text:
_OLD HARRY'S GAME_ is a UK radio comedy written and directed by Andy Hamilton, who also plays the cynical, world-weary Satan. “Old Harry” is one of many names for the devil. The show's title is a humorous play on the title of the 1982 TV series _Harry's Game_.

Beginning in 1995, four series, of six half-hour episodes each, were aired by 2001, and a two-part Christmas special followed in 2002. A fifth full series was frequently delayed because of a cast member's illness, but recording of the four episodes of series five took place in April 2005 (postponed from January). The first episode of that series was broadcast on 20 September 2005 on BBC Radio 4. James Grout (the Professor during the first four series) did not take part. Series 6 (comprising a further six episodes) began on BBC Radio 4 on 27 September 2007, and Series 7 aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.[1] Christmas and New Year specials were broadcast on 23 and 30 December 2010 respectively, and a two-part Olympics special on 12 and 19 July 2012.

Apart from series 3 and 4, the episodes were not given official titles.

Andy Hamilton (Satan), James Grout (The Professor), Robert Duncan (Scumspawn), David Swift (God) and Michael Fenton Stevens had all worked together previously, in the UK television comedy series _Drop the Dead Donkey_ between 1990 and 1998, which had been co-written by Hamilton. Both of the latter were written into the 1998 series by Hamilton when the run of _Donkey_ ended that year. The majority of the guest and recurring actors also had roles in _Drop the Dead Donkey_, including Jasper Jacob (series one), Philip Pope (recurring), Nick Revell (recurring), Nigel Pegram, Penelope Nice (Deborah Whittingham, before being replaced by Felicity Montagu) and Geoffrey Whitehead (Roland).

A 30-minute animated version was created in 2012, as the pilot for a possible television series, by the UK animation house Flickerpix,[2] but in the event a series was not commissioned.

Plot

The series is set mainly in Hell, and the plot usually centres on the relationships and conflicts between Satan, his various minions, and the damned with (occasionally) interventions by God and other denizens of Heaven. Satan himself is identified with the fallen angel in Christian mythology and portrayed as somewhat jaded from millennia in charge of Hell and the expectation that he will continue to be so for eternity. Although he enjoys some aspects of the job, such as the opportunity to play pranks in the world of the living, and devising ironic torments for those damned souls whom he believes deserve it, his greatest wish is to someday be accepted back into Heaven, and he often wistfully recalls his past as an archangel.

The series regularly features famous historical figures and celebrities, most of whom are portrayed as being less likable than (or at least different from) the version recorded by history. This includes a foul-mouthed and extremely violent Jane Austen, a sexually predatory Florence Nightingale (who also ran a Victorian London opium cartel), a less-than-heroic Samson (who actually killed only one Philistine ... a schoolboy) and a vacuous Helen of Troy (accompanied by her plain-looking friend, Daphne).

This subversive approach was also applied to God (first name Nigel), who makes the occasional appearance, originally played by David Swift, then in series 7 by Timothy West. God is usually portrayed as being quick-tempered and vengeful; in the series he says he created the universe accidentally, when he was messing about with some matter and energy. He put it down to have a sip of his drink and then, kaboom! he had a universe on his hands. Life on Earth was created for a bet, as Earth was dull viewing; God, for a bit of fun, sprinkled some mutating bacteria into the oceans and ran a book with the other Angels to see which one would evolve into a creature that would develop a language first; the Angel Gabriel's bacteria were doing very well until they randomly mutated into carrots, and it was one of the Seraphim whose bacteria eventually became Homo sapiens. God seems rather annoyed that things 'got out of hand'. In later series, we learn that God also has a mobile phone (although only the Angel Gabriel is supposed to have the number), and that God sends e-mails, but refuses to read any that he receives as he once got taken in by a scam from Nigeria.

The Angels are also portrayed somewhat differently. The Angel who delivered the news that Mary was to give birth to the Messiah was in fact named Graham, while Gabriel is a separate entity who was credited with doing so due to a transcription error early in the making of the Bible. They are also presented as rather arrogant when dealing with Satan, but at the same time behaving as suck-ups around God. They are forbidden to indulge in physical pleasures, but are still tempted by them (which has been used against them).

Series 1 to 4

The first four series centred on the philosophical arguments between Satan and the somewhat idealistic main human character known as “The Professor” (played by James Grout). The Professor represents the undeserving damned, being a man of high moral virtue and having been consigned to Hell only on the technicality that he did not believe in God. The character was originally called Professor Richard Whittingham, although in series 2 he is referred to as Professor Richard Hope, when in episodes 5 & 6 Satan gets his book _The Theory of Everything_ published. Generally, Satan seeks to prove to the Professor that mankind is inherently base or flawed, with the Professor taking the opposing position. Usually Satan travels to the living world to display the more contemptible sides of human nature, such as snipers shooting old ladies in Bosnia or prostitution in Thailand, to a generally horrified Professor. At other times he introduces the Professor to historical personages the Professor holds in high esteem but who are now languishing in Hell, such as Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, showing him how petty and mendacious they really are. However, the Professor's idealism is usually shown to have some validity as well, and more often than not he wins the argument (although Satan always insists he hasn't).

The other main human character is Thomas Quentin Crimp (Jimmy Mulville), an execrable type with few (or no) morals, held out by Satan as an example of all that is detestable about humanity and often described (especially by God himself) as the most venal and corrupt human being who ever lived. In the first episode, it transpires that Thomas caused the car crash which landed him and the Professor in Hell. The latter, despite his moral idealism, is consigned to Hell because of his atheism (since, as Satan remarks caustically, God does not have a sense of humour). The fact of the afterlife — which the Professor originally optimistically views as a hallucination - does not change his views. Despite (or perhaps because of) their conflicting attitudes, the Professor and Thomas are billeted together by Satan.

Regular plot elements involve the Professor visiting, or being shown, his beloved wife Deborah as she gets on with her life following his death. His widow's eventual marriage to a corrupt Irish jockey and her near-fatal coma were important plot strands in series 3 and 4. Throughout the first four series, the Professor also has an ongoing bet with Satan that he can demonstrate that even Thomas has some decency within him; if he can do so, then Satan will allow Deborah and the Professor to be billeted together should Deborah be sent to Hell when she dies. These plot strands ended when Satan finally arranged for the Professor to be accepted into Heaven a short time after the events of the 2002 Christmas special (an incident not covered in the series).

Other characters featured are Satan's minions. Satan's personal assistant and most venomous demon, Gary (Steve O'Donnell), was featured in the first series because Thomas was on his list of tormentees. Thomas later manipulates Gary and convinces him to rebel against Satan, with a distinct lack of success. Gary is mentioned only once in later series and his absence is never explained (although the implication is that he fell from favour due to his rebellion). Scumspawn (Robert Duncan), featured from the second series onwards, takes Gary's place, having applied (repeatedly) to become Satan's new personal assistant. Although Satan initially refuses, he later relents, and Scumspawn proves a surprisingly effective assistant. His subplots usually involve attempts to become a better demon (with help from Thomas). Much of the humour surrounding Scumspawn derives from his sensitive, caring and highly artistic personality, which is a constant irritant to Satan, who often complains that Scumspawn does not act very much like a demon.

According to Andy Hamilton in an interview broadcast on 5 April 2008, on BBC Radio 7's “I Did It My Way”, one episode in series 3 was partially re-recorded due to a tragic confluence of events. In the episode, Satan disrupts Deborah's wedding to Irish jockey Rory O'Donnell by taking the form of BBC reporter Jill Dando and accusing the presiding vicar of being a Satan worshipper (which he actually is). Later in the episode, Satan reveals that Jill Dando never existed at all and was just a disguise that he used to stir up unrest in the realm of the living. After the episode was originally broadcast, the 37-year-old reporter was murdered outside her home, and the episode was partially re-recorded for repeats with Satan manifesting himself instead as a different BBC reporter, Gaby Roslin. (The re-recorded lines are fairly obvious, as they were not performed in front of an audience.) A later episode in the third series referenced Satan's “Jill Dando” alter ego, and also had to have some lines re-recorded.

Christmas Special 2002

In a double-bill Special, broadcast on New Year's Eve 2002 (_The Roll of the Dice_) and New Year's Day 2003 (_Knocking on Heaven's Door_), Hope (Claire Skinner), an extraordinarily beautiful Salvation Army worker and tambourine player, is killed by accident years too early and sent to Hell by mistake. This results in Satan trying to have her brought back to life by taking her to Death. But he only gets as far as meeting the Welsh Death (Dai-the-Death), and contacting the Head Death on his mobile. After Death refuses to bring her back to life (for fear of legal recriminations), as a last resort Satan travels to Heaven (now protected with barbed wire, CCTV and Rottweilers). After talking to Saint Peter (who Satan implies had sex with call girls in Rome as well as stealing the other 100 pieces of silver which had been contracted by Judas Iscariot but went missing), Satan blackmails St Peter into letting Hope into Heaven.

While all this is going on, the Professor has been changed into a buzzing bluebottle and Thomas has been painted like a zebra and is awaiting the “attentions” of some special crocodiles (they have a sense of humour).

Series 5

Series Five retains some of the themes from earlier series, but most of the action does not revolve around Satan's relationships with his minions and the damned. Instead, the episodes focus on Satan's efforts to reduce overcrowding in Hell.

After an unsuccessful appeal to God in Episode One for planning permission to enlarge Hell, expanding Hell's demonic workforce or adjusting the entrance requirements, the action divides between Hell and various locations on Earth. The basic plot of the subsequent episodes involves Satan taking on the guise of a leading world figure in order to meet influential people, such as Queen Elizabeth II, whom he tries to convince to lead more of mankind to Heaven by encouraging them to change their ways. However, these efforts are largely unsuccessful, and finally abandoned after Satan successfully takes control of the world's media to promote messages of peace, co-operation and so on, only to find that this has no effect and humanity just carries on committing mortal sins regardless.

The subplot of each episode focuses on Scumspawn's ineffective attempts to run Hell in Satan's absence. This normally involves trying to cope with a strange new arrival in Hell, unionised demons, or overcrowding. He generally enlists Thomas's help (as well as that of Vlad the Impaler in one episode, though he has no lines) in trying to find a solution, which usually fails. At the end of the episode, Satan returns and sorts out whatever new problem Scumspawn has managed to create.

The final two episodes of the series feature a new arrival, Roland (Geoffrey Whitehead), a damned soul even more venal and corrupt than Thomas who tries to organise a rebellion of the demons in Hell with Thomas's help, with exactly the same degree of success that Gary and Thomas had in Series 1. In the end, after easily dealing with the insurrection, Satan decides he need not worry, as humans will soon be extinct anyway. In order to hasten mankind's demise, he turns himself into Jeb Bush and plots to convince Jeb's brother George Bush to launch a nuclear strike on the polar icecaps.

Series 6

For Series Six, Andy Hamilton returned to the style of the original series, with most of the action taking place in Hell. He introduces a new member of the damned: Edith Cordelia Barrington (Annette Crosbie), an academic and historian who has recently arrived in Hell after having apparently died by suicide due to an apparent overdose of barbiturates while watching _Midsomer Murders_. She is also Thomas's former mother-in-law, and as Edith and Thomas have a mutual hatred of each other, Satan decides they would be perfect dungeon-mates (the series temporarily ignoring the overcrowding issue).

Edith is not pleased with the situation, as Thomas had subjected her daughter to emotional abuse, to divorce, and had tried to obtain custody of her breast implants (on the grounds that he paid for them). She also insists that she did not take her own life, and Satan makes a deal with her: he grudgingly agrees to find out how she really died if she will write a definitive biography of Satan in return for new accommodation.

The basic plot of an episode generally involved Satan trying to find out more about Edith's death, while Edith interviewed members of the damned about Satan's past. These interviews closely followed the pattern of series 4, in which the Professor had interviewed famous historical personalities in attempting to win a bet with Satan (by showing that mankind was capable of redemption). There were also various sub-plots, including Scumspawn's attempts to uncover a “decent” side to Thomas's personality, in much the same way as the Professor had tried to in earlier series. Thus were the various aspects of the Professor's character re-distributed between Edith and Scumspawn.

Eventually, Satan does discover the true circumstances of Edith's death (she had been murdered: but that revelation, as well as the discovery of the murderer's identity and the motive for her murder, still does not make her happy). In the final episode, Thomas discovers a fact about his ancestry that makes him even more insufferable.

Following the initial broadcast of Series 6, selected episodes from the first six series were repeated on BBC Radio 7 on 5 April 2008, together with an interview with the show's writer and star, Andy Hamilton, in which he discusses the series up to that point, in an edition of Radio 7's occasional feature entitled “I Did It My Way”.

Series 7

A seventh series aired from 19 February 2009, with recordings taking place at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. The cast was the same as in Series Six.

In the first episode, a dog named Scamp arrives unexpectedly in Hell. Satan attempts to talk to God about both the new arrival and a possible plan to ease the general overcrowding in Hell (involving destroying 75% of the damned), but he can't, because God is bored with Satan and indeed with his whole Creation, and has left two rather insufferable angels in charge as “site managers” (who are more interested in admiring their laminated “site manager” badges than in doing anything).

In the second episode, God goes away for some “me time”, leaving the Archangel Gabriel in charge. Unfortunately, Heaven's new computer system is having software problems, causing a further unexpected arrival in Hell — a baby — and Satan's renewed attempts to get help from God bring him face to face with Gabriel. Meanwhile, Scumspawn decides the baby needs a name and dubs it “Satan Junior”. Taking care of the dog Scamp begins to bring out the best in Thomas, while Satan's meeting with Gabriel about the baby brings some slight results.

In the fourth episode Timothy West guest-stars as God (previously played by David Swift), and after being apprised of the situation orders Satan to arrange with Gabriel for both the dog and the baby's immediate transfer to Heaven. Since people in both Heaven and Hell remain forever the same age as they were when they died, this would mean the baby would remain a baby and never have a chance to live a full life, a fact that distresses Scumspawn and Edith so much that they convince Satan to disobey God's orders and try to return the baby to the world of the living.

The fifth episode sees Satan trying to find adoptive parents for the baby (now called “Patrick”), while Edith has a major crisis of confidence concerning her completed biography of Satan, and the dog Scamp is successfully transferred to Heaven (with one or two minor incidents thanks to Thomas teaching him some unusual tricks). With the aid of some photoshopped pictures, Satan blackmails Gabriel into helping him about baby Patrick.

In the final episode, a very angry God returns to put Satan and Gabriel on trial for not obeying His instructions about what should be done with the baby, but the trial quickly degenerates into chaos (God remarks at one point, “This place is a madhouse!”). Events ultimately resolve into a relatively happy conclusion (that is, for everyone except Thomas and Gabriel).

Christmas and New Year Specials 2010

In _Christmas Spirit_, broadcast on 23 December 2010, Satan decides to ban Christmas. During a visitation to the world of Men he disguises himself as various religious figures, including the Pope, in order to more effectively denounce Christmas and then impersonates the new Editor of the _Daily Mail_ newspaper (the previous Editor somehow got knocked down by a charging five-ton rhino while cycling around Hyde Park Corner) so as to publish made-up headlines undermining Christmas, such as “Mince Pies Cause Cancer” and “Taliban Targets Panto”. However, in Hell the Spirit of Christmas is alive and well thanks to Scumspawn's efforts to cheer up Edith.

In _Ring in the New_, broadcast on 30 December 2010, Satan decides he needs a holiday. On Edith's advice he heads off to the English Lake District for some New Year solitude, leaving Scumspawn in charge of Hell. But Scumspawn isn't sure his leadership skills are up to the task, and a management seminar with Genghis Khan, Winston Churchill, Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth I and football manager Brian Clough proves no help. This is the only episode that ends relatively happily for Thomas.

Olympics Special 2012

In mid-2012 the BBC announced a two-part special with an Olympic theme, both parts of which were recorded on 8 July 2012: with Andy Hamilton, Annette Crosbie, Robert Duncan and Jimmy Mulville all returning in their established roles.

The first part was broadcast on 12 July 2012, in which Satan attempts to show Edith that the ancient Greeks and the original Games were not as altruistic as she originally thought, while Thomas's participation in the Infernal Games ends up a crushing and painful disaster (thanks to an incident involving a hippo and later a rhinoceros).

The second part was broadcast on 19 July 2012, in which Satan is blackmailed by Edith into taking her to the 2012 London Olympics to see her grand-niece competing, but Satan discovers that the grand-niece isn't quite as Edith remembers her. Meanwhile, Thomas tries to get himself certified insane in order to escape from continued punishment and instead be eternally consigned to Hell's TV Lounge.

Television Pilot 2012

Also in 2012, Andy Hamilton proposed a transfer of the show to television. A pilot episode was made for Sky TV (not for the BBC)[3] by UK animation house Flickerpix,[4] using stop motion animation. Based on scenes from some of the early radio episodes, it featured the voices of the radio cast (with James Grout's part recast following his death). The proposed series was not commissioned.

Episodes

Music

The opening and closing themes for each episode are taken from Christopher Young's soundtrack for the 1987 horror film _Hellraiser_ (“Resurrection”). The episodes also make use of “Ave Satani” from Jerry Goldsmith's 1976 soundtrack to _The Omen_.

Audiobooks

Originally, two volumes of CDs, “Volume One” and “Volume Two” were released in 1999 and 2003, collecting selected episodes from series 1-4. From the 2002 Christmas Special onwards, the series were released on CD shortly after the broadcasts. In 2008 and 2009, the BBC finally went back and released series 1-4 in their entirety. The 2012 Olympics specials have been released via download on AudioGO but remain unreleased on CD.

-   VOLUME ONE - Series 1: Episodes 1, 5 and 6. Series 2: Episodes 1, 2 and 4.
-   VOLUME TWO - Series 3: Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Series 4: Episodes 2, 3 and 4.
-   CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Both 2002 Christmas Special Episodes, released August 2003.
-   RADIO SERIES FIVE - The Complete Fifth Series, released November 2005.
-   RADIO SERIES SIX - The Complete Sixth Series, released November 2007.
-   RADIO SERIES ONE AND TWO - The Complete First And Second Series (two separate box sets, but released together as a single entity), released in September 2008.
-   RADIO SERIES SEVEN - The Complete Seventh Series, released March 2009.
-   RADIO SERIES THREE AND FOUR - The Complete Third And Fourth Series (two separate box sets, but released together as a single entity), released in September 2009.
-   THE COMPLETE SERIES 1-7 - The complete series 1-7 in one box set, including the 2002 Christmas specials, released October 2010
-   CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Both 2010 Christmas Special Episodes, released in October 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3] https://vimeo.com/31443366 (Mobile phone version)

[4]

title: Old Harry's Game

question: Why is the devil unhappy?

answer: He wishes to be accepted back into heaven.


split: train

text:
by:

Posted: May 4, 2016 / 05:28 PM CDT / Updated: May 4, 2016 / 05:28 PM CDT

[]

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

A couple whose string of trendy vegan restaurants in California is popular with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé, Emma Stone, and Woody Harrelson are under attack after it was discovered they've been eating meat for months, the _Guardian_ reports.

"This is a vegan restaurant company that's been a leader in the vegan community," one critical vegan tells the _Hollywood Reporter_. "A lot of vegans have a right to feel betrayed by this." Matthew and Terces Engelhart had been vegetarian for 40 years—vegan for a dozen of them—before deciding to raise animals and eat them on their Be Love Farm in February 2015.

“Cows make an extreme sacrifice for humanity but that is their position in God’s plan as food for the predators,” Matthew says in a statement, per the _Guardian_.

“We can be part of that sacrament.” The Engelharts wrote about that decision on their blog last year, even including a photo of Matthew eating a hamburger in a later post, but no one really noticed until animal rights activists discovered the posts last week.

Now the couple—whose Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre restaurants feature dishes with names like "Accepting" and "I Am Humble"—are receiving death threats, protests, boycotts, and one-star Yelp reviews.

("Here's a new dish for Cafe Gratitude - I Am MURDERER!!!" the _New York Daily News_ quotes one such review as saying.) "It saddens me that the choices we made in the privacy of our home would lead people to feel so betrayed that it's elevated to threats on our lives," Matthew tells the _Hollywood Reporter_.

But critics say that personal decision "looks kind of shady, like they are hiding things," says one healthy lifestyle blogger. "Veganism is a belief system," says the organizer of a Facebook boycott page.

Matthew and Terces Engelhart posted this statement on the Cafe Gratitude Facebook page:

This article originally appeared on Newser: Vegan Restaurateurs Eat Meat, Get Death Threats

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question: Who are Matthew and Terces Engelhart?

answer: Matthew and Terces Englehart are a couple who owns several trendy vegan restaurants in California.

question: Why are people upset at Matthew and Terces?

answer: Matthew and Terces have decided to raise animals and eat them after being vegetarian for 40 years.

question: What are Matthew and Terces' restaurants called?

answer: Two of their restaurants are called Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre.

question: How long have Matthew and Terces been vegan?

answer: They have been vegan for 12 years.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Matthew and Terces Engelhart, vegan restauranteurs in California, are under fire after it was discovered that they have been raising and eating animals on their farm. They are receiving death threats and boycotts.


text:
LLOYD CHARLES ELAM (October 27, 1928 – October 4, 2008) was an American psychiatrist who served as president of Meharry Medical College from 1968 to 1981. Before assuming the presidency at Meharry, Elam was the first black person to earn a medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and he established Meharry's psychiatry department and psychiatric residency program.

Early life

Elam was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father was a carpenter, and his mother insisted that the family walk to their destinations rather than riding segregated city transportation.[1] Elam was 15 when he graduated from Dunbar High School.[2] By the age of 17, he was the Sunday school superintendent at his church.[3]

After attending a local junior college, he moved to Illinois, where he worked at an automotive plant and took classes at Roosevelt University. Graduating from Roosevelt in 1950, Elam served in the U.S. Army and then went to medical school at the University of Washington School of Medicine.[4] When he graduated in 1957, he was the school's first black medical graduate.[5]

Career

Elam completed an internship and psychiatry residency in Chicago, after which he joined the psychiatry staff at Chicago's Billings Hospital. In 1961, Elam became an assistant professor at Meharry Medical College and founded its psychiatry department.[6] He started the psychiatry residency at Meharry and created one of the first psychiatric day treatment programs in Nashville.[7] Before becoming Meharry's president in 1968, Elam was the psychiatry department chairman and the interim medical school dean.[8]

During his presidency, Meharry implemented an $88 million capital campaign, adding new towers to the school's teaching facility (George W. Hubbard Hospital) and constructing several other buildings. Meharry also established a graduate school for public health, biochemistry and other health-related fields. Subsequent president Wayne Riley later described Elam as “the president who really built the modern-day Meharry.”[9] In the early 1970s, Elam was elected to the board of directors of Kraftco, and he later served on the boards of Merck & Co. and BellSouth Telecommunications.[10][11]

In 1981, with Meharry and the George W. Hubbard Hospital facing serious financial difficulties, the school's board of directors dismissed Elam as president and named him chancellor. Several years earlier, Elam wanted to step down as president but the board had asked him to stay. _The New York Times_ said that Elam did not want to give up his role at the time of his 1981 dismissal. Elam was replaced on an interim basis by radiologist Richard G. Lester of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and the move generated controversy because Lester was the first white president in the school's history.[12]

Elam was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 1982. The same year, he became a Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Meharry, and he served in that capacity until 1995, when he became volunteer faculty at the school. He became an emeritus professor in 1996. Elam received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University, and in 1988 he received the Eleanor Roosevelt Key, which is the highest honor bestowed upon alumni of Roosevelt University.[13]

Death and legacy

Meharry's Lloyd C. Elam Mental Health Center provides psychiatric services and substance abuse treatment.[14] He died while on a trip to Mississippi in 2008.[15] Elam and his wife Clara had two children.[16]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]  The HistoryMakers|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/dr-lloyd-c-elam-41%7Cwebsite=www.thehistorymakers.com%7Caccessdate=December 22, 2016}}

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

title: Lloyd C. Elam

question: When was Elam born?

answer: October 27, 1928

question: Where did Elam receive his medical degree?

answer: The University of Washington School of Medicine

question: Where did Elam serve as President?

answer: Meharry Medical College

question: What award did Elam receive in 1988?

answer: The Eleanor Roosevelt Key, the highest honor bestowed upon alumni of Roosevelt University

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Lloyd Charles Elam was an American psychiatrist. He was the first black person to earn a medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, he established Meharry's psychiatry department, and he served as President of Meharry from 1968 to 1981.


text:
Springfield School District}} The SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade from Springfield Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States.[1]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising one school, had an enrollment of 226 students and 22.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.0:1.[2]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group “FG”, the fourth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[3]

Public school students in seventh through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Northern Burlington County Regional School District, which also serves students from Chesterfield Township, Mansfield Township, North Hanover Township, along with children of military personnel based at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst.[4][5] As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school district, comprising two schools, had an enrollment of 2,190 students and 163.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1.[6] The schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[7]) are Northern Burlington County Regional Middle School[8] with 811 students in grades 7 - 8 and Northern Burlington County Regional High School[9] with 1,348 students in grades 9-12.[10] Both schools are in the Columbus section of Mansfield Township. Using a formula that reflects the population and the value of the assessed property in each of the constituent municipalities, taxpayers in Springfield Township pay 17.7% of the district's tax levy, with the district's 2013-14 budget including $35.6 million in spending.[11]

School

-   Springfield Township School had an enrollment of 225 students in grades PreK-6 as of the 2018–19 school year.[12]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[13][14]

-   Craig Vaughn, Superintendent[15]
-   David Gorski, Business Administrator / Board Secretary[16]

Board of education

The district's board of education, with nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.[17][18][19]

[1] Springfield Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Springfield Township School District. Accessed February 14, 2020. “Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through six in the Springfield Township School District. Composition The Springfield Township School District is all the area within the municipal boundaries of Springfield Township.”

[2] District information for Springfield Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.

[3] NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 8, 2014.

[4] Northern Burlington County Regional High School 2016-17 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 22, 2018. “Northern Burlington County Regional High School proudly serves students from Chesterfield, Mansfield, North Hanover, and Springfield Townships, as well as students from Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst.”

[5] Esposito, Martha. “Discover Burlington County 2013: Regional School Districts”, _Burlington County Times_, April 26, 2015. Accessed May 31, 2016. “Northern Burlington County Regional - Serves: Chesterfield, Mansfield, North Hanover, Springfield, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst”

[6] District information for Northern Burlington County Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.

[7] School Data for the Northern Burlington County Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.

[8] Northern Burlington County Regional Middle School, Northern Burlington County Regional School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

[9] Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Northern Burlington County Regional School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

[10] New Jersey School Directory for the Northern Burlington County Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.

[11] Zimmaro, Mark. “Sharp tax increase included in Northern Burlington budget”, _Burlington County Times_, April 8, 2013. Accessed December 1, 2013. “The $35.6 million budget represents a 2.7 percent increase from last year’s spending plan.... Tax rates in sending districts are determined using a state equalization formula that takes into account factors such as population and assessed values. Based on the formula, Chesterfield taxpayers fund 21.6 percent of Northern Burlington’s tax levy, Mansfield 46.5 percent, North Hanover 14.2 percent and Springfield 17.7 percent.”

[12] School Data for Springfield Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.

[13] Staff Directory, Springfield Township School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

[14] New Jersey School Directory for Burlington County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.

[15] About the Superintendent, Springfield Township School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

[16] Business Office, Springfield Township School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

[17] New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.

[18] _Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Springfield Township School District_, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed August 18, 2020. "The Springfield Township School District is a Type II School District located in the County of Burlington, State of New Jersey. As a Type II School District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three members’ terms expire each year. The District provides a full range of educational services appropriate to grade levels K through 6. "

[19] Board of Education Members. Springfield Township School District. Accessed February 13, 2020.

title: Springfield Township School District (New Jersey)

question: What does the text say about the district's enrollment?

answer: The district, which serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, consists of one school. The district had an enrollment of 226 students during the 2018-19 school year, yielding a student-teacher ratio of 10:1.


text:
A man hid behind some bushes on a hill. There he waited for somebody to pass by. He knelt with a club in his hand and looked down at the nearby road. His face was grim and his breath was foul. Hours had passed, but he held his position showing not even a suggestion of fatigue.

After all he heard some women chatting and laughing from afar. Three were coming from the market in the city and were on their way home. On top of their heads each of them carried a basket full of food. Slowly they walked down the road in their colourful dresses and enjoyed their time. The man, however, looked around thoroughly to make sure that nobody else was here. He waited for them to come closer. Then he jumped out the bushes. Fiercely screaming he ran down the hill towards them. They were frightened. Two of them carelessly dropped off the weight and ran away as fast as they could. The other woman, however, chose not to run. Instead she took the basket off her head and firmly held it in front of her chest. The man tried to snatch it away from her, which made her angry. The stronger he pulled the angrier she got and the more stubborn she became. So he stepped back, swung his club and struck her down. Her head cracked open. She lost the basket and fell down.

Lying in her own blood she tilt her head as if she wanted to capture a last glimpse of her murderer running away barefooted before the picture, finally, ceased to exist forever.

title: "Her Last Glimpse"

question: Why didn't the woman run when the others did?

answer: Perhaps she underestimated the danger. Perhaps she was just stubborn or brave.

question: Why was the woman so determined not to relinquish the basket?

answer: It may have been all she had. Perhaps her family depended on the food.

question: Who was the dying woman leaving behind at home?

answer: Perhaps a husband, children or ageing parents.

question: What happened to the food that the other two women dropped?

answer: THe murderer ran away without picking up the other food so someone else must have benefited from the windfall

question: Write a ~11 sentence summary.

answer:
A man hid behind some bushes on a hill. There he waited for somebody to pass by. He knelt with a club in his hand. Three women with food on their heads approached. The man waited and then jumped out of the bushes screaming wildly.
Two dropped their loads and ran away. The third woman removed the load from her head and held it firmly in front of her. The man tried to take it. She got angry and refused to relinquish the basket. So, he struck her with his club and cracked her skull.

Lying in her own blood she watched him run away until the picture faded out forever.


text:
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A tragic student has died after being washed off cliffs in front of her horrified pals.

Pranita Mehta was holidaying with a group of friends in Gorkarna beach in India when a massive wave suddenly hit the group.

Pranita, 21, desperately tried to grip onto the rocks as the water hammered down on Sunday, but she was unable to keep her hold and was dragged out to sea.

Just moments after she was pulled out into the water, her desperate friends began screaming for help from police and staff at the hotel in which they were all staying.

After a search of around 40 minutes, her body was finally found and brought back to the shore by fishermen where the popular law student was pronounced dead.

[Pranita Mehta, who died after falling from Kaup lighthouse while trying to take the 'perfect selfie']

Law student Pranita Mehta was holidaying with a group of friends (Image: Facebook)
It was previously reported that Pranita fell 300ft from a lighthouse while taking a selfie.

READ MORE:Teen's final moments before she's killed by train while posing for selfie captured in shocking picture

This has since proved to be incorrect as heartbroken friends revealed the brave woman had battled in the waters for close to an hour before help arrived - too late to save her.

The group had set off to see a nearby lighthouse when the tragedy happened just after midday.

question: How and where did Pranita Mehta die?

answer: At Gorkarna beach in India, she was hit by a massive wave and dragged out to the ocean.

question: What was Pranita doing when she fell?

answer: She was on holiday with a group of friends.

question: What "proved to be incorrect" in the article?

answer: It was previously reported that Pranita fell 300 ft from a lighthouse while taking a selfie.

question: Were there witnesses to her death?

answer: Her friends witnessed her being pulled out into the water.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Pranita Mehta, a 21 year-old, was on holiday with a group of friends at Gorkarna beach in India, when a massive wave suddenly hit the group. Pranita was swept out to sea. After 40 minutes of searching, she was finally found and pronounced dead.


text:
A PATTERN BOOK, or ARCHITECTURAL PATTERN BOOK, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works.

A number of pattern books have been very influential in spreading architectural styles.

An early author of pattern books was American architect Minard Lafever. In 1829 he published _The Young Builders' General Instructor_, followed by _Modern Builders' Guide_ in 1833, _The Beauties of Modern Architecture_ in 1835 and _The Architectural Instructor_ in 1850. His pattern books were influential in spreading his Greek Revival style, which is known as the first major non-British high architectural style in the United States. The style was popular for being not British, and for association with Greek history, ancient and modern, and was greatly facilitated by the pattern books.

Orson Squire Fowler notably made a mark on American architecture when he touted the advantages of octagonal homes over rectangular and square structures in his widely publicized book, _The Octagon House: A Home For All, or A New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building_, printed in the year 1848.[1] It is argued by some that this is incorrectly termed a pattern book, but as a result of this popular and influential publication, a few thousand octagonal houses were in fact erected in the United States.

Another was Samuel Skidmore's _Tudor Homes of England_, which introduced Tudor and Norman elements, such as turrets, stained-glass windows, and spiral staircases into American architecture.

After the American Civil War, Second Empire architecture was considered the perfect style for many to demonstrate their wealth and express their new power in their respective communities. The style diffused by the publications of designs in pattern books and adopted the adaptability and eclecticism that Italianate architecture had when interpreted by more middle-class clients.[2] This caused more modest homes to depart from the ornamentation found in French examples in favor of simpler and more eclectic American ornamentation that had been established in the 1850s. In practice, most Second Empire houses simply followed the same patterns developed by Alexander Jackson Davis and Samuel Sloan, the symmetrical plan, the L-plan, for the Italianate style, adding a mansard roof to the composition. Thus, most Second Empire houses exhibited the same ornamentational and stylistic features as contemporary Italianate forms, differing only in the presence or absence of a mansard roof. Second Empire was also a frequent choice of style for remodeling older houses. Frequently, owners of Italianate, Colonial, or Federal houses chose to add a mansard roof and French ornamental features to update their homes in the latest fashions.[3]

Urban Design Associates, of Pittsburgh, PA, developed design guidelines, called a Pattern Book, as a tool for the design of new architecture within the community.[4]

[1] The Octagon House, Orson S Fowler: Dover Publications, Inc., first edition 1848, 1853 edition reprinted in 1973.

[2]

[3]

[4] Daybreak makes no small plans by Robert Steuteville, CNU Public Square Journal, 7 August 2013

title: Architectural pattern book

question: What is a pattern book or architectural pattern book?

answer: A book of architectural designs, providing enough information for non-architects to build structures that are copies or derivatives of major architect-designed works.

question: How many pattern books did Minard Lafaver write?

answer: 4.

question: What style did Lafaver help popularize?

answer: Greek Revival style.

question: What style was popular after the American Civil War?

answer: Second Empire architecture.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The text explains what a pattern book or an architectural pattern book is and describes famous pattern book examples and which architectural styles they popularized.


text:
ALFRED DUSKES (1881-1918) was a German film producer and director. He was one of the German pioneers of the silent era, setting up his first production company in 1905. In 1912 he founded the original Tempelhof Studios, with financial backing from the French company Pathé.[1]

Selected filmography

-   _The Eskimo Baby_ (1918)
-   _Rose of the Wilderness_ (1918)

[1] Elsaesser & Wedel p.67

title: Alfred Duskes

question: How old was Alfred Duskes when he died?

answer: 37/38.

question: Of what film era was he a pioneer?

answer: The silent era.

question: Where was he from?

answer: Germany.

question: Which French company backed his production company Tempelhof Studios?

answer: Pathe.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Alfred Duskes was a German film producer and director who was one of the German pioneers of the silent era.


text:
LÁSZLÓ MAKRA (Siklós, June 5, 1952) is a climatologist and university professor. His main research area is pollen climatology and, within this, analysis of climatological relationships of ragweed pollen, as well as relationship between ragweed pollen concentration and respiratory diseases.

Career

László Makra graduated from high school in 1970 at Komló, and then in 1971 enrolled at the József Attila University of Szeged, Faculty of Natural Sciences, reading mathematics and geography, and graduating in 1976. Afterwards he started working as assistant lecturer at the Department of Climatology of the university. From 1996 to 2015 he was associate professor at the same department and, since 2015, he has been working at the Faculty of Agriculture, Institute of Management and Rural Development of Szeged University, located in Hódmezővásárhely. In 2016, he became a full professor.

He defended his university doctoral thesis[1] in 1978 and PhD[2] thesis in 1995, respectively. Later, in 2004 he was habilitated[3] at the University of Debrecen. He spent several weeks on study tours in Indonesia (Yogyakarta, 1989), China Beijing, 1993; Guangzhou (Canton), 1995] and the Czech Republic (Brno, 1996). He is a member of the editorial board of several Hungarian scientific periodicals, editor in an international scientific journal, member of the editorial board of seven international scientific journals, and is also committee member of the International Ragweed Society (2014- to date).[4][5]

Research

His main research area is background aerosol and bio-aerosol and, within the latter, climatic relationships of pollen, i.e. pollen climatology. This is a relatively new area in the international literature and a completely new area in Hungary. His research activities within pollen climatology are as follows: pollen statistics; pollen transport modeling; pollen concentration forecast; analysis of the relationship between respiratory diseases and pollen concentration; climate sensitivity analysis of different taxa; as well as expected future pollen concentrations within the context of climate change.

Key results

He led successful instrumental field research expeditions into Inner Asia (China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1990 and 1994), Indonesia (Java, Bali, 1996) and South America (Brazil, 1998) in order to determine the elemental composition of the regional background aerosol. The air samples collected by him and the data obtained were processed together with his colleagues at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in Debrecen.

Main results of the expeditions

China expeditions (1990, 1994)

The high sulfur and chlorine content of the regional aerosol is of natural origin (rock salt, Glauber's salt, gypsum), and it is a consequence of the widespread and intense salt accumulation in the outlet of the Tarim Basin. Secondly the elemental ratios of Si/Fe and Ca/Fe can be used as markers to track the long-range transport of aerosol coming from the Takla Makan area resulting in the yellow wind phenomenon over the inner and eastern parts of China, and called the Kosa phenomenon over Japan, the Pacific Ocean and North America.

Indonesian expedition (1996)

Chlorine, sulfur, copper, zinc and chromium are substantially enriched in the atmospheric aerosol both over Java and Bali; most of the chlorine is of oceanic origin (ocean mist) and the sulfur is partly of anthropogenic origin and partly comes from biogenic emissions of the ocean; and copper, zinc and chromium probably originate from soils.

Pollen climatology

László Makra established the branch of pollen climatology in Hungary. He is an internationally recognised researcher of the transport of particulate matter and bio-aerosol. He also identified the key source areas of long-range ragweed pollen transport arriving in the Carpathian Basin. He developed a procedure for separating long-range transport and regional transport of particulate matter and ragweed pollen, respectively. In addition, he determined the components of the transport, as well as the relative quantity of the net transport in the comprehensive and detailed maps of the quantitative and phenological parameters of ragweed pollen for Europe, and with these phenological parameters he produced the first maps for the continent.[6][7][8][9]

He is the author or co-author of over three hundred scientific publications.[10][11]

Major publications

-   Enrichment of desert soil elements in Takla Makan dust aerosol (co-author, 2002)
-   Meteorological variables connected with airborne ragweed pollen in Southern Hungary (co-author, 2004)
-   Selections from the history of environmental pollution, with special attention to air pollution (co-author, 2004)
-   The history and impacts of airborne Ambrosia (Asteraceae) pollen in Hungary (co-author, 2005)
-   Airborne pollen in three European cities: Detection of atmospheric circulation pathways by applying three-dimensional clustering of backward trajectories (co-author, 2010)
-   Forecasting ragweed pollen characteristics with nonparametric regression methods over the most polluted areas in Europe (co-author, 2011)
-   Monitoring the long-range transport effects on urban PM10 levels using 3D clusters of backward trajectories (co-author, 2011)
-   Multivariate analysis of respiratory problems and their connection with meteorological parameters and the main biological and chemical air pollutants (co-author, 2011)
-   Assessment of the Daily Ragweed Pollen Concentration with Previous-Day Meteorological Variables Using Regression and Quantile Regression Analysis for Szeged, Hungary (co-author, 2011)
-   Trends in the characteristics of allergenic pollen circulation in Central Europe based on the example of Szeged, Hungary (co-author, 2011)
-   Association of allergic asthma emergency room visits with the main biological and chemical air pollutants (co-author, 2012)
-   Climate sensitivity of allergenic taxa in Central Europe associated with new climate change – related forces (co-author, 2013)
-   Characterizing and evaluating the role of different transport modes on urban PM10 levels in two European cities using 3D clusters of backward trajectories (co-author, 2013).
-   Predicting daily ragweed pollen concentrations using computational intelligence techniques over two heavily polluted areas in Europe (co-author, 2014)
-   Association of allergic rhinitis or asthma with pollen and chemical pollutants in Szeged, Hungary, 1999-2007 (co-author, 2014)
-   Ragweed in Eastern Europe. Invasive Species and Global Climate Change (co-author, 2014)
-   A new approach used to explore associations of current Ambrosia pollen levels with current and past meteorological elements (co-author, 2015)
-   Anthropogenic Air Pollution in Ancient Times. History of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Toxicology in antiquity. (2015)
-   The history of ragweed in the world (co-author, 2015)
-   Modelling the introduction and spread of non-native species: International trade and climate change drive ragweed invasion (co-author, 2016)
-   Biogeographical estimates of allergenic pollen transport over regional scales: common ragweed and Szeged, Hungary as a test case (co-author, 2016)

Guest editor

-   International Journal of Environment and Pollution, Special Issue: „Air Pollution” (2007-2009).

Member of the Editorial Board

-   Acta Climatologica et Chorologica, Universitatis Szegediensis (1995-);
-   International Journal of Biometeorology (2012);
-   Annals of West University of Timişoara, Series of Biology (Timişoara, Romania, 2013-);
-   Journal of Climatology (2013-);
-   Archives of Otolaryngology and Rhinology (2014-);
-   Science, Technology and Development (2015-);
-   Journal of Natural Products Research Updates (2015-);
-   Advances in Modern Oncology Research (2015-).[12]

Awards

-   Széchenyi István Scholarship (2001)
-   “Pro Meteorology” plaque (2002)

[1] Title of the dissertation: “Secular time array and periodical components of large-scale weather situations in Hungary.” József Attila University, Szeged, 1978.

[2] Title of the dissertation: “Analysis of statistical characteristics of the sea-level pressure field for the whole Earth."József Attila University, Szeged, 1995.

[3] Title of the dissertation: “Regional and local scale air pollution researches.” University of Debrecen, Debrecen, 2004.

[4] International Ragweed Society

[5] Public board member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

[6] Gelencsér László, Az MTA doktora, egyetemi tanár: Bírálat Makra László „Különböző taxonok pollenjeinek komplex statisztikai elemzése a meteorológiai elemekkel összefüggésben, különös tekintettel a parlagfű pollenjére” című MTA doktori értekezéséről. Veszprém, 2013. január 11.

[7] Válasz Dr. Gelencsér András bírálatára, melyet a „Különböző taxonok pollenjeinek komplex statisztikai elemzése a meteorológiai elemekkel összefüggésben, különös tekintettel a parlagfű pollenjére” c. MTA doktori értekezésemre készített.

[8] Dr. Práger Tamás: HIVATALOS BÍRÁLAT Dr. Makra László a „Különböző taxonok pollenjeinek komplex statisztikai elemzése a meteorológiai elemekkel összefüggésben, különös tekintettel a parlagfű pollenjére” c. MTA doktori disszertációjáról. Szentendre, 2013. március 5.

[9] Makra László:Válasz Dr. Práger Tamás bírálatára, melyet a „Különböző taxonok pollenjeinek komplex statisztikai elemzése a meteorológiai elemekkel összefüggésben, különös tekintettel a parlagfű pollenjére” c. MTA doktori értekezésemre készített.

[10] László Makra's publications Data are up-to-date until 13/12/2016.

[11] Laszlo Makra in the Hungarian Doctoral Council, Personal data sheet

[12] Lists are from Curriculum Vitae, 2016

title: László Makra

question: Who is László Makra?

answer: He is a Hungarian climatologist and university professor. His main research area is pollen climatology, analyzing climatological relationships of ragweed pollen and its relationship to respiratory diseases.

question: What is László Makra's educational background?

answer: He went to high school at Komló and graduated in 1970. He graduated from the József Attila University of Szeged, Faculty of Natural Sciences, reading mathematics and geography in 1976. He defended his thesis in 1978 and his Ph.D. thesis in 1995.

question: Summarize everything related to László Makra's research?

answer: His main research is background aerosol and bio-aerosol. Within bio-aerosol, climactic relationships of pollen, i.e. pollen climatology, which has research activities such as pollen statistics; pollen transport modeling; pollen concentration forecast; analysis of the relationship between respiratory diseases and pollen concentration; climate sensitivity analysis of different taxa; as well as expected future pollen concentrations within the context of climate change.

question: Where did László Makra conduct field research expeditions?

answer: Inner Asia (China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1990 and 1994), Indonesia (Java, Bali, 1996), and South America (Brazil, 1998)

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: László Makra is a Hungarian climatologist and university professor. His main research area is background aerosol and bio-aerosol. Within bio-aerosol, he studies pollen climatology, analyzing climatological relationships of ragweed pollen and its relationship to respiratory diseases and if future pollen concentrations affect climate change. He established the branch of pollen climatology in Hungary and is an internationally recognized researcher of particulate matter and bio-aerosol.


text:
[via mdcu-comics.fr]

via mdcu-comics.fr

Paul Dini and Bruce Timm spoke with USA Today recently about the new action figures based on _Batman: the Animated Series,_ the TV show the duo created. They revealed some insights about their work on the show, and how they feel they have affected the _Batman _mythology and fanbase. Dini in particular was humble about the series’ origins:

  “It’s your turn — forgive the pun — at bat. This is your chance to do the Batman you want to do. When you have a character who’s as rich as Batman and there’s such a varied and colorful world and so many creative people who were just itching to do a show like this, it couldn’t help but be something unique.”

Timm, too, explained that it was refreshing to put a personal stamp on the _Batman_ legacy:

  “We had the luxury of looking back over the 50 years of Batman and it was the best R&D lab ever. We could see what worked and what didn’t, what kind of worked and what we could improve on.”

Ultimately, Timm and Dini took the blank slate they were afforded when kicking off the animated series, and created something that has become a timeless piece of Batman’s history.

Get your news and reviews about all kinds of Bat-media right here _From the Batcave_, and be sure to like _From the Batcave _on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the scoop first!

Source: Comic Book Movie

question: What is the main topic of the article?

answer: The post is an interview between USA Today and Paul Dini and Bruce Timm about the new action figures based on the show they created, Batman: the Animated Series.

question: Who said, "We had the luxury of looking back over 50 years of Batman and it was the best R&D lab ever."

answer: Bruce Timm

question: What is R&D?

answer: The article doesn't explain.

question: Does the author like the show that Timm and Dini created?

answer: It seems they do like it: "...[they] created something that has become a timeless piece of Batman's history."

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The post is an interview between USA Today and Paul Dini and Bruce Timm about the new action figures based on the show they created, Batman: the Animated Series.


text:
The dust stung my eyes before I could close them.   Sediment and sand singed my retinas and invaded my mouth, twisting and turning on my tongue and sticking to my throat.  My hands flew up to my eyes instinctively, deserting the wheel, and the car span out of control.  There was nothing I could do.  It was beautiful and calming, the feeling of losing control, the knowledge that no matter what I tried to do the outcome would not change. They would find me dead in the desert ravaged and torn in a stolen jacket, mangled and smashed in the ruins of a stolen car.   I lay at peace amidst the chaos and readied myself for oblivion.   The car whimpered to a halt.  Turning my head from the baking sun I saw the package sprawled on the back seat, trying pointlessly and pitifully to block the gloom that was breaking through with the realisation that I was still alive.  Rolling the window up, immediately I remembered why I’d put it down in the first place; It was hot as hell in the desert.

I am a delivery man of the ghastliest kind. I deliver bad things to bad people and I don’t ask questions and I do what they tell me.  This particular delivery was a package, to be taken to a contact of a boss of mines in the city.   I don’t exist, they don’t want me to, and I’m perfectly happy with that, but sometimes the evil and the sickness that I’m a part of makes my bones quiver and my skin shiver with an incontrollable surge of disgust that consumes me and urges me to wash the dirt away, clean out all the evil of the tiny holes and gaps its filled like mould and put things right.    But I had a package to deliver by dawn, and all I wanted was to get out of the desert.
Dawn was enveloping the towers and buildings of the city which were like tall shadows in the half-light of early morning, the solitude and emptiness of the desert became a distant dream.  I stopped on a street close to the destination of the package.  It would be an hour or more before the city crept into life, cars crawling and people trudging along in different directions but sharing the same soulless existence.
I was glad I would miss the whole depressing spectacle.  I looked at my watch.  Thirty minutes.

At first I assumed the thuds were the noisy epilogue of a dream I was having, but the car was shaking now at irregular intervals, like an impatient child kicking a broken toy, again and again my own private earthquake. Something was in the trunk.

My body leapt and I was out of the car.  I walked round to the left hand side of the car, stood in front of the trunk and looked around.  No one, nothing, except a solitary car in the distance turning left out of sight.  Decisively, I lifted the trunk and was smacked in the face with the smell and the sight of the creature that lay tied up and twisted before me.  He was gagged, beaten and bloodied, a distorted version of a human being, terrified and helpless.  It was so gruesome I couldn’t draw my eyes away.
I tore the tape from his mouth, unwittingly ripping away pieces of parched skin in the process.  Droplets of blood flowed softly from his gasping lips and he began to gasp languidly like a runner who’d ran the length of the world without stopping.
“Don’t……”
The sounds were compressed and squeezed.
“Don’t kill me.”
Standing in stunned silence I imagined myself through the man’s eyes, his captor, tormentor and now his killer, an evil man.   But I was his saviour.    In that moment, with the sun rising and stinging his wounds and with me standing over his broken body like a brute, there seemed no amount of words capable of conveying to the man that I was the antithesis of everything he thought I was, the man who’d saved him from oblivion rather than plunge him into it, regardless of whether I meant to or not.
There was no point in speaking.  I lifted him from the trunk and laid him on the passenger seat.  His injuries were not as desperate as I first thought, both eyes were blackened like wastelands of ash, his nose crooked and bent, yet nothing life- threatening.   His breathing was erratic and broken; he was dehydrated, mumbling with parched lips famished for liquid.    I snatched a bottle of water from the back seat and poured clumsily onto the man.
“I have something I have to do.  I’ll try to be back soon and I will take you to a hospital, or….. something.”
The man drank frantically then stared at me with his trodden eyes which were like gruesome slits, confused as to whether to be terrified or thankful.
“This…. I’m not the person that did this, this isn’t my car, I took….. I stole this car from someone, I never knew….”
The man was newly energised and vitalised, and began to understand.
“I know.  It’s my car.  They put me in the trunk of my own damn car.”
I stood in the heat of the morning unsure of what to do next.
“Just wait here”

Before long, I was out of the building and into the street, walking speedily to the alleyway.   I turned left and there lay emptiness where I had left the car.  The adrenaline of confusion had caused me to forget the keys to the car.  The man’s words echoed around like a curse in the back of my head.
“In my own car. They put me in the trunk of my own damn car.”
It was his car, and now he’d taken it, just like I’d stolen it from a man who’d stolen it from him.  It was logical.  The bad guy never wins, and now the good guy had what was his and was driving into the sunset.  What does that make me?  Can there be a midway point where good and evil meet?    I looked at the swarms of people beginning to buzz around as the morning rush hour grabbed hold of the city, the event I’d ached to miss.    I asked myself a question.  Am I really a bad man?  They swarmed like ants around me, going to offices, restaurants, going home, going away, going somewhere.
I’ve been watching life through a rear view mirror.  I felt the gun in my belt and massaged its cold lips.

He answered the door again, like the same as last time, his floppy hair still greasy and unkempt, his housecoat still flung recklessly around his thin and wiry frame.
“What?”
“Have you ever heard of Noah’s ark?” I stood cold and still, hand on my belt.
“Look, man, I’ve given you your money, don’t start all this pyscho-psuedo crap with me, we’ve…”
I cut him off swiftly.
“Just…..listen”

He sighed and flung his hands to his waist and stood swaying and fidgeting waiting excitedly to slam the door in my face.  I started speaking, composed and hard.

“God told Noah that human life was going to be destroyed by a great flood, and told him to build a boat that would save him, a righteous man, his family, and two types of every animal.  Do you know why God sent this flood to destroy civilisation?”
“Why?” He was impatient, sarcastic, enjoying the display of madness and breakdown he thought he was witnessing, a smirk etching itself across his face.
 “Because civilisation had grown corrupt, evil, unfit to live.”  I felt the gun for the last time, seducing me. It was my ark.
“And?”
“I am the flood.”

title: A story I wrote last year for an exam.

question: What is the implication of the ending?

answer: The protagonist gets fed up with the immoral life he lives and the immoral people he serves. He decides to kill the contact he delivered the illegal package to.

question: Explain the narrator's ruminations about being somewhere between good and evil.

answer: He considers the man in the trunk to be the good guy. He wonders if he's really evil, but in the end, he decides that the people he's working for are evil. His thoughts about whether there's a point between good and evil relate to the end of the story where he decides to get violent on the people he knows are evil.

question: What is the narrator's job?

answer: He's a delivery man that carries illegal packages for unsavory people.

question: Who is the man the narrator faces at the end?

answer: It's his boss's contact, the man whom he delivered the package to.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is a delivery man of the ghastliest kind, carrying a parcel in a stolen car to a contact of his boss in the city. As he's driving through the desert, he hears irregular thuds from the trunk. He stops to open it and finds a man inside, who tells the narrator that the car is his, and some people put him in the trunk of his own car. He tells the abducted man that he'll take him to a hospital after he delivers his package, but he finds the car gone when he's back. He ruminates on being somewhere between good and evil. He returns to the contact and talks about how civilization has grown corrupt and evil, that he is the flood to cleanse it just like in biblical times with murder in his mind.


text:
This juice is not only refreshing and full of nutrients; it makes for a visualy appealing drink. A splash of this juice is a great addition to your bottle of water during the day.

[GrapefruitStrawberryJuice]

Ingredients:
3 grapefruits
2 cups strawberries
2 tablespoon sweetener of choice

Directions:

Lightly peel the grapefruit leaving some of the nutrient packed white part.
Roughly chop the strawberries.
Add grapefruit and strawberries to juicer.
After juicing, stir in sweetener of choice.
Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe and image via Blooming on Bainbridge

[glass_water_bottle]

[Join the Glasstic Affiliate Program!]

[December Sale!]

question: How many ingredients are in this juice?

answer: 3. Grapefruit, strawberries and a sweetener of choice.

question: Is it a complicated recipe?

answer: No, but it does require a juicer.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A recipe for Grapefruit Strawberry Juice.


text:
[NewVismeIconsHeader]

As a designer, I can attest to the fact that two tasks heavily affect productivity in creating a presentation, an infographic and other forms of visual content:

1. The process of creating the structure (layout) of your design.

2. Spending countless hours trying to find the right icon to complement your layout and its content.

If designers face these challenges, imagine how much more time-consuming and frustrating it is for everyone else. This is what led us to launch a ton of new icons to satisfy any project need.

Although up to now, Visme has been helping users overcome design challenges by providing easy-to-customize templates, we were falling short on our graphic assets. For example, searches for certain icons often resulted in little to no results or icons that did not have that "it" factor.

WE HAD TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM!

I decided to put a team of designers together here at Visme and over the last 3 months, we dedicated hundreds of hours carefully selecting, optimizing and importing icons to our library. Some icons we designed in-house and in other cases negotiated an extended license (which, to say the least, was not cheap, but essential to providing our users with the best icons you can get anywhere).

The result?

You can now start spicing up your content with thousands of new, beautiful icons without having to look elsewhere

As of today, we have over 5,200 vector icons across 23 categories in our library, so you can locate a desired icon right within Visme without having to worry about searching other sites and dealing with paying for icons or licensing issues.

[Screen Shot 2015-09-01 at 4.57.58 PM]

Here's an overview and a few tips and tricks to help you spice up your visual content:

Available in Color and Outline

Flat design is the current trend.  By eliminating unnecessary extras (such as drop shadows, extra colors and lines, etc.), you can achieve a clean and crisp design that will not overpower your content.

We provide the majority of our icons in both FLAT COLOR and OUTLINE versions.   This way you can select the version that best complements your design needs.

[outline-icons]

Customize color and size to your needs

The beauty of our icons also lies in the ability to customize color. We have dissected each icon's color scheme into just a few primary colors, so all you need to do is click an icon to gain full control and assign your own colors. You can choose from the available colors applicable to your theme or click the "+" to add your own custom color.

[icon-update-color]

Every icon is vectorized!

WHAT DOES "VECTORIZED" MEAN? If you want the geeky definition, you can read about it here; but in short, it basically means that you can size your objects to be as big or as small as you like and they will remain perfectly crisp. This also means that when you download it for print use (PDF download), the icons will be high-resolution and crisp to the point.

[Screen Shot 2015-09-01 at 5.05.41 PM]

Tons of Icons in 23 Categories

[categories]

A sneak peek at a small sample:

   For Web and Mobile Interfaces:

[icons-Interface]

   For Business:

[icons-marketing]

   For Location and Maps:

[icons-location]

   For Health and Medicine:

[icons-health]

Start searching and using new icons

Log in to your account today, and start using Visme icons. There's a large enough selection to satisfy any project need. Free users can tap into a portion of these icons, while Premium users have full access to every icon in our library, worth thousands of dollars.

question: What steps has Visme taken to solve the problem of time with regards to design?

answer:
Designing does take time. From deciding the structure of a layout to finding the right graphic assets for your content. However, Visme has taken steps to make things simple for designers and non-designer interested in spending less time looking for the right icon for their layout.

According to the passage, the narrator who is the CEO of Visme, has tried solving this problem by getting his team of designers to make diverse graphic assets as well as getting third-party licenses for more assets to be added to Visme's pool. This is so that their customers can find whatever asset they want as well as have choices with regards to style.


text:
The ISRAELI AMBASSADOR IN BEIJING is the official representative of the Government in Jerusalem to the Government of the People's Republic of China.

Background

Israel was the first country in the Middle East to recognize the PRC as the legitimate government of China.[1] However, China did not establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel until 1992.[2] Since then, Israel and China have developed increasingly close strategic economic, military and technological links with each other.[3][4][5] Israel maintains an embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.[6]

List of representatives

-   Zev Sufott (_זאב סופות_) (1992–1993)[7]
-   Moshe Ben-Yaacov (_משה בן-יעקב_) (1993–1996)
-   Ora Namir (_אורה נמיר_) (1996–2000)
-   Itzhak Shelef (_יצחק שלף_) (2000–2002)
-   Yehoyada Haim (_יהוידע חיים_) (2002–2007) [8]
-   Amos Nadai (_עמוס נדאי_) (2007–2011)
-   Matan Vilnai (_מתן וילנאי_) (2011–2017)[9]
-   Zvi Heifetz (_צבי חפץ_) (2017– )

[1] Sino-Israel Relations

[2] “China marks 17 years with Israel”. Haaretz. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2013.

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] About the Embassy Embassy of Israel in China

[7] זאב סופות, Zeev Suffot, (2014 - 1927) Ministry of Foreign Affairs {he icon}}

[8] Yehoyada Haim

[9] Matan Vilnai Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

title: List of ambassadors of Israel to China

question: Who is the official representative of the Government in Jerusalem to the Government of the People's Republic of China?

answer: The Israeli Ambassador in Beijing is the official representative of the Government in Jerusalem to the Government of the People's Republic of China.

question: Who was the first country in the Middle East to recognize the PRC as the legitimate government of China?

answer: Israel

question: How would you describe Israel and China's relationship?

answer: Israel and China have a good relationship with developing close strategic economic, military, and technological links with each other.

question: Where does Israel maintain consulates?

answer: It maintains consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes the political relationship between Israel and China.


text:
Share the Load – Vanderhoof | Invest Local BC

We are indeed in trying times and our local Not For Profit groups Need your help.

[]

Share the Load – Vanderhoof | Invest Local BC

Test 6.27

We are indeed in trying times and our local Not For Profit groups Need your help.

[]

Share the Load – Vanderhoof | Invest Local BC

To all our great community supporters let’s get this campaign moving. Remember 100% of what you donate will go the charity. Community Futures Stuart Nechako is donating all fees back to the campaign.
School District 91 Nechako Healthy Community Alliance Bulkley Nechako Opportunities Nechako Valley Food Network Vanderhoof Hospice Society St John Hospital Auxiliary Society

You may change the contribution amount if you are ONLY Contributing to one charity; or you can simply add them to your cart one at a time.

[]

Share the Load – Vanderhoof | Invest Local BC

You may change the contribution amount if you are ONLY Contributing to one charity; or you can simply add them to your cart one at a time.

[]

UPDATE: So FB has not exactly been my friend today. This campaign is live and the link to donate to all of these great charities is in the comments

While we encourage all to support our local businesses we can not forget about the great work our Not For Profits do with limited resources and volunteers. This is a reachout to all those great organizations to see if we can set up a local campaign to assist in some fund raising activites. If you think we can help please let me know. I am hoping to launch the campaign over the Easter weekend.
Please share this post and like the page to make sure you get info. Stay safe and practice kindness.

[]

Due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic we have reactivated Investlocalbc.ca for use by the public. In these time there are many non profits and businesses that could use some financial help.

Crowdfunding may not answer everyone's problem but it provides a place where people can connect to talk about problems and their solutions.

The solution to an individual problem may not only be cash..A businessperson may need other types of help, mentoring, etc..
At Investlocalbc you customize your ask to your needs.

Stay safe and Healthy

Graham

The COVID-19 virus outbreak means we need to get the crowdfunding option to the public of rural BC so the public can support innovations, non profits and other situations that may be necessary as we go through this pandemic together..Due to this emergency, we will have Investlocalbc.ca operating as the crowdfunding answer for BC's non profits and businesses by the end of the week. Graham

We are working on changes to the Investlocalbc site to create opportunities to bring ideas and investment together for rural communities. We have found in our research that cooperative ownership provide opportunity for working people to be involved in their local economy..We will be live soon....

Hello Everyone,

We are in the process of revising investlocalbc and its services. While the practise of community based crowdfunding has not been established in BC, we at investlocalbc have identified the needs of rural Enterprising people in venture capital and short term financing are not being serviced. The objective is that a person will not have to go to urban centres to secure financing and investment. We will be building a network of angel investors, lender, social funds, etc. to serve the needs of rural BC.

We'll see if we get back to exploring crowdfunding as a community development tool in the future.

Regards,

Graham

question: Summarize the main message of this text.

answer: The main message this text is trying to give out is that, right now, it is a trying time due to the coronavirus pandemic, and local Not For Profit groups need help. The text is calling out to community supporters to help get the campaign moving. The text has also described the various places that have contributed to the campaign. The text also describes the importance of how much Not For Profits do for the community with limited resources and volunteers.

question: How successful are the attempts made by Graham to inform the community about community based crowdfunding?

question: Summarize the importance of the idea of crowdfunding described in the text.

answer: In the text, the concept of crowdfunding is introduced due to the COVID_19 virus outbreak. It is important to get the concept of crowdfunding out to the public of rural BC in order for the public to support innovations, non-profits and other situations necessary. Because the practice of crowdfunding has not been established in BC, there needs to be more support and time given to "investlocalbc" to create opportunities in rural communities.


text:
Worried your baby will freak about her first haircut? These snippy strategies will keep her calm.

You might think your child's first trip to the salon is the cutest ever, but she won't see it that way. To her, being wrapped in a plastic cape, squirted with water, and attacked with sharp scissors by a stranger is just plain scary. "This is a peak time for stranger anxiety, and haircutting salons have lots of unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells that can upset your child," says Kori Levos Skidmore, PhD, a child psychologist in Oak Park, Illinois. But getting those little bangs trimmed doesn't have to be hair-raising -- as long as you plan it properly.

Know When to Go

If your baby entered the world with luscious locks, she could be ready for a haircut as early as 8 months. But if she was a baldy, she may not need one until she's 2. There's no right or wrong time to go. It comes down to this: Do you want to preserve her baby look, or do you think she's ready for a big-kid 'do? "Keep in mind that once you cut off those curls, they may not grow back," says Christine Burger, founder of Noodle and Boo, a hair-care product line for babies and children. On the other hand, trimming superfine baby hair often makes it look thicker.

Give a Heads-Up

Toddlers don't like surprises, so have your child watch you get a haircut or visit his barber before the big day. "Talk to him about what he's seeing -- point out the cape he'll be wearing and what the scissors do," says Jane Loyd, owner of A Cut Above, a salon for children in Covington, Louisiana. Avoid using the word "cut," which may scare your child -- use "snip" or "trim" instead. Let him play with a squirt bottle in the tub at home, and pretend to trim his bangs with your fingers. And read books about the subject: We like _Henry's First Haircut_, by Dan Yaccarino, and _No Haircut Today!_ by Elivia Savadier.

Pick the Right Place

Choose a salon that knows how to deal with squirmy clients. Many kids' hair places have videos and books to keep little kids entertained. Some even do the first trim for free (others include a photo and certificate as part of a first-haircut package). If there isn't a children's barber in your town, ask your stylist to recommend someone who's especially good with kids.

Be Prepared

Let your child bring a lovey and a small toy. These will help him stay calm and keep his hands occupied. You might also hide a treat in your purse for afterward. Before the barber begins, swing the chair away from the mirror so your child doesn't fixate on the scissors. If he refuses to wear a cape, put one on and show him how it looks. If he won't sit still, you may need to plop him down on your lap for the duration. But make sure a friend (or someone else at the salon) is there to take pics.

Get Psyched

If you're apprehensive, your child will pick up on it and be more likely to cry during her haircut. "Talk to her about how much fun it will be," says Joanna Meiseles, founder of the Snip-its Hair Salon for Children chain. "Let her know how great she'll look after getting a trim. When she sees that you're looking forward to it, she will too."

Plan Carefully

Book your appointment between mealtime and naptime so your child isn't hungry or cranky. Call ahead to make sure the stylist is running on time. And don't hesitate to reschedule if your child seems out of sorts that day. "The first haircut sets the stage for years to come," says Loyd. "It's important to make it a positive experience."

question: Summarize the advice given for preparing for a child's first haircut.

answer: Have the child watch you get a haircut prior to their first haircut. Let the child play with a squirt bottle in the tub and pretend to trim his hair with your fingers. Read books about children getting haircuts. Find a child-friendly barber and bring toys and a treat.

question: Summarize the elements of getting a haircut that a child might be afraid of.

answer: A child might be afraid of the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells of a salon. The process of being wrapped in plastic, squirted with water, and attacked by sharp scissors is also scary. The word "cut" might be scary to a child. They might also fixate on the scissors in the mirror.

question: Summarize the advice given for cutting a child's hair at home.

question: Summarize the advice Jane Loyd provides.

answer: Loyd recommends talking to the child about what happens at a hair salon. She also stresses the importance of making the first haircut a positive experience.


text:
SAINT MONICA'S PLAYERS (SMP) is an amateur dramatic society based in Enfield.

It was formed in 1958 out of the Saint Monica's church of Palmers Green. The group has performed over 200 different plays and musicals at local theatres and drama festivals and competitions.[1] They produce three shows per year; a summer show at the Millfield Theatre in June, a pantomime at the Intimate Theatre in January and a night of one act plays.

Pantomimes are written by resident writer Warren McWilliams, whose work is published by Lazy Bee Scripts and StageScripts Ltd.

Notes

[2]

Category:Amateur theatre companies in England Category:Cultural organisations based in London

[1] List of SMP shows available at

[2] http://www.smptheatre.co.uk/category/what-is-urinetown/

title: Saint Monica's Players

question: Where are the Saint Monica Players based?

answer: The Saint Monica Players are based in Enfield.

question: When were the Saint Monica Players formed?

answer: The Saint Monica Players were formed in 1958.

question: How many plays and musicals has Saint Monica Players performed?

answer: Saint Monica Players have performed over 200 different plays and musicals.

question: How many shows a year do the Saint Monica Players produce?

answer: The Saint Monica Players produce three shows a year.

question: Who writes the Saint Monica Players' pantomimes?

answer: The Saint Monica Players' pantomimes are written by Warren McWilliams.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Saint Monica Players are an amateur drama society formed in 1958. Since then they have performed over 200 different musicals and plays. Currently they produce three shows a year.