text:
[VastSpartan]

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-   #1

Played a couple of games trying to level gun slinger to 15 to switch to Suicidal. Lot of level 0's and under 5 are popping up. Problem arises in these points: huge amount of dying, the lines are being broken with Zed pouring in, some rarely heal themselves or other players.

I watched a support character trying to knife fight a horde of clots and crawlers that cornered and surrounded him. Amusing but the depressing in the fact that this week will be 'newbie' hell.

I would give some tips but I can already see "Stop telling me what to do and let me play"

It's the same formula. I guess the survival rate based on their current levels and it's usually is true. We survive up to wave 7 before the team wipes. I probably could have beat wave 7 but as level 13 Gun Slinger vs Fleshpounds isnt possible. The FP rage mechanics dont help either. I'f Im the last one alive (90% of the time right now) I just console suicide to save the time. Save face and start a new game for the newbies to play.

Anyone else arrive to this conjecture?

Last edited: Dec 11, 2015

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-   #2

That's pretty much always the case with free weekends in general. I usually wait until the rabble has cleared out.

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-   #3

I didn't have a lot of fun playing last night. Between the large amount of level 0 players and the large amount of low level gunslingers I don't believe any of the PUGs I was with finished any maps. I recall getting to fight Pat on Forest but we promptly got wiped by him. If I play medic and just spam healing darts the whole time the teams get to later waves but still fail due to lack of understanding of game mechanics (FOCUS FIRE ON FPs PLEASE LOL). I type "you get money for healing each other" once in a while but it doesn't have a meaningful effect. I'd like to finish off my slinger who is level 23 but I was having similar thoughts about taking the weekend off lol.

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-   #4

Why do you hate our newfriends?

[VastSpartan]

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-   #5

  Why do you hate our newfriends?

Where did I say hate? It's frustration and the fact I cant have my usual fun. Team Wiping isn't fun especially when you need to carry the rest of the game. Added stress is not enjoyable.

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-   #6

There seems to be a real lack of rationalising with free weekends, and it's not simply at one end.

I can rationalise that a lot of new players are going to flood into the game, and not have much of an idea what to do. When most of the FPS games available today say "here is the enemy - shoot it until it's dead", it's no wonder that most players see an enemy and shoot it with whatever's available to them at the time.

Despite the fact that I can appreciate this reality, a lot of veteran players either can't, or aren't happy about having to accept this reality.

~~~~

On the other hand, it seems reasonable that new players would - at least after dying a few times in underwhelming circumstances - start to stand back a moment and ask questions of the other players; that's an ideal situation. It _seems_ reasonable, but I can rationalise and accept that this is largely not the case. New players are going to protest having their own individual playstyle impacted in any way - although this smacks of the most blatantly willful ignorance you can display in a co-op game - so does the idea that a regular player, knowing full well that the game will be inundated with free-weekenders, still expect that their game quality or enjoyment level not be impacted in any way.

It's these two ends of this game's community - the regular and the newfriend - both unwilling to be flexible, that will influence how many of the weekend warriors that simply aren't going to buy or return to the game. Whether that's in the game's, or the community's best interests, I can't really say for sure.

Naturally, you're going to miss a few converts due to these issues, but for the players that do try-and-buy the game... stick around, read up where you can, try not to let it all get to you, and pay attention to what the decent players do. You can't really go too far wrong if you do that.

[Swift-Brutal-Death]

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-   #7

@ScrakeMorgendorffer

You can get the heck on outta here with your fancy logic and whatnot!

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-   #8

I'd be happy to coach new players on how to play the game. The problem is, I can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped. In most cases, my suggestions are met with either "Shut up ****** and let me play how I want" or "Lol dude Im good at shooters". A few waves in, the team wipes and the newbies are blaming everything but their own ineptitude for our failure. Rinse and repeat for a while until I feel like flipping tables.

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-   #9

Yeah, I'm sticking to solo/offline play for a bit. Might play with friends but I'm definitely avoiding pubs at all costs [:p]

[DreaderVII]

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-   #10

I been offering to help new players in games I join and so far none have asked or taken any advice I give to heart, and in one instance I was meet with hate and rage for trying to teach them [:D]

Things like "We ar not dumb", "why yu think are better then us?!" and "**** you, rude asshole" from 3 lvl 0 Demo, Berseker and Medic. Granted, they didin't die, but the Zerker never parried, the medic never healed and the Demo did not shot at FP's (even after I explicitly told them FPs are weak to explosives). I am openminded and have alot of patience thou, so I let them explore the game at their own leisure, all I would have wanted them to say thou is: "Thank you, but we'll do this on our own" and that would have been just fine.

I guess I am being unrealistic thou, expecting reason and politeness from the Internet.

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-   #11

Threads like this really disappoint me. As veteran players you should be trying to teach new players how to play and show them the kind of cooperative community that KF encourages. You guys are clearly not part of that.

If winning is all you care about, maybe you should play a single player game.

[VastSpartan]

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-   #12

  Threads like this really disappoint me. As veteran players you should be trying to teach new players how to play and show them the kind of cooperative community that KF encourages. You guys are clearly not part of that.

  If winning is all you care about, maybe you should play a single player game.

I just explained why I can't teach. Read the posts.

I am a veteran. I just don't have the patience when some little **** is bad mouthing me when I tell them a simple tip.

Last edited: Dec 11, 2015

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-   #13

  Threads like this really disappoint me. As veteran players you should be trying to teach new players how to play and show them the kind of cooperative community that KF encourages. You guys are clearly not part of that.

When "a medic pistols would be a good pickup, they are good for healing allies and easy kills" gets met with "stfu" a few times, a person's congeniality diminishes a bit. And in most common cases, lvl 0's don't even stick around for the post-wipe group therapy session where learning usually occurs. They jump in, get turned into hamburger meat, and dart out, leaving us with 200+ zeds to kite around.

[DMN666]

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-   #14

What I hate most during scrub weeks is when they ask how or what to press to do something in the heat of battle. As if there wasn't a single player in the game.

You think it would be common sense to either play single or check your key layouts before playing online.

Edit: Yes I have played a Unreal 3 game that throws you in a practice map before jumping into the actual game. More games need this.

Last edited: Dec 11, 2015

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-   #15

  Threads like this really disappoint me. As veteran players you should be trying to teach new players how to play and show them the kind of cooperative community that KF encourages. You guys are clearly not part of that.

  If winning is all you care about, maybe you should play a single player game.

Have you..ever played an online game in your life? I always try to help new players and explain mechanics. I'd even buy them weapons in KF1 when perk discounts were a thing. Sometimes they're cool and everyone's happy, 90% of the time they ignore me or outright insult me. People are douchebags.

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-   #16

For those who are going to skip playing the game/stick to solo offline during free weekend, i recommend setting up a game server with normal difficulty, then add helpful tips and advice (including link to steam guides, official forums, etc.) in Message Of The Day welcome screen. That way people who want to learn something about the game, will have an easier way to do so.
The server isn't resource-heavy or difficult to setup.
I knew nothing about UT-servers, yet following this guide turned to be very easy - http://wiki.tripwireinteractive.com/index.php?title=Dedicated_Server_(Killing_Floor_2)

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-   #17

My experience so far was horrible.
You can't play Suicidal.

At one point I had 3 Level 0 join in Wave 9, after the other 3 guys got raped and left.
So you have 3 Level 0 at Wave 9 with no weapons or dosh, can't find their way to the trader or what to do there, then run off alone and get pounded...

GG

Honestly, just play Firebug and berzerker on Hard and do your own thing... That's the only way to play the game over Free Weekends.

@Devs: Please just implement an auto-kick function if you join a Suicidal server and you have no Perks above level 5/10 and if you do, you are forced to play those - if only for the Free Weekends so new players can have fund in Normal and Hard, but not ruin Suicidal and HoE for everyone else.

[Rattler]

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-   #18

I hate the free weekends, they are ruining the game. Every time since KF1. Tons of 0-1lvls on hard and sui. I won't even bother checking HoE. The biggest gripe I have is that I see demos running with comm weapons and other combinations like that.

I don't see the point in the free weekends honestly. If someone wanted to buy the game he would have bought it on day 1 or soon after or even if he is that poor he will wait for sale he won't wait for free weekend to free weekend to play the game; The players who play during the free weekends will never go back that's for sure; The players who play during the free weekends think this is CoD Zombies and they will do fine but they don't and they rage and they never go back; Basically the free weekends puts off the veterans because why should one bother with the noobs? In KF2 I bothered for 1 or 2 free weekends and that was it. Now I decided to play because these days I am very busy and don't have much time and it happened to have free time and decided to play 1-2 maps in KF2 - huge mistake..

[2Clicks]

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-   #19

  I just explained why I can't teach. Read the posts.

  I am a veteran. I just don't have the patience when some little **** is bad mouthing me when I tell them a simple tip.

Youre also a wise man!! [:D]

Besides youd be wasting ur time... most of these players are used to unintelligent gameplay, herd-mentality tactics or worse bestPCwins/P2W.

Youre better off out of it! [;)]

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-   #20

  I hate the free weekends, they are ruining the game. Every time since KF1. Tons of 0-1lvls on hard and sui. I won't even bother checking HoE. The biggest gripe I have is that I see demos running with comm weapons and other combinations like that.

  I don't see the point in the free weekends honestly.

Bruh if free weekends didn't result in a huge influx of sales no one would do it. Tripwire knows business and I 100% guarantee the free weekends are extremely profitable. They have families to feed, they're not doing it out of the goodness of their heart and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's just temporarily annoying for people who know the game.

question: What is the general attitude towards newbie players on the thread?

answer: The veteran players feel that they want to avoid the newbies on public servers. They find them frustrating and interfere with their normal routine. Veterans feel that they also cannot help newbies and that their advice is often rejected. Some players express consternation with the fact that the veterans do not want to help the newbies, to which many respond that they do not "hate" the newbies — just don't know how to handle them.


split: test

text:
CHARLES PIAZZI SMYTH (3 January 1819 – 21 February 1900) was an Italian-born British astronomer who was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888; he is known for many innovations in astronomy and, along with his wife Jessica Duncan Piazzi Smyth, his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Astronomical career

Charles Piazzi Smyth (pronounced )[1] was born in Naples, Italy, to Captain (later Admiral) William Henry Smyth and his wife Annarella. He was named Piazzi after his godfather, the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi, whose acquaintance his father had made at Palermo when serving in the Mediterranean.[2] His father subsequently settled at Bedford and equipped there an observatory, at which Piazzi Smyth received his first lessons in astronomy. He was educated at Bedford School until the age of sixteen when he became an assistant to Sir Thomas Maclear at the Cape of Good Hope, where he observed Halley's comet and the Great Comet of 1843, and took an active part in the verification and extension of Nicolas Louis de Lacaille's arc of the meridian.[3]

In 1846 he was appointed Astronomer Royal for Scotland,[4] based at the Calton Hill Observatory in Edinburgh, and professor of astronomy in the University of Edinburgh.[5] Shortly after his appointment, the observatory was placed under the control of Her Majesty's Treasury and suffered from a long series of under-funding. Because of this, most of his notable work in astronomy was done elsewhere. Here he completed the reduction, and continued the series, of the observations made by his predecessor, Thomas James Henderson.[6] In 1853, Smyth was responsible for installing the time ball on top of Nelson's Monument in Edinburgh to give a time signal to the ships at Edinburgh's port of Leith. By 1861, this visual signal was augmented by the One O'Clock Gun at Edinburgh Castle.

[Firing the One o'clock gun in 1861]

In 1704 Isaac Newton wrote in his book Opticks Book 1, Part 1: “... [telescopes] ... cannot be so formed as to take away that confusion of the Rays which arises from the Tremors of the Atmosphere. The only Remedy is a most serene and quiet Air, such as may perhaps be found on the tops of the highest Mountains above the grosser Clouds.” This suggestion fell on deaf ears until in 1856, Smyth petitioned the Admiralty for a grant of £500 to take a telescope to the slopes of Teide in Tenerife (which he spelt Teneriffe) and test whether Newton had been right or not. In South Africa he had spent many nights observing from mountain tops but when he moved to Edinburgh had been appalled by the poor observing conditions there.

The Admiralty approved his grant and he was offered the loan of further equipment from many sources. Robert Stephenson loaned his 140-ton yacht “Titania” for the expedition. Mr. Hugh Pattinson loaned his refracting telescope of . This was a Thomas Cooke equatorial with setting circles and a driving clock.[7] The Crimean War had recently concluded and the army offered to lend tents. This offer was declined as Piazzi Smyth had already designed a tent with a sewn-in groundsheet based on his experience in South Africa.

On this and all his subsequent trips he was accompanied by his wife whom he had married the year before. In 1856, on reaching Tenerife they first set up camp on Mount Guajara, a peak about south of Teide (all heights on Tenerife are those he derived barometrically). It was higher than all its neighbours and free from any volcanic activity. They took all their equipment up loaded on mules, except for the Pattinson telescope which was much too bulky. They stayed there a month making astronomical, meteorological and geological observations. He made observations of the steadiness and clarity of star images with the 3.6-inch (9 cm) Sheepshanks telescope and found both much better than at Edinburgh. He also made the first positive detection of heat coming from the Moon. Unfortunately they were annoyed by frequent dust incursions which frequently blotted out the horizon. Even when the dust was at its worst, the transparency at the zenith was better than at Edinburgh.

[α Piscium as seen from Edinburgh (above) and from Alta Vista at (below). The separation is 3.5″ and the diameter of the Airy disc 1.5″]

The dust was evidently confined to individual layers, so he decided to move to Alta Vista at , on the eastern slope of Teide, the highest point that mules could reach. He was determined to use the larger Pattinson telescope and returned to La Orotava to fetch it. As the three boxes were too heavy, they were opened and the contents distributed among several smaller boxes which were loaded on to seven strong horses. The telescope was soon mounted and in action. The Airy Disc was clearly seen and he made many critical observations and fine drawings. They spent a month there during which they spent a day climbing to the summit of Teide at .

The scientific results were described in reports addressed to the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty, the Royal Society, and the “Astronomical Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh Vol XII 1863”, which were widely acclaimed. Piazzi Smyth was the pioneer of the modern practice of placing telescopes at high altitudes to enjoy the best observing conditions.

He wrote a popular account of the voyage in “Teneriffe, an astronomers Experiment”.[8] This was the first book ever illustrated by stereoscopic photographs (“photo-stereographs”). It included 20 stereoviews of Teneriffe taken by the author using the wet collodion process. A stereoscope could be purchased which allowed the pictures to be viewed in 3-D without removing them from the book.

In 1871 and 1872 Smyth investigated the spectra of the aurora, and zodiacal light.[9] He recommended the use of the rain-band for weather forecasting and discovered, in conjunction with Alexander Stewart Herschel, the harmonic relation between the rays emitted by carbon monoxide.[10] In 1877–1878 he constructed at Lisbon a map of the solar spectrum for which he received the Makdougall Brisbane Prize in 1880. Smyth carried out further spectroscopic researches at Madeira in 1880 and at Winchester in 1884.

In 1888 Smyth resigned as Astronomer Royal in protest at the chronic under-funding and age of his equipment. This brought events to a head and the Royal Observatory was almost closed when James Lindsay, Earl of Crawford made a donation of new astronomical instruments and the complete _Bibliotheca Lindesiana_ in order that a new observatory could be founded. Thanks to this donation, the new Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill was opened in 1896. After his resignation, Smyth retired to the neighbourhood of Ripon, where he remained until his death.[11]

Pyramidological researches

Smyth corresponded with pyramid theorist John Taylor and was heavily influenced by him. Taylor theorized in his 1859 book _The Great Pyramid: Why Was It Built? & Who Built It?_ that the Great Pyramid was planned and the building supervised by the biblical Noah. Refused a grant by the Royal Society, Smyth went on an expedition to Egypt in order to accurately measure every surface, dimension, and aspect of the Great Pyramid. He brought along equipment to measure the dimensions of the stones, the precise angle of sections such as the descending passage, and a specially designed camera to photograph both the interior and exterior of the pyramid. He also used other instruments to make astronomical calculations and determine the pyramid's accurate latitude and longitude.

thumb|upright=2.25|This diagram from Smyth's _Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid_ (1877) shows some of his measurements and chronological determinations made from them

Smyth subsequently published his book _Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid_ in 1864[12] (which he expanded over the years and is also titled _The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed_). Smyth claimed that the measurements he obtained from the Great Pyramid of Giza indicated a unit of length, the pyramid inch, equivalent to 1.001 British inches, that could have been the standard of measurement by the pyramid's architects. From this he extrapolated a number of other measurements, including the pyramid pint, the sacred cubit, and the pyramid scale of temperature.

Smyth claimed that the pyramid inch was a God-given measure handed down through the centuries from the time of Shem (Noah's Son), and that the architects of the pyramid could only have been directed by the hand of God. To support this Smyth said that, in measuring the pyramid, he found the number of inches in the perimeter of the base equalled one hundred times the number of days in a year, and found a numeric relationship between the height of the pyramid in inches to the distance from Earth to the Sun, measured in statute miles. He also advanced the theory that the Great Pyramid was a repository of prophecies which could be revealed by detailed measurements of the structure. Working upon theories by Taylor, he conjectured that the Hyksos were the Hebrew people, and that they built the Great Pyramid under the leadership of Melchizedek. Because the pyramid inch was a divine unit of measurement, Smyth, a committed proponent of British Israelism, used his conclusions as an argument against the introduction of the metric system in Britain. For much of his life he was a vocal opponent of the metric system, which he considered a product of the minds of atheistic French radicals, a position advocated in many of his works.[13]

Smyth, despite his bad reputation in Egyptological circles today, performed much valuable work at Giza. He made the most accurate measurements of the Great Pyramid that any explorer had made up to that time, and he photographed the interior passages, using a magnesium light, for the first time. Smyth's work resulted in many drawings and calculations, which were soon incorporated into his books _Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid_, the three-volume _Life and Work at the Great Pyramid_ (1867), and _On the Antiquity of Intellectual Man_ (1868).[14] For his works he was awarded the Keith gold medal for 1865–67 by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, but in 1874, the Royal Society of London rejected his paper on the design of Khufu's pyramid, as they had Taylor's. The rejection of his ideas helped contribute to his resignation from his post as Royal Astronomer in 1888.

Influence of Smyth's pyramid theories

Smyth's theories on pyramid prophecy were then integrated into the works and prophecies of Charles Taze Russell (such as his _Studies in the Scriptures_), who founded the Bible Student movement (who adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931, though Russell's successor, Joseph F. Rutherford, denounced pyramidology as unscriptural). Smyth's proposed dates for the Second Coming, first 1882 then many dates between 1892 and 1911, were failed predictions.

The theories of Taylor and Smyth gained many eminent supporters and detractors in the field of Egyptology during the late 1800s, but by the end of the 19th century it had lost most of its mainstream scientific support. The greatest blow to the theory was dealt by the great Egyptogist William Matthew Flinders Petrie, who had initially been a supporter. When Petrie went to Egypt in 1880 to perform new measurements, he found that the pyramid was several feet smaller than previously believed. This so undermined the theory that Petrie rejected it, writing:"The theories of the widths and heights of the passages are all connected, as the passages are all of the same section, or multiples of that. The entrance passage height has had a curiously complex theory attached to it supposing that the vertical and perpendicular heights are added together, their sum is 100 so-called “Pyramid inches”. This at the angle of 26º 31' would require a perpendicular height of 47.27, the actual height being 47.24 ± .02. But in considering any theory of the height of this passage, it can not be separated from the similar passages, or from the most accurately wrought of all such heights, the course height of the King's Chamber. The passages vary from 46.2 to 48.6, and the mean course height is 47.040 ± .013. So although this theory agrees with one of the passages, it is evidently not the origin of this frequently recurring height; and it is the more unlikely as there is no authentic example, that will bear examination, of the use or existence of any such measure as a “Pyramid inch,” or of a cubit of 25.025 British inches."[15]

Marriage, family, and death

[A Pyramid surmounted by a cross, Smyth's tomb in Sharow churchyard] In 1855 Smyth married Jessica “Jessie” Duncan (1812–1896), daughter of Thomas Duncan. Jessie Duncan was a geologist who had studied with Alexander Rose in Edinburgh, and travelled on geological expeditions to Ireland, France, Switzerland and Italy.[16]

Smyth's brothers were Warington Wilkinson Smyth and Henry Augustus Smyth. His sisters were Henrietta Grace Smyth, who married Reverend Baden Powell and was mother of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (founder of the world Scouting Movement), Georgiana Rosetta Smyth, who married William Henry Flower; and Ellen Philadelphia Smyth, who married Captain Henry Toynbee of the HEIC.[17]

Smyth died in 1900 and was buried at St. John's Church in the village of Sharow near Ripon. A small stone pyramid-shaped monument, topped by a Christian cross, marks his gravesite.[18]

Honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1846, and served on its council for a number of years. In June 1857 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, but resigned in 1874.[19] He was conferred with Honorary Membership of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland in 1859.[20] The crater Piazzi Smyth on the moon is named after him.

Bibliography

-   -   Full text available from Google Books

-   -   Reprinted in many editions by many publishers, often entitled _The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed_. Full text available on the Internet Archive

-   Full text available from Google Books

-   Full text available from Google Books

-   -

[1]  His last name is often misspelled as “Smith” or “Smythe”. His tombstone and published works all read “Smyth”.

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15] W. M. Flinders Petrie, _The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh_ (London, 1883), p. 189 1.

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20] Honorary Members and Fellows

title: Charles Piazzi Smyth

question: Summarize Smyth's pyramidological research.

answer: Smyth went on an expedition to Egypt in order to measure every surface, dimension, and aspect of the Great Pyramid in Giza. He also made astronomical calculations and determined the pyramid's accurate latitude and longitude. He published a book "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid" in 1864. He claimed that the measurements he obtained from the Great Pyramid of Giza indicated a unti of length, the pyramid inch, that could have been the standard of measurement by the pyramid's architects. Smyth believed that the pyramid inch was a God-given unit of measurement that was handed down through the centuries from the time of Shem, Noah's son, and the architects of the pyramid could only have been directed by the hand of God.

question: Summarize Smyth's personal life.

answer: In 1855 Smyth married Jessica Duncan, who was a geologist. Smyth had two brothers, Warington Wilkinson Smyth and Henry Augustus Smyth. He had two sisters, Henrietta Grace Smyth and Georgiana Rosetta Smyth.


text:
right|thumb|upright=1.3|The Hanoi Hilton in a 1970 aerial surveillance photo

HỎA LÒ PRISON () was a prison used by the French colonists in French Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War (which in Vietnam is called the American War). During this later period it was known to American POWs as the “HANOI HILTON”. The prison was demolished during the 1990s, although the gatehouse remains as a museum.

French era

[The French name “Maison Centrale” above the gate of Hỏa Lò] [Museum reconstruction of First Indochina War prisoners in Hỏa Lò] The name Hỏa Lò, commonly translated as “fiery furnace” or even “Hell's hole”,[1] also means “stove”. The name originated from the street name phố Hỏa Lò, due to the concentration of stores selling wood stoves and coal-fire stoves along the street in pre-colonial times.

The prison was built in Hanoi by the French, in dates ranging from 1886–1889[2] to 1898[3] to 1901,[4] when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. The French called the prison _Maison Centrale_,[5] 'Central House', which is still the designation of prisons for dangerous or long sentence detainees in France. It was located near Hanoi's French Quarter.[6] It was intended to hold Vietnamese prisoners, particularly political prisoners agitating for independence who were often subject to torture and execution.[7] A 1913 renovation expanded its capacity from 460 inmates to 600.[8] It was nevertheless often overcrowded, holding some 730 prisoners on a given day in 1916, a figure which rose to 895 in 1922 and 1,430 in 1933.[9] By 1954 it held more than 2000 people;[10] with its inmates held in subhuman conditions,[11] it had become a symbol of colonialist exploitation and of the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French.[12]

The central urban location of the prison also became part of its early character. During the 1910s through 1930s, street peddlers made an occupation of passing outside messages in through the jail's windows and tossing tobacco and opium over the walls; letters and packets would be thrown out to the street in the opposite direction.[13] Within the prison itself, communication and ideas passed. Many of the future leading figures in Communist North Vietnam spent time in Maison Centrale during the 1930s and 1940s.[14]

Conditions for political prisoners in the “Colonial Bastille” were publicised in 1929 in a widely circulated account by the Trotskyist Phan Van Hum of the experience he shared with the charismatic publicist Nguyen An Ninh.[15][16]

Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1954

Following the defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva Accords the French left Hanoi and the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.[17] Thereafter the prison served as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity, and it was kept around after the French left to mark its historical significance to the North Vietnamese.[18]

Vietnam War

[The “Little Vegas” area built for American POWs in 1967, shown in a final inspection in 1973 shortly before the Americans' release] During the Vietnam War, the first U.S. prisoner to be sent to Hỏa Lò was Lieutenant Junior Grade Everett Alvarez Jr., who was shot down on August 5, 1964.[19] From the beginning, U.S. POWs endured miserable conditions, including poor food and unsanitary conditions.[20] The prison complex was sarcastically nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by the American POWs, in reference to the well-known Hilton Hotel chain. There is some disagreement among the first group of POWs who coined the name but F8D pilot Bob Shumaker[21] was the first to write it down, carving “Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton” on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lieutenant Robert Peel.[22]

Beginning in early 1967, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs;[23] it was dubbed “Little Vegas”, and its individual buildings and areas were named after Las Vegas Strip landmarks, such as “Golden Nugget”, “Thunderbird”, “Stardust”, “Riviera”, and the “Desert Inn”.[24] These names were chosen because many pilots had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, located in proximity to Las Vegas.[25] American pilots were frequently already in poor condition by the time they were captured, injured either during their ejection or in landing on the ground.[26]

[Hỏa Lò Prison Rules] [Hỏa Lò Prison memorial] The Hỏa Lò was one site used by the North Vietnamese Army to house, torture and interrogate captured servicemen, mostly American pilots shot down during bombing raids.[27] Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949,[28] which demanded “decent and humane treatment” of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as rope bindings, irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.[29][30][31] When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons during the Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war.[32]

Regarding treatment at Hỏa Lò and other prisons, the North Vietnamese countered by stating that prisoners were treated well and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.[33] During 1969, they broadcast a series of coerced statements from American prisoners that purported to support this notion.[34] The North Vietnamese also maintained that their prisons were no worse than prisons for POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam, such as the one on Côn Sơn Island. Mistreatment of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese prisoners and South Vietnamese dissidents in South Vietnam's prisons was indeed frequent, as was North Vietnamese abuse of South Vietnamese prisoners and their own dissidents.[35]

Beginning in late 1969, treatment of the prisoners at Hỏa Lò and other camps became less severe and generally more tolerable.[36] Following the late 1970 attempted rescue operation at Sơn Tây prison camp, most of the POWs at the outlying camps were moved to Hỏa Lò, so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect.[37] This created the “Camp Unity” communal living area at Hỏa Lò, which greatly reduced the isolation of the POWs and improved their morale.[38][39]

Notable inmates

-   Everett Alvarez Jr., Mexican American, US Navy pilot, the 2nd longest held U.S. POW, enduring over 8 years of captivity.
-   John L. Borling, USAF pilot, POW for years, retired Major General.
-   Charles G. Boyd, USAF pilot, POW for almost 7 years, retired General; the only Vietnam-era POW to reach a four-star rank.
-   George Thomas Coker, US Navy pilot.
-   Robert R. Craner, USAF fighter pilot.
-   Bud Day, USAF pilot, Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross recipient, political activist, was cellmates with McCain.
-   Jeremiah Denton, US Navy pilot, Senator (R-AL).
-   Leon F. "Lee" Ellis, USAF fighter pilot, motivational speaker and author.
-   Norman C. Gaddis, USAF pilot, POW for almost 7 years, retired Brigadier General.
-   Guy Gruters, USAF fighter pilot, motivational speaker and author.
-   Lawrence N. Guarino, U.S. Air Force officer, veteran of three wars and author.
-   Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, U.S. Air Force pilot, POW for almost 8 years. Credited for establishing the “Tap Code” in which the inmates communicated with each other.[40] Other parts have been converted into a commercial complex retaining the original French colonial walls.[41]

Only part of the prison exists today as a museum. The displays mainly show the prison during the French colonial period, including the guillotine room, still with original equipment, and the quarters for male and female Vietnamese political prisoners.[42] Exhibits related to the American prisoners include the interrogation room where many newly captured Americans were questioned (notorious among former prisoners as the “blue room”) is now made up to look like a very comfortable, if spartan, barracks-style room. Displays in the room claim that Americans were treated well and not harmed (and even cite the nickname “Hanoi Hilton” as proof that inmates found the accommodations comparable to a hotel's). Propaganda in the museum includes pictures of American POWs playing chess, shooting pool, gardening, raising chickens, and receiving large fish and eggs for food. The museum's claims are contested by former prisoners' published memoirs, and oral histories broadcast on C-SPAN identify the room (and other nearby locales) as the site of numerous acts of torture.

[1]  pp. 67–68.

[2]

[3]  p. 52.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]  p. 178.

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13] Zinoman, _The Colonial Bastille_, p. 54.

[14] Logan, _Hanoi_, p. 145.

[15] Phan Van Hum, _Ngồi tù Khám Lớn_ (In the Maison Centrale), Saigon, 1929

[16] Peter Zinoman, _The Colonial Bastille: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862-1940_ University of California Press, 2001

[17] Scott Laderman (2008). _Tours of Vietnam: War, Travel Guides, and Memory_. p. 1. “Following the 1954 Geneva Accords that put an end to French suzerainty in Indochina, Hoa Lo Prison, as the institution was called by the Vietnamese, fell under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the independent Vietnamese ...”

[18]

[19]

[20] .

[21] (later Navy Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker)

[22] Stuart I. Rochester, Frederick T. Kiley (2007). _Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973_. p. 96. "There is disagreement among the first group of PWs as to who actually named Hoa Lo the Hanoi Hilton, but the nickname ... the message “Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton” on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lt. Robert Peel."

[23]

[24]  Reposted under title “John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account”, 2008-01-28. Reprinted in

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28] .

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35] Karnow, _Vietnam_, pp. 655–656.

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41] Jeffrey E. Curry, Chinh T. Nguyen (1997). _Passport Vietnam: your pocket guide to Vietnamese business_. p. 13. "Hundreds of Vietnamese died in Hoa Lo prison –the famous “Hanoi Hilton” – long before it was used as a prison for American pilots. It is being turned into a commercial complex, but its original French colonial walls are being left as"

[42] Daniel White, Ron Emmond, Jennifer Eveland (2011). _Frommer's Southeast Asia_. p. 270. "Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton) For sheer gruesome atmosphere alone, this ranks near the top of the must-see list. ... To the west is the guillotine room, still with its original equipment, and the female and Vietnamese political prisoners' quarters.

title: Hỏa Lò Prison

question: What is the reputation of the Hilton Hotel?

answer: For the American prisoners of war, Hilton Hotels are considered to be luxuriously comfortable.

question: Why was the prison demolished?

answer: The exact reason for this was not given in the article, however, there are several possible reasons for it. Firstly, the prison no longer serves the original purposes it had (holding prisoners for the French colonists and later, for prisoners of war). Second, since it was used as a prison during wartime, it is likely that the site has a negative effect on morale due to its history. Lastly, since it does not have a purpose, the site does not generate income to offset the upkeep of the structure. This is also the liekly reason why the gatehouse has been turned into a museum.


text:
CARTER COUNTY is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,720.[1] Its county seat is Grayson.[2]

Carter County is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Carter County was formed on February 9, 1838 from portions of Greenup County and Lawrence County.[3] It was named after Colonel William Grayson Carter, a Kentucky state Senator.[4] The county seat is named for his uncle, Robert Grayson.[5]

The original courthouse was rebuilt in 1907.[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.[7]

Adjacent counties

-   Greenup County (northeast)
-   Boyd County (east)
-   Lawrence County (southeast)
-   Elliott County (south)
-   Rowan County (southwest)
-   Lewis County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 26,889 people, 10,342 households, and 7,746 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 11,534 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.02% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,342 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,427, and the median income for a family was $31,278. Males had a median income of $28,690 versus $20,554 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,442. About 19.20% of families and 22.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.90% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

  Year                               Republican                                  Democratic                                  Third parties
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ---------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |73.8% _7,587_   style=“text-align:center;” |22.1% _2,276_   4.0% _415_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |59.3% _5,279_   style=“text-align:center;” |38.0% _3,383_   2.8% _246_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |53.5% _5,252_   style=“text-align:center;” |44.0% _4,316_   2.5% _245_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |48.8% _5,422_   style=“text-align:center;” |50.2% _5,577_   1.1% _118_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |51.5% _4,617_   style=“text-align:center;” |46.7% _4,182_   1.8% _160_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |41.7% _3,240_   style=“text-align:center;” |48.0% _3,728_   10.3% _803_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |38.6% _3,305_   style=“text-align:center;” |49.4% _4,224_   12.0% _1,031_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |48.4% _4,325_   style=“text-align:center;” |51.1% _4,570_   0.6% _49_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |53.7% _4,656_   style=“text-align:center;” |45.9% _3,985_   0.4% _34_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |50.2% _3,934_   style=“text-align:center;” |48.3% _3,782_   1.6% _123_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |44.7% _3,185_   style=“text-align:center;” |54.9% _3,915_   0.5% _33_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |60.7% _4,082_   style=“text-align:center;” |38.5% _2,591_   0.8% _54_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |49.7% _3,234_   style=“text-align:center;” |36.0% _2,344_   14.3% _933_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |40.4% _2,821_   style=“text-align:center;” |59.2% _4,136_   0.4% _30_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |58.8% _4,956_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.2% _3,479_   0.0% _0_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |62.1% _5,127_   style=“text-align:center;” |37.7% _3,112_   0.2% _19_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |58.1% _4,221_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.6% _3,019_   0.3% _22_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |52.6% _3,472_   style=“text-align:center;” |46.7% _3,082_   0.7% _46_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |60.0% _4,117_   style=“text-align:center;” |39.8% _2,733_   0.2% _10_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |56.9% _4,520_   style=“text-align:center;” |42.8% _3,403_   0.3% _23_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |56.0% _4,372_   style=“text-align:center;” |43.6% _3,403_   0.5% _35_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |48.5% _4,376_   style=“text-align:center;” |50.6% _4,565_   0.9% _79_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |68.7% _5,342_   style=“text-align:center;” |30.8% _2,392_   0.5% _39_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |61.5% _4,472_   style=“text-align:center;” |35.1% _2,552_   3.4% _247_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |62.0% _4,595_   style=“text-align:center;” |37.2% _2,757_   0.8% _62_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |58.5% _2,818_   style=“text-align:center;” |40.6% _1,954_   1.0% _47_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |28.6% _1,174_   style=“text-align:center;” |36.7% _1,506_   34.6% _1,419_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS[9]

Education

-   Carter County School District
-   Kentucky Christian University, located in Grayson

Alcohol sales

Carter County is a dry county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except in certain areas as voted on by the residents of the area, with at least one area approving full retail alcohol sales. In the case of Carter County, alcohol sales are only permitted as follows:

-   At a single approved winery in the Iron Hill precinct, near the unincorporated community of Carter City.
-   Within the city of Grayson after a vote on June 11, 2013 approved full retail alcohol sales within the city limits by a vote of 511 in favor of alcohol sales to 393 against.[10][11][12]
-   Within the city of Olive Hill after a vote on March 10, 2014 approved full retail alcohol sales within the city limits by a vote of 257 in favor of alcohol sales to 206 against.[13]

Communities

Cities

-   Grayson (county seat)
-   Olive Hill

Unincorporated communities

-   Access
-   Beech Grove
-   Beetle
-   Boone Furnace
-   Carter
-   Davy Run
-   Denton
-   Grahn
-   Hitchins
-   Mount Savage
-   Norton Branch
-   Rooney
-   Rush (part)
-   Smiths Creek
-   Soldier
-   Straight Creek
-   Willard

Transportation

Carter County is accessible by U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 64.[14] Until 2010, the city of Olive Hill owned an airport.[15]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10] The Next Step: Grayson council has the task of controlling alcohol sales.

[11] Grayson takes the first step toward alcohol sales.

[12] Council approves equipment purchases.

[13] Olive Hill Votes Wet

[14]

[15]

title: Carter County, Kentucky

question: Summarize the demographics of Carter County, Kentucky.

answer: As of the 2000 census, Carter County had a population of 26,889 which consisted of 10,342 households and 7,746 families. The grand majority of the demographics were made up of White people, composing 99.02% of the population. The age groups of the county consisted of 24.5% being under the age of 18, 10.8% from ages 18-24, 28.4% from ages 25-44, 23.8% from 45-64 and 12.5% were over the age of 65. The median age of the county was 36.


text:
EMILY STEVENS (February 27, 1883 – January 2, 1928[1]) was a stage and screen actress in Broadway plays in the first three decades of the 20th century and later in silent movies.[2]

Family lineage

Stevens was born in New York City, the daughter of Robert E. Stevens (born c. 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), a theatrical manager, and actress Emma Maddern Stevens.[3][4] Her father had joined the United States Navy just before the Civil War, rising to the rank of Lieutenant.[5] According to _The New York Times_, Robert E. Stevens “took out the first traveling theatrical company” from New York City.[6] He also managed actor Lawrence Barrett for many years.[7]

She was from a theatrical family. She was a cousin of Minnie Maddern Fiske. Stevens bore a strong physical resemblance to Mrs. Fiske. This likeness was accentuated by her style of acting. Stevens' mother, Emma Maddern, was a sister of Mrs. Fiske's mother, Elizabeth Madden, and also a sister of Mary Madden, who played with Mrs. Fiske for many years.[8][9]

Stevens was educated at the Institute of the Holy Angels in Fort Lee, New Jersey and St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey.

Theater actress

Emily Stevens got her first training with Mrs. Fiske's company after she (Stevens) left St. Mary's Hall School (now Doane Academy) in Burlington, New Jersey.[10] She made her theatrical debut as a _maid_ in _Becky Sharp_ in Bridgeport, Connecticut on October 8, 1900. Stevens was in the cast of _Miranda of the Balcony_ produced by the Manhattan Theatre, Broadway and 33rd Street, New York City in September 1901. The drama was the first presentation at the venue under the management of Harrison Grey Fiske. Stevens had the part of _Lady Ethel Mickleham_. As _Miranda Warriner_, Mrs. Fiske was praised for her interpretation of the principal character. In November the company of Mrs. Fiske staged _The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch_ at the Manhattan Theatre. The author of the play was either Constance Cary Harrison or David Belasco. The theme of the work had to do with a woman who becomes a social outcast because of marital problems. Stevens played the role of Gladys Lorimer.

In May 1902 Mrs. Fiske put on a revival of _Tess of the D'Urbervilles_ at the Manhattan Theatre. Stevens was among the players in a recreation of this production of Mrs. Fiske first staged in 1897. She became a permanent member of the company of Mrs. Fiske in 1904, following three seasons on stage. She acted the role of _Miriam_ in _Mary of Magdala_ in 1904. The Manhattan Theatre presented _Becky Sharp_ in September 1904. Based on _Vanity Fair_ by William Makepeace Thackery, the comedy in four acts was written by Langdon Mitchell. Mrs. Fiske and the Manhattan Company brought it before audiences with Stevens and George Arliss as cast principals. A revival of _Hedda Gabler_ was staged in November 1904 with Mrs. Fiske in the title role and Stevens as _Berta_. The Henrik Ibsen work played for one week in 1903 with near capacity attendance for each performance. _Leah Kleschna_ was written especially for Mrs. Fiske by C.M.S. McLellan (Hugh Morton). The Manhattan Theatre presented the play about the daughter of a thief in December 1904. The production marked the first original role Fiske had acted in two years. Stevens, Arliss, John B. Mason, and Marie Fedor were among the players.

In 1906, she appeared in the one-act play _The Eyes of the Heart_ at the Manhattan Theater, a companion piece to the one-act play _Dolce_ by John Luther Long, starring Mrs. Fiske.[11] Stevens remained with the Fiske company for eight years. _The Eyes of the World_ is another production she participated in with her cousin's acting troupe. She played minor roles with Arliss and Bertha Kalich before her first true New York success. This was in _Septimus_ (1909) at the Halleck Theatre, which became Walleck's Theatre. Her achievement was followed by a performance as leading lady in _The Boss_ for Holbrook Blinn. In 1911, she appeared as Victoria Fairchild in the farce _Modern Marriage_ by Harrison Rhodes (“In the role of the shrewish young person who needs enlightenment, and tampering, Miss Emily Stevens plays with delightful variety in an excellent vain of humor” - _The New York Times_.[12] In 1912, Stevens portrayed Myra Dimsley in _The Point of View_, by Jules Eckert Goodman. According to _The New York Times_{{'}} review, “Miss Emily Steven's performance was exceptionally brilliant and revealed the power to compose a role and to deliver it. It is gratifying, too, to discover that the actress has taken the pains to overcome mannerisms which in previous performances have marred her work. She no longer bites her lips, at every opportunity to express complexity of thought. And though she rustles overmuch in places, she has gained largely in repose. In fact, she is, on the whole, a young actress of fine gifts and beautiful power.”[13] At the end of 1912, Stevens appeared in _Tornadot_, by German playwright Karl Volmoeller (English version by Jethor Bethell.)[14] Stevens depicted the character of _Mary Turner_ in _Within The Law_ in Chicago, Illinois, also in 1912. This was several months before Jane Cowl made the character famous with a run of the play in New York. After _Within The Law_ Stevens' noteworthy roles included the leading female role in _The Child_ by Elizabeth Apthorp, produced by Harrison Grey Fiske, in 1913;[15] _To-Day_ by George Howells Broadhurst;[16] the leading role in _The Garden of Paradise_ by Edward Sheldon;[17] _The Unchastened Woman_ (1915–1916); the title character of Alan Dale's _Madonna of the Future_;[18] and the title role in _Hedda Gabler_ (1926).

She received very positive reviews for her acting as the title character in _The Fugitive_ (1916) by John Galsworthy.[19] After the Galsworthy tragedy of the _hunted woman_ was performed in London, England, there had been speculation regarding an American actress playing the same role. _The Times_ wrote that _last night's performance only deepened a conviction that the first choice could be Emily Stevens. She plays with a power, a penetration, and an unerring precision that are an unfailing delight. Her performance is one of the finest achievements of the season._ She scored a marked success in March 1924 with _Fata Morgana_, a Theatre Guild production, presented at the Garrick Theatre. Stevens' final role was that of the _widow_ in a Theatre Guild production of _The Second Man_. She succeeded Lynn Fontanne in this part in July 1927. Stevens played the character until the production closed in October.

Relationships

At some point early in her acting career, Stevens developed a girlhood crush on Harrison Fiske, the husband of her cousin Minnie Fiske. She seems to never have pursued a relationship with him but enough coworkers and family knew of her feeling for Fiske as it is presented in a biography on _Minnie Fiske_ by Archie Binns. She seems to have stayed true to her feelings for Harrison Fiske as she did not pursue relationships with other men.

Death

Emily Stevens died in her apartment at 50 West 67th Street, New York City, in 1928.[20] She was 45, unmarried, and childless. She was survived by a brother, Robert Stevens,[21] the first managing director of the Rochester Community Players in Rochester, New York. Stevens was to have begun rehearsals for a revival of _Diplomacy_ by Victorien Sardou in the near future. George C. Tyler was the play's producer. Stevens died the same day as Dorothy Donnelly.

Stevens was under the care of a neurologist for a year before she died. She had been treated for a nervous breakdown. Wilson attended Stevens over the Christmas and New Year's holidays in the absence of her neurologist. He found Stevens in a _highly nervous state_ about a week before her demise. Wilson administered a hypodermic injection to which Stevens responded successfully.[22]

The medical examiner, Dr. Charles Norris, said he found indications that Stevens had taken an overdose of a drug. Dr. Milton J. Wilson believed that Stevens had taken a sedative that did not contain an opiate. Wilson was called to Stevens' apartment the day before her death after she was found in a coma. He contended that pneumonia was the cause of the actress' death. Pneumonia developed after she lapsed into a coma. An autopsy revealed the official cause of death to be _congestion of the viscera_, which may have occurred from pneumonia that developed suddenly.[23]

Stevens' funeral was conducted from her apartment. She was given an Episcopal service after which her body was taken to New Jersey for cremation.

Filmography

[_The Wheel of Law_ (1916)]

-   _Cora_ (1915)
-   _Destiny; or The Soul of a Woman_ (1915)[24] (print: incomplete Library of Congress)
-   _The House of Tears_ (1915)
-   _The Wheel of the Law_ (1916)
-   _The Wager_ (1916)
-   _The Slacker_ (1917) (print: preserved by MGM)
-   _A Sleeping Memory_ (1917) (print: preserved by MGM donor to G. Eastman Museum)
-   _Outwitted_ (1917)
-   _Alias Mrs. Jessop_ (1917) (print: Bois d'Arcy and Cinematheque Francais)
-   _Daybreak_ (1918)
-   _A Man's World_ (1918)
-   _Kildare of Storm_ (1918)
-   _Building for Democracy_ (1918) (short film)
-   _The Sacred Flame_ (1920)
-   _The Place of the Honeymoons_ (1920)

[1]

[2] Emily Stevens: _North American Theatre Online_

[3] 1900 and 1910 United States Census information

[4] New York Times, “The Early Perils of Minnie Madden”, July 2, 1916

[5] Obituary; Robert E. Stevens, _The New York Times_, July 23, 1918

[6]

[7] “Stevens Aids Drive for New Players”; newspaper clipping from October 1926, in the 1924-1927 Scrapbook of the Rochester Community Players, stored in the Local History Depart, Rundel Library of the Rochester NY Public Library

[8] New York Times interview with Emily Stevens, December 6, 1914

[9] New York Times; “The Early Perils of Minnie Maddern”; JULY 2, 1916

[10]

[11] New York Times April 25, 1906

[12] New York Times September 17, 1911

[13] New York Times October 26, 1912

[14] New York Times “Many New Plays”December 29, 1912

[15] New York Times May 6, 1913

[16] New York Times, October 7, 1913

[17] New York Times, June 14, 1914

[18] New York Times January 29, 1918

[19] see New York Times, March 20, 1917

[20]

[21] Rochester Times Union newspaper, April 18, 1953, pg. 4, Editorial Page, article by Elmer R. Messner (archived in the 1946-1952 Scrapbook, Rochester Community Players collections, Local History Department, Rochester NY Public Library, Rundel Building|1

[22]

[23]

[24]

title: Emily Stevens (actress)

question: What does the article say about Emily Stevens' talents as an actress?

answer: A review of her performance in Modern Marriage stated she played the role with delightful variety in an excellent vain of humor. The New York Times called her performance in The Point of View "exceptionally brilliant". She also received positive reviews for her acting in The Fugitive.

question: What does the article say about Emily Stevens' husband?

question: What does the article say about Emily's death?

answer: Emily died in her New York City apartment in 1928. She was previously under care of a neurologist. There were indications that she had overdosed on an opiate. The official cause of death was congestion of the viscera from sudden pneumonia.


text:
BRAZOS COUNTY ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 194,851.[1] The population estimate as of July 2019 was 229,211. The county seat is Bryan.[2] Along with Brazoria County, the county is named for the Brazos River, which forms its western border. The county was formed in 1841 and organized in 1843.[3][4]

Brazos County is part of the Bryan-College Station, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Bryan, College Station, and smaller cities and towns in Brazos, Burleson, and Robertson counties.

History

In 1837 most of the area of present-day Brazos County was included in Washington County. The Brazos River, which bisected the latter, proved a serious obstacle to county government, and a new county, Navasota, was formed in January 1841. The first court, with Judge R. E. B. Baylor presiding, was held later that year in the home of Joseph Ferguson, fourteen miles west of the site of present Bryan. The county seat, named Boonville for Mordecai Boon, was located on John Austin's league and was surveyed by Hiram Hanover in 1841. In January of the following year Navasota County was renamed Brazos County.[5]

Originally one of the state's poorer counties, the county donated 2,416 acres of land in the 1870s to create Texas A&M University, which has enabled the county to be among the state's most financially successful.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties

-   Robertson County (northwest)
-   Madison County (northeast)
-   Grimes County (east)
-   Washington County (south)
-   Burleson County (southwest)

Demographics

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 152,415 people, 55,202 households, and 30,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 260 people per square mile (100/km²). There were 59,023 housing units at an average density of 101 per square mile (39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.45% White, 10.72% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 4.01% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.42% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. 17.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.3% were of German, 8.4% English, 7.3% Irish and 7.2% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 55,202 households, out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.30% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.90% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.50% under the age of 18, 32.00% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 13.80% from 45 to 64, and 6.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,104, and the median income for a family was $46,530. Males had a median income of $32,864 versus $24,179 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,212. About 14.00% of families and 26.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Public Transportation

The Brazos Transit District operates a fixed route bus service and paratransit throughout Bryan and College Station.[8][9]

Major highways

-   [] U.S. Highway 190
-   [] State Highway 6
-   [] State Highway 21

Airport

Easterwood Airport, owned by Texas A&M, is the local commercial airport, with flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Politics

Although it is home to a prominent university, Brazos County is a Republican stronghold, with no Democratic presidential nominee having carried the county since Texas native Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide.

  Year                               Republican                                   Democratic                                   Third parties
  ---------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ----------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2020   style=“text-align:center;” |55.9% _47,456_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.6% _35,242_   2.4% _2,055_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |57.6% _38,738_   style=“text-align:center;” |34.4% _23,121_   8.0% _5,352_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |66.5% _37,209_   style=“text-align:center;” |31.2% _17,477_   2.3% _1,276_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |63.9% _37,465_   style=“text-align:center;” |34.9% _20,502_   1.2% _706_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |69.2% _37,594_   style=“text-align:center;” |29.7% _16,128_   1.1% _587_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |70.0% _32,864_   style=“text-align:center;” |26.3% _12,359_   3.7% _1,718_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |57.1% _22,082_   style=“text-align:center;” |36.2% _13,968_   6.7% _2,594_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |48.5% _23,943_   style=“text-align:center;” |30.0% _14,819_   21.4% _10,578_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |65.7% _29,369_   style=“text-align:center;” |33.3% _14,885_   1.0% _436_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |73.6% _34,733_   style=“text-align:center;” |26.2% _12,348_   0.3% _140_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |60.3% _17,798_   style=“text-align:center;” |33.4% _9,856_    6.4% _1,885_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |58.8% _15,685_   style=“text-align:center;” |39.8% _10,628_   1.5% _387_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |71.0% _14,243_   style=“text-align:center;” |28.4% _5,692_    0.6% _116_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |43.9% _6,839_    style=“text-align:center;” |40.4% _6,299_    15.7% _2,441_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |33.3% _4,003_    style=“text-align:center;” |66.5% _7,998_    0.2% _18_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |43.5% _4,553_    style=“text-align:center;” |56.4% _5,907_    0.2% _17_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |58.6% _4,942_    style=“text-align:center;” |41.1% _3,463_    0.4% _31_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |52.6% _4,681_    style=“text-align:center;” |47.4% _4,213_    0.0% _2_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |27.7% _1,533_    style=“text-align:center;” |62.6% _3,459_    9.7% _538_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |10.6% _464_      style=“text-align:center;” |76.8% _3,358_    12.6% _553_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |12.9% _617_      style=“text-align:center;” |86.9% _4,151_    0.2% _9_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |1.7% _45_        style=“text-align:center;” |98.2% _2,610_    0.2% _4_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |7.0% _195_       style=“text-align:center;” |92.4% _2,588_    0.6% _18_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |33.2% _738_      style=“text-align:center;” |66.6% _1,480_    0.1% _3_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |10.4% _255_      style=“text-align:center;” |87.1% _2,128_    2.5% _61_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |12.8% _277_      style=“text-align:center;” |59.0% _1,281_    28.3% _614_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |20.9% _273_      style=“text-align:center;” |78.5% _1,027_    0.6% _8_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |14.9% _142_      style=“text-align:center;” |80.0% _762_      5.1% _49_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS[10]

Communities

Cities

-   Bryan (county seat)
-   College Station
-   Navasota (partial)
-   Wixon Valley

Towns

-   Kurten
-   Millican

Census-designated place

-   Lake Bryan

Unincorporated community

-   Benchley (partly in Robertson County)
-   Wellborn

Ghost Town

-   Boonville
-   Zack

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] Brazos County in _Handbook of Texas Online_

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

title: Brazos County, Texas

question: Summarize the demographics of Brazos County, Texas.

answer: The population of Brazos County was 194,851 as of the 2010 census, much higher than 152,415 from the 2000 census which consisted 55,202 households and 30,416 families. The racial makeup of the county is mostly White consisting of 74.5% of the population, 10.72% was Black or African American, 0.36 Native American, 4.01% Asian, .07% Pacific Islander and 8.42% from other races. The median age of the population was 24 years with 21.5% under the age of 18, 32% from 18-24, 26% from 25-44, 13.8% from 45-64 and 6.7% over 65.


text:
Since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015, the United States gave its full support to a relentless air campaign where Saudi warplanes and bombs hit thousands of targets, including civilian sites and infrastructure, with impunity. From the beginning, US officials insisted that American weapons, training and intelligence assistance would help the Saudis avoid causing even more civilian casualties.

But this was a lie meant to obscure one of the least understood aspects of US support for Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen: it’s not that Saudi-led forces don’t know how to use American-made weapons or need help in choosing targets. They have deliberately targeted civilians and Yemen’s infrastructure since the war’s early days – and US officials have recognized this since at least 2016 and done little to stop it.

A team of United Nations investigators, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, presented a devastating report in Geneva in early September detailing how the US, along with Britain and France, are likely complicit in war crimes in Yemen because of continued weapons sales and intelligence support to the Saudis and their allies, especially the United Arab Emirates.

Despite pressure from Saudi Arabia, the Human Rights Council voted last Thursday to extend its investigation.

If the council pursues an aggressive investigation based on the 274-page report, the world might finally see some accountability for war crimes committed in Yemen over the past five years. The report’s authors submitted a secret list of individuals who may be responsible for war crimes to the UN human rights commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, but it’s unclear if that list includes any western officials. The report said third states that have influence on Yemen’s warring parties – including the US, Britain, France and Iran – “may be held responsible for providing aid or assistance for the commission of international law violations”.

American complicity in the Yemen war goes beyond providing training and intelligence support, and selling billions of dollars in weapons to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which has become Washington’s largest weapons buyer. The US is looking the other way while its allies commit war crimes and avoid responsibility for instigating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

[Medics carry the body of a victims allegedly killed in airstrikes carried out by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition on 1 September.]

Medics carry the body of a victims allegedly killed in airstrikes carried out by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition on 1 September. Photograph: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
The full scope of human suffering in Yemen has been partly obscured because the UN stopped updating civilian deaths in January 2017, when the toll reached 10,000. And while the actual death toll is far higher, many news reports still rely on the outdated UN figures.

In June, an independent monitoring group, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, released a report detailing more than 90,000 fatalities since the war began in 2015.

In April, the United Nations Development Programme issued a report warning that the death toll in Yemen could rise to 233,000 by the end of 2019 – far higher than previous estimates. That projection includes deaths from combat as well as 131,000 indirect deaths due to the lack of food, health crises such as a cholera epidemic, and damage to Yemen’s infrastructure.

Beyond the moral reasons for the US to help end Yemenis’ suffering, the conflict has also harmed American interests in the region. The Yemen war has created new instability in the wider Middle East, and increased tensions between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis and their allies support Yemen’s internationally recognized government, while Iran supports the Houthi rebels, who took control of the country’s major cities in 2014.

On 14 September, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two major oil installations in Saudi Arabia, saying they were retaliation for the Saudi bombing of Yemen. But Saudi leaders and Donald Trump’s administration blamed Iran for the attacks, without providing direct evidence. Trump has threatened to carry out military strikes and impose additional sanctions against Tehran, after he unilaterally withdrew the US from an international agreement signed in 2015 that limited Iran’s nuclear program.

For its part, Saudi Arabia quickly invited American and UN experts to help investigate the attacks on its oil facilities. Ironically, Saudi officials have refused to cooperate with most international investigations of their actions in Yemen, including the recent UN report that found the kingdom and its allies likely committed war crimes.

Like previous investigations by human rights groups and journalists, the UN report documented how the Saudi-led coalition has killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes; intentionally starved Yemenis as a war tactic; and imposed a naval and air blockade on Houthi-controlled areas that has drastically limited deliveries of humanitarian aid. The report also found that the Houthis likely committed war crimes by planting landmines, deploying siege tactics against several cities, using child soldiers and indiscriminately bombing civilian areas.

Despite years of warnings from groups like Human Rights Watch and UN investigations that documented growing evidence of war crimes in Yemen, US officials – first under Barack Obama’s administration and then under Trump – continued to approve weapons sales to the Saudi and Emirati militaries. US officials realized as far back as 2016 that senior Saudi and UAE leaders were not interested in reducing civilian deaths in Yemen, according to two members of the Obama administration who gave little-noticed testimony before Congress in early March.

Speaking to the House subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and international terrorism, the former officials – Dafna Rand, an ex-deputy assistant secretary of state, and Jeremy Konyndyk, the former director of the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance – outlined how US officials helped the Saudis choose their targets in Yemen, created “no-strike” lists and sent trainers to reduce civilian harm.

[Armed men inspect a Houthi-held detention center after it was hit by alleged Saudi-led airstrikes in Dhamar, Yemen, 1 September 2019.]

Armed men inspect a Houthi-held detention center after it was hit by alleged Saudi-led airstrikes in Dhamar, Yemen, 1 September 2019. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA
“We came to the conclusion by late 2016 that although there were very many well-meaning and professional generals in the Saudi ministry of defense, there was a lack of political will at the top senior levels to reduce the number of civilian casualties,” Rand told the committee.

Saudi and allied warplanes have conducted more than 20,000 airstrikes on Yemen since the war began, an average of 12 attacks a day, according to the Yemen Data Project. Only about a third of these attacks are on military targets. The coalition has also bombed hospitals, schools, markets, mosques, farms, factories, bridges, and power and water treatment plants.

One of the most persistent false arguments advanced by Trump administration officials against efforts to end US involvement in Yemen is that the Saudis need American support and training to prevent even more civilians deaths. But the latest UN report belies that argument, showing the Saudis have not done any credible investigations into their attacks on civilians or taken enough measures to minimize casualties, even with US and British training.

In fact, the UN findings reinforce revelations from a recent UK case brought by anti-war campaigners. A UK court of appeal ruled that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia were illegal. Documents presented during the case showed that, despite the British government’s claims, Saudi bombings of civilian targets took place within days after the UK provided training to the Saudi air force.

Despite the mounting evidence of war crimes, Trump still firmly supports Mohammed bin Salman, the ruthless Saudi crown prince who is an architect of the Yemen war. Since April, Trump has used his veto power four times to prevent Congress from withdrawing US military support and ending weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies. Congress could not muster enough votes to override Trump’s vetoes.

The latest UN investigation, which found the US is likely complicit in war crimes, should give new momentum to the majority in Congress that wants to end American involvement in a disastrous conflict.

-   Mohamad Bazzi, a journalism professor at New York University, is a former Middle East bureau chief at Newsday. He is writing a book on the proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and Iran

question: What does the text say about the political situation in Yemen?

answer: Yemen is in a state of civil war; Houthi rebels took control of the country's major cities in 2014. Saudi Arabia and their allies support Yemen's internationally recognized government, while Iran supports the Houthi rebels. The US has given its full support to a relentless air campaign in Yemen, and a recent UN report states that the states which have been influencing Yemen's warring parties, including the US, Britain, France, and Iran, may be "responsible for providing aid or assistance for the commission of international law violations." In April, another UN report warned that the death toll in Yemen could rise to 233,000 by the end of 2019.

question: What does the text say about the report from the UN investigators?

answer: The 274-page report was presented in Geneva in early September and details how the US, Britain, and France are likely complicit in war crimes in Yemen due to continued arms sales and intelligence support to the Saudis and their allies. The UN Human Rights Council commissioned the report and may choose to pursue an aggressive investigation, which may bring some accountability to the war crimes committed in Yemen. The report's authors also submitted a secret list of individuals who may be responsible for war crimes to the UN human rights commissioner.

question: What does the text say about France's response to the report?


text:
SUMER SINGH GARDI was a Gardi guard of the Peshwas. He is mainly known for his involvement in the assassination of Peshwa Narayanrao in 1773, where he led several Gardis and brutally killed Narayanrao. The assassination was performed on the orders of Raghunathrao, whose message was intercepted by his wife Anandibai.

Assassination of Narayanrao

According to popular legend, Raghunathrao had sent a message to Sumer Singh Gardi to fetch Narayanrao using the Marathi word dharaa (धरा) or 'hold' (actual phrase in Marathi - " नारायणरावांना धरा“/”Narayanrao-ana dhara"). This message was intercepted by his wife Anandibai who changed a single letter to make it read as maaraa (मारा) or 'kill' . The miscommunication led the Gardis to chase Narayanrao, who, upon hearing them coming, started running towards his uncles' residence screaming, “Kaka! Mala Vachva!!” (“Uncle! Save me!”). But nobody came to help him and he was killed in the presence of his uncle.

Death

Sumer Singh Gardi died mysteriously at Patna in 1775.

title: Sumer Singh Gardi

question: Why did Raghunathrao's wife intercept the message meant for Narayanrao?

answer: Unknown; she probably did not like the Peshwa very much.


text:
She Ran
by Karl Verkade
…to be read with accompanying soundtrack

   The night was cold and thin. The air was scantily clad in such a way that she felt that if she could but stop for a second, she could reach through it and grasp time. Arrest it, stop it, bring back the years of hope, before the years of inevitably set in. But she did not stop. She ran.

   Air is a precious commodity; one she had taken for granted until it was all she had. Tonight she chased it; she felt as if her lungs could not get enough of it. With each new step, a new shallow breath, and a new resolve to continue filling her chest with the last thing in this world that was free. She knew that if she stopped, the night would end; and she did not want the night to end. The colors were too vivid.

   First the reds…the piercing reds. They swept out of the night sky in such an instant that she did not have time to witness their origin. But there they were. Swirling, brilliant reds that swept her up like she scarcely remembered. Indeed, did she even remember it? Or was this the embodiment of a shadow she always hoped to one day remember. The color floated around her as she ran, keeping up with her; perhaps even lagging back a little so that she could keep up with it. She could not help it; she began to be entranced by its brilliance, though she dared not slow down. She peered into it, trying to imprint upon her memory every detail of its stunning lifeform.

   Then suddenly, did it change? The reds were not quite as flowing as they once were. They moved a little more awkwardly. She knew she had seen that movement before, somewhere. Then she remembered. Yes! The reds were walking! Alongside her they walked, still dancingly keeping up with her every running stride. Their shapes became more and more human. She recognized one of the colors. He looked into her eyes with the love that said that it was already finished; there was nothing she could do to ever spurn that love. Then another color touched her shoulder. She whirled her head around just in time to catch the shape of a life that spoke of a bond with her that nothing but tears could form. In an instant, the motherly shape was gone, but reformed next to the figure on her other side, walking arm in arm with it.

   She almost stumbled. Something had touched her heels. She turned her head around long enough to see a child following behind her. It was a little girl…a little girl without colors. She skipped and sauntered, without a care in the world, but all the time keeping up with her. She wondered at the child; she wondered at childhood. So happy, so light; all its cares are immediate. There is no sense of that fact that time will one day have its way. No one tells children the truth.

   From somewhere behind the child, deep in the distance, she thought she saw another red. A different red. But she couldn't be sure; she had to keep her head straight onward, to immerse herself in the air, in the night. Nor did she have time to worry about the new color, or the child, as the brilliant reds by her side had split into multiple colors, each walking at its own pace somewhere by her side. They were dear to her…some moreso than others. All looked at her with varying degrees of knowingness. One in particular. He looked at her with a seriousness, and a questioning. His was by far the most tender touch, but not the most knowing. She slowed slightly, gasping for breath as she did. She turned to look at him, but her gaze was interrupted by the new color, now creeping along the horizon next to her. It was a dark color, and threatened to swallow the red she now fought desperately to keep. She reached out for him; but slowly he faded, and slowly the dark approached. She had seen this before.

   In an instant he was gone, and in his place were two other brilliant reds. One for whom she cared, one with whom she was comfortable. The dark color approached. She tried to outrun it, but it was of no use. It swallowed up the two colors just as it had swallowed the last. She now saw that it was not a darkness, but a deepness. A deep red that spoke of something she knew all too well. It sent shudders through her life-stained body.

   The shudders continued as she ran. And continued. Until she had unknowingly discovered that she was quite at home with the shudders. She did not mind them. In fact, the deep red had mixed with the brilliant red so much so that neither color was now better or worse for the mixing; but they were more real. Then, just as she was about to acquiesce to the new deep and brilliant red, it suddenly birthed a figure. And she hated. She hated its curves, and its smoothness, and its beauty. It tore from the rest of the colors, revealing its blackness. And then, in horror, she watched as it reached back into the deep and brilliant red and pulled from it the loving figure. He looked at her as she ran with the same, unquenchable love as before, as he faded off into the distance with the beautiful black figure.

   She ran harder; and at her heels she felt the child again. She turned again to look, and now saw a young lady, walking warily behind her. She knew that look; the colors had replaced the innocence. She had never been sure which was more desirable; but now she knew that neither could ever coexist peacefully with the other.

   The deep, brilliant red circled around her and comforted her. It did not split into its native colors, nor would it ever again. And she was grateful.

   Now there was another color. It crept out from behind her. She turned to look; were the colors coming from the child? But it was no longer a child, or a young lady. It was a young woman…a young woman with a war in her eyes, between childlike hope and the lamentable wisdom of the inevitable. She recognized that look. And she ran faster.

   But she could not outrun the new color. It surrounded her, and here and there penetrated the deep and brilliant red with its yellow haze. It was a tired color…so tired that it was almost transparent, and blended in with the night in such a way that at times, in her gasping for air, she would inevitably suck in its yellow weariness as well. But she did not mind. A little weariness might even be nice…it made her feel as if her running was accomplishing something. Accomplishment. The reds spoke nothing of that. She wondered at her life, and for the first time, looked upwards. There were no colors to see through…just the night sky. The vastness looked down upon her as if it knew her. She slowed a little, letting her inconsequential state settle in over tired bones. The yellow crept wearily into her upward gaze, and she knew the child at her heels was now a woman. She did not turn, but ran onwards, knowing all too well the look in the pursuing woman's eyes. There would be tears, resolve, the tiniest glints of echoes that were once laughter; but most of all, the yellow weariness.

   Her legs were tired, her lungs empty. She inhaled without the benefit of air, as the deep and brilliant red moved underneath her and helped her forward. The yellow slowed her enough to where she could look around her a bit; she discovered trees…big, green trees towering over her on either side. The deepness carried her down the small, inescapable path made by the foliage, and the little child softly padded around in front of her. The bright eyes of the child were now furrowed under a wrinkled brow, and the once beautiful cheekbones now protruded in a manner unworthy of the years and wisdom that made them such. At first she blushed with the hardness of the old woman's gaze, but then stared back at herself with the same knowing inevitability. The old woman took her hand in hers, and walked her down the path. She tried to run to keep up, but could not; the old woman dragged her softly and silently onward, as the deep and brilliant red carried her, the tired yellow enveloped her, and the green trees lapped gently at their own dust which formed her body.

   And she stopped running.

   It had been a miserable night, and they were excited to be able to go into the alley and play today. They bounced the ball against the cracked bricks of the tall buildings, and he even let her win a few times.
   But this turn, he was going to win. With all the bravado a big brother can muster, he slammed the ball at the corner of the building where the curb met the bricks. The ball ricocheted down the alley, towards an oncoming truck. As it did, it dislodged some old newspaper crumblings, and in the tired yellow light cascading onto the alley through the old buildings, they saw it. His sister screamed and went running back through the shabby aluminum door into their mother’s apartment. But he couldn't move. He stared at her.

   They drove down the alley. What a miserable day. The night had been cold, and whenever the nights were cold, he knew it would be a long day. He watched as two children bounced a ball against the side of the grimy building. The ball got away from them and in the tired yellow haze peering through the buildings, he saw the ball dislodge some old papers; and underneath it, he saw another one. They stopped the truck and walked over to the body. It was not her…it was never her; it was a shell. He wondered who she was. They picked her up, and he knew that beneath his gloves, there was coldness. But her open eyes seemed peaceful; somehow that brought him comfort. He looked into her eyes as the red of the bag enveloped her body, and she was gone.
   It was then that he noticed the boy. He hadn't moved, but was staring at them with large, questioning eyes. He nodded at the boy as they carried her back to their truck, and attempted a smile through his mask. The boy was motionless.
   "We're just taking her someplace where she can rest," was all he managed.
   "I know what the green trucks mean," said the boy bravely.
   "But you've never seen this before?"
   The boy shook his head, fighting back the tears for which he had been taught he was too old.
   The man stopped, and pulled his mask off over his head. He looked straight into the boy's quivering eyes.
   "It's very short. Don't waste it."
   He looked at the boy. The boy looked back at him. Not knowing what else to do, he slowly turned away, leaving the boy standing alone in the alley; older, whether he wanted to be or not.
   They put her in with all the rest.

title: She Ran

question: What does the text say about the young woman the female protagonist sees?

answer: The protagonist first thinks she's seeing a child looking over, but realizes it's a young woman. She notes that the woman has a war like look in her eyes. The look was between childlike hope and the lamentable wisdom of the inevitable. The protagonist recognizes this look.

question: Summarize the context of why the female protagonist stopped running.

answer: It seems that the female protagonist is dead or in the process of dying. She's running from the red of a possible body bag becoming dark. She grows tired as she sees all the colors surrounding her. It seems when she's finally being taken away, that she stops running in her mind and feels peace.

question: What does the text say about knowingness?

answer: The story mentions knowingness in the way people are looking at the dying or dead female protagonist. The man who places her in the red bag doesn't have the most knowing look, but he looks at her with a seriousness and a questioning. He seems to know her life has come to an end. The protagonist notes the look in a pursuing woman's eyes. She is crying and feels resolve in response to realizing what has happened to the protagonist. Every one who sees the protagonist knows her life is over.

question: What does the text say about the female protagonist's mother?


text:
Strange memories find me on days like this. Dreary days made up of dark skies and leftover sighs from things I wished I'd had the strength to say back then. Back when I was nothing.

 You know that girl in your class...the one who wore dorky glasses and outdated clothes? The one who always got picked last because people were disturbed by the constant hint of kool-aid around her mouth? Well, that or the fact that the ball always seems to gravitate to her face, rather than her hands or her feet where it ought to have gone...the one who had the tiniest bit of a lisp and always talked a little too loud about things no one was interested in? Well in my class, her name was Colleen. And even she knew that to sit next to me at lunch and trade the foil lid to her pudding cup to me was social suicide.

 There was a pretty Spanish girl who once asked me in disgust why I was wearing flip flops in Winter. I told her that they were all I had at the time, and her disgust turned to embaressment and pity. "I will buy you shoes for Christmas!" she promised fervently. When late December came and I was still wearing them, she fidgeted while she asked if I'd mind if she got me something else instead. I shook my head--I hadn't expected anything from her. She never spoke to me after that.

 There was a boy and a girl...siblings. The girl was in my class, the boy a grade above. Robin and Josh. I don't remember any of the specific insults, just the look of pure hatred the few times she made eye contact with me. I realize now that she must have told her brother something about me, and that was why he cracked insults over my head like eggs in the summer heat every single day when we lined up for the bus. At the time I didn't know why he targeted me. I remember more the insults he spewed, but they make my cheeks burn and I don't want to type them out.
 I don't know what possesed me to do it, but one day I came across a biography of Vanilla Ice. I knew Josh was a big fan of the guy, so in the line that day in the middle of his tirade I handed it to him and walked away. He was confused and never bothered me after that. I didn't even give it to him to make him stop--the thought was just in my head that he was the only person I knew of who'd like the book. Robin didn't give me dirty looks after that either, though she made no effort to speak to me. I stopped existing for them. It was a relief.

When I was 9, I lived in apartment building where the neighbor children were varied, but at least they were all just as poor as I. There was a Hispanic boy who loved me from afar, though I didn't get it then. I made friends with two Asian boys--their father ran a small donut shop and when I came in he would make sure to fill a jam donut until it threatened to burst with raspberry goodness, and he never charged me for it. The two boys and I made secret forts in the hedges around the complex. Older boys tore them out and accused us of having sex in them, which absolutely bewildered us. Later they threw rocks...actual rocks at us, with growing frenzy. The Asian boys never came back to play with me after that. There were no more donuts.

And ah, the church groups. Where I arrived 30 minutes early and stayed an hour after the closing prayer, offering to clean up the tables and put away chairs, just to be near people for a little longer. It didn't matter that even they wanted nothing to do with me. Within the walls and under the watchful eye of the youth leaders, the other kids had to at least pretend to tolerate me while I hung on every word spoken around me. Outside in the parking lot, where they sometimes played basketball, was much more of a risk. I took it gladly.

So, so desperate for love...

mm. My husband has just come home. I think I will go hug him close and leave the darker days where they lay.

title: darker days

question: Summarize the plot.

answer: A woman reminisces on the "darker days" of her life, her youth, when she was a social pariah ignored, avoided, and hated by everyone in her vicinity. Remembering those days makes her more appreciative of her husband and the fact that those times have passed.

question: Summarize each of her notable interactions as a youth.

answer: A nerdy girl who's socially inept and discarded by her peers knows that it'd be social suicide to have lunch with the protagonist. A pretty Spanish  girl in her class once offers to buy her new shoes for Christmas, but never does and stops talking to her. A pair of siblings spew insults at her and hatred at her in tandem. She once gifted the boy a biography of Vanilla Ice because she knew he liked him, and the insults stopped. It was like through that kindness she stopped existing for them. It was a relief. She made friends with a pair of Asian boys once who built forts with her in the hedges around their complex. But some older kids taunted and threw rocks at them which made the Asian boys stop hanging out with her. She sought refuge amongst church groups, but none of them wanted anything to do with her.

question: Why do the tormenting siblings stop harassing her?

answer: She randomly gifted the older brother a biography of Vanilla Ice knowing that he liked him. They stopped harassing her after that.

question: Why did her husband ignore her low social status?


text:
The Chicago Police Department has released new video of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett related to an alleged hate crime incident.

The video appears to show Smollett walking to an elevator and throwing something into a trash can before leaving the building. What appears to be a white rope could be seen around his neck.

Police say that this video is from just prior to when Smollett alleges the attack occurred.

But Smollett’s attorney says that a rope is not around Smollett’s neck and that he was not throwing anything out in the trash, but looking in the mirror to examine his injuries.

Smollett alleges that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime attack in January.

But Chicago police say that Smollett staged the attack. Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts, but prosecutors unexpectedly dropped all charges.

According to prosecutors, Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bail money and completed community service.

question: Who is Jussie Smollett?

answer: He is an actor in the "Empire" series, lives within the jurisdiction of the Chicago Police Department, and was indicted for allegedly staging a hate crime attack (though the 16 felony charges were dropped). Smollett alleged he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in January and he forfeited his 10,000 USD bail money by completing community service.

question: What is a hate crime attack?

answer: No information on the article, but it implies an attack on an individual with the motive for the attack being caused by the victim's race, sexual orientation, or other factors.

question: What was in the video the Chicago Police Department released?

answer: A video of Smollett with a rope around his neck and throwing something in the trash. The video is possible proof that Smollett is staging the hate crime and is actually not a victim.

question: Why would Smollett stage a hate crime?

answer: No motivations are speculated in the article, though one possible motive would be to increase his relevance in the news to further his acting career. Another possible motivation might be related to insurance. It is also possible that there is no motive at all.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Chicago PD has released a video of Jussie Smollett with a white rope around his neck. Since Jussie was previously indicted for staging hate crime attacks, the video might be proof of it.