text:
_THE COMPLETE COLLECTION_ is a six-CD box set by British recording artist Lisa Stansfield. It was released by Arista Records in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2003 and includes five of Stansfield's studio albums with bonus tracks and a sixth disc with remixes, rarities and one previously unreleased song. _The Complete Collection_ garnered favorable reviews from music critics. In 2014, more expanded _The Collection 1989–2003_ was also released.[1][2]

Background

After releasing _Biography: The Greatest Hits_ on 3 February 2003, Stansfield fulfilled her deal with Arista Records and left the label. Arista Records remastered all of her studio albums and re-released them separately with bonus tracks on 2 June 2003. At the same time, they issued _The Complete Collection_ which includes all the remastered studio albums with bonus tracks and an additional disc, _Live/Rare/Mixed_.

Content

Digitally remastered limited edition white and silver embossed box set includes all of Stanfield's studio albums released through 2003. Each album comes in a digipak with the original artwork, new sleeve notes, new photos and bonus tracks on each disc. In addition to the regular studio albums, this set also includes a special _Live/Rare/Mixed_ disc with single B-sides, live tracks, remixes and previously unreleased track. Stansfield's very first band, Blue Zone, with husband Ian Devaney and school mate Andy Morris is represented on _Live/Rare/Mixed_ by “There Was I”, “Dirty Talk” and the previously unreleased “The Answer” (recorded in 1986). The very rare B-sides “Sing It” and “Big Thing”, and live recordings of “Tenderly” and medley “Live Together/Young Hearts Run Free” (both performed in a concert held at Wembley in 1992) are included as well as three club remixes. Bonus songs on the studio albums include: “People Hold On” (Single Mix), “My Apple Heart”, “Lay Me Down”, “Something's Happenin'”, “When You're Gone”, “Everything Will Get Better”, “Change” (Frankie Knuckles Remix), “Gonna Try It Anyway”, “Dream Away” (Duet with Babyface), “So Natural” (No Presevatives Mix by Roger Sanchez), “Breathtaking”, “Baby Come Back”, “All over Me”, “Can't Wait To” and “You Get Me”.

Critical reception

_The Complete Collection_ received positive reviews from music critics. According to Johnny Loftus from AllMusic, it is “definitely the most comprehensive Stansfield retrospective; it borders on overkill.” He praised the Massive Attack version of “Live Together” on _Live/Rare/Mixed_. Tim Sendra, also from AllMusic focused on _Live/Rare/Mixed_ and wrote that this disc “is exactly what it says it is: a collection of live tracks, B-sides, and an unreleased track ('The Answer'). The live tracks 'Tenderly' and the medley of 'Live Together/Young Hearts Run Free' are taken from a 1992 show at Wembley. The mixes are by Massive Attack, Driza Bone, and The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and do a nice job of funking up Stansfield's often reserved style. The rest of the disc is made up of B-sides.” Sendra called it “a nice collection for Stansfield fanatics”.[3] Alex Bettucchi also wrote a positive review and noted that the only flaw is the fact that _The Complete Collection_ does not include any songs from _Big Thing_ (1988) or _Swing_ (1999).

Track listing

Release history

  Region              Date          Label    Format   Catalog
  ------------------- ------------- -------- -------- ---------------
  United Kingdom[4]   2 June 2003   Arista   6×CD     82876 52431 2

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: The Complete Collection (Lisa Stansfield album)

question: What are some types of music that influenced Lisa Stansfield's sound?


split: train

text:
Ms Gillard has suffered an eight per cent drop in male support, polls showed, and is facing a devastating defeat at the September election. Labour trails the opposition by a disastrous 43 to 57 per cent – a margin that would cost the party 30 of its 71 MPs.

Ms Gillard has an approval rating of 36 per cent and trails opposition leader Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister by 41 to 50 per cent, her worst result in a year.

Ms Gillard faces mounting speculation about a leadership challenge from former Labour leader Kevin Rudd as parliament resumed for the last time before the election.

Mr Rudd was ousted by Ms Gillard as prime minister in 2010 and lost a leadership challenge last year, but polls show if he were reinstated he would lift Labor's standing to a 50-50 tie.

Mr Rudd was mobbed by the media after returning to Canberra and would only say that he would do "everything I physically can" to prevent Mr Abbott winning the election.

Ms Gillard's drop in support among male voters was blamed on the recent "gender wars", including her decision to target Mr Abbott as a misogynist who would alienate the nation's women and change abortion rights.

The national debate was last week dominated by arguments about sexism, with revelations that a Liberal party fundraiser featured a "mock menu" which joked about Ms Gillard's "small breasts" and "huge thighs". In a subsequent commercial radio interview, Ms Gillard was repeatedly asked whether her partner, Tim Mathieson, was gay; the interviewer was later sacked.

The Nielsen pollster, John Stirton, said the gender debate had significantly dampened Ms Gillard's support among men, while her support among women remained steady.

"It is something I haven't really seen before – one gender has broken against Labor quite dramatically," he told ABC Radio.

"I am assuming the events of last week have something to do with that – the various gender speeches, accusations of misogyny, the menus and all that sort of thing have played out negatively among men."

question: Who is Ms. Gillard?

answer: not explicitly answered, but she seems to be some sort of politician.

question: Who is Tony Abbott?

answer: Tony Abbot is the opposition leader who is running for prime minister.

question: Why is Ms. Gillard's support among male voters dwindling?

answer: Ms. Gillard's support has been dwindling due to her attacks on Mr. Abbott for being a misogynist.

question: What did the Liberal party do to be sexist towards Ms. Gillard?

answer: A Liberal party fundraiser featured a "mock menu" that joked about Gillard's body.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Ms. Gillard's dwindling support among men voters in the race for prime minister, due to her recent attacks against Mr. Abbott for being a misogynist.


text:
I am a first time poster here and unsure if this sub frowns on linking to my own site. A heads up would be nice. In the mean time. Here is a story I wrote in 2008 about socks. It has been denied publication after sitting in slush piles 10 or 12 times. My website is [joerdie.com](www.joerdie.com). The first half is below, the second is the first post as the story is over 10k. Thanks!

I looked down to see two drops of blood on the green carpet. They had come from my nose, and there would be more. The clerk, a woman in her 40's, began walking toward me from the counter with a concerned look on her face. It occurred to me that she may find it odd that I was standing in the sock aisle, with a nose bleed, after closing time, at a Boy Scout Store.

My love affair with the Boy Scout sock started innocently enough. I had graduated from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts in the fall of 1990, around the time I turned ten. Reading about the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) now, I can only imagine the amount of angst within its ranks. The membership controversies over sexual abuse, homosexuality, and religion make me wonder if I will let my son join. But my time with the Scouts was nothing but sunny skies and clean, safe times. Well, mostly anyway. There was that one summer camp when my patrol leader ran out of cigarettes and gave us all tea leaves wrapped in parchment paper saying, "Look, it's the same thing, okay?" Or the time that we filled another Scout's bellybutton with tooth paste the first night of a trip. A week later, we watched in horror as the same scout took off his shirt before jumping in the pool. The once green and white toothpaste had turned black and molded into the folds of his overweight... folds. Or the time that we wiped an entire can of catfish bait under another scout's tent at the National Jamboree. The poor kid smelled like a cow pasture for the rest of the week. Even at my wedding a Boy Scout story was told, about earning my wilderness survival merit badge when my best man and I rolled over one another down a hill because we decided to sleep on too sharp an incline. (Many in my family already thought that I may be gay. The story of two boys rolling over one another down a hill didn?t help.) The Boy Scouts was a great experience for me, filled with excitement and adventure.

I earned the rank of Life before dropping out and clearly remember the night that I told my scoutmaster I was leaving the troop. I cried and stuttered. I knew I was never going to make Eagle. It wasn't in me. I had been drifting away from Troop 674 for a year. It was my time to leave. I grew out of my uniform. I left the dreams of Eagle behind me. I even started growing my hair to lengths the Beatles would never have gotten away with. But I never took off those socks. When I started with the Scouts, the uniform sock was worn up to the knee, puce green, and had a three-inch red rim that was meant to be folded over. A uniform change in the early 1990's brought the red trim to a logical half inch. That sock was the one I fell in love with. It was called "The Boy Scout Crew Sock," but was changed later to, "Boy Scout Thorlo Hiking Sock." The sturdy socks were made from a blend of acrylic, nylon, and spandex. If you bought them from an official Boy Scout store they were treated with Triclosan, an antibacterial, antifungal agent that stopped odors and athlete's foot dead in its tracks. The sock wicked sweat away from the foot and into the shoe. You could hike all day without an extra pair and never give it a second thought. You never had to wear two pairs to stop blisters. These socks were thick and clung to your foot with the force of super glue. They were, by far, the best sock ever produced.

I haven't worn another sock since their release. I wore them to job interviews, funerals, and of course, hiking. I wore them on my first date, wedding, and to the birth of my child. Every year, my mother bought a few more pairs at Christmas, and I waited until they were beyond threadbare to throw them away. I gave serious thought to learning how to darn socks just to make old pairs new. Ask anyone who knows me well about my clothing. Invariably, my socks will come up. But I never learned how to darn socks. I never savored the pairs I owned. Standing in that aisle at the back of the Boy Scout Store, I came to the realization that my sock was not there. After eighteen years, the uniform had changed, and left me in the cold.

That's when my nose started to bleed. I was tempted to bolt to my car at the speed of shame, my embarrassment following a few seconds behind. I pictured myself in the car, nursing my nose with an old Wendy's napkin from the glove box for almost a minute before a knock on the window would catch up with me. That's when I saw the woman with the concerned look walking toward me.

title: Short Story: Memories, Blood, and Socks.

question: What is special about the Boy Scout socks?

answer: hey are made from a series of synthetic materials designed to most moisture away from the foot and protect against bacterial and fungal infections such as athlete's foot. The sock was also an effective guard against blisters on hikes.

question: Why are they important to the narrator?

answer: He has been wearing them since he was a child and has never worn any other kind of sock.

question: How does the narrator feel about the Boy Scouts?

answer: He is concerned over the various controversies that the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) have been going through in present times. Although he has fond memories from when he was a kid, he's not sure he will allow his son to join their ranks.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A man reminisces about his history with socks he has worn since he was in the Boy Scouts. The man gets a nosebleed whilst looking for his favourite socks, which no longer appear to be on sale.


text:
Part One: The Turning Point

	Picture for a moment, if you will, someone you love. Picture that person, really focus on them. What would you be willing to do for that person? Is there a limit to what you would do for them? I'll bet there is. Would you kill for them? And I don't mean kill in defense, I mean murder. Would you slaughter innocent lives for that person? Would you transcend into a place of pure evil? Would you become, for all intensive purposes, a monster? Most of you probably wouldn't. But I’m about to do just that.
	We all have regrets. Things that we wish we could go back and change. I have only recently learned what it means to truly regret something. Meeting her was the turning point in my life. The day our eyes met was the day I began my descent into darkness, I just didn't know it yet.
	Her name was Emarosa, and she was my goddess. I can see her so vividly, like she's right in front of me. Pale skin that seemed to glow under the moon. Her hair was the midnight sky and her eyes were the brightest of all the stars. She was like a mirror that reflected back everything good in the world.
	It was almost 3 years ago when I asked her to marry me, and half that long since she did. I remember it clearly. As I saw her walk down the aisle my heart exploded and filled my body with warmth from head to toe. This is it I thought, this is joy in the purest and most primitive sense. Nothing else mattered, I was on top of the world. Months prior we had agreed that we didn't need an extravagant honeymoon. No paradise could compare to just spending a week in the country away from the world in each other's arms. And that's what we did.
	We were driving down an unlit back road to our cabin. It was almost three in the morning and she was sleeping in the passenger seat. I glanced over at her to admire how peaceful she looked. It was just for a moment, but in that moment everything changed.
	I didn't see the road turn. What happened after played in slow motion. The vehicle collided with a tree like a wave breaking against a cliff as one lone branch reached out through the shattered windshield and tore right through her heart. All at once her eyes snapped open, as she gasped for air. She brought her gaze upon me one last time before her frail form went limp. I watched what remained of her life drain from her eyes through the hole in her chest. Her white gown now stained in the most violent shade of red.
	I spent the next few days in a trance. I can hardly remember anything from the ambulance ride back to civilization to the last shovelful of dirt my trembling hands cast upon her casket. For the first time in my life I felt lost, like an untrained sailor out at sea with no idea of what direction to go next.
	The following months led me to a very dark place. I lost my job, and my mind fell into disarray. The last bit of light in my eyes was snuffed out like a candle that day, and I had no desire to keep on living. Alone in the dark I groped through the unruly stack of past due bills, and eviction notices for the gun I left sitting there. The cold barrel against my temple was the first real thing I had felt since the woman I love died. My thumb searched for the hammer, and pulled it back. The click echoed and reverberated off of the collection of empty bottles littered across the floor. I took a deep breath, and eased my finger into the trigger housing. Just as I began to squeeze a cold hand grabbed my wrist, and eased my arm back down. I spun around and saw something I will never forget. It was her. My Emarosa.

Part Two: The Collector

	I never believed in the supernatural before that night, but there she was smiling down at me. She reached out her hand and caressed my cheek. Tears rolled down my face, and sizzled against her ghostly flesh, and that’s when I realized it. Suddenly I was aware that my cheek was burning, her hand was white hot. I jumped away startled. Her smile twisted sadistically, and her flesh burned away. There standing in her place was the most sinister looking man I had ever seen.
	 He called himself The Collector. He was well over seven feet tall, smartly dressed in a red suit and a midnight black leather duster. His narrow face, and high, well defined cheek bones accentuated the malice that radiated from his dark eyes. The Collector pulled a pack of smokes from his duster, stuck one in his mouth, and lit it. He gave me a vague description of who he was, and what he did.
	It was explained that he was a demon of sorts, or at least what we refer to as a demon, and as his name implies he is a collector. Every once in a while he would cross over into our world, and present a grief stricken mortal with a most tempting offer. In exchange for one-thousand souls he would return your loved one. In other words, if I sacrificed enough people to him he would bring Emarosa back from the grave, just as she was before.
	Like any decent person I was hesitant, but he made it very clear that it was my choice. He laid a very ancient looking dagger in my hands and explained that it didn’t matter how the person died as long as I slit their throat with the dagger afterwards. He also explained that the weapon would lose its power after five years, and if I hadn’t harvested enough souls by then I would never get her back. The Collector flashed one last ominous grin and disappeared into the shadows, leaving nothing behind but a smoldering cigarette butt.
	I think I was always going to accept the deal, but I didn’t want to give in too easily. I wanted to be a good guy. I packed my father’s old military rucksack with clothes, my revolver, ammo, and yes even the dagger. I became a vagabond, and I wandered for quite some time. With each day that passed I became hollower, more detached. I forgot the taste of happiness, and lusted after it desperately. I had lost my purpose, my spark, and I was about to lose my humanity.
	This is where I am now. Standing above the filthy, unconscious body of some nameless transient with my dagger drawn. I can almost hear the blade crying out for blood. Screaming for violence. I smile, bend over and cut the man’s throat from ear to ear. Steam rises from the wound and embraces my quivering form as his neck spits the last bit of life from his body.
	I hear a man slow clap from behind me, and I turn to face The Collector. He flashes a grin, one that I understand immediately. We have a deal.

title: [TH] A dark thriller/tragedy. Work in progress.

question: What does the story say about the type of relationship the narrator had with Emarosa?

answer: He loves her so much that he is willing to kill innocent people for her. On the day of their wedding, his body was filled with warmth from head to toe, and he felt joy in the purest and most primitive sense. They didn't need an extravagant honeymoon; just spending time in each other's arms was enough. The narrator falls into a very dark place after Emarosa dies in a car accident and has no desire to continue living without her.

question: What does the story say about the type of person the narrator is?

answer: The narrator is unable to cope with the death of his wife. He loses his job and the desire to keep on living. He contemplates suicide. He is hesitant when the demon offers to bring Emarosa back to life in exchange for murdering one thousand people. But eventually he accepts the deal.

question: What does the story say about the narrator's first victim?


text:
I am trying to be a writer, I would like opinions.  Feel free to be as harsh or as flattering as you want, in my eyes its all constructive.  It might be a bit hard to figure out, so I guess also comment on what you think its about.

	The lights were flickering on and off.  He came into view three or four times.  Large bursts of light erupting from a pitch black abyss.  In the room, there were no sounds, no breaths, no heart beats.  When the lights were on the black abyss turned into a room, and the room was all white with blisteringly powerful light spraying off everywhere.  When the lights turned on, maybe a half a second, maybe three quarters, I was able to make out a figure.  Large, dark and angry.  Eyes completely yellow, staring me down.  My eyes reflected in his, the reflection so bright, how could I possibly look away.  I shoved my hands against my temples and squeezed, the man falling in and out of my sight.  The light turned off, a wave of black falling over me, like a midnight black blanket being wrapped around my head on a bright day.  I fell over slightly and felt nauseous.  I tripped on my own feet and my head banged against the floor, or the wall, I’m not really sure which.  At times like these I always ran to the door, kicking and screaming to let me out, to let me breathe, but I always heard the same words every time I banged the door, “anesthesia.”  I would loose track of the door at that point.  First it was on the left, then it was on the right.  Rotating around me like the orbit of a moon sped up.
	They would always turn the lights on at the worst moment, right when I would close my eyes, right when I was going to get some rest finally.  I was a child waiting for a Christmas that never came.  Sometimes, during these fits of light, I would catch the faint glimmer of a shadow over me.  The shadow of a demon like being with the horns of a devil and the knife of a butcher.  Picking and pulling at my well being, the chords of thought being plucked right from under me.  I was never able to move at these moments, never able to reach out my hand and grasp the ephemeral hand over me.  The lights started to flicker again, in and out.  If I was a bucket of sand, they would be emptying me gradually, and each grain of sand that would fall out would just disappear as it left the bucket, with each flicker of the light this would continue to happen.  The bang and the light coming and going from those in front of me who were never actually in front of me.  A worthless fight.
	How long has it been?  A week?  A month?  I’d bang on the door when I could find it.  I’d yell my name just to yell it, just to gain something from a lost experience, right up until that was lost too.  And when I’d yell, I’d cry, because I was yelling my life, my upbringing, my experiences.  After each yell, it would go, after each cry I’d forget.  And on that final day, when there was nothing left to yell, I’d wake up.
	I would wake up lying down, people in white standing over me with light shining down and red tools lying next to me.  Everything is in front of me, but I cant grasp it.  Like a fisherman trying to grab the reflection of a fish going by with his bare hands.  Except now, I am all empty.

title: This is my story (read and criticize)

question: What does "Christmas" represent in the narrator's analogy?

answer: Being able to fall asleep

question: Why are the tools red at the end of the story?

answer: Presumably from the narrator's blood.

question: What is the significance of the bucket of sand analogy?

answer: The idea is that the narrator is being drained bit by bit (perhaps of their sanity).


text:
The EU is set on a collision course with Donald Trump after its foreign policy chief called for Europeans to increase their business dealings with Iran in defiance of bellicose statements from the US president.

As Trump vowed to block those trading with Iran from the US market, the EU stepped up efforts to save the Iran nuclear deal by encouraging its companies to ignore the White House.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said Brussels would not let the 2015 agreement with Tehran die, and she urged Europeans to make their own investment decisions.

The EU, China and Russia remain signatories to the joint comprehensive plan of action under which economic sanctions on Iran have been lifted in return for the regime curtailing its nuclear aspirations. Trump reneged on the deal in May, describing it as “a horrible one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made”.

The clash risks destabilising the wider transatlantic relationship weeks after the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Trump vowed in the White House rose garden to increase tariff-free trade between the EU and the US and to move on from recent disagreements.

What is the Iran nuclear deal? – video
During a trip to Wellington, New Zealand, on Tuesday, Mogherini said: “We are doing our best to keep Iran in the deal, to keep Iran benefiting from the economic benefits that the agreement brings to the people of Iran, because we believe this is in the security interests of not only our region but also of the world.

“If there is one piece of international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation that is delivering, it has to be maintained. We are encouraging small and medium enterprises in particular to increase business with and in Iran as part of something [that] for us is a security priority.”

Hours earlier, Trump had tweeted: “The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level. Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!”

He said in an official statement: “We urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, destabilising behaviour and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation.”

The US economic sanctions against Iran came into force at 12.01am ET on Tuesday.

At the same time a blocking statute – last used to protect EU firms from sanctions against Cuba – was brought into force in an attempt to insulate European firms by threatening legal repercussions should they comply with Washington’s diktats and offering them a chance to sue the US for interference.

The efficacy of the blocking statue remains in serious doubt. The German carmaker Daimler AG said on Tuesday that it was suspending its “very limited” activities in Iran. In early 2016 the company announced plans for local truck production and cooperation with an Iranian partner. On Tuesday it said a representative office “will not be continued”.

A first set of reimposed US sanctions targets financial transactions that involve US dollars, Iran’s automotive sector and purchases of commercial planes and metals, including gold. A second batch of sanctions to be imposed in early November will hit Iran’s oil sector and central bank.

Mogherini said it was vital for Iran to feel the economic benefit of the nuclear deal, describing it as a “fundamental aspect of the Iranian right to have an economic advantage in exchange for what they have done so far, which is being compliant with all their nuclear-related commitments”.

The US move has strengthened calls in Brussels for a looser transatlantic alliance. The leader of the liberal group in the European parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, a former prime minister of Belgium, said: “This shows yet again why we as Europeans must strengthen our foreign policy to be able to shape relations with the greater Middle East independently from the US.”

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: “We are deeply disappointed by US steps to reimpose its national sanctions against Iran. This is a clear example of Washington violating UN resolution 2231 [on the Iran deal] and international law.”

Moscow said the multi-party nuclear agreement Trump abandoned in May had “shown its effectiveness”. It called on the international community “not to allow such significant achievements in multilateral diplomacy to be sacrificed in the name of American aspirations to settle political scores with Iran”.

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, in a live interview on state television on Monday night, reassured Iranians that his administration was prepared to stave off the impact of the return of sanctions. He dismissed the punitive measures as psychological warfare designed to help Trump in the upcoming midterm elections. “Our system is stable, we’re all standing together,” he said.

The sanctions have come at a critical time, when a combination of factors ranging from environmental challenges to economic grievances and a lack of political freedom is putting Iran’s leadership under unprecedented pressure. The Iranian currency, the rial, has lost at least half of its value since April, fuelling sporadic street protests across the country that are increasingly taking on a political dimension.

Iran’s central bank has eased foreign exchange rules in response to the sanctions, allowing the dollar to be traded in secondary, often black markets. Local agencies reported markets showing a positive response to the change in policy. The rial recovered some of its value against the dollar on Tuesday, but it was too soon to say how the policy will play out in the long run.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, said the country could benefit from the new sanctions by focusing on internal renovation of the economy.

“By focusing on the domestic economy, reforming its structure and facilitating investment, the enemies cannot talk to Iran like that from now on because Iran’s resilience is increasing and this situation offers a good prospect for the country,” he said late on Monday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

question: What is the root cause of the war of words between the EU and the US?

answer: In 2015 the EU, China, Russia, and the US signed a nuclear deal with Iran. The parties to the deal agreed to lift economic sanctions if Iran agreed to curtail nuclear developments. The US reneged on the deal in May. The other signatories want to save the deal so the EU foreign policy chief has called on Europeans to increase their business dealings with Iran.

question: How is Trump imposing his will on the EU?

answer: Trump has reimposed sanctions and warned the EU countries that anyone doing business with Iran will not do business with the US. As the US sanctions were put back in place a blocking statute took effect. This statute is intended to protect EU businesses, but it has limited effect as demonstrated by the Daimler withdrawal from Iran.


text:
"I'm sorry, but I just can't deal with your sob stories tonight," she said to me as I sat beside her brushing my fingers through her hair.
"It's not a sob story," I protest. "I just want you to understand why I feel the things I feel."
"Sometimes I think you just need to be checked for some kind of mental disorder."
Five minutes passed as I continued to brush her hair. Finally I broke the stillness and whispered to her.
"Are you still afraid of me?" I breathed.
A soft nod was all that she managed to show. That was the worst pain of all. I kissed her on the head as I got up to go but I felt her quiver upon the touch of my lips. It was difficult to get up and go to my car with my heart dragging me down the whole way. I still needed to get gas. Coming to see her before I left town again used the last of the gallon that I had.

Before making it to the gas station I saw a trooper waiting with his lights on pointed towards the speed trap. He would find his man. Tonight it would not be me. My mother gave me her debit card to use for gas. We weren't extensively wealthy but she felt that if she didn't buy me gas I would stay at school across state. She enjoyed spending time with me so she would make sure I had a way to come see her.

I reminded my mother of my father. Before he became self absorbed, sheltered, and cynical. I loved my relationship with her but I often knew how much of a burden I was being financially. An engineering degree isn't free and every day I felt like I was leeching the life from her. As the debit card failed to make a transaction the realization struck me harder than it had before. I took out the cash I had to pay for the gas instead. Ashamed that I had ever thought about using her card, I quickly shuffled it into my back pocket behind my wallet closest to my body.

As I pumped gas I thought about the money I had saved. I was trying to buy this girl that I loved an engagement ring but she was incapable of just listening to me. I didn't need responses. All I ever really wanted was someone to just listen and make me feel like I was normal and I had normal problems with normal thoughts.

Earlier in the night she yelled at me while I was trying to talk to her.

"OKAY FINE. I UNDERSTAND. IT'S ALL MY FAULT THAT YOUR STUPID TOY WON'T WORK."

"You're not listening to me. You're not listening to me. You're not listening to me. It's not your fault that 5 people are on Facebook at the same time. I'm just trying to tell you that I get stressed out that things only work when I'm alone with no one else around."

"Whatever," she mumbled under her breath.

I looked down and saw my fist clenched as I sat beside her. Why was it in a fist? In that instance I saw the consequences of a clinched fist. I saw her crying with bruises on her face. I saw my head splattered on the floor as her father battered me with his college bat. I saw all the paths that a fist would lead me and rushed back to the noise of the present and watched my hands relax.

As I drove home I pondered these things in my heart. How could I confidently marry anyone at this point. Especially someone who was afraid of me. Afraid of what I'd do. Couldn't do. Never do. Could never do to her.

I saw the lights of a truck hurrying up behind me. It was late and must kids had curfews to meet. He sped up and passed. Either he didn't know about the stop sign or he didn't care that it was coming up. The truck continued at the same pace through the intersection. At the same moment a tractor trailer was passing through the intersection.

The sound was blood curdling as I saw the truck get ripped to shreds. The mass slid 60 yards before coming to a halt. The truck cab was caved to the floor. The driver was killed instantly. I could do nothing. I could only watch and see the consequences.

title: Tripolar

question: Does the girl leave him?

answer: It may be assumed that she did leave him.

question: Do they break up?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Does the boy suffer from any mental illness?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Does the truck driver survive?

answer: No.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer:
The narrator sits beside his lover asking her if she is afraid of him, she was. With a heavy heart, he walks away. As he stops at a gas station to fill gas, he thinks about how he is a financial burden on his mother.
Driving home, lost in his thoughts of his lady love, he sees a truck collided with a tractor. The driver died instantly, all the narrator could do was watch.


text:
_THE AIRBORNE SYMPHONY_ (also known as _SYMPHONY: THE AIRBORNE_) is a work by American composer Marc Blitzstein for narrator, vocal soloists, male chorus, and large orchestra that premiered April 1–2, 1946. A history of human flight, the symphony uses music that the United States Army Air Forces, in which Blitzstein served during the World War II, originally commissioned for use in film.

History

Marc Blitzstein began the war as a member of the U.S. Eighth Army Air Force's film division in London, England, working as a composer, scriptwriter, and translator. He was chosen to score a film on the history of aviation through his promotion to corporal in January 1943. Blitzstein also began work on the orchestral poem _Freedom Morning_ that summer for eventual performance in the Royal Albert Hall.

Work on the _Airborne_ score continued into 1944, with Blitzstein providing other services to the U.S. Army. By mid-1944, he had been promoted to sergeant and became music director of the American Broadcasting Service. The original film project did not come to fruition and Blitzstein, who composed his score for a large orchestra and male chorus, did not have the needed manpower for a wartime concert.

Blitzstein returned to the United States in May 1945. His score of _The Airborne_ had been lost en route from England, but he was able to play sections of the work on piano for conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein enthusiastically arranged its premiere for April 1946 and Blitzstein rewrote the score from memory. The original score was recovered, but Blitzstein preferred the newer version.

Structure

_The Airborne Symphony,_ while having symphonic elements, models itself largely after the choral cantata. The symphony is divided into three parts, with each part divided into subtitled sections. _The Airborne_ is a highly dramatic work that connects the birth of flight with the role of airplanes in modern warfare:

-   PART ONE
    -   The Theory of Flight
    -   Ballad of History and Mythology
    -   Kittyhawk
    -   The Airborne
-   PART TWO
    -   The Enemy
    -   Threat and Approach
    -   Ballad of the Cities
    -   Morning Poem
-   PART THREE
    -   Air Force: Ballad of Hurry-Up
    -   Night Music: Ballad of the Bombardier
    -   Recitative: Chorus of the Rendezvous
    -   The Open Sky (Finale)

As expected, the narrator holds a primary role in advancing the symphony's plot. The soloists and chorus provide commentary on the action. The symphony is comparable to works by Dmitri Shostakovich, American counterpart Samuel Barber, and the earlier works of Igor Stravinsky. Blitzstein, who subscribed to the artistic principles of socialist realism, wrote in a conservative style that was understandable on first hearing.

Premiere

Presenting the history of human flight, _The Airborne Symphony_ was first performed April 1–2, 1946, at New York City Center by the New York City Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. Orson Welles was narrator; Charles Holland was tenor soloist and Walter Scheff was baritone soloist, with the male section of the Collegiate Chorale led by Robert Shaw. The work was officially dedicated to the Eighth Air Force.[1][2]

Reception

_The New York Times_ reported that the audience received _The Airborne Symphony_ with enthusiasm at its world premiere, and called the performance “remarkably sure, brilliant and dramatically eloquent.”[3] Since then, the work has been rarely performed, owing to its massive orchestral forces, topicality, and lack of standing with musicologists. _The Airborne Symphony_ has passages of stunning musicality, but is also judged as a work of brazen propaganda with limited performing value in modern times.

Leonard Bernstein has been the symphony's best-known disciple, performing and recording the work in 1946 and 1966.

Recordings

_The Airborne Symphony_ was recorded in 1946, with Bernstein conducting the New York City Symphony Orchestra and Robert Shaw as narrator. Its releases include Pearl's 1998 CD _Marc Blitzstein: Musical Theatre Premières_ (GEMS 1009).[4]

Bernstein recorded the work with the New York Philharmonic in 1966, with Welles as narrator, tenor Andrea Velis as soloist, and William Jonson conducting the Choral Art Society. It was released as an LP in 1976 by Columbia Masterworks,[5] and on CD in 2000 by Sony Classical.[6]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

title: The Airborne Symphony

question: Summarize the structure of the symphony.

answer: The Airborne Symphony is divided into three parts with each part further divided into subtitled sections. Part one consists of the theory of flight, ballad of history and mythology, Kittyhawk, and the airborne. The second part includes the enemy, threat and approach, ballad of the cities, and morning poem. The last part consists of the air force, night music, recitative, and the open sky (finale).

question: Summarize Blitzstein's time in the U.S. Air Force.

answer: Blitzstein was a member of the U.S. Eighth Army Air Force's film division in London. He worked as a composer, scriptwriter, and translator. Through his promotion to corporal, he was chosen to score a film on the history of aviation. By 1944, Blitzstein was promoted to sergeant and became a music director of the American Broadcasting Service. He returned to the United States in May 1945.

question: According to the text, explain why Blitzstein joined the Army.

question: Summarize the feedback The Airborne Symphony received.

answer: According to The New York Times, the audience received The Airborne Symphony with enthusiasm. They called the performance "remarkably sure, brilliant and dramatically eloquent." The symphony has rarely been performed since its premiere owing to its orchestral forces, topicality, and lack of standing with musicologists.


text:
__NOTOC__

_WILDLIFE_ is the second collaboration between Anthony Phillips and Joji Hirota. The album is culled from recordings made between 1994 and 2000 when Anthony and Joji collaborated on a number of soundtracks for wildlife television programmes in the British _Survival_ series. In addition, Anthony also wrote and recorded the music for a programme in the BBC series _Natural World_.

_Wildlife_ features selections from the music for the programmes _Creatures of the Magic Water_ (tracks 1-6), _Secrets of the Amazon_ (tracks 7-11), _Jaguar: Eater of Souls_ (tracks 12-13), _Serengeti Jigsaw_ (tracks 14-15), _Web of the Spider Monkey_ (track 16), _Dungeons & Dragons_ (tracks 17-22), _Secrets of a Norfolk Wood_ (tracks 23-25), _Bears of the Russian Front_ (tracks 26-30), _Gremlins: Faces in the Forest_ (track 31), _Jurassic Shark_ (tracks 32-38), and _Midway - Island of Life_ (tracks 39-45).

All programmes represented come from the _Survival_ series except “Midway - Island of Life” which comes from _Natural World_.

Several of the _Survival_ programmes were filmed by the late Nick Gordon and the sleeve notes for the album include Ant's specially written tribute to Nick.

_Wildlife_ was released in Japan by Disk Union on Arcangelo Records and by Voiceprint Records for the Rest of the World. The Japanese release was in a limited edition mini-vinyl sleeve.

Track listing

1.  “Creatures of the Magic Water - Opening Theme” (0:59)
2.  “Green Hell” (0:30)
3.  “Jaguar and the Terrapin” (0:49)
4.  “Flooded Forest” (1:59)
5.  “Hidden Shadow” (1:03)
6.  “River God” (1:35)
7.  “Secrets of the Amazon” (1:37)
8.  “Killing Grounds” (1:31)
9.  “River Dolphins” (1:09)
10. “Faces in the Forest” (0:44)
11. “Final Journey” (1:40)
12. “Onza - Eater of Souls” (1:46)
13. “Relentless Sun - in Half-Drowned Lands” (1:49)
14. “Serengeti Jigsaw - Opening Theme” (1:20)
15. “Massacre of the Termites” (1:20)
16. “Web of the Spider Monkey - Opening Theme” (2:32)
17. “Island of Stone” (2:37)
18. “Fireflies” (1:12)
19. “Courting Chameleons” (1:34)
20. “Rock Spires, Crocodile Caves” (1:21)
21. “Dusty Track” (0:43)
22. “Fathomless Caverns” (2:15)
23. “Storm Breaks” (1:35)
24. “Morning Call” (0:47)
25. “Autumn Dusk” (0:52)
26. “Bears of Kamchatka - Opening Theme” (0:56)
27. “In the Tundra” (0:43)
28. “Across the Frozen Wastes” (3:12)
29. “Nighthunt” (0:54)
30. “Cubs” (1:35)
31. “Mother of the Moon” (1:59)
32. “Jurassic Shark - Opening Theme” (1:41)
33. “Ray's Song” (1:28)
34. “Voyage of the Whale Shark” (2:33)
35. “Megalodon” (0:58)
36. “The Only Good Shark is a Dead One” (0:50)
37. “Back Through Time - Under The Ocean” (2:10)
38. “Jurassic Shark - Closing Theme” (0:38)
39. “Midway: Island of Life - Opening Theme” (2:09)
40. “Dolphins at Play” (1:57)
41. “Dolphins, Seals & Rays” (1:34)
42. “Mysteries of the Wreck” (1:37)
43. “Sunset Flight” (1:14)
44. “Fight to the Death” (2:14)
45. “From the Jaws of Death - Touching the Face of God” (3:08)

Personnel

-   Anthony Phillips - Keyboards, guitars
-   Joji Hirota - Assorted percussion & flutes, recorder, shakuhachi
-   Martin Robertson - Soprano saxophone on tracks 12 & 13
-   Laura Melluish - Violin on track 43
-   Produced by Anthony Phillips and Joji Hirota
-   Graphic design by GRDD
-   Cover photography by Dirk Smorgasbord

Category:2008 albums Category:Anthony Phillips albums Category:Collaborative albums

title: Wildlife (Anthony Phillips and Joji Hirota album)

question: Summarize the major influences for this album.


text:
STEPHEN HENRY WEYMAN (November 20, 1922 – June 10, 1997) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1966 to 1967 as member of the Liberal party.[1][2]

[1]

[2] http://news-archive.mcgill.ca/w97/memoriam.htm

title: Stephen Weyman

question: How old was Stephen Henry Weyman when he died?

answer: He died in 1997. He was born in 1922. His birthday hadn't yet arrived on the year of his death. So, he was 74 years old when he died.

question: What was his job?

answer: He's alleged to be a politician. However, there's only a year of work mentioned in the article.

question: What other political activities did he partake in apart from serving in the Legislative Assembly for a year?

answer: The article only mentions that one year.

question: What causes or aims did he stand in favor of?

answer: We don't know, the article is too brief.

question: Write a ~0 sentence summary.


text:
S P Mahantesh, whose condition turned critical yesterday, died following a cardiac arrest, hospital sources said.

"Mahantesh heart stopped at 5.30 am.

We tried our best to revive him, but failed", a doctor, who refused to be named, said.

48-year-old Mahantesh, who suffered head injuries in the alleged attack by unidentified persons on May 15, had been on life support system since the last two days.

He was found unconscious near a hotel here while returning home in his car and shifted to the hospital after passerby noticed him and informed his family.

The KAS officer, known for his integrity, was working as Deputy Director of the Audit wing in the state's Cooperative department and had reported irregularities in different societies involving some officials and political figures.

Police have formed a special team to track down the culprits, but are so far clueless.

This is the second death of an official of the state government after an Assistant Conservator of Forest, Madan Naik, who was assaulted by a group of tourists at Dandeli in Uttara Kannada district on May 6.

Naik was attacked when he objected to the tourists feeding crocodiles at a private resort.

The government has ordered CID probe into Naik's death and the police have arrested six persons in this connection.

[] Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor

question: Approximately when was the article written?

answer: The postamble references Covid-19, so it must have been written in either 2020 or 2021

question: What was the cause of death?

answer: Cardiac arrest following an attack which resulted in head injuries

question: How old was the victim?

answer: 48 years old

question: When did the victim die?

answer: 5:30 am

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: S P Mahantesh has died from cardiac arrest after being attacked and suffering head injuries.


text:
_From the FanPosts -Joel_

Over the last day or two, a fan shot by JayhawksNChiefs and a fan post by juvatbull have sought to prove statistically that certain ideas about Alex Smith's play, particularly the comparisons to Matt Cassel, are demonstrably false. I think they proved rather definitively that Smith is a far more efficient quarterback than Cassel, but at the end of his post, juvatbull made the following statement:

  Alex Smith's future looks bright--at least as bright as Joe Flacco's.

Now, this type of statement makes my brow furrow, my eyes squint, and my brain say, "I wonder." After all, I have not been a fan of the trade for Smith. I preferred a simpler, more Maddenesque solution to the problem at quarterback. Andy Reid and John Dorsey did not consult me on this, however, and now we have Alex Smith. But, is he as good as Flacco? That's the question.

My problem with Alex Smith, is primarily that his numbers are inflated by very selective application of his skills in practical situations. In other words, his stats are only as good as they are because Harbaugh used him only in situations that he had a very good chance to be successful. That, if asked to pass more, his efficiency would be significantly worse than they have been over the last two seasons.

So, here was the basis of my meta-analysis of the stats of these two quarterbacks. First, I am only looking at the 24 games encompassing the regular season of 2011 and the first 8 games of 2012. This might make my analysis seem like cherry picking; selective to Smith's best years. As the data will show, though, this doesn't really matter, a point I will come back to later. Regardless, there is enough data from these games to form a basis for comparison.

I then broke down the quarterback ratings by either quarterbacks average number of attempts per game. The idea being, if we compare either players' games by the number of passes they attempted, it will tell us how efficient Alex Smith would be if he had a Joe Flacco work load and vice-versa. So my demarcations are 27 attempts per game and 34 attempts per game, Smith and Flacco's averages respectively.

Here is the result of my analysis (note that ratings for >27 pass attempts also include data from games with >34 pass attempts):

Smith:

Rating in games with <27 attempts: 109.4 (13 games)

Rating in games with >27 attempts: 81.8 (11 games)

Rating in games with >34 attempts: 75.0 (3 games)

Flacco:

Rating in games with <27 attempts: 88.9 (8 games)

Rating in games with >27 attempts: 76.9 (16 games)

Rating in games with >34 attempts: 73.3 (10 games)

Cassel:

Rating in games with <27 attempts: 103.2 (6 games)

Rating in games with >27 attempts: 92.6 (18 games)

Rating in games with >34 attempts: 94.5 (7 games)

From these breakdowns, it's clear that both quarterbacks are more efficient when they have fewer attempts in a game. When they pass more than 34 times in a game, both quarterbacks are significantly less efficient and, I would say, about equal in their relative efficiency at that level. When demarcating games by Smith's average of 27 passes per game, we likewise see greater efficiency as the number of attempts go down, and less efficiency as the numbers go up. Smith as compared to Flacco, is consistently more efficient regardless of the number of attempts, but has a far more precipitous decline when he exceeds his average of 27 passes per game. Flacco, though not as efficient overall, is more steady in his efficiency as his attempts increase.

With these data, I believe my initial belief, that Smith's extraordinary efficiency is a product of a highly-selective coach is true. In another circumstance, particularly one where he is expected to pass more, we would expect him to be significantly less-efficient. However, even in so doing, he would still be at a reasonably average-to-above-average level of efficiency. As such, I think juvatbull's claim that Smith's future is at least as bright as Flacco's is not only reasonable, it may even be understated a bit.

More to the point, though, there lies a significant question that has been asked multiple times since Alex Smith was traded for: Can Alex Smith lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl? If Flacco can quarterback a Superbowl winning team, why shouldn't Smith also be able?

There were two other arguments against Alex Smith that I will bring up: his 3rd-down conversion percentage, and his performance before Harbaugh. Taking the second first, the reason why I didn't include previous data is I believe a game by game analysis will substantiate the above findings, that Smith's efficiency was hindered by the number of throws he was forced to make. While the assertion of JayhawksNChiefs and juvatbull, that Smith's stats trend up over the course of his career, is absolutely correct, we don't have to defend Smith on the basis of him improving over that time. He wasn't as bad as those stats suggest, even from the beginning, and has improved steadily in his performance over that time. His older numbers were as deflated as his recent numbers are inflated.

As far as the 3rd down efficiency percentage, an article from Inside the 49ers by PressDemocrat.com does a good job of comparing Smith to Flacco. While ostensibly it seems to suggest that Flacco is the much better quarterback on 3rd down, what's important to note about the article, is that it was written a year ago... a year before Joe Flacco both won the Super Bowl and had the _lowest 3rd-down efficiency percentage of his career, ranking 21st in the NFL._

Before I started doing this analysis, I was a doubter. Even now I wouldn't necessarily identify myself as a Smith Fan; not until he starts playing here up to his potential. But, what I have proven to my own satisfaction is that Smith is probably about middle-third NFL quarterback. How he performs this year will be tied to how much he is expected to throw. My prediction is his quarterback rating will be about 100 if he averages 25 attempts per game or less, and will drop by about 15 for every 5 more passes he averages above that. And ultimately, if he remains healthy, he can lead our team to a Super Bowl and win it.

AUTHOR'S EDIT:

I have added some numbers for Matt Cassel for comparison. What is important to note about these stats for Cassel: They are 15 games from Cassel's best season (2010) and 9 games from his second best season (2008). Also important to note is that in these games Cassel was playing in two different systems. The first group he was playing under Todd Haley/Charlie Weis, the second group he was playing under Belichick. All but one of the games he threw over 34 attempts were from the latter group.

Edit #2: just realized I messed the subtitle up.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.

question: When was the article written?

answer: Sometime after 2012

question: What sport is the article about?

answer: (American) Football

question: What player is the author focused on?

answer: Alex Smith

question: What is the author's main problem with Smith?

answer: The author feels that Smith was only used in situations with a high chance of success, inflating his stats

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The author criticizes Alex Smith, a football player, by claiming his stats are inflated.


text: She showed up abrupt and unexpected in the early afternoon.  She was distraught and I was groggy and it was awkward.  She told me things I didn't want to know and when I told her I didn't want to know them she cried.  I made a drink for each of us and she refused hers but I was happy to have mine.  Some of the things she told me were my fault but not all of them.  I felt guilty and annoyed and guilty that I felt annoyed.  She noticed and I noticed but we both pretended that we hadn't.  After a while I ran out of things to say so I stopped talking and she started crying again.  I wanted to console her but I couldn't so I stared at the floor and waited for her to leave.  This made her angry and she left and I was left with myself.

title: A Story About a Girl part 2

question: What is their relationship to each other?

answer: Unclear.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: A girl shows up at the narrator's house. Their conversation makes the narrator feel guilty and annoyed and the girl cries. Eventually the narrator runs out of things to say which upsets the girl so she leaves.


text:
"And I saw he was afraid, but not as much as if I had not been there" ->Harlan Ellison<-

The handles on the backs of the seats kind of suck up the comfort. You first see her sitting three rows ahead, in the opposite aisle. Her type is rare here, especially alone.  Blonde, slender, frail and quite. You would like very much to speak with her. Nothing creepy, but it's been a while since you've talked with someone who wasn't a crack head or strung out or family. Touching, that's far out of the question.

A rest stop comes soon. Very scenic, McDonald's parking lot, highway crossroads. Brown tinted gold in all directions. Drone sounds, and slight hills. Just the kind of nowhere place you've become accustomed to; you and your little red bag, with everything you need, freshly restocked with ketchup and sugar packets, honey and whatnot. Bits of crayon, business cards, scraps of paper, emergency candy bars and a notebook. This notebook, which you have in your hand, and fill with all you can pass through. Maybe somebody shall see, but it's unlikely. You also draw, scratch out scenes, nothing of great importance, except maybe to you. They unlock something that usually lives under heavy key.

And that girl is out and about, alone. Conversation is out of the question, but a piece is saved on your tiny page. A simple composition: parking barriers in their concrete dotted-line merge with car hood, boxy and blue, pulled forward to the limit, while a pale green branch twists a lonely way up, as the girl stands underneath, unencumbered, turned slightly away, admiring the wild grass hills with reverence most often reserved for Fuji, or the Louvre.  And as like, you see her composition.

Seeing surprisingly few cars and hearing even less, though they're there. Just because something is there you don't see or hear it, just ask pedestrian casualties. You find the scene has shifted, with hunching lines wrapped around, keeping warmth close to home. Fellow passengers begin to exit, some with big white bags, leopard print grease spots, many with large plastic cups. Each handful equal to a week of change that you yourself give for food. You find first-world self-imposed hunger to be quite a joy, at times. Henry David said it best you think, not sure what it is.

"Some View." You speak in horrid tones. Her words make no impression, but just because there is no record doesn't erase the facts. The beach is a favorite. Her sounds are not made by those on this shore, and she's come a long way by dubious means to be in this concrete stamp. There are past friends in the future.

It takes quite a lot of radiation to bring you along. Mass and gravity. Once it's begun; inevitable. You drop your pack in a square room, with table and chair, couch and tv, broken mirror and the beginning of christmas lights, her old classmates and exchange program vets, introduction and pot. And a couch, maybe more. You have no problem taking what's given, and road kill is godsend.

Your mind reels. Potent stuff, and a night of bonding complete. No rejection; absorption. Standing on concrete, you watch lights play out over the hills. Squadrons, paramilitary air support looking back through sights; it's possible. This view interests those new friends of yours, wavelengths mesh, and you begin to believe in yourself, how you've found it: belongings.

You sit in a room with them all, not all, but many. Remaining in one place, more or less, with powers and responsibilities of a low but noticeable magnitude. Tenuous roots embed, expand. A schedule of sorts, time meaning something besides departure. Love?

And you are surrounded, suspended on nothing, no base, no lid, wide open, a part of the scene, and you are engulfed. Flesh-body-soul enter those around you, the choice bits going to the blonde who brought you in, and nothing remains but contentedness.

title: The Traveler

question: Is the character traveling somewhere?

answer: Information not found.

question: Is the character going to fall in love with the girl on the bus?

answer: Information not found.

question: Will they get off at the same station?

answer: Information not found.

question: Is the character homeless?

answer: Information not found.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator describes a character that is traveling and his attention is grabbed by this blonde girl that is also there.


text:
								                                  Sept  1996

    Hi Dad,

    Grandma made Champorado for us again! I don’t know what’s in it but
    there’s chocolate! Grandma would tell me to eat it with this small dried
    fish thing. I think it’s weird and too salty! But her food is still
    good. Anyways, it’s kind of boring here at Grandma's because there are
    no toys to play with and it smells different from our house. I hate
    taking naps here. Grandma would get mad when TJ and I don’t sleep in the
    afternoon. She said I won’t grow tall if I don’t sleep. Is that true?
    What if I sleep the whole day... will I be as tall as you?

    You know dad, I see your car parked outside the apartment on those days
    when you don't visit us. Are you living here too? Why don't you stay with
    us instead? I’m sure there’s enough room for you here.
    I’ll sleep on the couch or on the floor everyday if I have to just
    so you can stay here. How come you will only visit when mom is
    not around? Are you not allowed to come visit us? Don’t worry. I can
    keep a secret. I won’t tell.

    I hope you can come back and live with us again soon. It gets boring
    when you’re not around and I always get sad when I see you leave. You’re
    a good dad to us and I love you. I miss eating the food you cook for us.

								                                  Love,
								                                  Allie

title: [NF] Letters from Allie Pt.2

question: Why is the narrator bored at Grandma's house?

answer: Because there are no toys to play with

question: What does Grandma claim will happen if Allie and TJ don't sleep?

answer: She says they will not grow tall.

question: What is Allie asking her Dad in a letter addressed to him?

answer: She asks him why he can't stay with them and why he only visits when mom is not around.

question: Explain why Allie wants her Dad to come live with them again.

answer: She says it gets boring without him and misses the food he cooks.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Allie writes a letter to her dad dated in September 1996, telling him what it's like living with Grandma. She asks why he can't live with them and why he only visits when mom is not around. She concludes the letter saying it gets boring without him and that she misses his cooking.


text:
[Peninsula Jewish Community Center. Foster City, CA]

Peninsula Jewish Community Center’s Gan Tzedek (Justice Garden). Foster City, CA

Our nation is enslaved to an industrial food system that is making us sick and fat. It abuses workers (with many cases of modern day slavery), is inhumane to animals, pollutes our drinking water with manure and pesticides, and contributes to climate change. Eating is a religious act. These foods do not reflect Jewish values of humane treatment of animals, workers rights, protecting the environment and human health.

This Passover, we can liberate ourselves from this system by supporting farmers that grow food more sustainably. Below is a list of suggestions for your seder and throughout the year. _There’s so much more that can be done, so please share your ideas in the comments section, at the bottom of the post. _

[Mr. Ha's. La Cienega Farmers Market. Los Angeles]

Mr. Ha’s eggs. La Cienega Farmers Market. Los Angeles

BEITZAH (HARD BOILED EGG)
*_Choose happy chicken eggs._
Choose eggs from chickens that are raised humanely (feathers not removed, not de-beaked, have plenty of space, spend time outside and eat a natural diet). Yes, the myriad of egg carton labels are confusing, so the Humane Society of the US provides a great explanation page for consumers. The highest animal welfare standard for eggs is offered by Animal Welfare Approved,which includes a list of certified providers by zip code.

WINE
_*Go organic.
_Farm workers are the backbone of our nation’s food industry, toiling under dangerous conditions for meager pay and exempt from many of the nation’s labor laws. Farm workers–including those harvesting grapes–their families and nearby communities are exposed to pesticides, putting them at risk for short and long-term health effects.  Hazon offers a list of certified organic, kosher for Passover wines.

GEFILTE FISH
_*Choose ocean-friendly fish_
Fish populations worldwide are under severe threat because of industrial fishing. “90% of the world’s fisheries fully fished or in decline,” according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Serving sustainable fish is a great way to protect threatened fish stocks and support fisherman catching environmentally-friendly fish. The Seafood Guide has all of the answers for what fish to buy and eat,including which Whitefish and Carp for your gefilte fish. And, if you don’t want to make your own, check out the Gefilteria’s artisanal, Brooklyn-made gefilte fish.

[La Cienega Farmers Market]

Red leaf lettuce. La Cienega Farmers Market, Los Angeles

MAROR, CHAZERET, AND KARPAS (HORSERADISH, GREENS, VEGETABLES)
*_Buy produce from a local farmer. _
Knowing who and how your produce is grown is a huge step in ensuring that you are buying from a small, sustainable farmer. Small local farmers are integral to your community food system: their farms save open space, ensure continuity of family-owned farms and provide delicious, produce grown with more environmentally-friendly techniques.

ZROA (ROASTED SHANK BONE)
*_Opt for a roasted beet
_Worldwide, 77 billion animalsare raised annually for food, generally under inhumane conditions that violates tza’ar ba’alei chayim (the Talmudic law preventing cruelty to animals). Raising livestock contributes more greenhouse gas emissions globally than transportation.And it takes a whopping 2,000 gallons of water to raise a pound of beef.  Opting for a vegetarian seder is easy. And, replacing a shank bone with a roasted beet is common amongst vegetarians and “the Talmud mentions beets as one of the vegetables sometimes dipped during the seder.” If fully eliminating meat is too drastic, become a “reducetarian”or go Meatless Monday.

[Underwood Family Farms, Culver City Farmers Market]

Beets. Underwood Family Farms, Culver City Farmers Market

_*OR choose s__ustainably-raised meat_
If you do prefer to eat meat, buy sustainably-raised meat. Such animals are raised in natural and normal environments on small farms: grass-fed, humanely raised on pastures.  In addition to using these standards, Robariah Farms, Wise Organic Pastures, Kol Foods, and Grow and Behold are certified kosher, too.

HAROSET (“BRICKS AND MORTAR” MIXTURE)
_*Support your local beekeeper_
Honeybees pollinate every third bite of food we eat, amounting to$19 billion in US crops annually.Bees are under threat and dying off from Colony Collapse Disorder, (CCD)threatening crop yields. CCD is thought to be caused by climate change, pesticides, habitat loss and pests. Buying local honey for your haroset supports farmers and beekeepers who are protecting critical wild honeybee populations.

[Twin Springs Fruit Farm, Takoma Park, MD Farmers Market]

Twin Springs Fruit Farm, Takoma Park, MD Farmers Market

_*Choose organic apples
_Apples are rated #1 for pesticide residue on Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list. If you’re choosing just a few organic produce items for the holiday, apples should be at the top of your list.  Pesticides are a toxin used to kill bugs and other plants that are invasive to crops. However, many pesticides toxicity extends beyond the fields to consumers and dangers include: “brain/nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone disruption, skin/eye/lung irritation.”

DAIRY
*_Choose organic, hormone-free dairy._
Forget the iconic images plastered on milk containers of rolling hills, red barns and frolicking dairy cows. Nearly 90% of all dairy cows raised in the US are done under inhumane conditions, where they are crammed into indoor pens, fed corn and pumped with rGBH (genetically engineered hormone to make them produce more milk).  Opt instead for dairy products from cows raised under humane conditions: on pasture, fed grains and without rGBH.

Pesach sameach!

question: What does the article say about how to choose foods aligned with Jewish values?

answer: One general principle is to choose sustainably produced food, be it vegetables, meat, or fish. Another is to buy from producers who are producing meat without causing any cruelty or suffering to animals. For wines, organic farmers are preferred. A specific label mentioned that helps is the "Animal Welfare Approved" sticker found on eggs.

question: What does the text say about halal food?


text:
 S Boutin-Forzano et al. Indoor Air. 2004 Jun.

Abstract

Because the indoor mold Stachybotrys chartarum has been considered as potentially responsible for serious health effects, its identification in dwellings with water damages is of utmost importance. As such dwellings are many, it would be of great value to have a simple and reliable index for predicting its presence. The aim of the study was to compare measurements of wall relative humidity (RH) to mold identification in 458 samples from 100 dwellings. Mold identification was performed by direct microscopic examination of a sample collected on the wall by the gummed paper technique. Mean (+/- s.d.) wall RH (%) was much higher (97.0 +/- 6.1) on the 30 samples where S. chartarum was identified compared with the 291 samples where other molds were identified (41.8 +/- 36.9) and to the 137 samples where no molds were identified (38.9 +/- 34.8). There was no straightforward relationship between wall and room RH. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrate that the simple measurement of wall RH can be used as a reliable index for discarding and suspecting S. chartarum infestation in dwellings.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper suggests that very high relative humidity (RH) within walls is a strong risk factor for their infestation with the 'toxic mold' Stachybotrys chartarum. Besides, data from the literature demonstrate that other molds are able to produce mycotoxins when RH is very high. Thus, measurement of wall RH, which is easy to perform and very cheap, could be used as a screening tool to select those dwellings where mold identification should be performed and remediation should be promptly carried out.

Similar articles

-   [Wall relative humidity: a simple and reliable index for predicting Stachybotrys chartarum infestation in dwellings].

    Charpin D, Boutin-Forzano S, Chabbi S, Dumon H, Charpin-Kadouch C. Charpin D, et al. Bull Acad Natl Med. 2005 Jan;189(1):43-51; discussion 52-4. Bull Acad Natl Med. 2005. PMID: 16119879 French.

-   Mycotoxin identification in moldy dwellings.

    Charpin-Kadouch C, Maurel G, Felipo R, Queralt J, Ramadour M, Dumon H, Garans M, Botta A, Charpin D. Charpin-Kadouch C, et al. J Appl Toxicol. 2006 Nov-Dec;26(6):475-9. doi: 10.1002/jat.1164. J Appl Toxicol. 2006. PMID: 17080403

-   Stachybotrys chartarum (chartarum = atra = alternans) and other problems caused by allergenic fungi.

    Chapman JA. Chapman JA. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2003 Jan-Feb;24(1):1-7. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2003. PMID: 12635571 Review.

-   Testing antimicrobial paint efficacy on gypsum wallboard contaminated with Stachybotrys chartarum.

    Menetrez MY, Foarde KK, Webber TD, Dean TR, Betancourt DA. Menetrez MY, et al. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2008 Feb;5(2):63-6. doi: 10.1080/15459620701778762. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2008. PMID: 18041646

-   Indoor mold, toxigenic fungi, and Stachybotrys chartarum: infectious disease perspective.

    Kuhn DM, Ghannoum MA. Kuhn DM, et al. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003 Jan;16(1):144-72. doi: 10.1128/cmr.16.1.144-172.2003. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003. PMID: 12525430 Free PMC article. Review.

Cited by _4_ _articles_

-   Cultivation and aerosolization of _Stachybotrys chartarum_ for modeling pulmonary inhalation exposure.

    Lemons AR, Croston TL, Goldsmith WT, Barnes MA, Jaderson MA, Park JH, McKinney W, Beezhold DH, Green BJ. Lemons AR, et al. Inhal Toxicol. 2019 Nov-Dec;31(13-14):446-456. doi: 10.1080/08958378.2019.1705939. Epub 2019 Dec 24. Inhal Toxicol. 2019. PMID: 31874574

-   Inhalation of _Stachybotrys chartarum_ Fragments Induces Pulmonary Arterial Remodeling.

    Croston TL, Lemons AR, Barnes MA, Goldsmith WT, Orandle MS, Nayak AP, Germolec DR, Green BJ, Beezhold DH. Croston TL, et al. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2020 May;62(5):563-576. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2019-0221OC. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2020. PMID: 31671270 Free PMC article.

-   Mechanisms of mycotoxin-induced neurotoxicity through oxidative stress-associated pathways.

    Doi K, Uetsuka K. Doi K, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2011;12(8):5213-37. doi: 10.3390/ijms12085213. Epub 2011 Aug 15. Int J Mol Sci. 2011. PMID: 21954354 Free PMC article. Review.

-   The influence of water activity and temperature on germination, growth and sporulation of Stachybotrys chartarum strains.

    Frazer S, Magan N, Aldred D. Frazer S, et al. Mycopathologia. 2011 Jul;172(1):17-23. doi: 10.1007/s11046-011-9394-x. Epub 2011 Feb 24. Mycopathologia. 2011. PMID: 21347692

LinkOut - more resources

-   Full Text Sources

    -   Ovid Technologies, Inc.
    -   Wiley

-   Medical

    -   MedlinePlus Health Information

question: Is the indoor mold Stachybotrys chartarum dangerous?

answer: It might be because it has serious health effects.

question: Can Stachybotrys chartarum infestation in dwellings be predicted?

answer: It is implied it could be because there is an article with the title 'Wall relative humidity: a simple and reliable index for predicting Stachybotrys chartarum infestation in dwellings'.

question: List possible health effects of the indoor mold Stachybotrys chartarum mentioned in the passage.

answer: It is implied it can cause pulmonary arterial remodeling as there is an article with the title 'Inhalation of _Stachybotrys chartarum_ Fragments Induces Pulmonary Arterial Remodeling' and it is implied it can cause allergy as there is an article 'Stachybotrys chartarum (chartarum = atra = alternans) and other problems caused by allergenic fungi.'.

question: How many similar articles have been cited?

answer: 5.


text:
The 407TH FORWARD SUPPORT BATTALION is part of the U.S. Army and based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The battalion was formed during World War I and has fought in many conflicts and has helped countries damaged by disasters since.

History

World War I

Originally designated the 407th Supply Train (Motor), the unit was activated on 5 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia as the country was building up for World War I. The unit was part of the 82d Infantry Division, which was assigned to the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France. The supply train served during the American offensive on the St. Mihiel Salient and during the severe fighting in the Argonne Forest.

After the Armistice, the unit was demobilized in 1919, and reorganized two years later in the organized reserves as the 82d Division Train, Quartermaster Corps. After several other changes in designation, the Supply Train finally received its present-day numerical designation as the 407th Quartermaster Regiment on 1 July 1936.

World War II

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 82d, along with the 407th, was called to active duty on 25 March 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. On 15 August of that same year, the 407th became the 407th Airborne Quartermaster Company. The 407th then supported the division in both Sicily and Italy.

When the division went into Normandy, the 407th arrived there with the glider forces and the seaborne forces. The 407th also participated in the glider assault into the Netherlands. For these two operations, the 407th is credited with two arrowheads (initial assault) on its battle streamers.

In the years after World War II, the 407th finally became a full battalion.

Post World War II

On 1 September 1957, the unit reorganized as the 407th Supply and Transportation Battalion. In this configuration, the 407th served in the Dominican Republic for Operation POWER PACK in Grenada for Operation URGENT FURY, in Panama for Operation Just Cause, and in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Post 1990

On 22 October 1993, the unit took its present-day form as the multi-functional 407th Forward Support Battalion. In this configuration, the unit provides all direct support logistical needs as part of the Division's 2d Brigade Task Force. During Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti, the 407th was ready to deploy with Task Force Falcon, only to be stood down at the last minute.

From January until September 2017, 407th Brigade Support Battalion (led by LTC Elizabeth H. Curtis) deployed to Kuwait and Iraq as a part of Task Force Falcon (led by COL J. Patrick Work) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. They played a critical role in the advise and assist efforts that led to the liberation of Mosul on 20 July 2017.

The soldiers of the 407th perform many tasks: pumping fuel from a forward area refueler, transporting critical ammunition, issuing food and supplies, fixing damaged vehicles, maintaining the brigade's weapons systems, issuing repair parts, or treating and evacuating casualties from the drop zone.

Past commanders

-   Lieutenant Colonel Ann E. Dunwoody
-   Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Mason
-   Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Rogers
-   Lieutenant Colonel William Hughes
-   Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Douville
-   Lieutenant Colonel F.D. (SAM) Samonte
-   Lieutenant Colonel Robert (Bob) Cursio, Jr.
-   Lieutenant Colonel Terry Juskowiak
-   Lieutenant Colonel James Jennings
-   Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Shatzkin
-   Lieutenant Colonel Shawn Schuldt
-   Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Bresko
-   Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth H. Curtis
-   Lieutenant Colonel Steven M. Dubuc
-   (Current) Lieutenant Colonel Charles M. Diggs

Coat of arms

The griffin (a composite of eagle and lion) symbolizes the coordinated campaign of the Allies. The five hills represent the liberation of the city of Nijmegen. The roundel, simulating a wheel, alludes to the Quartermaster and Transportation Corps. The parachute with its nine cords refers to the nine campaigns in which the parent unit participated during World Wars I and II. The colors commemorate the decorations awarded the 407th: red and green for the Belgian Fourragere, red for the Meritorious Unit Commendation and orange for the Netherlands Lanyard.

The two divisions of the shield are used to denote service during World Wars I and II. The fleurs-de-lis symbolize the original organization's action during World War I in Lorraine, Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argone, France. The rampant lion, suggested by the coat of arms of Belgium and the Netherlands, alludes to the former organization's drive during World War II to stem the invading enemy; and the wavy bar alludes to the wavy bend on the arms of Rhineland signifying the sweep through that province during the same campaign. The engrailed border represents a parachute and symbolizes that unit's service with the 82d Airborne Division.

title: 407th Forward Support Battalion

question: Summarize the historical event that marked the beginning of the 407th Forward Support Battalion.

answer: The 407th Forward Support Battalion was activated just as the US was beginning to enter into the first World War. The unit was assigned to the Western Front in France. During the war, they saw combat, and they disbanded briefly in 1919 only to reorganize two years later.

question: Describe what might have happened if the 407th Forward Support Battalion had not been active in World War II.


text:
JOHN SHELTON CURTISS (July 15, 1899 – December 27, 1983), was an American historian of Russia and historical scholar of old Yankee stock. Curtiss was a longtime professor of history at Duke University.

Early life and education

John Shelton Curtiss was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of prominent attorney, Harlow Clarke Curtiss and his socialite wife, Ethel (Mann) Curtiss. His maternal grandfather was Dr. Matthew D. Mann.

In 1921 Curtiss received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University, where he had been an oarsman on its undefeated crew team.

In 1925 he decided to do graduate work in history at Columbia University. His first published work appears to have been his 1933 article _Sloops of the Hudson, 1800-1850_.[1] He taught at Brooklyn College from 1933-1936 as well as at Columbia from 1934-1936. After teaching himself Russian as a graduate student, he made his first of many trips to the Soviet Union in 1934. He completed his Ph.D. in Russian history at Columbia in 1939.

Career

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1939, Curtiss was hired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be an archivist at his library at Hyde Park. Among Curtiss' responsibilities there was to oversee FDRs ship model collection.

After World War II began, Curtiss was called to Washington, D.C. along with other Slavic experts to do classified work in the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). After finishing his wartime work in 1945, he joined the history department at Duke University where he remained for the rest of his career. From 1946-1948, he was also a fellow of the Russian Institute at Columbia. In 1954 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Russian history.[2] In 1966 he was designated James B. Duke Professor of history.[3][4]

His work on debunking the _Protocols_

During World War II, in 1941 and 1942, while Jews were being, or about to be, exterminated by the Nazis in Europe, Curtiss published his 118-page monograph denying the truth and authenticity of the so-called _Protocols of the Elders of Zion_. It is to be noted that this was accomplished years before Norman Cohn had published his work on the subject, _Warrant for Genocide_ (1967). This work was endorsed by thirteen American historians, as attested to in the work's _Foreword_. The book concluded that the _Protocols of Zion_ are, “beyond doubt,” a “rank and pernicious forgery.”

Marriage and later life

John Shelton Curtiss married Edna Sutter on September 21, 1925, in Buffalo, New York. She died May 22, 1981, in Durham, North Carolina. They had two children, Anne Curtiss Fong and John Sutter Curtiss (1928-2015).[5] After his wife's death, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to live with his daughter and her family. He died December 27, 1983 in Honolulu.

Works

In 1940 Curtiss received the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize from the American Historical Association for _Church and State in Russia, 1900–1917_. 1 Curtiss also wrote _The Peasant in nineteenth-century Russia_ with Wayne S. Vucinich.

-   _Sloops of the Hudson, 1800-1850_, in New York History, vol. 14, no. 1, January 1933 p. 61-73, quarterly journal of the New York State Historical Association
-   _An Appraisal of the “Protocols of Zion”_, :(New York: Columbia University Press, 1942)
-   _Russian church and the Soviet state_ 1917-1950'' (1953)
-   _Russian revolutions of 1917_ (1957)
-   _Essays in Russian and Soviet History, in Honor of Geroid Tanquary Robinson_:(New York: Columbia Univ Press, 1963): (0-231-02521-1)
-   _Church and state in Russia_ (1965)
-   _Essays in Russian and Soviet history_ (1965)
-   _Russian Army under Nicholas I, 1825-1855_ (1965)
-   _Russian church and the Soviet state_ 1917-1950'' (1965)
-   _Peasant in nineteenth-century Russia_, edited by Wayne S. Vucinich, Contributors: John S. Curtiss [and others] (1968)
-   _Russia's Crimean War_ (1979)
-   _Russian revolutions of 1917_ (1982)

[1] _Sloops of the Hudson, 1800-1850_

[2] John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: All Fellows: C

[3] Historical News and Notices, The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Nov., 1966), pp. 572-581

[4] Curtiss, John Shelton, _The Russian Revolutions of 1917_, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1957, frontispiece note about the author

[5]

title: John Shelton Curtiss

question: What John Shelton Curtis work was ahead of its time?

answer: His 118-page monograph denied the truth of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". The book was endorsed by 13 American historians. It was published 25 years before the Norman Cohn book on the same subject was published in 1967. The book concluded that the "Protocols of Zion" was a forgery

question: What is the "Protocols of Zion" about?


text:
##This is something that I maybe spent 2-3 hours on,(at work messing around) that I would love to continue.  I just would like a little critique, or just to see if anyone likes it. It is nowhere near a complete work, let alone even a partial work. Military members encouraged to chime in.

Disturbed by an explosion, while looking over his units’ Tactical Maps on his operations laptop, 2nd Lieutenant John Fres jumped to his feet.  He grabbed his M416 assault rifle. He pulled his shirt on and checked the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded, grabbing his rucksack before heading out of his tent.  Within seconds of exiting the tent, Fres gauged his surroundings and bound for his closest subordinate, Sergeant Heckinridge. The sun was just beginning to hit its’ peak for the day, and the air around FOB Milo was getting hotter.

“Sergeant, what have you got for me?!” he yelled, as the shrill whistling sound of mortars permeated the air. “Sir, we have indirect fire incoming.” The Sergeant responded

“Get command on the horn and give them our sitrep.” Heckinridge motioned for his RTO, PFC. James Courage, and replied, “Yes, sir!”

As Fres was waiting for Heckinridge, another shell connected with the ground 50 feet from their location.  Being hunkered down in the trench the only danger they were in was that of sand spray from the blast.  Another of Fres’ men, Specialist Carl Nimby, bound over. “Sir, we have reason to believe that this indirect fire is coming from our west.” he informed Lt. Fres. Fres turned to Nimby, “Have we got eyes on, Corporal?”

“No, sir.” he replied, “We have Richter, Perez and myself sighting it out.”

Another pop, another mortar hit, and Fres ducked his head from the sand blast, waving Nimby off, “Go rejoin them and ping Heckinridge when you have a location.”

 Heckinridge turns to Courage, and grabs the receiver, “AA, this is A-1.”

“AA, copy” The tell tale clacking of rifle fire penetrated the air, and bullets whizzed overhead as Heckinridge responded, “Taking indirect fire, how copy?”

“Have a visual?” came the reply. “Negative.” Silence for a moment and then, “A-1, establish visual, send coordinates. AA Out.” The transmission ended with Fres, and Heckinridge awaiting word from their scouts.

Sergeant Richter and PFC. Perez moved along the trenches towards the sound of the mortar fire. The ground was hard and rough, from the hot sun that scorches the desert. As they walked, dust kicked up behind them and covered their fatigues.

title: Could use a critique. [Military]

question: What war is this?

answer: Somewhere in the desert. Perhaps the Middle East.

question: Write a ~9 sentence summary.

answer:
Disturbed by an explosion, 2nd Lieutenant John Fres jumps to his feet. He grabs his M416 assault rifle and heads out of his tent. Sergeant Heckinridge tells him they have an indirect incoming fire. Fres tells him to call in their sitrep. Fres, and Heckinridge await word from their scouts.

Sergeant Richter and PFC. Perez moved along the trenches towards the sound of the mortar fire. The ground was hard and rough, from the hot sun that scorches the desert. As they walked, dust kicked up behind them and covered their fatigues.


text:
EDGAR PRECA is the husband of the 9th President of the Republic of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, and hence First Gentleman of Malta, making him the first person to hold the male title.

Early life and career

Preca worked at Air Malta for 34 years until he retired from work in 2012 to help his wife in her campaign for president.[1][2]

Personal life

Preca met Marie-Louise in 2002 after they were introduced by a mutual friend at the General Workers' Union cafeteria in Valletta. Despite receiving her phone number, Preca later said he was too shy to call her and they would not speak again until four years later, 2006, when they bumped into each other at the same cafeteria. They began dating and married 18 months later.[3]

As First Gentleman

Preca became First Gentleman in April 2014 when his wife assumed the office of president. Even though Marie Louise is the second woman to serve as president of Malta, Preca is the first male spouse of a Maltese president and thus the first to hold the title First Gentleman. Agatha Barbara, who was Malta's first female president from 1982 until 1987, was never married.

Upon becoming First Gentleman, Preca also became the chairman of the Malta Community Chest Fund, which is a charitable non-governmental institution aimed to help philanthropic institutions and individuals. He also visited other countries on behalf of the Maltese government, including a three-day visit to Algeria in January 2016.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Edgar Preca

question: When was Preca born?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Where did Preca work before his wife's presidential campaign?

answer: Air Malta

question: How did Preca meet his wife?

answer: They were introduced by a mutual friend at a cafeteria in 2002, but they didn't start dating until they met again in the same cafeteria four years later

question: Who is Preca's wife?

answer: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the 9th President of the Republic of Malta

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Edgar Preca is the husband of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the 9th President of the Republic of Malta. He is the first person to hold the title of First Gentleman of Malta.


text:
She knew the day would not go her way from the sounds stirring up out of the garage. A few dings, a couple of bangs, that was typical. Not like this. This sounded like something gone wrong. Kat pushed up off the couch, wandered her way to the door connecting the house to the garage, and leaned in the frame of it.

There was Vincis, standing in front of a car; its hood was up and he was staring into it’s guts as if it had verbally accosted him, as if it had offended him, personally.

Kat frowned just a bit. She didn’t know who the car belonged to, but she did know it was some high roller, someone who could possibly make Vincis’ day a little less pleasant, if he so felt like it. And why not, right? Why not heap more issues on a guy that was already so high strung, they could use him for the telegraph?

Quietly, she stepped into the garage - but not quietly enough. This was, after all, Vincis’ domain, and nothing happened in here without his knowledge. She got about halfway to him when he turned his head, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Impossibly bright and blue, eyes he got from his father, much to his dismay.

“H-Hey,” he said, a hint of a smile trying to make it across his features. It didn’t quite make it, but she noticed the attempt. It was enough in her book. “I’m s-sorry. Was I m-making t-too much noise?”

She smiled at him, shaking her head. “Nah, not too much.” Soon she was right beside him, and neatly checked him with her hip. “What are you working on?” And instantly, she could see the way Vincis’ features, which had just started to relax, tighten up again. He turned back forward, gesturing with his hand to the car before them, lips dipping into a frown.

“I c-can’t figure out wh-what’s wrong with it. I’ve tried everyth-thing.” Here, he reached up, running his hand through his hair - something Kat knew he only did, especially with greasy hands, when he was truly upset. Vincis tended to view cars as puzzles - and if he couldn’t fix one….well.

This was his talent. If he were incapable of fixing a car, he generally thought it to mean that he was incapable of performing and from there, things just went downhill. It was the little things that always bothered Vincis, not the big things. Launch an idea at him that might terrify another man, and he handled it like a champ. Give him a car he couldn’t fix?

He tended to take that poorly. Add in the fact that the car happened to belong to some big-wig, and Kat was pretty sure that all was not well upstairs.

The slim, delicate line of her hand reached out, long fingers coiling around his bicep. “How long do you have?” she asked, the dark line of her brow arching.

“Until the end of the w-week.”

And with that, she smiled. “You’ve got plenty of time, baby. You’re the best mechanic in town - you’ll figure it out.”

“But w-what if I’m not the b-best mechanic in town?” he suddenly snapped - and if his flinch was any sign, a little harder than he meant to. Kat wasn’t so much as phased, though.  She just smiled at him, that same lazy, easy smile, the one that had charmed his socks off from the start.

“Well, he doesn’t know that, now does he?” she asked. “And he can damn well wait, just like any other person can.” Vincis’ features crumpled a bit, looking from her to the car.

“I…I j-just don’t w-want to be a s-screwup. N-not in my w-work and…and n-not w-with you,” he muttered, gaze shifting downwards - only to be pulled around when she took his chin, turning his face to her.

“Hey…Vincis, I don’t love you because of the parts of you that I like.”

Briefly, the red-head looked completely, utterly baffled, totally not understanding just what the hell that was supposed to mean.

The ex-prostitute clarified it for him: “I love you for the parts about you I don’t like.”

title: [Short Story][Fiction] Flawed - 707 words

question: Why is Vincis upset?

answer: He's upset because he can't figure out what is wrong with the car that he is trying to fix. He understands cars very well and not knowing what to do unsettles him. It is his talent so if he fails here he feels like a failure. It's the little things that bother Vincis. He can handle the big things in life. To make matters worse the car belongs to someone who can make things uncomfortable for Vincis.

question: Why does Vincis think Kat has come into his garage?

answer: He thinks that Kat has been disturbed by the noise he is making and has come into the workshop to ask him to tone down the noise

question: Explain the circumstance in which Vincis met Kat

question: How does Kat know that Vincis has some kind of problem?

answer: Kat has become accustomed to the regular noises that come from the garage. The noises that she hears coming from the garage today are quite different from the normal runoff things.


text:
The boat was being thrashed about in the storm when I heard the singing.  I slipped and scrambled over to Marcus, that old cheapskate, and grabbed him by his ratty red scarf.

"You have to throw this over to them!"  I stopped his question with my hand as a wave crashed over us.  In a brief moment of silence, he heard it.

"Why? Why?"  He moaned.  We grabbed at each other as the boat rolled.

"You cheap bastard!  Do you want to die?  Throw it out as a tip!"  I pushed him toward the railing.

He flung it out.

title: They lived to tell the tale.

question: What is the narrator's relationship to Marcus?

answer: It's not clear, but the narrator is bothered with Marcus.

question: Does this story have an antagonist?

answer: It's not clear, but the narrator doesn't seem fond of Marcus in this story.

question: Are there any lessons learned by the characters?

answer: It doesn't seem there are any lessons learned, but Marcus eventually throws out something as a tip after refusing.

question: Where is the setting?

answer: The setting is a boat on a storm

question: Who says "You cheap bastard!"?

answer: The narrator.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Marcus and the narrator are on a boat in a storm. They're arguing about throwing something to an unspecified group as a tip. Marcus eventually flings it out.