text:
CHITRAVAV (DIVANI) is a village in Rajkot Taluka of Rajkot district, Gujarat, India and former petty Rajput princely state.

History

During the British Raj period, it was a separate-tribute paying estate under the Chamardi _thana_ in Gohilwad _prant_, one of many under the colonial authority of the Eastern Kathiawar Agency. It is fifteen miles north-west of Chamardi and was held by Gohil Rajputs originally _Bhayat_ of Bhavnagar State. The taluka consisted only of the single village.[1]

The population according to the census of 1872 was 315 and according to that of 1881 321 souls. In 1901, it had a population of 246, yielding a state revenue of 2,200 Rupees (nearly all from land), paying a tribute of 529 Rupees, to the Gaekwad Baroda State and Junagadh State.

[1]

title: Chitravav

question: What is Chitravav (Divani)?

answer: a village in Rajkot Taluka of Rajkot district, Gujarat, India

question: What colonial authority ruled over Chitravav (Divani) during the British Raj period?

answer: Eastern Kathiawar Agency

question: What was the population of Chitravav (Divani) in 1972?

answer: 315

question: What was the population of Chitravav (Divani) in 1901?

answer: 246

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Chitravav (Divani) is a village in Rajkot Taluka of Rajkot district, Gujarat, India.


split: train

text:
"My best friend was telling me last night about his amazing new discovery: some guy on the Internet was telling everyone how to easily make lucid dreams. The trick was to lay still on your bed, for up to half an hour, concentrating on staying awake. Your body would then fall asleep, but not your mind. Interested, he'd tried and told me how great it was, being half in reality and half in a dream.

The same night, I tried to find a comfortable enough position on my bed, but ended up on my back. I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts in resisting sleep. Soon I started aching, wasn't comfortable anymore. Still, it'd been probably over ten minutes and I lacked the motivation to start all over again. Five minutes passed, then ten.

It was at least fifteen later that I realised my body couldn't move anymore. It felt weird, like being paralysed. My imagination started running, and the panic became overwhelming: what if someone broke into my apartment and I just couldn't move? What if I was just dead? My friend hadn't told me anything about paralysis. Did he hide that, or was there a problem?

I was still panicking when I heard steps. My mind was running wild, in contrast to my body that only let me move or close my eyes. Two men in white entered my room and my heart nearly stopped; as one flicked the light switch, I realised I was lying on a hospital bed. All sorts of machines were wired to my arms, and I pictured myself from the point of view of my visitors: a seemingly lifeless body, miserable on its bed.

**No**. I wasn't lifeless, my eyes were moving! But then, they started talking to each other.

"- For how long has he been there?, said the first one.
- More than a week. His brain stopped functioning on the impact. His family wants us to let him go, they believe we're preventing him from finding peace."

"I am going to **die**", I thought. Killed in my dream. My friends would find me days later, and forget about me in a minute. I never achieved the social life I had hoped for. I was going to die before I even truly lived.

"- What about his eyes? He seems to react to our conversation."

**Yes**.

"- Just the remains of his nervous system. That's what kept him alive until he got here, actually."

I wanted to shout at them! "You can't just do this to me, treat me like a corpse! I want to live, this is a mistake!" Not a single word came out of my mouth. So I gave up and kept listening, my eyes shaky from the adrenaline rush.

"- Let me just check him for a minute before I give you the permission to do it.", said the first one.

I didn't allow myself to hope, and kept thinking about my short sad life. It really was a miserable way to leave, I had always hoped for better.
The doctor checked my pulse, breath, and did other things I didn't see. At some point I heard him whisper to my ear "I hope we're not making a mistake. If we are, I'm sorry."

My brain went hysterical after this one; hadn't it been for the paralysis, I would've burst out laughing. But I stood as still as I had been for the past few minutes, and permission to kill me was granted. This doctor had just sentenced me to death.

A button was pushed, and the last thing I heard was the place and time of my death.

I slowly regained control of my body, which was sweaty, thirsty, hungry and still under the effect of the huge adrenaline rush. First thing tomorrow, I'll punch my best friend in the face. "

Thanks for reading my first short story here and please report any mistakes because my first language is French and I want to learn. Thanks!

title: A Lucid Night

question: How did the narrator end up in the hospital?

answer: Through his lucid dream, which felt very real.

question: Can a person die while lucid dreaming?

answer: It is not certain.

question: Why didn't the narrator's best friend tell him about the effects of lucid dreaming?

answer: Even though not stated, it might be implied that he likely wanted the narrator to have the full experience of lucid dreaming.

question: Based on the narrative, is lucid dreaming considered dangerous?

answer: It is not certain.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator's best friend introduced him to the idea of lucid dreaming after he had tried it and seemed to have had a positive experience. Curious, the narrator decided to try it by following the steps and allowing his body to fall asleep. At first, he felt paralysed and found himself in a hospital bed, unconscious and destined for death. But, alas, it was the effect of the lucid dream which his friend failed to tell him about, and he finally regained complete control of his body.


text:
*If only he could be friendly, fun, and fuckable all at the same time.*

She traces her fingers around the outline of his shadow, scared to let those fingers touch his physical form.  The afterglow having turned harsh and uninviting, she decides to shuffle off the bed and quickly begins to dress, suddenly self conscious.  The previously warm glow from the corner lamp now seems too bright and revealing.

The night before he had seemed so kind, offering up his jacket and holding the door for her.  She had never been one for chivalry; in fact, she didn’t really care if it was dead, as the prophets at the Daily Mail seemed to think.  It was the way that he so casually made her feel appreciated that really struck her.  Almost as if he wasn’t just trying to get in her pants.

She meanders to the door, hoping he asks her to stay and dreading it at the same time.  “Well, I guess I’ll see you ‘round,” he drawls, unsuccessfully hiding his unease.  She leaves with a mutter or two about calling him later and with that she is walking down the hallway, accompanied by a door slam filled with relief.

*Well, I guess we can chalk that one up to bad luck.*

It seems to have been happening more frequently as of late.  Expectations, it would appear, are a bit of a bitch.  Her routine of going out for a quiet drink or two, hoping to meet someone who would playfully flirt, take her number, and call her the next day, had become a routine of quickly falling for potential.  Most nights now ended with her on her back, or on her knees, or on top.  Not quite the ending she envisioned but not altogether unsatisfactory.

Now outside, she gathers her bearings and steps on an arriving bus.  Finding a free seat, she sits down and contemplates the odds of finding someone whom she found to be friendly, fun, and fuckable in a city as big as Toronto.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

*Well, then.  I guess it’s high time to start narrowing down those odds.*

title: Friendly, fun, and fuckable

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: The narrator seems to be a woman.

question: Who is the narrator with?

answer: Unclear, it seems as though he's had a one night stand with a man, and is leaving his house.

question: Where is the narrator going?

answer: Unclear

question: What is the narrator contemplating?

answer: She is contemplating the odds of finding an ideal romantic and sexual partner in a city as big as Toronto.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator wakes up after a one night stand and gets dressed. She quickly darts out of the man's house and gets on the bus. She contemplates how likely it would be to find someone romantically and sexually suitable. While on the bus, someone asks her if the seat next to her is taken.


text:
Jerry Chavez hardly ever said a word. A damn shame because he knew so many good ones. Lascivious, licentious, and lethargic all laid latent. He even invented some new ones that would have been a boon to society:

Escube:  to get ready for the day at work or a night out on the town by  shitting, showering, and shaving

(hygienically speaking the best order to perform them in).

Potanic: any item possessing the potency of Titanic proportions.

Yet, Jerry's laconic manner cursed the air with the language of a mundane nature: shit, fuck, double-fuck, cock, bitch, hell, that 'c' word, Jesus, and sugar. All paltry words and a pantry one too.

Jerry would spend most of his time creating the most wonderful worlds. Staying alive it might seem only to live in his daydreams. That was until the gift bag came.

Jerry, returning to his cheap motel-style apartment complex from an appointment with a doctor, found a lavishly adorned gift bag on his welcome mat. “Is it my birthday,” he thought. Jerry looked at his watch. “No, much too cold to be my birthday.” Truly placing a temperature gauge on a watch is a brilliant idea, you are able to see how cold it is outside which helps you to realize if you have dressed appropriately. Or in this case it helped Jerry realize that this present was too early or much too late for his July birthday. Without a reason for the gift bag coming to mind Jerry still took it into his somnolently decorated apartment. Jerry was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, mainly because the giving of horses as presents seemed to have fallen out of fashion. At least that is in the circles Jerry ran in. Although the only circles Jerry ran in was down at the high school. But this was not a horse track. And obviously it's not the right track for getting a horse either. But I digress, actually looking back on how long that tangent was it would be more appropriate to say I trigressed or even quadgressed.

Jerry in the meantime had grabbed himself a beer and sat down on his couch with the gift bag. He said something to himself which I intend was “Go for it you pussy.” and then he opened the gift bag. The first thing he found was what seemed to be a normal everyday yellow, Ticonderoga, number 2 pencil. Next was a brown leather bound journal, with which one would assume was to be written in with the pencil. The card followed. Jerry opened it with no haste, and read only this:

What you write with this Pencil into this Journal will come

true in that you will be able to fully participate in it so long

as you pop one of those Purple Pills.

Jerry daunted but determined checked the back of the card. Exactly as he thought, it was not a Hallmark. He now turned his attention to the dilemma of the pills. That is, where are they? The card's removal had emptied the gift bag. But as Jerry went to grab the bag again he heard the distinct sound of pills rattling in a bottle. And there they were. The purple pills were in his left hand.

Jerry removed the magic lid from the magic bottle, and took out the magic cotton swab, and grabbed a magic pill. Jerry said something silently to himself which I intend was “Hell, why not.” and then swallowed the pill with the help of a swig from his beer bottle.

Its taste was not bad. Jerry now felt he had done something wrong. Maybe, he was to have written first. But before he was to become too worried a story came to him and he began to write.

It was a very good story. In the vein of Rip Van Winkle. A young lad, who Jerry would play, fell asleep on top of a hill overlooking a dystopian city. He was very unhappy in this world. He wished he could change it not just for himself, but for all. When the young man awoke he found himself on top of the hill looking down though on an unfamiliar city. He came down from his mount and walked around this new and as he found better city. Being quite confused he rested on a park bench. An old man seeing this unnerved young man sat down beside him hoping he could assuage the youth's pain. Jerry told him about the world he came from and how happy and surprised he was to see this one. Jerry asked how it became such and how it maintained its wonderfulness. The old man, who was quite knowledgeable, told him the story. He told the version that was not too long to allow the listener to become uninterested and not too short as to leave anything of importance out. It was a very good story and at the end of this he asked Jerry a question, “Shouldn't you be on your way?”

“To where?” Jerry replied.

“Home.” said the old man. Jerry paused. He believed senility had finally caught up to the old man.

“I have no home here.”

This made the old man smile making Jerry now certain of the old man's brain being gone. The old man said, “Then maybe here is not the place you should stay. Your home is there. You might want to go back and share with others the story that you have found here.”

Upon hearing this Jerry knew what he must do. He would return to his dystopian world and share this gift, the one he was given, with others.

As great as this would have been you must already know that this is not what happened. Our world has no magic pencil or magic paper. Neither does it have magic pills. Just regular pills which purpose is to help. The kind you might get after an appointment with a psychiatrist. Pencils and journals with which we can write our feelings and thoughts in and one day share with others.

No, Jerry never came back to our world. Damn shame too for he had so many wonderful stories to tell.

title: The Gift Bag

question: What do the purple pills do?

answer: The note in the bag tells Jerry that whatever he writes in the journal will come true if he takes the purple pills. However, when he takes them all that happens is he starts having visions. The narrator reminds us that in our world all that exist are psychiatric drugs, not magic pills. It is implied Jerry dies after overdosing on the pills.

question: Describe Jerry's watch and its significance in the story.

answer: Jerry has a watch with a temperature gauge on it. He uses it to check the temperature instead of the time. However, it still helps him figure out that it is not his birthday. He is able to figure it out because it is cold outside, and his birthday is in July.

question: What does Jerry find in the bag?

answer: First he finds a normal, everyday, yellow Ticondergoa number 2 pencil. Or at least, what seems to be one. Then he finds a brown, leather bound journal. Then he finds a card. Finally he finds a bottle of purple pills.


text:
_HORMONES_ (; ) is a 2008 Thai romantic comedy film directed by Songyos Sugmakanan. The literal meaning of the Thai title is 'restless hearts during school break' or 'school break, hearts aflutter'.

Plot

The film revolves around a group of high school and university students during their school break, and the relationships that develop (or don't). Four romantic threads are interwoven in the film's plot. Both Pu (Charlie Trairat) and Mai (Sirachuch Chienthaworn) are in competition for Nana (Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha) while class geek Jo (Ratchu Surachalas) is in love with a popular girl C (Chutima Teepanat). Meanwhile, Oh Lek (Focus Jirakul) is wild about Taiwanese pop sensation Didi (Lu Ting Wei), and Hern (Chantawit Thanasewee) is thinking of cheating on his girlfriend Nuan (Thaniya Ummaritchoti) when he meets Japanese tourist Aoi (Sora Aoi).[1]

Cast

-   Charlie Trairat as Pu
-   Sirachuch Chienthaworn as Mai
-   Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha as Nana
-   Focus Jirakul as Oh Lek
-   Ratchu Surajaras as Jo
-   Chutima Teepanat as C
-   Thaniya Ummaritchoti as Nuan
-   Chantawit Thanasewee as Hern
-   Sora Aoi as Aoi
-   Lu Ting Wei as Didi
-   Chaleumpol Tikumpornteerawong

Production

Director Sugmakanan admits he was inspired by the format of the British romantic comedy Love Actually but points out that relationships in Asian culture are not comparable to those in Western culture.[2]

The studio was anxious to avoid the possible controversy involved in having Japanese adult video star Sora Aoi in a movie directed at a teen audience so her name was omitted in promotional materials although she appears in the trailer.[3] Sugmakanan has said that the segment in which Aoi appears was based on a friend's actual experiences.[4]

Reception

The film saw national release in 163 theatres and earned an unprecedented (for GTH films) 10 million baht on its first day, totalling 34.1 million in its opening weekend. It earned a total of 80 million baht in the box office and was the third-largest grossing Thai film in 2008.[5][6]

A Daily XPress review of the movie calls it “sexy and funny” as well as “Thought-provoking and nostalgic”.[7] The film won the Jury's Special Prize at the fourth Asian Marine Film Festival held in Makuhari, Japan, an award which one journalist ascribes to the presence of Sora Aoi.[8]

Awards

  Year   Award                                  Category                                          Country    Result
  ------ -------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ---------- --------
  2008   4th Asian Marine Film Festival         The Juries' Special Prize                         Japan
  2009   6th Starpics Thai Films Awards         Best Picture                                      Thailand
  2009   6th Starpics Thai Films Awards         Best Director                                     Thailand
  2009   6th Starpics Thai Films Awards         Best Film Editing                                 Thailand
  2009   18th Thai National Film Awards         Best Supporting Actress (Focus Jirakul)           Thailand
  2009   18th Thai National Film Awards         Best Costume Design                               Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Picture                                      Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Director                                     Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Supporting Actor (Ratchu Surajaras)          Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Supporting Actress (Focus Jirakul)           Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Screenplay                                   Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Film Editing                                 Thailand
  2009   17th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards   Best Original Score                               Thailand
  2009   6th Hamburger Awards                   Best Actress (Focus Jirakul)                      Thailand
  2009   6th Hamburger Awards                   Favourite Scene-Stealing Actress (Sora Aoi)       Thailand
  2009   6th Hamburger Awards                   Best Original Song (รอเธอหันมา – โฟกัส จิระกุล)   Thailand
  2009   6th Hamburger Awards                   Best Original Song (อย่างน้อย – บิ๊กแอส)          Thailand

Notes

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] .

[6] .

[7]

[8]

title: Hormones (film)

question: What does the text say about "Hormones"?

answer: "Hormones" is a 2008 Thai romantic comedy film directed by Songyos Sugmakanan. The literal meaning of its Thai title is "restless hearts during school break".

question: Write a short summary of the show's plot.

answer: The film revolves around a group of high school students during their school break. Some develop relationships while others don't. There are four different romantic threads in the film.

question: What does the text say about the show's cast?

answer: The cast is composed of:  Charlie Trairat as Pu, Sirachuch Chienthaworn as Mai, Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha as Nana, Focus Jirakul as Oh Lek, Ratchu Surajaras as Jo, Chutima Teepanat as C, Thaniya Ummaritchoti as Nuan, Chantawit Thanasewee as Hern, Sora Aoi as Aoi, Lu Ting Wei as Didi, Chaleumpol Tikumpornteerawong.

question: What does the text say about the show's production process?


text:
Was bored, wrote this in about an hour. Constructive criticism and general feedback are both appreciated.

---

Lyra stood in the doorway of the dressing room, her hands placed expressively on either hip. She knew that it was time to speak up. She would give the Master one last chance, but she had a feeling that this would be his final show.

“Ah yes, my sweet Lyra. What do you come about for? You've hardly any makeup on yet! Don't you know the show's about to start? Go get...”

“I'm not performing with you tonight.” she said, as firmly as she could.

“Excuse me?” the Master replied, dumbfounded. His mouth hung slightly agape.

“I'm done with the show. I'm not doing it anymore. You're going to have to find a new assistant.”

At this point, she knew there was no retracting her sentiment. She stood in the doorway, grasping the frame with palms of nervous sweat.

“Well, Lyra, I... Frankly I... I don't think you're in any position to make such brash decisions.” His face  glistened with the same sweat of her palms. “You signed the contract, and the contract says...”

“You drugged me, you bastard.” She was beginning to shudder with pent up rage, anger coursing readily through her heated veins. “I couldn't even speak when I signed that thing. You promised me money, fame, love...”

“...But the promises of a madman are as empty as your pretty little head, aren't they darling?” The nervous sweat had vanished from his face, replaced with only the darkest shades of malevolent confidence. The chuckle that followed was far from hearty.

Not once did Lyra move her gaze from his. She knew he would refuse to release her, and now that he had, she cognized the weight that his refusal carried. This brought her some emotional relief. She knew his triumph would be short-lived.

“Now go put on your things, you filthy slut.” He moved his eyes from hers and peered down into his tobacco pipe. A swift light drew out a large plume of smoke, and a few puffs later he returned his stare. “If you're not ready in five, you're in for one hell of a beating.”

She realized that the only viable response was to feign momentary subservience. “Yes master.” she replied, with an eerie calmness to her tone. She had stopped shaking; her anger had subsided. She knew that she had won, but the Master knew not.

As sharp as he was, he found nothing awry with her sudden obedience, and seemed more than pleased that his threats had done their job. “Yes, good girl. Now off with you!” Elements of playfulness pervaded his own tone, underscoring his outright insanity.

Lyra turned on her heel and walked to her dressing room. The door hung slightly open, and she pushed it the rest of the way in with her body. She knew it would be her final visit, so she made a point to gather the few things she truly cared for.

“Hairbrush, mace, lockpicks...” She briefly ran through a mental list of things to keep. When she got to the end, her suitcase was practically overflowing. She paused and thoughtfully gazed at her sandals.

“This is it.” She said to herself. She reached her hand into the hidden compartment of the suitcase and pulled out “the instrument” – a common knife with a single edged blade sharpened to a razor point. The Master seldom allowed her to use utensils when they ate together, but she had managed to garner the knife following the post-meal alcohol daze of his Friday eve meat feast.

The illumination of the red light in the hallway caught her attention as it reflected off of the blade in her hand. The show was starting - it was time to go. Her stature was firm and her goal clear in her mind as she strutted towards the stage, grasping the instrument for dear life.

She heard the roar of the audience as was blinded by the incessant haze of the overhead lights. Everyone had come to see the Master perform his tricks, fooling them as charmingly as he had her on the night that she was signed into servitude.

“And now...” roared his voice, “put your hands together for my lovely assistant... Lyra!”

The audience was familiar with this routine. Every member applauded her entry with great enthusiasm, for the more they expressed, the more bewildering the Masters tricks would be.

As she walked onto the platform, the applause tapered off abruptly, perhaps with the most acute decrescendo of the century. They saw her dressed casually, not as her usual subservient self. Boos began to replace former cheers, and the master felt a fair mix of anger and embarrassment.

He marched over to her while waving at the audience with a 'just a moment' gesture. “What on great mother earth do you fancy you're doing, you little whore? You're ruining the show! I told you to get your act together! And what the bloody hell are you fumbling with!?”

As her arm shot towards his collar, his eyes widened with terror. She plunged the instrument deep into the front of his neck, and it penetrated his adam's apple with ease. To her, it felt as if she were cutting butter.

He managed to let out a few exasperated gurgles before she slid the knife further up the sides of his neck. As it severed his carotid artery, blood spurted from the resulting wounds in a manner that seemed almost cartoonish. It was an unsettling sight, but she relished in the moment like none other, watching his life slowly drain away, his hatred and cruelty being replaced by emptiness and his consciousness slipping deeper into the void of oblivion.

Most of the members of the audience had left in a panicked frenzy. However, one particular man, deluded as he was, came up onto the stage and began to charge at Lyra, thinking her to be some sort of murderer who needed to be brought to proper justice.

She had very little time to finish her task. She looked the Master in his near-vacant eyes one last time as he lay on the polished hardwood floor of the stage, his brain cells rapidly atrophying. “It's all in your eyes, Master.” she whispered. “It's all in your eyes.”

With that, a swift kick to the head did him in. She hastily recovered the Nekraf from his front suit pocket, a device that could teleport the user to any destination of their choosing. Just before the enraged man grabbed the bottom portion of her blouse, she closed her eyes, pressed the prime button, felt a sharp jolt, and vanished into thin air. He stood around confused for a few more moments, looking up, down and every which way, but ultimately concluded that she truly was gone. In a minutes time, no one was left in the house save for the corpse of the accursed Master himself.

His show was no more, his tricks no longer existent. His mind control was nullified, and most of the audience members had recovered their full wits and were flabbergasted as to what they'd just experienced. Many speculated, but none remembered for sure. The Master was a forgotten man, his show a sullen piece, and his evils finally lain to a well-deserved rest.

Lyra awoke on a sunny beach of crystal blue waters, palm trees surrounding her sunken form. She stood up and looked into the distance, eyes set upon a singular tropical cabana.

“Home.” she said to herself, in near disbelief. “I'm finally home.”

She walked on.

title: The Instrument - 1280 words

question: Why was Lyra confident that she could kill her Master and still get away with it?

answer: She knew that he carried a teleporter in his pocket and she planned to take it from him and disappear at the push of a button.

question: Why did Lyra kill the Master?

answer: Because he kept her enslaved bound by a contract that he had forced her to sign after he had drugged her. He also beat her

question: Why did the master not find is strange that Lyra was suddenly obedient and willing to do his bidding?

answer: He was somewhat arrogant and believed that his threats of a beating had won the day.

question: Why did Lyra collect all her most precious possessions?

answer: She had no plans of returning to her room as she was going to kill her master and disappear.


text:
Sources within House Republican leadership told Breitbart News on Thursday that they believe former 2016 presidential candidate Evan McMullin may have spied on them last year, while he was policy director of the House Republican Conference.

Suspicions arose after the _Washington Post_‘s Adam Entous reported Wednesday that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

The story was treated by other news outlets as a potential “smoking gun” implicating Trump. A closer look, however, raises serious questions about the story, as well as its sources.

The _Post_ based its reporting on an audio recording of a conversation between McCarthy and Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Patrick McHenry (R-NC) on June 15, 2016.

It is not clear who recorded the conversation, or what kind of device was used. (Entous did not return a request for comment.)

The _Post_ did not post the actual audio recording for readers to listen to and judge for themselves. Instead, it posted a supposed transcript of the recording, riddled with typographical errors that would be atypical for the _Post_, at least in an important story.

(The _Post_ routinely accuses conservative journalists like James O’Keefe — falsely — of editing their videos in a misleading manner. In 2012, the _Post_‘s media critic, Erik Wemple, mocked O’Keefe: “A great deal of work is required to heavily edit surreptitious encounters with folks throughout the professional world.” Yet now the _Post_ has published a blockbuster story based on audio that may be edited deceptively — and there is no way to know.)

On Wednesday evening, Entous told Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC: “The source, which basically let us listen to the recording, has not provided us with the audio for us to release, otherwise I think we would. So I have listened to it, and some of my colleagues have listened to it several times … There’s about four of us that listened to it.”

He did not say how they had listened to it — whether over the telephone, or in a voice mail, or as an email attachment.

The _Post_ does not appear ever to have had the audio in its possession. Entous merely wrote that the audio “was listened to and verified by The Washington Post.”

The term “verified” could mean anything — it could simply mean the audio Entous heard matched the transcript. It does not mean that the _Post_ had confirmed that the audio was unedited, nor does it mean that the _Post_ confirmed the authenticity of the recording with the people present.

Curiously, the dateline on Entous’s story was Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. McCarthy and Ryan held talks earlier that day with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on Capitol Hill. None of the _Post_ reporters involved in the story — including “Andrew Roth in Moscow, Michael Birnbaum in Brussels and Robert Costa in Washington” — is based in Ukraine. It is not clear why overseas reporters were involved in the story.

Breitbart News’ sources, who agreed to speak about the _Post_ story without attribution, raised suspicions about Evan McMullin, a former CIA agent who ran a small third-party presidential campaign in 2016.

McMullin was the policy director of the House Republican Conference at the time of the conversation, and reportedly participated in the discussion.

In February, McMullin publicly encouraged U.S. intelligence officials to leak information about President Trump, taking to Twitter and appearing on CNN to claim that intelligence agents who were breaking the law were doing so in service of their oath to defend the Constitution against “domestic and foreign enemies.” He told CNN that “Donald Trump presents a threat to the country,” and referred to “a security threat coming from the White House.”

He also offered Entous a comment for his story in the _Post_: “It’s true that Majority Leader McCarthy said that he thought candidate Trump was on the Kremlin’s payroll. Speaker Ryan was concerned about that leaking,” he said.

The transcript itself suggests McCarthy was joking. The context of the private conversation was a discussion about how Russian propaganda has infiltrated Ukraine and beyond.

McCarthy told his colleagues that the Russians had hacked the Democratic National Committee to find opposition research on Trump, and then laughed. According to the transcript at the _Post_, the conversation then proceeded as follows — punctuated by repeated bouts of laughter:

  McCarthy: The Russians hacked the DNC and got the opp [sic] research that they had on Trump.

  McCarthy: laughs

  [Crosstalk]

  Ryan: The Russian’s [sic] hacked the DNC…

  McHenry: …to get oppo…

  Ryan: …on Trump and like delivered it to…to who?

  [Unintelligible]

  McCarthy: There’s…there’s two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump…[laughter]…swear to God.

  Ryan: This is an off the record…[laughter]…NO LEAKS…[laughter]…alright?! [Laughter]

  Ryan: This is how we know we’re a real family here.

Entous seemed determined to portray that exchange as a serious revelation of evidence against Trump. Several paragraphs into his article, he admitted: “It is difficult to tell from the recording the extent to which the remarks were meant to be taken literally.” Yet he has since been at pains to paint McCarthy’s statement as a serious one.

On MSNBC’s _Hardball_, Entous told Chris Matthews: “I listened to it very carefully, and he says it very seriously.” Later, he told O’Donnell, “I want to be really honest … Frankly, it’s kind of hard to tell. Certainly the conversation is very, very serious.” (O’Donnell chimed in to offer “Catholic boy guidance,” saying that “people with names like Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan,” the phrase “swear to God” means that a statement is to be taken literally.)

Entous went on to say that McCarthy had spoken “very matter-of-factually,” but admitted “some people in the room laugh[ed].”

_Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of _How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution_, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak._

question: Why was the audio transcript riddled with errors?

answer: According to the passage, it is possible someone edited it to fit a certain narrative. Another theory was that the transcript was made up and the conversation within never happened.


text:
As I made my way through the backstreets of the town, I could feel my heart thumping. My hands where clammy and sweaty, yet I was bitterly cold. I was taking my time as I wasn’t quite sure where I was headed too. My hands became shaky, I took the last few puffs of my cigarette until I felt the sharp sting of the hot embers approaching my lips. I sighed and stomped the butt out on the pavement. Rain water was seeping in through holes in my boots, I started to lose the feeling in my toes, my legs became weak and the joints in my knees where seizing to a halt. I sat on the next bench I came across, just outside a small café. It was just a little past Ten O’clock in the evening, the last few customers in the café were finishing their drinks and preparing to face the howling wind I was desperate to find shelter from. I dug deep in my pockets, some change rattled and clanged against my tobacco tin. I pulled out a handful, a fifty pence coin peeked out from amongst the coppers, I counted up my coppers and rose to my feet.

As I pushed open the cafes door, a warm rush of air raced past my face and escaped behind me. I slinked up to the counter, and began to read the menu. My tired eyes scanned the board searching for a price to match the coins I clasped to. Nothing, It was inevitable anyway, I was just glad for the warmth. As I turned to leave a soft voice came from behind me “Cup of tea dearie?”
I looked behind me and was met by the face of a hard life, the voices owner was an old frail looking woman, her eyes heavy from years of work yet she had the sort of endearing smile that warms the heart.
“H-how much” I stuttered quietly”.
“Whatever you want poppet” the woman moved behind the counter and gestured to a charity box.
“For the wee babies in Africa” she crooned.
“I wasn’t aware this café was for charity” I smiled politely
“It isn’t dearie” She cackled as she poured the boiling water into a mug, she tapped the spoon on the handle and threw a few lumps of sugar into the warm mixture. “On the house” she smiled and disappeared into the kitchen. I took the mug from the counter and deposited a few coins in the box.

I made myself comfortable on the faux leather chairs placed against the back wall, I was far enough out of the way yet I could still smell the sweetness coming from the cafes bakery cabinet. My stomach howled and I grasped my tummy in pain. I hadn’t ate in a few days and the pains were only getting worse. I had been surviving on the last few pieces of gum that were collecting debris at the depths of my jackets pockets. Occasionally I would find a half-eaten sandwich on the park benches at lunch, left over from the busy workers rushing back to their offices. But as it was a Sunday evening I had been given no such prize this afternoon. The lady reappeared holding a small bag.
“We’re closing up now poppet” She thrust the paper bag into my hands “On your way now”.
I nodded and thanked her for her kindness, as I left, just as the warm air had greeted me upon entering, the cold greeted me too, it enveloped my body and slowly all the warmth I had built up in the café dispersed.

I made my way towards the bus shelter. It was quite and enclosed, there would be some shelter from the elements there. I found a quite spot in the door way and nestled into the corner. I gently opened the little brown package the old woman had trust into my hands before I had left the café. The smell of fish assaulted my nose, I peeked inside and was greeted by the sight of a tasty dinner. Tuna and sweetcorn, a meal for I queen I thought. I ate half, leaving some for the morning’s stomach pangs. Fumbling through my pack back I pulled out a few hats and another scarf, the night would be harsh. I unravelled my mousy brown hair, the tips dyed with a pink hue. Pulling my hats on, I tucked my hair into the scarf and zipped myself up till I could taste the metal in my mouth. Curling into a tight ball, I rested my head on my backpack and closed my eyes. As I lay there, cold and silent, the sounds of the city ushered me to sleep.

End.

Just looking for some feedback :)

title: City sleeper. (792 words)

question: Does the narrator eat anything in the cafe?

answer: The narrator drinks a cup of tea at the cafe.

question: Who is the old woman?

answer: It may be implied that the old woman is the owner of the cafe,

question: What is in the brown bag?

answer: The bag has a meal for the narrator - Tuna and sweetcorn.

question: Where does the narrator head after the cafe?

answer: After leaving the cafe, the narrator heads to the bus shelter which was quite enclosed.

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer:
The narrator goes around the town in the cold while it rains. She reaches a cafe that's about to close. She reads the menu but hardly has any money to pay. The old woman at the counters offers her a cup of tea on the house.

She smells the cafe's bakery and cannot resist, the woman hadn't eaten in days. The old lady comes and hands her a small bag and asks her to leave as they were closing.

The woman heads to the bus shelter and is delighted to see the bag is filled with a tasty dinner. She curls up like a tight ball and lays there cold and silent.


text:
A year after announcing her intentions to open a restaurant in North Corktown -- which turned out to be another in a series of false starts -- chef Kate Williams is cautious about releasing too many details concerning her forthcoming Lady of the House restaurant.

[Chef Kate Williams' new restaurant, Lady of the House, will fill the former St. CeCe's Pub space in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. ]
But One thing is certain, however: The restaurant will take the place of the former St. CeCe's Pub at Bagley and Trumbull when it finally opens this spring.

Williams and her investors pulled out of the original location at 14th and Perry in April due to issues with the space, and uncertainty about a possible large development slated for the neighborhood, Williams said.

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But when they heard that an out-of-town group was among the interested parties in St. CeCe's, they decided to make an offer as a bid to keep the property under local control -- and to keep Lady of the House in Corktown.

"It was really important to keep this as a welcoming place for Corktown residents," Williams, 31, said.

Williams' great-grandparents, immigrants from Ireland, met at the Gaelic League and her grandfather grew up on nearby Vermont Street, she said. Williams herself has lived in the neighborhood since 2014.

[Chef Kate Williams' new restaurant, Lady of the House, will fill the former St. CeCe's Pub space in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. ]
"I felt like I had to be in Corktown," she said of her restaurant. "This is my home; this is my heritage."

The silent partners backing the former Republic executive chef purchased the building in November for $770,000 with a liquor license and three parcels included in the cost, she said.

The building had originally been listed for $850,000 by O'Connor Real Estate and then dropped to $824,900. According to public records, it was last sold in January 2011 for $330,000, signifying a 133% increase in value over the intervening six years.

Williams said she hopes to preserve the warmth and vibe of the space, but a facelift by Detroit-based Patrick Thompson Design will brighten things up a bit.

Almost a year behind on her original opening timeline, Williams said the changes to the interior will be cosmetic only to speed up the build-out. The fireplace will stay, but the beloved stained glass windows will not. The drop-ceiling will be covered by wood beams to give the space an added dose of coziness. The large basement may also come into play down the road, as will the outdoor patio.

In all, the 3,200-square-foot main floor will seat about 65 diners -- a size conducive to the chef's plans to personally touch each table.

At Lady of the House, hospitality will be a major focus. Dinners will begin with a traditional Irish tea service by Joseph Wesley Tea.

[The fireplace from St. CeCe's Pub in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood will be preserved when the space becomes Lady of the House, a new restaurant from chef Kate Williams, this spring.]
"Irish food isn't really known or respected around the world, but Irish hospitality is," Williams said. "I wanted to be the ultimate hostess. ... When you host someone, you are taking responsibility for them for the entirety that they're in your care. That's exactly what this is supposed to be."

The menu will be made up of small plates and a few larger plates designed for sharing (a whole roasted chicken, for example). There will also be bar snacks that include a couple of tartares, olives and a shrimp carpaccio.

Lady of the House will open with dinner only Wednesday through Sunday, but weekend brunch will be added down the road.

As with Republic, there will be a focus on whole-animal butchery and produce sourced from local farms. Williams has already recruited a roster of urban farms including ACRE, Food Field, Brother Nature and Recovery Park to provide produce, and will be using Cover Crop Ranch beef and Michigan shrimp and trout.

[Chef Kate Williams butchering a leg of pork. As with her previous restaurant, Republic, Williams will focus on whole-animal butchery at her new restaurant, Lady of the House, slated to debut in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood this spring.]
Though she's not naming names, Williams said she's enlisted a seasoned Detroit-area bar manager to head up the beverage side. But craft cocktails, despite making an appearance, will not be the focus here. Instead, beer, wine and whiskey will take center stage, at exemplifying a wide range of price points. Williams said that might include a "quality" boxed wine on one end of the spectrum and a top-flight bottle on the opposite.

"I want to do a cool whiskey list, too, even though my dad will say 'no Protestant whiskies,' " she quipped.

A Northville native and graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York (now called the International Culinary Center), Williams became a sous chef at Wolfgang Puck in Chicago before moving back to Michigan in 2009 to private chef for Peter and Danialle Karmanos.

In 2012, she opened her first restaurant as executive chef at the short-lived Rodin in the Park Shelton building in Midtown.

Before starting to commencing work on opening Republic Tavern, Williams spent a few months in Copenhagen working at Relae, No. 40 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

[Lamb with black sesame and pine nut risotto by chef Kate Williams made for a preview pop-up dinner of her forthcoming Lady of the House restaurant, slated for the former St. CeCe's space in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood.]
Despite a high-profile launch at Republic in early 2015, Williams was again on the move just three months later.

Asked if she felt any additional pressure because of the series of false starts in Detroit, Williams calmly replied, "No.

"I now know what not to do and what I don't want to do," she said.

"This is finally what I want."

_Contact Mark Kurlyandchik: 313-222-5026 or mkurlyandchik@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mkurlyandchik and Instagram: mkurlyandchik._

question: What is the main focus of this article?

answer: Lady of the House, a forthcoming (at the time of the article) restaurant belonging to chef Kate Williams, which will occupy the building formerly home to St. CeCe's Pub.

question: What details have been made public about the Lady of the House restaurant?

answer: The changes to the interior of the building will be cosmetic only. The main floor will seat about 65 diners, and the chef plans to personally touch each table. Hospitality will be a major focus, and diners will begin with a traditional irish tea service. There will be a focus on whole-animal butchery.

question: What happened to St. CeCe's Pub?

answer: That isn't stated, but it can be inferred that it went out of business.

question: Describe Kate Williams' prior ventures.

answer: Prior to opening her previous restaurant, Republic Tavern, Kate worked as a sous chef at Wolfgang Puck, as a private chef for Peter and Danialle Karmanos, and also worked at Relae, No. 40.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article concerns Lady of the House, a forthcoming (at the time of the article) restaurant belonging to chef Kate Williams. The restaurant will occupy the same space as the former St. CeCe's Pub and will maintain some of the prior establishment's interior. The article details what is known about the menu of the new restaurant and lists some of Kate Williams' prior exploits.


text:
[Snabb]

Snabb (formerly "Snabb Switch") is a simple and fast packet networking toolkit.

We are also a grassroots community of programmers and network engineers who help each other to build and deploy new network elements. We care about practical applications and finding simpler ways to do things.

The Snabb community are active in applying modern programming techniques, do-it-yourself operator networking, high-level device drivers, fast userspace virtio networking, universal SIMD protocol offloads, and applying compiler technology to networking.

You are welcome to join our community! Scroll down to the bottom for tips on how you can get involved.

Documentation

-   API Reference
-   Contributor Hints

How does it work?

Snabb is written using these main techniques:

-   Lua, a high-level programming language that is easy to learn.
-   LuaJIT, a just-in-time compiler that is competitive with C.
-   Ethernet I/O with no kernel overhead ("kernel bypass" mode).

Snabb compiles into a stand-alone executable called snabb. This single binary includes multiple applications and runs on any modern Linux/x86-64 distribution. (You could think of it as a busybox for networking.)

How is it being used?

The first generation of Snabb applications include:

snabbnfv

Snabb NFV makes QEMU/KVM networking performance practical for applications that require high packet rates, such as ISP core routers. This is intended for people who want to process up to 100 Gbps or 50 Mpps of Virtio-net network traffic per server. We originally developed Snabb NFV to support Deutsche Telekom's TeraStream network.

You can deploy Snabb NFV stand-alone with QEMU or you can integrate it with a cloud computing platform such as OpenStack.

lwAFTR

Snabb lwAFTR is the internet-facing component of "lightweight 4-over-6" (lw4o6), an IPv6 transition technology. An ISP can use lwAFTR functions to provide its users with access to the IPv4 internet while maintaining a simple IPv6-only internal network. An ISP deploying Snabb lwAFTR can also configure lw4o6 to share IPv4 addresses between multiple different customers, ameliorating the IPv4 address space exhaustion problem and lowering costs. See the lwAFTR documentation for more details.

VPWS

VPWS (Virtual Private Wire Service) is a Layer-2 VPN application being developed by Alexander Gall at SWITCH. His Github vpn branch is the master line of development.

packetblaster

packetblaster generates load by replaying a pcap format trace file or synthesizing customizable packets onto any number of Intel 82599 10-Gigabit network interfaces. This is very efficient: only a small % of one core per CPU is required even for hundreds of Gbps of traffic. Because so little CPU resources are required you can run packetblaster on a small server or even directly on a Device Under Test.

snsh

snsh (Snabb Shell) is a tool for interactively experimenting with Snabb. It provides direct access to all APIs using a Lua shell. You can operate snsh either from script files or from an interactive shell.

How do I get started?

Setting up a Snabb development environment takes around one minute:

    $ git clone https://github.com/SnabbCo/snabb
    $ cd snabb
    $ make -j
    $ sudo src/snabb --help

The snabb binary is stand-alone, includes all of the applications, and can be copied between machines.

For example, to install on the local machine and use as a load generator:

    $ cp src/snabb /usr/local/bin/
    $ sudo snabb packetblaster replay capture.pcap 01:00.0

snabb container

Basic support for building and running snabb in a Docker container is available via

    $ make docker

This will build a tiny snabb container (8MB), ready to be used:

    $ docker run -ti --rm snabb --help

Or simply run snabb, as you would under linux. This is made possible by using a wrapper shell script that gets linked to as part of 'make docker':

    $ src/snabb --help

How do I get involved?

Here are the ways you can get involved:

-   Use the Snabb applications in your network.
-   Create your very own application: Getting Started.
-   Create Github Issues with your ideas and questions and problems.
-   Join the Snabb Slack chat to hang out and shoot the breeze.

question: What was "snabb" formerly known as?

answer: Snabb Switch.

question: What is Snabb Switch?

answer: A simple and fast packet networking toolkit.

question: Which languages does Snabb use?

answer: Lua, LuaJIT, and ethernet I/O with no kernel overhead.

question: What's the first step to getting started?

answer: Setting up a Snabb environment.

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer: Snabb Switch, formerly known as Snabb, is a simple, effective networking tool. It uses lua, luaJIT, and ethernet I/O with no kernel overhead. The first step to using it is to set up the environment, which takes only a minute. Snabb compiles into a standalone executable called snabb, which is a single-binary that includes multiple applications and you can run it on any modern Linux/x distribution. You can run snabb standalone with QEMU or you can integrate it into a cloud platform. You can also run it by using a wrapper shell script that gets linked to as part of 'make docker'. If you run into issues, there's always support and assistance on Github.


text:
FRANK ALFRED MARSALES (31 August 188614 August 1975) was a Canadian composer best known for his work scoring many classic Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1930s. He also worked with Walter Lantz Studios in the mid to late 1930s.

Cartoon career

Marsales was a symphony musician who became the music director for Warner Bros. Cartoons under the direction of former Disney animators Hugh Harman (1903–1982) and Rudolf Ising (1903–1992), scoring many classic cartoons in the 1930s, including every Harman & Ising Looney Tune and Merrie Melodie. His first credit was for “Sinkin' in the Bathtub”, released May 1930 and animated by Isadore Freleng. He composed the music to the 1931 Merrie Melodies _Lady, Play Your Mandolin!_.[1] His last credit for Warner Brothers was in 1933 with “Bosko's Picture Show”.[2][3] He left Warner Brothers when Harman and Ising left the studio (but not with them), missing out on scoring their work at Paramount for the 1933 animated “Alice in Wonderland” — Marsales may also have had a hand injury at that time that precluded his composing any music at all.[4]

In the mid-1930s, Marsales began work at Walter Lantz Studios as musical director for the Andy Panda cartoons, among others. Frank Marsales' last credited musical score at Walter Lantz Studios was for “Knock Knock”, released 25 November 1940 (although he may also have scored some part of the “Syncopated Sioux” cartoon that was released 30 December 1940, which musical director was uncredited).[5] Music from Marsales' work for Lantz also found its way into the 1957 Woody Woodpecker television show, which contained not only new cartoons, but also Woody's (and other) theatrical Lantz cartoons from the previous twenty years.[6]

Personal life

Marsales was born in Canada on 31 August 1886, the son of Robert Lambert Marsales and Lena Burns. He lived most of his life in California. Marsales married Catherine Elizabeth Murset (30 April 188913 Jan 1971). They had no children. He died 14 August 1975 in Long Beach, California.

[1]

[2] Frank Marsales webpage of the Toonzone website

[3] Warner Bros. Cartoon Filmography webpage (with screenshots of actual credits) of the Warner Bros. Cartoons Filmography And Title Card Gallery website

[4] Goldmark, Daniel (2005) “Tunes for 'Toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon” University of California Press, , page 179

[5] The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1940 webpage of the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia website

[6] The Woody Woodpecker Show webpage of the Internet Movie Database website

title: Frank Marsales

question: What is Frank Marsales known for?

answer: Marsales is known for his musical scores for many classic Warner Brothers cartoons of the 1930s.

question: When was Marsales born?

answer: Marsales was born on August 31, 1886.

question: What was Marsales' last credit for Warner Brothers?

answer: His last credit for Warner Brothers was in 1933 on "Bosko's Picture Show."

question: Did Marsales have any children?

answer: No, he did not.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Frank Marsales was a Canadian composer who is best known for scoring many classic Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1930s.


text:
Dear Friends,

It is September and time for my quarterly request for your support. The website has a number of supporters who have set up automatic monthly donations. If the website had more of these, I could dispense with quarterly requests.

If you contribute via PayPal or Stripe, please make a note of it. As credit card companies are saving money by not providing much of a description of your card charges, some contributors do not recognize the charges and file a dispute. These mistaken disputes waste a lot of my time and cost the website money in automatic “fraud fees.” Credit card companies are set up for purchases, not for contributions. Therefore, PayPal and Stripe assume that the charge to your card originated with the website and not with you, and I become involved in an incorrect charge dispute. IPE does not have your credit card number and cannot charge you for anything. When you use your card to make a donation, PayPal or Stripe has your card number, not IPE.

Remember, this is your website. To use an old expression, I am at the time of life when I would like to be shed of all this and spend my time with family and my cats, hiking along the mountain streams and walking the beach while I still can, and driving sports cars while I can still get in and out of them. But I understand that I provide a window into The Matrix or out of it, and I will not desert you as long as you support the site. I understand, without being conceited, that my education and life experiences mean that I know things that you can’t know and that there is scarcely anyone else to inform you. This statement does not mean that I think I know about everything and that every explanation I give is 100% correct. Experience and best effort are what I give you.

I appreciate your emails and try to read them all, but I cannot respond to them all, especially the ones asking for my responses to manuscripts, books, video presentations, and requests for lengthy explanations of various matters and advice. If I stopped reading and writing and only attended to your requests, I would still not be able to satisfy them all. The absence of my reply does not mean that you are rejected or that I don’t think that your thoughts and efforts are worthwhile. It merely means that time, energy, and other duties are constraints. The same applies to requests to collaborate in various ventures and protests. I am only one person, and my hands are full.

This month is a busy one for me. Family visitors and other responsibilities will necessitate that I take some time off, so expect my postings to be lighter than usual. After the 20th of the month, things should ease a bit.

In the meantime, below is my take on the economy in contrast to the disinformation fed to you by the government and financial media.

WHITHER THE ECONOMY?

Paul Craig Roberts

The great problem with corporate capitalism is that publicly owned companies have short time horizons. Unlike a privately owned business, the top executives of a publicly owned corporation generally come to their positions late in life. Consequently, they have a few years in which to make their fortune.

As a consequence of the short-sightedness of reformers and Congress, the annual salaries of top executives were capped at $1 million. Amounts in excess are not deductible for the company as an expense. The exception is “performance-related” pay, which has no limit. The result is that the major part of executive pay comes in the form of performance bonuses. Performance means a rise in the price of the company’s shares.

Performance bonuses can be honestly obtained by good management or mere luck that results in a rise in the company’s profits. However, there are a number of ways in which performance bonuses can be less legitimately obtained, almost all of which result in short-term gains to executives and shareholders and long-term damage to the corporation and economy.

Replacing American workers with foreign workers is one way. The collapse of communism in Russia and China and the collapse of socialism in India resulted in the under-utilized Indian and Chinese labor forces becoming available to American corporations. Pushed by “shareholder advocates,” Wall Street, and large retailers, US manufacturing corporations began closing their manufacturing plants in the US and producing offshore the goods, and later the services, that they market to Americans.

From the standpoint of the short-term interests of executives and shareholders, this decision made sense. But to transform manufacturing companies into marketing companies, as happened for example to Apple Computer, which apparently does not own a single factory, was a strategic mistake for the long-term. By offshoring the production of their products, US corporations transferred technology, physical plant, and business knowhow to China. American corporations are now dependent on China, a country that the idiots in Washington are endeavoring to turn into an enemy.

Further downside comes from the fact that research, development, and innovation are connected to the manufacturing process, because it is difficult for these important functions to be successful in a sterile atmosphere removed from the production process. As time goes by, US companies are transformed from manufacturing enterprises into sales organizations and lose connection to the work process, and these functions relocate abroad with the manufacturing jobs.

Offshoring manufacturing jobs left Americans with fewer high-value-added well-paid jobs, and the US middle class downsized. Ladders of upward mobility were taken down. Income and wealth distributions worsened. In effect, the One Percent got richer by giving away US incomes and GDP to China. Economists who shilled for the offshoring corporations promised new and better jobs to take the place of the lost manufacturing jobs, but as I have pointed out for years, there is no sign of these promised jobs in the payroll jobs releases or ten-year jobs projections.

Jobs offshoring began with manufacturing, but the rise of the high speed Internet made it possible to move offshore tradable professional skills, such as software engineering, Information Technology, various forms of engineering, architecture, accounting, and even the medical reading of MRIs and CT-Scans. The jobs and careers of university graduates were sent abroad and denied to Americans. Many of the jobs that remained in the US were given to foreign workers brought in on H1-B and L-1 work visas based on the obviously false claim that there was a shortage of talent in the US.

The gains in executive bonuses and shareholder capital gains were achieved by destroying the economic prospects of millions of Americans and by reducing the growth potential of the US economy. In the long-run this means the demise of the US as a world power. As I forecast in 2004, “the US will be a Third World country in 20 years.”

As jobs offshoring ran its course and had fewer remaining gains to offer the One Percent, short-term greed turned to new ways of wrecking both corporations and the US economy in behalf of executive and shareholder gains. Executives of utility companies, for example, forewent maintenance and upgrades and used the money instead to buy back their own shares. If you have ever wondered why you can’t get faster Internet in your area or why your electricity is constantly interrupted, this is probably the cause.

Executives also use the company’s profits to repurchase shares, and when they lack profits executives arrange bank loans to the companies in order to buy back shares. Executive “performance pay” goes up, but the corporations are left more heavily indebted and thus more vulnerable to recession and foreign competition. In recent years, buybacks and dividends have used up most of corporate profits, leaving the corporations bereft of updates and reserves.

Publicly owned capitalism’s short-term time horizon is also apparent with regard to nature’s resources and the environment. Ecological economists, such as Herman Daly, have established the fact that environmental destruction is the consequence of corporations moving many of the waste costs associated with their activities off their profit and loss statements and onto the environment. As other ways of artificially raising corporate profits and share prices become exhausted, expect corporations to push harder against pollution control measures. As the environment declines in its ability to produce new resources and to absorb wastes or pollution—for example the large growing dead areas in the Gulf of Mexico—the planet’s ability to sustain life withers.

President Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency in order to reduce the external or social costs that corporations impose on the environment. However, the polluting industries were not slow in taking over or capturing the agency, as University of Chicago economist George Stigler predicted.

A basis of economic theory is the absurd assumption that man-made capital is a perfect substitute for nature’s capital. This means that if the environment is used up and ruined, not to worry. Innovation and technology will substitute for nature. This absurd foundation of economic theory is why there are so few ecological economists. Economics teaches not to worry about the environment.

To sum up, the One Percent have enriched themselves at the expense of the economy’s potential and everyone else.

Where does the economy stand at the present time, a question on many of your minds? I am not a seer. Nevertheless, various things are obvious. In the US consumer demand is constrained by high debt and the absence of growth in real median family income. Evidence of the constrained US consumer shows up in lackluster real retail sales and in year-over-year declines in factory orders. On September 2, Zero Hedge reported that factory orders had fallen for 9 consecutive months.

As I point out, the monthly payroll jobs announcements are always overblown and consist largely of lowly-paid, part-time, domestic service employment. The 5.3% unemployment rate is phony, because it does not count any discouraged workers, and there are millions of them. Indeed, the absence of jobs is the reason the labor force participation rate has continually declined, a contradiction to the alleged recovery. On September 1, the Economic Cycle Research Institute reported that the US government’s data on employment/population ratios by education shows that the employment/population ratio for those with high school and college diplomas is lower now than when the alleged economic recovery began in June 2009. The only job gains have been for those without a high school diploma, the cheapest labor available in the US. Clearly, these are not jobs that will produce any rebound in consumer demand. And clearly education is not the answer.

The main economic releases from Washington—the ones that make the headline news: the unemployment rate, payroll jobs, GDP, and the consumer price index—are worthless. The unemployment rate does not include millions of unemployed, the CPI is rigged to undercount inflation, and as inflation is undercounted, real GDP is over-reported. Indeed, in my opinion and that of economic-statistician John Williams of shadowstats.com, nominal GDP deflated with a correct measure of inflation shows essentially no growth during the alleged recovery. What the government and financial media call economic growth is essentially price rises or inflation.

What is happening to America is that all of the surplus in the system accumulated over decades of success is being used up. Americans have had no interest income from their savings since the Federal Reserve decided to print trillions of dollars with which to purchase the troubled financial assets of a small handful of mega-banks. In other words, the Federal Reserve decided that, contrary to the propaganda about serving the public interest, the Fed exists to serve a few oversized banks, not the American people or their economy. As an institution, the Federal Reserve is so corrupt that it should be shut down.

The elderly avoid the stock market, because a decline can be long-lasting and eat up a large chunk of one’s savings. The same can happen from long-term bonds. Therefore, older people prefer shorter term interest instruments. The Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy means that older people are using up their savings, at the expense of their peace of mind and their heirs, in order to prevent a collapse in their standard of living. The elderly are also drawing down their savings in support of unemployed children and grandchildren. Unable to find jobs that will support the formation of a household or even an individual existence, many young college educated Americans are living with parents or grandparents, something I have not previously seen in my lifetime.

All the while the corrupt financial media pump us full of good economic news.

Many readers want to know if the stock market decline is over. It remains to be seen. In my opinion two opposite forces are at work. Based on earnings and the economy’s prospects, stocks are overvalued. However, the appearance of a successful economy is important to Washington’s power, and this brings in the Plunge Protection Team, a US Treasury/Federal Reserve team that intervenes to support the market. Wall Street managed to get the team created in 1988, and in the recent troubled days there are signs of it in operation. For example, suddenly during a time of market decline strong purchasing appeared, arresting the decline. Normally, optimistic purchasers who interpret declines as buying opportunities wait until the decline is over. They do not buy into the middle of a decline.

Today most stock purchases are made by money managers, such as mutual funds and pension funds. Individuals do not account for much of the market. Money managers are judged by their performance relative to their peers. As long as they move up or down with their peers, they are safe. Once the professionals see that government is supporting the market, they support it. This behavior is bolstered by greed. Participants want the market to go up, not down. Therefore, even if money managers understand that stocks are a bubble, they will support the bubble as long as they think the Plunge Protection Team is holding up the market. The unanswered question in the minds of money managers is whether the Treasury and Fed are committed to maintaining an overvalued market or whether they are just holding it up long enough for their well-connected friends to get out. Only time will tell.

My book, _The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West_, will introduce you to the damage done by jobs offshoring and to the mistaken assumption of economists that the environment puts no constraints on economic growth.

The other part of the story comes from Michael Hudson, who explains the financialization of the economy and the transformation of the financial sector, which once financed the production of real goods and services, into a money-sucking leach that sucks all life out of the economy into its own profits. I recently posted a link to Pam Martens’ review of his book, _Killing The Host_.

If you can absorb my book, Michael Hudson’s book, and one of Herman Daly’s books, you will have a much firmer grasp on economics than economists have. Go to it.

And don’t forget to support this site.

More from Articles & Columns ↓

question: According to the author, what is the problem with consumer capitalism?

answer: Publicly owned companies have short time horizons as the top executives typically arrive at these positions later in their lives.

question: What is one cost of big corporations?

answer: Environmental waste in order to cut early costs.

question: What constrains consumerism in the US?

answer: High debt.

question: What is the title of the author's book?

answer: The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The author has written a book called "The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West" to explain how the consumer climate in the US is strained and may collapse. The problem with consumer capitalism, according to the author, is that owned companies have short time horizons as the top executives typically arrive at these positions later in their lives. High debt amongst consumers imposes economical constraints.


text:
ISLAMABAD: THE SUPREME COURT HAS SUSPENDED SINDH HIGH COURT’S (SHC) DECISION TO REMOVE FORMER PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF’S NAME FROM THE EXIT CONTROL LIST (ECL), _EXPRESS NEWS_ REPORTED ON MONDAY.
The SHC on June 12 ordered the removal of Musharraf’s name from the ECL. The two-member bench of the SHC had itself suspended this order for around two weeks giving the federal government time to appeal against the decision before the Supreme Court.

Later, the federal government appealed to the court asking that Musharraf not be allowed to leave the country as he will not return.

Today, the Supreme Court suspended the SHC's decision and summoned the hearing of the case after four weeks.

The five-member bench of the Supreme Court said that the court on April 8, 2013 directed the government to make sure Musharraf remained in the country until initiation of a criminal case against him for subverting the Constitution. The order still holds to date.

Musharraf’s attorney general Farogh Naseem had earlier said that Musharraf wants to leave the country to visit his ailing mother, however, the members of the Supreme Court bench today said that Musharraf has various cases against him on which he is on bail and if he is allowed to leave there is no guarantee he will return for the hearings.

question: What was happening in Islamabad?

answer: The Supreme Court had suspended Sindh High Court's decision to remove former President Musharraf's name from the exit control list.

question: Why is there a case against Musharraf?

answer: According to the document he subverted the constitution.

question: Who is a part of the five-member bench of the Supreme Court?

answer: That information can't be found in the document.

question: What did Musharraf's attorney general say?

answer: He said that Musharraf wanted to leave the country to visit his ailing mother.

question: What happened on June 12 at the time of this document?

answer: The SHC ordered the removal of Musharraf’s name from the ECL.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This document discusses when the Pakistan Supreme Court had suspended Sindh High Court's decision to remove former President Musharraf's name from the exit control list. The document also discusses Musharraf's criminal case and the federal government's appeal at the time to make sure Musharraf was not allowed to leave the country.


text:
Hey, friends. I took down the updates from this page because I discovered that my unemployment case worker had misrepresented this in the file as me intentionally not working just so I could travel for fun. I wanted the judge in my appeal hearing to focus on the original intent of the page and see clearly the statement that this is travel for networking and activism. There was nothing on the page I didn't want them to see, but until things settled, I wanted the only thing on the page to be the original pitch. Don't worry. If you loved the Fat Flast Mob updates and the Fatty Fun in the Sun pool pics, they'll be up on my new website when I get back from my next trip. Am I having fun doing this traveling? Hell yeah! Am I trying to see old friends and make new friends while doing it? Hell yeah! But is the sole purpose just jet setting around and putting my feet up in exotic places because I'm not working? Hell no! Every penny donated has been used for FAT COMMUNITY RELATED CAUSES AND EVENTS. This is about building ties and about strengthening bridges between fat activists, fatshionistas, and fat party people. Since I have nothing to hide, I printed out the gofundme page and sent it to the judge! He had (IMHO) better sense than anyone else I've dealt with in the department, and he approved my claim appeal! Two months later, I am FINALLY starting to get some unemployment. Luckily, I am blessed with some severance so I was not in desperate need during this ridiculous bureaucratic process. But dealing with unemployment and hearing the stories of others who've dealt with it has certainly been an eyeopening process. And this kind of b.s. is why I started the process immediately instead of waiting for severance to run out. I want to say I hope you never have to go through anything like this, but I kinda wish everyone had to go through it once (ESPECIALLY the people who work there) to learn what I've learned. Anyway, I'll catch up soon with updates for those of you who haven't heard about my NYC trip, and I'll have Vegas tales to share (when you're networking, what happens in Vegas doesn't have to stay in Vegas!). Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH to all who've been supportive of this fund specifically and of my unemployment adventure in general.

Help me hit the road to socialize and politicize about body size! I am unemployed for the first time in my adult life. That means there's something else important I need to do.

In 2008, I created FULL FIGURE ENTERTAINMENT to establish an additional space in the Bay Area for full bodied women to mix and mingle in a nightclub environment with people of all sizes who love their curves. From the beginnning, FFE has always had a clear and stated intention to have an impact that goes beond the parties we have on Friday night. (You can check the mission and value statement on our website for more details about how we stive to do this). We have embraced opportunities to expose more people of all body types to the HEALTHY AT EVERY SIZE and SIZE ACCEPTANCE movements.

I also worked since 2005 as a DIVERSITY EDUCATOR AND WOMEN'S STUDIES TEACHER at a local private high school. My school was always well aware of my nightlife and activism through FFE. Recently, STUDENTS AND PARENTS OBJECTED to the an online video of behind-the-scenes footage from a SEMI-NUDE PHOTO SHOOT in which I participated in 2011. The short video clip is 90 seconds from a 52-minute French documentary about the obesity epidemic in the United States. Although THE ART SHOW ITSELF WAS APPROVED by school leadership, the behind-the-scenes interviews were considered more troubling because "A VIDEO ON THE INTERNET IS DIFFERENT FROM ART IN A GALLERY." Consequently, I WAS FIRED.

THE FIRED FAT GIRL TRAVEL FUND IS MY ATTEMPT TO MAKE LEMONADE FROM THE LEMON THAT WAS HANDED TO ME WHEN 90 SECONDS OF VIDEO FOOTAGE OUTWEIGHED NINE YEARS OF WORK. I now have time on my hands to broaden my own horizons and to broaden my committment to size acceptance by spending time with some of the other activists and leaders who are doing this work all over the country and in other parts of the world.

YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIRED FAT GIRL TRAVEL FUND WILL HELP ME GET TO STOCKHOLM, LONDON, NYC, AND OTHER POINTS IN THE USA TO SOCIALIZE AND POLITICIZE AROUND BODY SIZE. My goals include
          - returning to Sweden to see the finale of Sweden's Got Talent with Gunnar Holma (check us out on the qualifying round of the show)
           - traveling to NYC to attend Full Figured Fashion Week and to pose for the incomparable Substantia Jones of the Adipositivity Project
           - attending the Well Rounded BBW Bash in Las Vegas

I'd also like to visit some of the plus sized nightclubs in other parts of the country to investigate if/how they build community beyond the few hours of their parties. Locations will be determined based on invitation and availability. I am open to suggestions!

Because my travel plans will be dependent on whatever my next professional opportunity is, I will be solidifying plans a little bit at a time to coordinate around job interviews and (hopefully) start dates.

IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR DONATION, I am happy to do one of the following:
       - DONATE A MATCHING AMOUNT to the charity of your choice within a year of accepting a new full-time job (you can put your chosen charity in the comments when you donate or you can contact me directly to name your charity)
       - VOLUNTEER TIME at a charity of your choice (1 hour for every $25 you donate)
       - JOIN YOU FOR THE FREE OR CHEAP SOCIAL ACTIVITY of your choice so you can hear in person about the adventures you've helped fund.

I will also BLOG and VLOG my experiences so others can learn from what I'm learning during my travels.

What will I use the money for? AIR AND GROUND TRAVEL, LODGING, FOOD AND ADMISSION/REGISTRATION FOR FAT-RELATED EVENTS. Anything else I need, I'll figure out other ways to buy or supply. Your donation goes to the things above unless you explicitly ask me to use your donations for a particular project, supply, or activity.

Why is the goal amount so high? I want to pack in as much as I can while I have the flexibility to do it! All funds donated will be used by the end of 2014. ANYTHING I CANNOT USE BY THE END OF THE YEAR WILL BE DONATED TO OTHER SIZE ACCEPTANCE CAUSES.

THANK YOU for helping this fat girl fight discrimination and spread size positive love!

[]
* Both photos by Desmond Rodgers Photography of Oakland/Alameda, CA.

question: What is the purpose of the Fired Fat Girl Travel Fund?

answer: The purpose of this fund is to help the writer get to Stockholm, New York, London, and other parts of the U.S. to socialize and politicize body size.

question: What is the motive of this article?

answer: The motive of this article is to educate the reader about the project the narrator is willing to take up, which mainly focuses on body-size acceptance.

question: What drove the writer to create Full Figure Entertainment?

answer: The writer created Full Figure Entertainment for full-bodied women to mingle in a nightclub environment with people of all sizes.

question: What gender does the writer seem to belong to?

answer: It may be implied that the writer is a woman.

question: Why would the narrator be willing to do things in exchange for people's donations?

answer: It may be implied that she wants to do it as a way of giving back to society and the person who helped her with her goal.


text:
In the mathematical fields of differential geometry and geometric analysis, the CALABI FLOW is a geometric flow which deforms a Kähler metric on a complex manifold. Precisely, given a Kähler manifold , the Calabi flow is given by:

$$\frac{\partial g_{\alpha\overline{\beta}}}{\partial t}=\frac{\partial^2 R^g}{\partial z^\alpha\partial\overline{z}^\beta}$$
, where is a mapping from an open interval into the collection of all Kähler metrics on , is the scalar curvature of the individual Kähler metrics, and the indices correspond to arbitrary holomorphic coordinates . This is a fourth-order geometric flow, as the right-hand side of the equation involves fourth derivatives of .

The Calabi flow was introduced by Eugenio Calabi in 1982 as a suggestion for the construction of extremal Kähler metrics, which were also introduced in the same paper. It is the gradient flow of the _Calabi functional_; extremal Kähler metrics are the critical points of the Calabi functional.

A convergence theorem for the Calabi flow was found by Piotr Chruściel in the case that has complex dimension equal to one. Xiuxiong Chen and others have made a number of further studies of the flow, although as of 2020 the flow is still not well understood.

title: Calabi flow

question: What would happen if the Calabi flow was not introduced?

answer: If the Calabi flow was not introduced, then it would never have come into construction or someone else would have found this phenomenon.


text:
One.

Chop. Chop. Chop. Sunday morning cooking in this tiny prep kitchen. Chop. I wonder what it would feel like to chop through my finger. Chop. Hm. The cute barista is running around, brewing double chocolate mocha chai tea latte frapps and I am just here dicing onions. It’s funny how ambiance is abandoned when it comes to kitchens. The whole tea house is gorgeous, soft lighting, beautiful paintings, and middle eastern furniture all laid out immaculately. All you have to do to realize that is just humans making your food is go past the counter and look at the dirty dishes, burnt pans and sweaty cooks. Despite this, people like seeing their food being made, so they have a window where you can see me. Chopping. Chop. Chop. Chop. People walk into the store; I look. For some reason I can’t look away. My eyes fall upon a porcelain doll of a girl. She has more makeup showing then skin. Attached to her is a leech of a man. Cocky, looks like a dick. For some reason, I can’t stop staring. Looking at them is making me think so much for some reason and I just can’t get back to chopping. The dick looks over at me a few times. They don’t want any fucking tea, so they leave. As they are going out of the door, the dick turns around and sticks his thin-little-middle finger up at me. Chop. I set down my knife and walk outside to join the couple. I don’t really remember what happened, I just went red. Just kidding I punched the dick in the face. He fell hard. I walk back inside to my little shitty kitchen, his girlfriend is screaming and has her fancy cell phone out. I go to my station. Chop. My manager walks over and starts talking at me. Chop. The girl comes in and starts screaming. Chop. I keep dicing onions like I am supposed to. Chop. Everyone is staring, and the whole place is quiet save for the screams of my boss and the girl. Chop. Chop. Fuck. My hands are yanked behind my back and my knife falls to the floor. “You have the right to remain silent…” I can feel the moisture in my ear as the cop grunts my Miranda rights. I am in a police car. Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I should have never gone into the fucking tea shop with her. Fuck. The ground is cold and my face is throbbing. People are staring, I hate it when people stare. Fuck. I have never been hit before in my life. This shit hurts, he hit me right in my eye. Wow. A cop car pulled up, this guy is screwed! Two cops come out, the fat one comes over to patch me up and ask me what happened, the skinny one goes inside to get that freak. I hope he likes prison. Why the fuck was he even staring at me at all.
When I go to hang out with my boys later, they treat me different. I always used to knock em around, but now they keep hitting me. What the fuck.  Is it the black eye? That fucking freak ruined me. I go to my favorite bar and as I walk out I flip off the bartender. He comes out and kicks my ass. When the cops come everyone says I attacked him. When I walk back home from the bar people push me out of the way. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I go out the next morning for a run and I see some losers speeding by on their fixie bikes. I flip them off. They turn around and start coming after me. Fuck. This hurts, I think they broke my arm. I go the hospital. The doctor obviously thinks I am a piece of shit. I start mocking him. He doesn’t react.. I show him my middle finger and tell him I think there is something wrong with it. He doesn’t react. I hit that fucker in the face. He reacts. The cops come. I am in a police car. Fuck.

I get to the jail, sit down and hang my head. What the fuck happened to me, what is going on with my life, I don’t get it. I look over and some other guy is hanging his head too.

I have been in this holding cell for 2 days. Fuck. All I do is sit on this bench and go over and over what happened. The jail is thick with the scent of regret. The heavy metal bars lurch open. Someone walks in. I don’t even look at him.

HEY! It’s the fucker who hit me! I say “why were you even staring at me in the first place man”. He looks up and says, “I thought I recognized you from grade school. Jonah?”. Its Jake. Oh my God.

Jake and Jonah hug in a cold jail cell.

title: My first short story, I would love some feedback.

question: Is the reveal at the end foreshadowed?

answer: No, there's nothing prior to the reveal that would indicate it. It's not possible to deduct the reveal even with the aid of hindsight.

question: What would be different if the cook didn't stare at the guy?

answer: The guy wouldn't have flipped the bird at the cook, and the cook wouldn't eventually go out to hit him. That would keep the cook out of jail. The guy wouldn't be in a foul mood to piss a lot of people, and he would be out of jail as well. Two old classmates wouldn't have met again.


text:
*Part I: The Old Professor and His Wife*

He did not ask why she gardened in the dead of night, but stood arguing with fireflies through the erratically glowing   end of his cigarette. He told them of age and resignation, and they avowed ephemeral instinct. He recited the entirety of Kant in a single carcinogenic flicker, and Socrates fell as the afterthought of a tiny glowing coal lost in the overgrown grass. And then he spoke of spent youth and failing health, and method by which all manners of hope could be preserved in jars of alcohol awaiting careful dissection by unwitting students of the Incorrigible. “All of this,” they insisted, “is but memory or foreknowledge of a single July’s eve.”  They spoke to him of eternal recurrence. He told them she was insane.

“You can’t argue with insanity,” he sighed. A mantra, of sorts. He stared across the dark into the far corner of the yard, where a discordant fluorescent lantern overpowered the fireflies’ voiceless chatter. He did not ask what compelled her to furtively slip seeds beneath the ground whenever the sun turned its back, but absently watched her scrape the heavy worm-laden soil, a disembodied volition devoid of memory or foreknowledge.  Perhaps it was a deep-seated, inarticulate realization that the sun was hostile to her endeavors, and would not spare the requisite pinpoint of warmth. And so she had allied herself with the lesser kin of the sun in a manic, tubercular kind of secrecy marked by violent fits of consumptive confidentiality. He did not ask what strange seedlings might be coaxed from the worm-laden soil by the glow of fireflies.

His cigarette had gone out, and tonight the fireflies would have the last word. Her voice reached him as he turned towards the house: “*…my only sunshine…you make me happy, when the skies are grey… You'll never know, dear…*”

He locked the door.

title: “And There Were Rows of Ripe Tomatoes Where a Secret was Concealed”

question: Why was the woman gardening only at night?

answer: The old man believes that his wife gardened only at night thinking she was being confidential of her actions to the sun or perhaps she was of the opinion that the sun did not spare enough warmth.

question: What does the old man do waiting outside?

answer: The old man stands presumably at the porch, smoking and wondering why his wife gardens during the dark night.

question: Is the old man speaking to himself?

answer: The old man is pretending to speak to the fireflies but is in reality speaking to himself.

question: Does he think his wife is insane?

answer: Yes, when he says "you can't argue with insanity" he is referring to the fact that his wife gardens in the middle of the night.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer:
The old man smokes a cigarette while his wife gardens in the middle of the night. Filling his lungs with the smoke, he wonders if she gardens at night presuming she was being confidential of her actions to the sun.

He does not find the need to question why she slips the seeds beneath the land when the sun was down. He simply believes she is insane.

His cigarette is out and her voice calling out "my only sunshine" reaches him as he locks the door.


text:
_For_ Architectural Digest_, by Sara Tardiff._

Founded in 1733, Savannah, Georgia, was the country’s first planned city. With an elaborate design that boasted public squares, neoclassical architecture, and a road system that allowed the urban market to flourish, the city was ahead of its time. Today, the historic downtown is known for its unique infrastructure and breadth of architectural gems, attracting millions of visitors each year. Although the city will always lovingly celebrate its past, it is looking to the future with a 2018 redesign of the historic downtown area that will make better use of the waterside space and public areas, and improve the overall experience for residents and visitors alike. The city of Savannah tapped global urban design firm EDSA to take on the task, with an emphasis on preserving its rich history. _AD_ spoke with John Torti, a senior associate at EDSA, about the firm’s design plans, the obstacles they faced, and how they intend to stay true to Savannah’s historic roots.

[
Savannah's downtown skyline as seen from across the Savannah River.
]

Savannah's downtown skyline as seen from across the Savannah River.

_ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST:_ What are the primary reasons the city of Savannah is ready for a major redesign?

JOHN TORTI: Savannah is known for its rich history, and tourism is a vital component of the local economy. In recent years the historic downtown area has seen a surge in development projects, and the city thought it was an appropriate time to improve the public realm.

_AD:_ Walk us through the plans.

JT: Once we understood the vision and created our guiding principles for the project we came up with two initial concepts for the community to react to. One focuses on the historical significance of the city, pulling cues from the city’s grid system, the use of live oak trees, and the historic building materials. The other ties in with the city’s relationship to the water, in this case the Savannah River, which really is the true lifeline of the city — it’s what brought the first ships there in 1733. This plan lends itself more towards wayfinding, using palm trees and nautical detailing to orient users in the downtown area and guide them to the river.

_AD:_ How are you working with the community during this project?

JT: We’ve done a lot of consensus building within the community, it’s been an integral part of the design process. Throughout the conceptual design phase, which we actually just wrapped up, we had a series of six meetings with the public, and at each meeting we honed the design and got input from the residents and the city so we could ultimately create a cohesive design that works for all users.

[
EDSA met with local residents to ensure their design was meeting the city's expectations.
]

EDSA met with local residents to ensure their design was meeting the city's expectations.

_AD:_ What are some of the major challenges of redesigning a historic city?

JT: We often find certain needs from the community exceed the space we have to work with. This is very common when working in historical places, whether we have to work with existing buildings or 100-year-old oak trees, those things define the space that you have and as designers we need to get creative with the space allotted. Through several evolutions of planning, we began to work with the constraints and find a way to celebrate them in the process.

_AD:_ What were you most excited about when taking on this project?

JT: As designers, nothing excites us more than to see our vision become reality. We focus on implementation and we pride ourselves on this. Creating a cohesive, innovative public space that enhances the quality of life for Savannah residents really brings us great joy.

_AD:_ Are there any eco-friendly initiatives involved in EDSA’s design?

JT: It’s always important for us to be as sustainable as possible, whether it’s the use of building materials or the type of infrastructure we implement. We have many different green goals, such as the use of bioswales and permeable paving that will reduce the amount of burden on the existing infrastructure. We also hope the city takes cues from this and begins to make these new standards for future projects.

_AD:_ In what ways will Savannah benefit from the redesign?

JT: The ultimate plan, once implemented, will provide a safe, walkable public realm that enriches the quality of life for Savannah residents while continuing to exceed visitors’ expectations. It will be a design that celebrates the city’s natural and timeless beauty while preserving the history and tradition of Savannah—making it a model city for another century to come.

MORE FROM ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST:

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question: Summarize the unique aspects of Savannah, Georgia.

answer: It has the distinction of having been the state's first planned city. It was ahead of its time in its setup for commerce and transportation, with public squares and an accommodating road system. They anticipated the growth of the city, and for tourism. The city has a very tight-knit relationship with water, as explained by John Tortl.

question: Summarize the role that residents have in city planning in Savannah.

answer: Building community has been an integral part of developing the city of Savannah, says JOhn Tortl. They try to find space to interact with the needs represented and communicated by council members and residents. They also try to make the planning sustainable, to protect the future of its inhabitants and of its tourism-based commerce.

question: Summarize John Tortl's background.