.

The protest call is just the latest reaction after demonstrations led to the departure of Tunisia's president and embroiled Egypt in conflict.

All three nations have seen subsidy cuts on staples like bread and oil. Syria's authoritarian president has resisted calls for political freedoms and jailed critics of his regime.

Assad has moved slowly to lift Soviet-style economic restrictions, letting in foreign banks, opening the doors to imports and empowering the private sector. But he has not matched liberal economics with political reforms and critics of the regime are routinely locked up, drawing an outcry from international human rights groups.

The democracy question is particularly pressing for U.S. allies like Jordan and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which have long faced pressure from Washington to uphold democratic values.

In Jordan, the king fired his Cabinet Tuesday and the Palestinian president promised to hold long-delayed elections.

Even as they loosen the reins a bit more and in the light of their moves on Tuesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appear concerned about inadvertently giving a boost to their Islamic rivals.

Abbas feels he was already burned once, when his Fatah movement was trounced by the Islamic militant Hamas in 2006 parliament elections he called under intense U.S. pressure. The following year, Hamas grabbed control of Gaza by force.

The Palestinian split is now a key obstacle to any Mideast peace deal. While many Palestinians lament the ongoing political divide, they also feel that the West employed a double standard by refusing to deal with a democratically elected Hamas government.

In Jordan, Abdullah faces formidable opposition from the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Arab movement of Islamic fundamentalists with roots in Egypt, where it has been a key Mubarak opponent. Hamas is the Gaza branch of the movement.

Abdullah fired his government, bowing to public pressure for reform, including several large demonstrations inspired by events in Egypt as well as Tunisia earlier last month.

The king instructed the new prime minister, Marouf al-Bakhit, to correct mistakes of the past and lead "real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making." Outgoing Prime Minister Samir Rifai was blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.

Opposition groups dismissed the change as cosmetic. "We reject the new prime minister and we will continue our protests until our demands are met," said Hamza Mansour, leader of the Islamic Action Front, Jordan's largest opposition movement.

The opposition in Jordan says it doesn't seek regime change but wants to curb the king's power. Jordan's constitution gives the monarch exclusive authority to appoint prime ministers, dismiss parliament and rule by decree; the opposition argues that the post of prime minister should go to the elected leader of the parliamentary majority.

Abdullah is willing to speed up some reforms, including introducing legislation governing political parties and elections, according to a top Jordanian official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with briefing regulations. However, he said the king is worried about possible U.S. pressure for further reforms that could strengthen hard-line Islamists.

Abbas has similar concerns.

Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, he has clamped down hard on Islamists in the West Bank, curtailing democratic freedoms in the process. His security forces have rounded up Hamas activists, shut down Hamas-allied institutions and tried to dry up foreign funding for the militants. Hamas has taken similar actions in Gaza against its Fatah rivals, prompting complaints of human rights abuses in both territories.

Earlier this week, Abbas met with his security chiefs and told them to clamp down on any protests in support of the Egyptian demonstrators and to make sure anti-Israel marches don't turn violent, a senior Palestinian security official said Tuesday.

Abbas told the chiefs he was concerned that loosening the grip could provide an opening to Hamas to destabilize the West Bank, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss details of the meeting.

In the West Bank, dissatisfaction is bubbling under the surface, particularly among young Palestinians who belong neither to Hamas nor Fatah, said Palestinian analyst Khalil Shikaki. "They feel that the West Bank is turning into a police state," he said.

In Sudan, calls for anti-government protests Thursday were posted on a website. Earlier this week, dozens of university students demonstrated against price hikes, but were quickly arrested.

question: Why was Facebook banned in Syria?

question: What caused the opposition groups to refuse the change?

answer: Abdullah dismissed his government in response to huge protests inspired by events in Egypt and Tunisia. Following this, a new prime minister, Marouf al-Bakhit, was appointed to remedy past mistakes and spearhead genuine political changes that improve public engagement in decision-making. Former Prime Minister Samir Rifai was criticized for escalating fuel and food costs and slowing political changes. Opposition parties saw the move as superficial and rejected the new prime minister, vowing to keep protesting until their demands were fulfilled. The Jordanian opposition aims to weaken the king's influence, not overthrow him entirely. The opposition maintains that the prime minister should be the majority leader since Jordan's constitution gives the monarch exclusive authority to appoint leaders, rule by decree, and dismiss parliament.

question: What does the text say about the concerns of the Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas?

answer: Mahmood Abbas, like King Abdullah of Jordan, feared bolstering Islamic foes. In the 2006 parliamentary elections, the Islamic militant Hamas defeated Abbas' Fatah party. The next year, Hamas took Gaza by force, so Abbas repressed Islamists in the West Bank, restricting democratic liberties. Abbas's security forces arrested Hamas activists, closed Hamas-affiliated organizations, and tried to stifle international funding for similar operations by Hamas in Gaza against Fatah rivals, prompting complaints of human rights abuses in both regions. Abbas also ordered his security commanders to disperse anti-Israel marches and disperse pro-Egyptian gatherings. According to Abbas, relinquishing the hold could allow Hamas to destabilize the West Bank.


text:
I used to watch this cute girl from my cubicle workstation. Leaning backwards in my chair taking short sneak peaks at her as she was standing by the coffee machine. She was about the same age as me, around her mid 20‘s. It took a long time before I managed to gather enough courage to actually walk up to her and once I did, I realized that I had no idea what to say. All the thoughts of walking up to her had made me forgot to think of what I should say to break the ice. I was a pretty shy guy back then and didn’t really have any conversation starters up my sleeve. I had been watching her from a distance in almost a year and in this moment when I was finally standing in front of her, I was numb. My mind was blank but still I opened my mouth to say something. I thought I asked her if she likes coffee, but now, when I think back to that moment it must have sounded something like ”you.. l-l-like.. coffee”. I’m quite aware that was probably not the best thing to say, considering it was the first time I actually talked to her. Even though she didn’t say something back, she smiled at me, giggled and then walked back to her own cubicle. I stayed by the coffee machine for moment to catch my breathe and I’m pretty sure I must have seemed like a complete fool to her. But I didn’t really care, for me that was a great success. The woman I had been secretly interested in for a long time had just smiled at me.

Some time passed and now I walked up to her almost every day when she came to refill her coffee mug outside my cubicle. Sometimes it almost seemed as she was waiting for me. There were days when I was too busy to constantly take quick peaks down the hall to see if she was there, those days I would usually hear her clearing her throat or humming just outside my workstation. I wasn’t completely sure but I always thought that it was her way to catch my attention, and every time time I walked out of my cubicle she gave me a heart warming smile. Even though we had long and pleasant conversations I could tell that she sometimes was very nervous. Whenever her hands started trembling too much she would reach for her pocket and pick up a bracelet made out of brown wooden pearls. She would hold it in a firm grip and I came to understand that it was her way of dealing with nervousness. That bracelet made her calm again and it obviously had a personal value to her.

These small meetings kept occurring for a couple of weeks and one day I finally asked her out, and to my surprise she said yes. I had never been happier in my whole life and the thought of her made my smile uncontrollably. I literally woke up happy every morning.

I was supposed to meet her at a nice Italian restaurant not far from where we worked. It took me hours to prepare and I even went out shopping new clothes to make the best impression. I left home exactly 6:17 PM, and I had enough time to pick up a bouquet of flowers on my way to the restaurant. I had never bought flowers to someone before, and when I think about it now I have no idea why I did it that night.

I arrived to the restaurant around 6:45 PM. We were supposed  to meet 7 PM but I preferred to show up earlier. I was very nervous and when the clock hit 7 PM I had already drank two glasses of wine. I watched the door and expected her two walk in to restaurant just any second now. 7:15 PM. I was still staring at the door and I felt that my forehead was sweating. 7:30 PM. She was probably just stuck in traffic. I ordered another glass of wine and tried to make time pass faster. 8 PM. Where is she?? If she was this late she should at least have given me a call to let me know she’s on her way. 9 PM. It all made sense now. Her heart warming smile, her kind words and her longing eyes were just bullshit. She was just another bitch that played with people’s feelings, and I was just another fool that fell for it. How could I have been so stupid?? What was I thinking?

I left my table. My chair fell loudly to the floor and people stared at me as I stormed out of the restaurant. I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t going to let that bitch win. I was angry. Not at her, but at myself for being so easily fooled. I chucked the flowers in the first garbage bin I passed and kept walking down the street. Further down the street something had happened. Two police cars and an ambulance was blocking the sidewalk and at first I didn’t care. I just wanted to go home. But when I passed the scene of the accident I saw something. There was a body lying in middle of the sidewalk. The face was covered with a blanket but an arm was sticking out. I could tell that the arm belonged to a woman in her mid 20‘s and in her hand she was holding something. It was a bracelet.. made of  brown wooden pearls.

I didn’t stop. I kept walking. I didn’t look back. I didn’t cry. I just went straight back home. I went to bed, and I never woke up happy ever again.

title: Office love story (I have never written a short story in english before. Feedback is much appreciated.)

question: Summarize the narrator's feelings about the cute girl he's fallen in love with.

answer: The narrator is accustomed to watching this cute girl from his cubicle workstation. He likes her and, after mustering some courage, decides to walk up to her to have a chat. He becomes nervous as soon as he walks up to her as he is at loss as to what to say. The girl smiles at his awkwardness and moves away, giving him a big smile. He is not pleased with his own clumsiness but he was happy to see her smile at him. He allows some time to pass before he walks up to her again to strike up a conversation. He does that a couple of times before he asks her out again. He was pleased to hear her accept his invitation. The date was set at an Italian restaurant. However, the girl did not show up on the day. The narrator was angry with himself for allowing himself to be fooled. He leaves the restaurant and, while on his way home, sees a  scene of an accident where he sees the girl in a pool of blood with an ambulance and the police nearby. The narrator was heartbroken.

question: Why did the narrator refuse to approach the police that were around the girl's dead body?


text:
''

[Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom] [The Papal tiara, worn by the popes to symbolize their authority within the Catholic Church, was last used in 1963] [Imperial Crown of Russia, 2012 replica] [Vajracarya's Ritual Crown, Ancient Nepal] [The Seobongchong Golden Crown of Ancient Silla, which is 339th National Treasure of South Korea. It is basically following the standard type of Silla's Crown. It was excavated by Swedish Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf in 1926.] [Replica of the crown designed for the Finnish monarch, who was never chosen. A contemporary crown was never crafted, but the replica was made from original drawings in the 1980s.[1]]

A CROWN is a traditional form of head adornment worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself, as distinct from the individual who inhabits it (see The Crown). A specific type of crown (or coronet for lower ranks of peerage) is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of “his” federal government''.

Variations

-   Costume headgear imitating a monarch's crown is also called a crown. Such costume crowns may be worn by actors portraying a monarch, people at costume parties, or ritual “monarchs” such as the king of a Carnival krewe, or the person who found the trinket in a king cake.
-   The NUPTIAL CROWN, sometimes called a CORONAL, worn by a bride, and sometimes the bridegroom, at her wedding is found in many European cultures since ancient times. In the present day, it is most common in Eastern Orthodox cultures. The Eastern Orthodox marriage service has a section called the crowning, wherein the bride and groom are crowned as “king” and “queen” of their future household. In Greek weddings, the crowns are diadems usually made of white flowers, synthetic or real, often adorned with silver or mother of pearl. They are placed on the heads of the newlyweds and are held together by a ribbon of white silk. They are then kept by the couple as a reminder of their special day. In Slavic weddings, the crowns are usually made of ornate metal, designed to resemble an imperial crown, and are held above the newlyweds' heads by their best men. A parish usually owns one set to use for all the couples that are married there since these are much more expensive than Greek-style crowns. This was common in Catholic countries in the past.
-   Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the Black Crown of the Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees.
-   A Crown of thorns according to the New Testament, was placed on the head of Jesus before his crucifixion and has become a common symbol of martyrdom.
-   According to Roman Catholic tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was crowned as Queen of Heaven after her assumption into heaven. She is often depicted wearing a crown, and statues of her in churches and shrines are ceremonially crowned during May.
-   The Crown of Immortality is also common in historical symbolism.
-   The heraldic symbol of Three Crowns, referring to the three evangelical Magi (wise men), traditionally called kings, is believed thus to have become the symbol of the Swedish kingdom, but it also fits the historical (personal, dynastic) Kalmar Union (1397–1520) between the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
-   In India, crowns are known as _makuta_ (Sanskrit for “crest”), and have been used in India since ancient times and are described adorning Hindu gods or kings. The makuta style was then copied by the Indianized kingdoms that was influenced by Hindu-Buddhist concept of kingship in Southeast Asia, such as in Java and Bali in Indonesia, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand.
-   Dancers of certain traditional Thai dances often wear crowns (_mongkut_) on their head. These are inspired in the crowns worn by deities and by kings.
-   In pre-Hispanic Philippines crown-like diadems, or _Putong_, were worn by elite individuals and deities, among an array of golden ornaments.[2][3]

Terminology

Three distinct categories of crowns exist in those monarchies that use crowns or state regalia.

-   CORONATION: worn by monarchs when being crowned.
-   STATE: worn by monarchs on other state occasions.
-   CONSORT CROWNS: worn by a consort, signifying rank granted as a constitutional courtesy protocol.

Crowns or similar headgear, as worn by nobility and other high-ranking people below the ruler, is in English often called a coronet; However, in many languages, this distinction is not made and the same word is used for both types of headgear (e.g., French _couronne_, German _Krone_, Dutch _kroon_). In some of these languages the term “rank crown” (rangkroon, etc.) refers to the way these crowns may be ranked according to hierarchical status. [Crown of the Kingdom of the Netherlands] In Classical antiquity, the crown (_corona_) that was sometimes awarded to people other than rulers, such as triumphal military generals or athletes, was actually a wreath or chaplet, or ribbon-like diadem.

History

[Crown of King of Persis Ardashir II, 1st century BC.]

The precursor to the crown was the browband called the diadem, which had been worn by the Achaemenid Persian emperors. It was adopted by Constantine I and was worn by all subsequent rulers of the later Roman Empire.

Numerous crowns of various forms were used in antiquity, such as the Hedjet, Deshret, Pschent (double crown) and Khepresh of Pharaonic Egypt. The Pharaohs of Egypt also wore the diadem, which was associated with solar cults, an association which was not completely lost, as it was later revived under the Roman Emperor Augustus.[4] By the time of the Pharaoh Amenophis III (r.1390-1352c) wearing a diadem clearly became a symbol of royalty.

The _corona radiata_, the “radiant crown” known best on the Statue of Liberty, and perhaps worn by the Helios that was the Colossus of Rhodes, was worn by Roman emperors as part of the cult of Sol Invictus prior to the Roman Empire's conversion to Christianity. It was referred to as "the chaplet studded with sunbeams” by Lucian, about 180 AD.[5] [ The Iron Crown of Lombardy, probably the most ancient royal insignia of Europe.] Perhaps the oldest extant Christian crown in Europe is the Iron Crown of Lombardy, of Roman and Longobard antiquity, used by the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. Later again used to crown modern Kings of Napoleonic and Austrian Italy, and to represent united Italy after 1860. Today, the crown is kept in the Cathedral of Monza.

In the Christian tradition of European cultures, where ecclesiastical sanction authenticates monarchic power, when a new monarch ascends the throne, the crown is placed on the new monarch's head by a religious official in a coronation ceremony. Some, though not all, early Holy Roman Emperors travelled to Rome at some point in their careers to be crowned by the pope. Napoleon, according to legend, surprised Pius VII when he reached out and crowned himself, although in reality this order of ceremony had been pre-arranged (see coronation).

Today, only the British Monarchy and Tongan Monarchy, with their anointed and crowned monarchs, continue this tradition, although many monarchies retain a crown as a national symbol. The French Crown Jewels were sold in 1885 on the orders of the Third French Republic, with only a token number, their precious stones replaced by glass, retained for historic reasons and displayed in the Louvre. The Spanish Crown Jewels were destroyed in a major fire in the 18th century while the so-called “Irish Crown Jewels” (actually merely the British Sovereign's insignia of the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick) were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907, just before the investiture of Bernard Edward Barnaby FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Castletown.

The Crown of King George XII of Georgia made of gold and decorated with 145 diamonds, 58 rubies, 24 emeralds and 16 amethysts. It took the form of a circlet surmounted by ornaments and eight arches. A globe surmounted by a cross rested on the top of the crown

Special headgear to designate rulers dates back to pre-history, and is found in many separate civilizations around the globe. Commonly, rare and precious materials are incorporated into the crown, but that is only essential for the notion of crown jewels. Gold and precious jewels are common in western and oriental crowns. In the Native American civilizations of the Pre-Columbian New World, rare feathers, such as that of the quetzal, often decorated crowns; so too in Polynesia (e.g. Hawaii).

Coronation ceremonies are often combined with other rituals, such as enthronement (the throne is as much a symbol of monarchy as the crown) and anointing (again, a religious sanction, the only defining act in the Biblical tradition of Israel).

In other cultures, no crown is used in the equivalent of coronation, but the head may still be otherwise symbolically adorned; for example, with a royal _tikka_ in the Hindu tradition of India.

Image gallery

File:Behistun Darius the Great.jpg|Crown of Darius the Great, circa 500 BC. File:Golden crown Armento Staatliche Antikensammlungen 01.jpg|Ancient Greek golden decorated crown, funerary or marriage material, 370–360 BCE. From a grave in Armento, Campania. File:TillyaTepeCrown.jpg|Tillya Tepe Crown (Afghanistan, 1st century AD) File:Ottonische Königskrone.jpg|Crown of the Essen Cathedral Treasury (11th century) File:Holy Roman Empire Crown (Imperial Treasury)2.jpg|Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (11th century) File:Crown jewels Poland 10.JPG|Crown of Bolesław I the Brave from Poland. Replica made between 2001 and 2003 after the original 1000-year-old crown was destroyed in the late 18th century. File:Medieval Crown of Bulgaria.jpg|Medieval Crown of Bulgaria kept in the National history museum of Bulgaria File:Hungarian Parliament 002 - Flickr - granada turnier.jpg|Holy Crown of Hungary (12th century)

File:Armoury-flickr09.jpg|Russian tsar's crown (14th century) File:CrownBohemia2.jpg|Crown of Saint Wenceslas (1347; modern replica shown) File:Royal crown of Sweden.jpg|Royal Crown of Sweden (1561) File:Imperial Crown of Napoleon III. (Reproduction by Abeler, Wuppertal).png|Reproduction of Imperial Crown of Napoleon III of France. File:Chinese Imperial Mian, Dingling.jpg|The Imperial crown of Chinese emperor (Ming Dynasty) (1368–1644) File:The Queen at the Scottish Parliament.jpg|Crown of Scotland (1540) at the Parliament of Scotland, (Kept at Edinburgh Castle) File:KrunaKaradjordjevica.jpg|Karađorđević Crown (Serbia) File:Makuta Binokasih.jpg|_Makuta Binokasih_, the crown of Sunda Kingdom, 14th century West Java, Indonesia File:Mahkota Sultan Banten Koleksi Museum Nasional NO. INV. E 619.jpg|The crown of Banten Sultanate, 16th century Banten, Indonesia File:Denmark crown.jpg|The crown of King Christian IV of Denmark (16th century), currently located in Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen. File:Corona di sant'Edoardo.jpg|St Edward's Crown (1661) File:Crowns, Musée du Louvre, April 2011blackened.jpg|Crown of Louis XV File:Crown of George XII of Georgia.jpeg|Crown of King George XII of Georgia File:Mahkota Sultan Kutai 4.jpg|The crown of Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate, 19th century East Kalimantan, Indonesia File:The Great Crown of Victory of the Royal Yatch Mahachakri (II).jpg|The Great Crown of Victory (Thailand) File:Ceremonial crown Nepal BM 1961.12-14.1.jpg|Imperial Crowns of Head of the States of Kingdom of Nepal (19th century). Preserved File:Kingdom of Iran Pahlavi Golden Crown.svg|Kingdom of Iran Pahlavi Golden Crown File:Crown of the King of Norway.svg|Crown of the King of Norway File:Heraldic Imperial Crown of Russia.svg|Heraldic crown of the Russian Empire. File:Royal Crown of Tonga.svg|Heraldic version of the crown of Tonga. File:Pio_Nono_Tiara.JPG%7CThe Palatine tiara of Pope Pius IX (19th Century) File:Benkan emperor komei.jpg|The Imperial crown of Japanese emperor Kōmei (1831–1867). File:Brazilian Imperial Crown2.jpg|Imperial Crown of Pedro II of Brazil (1841) Image:Crown of Flowers (William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1884).jpg|_Crown of Flowers_, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1884. File:Ströhl Heraldischer Atlas t15 5.jpg|Ströhl's _Heraldischer Atlas_, 1899 File:ImperialCrownOfIndia2.jpg%7CThe Imperial Crown of India, worn by Emperor George V at his Delhi Durbar (1911). File:Pahlavi Crown.jpg|Pahlavi Crown (Iran, 1926) File:Tiara_Benedict_XVI.JPG|Tiara of Pope Benedict XVI (21st Century)

Numismatics

Because one or more crowns, alone or as part of a more elaborate design, often appear on coins, several monetary denominations came to be known as 'a crown' (see Crown (British coin)) or the equivalent word in the local language, such as _krone_. This persists in the case of the national currencies of the Scandinavian countries and the Czech Republic. The generic term “crown sized” is frequently used for any coin roughly the size of an American silver dollar.

[1] Gemstone Gallery – Visit Kemi

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] in _Alexander the false prophet_)

title: Crown

question: Explain how the crown was adopted by monarchs and rulers.

answer: The crown had originally been worn by the Achaemenid Persian emperors. It was later adopted by Constantine I and then worn by all rulers of the Roman Empire. Then it was the Christian tradition of European cultures which authenticated monarchic power, that placed the crown on a new monarch's head by a religious official in a ceremony. Many Roman emperors even travelled to Rome to be crowned by the pope. Nowadays, only the British and Tongan Monarchy continue this tradition.


text:
JOHN WEBB MCMURRY (born May 19, 1954), known as WEBB WILDER, is an American rock & roll singer, guitarist and actor.

Early life

McMurry was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.[1] According to family, he could sing before he could walk. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 and was playing in bands when he was 14.[2]

His aunt was Lillian McMurry, the founder of Trumpet Records. She was a mentor to McMurray and gave advice as he started in the music industry.[3]

Career

The Webb Wilder character was created in 1981 for a short comedy film created with friends called “Webb Wilder Private Eye.” The character was a backwoods private detective who fell out of the 1950s and happened to also be a musician. The short appeared on the television variety show “Night Flight.”[4]

With his groups like The Drapes, The Beatnecks, The Nashvegans, Wilder combines the straight-ahead rock & roll with surf guitar of the Ventures and twang of Duane Eddy, drawing on the feel of blues, R&B, country/rockabilly and film noir.[5] His sound incorporated influence from Americana music as well as from the British Invasion.[6]

Wilder has been signed to major labels and worked with independent labels. He has also hosted a radio show for Sirius Radio.[7]

Webb Wilder appeared as an actor in Peter Bogdanovich's 1993 film _The Thing Called Love_.

Wilder currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. As of 2020, he was an afternoon-shift disc jockey for Murfreesboro-based radio station WMOT.

Discography

  ----------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  DATE OF RELEASE   TITLE                                                                             LABEL                                                  PRODUCER
  1986              _It Came from Nashville_                                                          Landslide Records                                      R.S. Field
  1989              _Hybrid Vigor_                                                                    Island Records                                         R.S. Field for Praxis International
  1991              _Doo Dad_                                                                         Zoo/Praxis/BMG                                         R.S. Field
  1993              _It Came from Nashville_ (CD release)                                             Watermelon Records                                     R.S. Field
  1995              _Town and Country_                                                                Watermelon Records                                     R.S. Field, George Bradfute, Webb & the Nashvegans
  1996              _Acres of Suede_                                                                  Watermelon Records                                     R.S. Field and Scott Baggett
  2005              _About Time_                                                                      Landslide Records                                      R.S. Field
  2005              _Scattered, Smothered and Covered_                                                Varèse Sarabande                                       Various
  2006              _Born to Be Wilder_ (a.k.a. _It's Live Time! / Tough It Out – Live in Concert_)   Deaf Pig Records/Landslide Records/DixieFrog Records   R.S. Field
  2009              _More Like Me_                                                                    Deaf Pig Records                                       Webb Wilder & Joe V. McMahan
  2015              _Mississippi Mōderne_                                                             Landslide Records                                      Webb Wilder, Bob Williams, Tom Comet, George Bradfute, and Joe V. McMahan
  2020              _Night Without Love_                                                              Landslide Records                                      Webb Wilder
  ----------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Filmography

-   _Paradise Park_ (1991)
-   _Corn Flicks_ (1992) consisted of three short films, including:

:*_Webb Wilder Private Eye_

::* Grand prize winner of the Texas Union National Student Film Competition

::* Aired repeatedly on the A&E Network and the USA Network show Night Flight

:*_Horror Hayride_

::* Won Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival

::* Awarded three stars by the _Chicago Tribune_

::* Presented at the New Orleans Film & Video and Dallas Video Festivals

:*_Aunt Hallie_

-   _The Thing Called Love_ (1993) Ned
-   _Pueblo Sin Suerte_ (2002) Reb
-   _Born to be Wilder_ (2005) Himself
-   _Scattergun_ (2007)
-   _Webb Wilder Amazing B-Picture Shorts_ (2009)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

title: Webb Wilder

question: What does the text say about Van Wilder?

question: What does the text say about John Webb McMurry's early and personal life?

answer: John Webb McMurry is an American rock & roll singer, guitarist, and actor. McMurry was born on May 19, 1954, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. According to his family, he could sing before he could walk and started playing guitar at the age of 12. He was playing in bands at age 14. His aunt, Lillian McMurry, was the founder of Trumpet Records and a mentor to him. She gave him advice as he started in the music industry.

question: Summarize where the Webb Wilder character came from.

answer: McMurry's "Webb Wilder" character was created in 1981 for a short comedy film with friends called "Webb Wilder Private Eye." The character was a backwoods private detective who fell out of the 1950s and happened to also be a musician. The short appeared on the television variety show "Night Flight."

question: What does the text say about McMurry's (aka Webb Wilder) music and acting career?

answer: McMurry's (Wilder) groups include The Drapes, The Beatnecks, and The Nashvegans. He combines straight-ahead rock & roll with the surf guitar of the Ventures and the twang of Duane Eddy. His music feels like blues, R&B, country/rockabilly, and film noir. His sound is influenced by Americana music and the British Invasion. McMurry (Wilder) has been signed to major labels and worked with independent labels. He has also hosted a radio show for Sirius Radio and (as of 2020) was an afternoon-shift disc jockey for Murfreesboro radio station WMOT. As an actor, he appeared in Peter Bogdanovich's 1993 film "The Thing Called Love", playing Ned. He was also in Pueblo Sin Suerte (2002) and Scattergun (2007).