text:
[Karl August von Hardenberg]

KARL AUGUST FÜRST[1] VON HARDENBERG (31 May 1750 in Essenrode-Lehre – 26 November 1822 in Genoa) was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms. To him and Baron vom Stein, Prussia was indebted for improvements in its army system, the abolition of serfdom and feudal burdens, the throwing open of the civil service to all classes, and the complete reform of the educational system.[2]

Biography

Family and early career

thumb|upright=0.5|Coat-of-arms of the Hardenberg family Hardenberg was the eldest son of Christian Ludwig von Hardenberg (1700-1781), a Hanoverian colonel, later to become field marshal and commander-in-chief of the Hanoverian army under king George III from 1776 until his death. The mother was Anna Sophia Ehrengart von Bülow. He was born, one of 8 children, at Essenrode Manor near Hanover, his maternal grandfather's estate. The ancestral home of the _knights of Hardenberg_ is Hardenberg Castle at Nörten-Hardenberg, which the family acquired in 1287 and owns to this day. They were created barons and, in 1778, counts.

After studying at Leipzig and Göttingen he entered the Hanoverian civil service in 1770 as councillor of the board of domains (_Kammerrat_); but, finding his advancement slow, he set out — on the advice of King George III of the United Kingdom — on a series of travels, spending some time at Wetzlar, Regensburg (where he studied the mechanism of the Imperial government), Vienna and Berlin. He also visited France, the Dutch Republic and Great Britain, where he was received kindly by the King. On his return, he married, at his father's suggestion, the Countess Christiane von Reventlow (1759–1793) in 1774. They had a son, Christian Heinrich August Graf von Hardenberg-Reventlow (1775–1841), and a daughter, Lucie von Hardenberg-Reventlow (1776-1854).

In 1778, Hardenberg was raised to the rank of privy councillor and created a graf (or count). He went back to England, in the hope of obtaining the post of Hanoverian envoy in London; but his wife began an affair with the Prince of Wales, creating so great a scandal that he was forced to leave the Hanoverian service. In 1782 he entered the service of the Duke of Brunswick, and as president of the board of domains displayed a zeal for reform, in the manner approved by the enlightened despots of the century, that rendered him very unpopular with the orthodox clergy and the conservative estates. In Brunswick, too, his position was in the end made untenable by the conduct of his wife, whom he now divorced; he himself, shortly afterwards, marrying a divorced woman.

Administrator of Ansbach and Bayreuth

Fortunately for Hardenberg, this coincided with the lapsing of the principalities of Ansbach and Bayreuth to Prussia, owing to the resignation of the last margrave, Charles Alexander, in 1791. Hardenberg, who happened to be in Berlin at the time, was appointed administrator of the principalities in 1792, on the recommendation of Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg. The position, owing to the singular overlapping of territorial claims in the old Empire, was one of considerable delicacy, and Hardenberg filled it with great skill, doing much to reform traditional anomalies and to develop the country, and at the same time labouring to expand the influence of Prussia in South Germany.

Prussian envoy

After the outbreak of the revolutionary wars his diplomatic ability led to his appointment as Prussian envoy, with a roving commission to visit the Rhenish courts and win them over to Prussia's views; and ultimately, when the necessity for making peace with the French Republic had been recognized, he was appointed to succeed count Goltz as Prussian plenipotentiary at Basel (February 28, 1795), where he signed the treaty of peace. In 1796, his daughter Lucie married Karl Theodor, count of Pappenheim (whom she divorced in 1817 to become the wife of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau).

Prussian cabinet

In 1797, on the accession of King Frederick William III of Prussia, Hardenberg was summoned to Berlin, where he received an important position in the cabinet and was appointed chief of the departments of Magdeburg and Halberstadt, for Westphalia, and for the principality of Neuchâtel. In 1793 Hardenberg had struck up a friendship with Count Haugwitz, the influential minister for foreign affairs, and when in 1803 the latter went away on leave (August–October) he appointed Hardenberg his _locum tenens_. It was a critical period. Napoleon had just occupied Hanover, and Haugwitz had urged upon the king the necessity for strong measures and the expediency of a Russian alliance; During his absence, however, the king's irresolution continued; he clung to the policy of neutrality which had so far seemed to have served Prussia so well; and Hardenberg contented himself with adapting himself to the royal will. By the time Haugwitz returned, the unyielding attitude of Napoleon had caused the king to make advances to Russia; but the mutual declarations of the 3rd and 25th of May 1804 only pledged the two powers to take up arms in the event of a French attack upon Prussia or of further aggressions in North Germany. Finally, Haugwitz, unable to persuade the cabinet to a more vigorous policy, resigned, and on April 14, 1804, Hardenberg succeeded him as foreign minister.

Prussian foreign minister

If there was to be war, Hardenberg would have preferred the French alliance, the price Napoleon demanded for the cession of Hanover to Prussia; the Eastern powers would not freely have conceded so great an augmentation of Prussian power. However, he still hoped to gain the coveted prize by diplomacy, backed by the veiled threat of an armed neutrality. Then came Napoleon's contemptuous violation of Prussian territory by marching three French corps through Ansbach; King Frederick William's pride overcame his weakness, and on November 3 he signed with Tsar Alexander I of Russia the terms of an ultimatum to be laid before the French emperor.

Haugwitz was despatched to Vienna with the document; but before he arrived the Battle of Austerlitz had been fought, and the Prussian plenipotentiary had to make terms with Napoleon. Prussia, by the treaty signed at Schönbrunn on December 15, 1805, received Hanover, but in return for all her territories in South Germany. One condition of the arrangement was the retirement of Hardenberg, whom Napoleon disliked. He was again foreign minister for a few months after the crisis of 1806 (April–July 1807); but Napoleon's resentment was implacable, and one of the conditions of the terms granted to Prussia by the Treaty of Tilsit was Hardenberg's dismissal.

Prussian chancellor

After the enforced retirement of Stein in 1810 and the unsatisfactory interlude of the feeble Altenstein ministry, Hardenberg was again summoned to Berlin, this time as chancellor (June 6, 1810). The campaign of Jena and its consequences had had a profound effect upon him; and in his mind the traditions of the old diplomacy had given place to the new sentiment of nationality characteristic of the coming age, which in him found expression in a passionate desire to restore the position of Prussia and crush her oppressors. During his retirement at Riga he had worked out an elaborate plan for reconstructing the monarchy on Liberal lines; and when he came into power, though the circumstances of the time did not admit of his pursuing an independent foreign policy, he steadily prepared for the struggle with France by carrying out Stein's far-reaching schemes of social and political reorganization.

Reforms

The military system was completely reformed, serfdom was abolished, municipal institutions were fostered, the civil service was thrown open to all classes, and great attention was devoted to the educational needs of every section of the community. When at last the time came to put these reforms to the test, after the Moscow campaign of 1812, it was Hardenberg who persuaded Frederick William to take advantage of General Yorck's loyal disloyalty and declare against France. He was rightly regarded by German patriots as the statesman who had done most to encourage the spirit of national independence; and immediately after he had signed the first peace of Paris he was raised to the rank of prince (June 3, 1814) in recognition of the part he had played in the War of Liberation.

Metternich's shadow

Hardenberg now had a position in that close corporation of sovereigns and statesmen by whom Europe was governed. He accompanied the allied sovereigns to England, and at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) was the chief representative of Prussia. But from this time the zenith of his influence, if not of his fame, was passed. In diplomacy he was no match for Metternich, whose influence soon overshadowed his own in the councils of Europe, of Germany, and ultimately even of Prussia itself. At Vienna, in spite of the powerful backing of Alexander of Russia, he failed to secure the annexation of the whole of Saxony to Prussia; at Paris, after Waterloo, he failed to carry through his views as to the further dismemberment of France; he had weakly allowed Metternich to forestall him in making terms with the states of the Confederation of the Rhine, which secured to Austria the preponderance in the German federal diet; on the eve of the conference of Carlsbad (1819) he signed a convention with Metternich, by which — to quote the historian Treitschke — “like a penitent sinner, without any formal quid pro quo, the monarchy of Frederick the Great yielded to a foreign power a voice in her internal affairs.”

At the congresses of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Troppau, Laibach and Verona the voice of Hardenberg was but an echo of that of Metternich. The cause lay partly in the difficult circumstances of the loosely-knit Prussian monarchy, but partly in Hardenberg's character, which, never well balanced, had deteriorated with age. He continued amiable, charming and enlightened as ever; but the excesses which had been pardonable in a young diplomatist were a scandal in an elderly chancellor, and could not but weaken his influence with so pious a _Landesvater_ as Frederick William III.

To overcome the king's terror of Liberal experiments would have needed all the powers of an adviser at once wise and in character wholly trustworthy. Hardenberg was wise enough; he saw the necessity for constitutional reform; but he clung with almost senile tenacity to the sweets of office, and when the tide turned against Liberalism he allowed himself to drift with it. In the privacy of royal commissions, he continued to elaborate schemes for constitutions that never saw the light; but Germany, disillusioned, regarded him as an adherent of Metternich, an accomplice in the policy of the Carlsbad Decrees and the Troppau Protocol.

[Neuhardenberg Manor] In 1814 King Frederick William III vested Hardenberg with the locality of Quilitz, together with the princely title, as a gratification for his merits as Prussian state chancellor. When he received the manor, he renamed the place right away into _Neuhardenberg (New Hardenberg)_. From 1820 on, he had the mansion and the church rebuilt in neoclassical style, according to plans designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, while the gardens were redesigned by his son-in-law, Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, and Peter-Joseph Lenné.

Hardenberg died at Genoa soon after the closing of the Congress of Verona. Hardenberg's _Memoirs, 1801-07_ were suppressed for fifty years after which they were edited with a biography by Leopold von Ranke and published as _Denkwürdigkeiten des Fürsten von Hardenberg_ (5 vols., Leipzig, 1877).[3]

Notes

Notes

[1]

[2]

[3]

title: Karl August von Hardenberg

question: Why did Karl August Furst Von Hardenberg favor the army when it came to policy implementation?

answer: It is possible he saw problems in the system at a young age from his father, Christian Ludwig von Hardenberg, a Hanoverian colonel, and decided that he wanted to fix these problems.


split: train

text:
AFRICAN AUTONOMIST MOVEMENT (in French: _Mouvement Autonomiste Africain_) was a political party in French West Africa, led by Amadou Ba. It was formed in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 August 1946,[1] after the fall of the Vichy regime.

[1] Hélène d'Almeida-Topor, _Les jeunes en Afrique_, vol. 2, L'Harmattan, 1992, p. 59, .

title: African Autonomist Movement

question: Does the African Autonomist Movement still exist?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Why was Amadou Ba chosen as the leader of the party?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: What was the Vichy regime?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Which countries were a part of French West Africa?

answer: This information can't be found.


text:
DAVID PEVSNER is an American actor, singer, dancer, and writer.[1] Pevsner appeared in the 1990 revival of _Fiddler on the Roof_, 1991 revival of _Rags_, and some other theatrical productions. He also wrote three songs for the 1999 musical _Naked Boys Singing!_, including “Perky Little Porn Star.” He wrote and produced two one-person shows, _To Bitter and Back_ (2003) and _Musical Comedy Whore_ (2013). Pevsner portrayed mostly minor roles in films and television. His major screen roles are Ebenezer Scrooge in _Scrooge & Marley_, the 2012 film adaptation of _A Christmas Carol_, and Ross Stein in a 2011 web series _Old Dogs & New Tricks_. He recorded the 2016 album _Most Versatile_, whose album cover pays homage to Bruce Springsteen's album _Born in the U.S.A._[2]

Early life

David Pevsner was raised in Skokie, Illinois. He attended Niles East High School in the same Chicago suburb and participated in its theater program.[3] He graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[4]

Career

Stage work

Pevsner appeared in multiple theatrical productions. He appeared in the 1980s revival of a play _A Flash of Lightning_, written by Augustin Daly, portraying the role of Terry.[5][6] He also appeared in the 1990 Broadway revival of the musical _Fiddler on the Roof_, portraying Mendel the Rabbi's son and understudying the role of Motel played by Jack Kenny.[7][8] He appeared in the 1991 revival of the 1986 musical _Rags_, set in 1910, portraying the dual roles of Saul and Nathan.[9] He appeared in the 1995 theatrical play _Party_, portraying the role of Kevin, later succeeded by Marc Wolf.[10] In the play, Kevin, a college teacher who lives with his partner, hosts a party at his apartment, where the males characters play the naked truth-or-dare game.[11] Pevsner appeared in the two-act gay revue musical _When Pigs Fly_ from 1996 to 1998.[12][13] Pevsner appeared in _F*cking Men_, the 2009 explicit play written by Joe DiPietro about the lives of gay urban men,[14][15] portraying Jack, who commits adultery with another man, while his husband does the same.[16]

Pevsner co-wrote the 1999 musical _Naked Boys Singing!_ with the writing team.[17][18] He wrote three songs for the musical, including “Perky Little Porn Star”[19] and “The Naked Maid.”[20] He wrote and performed two one-person shows, a semi-autobiographical _To Bitter and Back_ (2002)[21] and _Musical Comedy Whore_ (2013),[22] which _Broadway World_ called a “musical autobiography.”[23]

Film and television

Pevsner appeared in films, mostly portraying minor roles[24] in such films as _The Fluffer_ (2001)[25] and _Adam & Steve_ (2006).[26] Pevsner portrayed Elizabeth Taylor's doctor in the 2012 Lifetime television film _Liz & Dick_.[27] He also portrayed a major role of Ebenezer Scrooge in _Scrooge & Marley_, the 2012 film adaptation that tells the gay interpretation of the 19th-century novel _A Christmas Carol_.[28]

Pevsner also portrayed minor roles in television series,[29] particularly a bartender of a gay bar in an episode of _NYPD Blue_.[30] He portrayed a major role of Ross Stein in the 2011 gay web drama series _Old Dogs & New Tricks_, which ran four seasons till its ending in 2016.[31] In the series, his character Ross is a former 1990s television star and married to his more successful partner.[32] Pevsner also appeared as the Host of the web sci-fi comedy series _Disorganized Zone_, a parody of _The Twilight Zone_, alongside Judy Norton as the Organizer.[33][34] He also appeared in the fourth episode of a 2015 web series _Coffee House Chronicles_ as Jamison, a gay middle-aged man who “bring[s] home a porn star” as his 25th-anniversary present for his partner.[35]

_Most Versatile_ (2016)

Pevsner recorded the 2016 album _Most Versatile_, whose title was inspired by his being voted “Most Versatile” in a survey back in high school.[36] The album's working title was _Shameless_, named after his Tumblr blog and “for [being] something with a little skin.”[37] The songs of the album explores “a whirlwind of one man's gay experiences” and feature Jim J. Bullock, Maxwell Caulfield, and some others as guest artists.[38] He wrote the lyrics of all thirteen songs.[39] He solely composed seven of those songs and co-composed five of those with several others. Michael Skloff composed one of Pevsner's songs, “I Gotta Give It Up to Love.”[40] While “Perky Little Porn Star” and “The Naked Maid” from _Naked Boys Singing!_ are included, the remaining songs are original.[41]

The cover art of the album pays homage to that of Bruce Springsteen's album _Born in the U.S.A._. It was designed by a graphic artist Hank Hudson and photographed by Gabriel Goldberg. While designing for the album cover, Hudson narrowed the idea down to the Springsteen homage and the 1977 photo of Pevsner that was used for the high school survey. The 1977 high school photo is eventually included in an inner panel of the album, and the Springsteen homage was chosen as the front cover.[42]

Personal life

Pevsner is Jewish.[43] He is also openly gay.[44][45][46]

Selected works

Theatre

-   _A Flash of Lightning_ (1980s revival), Terry – the play was written by Augustin Daly
-   _Fiddler on the Roof_ (1990 Broadway revival), rabbi's son Mendel; Mr. (Motel) Kenny – Mr. Kenny was Pevsner's understudy role
-   _Rags_ (1991 revival), multiple roles – Doctor, Saul, 14th Street Ballet Dancer, and Nathan
-   _Party_ (1995–1996), Kevin – Marc Wolf would later succeed Pevsner portraying the role
-   _When Pigs Fly_ (1996–1998)
-   _F*cking Men_ (2009), Jack – the play was written by Joe DiPietro

Film

-   _David Searching_ (1997),[47] Scott – a film starring Anthony Rapp and Camryn Manheim[48]
-   _The Fluffer_ (2001), Casting Man[49]
-   _Adam & Steve_ (2006), Man in Hospital[50]
-   _Role/Play_ (2011), Alex[51]
-   _Liz & Dick_ (2012), Elizabeth Taylor's doctor[52] – Lifetime television film
-   _Scrooge & Marley_ (2012), Ebenezer Scrooge[53] – 2012 film adaptation of the 19th-century Charles Dickens novel, _A Christmas Carol_
-   _Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean_[54]

Television and web series

-   _NYPD Blue_, bartender[55]
-   _Modern Family_[56]
-   _Grey's Anatomy_[57]
-   _Old Dogs & New Tricks_ (2011–2016), Ross
-   _Disorganized Zone_, Host[58] – web sci-fi comedy series, a parody of _The Twilight Zone_
-   _Coffee House Chronicles_ (2015), Jamison[59]

Written works

-   _Naked Boys Singing!_ – co-written with the writing team; wrote three songs, including “Perky Little Porn Star” and “The Naked Maid”
-   _Most Versatile_ (2016) – solo album

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[18]  Republished in _The New York Times Theatre Reviews 1999-2000_ (2002) – via Google Books. .

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[59]

title: David Pevsner

question: What did Pevsner do in 1990?

answer: He appeared in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.

question: How many theater shows has Pevsner been in?

answer: 6

question: Where is Pevsner from?

answer: He was raised in Skokie, Illinois in the United States.

question: What college did Pevsner attend?

answer: He went to Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

question: Describe the songs on Pevsner's 2016 album Most Versatile.

answer: The songs on the album explore a "whirlwind of one man's gay experiences". Pevsner wrote all thirteen songs on the album, composed seven, and co-composed five of the songs with several others.

question: What was Most Versatile's cover art inspired by?

answer: It was paying homage to Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the U.S.A..

question: Describe Pevsner's personal life.

answer: He is Jewish and openly gay.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article details David Pevsner, an American actor, singer, dancer, and writer. He has done work in theater, film and television with his career beginning in the 1980s.


text:
Making the Most of Your Next Business Trip

Traveling for business is always a terrific opportunity for those of us that are able to it. As, one can take great pleasure in being paid to attend meetings, meet clients and forge friendships in a new city or country and then possibly have enough time left to visit some sights.

These tips below will help you get the most out of a business trip, regardless of whether it is your 1st or you already have hundreds logged.

As follows:

Pack Smart

[Young smiling man packing clothes into travel bag]

Start by choosing the right bag for your trip. If you are only going to be away for a few days then a smart holdall or carry on suitcase should be enough.

Only take essential items with you such as suitable business attire for meetings, casual clothing for downtime and minimal toiletries.  Decide upon what electronics you need: phone, laptop, tablet and e-reader.

Make a List

[Business woman hand working at a computer and writing on a noteped]

Even if you have done this before, there is always a chance that you could get distracted while packing and overlook something.

So, by making a list you will arrive at the airport calmer and not have to constantly check to see if you’ve got your passport when on the way.

Either write everything down or make a printable checklist that you can use for each trip. Some Key items to include are boarding passes, credit cards, foreign currency, passports and phone and laptop chargers.

Schedule Meetings Carefully

[Creativity, brainstorming, planning, teamwork meeting]

Make sure that you are rested, alert and ready for every meeting, whether formal or informal, by giving yourself time to relax in between.

There’s nothing worse than closing a meeting and then having to rush across town to another while constantly worrying if you will be on time.

By scheduling time to return to your hotel for an hour or sit down for lunch you give yourself a better chance to arrive energized.

Allow Time to Explore the Destination

[woman with suitcase in new york city]

While you will be mostly occupied by work-related events, do not miss the opportunity to be a tourist.

Research the destination before you depart to find out about any historic landmarks, galleries, museums and parks that you would like to see.

Check for any sporting events or concerts that might be taking place.

If you have the option, see if you can extend your trip over a weekend so you have more time to explore before heading home.

Also, accept the offer from colleagues/clients to go out for dinner and/or drinks. When going to bars and restaurants with locals you are more likely to discover hidden gems.

[young couple reviewing shopping receipt]

Whether your company is bankrolling the trip or you’re meeting with clients for your own business, make sure you keep track of your receipts for purchases while traveling.

It will make submitting a report to your company for travel reimbursement much easier.

If you are the Boss, you will be able to write off much of your work meals and travel on your taxes. Travel can drain resources, so the more you can use it to your advantage the better.

 Travel With a Partner when Possible

[Happy senior couple in Paris on vacation]

If it is an option then bring a friend or your loved one with you do it.

Many hotels charge more, or the same, for single occupancy rooms than doubles.

So what better way to use that extra space than by offering it to someone you like to be with. When you are at work, they can be out exploring the city and looking for interesting places for you to dine and drink.

For sure, you will be thankful of the company after a busy day and bringing them to social events can make interactions with your colleagues and clients easier.

Have a very pleasant and successful trip

__  better, business, clients, Company, dine, events, meetings, sights, travel, trip, work

The following two tabs change content below.

-   Bio
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[]

HEFFX has become one of Asia’s leading financial services companies with interests in Publishing, Private Equity, Capital Markets, Mining, Retail, Transport and Agriculture that span every continent of the world. Our clearing partners have unprecedented experience in Equities, Options, Forex and Commodities brokering, banking, physical metals dealing, floor brokering and trading.

[]

question: What is the best way of reducing stress when traveling for work?

answer: Traveling for business can be an enjoyable experience whether you are experienced at it or not. To get the most out of your trip without stress, there are a few things to look out for. First, choose the right bag for your trip. For example, your bag must not be too large or you would find yourself tired out after a few days of lugging it around airports and hotels. Also, try and sneak in some resting time between your meetings so you are always refreshed. Finally, try and visit local attractions. Accept offers from clients to go eating or drinking. That way you'll forge better business relationships and most likely have fun doing it.


text:
PIERRE (February 16, 1983 – May 6, 2016) was an African penguin (_Spheniscus demersus_) who lived at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He was the first penguin (and likely the first bird) to have bald spots restored.

Life

Pierre hatched at the Maryland Zoo in Maryland in 1983 and was transferred in June to the Steinhart Aquarium facilities at the CAS.

In 1997, the then-14-year-old Pierre began coughing periodically, due to an allergic reaction inflaming the upper respiratory tract, treated with one or two daily doses of hydroxyzine. Most penguins live to 15. However, Pierre showed no other health issues.

On April 15, 2016, Pierre was diagnosed with renal failure. He died on May 6, 2016.[1]

Last molt?

In June 2004, Pierre molted what seemed would be his last coat of feathers.[2]

Pierre, who was the alpha male in his colony, began to become antisocial, and was shunned by the other penguins. He wouldn't swim much, since the water was too cold and he could develop potentially fatal hypothermia.

The bald spots spanned his chest, a patch on his back, and his entire tail and head. Medical tests in 2007 revealed that there was no blood infection, the feather biopsies yielded all normal limits, and the only internal dysfunction seemed to be a low-grade kidney problem.

Wetsuit

Senior aquatic biologist Pam Schaller took Pierre under her wing when she saw him shivering. She attempted warming him at first, both with extended time in the “sun pen” and later a heat lamp, and when a hormonal treatment of levothyroxine failed, she thought about how divers dress in cold waters—in wetsuits.[3]

In 2007, Schaller designed a wetsuit with the help of Oceanic Worldwide, a wetsuit manufacturer[4] and children's costume seamstress Celeste Argel. The new wetsuit was designed to protect Pierre from the bitter cold that would have otherwise killed him. It was sewn in the shape of a vest, to allow movement when waddling and swimming. The 3 mm-thick neoprene vest was fastened using Velcro. The neoprene material allowed for wet/dry movement and warmth. The colors white, brown, and black were all tested, but each one seemed to draw curiosity from the other penguins. Black was the most discreet option, so that color was chosen for the vest. The vest had holes for Pierre's wings so that he could move them freely. The Velcro fastener ran vertically on the vest, so that if Pierre should gain or lose weight, he would not need a new vest.

After several attempts and close observances, the suit was fitted perfectly for Pierre. NPR's _All Things Considered_ called him[5] “the world's best-dressed penguin”. In fact, the other penguins seemed to think the same; they stopped picking on him when he began swimming again with the vest.

Cause

Staff noted that Pierre had no problems molting prior to his hydroxyzine treatments. Ever since the treatments had begun, they had removed him from the medication for as long as half a year at a time to verify that the medicine was indeed working.

Because the vest was worn during one of these periods when Pierre was not on his treatments, it is unknown whether the hydroxyzine was the actual cause of the molting problem. Another hypothesis was that Pierre was burning extra calories, causing irregularities.

Following his recovery in April 2008, staff placed him back on his treatments. Although it was acknowledged that the experiment was not properly conducted, since there were two variables at once, staff agreed that it was for the better, since Pierre was clearly needing warmth.

Six weeks after his vestment, Pierre showed signs of recovery, and the vest was removed.

Pierre regained his respect from the rest of his colony as the leader, overseeing 19 fellow penguins.

[1] Pierre, San Francisco's beloved wetsuit-wearing penguin, dies at 33

[2] Why and How to Make a Penguin Wetsuit by Pamela Schaller - Drum and Croaker (non-peer-reviewed journal for public aquarium professionals).

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Pierre (penguin)

question: What does the article say about why Pierre, a penguin from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, got a wetsuit?

answer: The bald spots appeared on Pierre's chest, back, and entire tail and head. He stopped swimming much since the water was too cold. A biologist attempted warming him at first, but it did not work. Then they decided to make a wetsuit to protect Pierre from the cold that would have otherwise killed him.

question: What does the story say about Pierre's position in the penguin colony?

answer: Pierre was the alpha male in his colony but began to become antisocial, and was shunned by the other penguins. The bald spots appeared on Pierre's chest, back, and entire tail and head. He wouldn't swim much, since the water was too cold. Then a wetsuit was designed to protect Pierre from the cold, and the other penguins stopped picking on him when he began swimming again with the vest. Six weeks later, Pierre showed signs of recovery, and the vest was removed. He regained his respect from the rest of his colony as the leader.

question: What does the story say about Pierre's life before he came to the zoo?


text:
_PSEUDOCOLUS_ is a genus of fungi in the stinkhorn family. The fruit bodies have three or four simple arms that are initially joined at the tip, but often break apart. The tips of the arms are covered with a slimy, foul-smelling gleba, which attracts insects that help disperse the spores. The genus contains three species: the type _Pseudocolus fusiformis_, _P. garciae_, similar in appearance to the type but with a pinkish to red, rather than orange color, and _P. grandis_, found in India.

Taxonomy

The first appearance of the type species, _Pseudocolus fusiformis_, in the literature was in 1890, under the name _Colus fusiformis_, when Eduard Fischer wrote a description based on a painting he found in the Paris Museum of Natural History.[1] In his 1944 monograph on the Gasteromycetes of Australia and New Zealand, Gordon Herriot Cunningham considered this naming to be a _nomen nudum_—not published with an adequate description.[2] However, it was valid under the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. In 1899 Penzig described the species _Colus javanicus_ based on a single specimen found on Java,[3] and a year later Fischer amended the name of his original _Colus fusiformis_ to _Colus javanicus_, as he was not satisfied with the quality of his original description.[4] Despite his doubts on the validity of his description, his original naming is both legitimate and has priority over _C. javanicus_.[5]

In 1907, Curtis Gates Lloyd described the new genus _Pseudocolus_, and reduced several species to synonyms of _Pseudocolus fusiformis_.[6]

Description

The fruit body consists of a flaring, short stipe surmounted by unbranched columns that bear the gleba and are normally united at the apex, occasionally becoming free. The tissue of the receptacle has a tubular structure.[7]

Species

Several species described as _Pseudocolus_ have been reduced to synonymy with _P. fusiformis_, while others are poorly known and have been seldom reported in the literature since their original descriptions.

-   _Pseudocolus archeri_ (Berk.) Lloyd (1913)

    Originally described in 1860 by Miles Joseph Berkeley as ''Lysurus archeri '',[8] this name is one of many synonyms now lumped under _Clathrus archeri_ (Berk.) Dring (1980)

-   _Pseudocolus fusiformis_ (E.Fisch.) Lloyd (1909)

    Originally _Colus fusiformis_ E.Fisch.[9]

-   _Pseudocolus garciae_ (Möller) Lloyd (1907)
-   _Pseudocolus grandis_ J.A. Sáenz, Rawla & R. Sharma (1982)[10]
-   _Pseudocolus jaczewskii_ Woronow (1918)

    Described in 1918 from specimens collected by Voronoc in South Colchis; synonymous with _P. fusiformis_[11]

-   _Pseudocolus javanicus_ (Penz.) Lloyd (1907)
-   _Pseudocolus mauritianus_ Lloyd (1917)
-   _Pseudocolus rothae_ (Lloyd) Yasuda (1916)
-   _Pseudocolus rothae_ Lloyd (1907)
-   _Pseudocolus schellenbergiae_ (Sumst.) Johnson (1929)

Distribution

_Pseudocolis fusiformis_ is known from east Asia and Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, and southern Africa, and has been introduced to the United States.[12] _P. garciae_ is found in North America and South America.[13] _P. grandis_ is found in both northern and southern India.[14]

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title: Pseudocolus

question: What is Pseudocolus?

answer: a genus of fungi in the sinkhorn family

question: What is gleba?

answer: the article does not answer this question

question: What are the species that make up the genus Pseudocolus?

answer: garciae, fusiformis, and grandis

question: When did Pseudocolus fusiformis first appear in the literate?

answer: in 1890, under the name Colus fusiformis

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Pseudocolus is a genus of fungi in the sinkhorn family. It contains three species: garciae, fusiformis, and grandis.


text:
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS were held in Bulgaria on 10 June 1990, with a second round for eighteen seats on 17 June.[1][2] They were the first elections held since the fall of Communism the previous winter, and the first free national elections since 1931. The elections were held to elect the 7th Grand National Assembly, tasked with adopting a new (democratic) constitution. The new electoral system was changed from 400 single-member constituencies used during the Communist era to a split system whereby half were elected in single member constituencies and half by proportional representation.[3] The result was a victory for the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the freshly renamed Communist Party, which won 211 of the 400 seats. Voter turnout was 90.3%.[4]

The Grand National Assembly drafted the country's fourth constitution, which was promulgated on 12 July 1991. The first elections under the new document were held three months later.

Results

+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Party           | Constituency    | PR              | Total           |
|                 |                 |                 | seats           |
+=================+=================+=================+=================+
| Votes           | %               | Seats           | Votes           |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Bulgarian       |                 |                 | 114             |
| Socialist Party |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Union of        |                 |                 | 69              |
| Democratic      |                 |                 |                 |
| Forces          |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Movement for    |                 |                 | 11              |
| Rights and      |                 |                 |                 |
| Freedoms        |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Bulgarian       |                 |                 | 0               |
| Agrarian        |                 |                 |                 |
| National Union  |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Patriotic Party |                 |                 | 1               |
| of Labour       |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Alternative     |                 |                 | 0               |
| Socialist Party |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Alternative     |                 |                 | 0               |
| Socialist Union |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Liberal Party – |                 |                 | 0               |
| Pernik          |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Union of        |                 |                 | 0               |
| Disabled        |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Union of        |                 |                 | 0               |
| Non-Party       |                 |                 |                 |
| Members         |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Fatherland      |                 |                 | 2               |
| Front           |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Social          |                 |                 | 1               |
| Democratic      |                 |                 |                 |
| Party           |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 29 other        |                 |                 | 0               |
| parties         |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Independents    |                 |                 | 2               |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Invalid/blank   | 244,296         | –               | –               |
| votes           |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| TOTAL           | 6,334,415       | 100             | 200             |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Registered      | 6,976,620       | 90.79           | –               |
| voters/turnout  |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Source:         |
| University of   |
| Essex           |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+

[1] Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) _Elections in Europe: A data handbook_, p. 369

[2] Bulgaria: Elections held in 1990 Inter-Parliamentary Union

[3] Nohlen & Stöver, p. 356

[4] Nohlen & Stöver, p. 377

title: 1990 Bulgarian Constitutional Assembly election

question: When were the 1990 Constitutional Assembly elections held in Bulgaria?

answer: 10 June 1990, with a second round for the eighteenth seat on 17 June

question: When was the last free national election in Bulgaria, prior to 1990?

answer: 1931

question: What percentage of the population voted in the 1990 Constitutional Assembly elections in Bulgaria?

answer: 90.3%

question: What party won a majority in the 1990 Constitutional Assembly elections in Bulgaria?

answer: the Socialist Party (formerly the Communist Party)

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: On 10 June 1990, Bulgaria held its first free national elections since 1931. The Socialist party (formerly the communist party) won a majority in the Grand National Assembly.


text:
His seventeenth birthday was coming soon. That meant it was almost the tenth anniversary of his first day in the mine.  He was seven the first time he plunged into the darkness. The company needed small bodies that could crawl into tiny compartments and plant dynamite. The boy would do this for six years. Malfunctioning dynamite and tunnel collapses had taken most of his friends. But not him. They told him he was lucky.

On his thirteenth birthday, the boy was old enough to dig and run machinery. He would do this until he died. Many of the other workers his age were maimed or malformed from their years in the tunnels. But not him. They told him he was lucky.

The darkness followed him outside of the mineshaft. The blackness of the coal mine was permanently sunken into his clothes and skin. At night he would cough blackness out of his lungs. Black lung killed dozens every year. But not him. They told him he was lucky.

It was by chance that the boy remembered his approaching birthday. Alone in the shaft, driving his pick into the wall, lost in monotony, he happened upon the thought. At that same moment, he saw a sparkle in the ground. His lamp had given out and he was relying on natural light coming from the shaft exit just overhead. The boy leaned over and looked at the mysterious object. He had never seen a diamond before. All the same, he was hypnotized by its beauty in the blackness of the mine. He felt blessed to see such a beautiful object. Perhaps he was lucky after all.

The boy wrapped his fingers around the object and pulled it from the dirt. Suddenly, the floor gave out below him.  No one had discovered the cavern underneath the tunnel.  He didn't remember screaming as he plunged deeper into the blackness.  The boy landed on his back and felt the wind leave his lungs. He was so far from the light. He knew he would die.  But he did not despair.  As he lay on his back, staring at the small light above him, all he could do was laugh.  He never had to return to the mine again.  He was finally free. For the first time in his life, the boy felt lucky.

title: (Feedback) (<400 words) The Lucky and the Living

question: Who is the main character?

answer: A seventeen-year-old boy who has been working in the coal mines since he was seven.

question: List the hazards of coal mining.

answer: Malfunctioning dynamite, tunnel collapses, and black lung.

question: Why doesn't the character feel lucky?

answer: When others tell him he's lucky, it's because he has escaped the sort of tragedy that killed his friends and maimed his coworkers, and he doesn't feel lucky because as long as he's living, he has to keep doing the work that hurts his friends and makes him miserable.

question: When does the character feel lucky?

answer: When he achieves freedom by dying, knowing he never has to return to the mines.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: After surviving the mining-related tragedies that killed people around him, a seventeen-year-old boy who has been working in the coal mines since he was seven finally feels lucky when he falls into a cavern. In dying, he finds freedom from the mines.


text:
_JAMS_ (also titled as _N.E.G. JAMS_)[1] is a studio album released on December 12, 1995, by the Washington, D.C.-based go-go band Northeast Groovers.[2] The album consists of ten tracks, including the singles “N.E.G Jam”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, and “Go Hard”.

Track listing

1.  “N.E.G. Jam” – 6:41
2.  “Freak-A-Dek Dug” – 5:43
3.  “I Can See Clearly Now” – 8:00
4.  “O' Yeah” – 4:39
5.  “Like Mike” – 3:56
6.  “Go Hard” – 5:17
7.  “Get Your Hands in the Air” – 7:24
8.  “Funky Now” – 4:05
9.  “Scream On It” – 5:16
10. “Tear the Roof Off This Mutha” – 9:31

Personnel

-   Khari Pratt – bass guitar
-   Lamond “Maestro” Perkins – keyboards
-   Ronald “88” Utley – keyboards
-   David “32” Ellis– vocals
-   Leonard “Daddy-O” Huggins – vocals
-   Ronald “Dig-Dug” Dixon – percussions
-   Christian “Rah Rah" Black – vocals
-   Samuel “Smoke” Dews – congas, percussions
-   “Jammin” Jeff Warren – drums

[1]

[2]

title: Jams (album)

question: What is Jams?

answer: Jams is the title of an album released by Northeast Groovers. It is also known as N.E.G. Jams.

question: How many tracks are in Jams?

answer: There are a total of 10 tracks in the album including “N.E.G Jam”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, and “Go Hard”.

question: How long is the album?

answer: The album is approximately 1 hour and 53 seconds long.

question: Who are the Northeast Groovers?

answer: The Northeast Groovers (N.G.E.) are a go-go band based in Washington DC. they are composed of three vocalists, a bassist, two percussionists, one drummer, and two pianists.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: DC-based go-go band N.G.E.'s Jams album is a 10 track, 1 hour album that includes the songs “N.E.G Jam”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, and “Go Hard”.


text:
Dec 16, 2013

-   []

    Dan RafaelESPN Senior Writer

    Close

    -   2013 BWAA Nat Fleischer Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism
    -   ESPN.com boxing writer since 2005
    -   Five years at USA Today

Vitali Klitschko, who has not defended his WBC heavyweight title in 15 months and is one of the central figures involved in the political unrest in his native Ukraine, vacated his belt Monday.

The WBC instead appointed him as the organization's "champion emeritus." It means that if Klitschko, 42, decides to fight again, he will automatically get a shot at the title upon his return, if he wants one.

Klitschko, however, sounded as though he is finished boxing.

"I want to thank the WBC and its president, Don Jose Sulaiman, for the support in our fight for democracy and freedom in Ukraine," Klitschko said. "It was and is a great honor to hold the WBC title, and I've always done it with pride. The offer of the WBC gives me the theoretical possibility to return to the boxing ring, which I cannot imagine at all to the current state.

"Right now, my full concentration is on politics in Ukraine, and I feel that the people need me there. My brother [and unified heavyweight champion] Wladimir will ensure more sporting success and I will, as always, support him as much as he currently supports me in my political fight."

This is the second time in his career that Vitali Klitschko has been designated as a "champion emeritus."

When he was hampered by back and knee injuries, Klitschko vacated the title and retired in 2005 and later used his status to his advantage. A healthy Klitschko returned in 2008 and immediately got a shot at then-titleholder Samuel Peter, whom Klitschko stopped in the eighth round of a one-sided fight to regain the belt.

Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs) has made nine one-sided title defenses, including a fourth-round cut-induced stoppage of Manuel Charr in September 2012 in Moscow in what likely was the final fight of a 17-year professional career that figures to land him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Klitschko, a three-time heavyweight titleholder, had vacillated on returning to the ring. He had a long-overdue mandatory defense to make against Bermane Stiverne and put off the purse bid for the fight multiple times in addition to asking the WBC to move back the deadline for him to make a decision on his future. But the latest deadline was Sunday, and he finally decided.

Now that the title is vacant, it should be filled by the winner of a rematch between Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KOs) and Cristobal Arreola (36-3, 31 KOs), the top two contenders in the WBC's ratings. Stiverne dropped Arreola and easily outpointed him in a title-elimination fight April 27 to become the mandatory challenger. However, Stiverne is involved in litigation with promoter Don King, and he might not be available for a title fight. In that case, the title could be filled by a fight between No. 2 Arreola and No. 3 Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30 KOs).

Klitschko's life is now dominated by politics in Ukraine, where he is the leader of the government opposition UDAR political party, which is pushing for reform and to align the nation economically with the European Union rather than Russia. He is also a member of the Ukrainian parliament and a 2015 presidential candidate.

"Vitali Klitschko is fighting the fight of his life, this time outside the ring," said WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman, son of the ill Jose Sulaiman. "Vitali is showing to the world what is the true heart of a champion by leading his countrymen to battle in the streets in their search of human equality, rights and peace for the great country of the Ukraine.

"With the current extreme and delicate political situation in the Ukraine, Vitali has answered his country's call to fight for human rights and equality. Accordingly, Vitali will not be able to provide the WBC with a predictable time frame to return to the ring. In light of those considerations, the WBC voted unanimously to name Vitali Klitschko WBC heavyweight champion emeritus. Very few great fighters have received such an honorable distinction, which will entitle Vitali to fight for the WBC heavyweight world championship when he is ready to return to the ring. ... We all wish him great success in his political career."

question: What was the leading reason as to why Vitali Klitscho said he was finished with boxing?

answer: Klitschko had not defended his WBC heavyweight title in 15 months and his full concentration was on politics in Ukraine.

question: If Klitschko had noted stopped fighting, how far do you think he would have gotten?

answer: If Klitscho had not stopped fighting, he would have gotten very far and would have defended his WBC heavyweight title for many years to come.

question: How much training must Klitscho have done to recover from being hurt?

answer: He must have put in a tremendous amount of energy to recover from being physically hurt and to coming back fully healthy in three years.


text:
ANNE RANASINGHE (born ANNELIESE KATZ; 2 October 1925 – 17 December 2016) was a Jewish-German born Sri Lankan English-language poet. She is considered one of Sri Lanka's leading English-language poets, having won several international awards.

Early life

Anneliese Katz was born on 2 October 1925 in Essen, Germany, to a Jewish family.[1] A victim of Nazi Germany's atrocities against Jews, she witnessed the _Kristallnacht_ (night of broken glass), the burning of the Essen synagogue. In 1939, her parents sent her to England to an aunt she had never seen before. Within a week she was sent to a school 140 miles away to live among strangers and to learn English, a new language to her. Within six months World War II broke out and much later she learned that her parents had been murdered by the Nazis.[2]

Anne completed her studies at Parkstone Grammar School and trained to become a nursing sister at Charing Cross Hospital, King's College, Moorfields, Chelsea and Burden Neurological Institute.[3]

Literary work

Ranasinghe began her writing career in the late 1960s after obtaining a Diploma in Journalism from Colombo Technical College.[4] In 1971, she published her first poem collection, _And the Sun That Sucks The Earth to Dry_.[5] Some of Ranasinghe's well known poems include _July 1983_, _Plead Mercy_ (1974), _A Long Hot Day_ and _At What Dark Point_ (1970). She has published 12 books and has been translated into several languages in seven countries.[6]

From 1975, Ranasinghe worked for the Amnesty International's South Asian Publications Service in Sri Lanka.[7]

Recognition

Ranasinghe was awarded Sri Lanka Arts Council Prize for Poetry in 1985 and again in 1992 and also for non-fiction in 1987. She won the Sri Lankan State Literary Award for best collection of short stories in 1994.[8] She was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the nation's only federal civilian award.[9]

Personal life

In 1949, Anne married D. A. Ranasinghe, a post-graduate student who later became a lecturer and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Colombo Medical School, and moved to Sri Lanka.[10][11] She had seven children, four of her own and three from her husband's previous marriage.[12] Her own four children are sons Ananda and Nihal, and daughters Shanthi and Renuka, all of whom live abroad.[13]

Death and legacy

Anne Ranasinghe died 17 December 2016 in her Colombo residence in Rosmead Place, at age of 91.[14] Sri Lankan school children study her poems for their English literature coursework in GCE Ordinary Level.[15]

Bibliography

-   Mascot and Symbol. 1997.
-   Desire and other Stories. 1994, reprint 1995.
-   You Ask Me Why I Write Poems. 1994.
-   The Letter and Other Stories. 1994.
-   At What Dark Point. 1991, reprinted and updated 1996.
-   Not Even Shadows. 1991.
-   Against Eternity and Darkness. 1985, reprinted 1985, 1988, 1996.
-   Of Charred Wood Midnight Fear. 1983.
-   Love, Sex and Parenthood. 1978.
-   Plead Mercy. 1975.
-   With Words We Write Our Lives Past, Present, Future. 1972.
-   Poems - And a Sun That Sucks The Earth to Dry. 1971

Source: _nurse.info_[16]

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[15]

[16]

title: Anne Ranasinghe

question: What was Anne Ranasinghe's original name?

answer: Anneliese Katz.

question: When was Anne Ranasinghe born?

answer: 2nd October 1925.

question: What nationality did she hold?

answer: Sri Lankan.

question: What language did she write in?

answer: English.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Anne Ranasinghe, a German Jew who settled in Sri Lanka. It discusses her career as one of Sri Lanka's most important English language poets.


text:
DR. SHEIKH GEORGE EL ANDARY (; born 1958) is a Lebanese researcher in archaeology, museums and manuscripts. He is the son of sheikh Nematallah El Andary, the grandson of sheikh Isaac bin sheikh Elias El Andary.

Personal life

He was born in 1958 in the village of Kfour Al Arbe, Batroun District, North Lebanon. From a young age he gained interest in collecting rare and unique old royal artistic masterpieces, old writings and papers, unique and valuable documents and manuscripts and many archaeological and special items and then maintaining them. He inherited this passion from both his grandfathers.

He is married to the honorable Mrs. Yvette Madi El Andary and have three sons.

Early life and education

Dr. El Andary continued his studies at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa where he obtained a master's degree and then in 1984 a PhD in archaeology from his article entitled: _The role of the archaeological documents in revealing the civilizations through the history_. He also obtained a bachelor's degree in museum sciences from the same university. He worked as a researcher in the Archaeological Researches Center at the university between 1984 and 1985.

Professional career

In 1984 he established the International Transaction System in Johannesburg, and then in Lebanon and abroad. This became an international institution dealing with restoration of archaeological sites, museum equipment and trade of rare, unique and authentic royal artistic masterpieces for museums and archaeological enterprises.

For five years he worked as an expert and museum consultant with the National Museum of Pretoria and the Durban Museum (South Africa). Later, he worked with the delegates and representatives of other international museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Luxembourg National Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art” (Berlin).

During his international travels of visiting various museums and universal antiques auctions such as Sotheby's, Christie's and others, Dr. El Andary was able to collect precious, rare and authentic royal masterpieces and belongings of famous personalities including King Louis XIV, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III, King George III, king George V, Empress Maria Theresa, King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Adolf Hitler, Grand Admiral Kilic Ali Pasha, shah Abbas I Al Safavid, Sultan Suleiman Al Qanuni, Ottoman Sultans, Princes, Sheikhs of tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, the Prophet, Saints, Patriarchs, Bishops, Gentlefolk, Painters, Authors, Philosophers, Scientists and others.

Dr El Andary also collected unique, rare and authentic gold coins of Mecca and Constantinople and a collection of special ancient weapons going back to 1650. He also compiled a valuable collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century Porcelain de Sèvres that had been manufactured especially for emperors, kings and dignitaries. This unique collection has astonished many experts and consultants of the Musée National de la Céramique (Sèvres, France).

Dr El Andary also collected oil paintings from famous European and other painters in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Over 35 years, he has also collected important and genuine historical documents and rare ancient manuscripts, some a thousand years old, which are a true witness of lost civilizations.

Awards and honors

Dr. Sheikh George El Andary joined the International Group of Archaeology & Museums experts (I.G.A.M) in New York in 1990. Due to the international importance of his unique artistic and historical collection, the I.G.A.M ranked him in the third place among international collectors in its annual book issued in October 1991. He obtained this classification because he owns the most important collection of genuine historical documents and rare ancient manuscripts in the world reaching today to eight thousand manuscripts in thirty-nine languages, which some are exhibited in the museums worldwide.

He was awarded several medals from presidents, ministries, universities and foundations for his researches and special studies in showing some of the ancient cultures through the remaining historical manuscripts; he also honored in his turn many international high-standard personalities very famous in various societies.

Dr. Sheikh George El Andary is a self-made man. He raised the name of oriental countries high in the field of his important archaeological and museum researches through hundreds of interviews and audiovisual and written cultural media sessions. These sessions were held by the Arabic and international media, local and spatial, for more than thirty five years of his continuous contribution to archaeology and museum sciences in general, and particularly to the manuscripts and historical document's sciences and how to maintain the international legacy, under his direction (and through the mass media) for the international audiences, spectators and readers to connect the youth to the ancient civilizations.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

[1] LBC International, Report 2003 - Dr. Sheikh George El Andary - الدكتور الشيخ جورج العنداري https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNll_VO7W6Y

[2] MBC, Egypt TV, Interview 2010 - Dr. Sheikh George El Andary - الدكتور الشيخ جورج العنداري https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4OqIJf-Zug&t=31s

[3] Al Arabiya Tv - قناة العربية, Interview 2010, Dr. Sheikh George El Andary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is8saXdaPXI

[4] Reportage: The Most Expensive Sword In The World - أثمن سيف في العالم https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyRmN4SP3D8

[5] AL JAISH مجلة الجيش - Lebanese Army Magazine - Issue N.234 - December 2004 - Pages 91, 92, 93, 94 https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/ar/content/متحف-الدكتور-جورج-العنداري

[6] AN NAHAR Newspaper - Lebanon - جريدة النهار - Issue N.24604 - December 28, 2011 http://annahar.com/article.php?d=24604&t=beea&p=2

title: George El Andary

question: Write a ~9 sentence summary.

answer: Dr Sheikh George El Andary was born in 1958 in Lebanon. He is a decorated, respected researcher in archaeology, museums and manuscripts. El Andary is the son of sheikh Nematallah El Andary, and the grandson of sheikh Isaac bin sheikh Elias El Andary. He has won countless awards for his work over the years. His interest started in his childhood in Kfour Al Arbe, Batroun District, North Lebanon, gaining an interest in collecting rare and unique old royal artistic masterpieces, old writings and papers, unique and valuable documents and manuscripts and many archaeological and special items and then maintaining them. His passion, some say, was passed down through his family. Dr El Andary studied at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, earning a PhD in archaeology. In 1984 he established the International Transaction System in Johannesburg, and then in Lebanon and abroad. He has traveled and worked abroad at auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's, and has amassed his own collection of rare and ancient items.


text:
"Davis Richard Shannon!"  Davis' mother, Sheryl, yelled once again, "Get over here right now!"

	Davis got out of bed and threw his pen across the room where it stuck right in the wall. "I'm coming!" He yelled, trying to keep his voice sounding a bit less enraged than he feels.

	Davis walked down the stairs for the sixth, seventh, maybe eighth time in the past hour. He wished he could stay up in his room all day. He wished to live alone someday, and just write and write upstairs in his office. It was his favorite thing to do. He could write about whatever he desired and he would be able to get away from his life for a while and be in the world of what he writes.

	"What, Mom?" He asked. Sheryl threw an orange bucket at him, which rubbed against his forehead, causing blood to trickle out.

	"Go fill this bucket with water and soap, and wash my car!" She scolded. "You better clean it damn well or you'll get a beating boy! Now get out of my sight!"

Davis wiped the blood off his forehead, which wasn't much, but it was enough to get a good drop on his finger, and he rubbed it against the countertop on the way out the door. He knew his mom didn't see it. However, he knows she will.

As Davis walks out the door, Sheryl notices the blood on the counter. "Oh, the boy wants to test me? Wether the car is clean or not, he's gonna get it."

20 minutes later, Sheryl goes outside to see how Davis is doing, knowledgable of the fact that he probably wouldn't be done. However, when she stepped outside the garage door, she noticed he had almost finished and he did better than she could do. But she was still mad at him.

	"Look, Mom. I'm almost done. The car is looking pretty good." Davis said, trying to wipe off a bit of bug guts from the left tail light. Sheryl kept walking towards him violently. "Mom whats wrong?" She kept walking. "Mom?"

Sheryl grabbed Davis by his arm, tugging him back into the house. "Do you think you're smart, boy? Huh? Do you think you're smart?" Davis stayed silent, knowing this is about the blood on the counter. But how? Why would she do this over a little bit of blood on the table?

	She pushed him against the counter. "Move boy, and this'll hurt even more!" She took a giant wooden two-by-four and smashed it against his chest. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest, and yelling in agony on the floor.

Davis wondered if he had a rib or two broken, but he wasn't worried about that. He gathered up clothes and a toothbrush and a pencil and a journal. He packed it together in his little sister's Dora luggage bag that she got for Christmas last year. He was planning to run away from home, and never come back.

title: My first post. Should I make more?

question: What is the purpose of switching back and forth between tenses?

answer: It isn't evident that there is a purpose.

question: What is a "Dora" bag?

answer: Probably a Dora the Explorer bag.

question: Is Davis' mom abusive?

answer: Yes.

question: How old is Davis?

answer: Still in school.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Davis, after dealing with emotional and physical abuse with from his mother, packs his things in his little sister's suitcase and runs away after a particularly bad bout in which his mother hits him with a two-by-four.


text:
The Tree Cat

by Gabriel Beury-Moore

Commonly being mistaken as other trees when it is spoken of, the tree cat is exactly what its name describes. Some say the tree cat was once a house cat. He lived with a young man who worked hard during the day and would come home to his best friend waiting for him, and everyday the cat would greet him with excitement and joy. He waited for his owner to come home. He waited for days: pacing around outside, running inside at the slightest noise indoors, and running around the whole house just to make sure his owner was not hiding. Eventually, the cat just stopped. He sat patiently outside in the rain, in the snow, at night, and all day. Before his transformation, he did not know of the magic that lived inside him, for he thought he was just a cat. But as a tree grows its root into the ground, the cat’s fur grew into the soil, absorbing his nutrients through the water he drank. His skin became hard with rigor, to become the bark of a tree. His body grew
straight up to the sky; he reached for the sweet rays of the sun to drink in the warmth and energy it gave him.

Like the leaves of a tree, his fur changed with the seasons. It was bright and full of luster in the summer, colorful and vibrant in fall, cold and dark in the harsh snows of winter, and in the spring his fur would slowly fade its color until it became bright again in the summer as the air became warmer. Unlike the leaves of a tree, his fur never fell. Slowly, over many years, his fur became broader and wider to soak in the sun. Finally, the once small house cat became tall and filled with beautiful leaves, his face hidden perfectly by them. He listened to the messages the wind brought him, and the stories the tall grass told him, but he would only open his eyes once a day to wish the sun a good morning and bid the moon a good night. The rain, when it came, brought news of what was happening around the world. Sometimes the rain told sad tales of war and famine; sometimes the rain told tales of peace. However, when the rain asked what the tree cat would like to know, he asked the same question,
“Have you seen my owner?”

And every time he asked, the rain was deeply saddened. The rain told him, “I have not seen your owner, but I know he is safe.”

With that news, the tree cat shut his eyes and smiled. While it was sad that no one had seen his old friend, he took solace in knowing that his best friend was okay.

Why am I telling you this story? I am an old friend of the tree cat. I knew him when he was just a small kitten. I knew him as the cheerful boy who faithfully followed his owner wherever he went. I was there when he could not find him. He asked me, “Have you seen my owner?” And I responded, “I’m sorry, but I have not.”

I told him that if he waited, he could drink from me as much as he wanted, that he could bask in the suns that warm the Earth, that he could eat the food that grows by my banks, that he could play in the sand that builds with my ebb and flow.

For years, I took care and watched over the once young cat while he sat patiently. I watched him grow into the majestic tree that he is today. He continues to thrive and to smile at me when I say hello. And every day he asks all he sees if they have seen his owner, and every day we lie to him.

We keep him company and we keep him happy by telling stories of time and stories of the world. We do not tell him of the day his owner passed. We keep from him that his owner visited him every day, but he could not see him. We fail to mention that he built a home to stay with him forever. We forget that his son would sit in the shade of the tree cat. We remember that every day his owner would tell him that he loves him. We keep from him that his owner’s children buried him just behind the tree cat and he could know that he was always with him if he could just look down. Most importantly, we have not told him that his owner buried him in the exact spot he grows.

The owner was special; he spoke to all of us knowing that we were listening. He knew that he would outlive his small friend and he prepared for his passing every day.

Every day he told us stories to then tell his friend. On the day of the tree cat’s passing, he asked us one thing. He asked the grass, the suns, the moon, the wind, the rain, and myself just one thing. He asked us not to tell his friend that he has passed. He prepared us and coached us to tell the tree cat the stories he told us for years. Before he placed his small friend into the ground we asked him,
“But what do we tell him when we run out of stories?”

He told us that by the time we run out of stories, he would be back to relieve us of our responsibility. With that, he ever so carefully placed his small friend into the ground and placed the earth over him. He said a quick goodbye and went on with his life, making sure to see the tree cat everyday. He made sure to thank each of us for our help. He did this every day until the day he died. Soon, the house that he started a family in became covered in vines. With no one to care for it, the house became disheveled and fell apart.

As years turned to decades and decades to centuries, the stories we had began to dwindle to smaller and smaller numbers.

On the last day, I told my final story to the tree cat. As I ended the story, the tree cat opened his eyes; he smiled and told me what a wonderful story it was. As he told me this, he got a peculiar look on his face. A new wind had arrived, one he had not felt before. It greeted him with a voice as old as he could remember. The tree cat asked,
“Where have you been all these years? Why did you leave me?”

“I never left you, old friend. I have been with you your whole life and past-life. I was in the stories your friends would tell you and in the air you breathe, the sun that wakes you, and the water you drink.”

With that said, the tree cat and his owner looked at each other with the same look they gave each other when they lived, each carrying a slight smile. What I saw then I had never seen since before I flowed into this land. As the two friends stared at each other, not saying a word, a single leaf fell from the tree cat’s face. As the leaf fell, his smile disappeared slowly with each leaf making it smaller and smaller until his face had disappeared.

As the leaves fell, the wind began to take form. The shape of a young man appeared next to a small kitten playing in a pile of leaves. As the last leaf fell, the tree cat jumped into the welcome arms of his owner and when the leaf finally fluttered to the ground, the cat and his owner faded away to spend the rest of time together.

title: Just discovered this subreddit, SO! Here is, The Tree Cat

question: Write a ~0 sentence summary.


text:
1.

The soldier slowly awoke to the sound of rain tapping out Morse code on his windowpane. Amid the murmuring drumming he lay already defeated, simply staring above into the white paint swirls of the high attic ceiling. The room itself was enormous, in the far corner away from the bed a few ladder rungs poked up from the moist floorboards, whilst the soldier’s bed and a few old boxes scattered throughout the room provided the only real decoration.

The doctors had urged sunlight, yet ever since they hauled his bed upstairs and dragged it beside the enormous bay window; it simply had not stopped raining. Jenny though had seen the bright side of the dismal days, arguing as they ate their meals together in the attic that the rain could help him relax. That in a certain respect he should think of himself lucky with such a sea view, that he should feel sheltered and secure near the window rather than the imprisonment he oft complained of. To the soldier it was all white wet noise, unrelenting and monotonous. With great effort he shifted on his shoulder to see the clock just tick to six, his hand reached for the bell beside the bed but he knew it was far too early to wake Jenny. Just as the young man was about to fall back into sleep, a brief cry escaped down below from the beach outside.

The sea view from the back of the house had been the main reason they had bought the place, and even in the gums of winter the mixture of crashing ocean and bone white beach exuded a consummate calm. From the back porch of the house, a small sandy garden that begun at the bottom of the patio steps gave way to the pale beach that rolled out before the lapping waves.

2.

When the two of them had climbed the ladder to the attic with a few other newlyweds all those years ago, he had gripped Jenny’s hand in excitement upon spying the open space before the vast bay window. They hadn’t even asked a price yet and already he was eager, seeing in his head a thick wooden desk before the perfect view, with rows upon rows of bookcases encircling the high white walls. Now his books collected in various corners, falling out of cardboard boxes that flaked from the moisture of the mostly empty room. The window itself was enormous with a cross work of black mesh on the pane shaping the various frames within it. It took up much of the attic wall, almost doing justice in its size to the sea that unfurled out before it. Though he was physically fine to write after the assault in France, the desk was never bought, all his previous passion for Literature seemingly seeping away upon his return to Jenny and the house.

As soon as the soldier found the source of the yelp, he questioned if what he was seeing down below through the window was some form of hangover from the relentless medication. Propping himself up, both elbows clearly defined through his skin against the windowsill he spied two boys, one fairly young standing beside what seemed to be merely the head of the other submerged in the sand. The children appeared to be chatting amiably, though the boom of the surging surf behind them smothered anything said. The soldier soon smiled however as he noticed it was merely the angle of the window lattice from where he was looking out that had suggested a severed head on account of the boy. It seemed the child was just standing in a dug hole, one that looked surprisingly deep and wide as the tall child climbed out unaided with much effort amid the moistening sand.

The downpour was growing heavier now and the boys appeared to the soldier from above, to hasten as they began to dig even further into the now clay-like ground. Shovels lay flat beside the pit but for whatever reason they were now clawing with their palms, tossing sand in every direction, stopping every now and then for a breath of two. It took a few minutes of surveillance but the soldier realized that he had seen them a few times around the town, two brothers. Before his view of the siblings, thick droplets were now amassing quickly on the pane. Rarely was the rain this insistent or obscuring.

They were always together in his mind; an image in particular of them sharing a single ice cream before one of the town square storefronts struck him as oddly memorable. Most vividly however he recalled their rowdiness at the parade for the departing soldiers that had been held almost a year before. Amongst the bulging crowd they charged and darted with no concern but that the other not get ahead, seemingly reveling in the chance of an audience. A few of the crowd disputed, attempting to grab them in an effort of respect, but they were too liquid. This was before the rain came and the small square was unfittingly beautiful that day. Near everyone in the town crowded all around as convoys of men waved uncertain goodbyes to people they had only really considered background. After the last truck disappeared beyond the beachhead, Jenny had helped him walk away from the crowd and argued that the boys were too young to understand the prescience of what was happening, that they meant no disrespect. The soldier snapped back quickly however that a Second World War was something to be respected universally, regardless of age.

3.

Turning his head for but a second to check the time again he found the children down below had disappeared from view. The void in the sand remained but even that was vanishing before his eyes as giant dewdrops splattered onto the window, distorting the outlook from the attic. The two quickly returned however through the view of indistinct condensation, with the small boy becoming magnified suddenly through an odd angle of refraction through glass and rain. The shower itself was growing relentless now, practically smothering the window into a thick fog. The soldier could make out little but it seemed the boys had returned carrying a small body between them. Two clearly defined legs lifelessly dangled between the young carriers.

The soldier simply didn’t think in that moment. Didn’t dwell upon what they might be being buried, or why and indeed how they felt the beach behind he and his wife’s house was the apt place. He simply acted like his sergeant before had taught him to. Pounding the window once before him with a rare burst of energy, he cleared the view before him of condensation and muddying droplets. He had hoped to have the sound of the slam swallowed by the sea, but the boys clearly heard something and scurried away with their secret. The soldier waited, starting for a few seconds at the open grave and the waves behind gesturing forward.

It seemed that the rain on the window however had led to misinterpretation; it was a dog they were carrying between them. Its tongue hung lifeless from its mouth; from high up he found it difficult to determine exactly what was wrong with it, but it was clearly dead. The two quickly returned kneeling down beside the hole and slowly lowered the animal into the beach. Rain had kicked up once more. The soldier suddenly felt angry and was about to ring for Jenny regardless of the hour. He stopped with the bell in his hand however when he noticed that they were saluting at the graveside. Their silhouettes cut out against the surf. The taller boy who he had at first believed to be but a head was clearly much disturbed by the whole event, staring straight down, gaze never from the void. The smaller child turned around and looked directly at the soldier for a few seconds without even realizing, the rain so driving now that he squinted when looking away.

Dogs had grown rare around the town since the departing parade, most mothers preferring to keep the animals inside as surrogates for their departed sons than to allow them free to roam. With this in mind the soldier struggled to place the animal, perhaps it was the brother’s own rather than that they had killed it, or maybe they had merely discovered it in this condition and wished better for it than to merely be slumped in some passageway. The answers he would never really know, and oddly felt no real need to as he watched them fill the grave slowly with the shovels in hand.

With the grave filled the two walked slowly towards the sea, just stopping as the waves lapped at their shoes. The rain was growing strong again, and the soldier lacked the energy to clear his view once more. Straining out past the precipitations he spotted the older brother placing his arm around the younger one until finally the rain obscured them indefinable from the crashing waves and the sodden beach.

title: 'Bury'

question: Who are the main characters?

answer: The soldier, two young boys who are presumably brothers.

question: What happened to the soldier?

answer: It seems he was injured during the war (WWII).

question: What happened with the dog?

answer: It's not clear, but the dog died.

question: Who gets buried in a grave?

answer: The boys are burying the dog in the sand behind the soldier and Jenny's house.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: A soldier wakes in his attic room to a rainy day and a beautiful view of the sandy beach and ocean behind the house. He thinks of ringing the bell for his wife Jenny's help, but hesitates. He sees two young boys, presumably brothers, behind his house digging a hole. He watches for awhile and sees them bury a dog, and walk away sadly.


text:
_SIPAYI CHINNAYYA_ is a 1969 Telugu-language drama film produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner[1] and directed by G. V. R. Seshagiri Rao.[2] It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, K. R. Vijaya, Bharathi in the lead roles and music composed by M. S. Viswanathan.[3]

Plot

The film revolves around Zamindary family, it's heir Captain Bhaskar (Akkineni Nageswara Rao) joins in Indian Navy along with Sipayi Chinnayya (again Akkineni Nageswara Rao) a pleb, belongs to the same village who are good friends and surprisingly, both of them resemble each other. After return, Bhaskar's younger brother Shekar (Jaggayya) and mother Subhadramma (Pandari Bai) gives him warm welcome. Here everyone's hearts are delightful except Zamindar's step-brother Kodandam (Prabhakar Reddy) a vicious person, who is malevolent towards Bhaskar for the property. Eventually, Bhaskar loves his cousin Shobha (Bharati) and elders fix their alliance. Chinnaiah leads a happy family life with his wife Kannamma (K.R.Vijaya) and all the villagers credit him for his amiable nature except a goon Ganganna (Satyanarayana), the henchmen of Kodandam. Ahead, though Bhaskar is a good-humane, Shekar is furious & wild who thinks penniless as baseness also suffers insolvents by making them impoverished. Aware of it, Chinnaiah abuses Shekar when angered Bhaskar slaps him, later he repents and reaches the village along with Manager Chokka Rao (Nagabhushanam) to apologize when Bhaskar presents Chinnaiah some sweets in which he secretly places some amount to clear the debts of villagers. Thereafter, Bhaskar wants to go for a ride into the sea when Chinnaiah says he will be back in a while. At that point in time, Ganganna seeks to slay Bhaskar by the instructions Kondandam, he backstabs and takes him to mid of the sea. Spotting it, Chinnaiah chases them but unfortunately, they stuck in the whirlpool.

Knowing the tragic event Subhadramma gets a heart attack and Kondandam ploys to grab the property. Simultaneously, Shekar files a case against Chinnaiah for slaughtering Bhaskar by showing the amount in the sweet box as a piece of evidence. Fortuitously, Chinnaiah floats to the shore, expresses his sorrow to Chokka Rao when Shekar understands the virtue of Chinnaiah and requests him to take Bhaskar's position to safeguard their mother & property. Due to loyalty, he accepts and withstands many turbulences even stands strong when villagers are converting his wife as a widow. Later he secretly reveals the facts to Kannamma and takes her to the palace which is witnessed by Ganganna who attributes illicit relationship between them. Here entire villagers denounce Kannamma where Chinnaiah stays in dilemma and not able to reveal the truth, in addition to that Subhadramma & Shobha also chide him when he silently divulges it to Shobha. Now the village head Peddaiah (Mikkilineni) forcibly makes remarriage arrangements of Kannamma with Ganganna. In that critical situation, like a godsend, Bhaskar is alive who is rescued by fishermen, but due to his hard time goes into the clutches of Kondandam when Shobha frees him and they rush to the estate. During the time of the wedding, Shekar & Chinnaiah reaches the venue when a clash arises and leads to severe destruction which calms down with Bhaskar's arrival. At last, Bhaskar & Chinnaiah sees the end of baddies. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Bhaskar & Shobha.

Cast

-   Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Captain Bhaskar & Sipayi Chinnayya (Dual role)
-   K. R. Vijaya as Kannamma
-   Bharathi as Shobha
-   Jaggayya as Sekhar
-   Satyanarayana as Ganganna
-   Nagabhushanam as Chokka Rao
-   Prabhakar Reddy as Kodandam
-   Mikkilineni as Peddaiah
-   Raja Babu as Amavasya
-   Raavi Kondala Rao as Kailasam
-   S. V. Ramadas as Inspector
-   D. Ramanaidu as Doctor (cameo)
-   Pandari Bai as Subhadramma
-   Rushyendramani as Chinnaiah's Bamma
-   L. Vijayalakshmi as item number
-   Vijaya Lalitha as item number

Crew

-   ART: Rajendra Kumar
-   CHOREOGRAPHY: Chinni-Sampath, K. S. Reddy
-   FIGHTS: Raghavulu
-   LYRICS: Arudra, Athreya, Devulapalli, Dasarathi
-   PLAYBACK: Ghantasala, P. Susheela, L. R. Eeswari
-   STORY: Turaiyur K. Murthy
-   DIALOGUES: Bhamidipati Radha Krishna
-   MUSIC: M. S. Viswanathan
-   CINEMATOGRAPHY: P. Bhaskara Rao
-   EDITING: K. A. Marthand
-   PRODUCER: D. Ramanaidu
-   DIRECTOR: GVR Seshagiri Rao
-   BANNER: Suresh Productions
-   RELEASE DATE: 30 October 1969

Soundtrack

Music composed by M. S. Viswanathan. The song NAA JANMA BHOOMI is a blockbuster. Music released AVM Audio Company.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Sipayi Chinnayya

question: What is Sipayi Chinnayya?

answer: a 1969 Telugu-language drama film

question: What is Telugu?

answer: the article does not answer this question

question: Who produced Sipaya Chinnayya?

answer: D. Ramanaidu under Suresh Productions

question: Who directed Sipayi Chinnayya?

answer: G.V.R. Seshagiri Rao

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Sipayi Chinnayya is a 1969 Telugu-language drama film.


text:
  The bomb went off on the street. It went 'BANG!' very loud and then the bomb was dead.

  The moment was brief. It happened near the finish line. People were watching the runners run to the line. Fathers cheered their daughters and sisters cheered their brothers and sons were proud of their moms. Even strangers watched and they were proud of them all. There was sun and Coca-Cola and everyone was clapping because the day was important. The running was important. Old wives stood and cheered, 'Yay!' in ripe honeydew voices. Their husbands clapped strong hands and remembered a time.

 And then it happened. 'BANG!'

  At first there was disbelief and smoke and echo. So many stunned runners just stood and they did not run. Some runners had been knocked down by the force of the blast.  They used tired legs to get back up.

But the spectators were finding themselves disoriented, bleeding.

Slowly, people came to and noticed the way about things.

  A woman picked herself up from the concrete and looked to find her sunglasses. She found them, and they were not broken. Then, looking in the lenses, she saw that she was bleeding from her head.

 A man took his daughter's hand and started walking for the car. He kept hurrying and looking back to the cloud of light-grey smoke. He said, 'A bomb,' when the little girl asked him something and then she asked another question and he said, 'I don't know, baby.'

  A mother was sitting up on the sidewalk to see that she had no legs. The mother saw her no legs and looked for her kids. Then she knew the suffocating pain, but she was scared because she could not see the kids. And she screamed for the kids, which hurt. She wanted to vomit, and she almost did.  She could not hear. She could only feel the pain and the burning pepper in her nose and the cement on her back and the burning of her feet. But she yelled for the kids and then she saw a younger man moving swiftly through time. He emerged from a changing sea of empty changing colors. He moved at her and she noticed his face was round and plain with sweat glistening on his forehead and eyes that were blue and frozen calm. And then she saw nothing but she reached her arms out hoping to feel her kids. She felt his hands but she tried to fight him. Then she saw nothing and moved nothing.

The children saw their mother but the loud noise had been so loud that they could not hear and they could only watch their mother bleeding and yelling like an animal. The children watched as one, then two, then more surrounded their mom who was hurt.

  The people swarmed her, and all the kids saw were backs and the bottoms of shoes. The children saw the blood creeping past shards of glass and little pebbles. It snaked towards their shoes. They treated it like lava. The oldest child was crying and he was scared, but he grabbed the other two and let them cry. They stood there next to the wall and cried big gulping wails. A nice lady came then and asked, 'Is that your mom?'

 Sirens were pulsing out in odd rhythms and men were calling over this special music and people were rushing past people rushing past people rushing. The pepper smoke was faint in the air, but it was burned into every nose. There was a dog pulling his own leash through the street.

A man stumbled past a trash can and towards a cluster of people stopped, looking. He was empty and lost because he knew nothing about himself, but he knew he knew what had happened. He looked at the lookers and he said, flailing his arms, 'It just went, 'BANG!' You know?! Just like that. And, just look!' He pointed at the place where the bomb had been, where the lookers had been looking. And he said this over again at the people, 'It just went, 'BANG!' And he wondered if he believed it. 'Just, 'BANG!' Like that!'

One of the lookers came over to him and put her arms around him. She gave him her water. 'It was just like, 'BANG!' he said, and she said softly, 'I know.'

title: TRAGEDY

question: Why did the man at the end keep saying it went bang?

answer: Possibly shock

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: A bomb goes off during a race. A mother loses her legs but can only focus on finding her children. Her children see her but can't hear her screams because of the deafening bang that was heard when the bomb went off. A man stumbles past a trash can repeating over and over again that it went bang. A woman comforts him.


text:
**“MYRTLE!!!”** his dad roared from the living room, waking him up instantly.

After a few impatient seconds he hears **“MYRTLE! GIT THE FUCK IN HERE!... RIGHT!... NOW!”**, this time followed by a thunderous BOOM as his dad slams his fist on the endtable, causing the spent cans of PBR and plastic bottles of Skol vodka to explode all over the living room.

Myrtle knew what was coming next, this pattern has been played out thousands of times. In fact, this was Myrtle’s life. Constantly being shit on. Not a friend in the world, not even an imaginary one.

Everyone called him “Myrtle the Turtle”, which is not only a cute rhyme, it’s a hilarious name because Myrtle looked like a god-damn turtle! A hundred pounds overweight, bulbous cheeks, small beaky mouth, round nose, but all arranged as such so that he looked like a cartoon turtle. He hated that nickname.

**“I SAID GIT IN HERE YOU FUCKIN’ TURTLE PIECE OF SHIT!”** his dad squeals in an impossibly loud crescendo. His three year old sister Maggie had long been screaming in the background.

He knew what he was going to walk into when he stepped foot into that livingroom - his six-foot-seven barrel shaped dad with a head shaped like a howitzer shell and a big nasty wiry red beard will be lumped out on the old worn out rocker and his mom will still be in same old-lady pajamas, sprawled out, halfway on the couch, with a needle in one hand and a TV remote in the other, speaking in tongues. His mother never seemed to make sense since she started poking herself with that damn needle. Maggie will be screaming, crawling on the garbage on the floor of the kitchen in the trailer which is located somewhere in the backwoods of West Virginia.

Myrtle knows any further hesitation will result in a far worse consequence, so he pulls himself out of bed.  With his head down, his shoulders slumped, he pedaled his feet towards the living room to see what that monster wanted - probably another bottle of vodka.

“Come a lil’ closer, boy.”

Myrtle robotically takes a step closer, head still down.

“I said CLOSER, BOY!”

Maggie’s screams double in volume, nobody seems to notice. Myrtle quickly takes two more steps towards his father.

“Y-y-ye-yes-s-s-sir?” Myrtle manages, when suddenly THWACK! his dad delivers a powerful open-handed smack right in the ear, deafening Myrtle with a painful ring. That god-damn ring again. A ring he has heard a thousand times.

*wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee* -- **“ON’T YOU EVER GIVE ME THA”** -- *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee* **“OOK AGAIN YOU WORTHLE”** -- *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee* -- **“OF SHIT!”**

“Davith s-stho heeth justh ahh” his mother mumbles, but then she quickly turns her trembling attention back to the needle.

“D-d-do y-you n-need mo-more med-medicine, d-dad?”

“You IDIOT, OF COURSE I DO! DON’T I LOOK SICK TO YOU, BOY?”

“Ye-yessir.”

Myrtle makes a beeline towards the fridge, so he can pull his fathers next bottle of vodka out of the freezer.

Without hesitation Myrtle slams the freezer door, does an about-face and makes a reverse-beeline back to his father, head still down, shoulders still slumped, and eyes that show the depression of a thousand emo kids.

Once back, he allows his father to swipe the bottle. Just like always, the asshole plies the cap off, wraps his lips around the top and takes such a deep pull that I swear it creates a vortex in his throat.

His mother continues speaking in tongues.

Myrtle manages to make it back to his bedroom without further confrontation.

What happens next is more of the same. It’s a pattern. Myrtle will continue this pattern of abuse and playing doctor until about 9:00 PM, which is when his father will pass out on the rocker and his mother will remain in a stasis between life and death. Myrtle will eventually find a way to sleep, only to live even worse nightmares. But not tonight.

Tonight the pattern will change. He’s had it up to here.

Myrtle sits hunched over on his bed, sweaty palms wet his pajamas. A sudden rush of confusion takes over him. An intense pang of anxiety begins to bleed in, now hemorrhaging. Pins and needles coat his hands, icy shivers crawl from his toes and work their way up to his head. He is drowning, gulping for air, his mind begins to crawl through the collapsing tunnel before him.

White noise from the television fills the air. Myrtle sits on his bed, staring into the living room. His eyes are now focused on his father. Myrtle is high on pure adrenaline and ecstasy. A feeling he has never felt before.

Without hesitation Myrtle gets out of bed and paces directly into the living room. His eyes jump up and stare at the shotgun, on the rack, right above that heap of shit who just happens to be his father.

Myrtle puts one foot up on his father’s crotch and begins crawling up, he reaches for the gun anxiously. His father shifts from side to side but doesn’t seem to waken. Myrtle continues climbing and he finally manages to grab the gun. He crawls back down. Myrtle grabs three cartridges from the end-table drawer.

His body feels entirely too heavy, so he sits down at his father’s feet and stares into the back of his eyelids. In one swift motion he swings the gun around, takes aim right between the eyes and pulls the trigger. **KA-RACK** - it looks like someone threw a cherry pie at the wall.

Myrtle lays with a tingle in his shoulder and his ears ringing. The white noise from the TV is quickly drowned out.

Eyes focused on Maggie, Myrtle rubs his shoulder, sits back up and chambers another round. Maggie’s body language insists she is screaming, but Myrtle hears nothing but that ring. Another rush of ecstasy consumes him as he raises the shotgun sight at Maggie.

*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee* - **NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!**

He looks over to see his mother screaming frantically. He swings the gun mechanically, takes aim at his mother’s eye socket, then pulls the trigger. **KA-RACK** - another smashed cherry pie, this time on the couch.

Suddenly Myrtle’s rush of ecstasy comes to an end. He feels nothing except the TV static crawling through his skin. Myrtle feels completely numb.

There’s only one way to finish this.

Myrtle chambers one last round. He rubs his shoulder, stands up, then sets the gun sight right on Maggie’s screaming face. His trigger-finger trembles, he starts to pull the trigger back, but hesitates. He hears sirens blend with the ringing in his ears.

Myrtle falls to the floor, flips the gun, hugs it and swallows the barrel. The sirens grown louder. With the barrel in his mouth, he kicks at the trigger and his toe finally makes purchase. The ringing fades away.

title: Up To Here (an attempt at a short thriller)

question: Why do people call Myrtle "the turtle"?

question: Why does Myrtle's mother lie on the couch, speaking in tongues with a needle in her hand?

answer: It's implied heavily that she's a heroin addict. She nearly passes out after injecting herself with it.

question: Why does Myrtle experience an anxiety attack?

answer: He decides to kill his abusive alcoholic father and heroin-addict mother.

question: Why does Myrtle decide to kill his parents?

answer: He lives through both verbal and physical abuse constantly. This is further compounded by his mother being a heroin addict, which means he's almost always neglected.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Myrtle's father starts screaming for him, a daily pattern he knows well - he goes down, endures his verbal abuse while his mother sprawls on the couch with a needle in her hand, speaking in tongues while his three-year-old sister cries loudly. His father then slaps him hard in the ears before ordering him to bring more vodka. Myrtle does, and after his parents both pass out, he experiences severe anxiety for his decision to end the pattern. He goes down and loads the shotgun, proceeding to shoot his father and mother but can't pull the trigger against his sister. He swallows the barrel of the gun before one last squeeze of the trigger.