text:
Where am I? I don’t think I’m home; all I see is black with little outline of furniture. Ok, lets think about last night, where was I? Fuck, I don’t remember! Ok, What’s the last thing I remember? Driving to the bar I think. Fuck. I don’t even know that or what time it is, better check my phone. Shit! It’s not here.

(RING,RING,RING)

My phone! It’s on the table over there.
“Hello?” No response
“Hello?”
“Turn Around”
“What?” With shakiness in his voice.
“Turn Around” said with a harsh tone, almost a yell.
The man slowly moved his head to see behind him. There was rope hanging from a wooden banister, which was now visible in the phone light. The end of the rope was tied in a noose. Under the rope was a rustic small chair with a piece of paper nailed on the seat.
“What the fuck is going on?” No response
“ANSWER ME!” No response.
He slowly inched his way to the chair to grab the piece of paper. With a swift tear, he took the paper from the chair and began to read.

Dear Mr. Roberts,

The punishment for your sins has come. You will no longer be able to go on living a fake life. You must pay for what you did. I will never forget what you did.

Sincerely,

Caretaker

Who is this Caretaker, and what did I do to piss him off? He doesn’t really think I’m going to kill myself. Does he? I don’t even know what he’s talking about. I’m a good person! He’s got the wrong guy, I wouldn’t hurt a fly!

With the light of the phone, Mr. Roberts found the door in the dark room. He turned the door nob, and gave a steady push. The door flew open, but all he could see was the light of his phone. Everything was still black and dark. He started to inch his way through the door. His foot didn’t touch anything on the first step. He reached a little farther. Again, his foot only touched air.

This is strange, what’s going on?

He went back into the room, and shined the light of phone. This time there was a .44 magnum sitting on the bed fully loaded. This time the note was tied to the barrel of the gun. He picked up the gun and carefully took the note and began to read.
Dear Mr. Roberts,

I am doing you a favor. Take the out I have provided for you. It’s time to pay for your sins. I will never forget what you did.

Sincerely,

Caretaker

How the fuck does this guy think he’s doing me a favor? There’s no chance in hell I would ever go through with suicide. He planted a noose, and a gun because of some so called sins. This guy is fucking crazy!

He took the gun, and walked back to the open door and took aim into the darkness.

(Bang!)

He heard nothing but the sound of the gun firing. He took aim again.

(Bang! Bang!)

He heard nothing but the sound of the gun firing. The next thing he did was open the gun and took out a bullet. With the bullet laying in his palm, he dropped it over the sea of darkness. This time he heard nothing.

Mr. Roberts turned around and walked back to the bed inch by inch. He laid back down, and notice a sharp pain coming from his left arm. He lifted the covers of the bed and shined his light and saw a knife dipped in his own blood. Under the knife was an another letter, and quickly opened the note and began to read.

Dear Mr. Roberts,

This is the last time I will offer this. Either take the out I have given you, or accept the punishment of being here for eternity. I will never forget what you did.

Sincerely Caretaker

Fuck you! I don’t need this. It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t see her in the street, she didn’t move. Why, didn’t she move? It was an accident. It wasn’t going to help if I stayed around and went to jail. I called 911, I did the right thing or at least I think. What am i kidding, I did a terrible thing.

Tears in his eyes he threw the knife into the darkness, and fell to his knees clutching the gun in his hands. He checked it to see how many bullets were left. He counted one.

That’s all I need. One shot through my temples and I’m gone. I know I should have stayed and took my punishment like a man. I was scared though, doesn’t that mean anything? I truly am sorry.

He brought the gun up to his head. With his finger trembling on the trigger, he slowly pressed the barrel to his temple.

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”

(Bang!)

The gun shot a bullet through his brain and killed him instantly. His body fell to his stomach while the blood from his wound began to fill every crease of the floor. With the gun still in hand, He laid there sin free.

title: Inevitable Punishment

question: Why is the dead man sin-free?

answer: One might contend that once you are dead you are inanimate and therefore free of sin. If, however, one takes a Christian view of the end of the story, we can see that the protagonist has asked for forgiveness. According to the Bible, this action will free you of your sin.

question: For what does the Caretaker hold Mr. Roberts responsible?

answer: Mr. Roberts got very drunk the night before. He can't even remember the evening before, but in the end, he remembers the girl in the street. He knocked her over, called 911, and left the scene of the crime because he fears going to jail.


split: train

text:
The 2001 NFL SEASON was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFL's week 2 games (September 16 and 17) were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and January 7 of 2002. In order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were rescheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome.

This is the most recent season with 31 teams as the Houston Texans were introduced as an expansion team the following season.

Draft

The 2001 NFL Draft was held from April 21 to 22, 2001 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Michael Vick from Virginia Tech.

Officiating changes

Mike Pereira became the league's Director of Officiating, succeeding Jerry Seeman, who had served the role since 1991.

Bill Leavy and Terry McAulay were promoted to referee. Phil Luckett returned to back judge, while another officiating crew was added in 2001 in preparation for the Houston Texans expansion team, the league's 32nd franchise, in 2002.

Due to labor dispute, the regular NFL officials were locked out prior to the final week of the preseason. Replacement officials who had worked in college football or the Arena Football League officiated NFL games during the last preseason week and the first week of the regular season. A deal was eventually reached before play resumed after the September 11 attacks.

Major rule changes

-   Fumble recoveries will be awarded at the spot of the recovery, not where the player’s momentum carries him. This change was passed in response to two regular season games in 2000, Atlanta Falcons–Carolina Panthers[1] and Oakland Raiders–Seattle Seahawks,[2] in which a safety was awarded when a defensive player’s momentum in recovering a fumble carried him into his own end zone.
-   Taunting rules and roughing the passer will be strictly enforced.

Regular season

Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day. With Super Bowls XXXVI-XXXVII already scheduled for fixed dates, the league initially decided to eliminate the Super Bowl bye weeks for 2001 and 2002 to adjust.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the games originally scheduled for September 16 and 17 were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and 7. In order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including the Super Bowl, were rescheduled one week later. The season-ending Pro Bowl was also moved to one week later. This was the last season in which each conference had three divisions, as the conferences would be realigned to four divisions for the 2002 NFL season.

Canceling the games scheduled for September 16 and 17 was considered and rejected since it would have canceled a home game for about half the teams (15 of 31). It would have also resulted in an unequal number of games played: September 16 and 17 was to have been a bye for the San Diego Chargers, so that team would still have played 16 games that season and each of the other teams would have played only 15 games (the Chargers ultimately finished 5–11, making any competitive advantages to playing an extra game irrelevant).

[New England at Carolina in week 17, January 6, 2002] As a result of rescheduling Week 2 as Week 17, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up not playing a home game for the entire month of September (their only home game during that month was originally scheduled for September 16). The ESPN Sunday Night Football game for that week was also changed. It was originally scheduled to be Cleveland at Pittsburgh, but it was replaced with Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, which was seen as a more interesting matchup (it was the only night game the Browns had on the schedule, whereas the Steelers had a few others; so 2000 and 2001 marked the first back-to-back seasons for the Browns without a primetime game since 1974 to 1976; the Browns would finally play in Heinz Field at night in 2003). Ironically, the Eagles and Buccaneers would both rest their starters that night, and would meet one week later in the playoffs. In recognition of this, when NBC began airing Sunday Night Football in 2006, there would be no game initially scheduled for Weeks 11 to 17 – a game initially scheduled in the afternoon would be moved to the primetime slot, without stripping any teams of a primetime appearance. This way of “flexible scheduling” would not be utilized at all in 2007, and since 2008, it is only utilized in the final week.

The games that eventually made up Week 17 marked the latest regular season games to be played during what is traditionally defined as the “NFL season” (under the current format, the regular season cannot end later than January 3 in any given year).

Another scheduling change took place in October, when the Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders game was moved from October 21 to 7 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics home playoff game on the October 21 (the start of Major League Baseball’s postseason was also delayed by the 9/11 attacks due to rescheduling of a week’s worth of games). The rescheduling ended up being unnecessary as the Athletics would not make it past the Division Series round.

Final regular season standings

Tiebreakers

-   New England finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on better division record (6–2 to Dolphins’ 5–3).
-   Cleveland finished ahead of Tennessee in the AFC Central based on better division record (5–5 to Titans’ 3–7).
-   Jacksonville finished ahead of Cincinnati in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
-   N.Y. Giants finished ahead of Arizona in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
-   New Orleans finished ahead of Atlanta in the NFC West based on better division record (4–4 to Falcons’ 3–5).
-   Baltimore was the second AFC Wild Card based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Jets’ 2–2).
-   Green Bay was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (9–3 to 49ers’ 8–4).

Playoffs

Milestones

The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:

  Record                                Player/Team                               Previous Record Holder[3]
  ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
  MOST SACKS, SEASON*                   Michael Strahan, New York Giants (22.5)   Mark Gastineau, New York Jets, 1984 (22.0)
  MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES LOST, SEASON   Carolina (15)                             Tied by 4 teams (14)

* – Sack statistics have only been compiled since 1982.

Statistical leaders

Team

  ------------------------------ -----------------------------
  POINTS SCORED                  St. Louis Rams (503)
  TOTAL YARDS GAINED             St. Louis Rams (6,930)
  YARDS RUSHING                  Pittsburgh Steelers (2,774)
  YARDS PASSING                  St. Louis Rams (4,903)
  FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED          Chicago Bears (203)
  FEWEST TOTAL YARDS ALLOWED     Pittsburgh Steelers (4,504)
  FEWEST RUSHING YARDS ALLOWED   Pittsburgh Steelers (1,195)
  FEWEST PASSING YARDS ALLOWED   Dallas Cowboys (3,019)
  ------------------------------ -----------------------------

Individual

  ----------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------
  SCORING                 Marshall Faulk, St. Louis (128 points)
  TOUCHDOWNS              Marshall Faulk, St. Louis (21 TDs)
  MOST FIELD GOALS MADE   Jason Elam, Denver (31 FGs)
  RUSHING                 Priest Holmes, Kansas City (1,555 yards)
  PASSING                 Kurt Warner, St. Louis (101.4 rating)
  PASSING TOUCHDOWNS      Kurt Warner, St. Louis (36 TDs)
  PASS RECEIVING          Rod Smith, Denver (113 catches)
  PASS RECEIVING YARDS    David Boston, Arizona (1,598)
  PUNT RETURNS            Troy Brown, New England (14.2 average yards)
  KICKOFF RETURNS         Ronney Jenkins, San Diego (26.6 average yards)
  INTERCEPTIONS           Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay and Anthony Henry, Cleveland (10)
  PUNTING                 Todd Sauerbrun, Carolina (47.5 average yards)
  SACKS                   Michael Strahan, New York Giants (22.5)
  ----------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------

Awards

  ----------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
  MOST VALUABLE PLAYER                Kurt Warner, Quarterback, St. Louis
  COACH OF THE YEAR                   Dick Jauron, Chicago
  OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR        Marshall Faulk, Running back, St. Louis
  DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR        Michael Strahan, Defensive End, New York Giants
  OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR        Anthony Thomas, Running Back, Chicago
  DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR        Kendrell Bell, Linebacker, Pittsburgh
  NFL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR     Garrison Hearst, Running Back, San Francisco
  WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR   Jerome Bettis, Running Back, Pittsburgh
  SUPER BOWL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER     Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England
  ----------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------

Coaching changes

-   Buffalo Bills – Gregg Williams; replaced Wade Phillips, who was fired following the 2000 season
-   Cleveland Browns – Butch Davis; replaced Chris Palmer, who was fired following the 2000 season
-   Detroit Lions – Marty Mornhinweg; replaced interim head coach Gary Moeller, who replaced Bobby Ross who resigned during the 2000 season.
-   Kansas City Chiefs – Dick Vermeil; replaced Gunther Cunningham, who was fired following the 2000 season
-   New York Jets – Herman Edwards; replaced Al Groh, who resigned to become the head coach of the University of Virginia.
-   Washington Redskins – Marty Schottenheimer; replaced interim head coach Terry Robiskie who replaced Norv Turner, who was fired during the 2000 season

Stadium changes

-   The Denver Broncos moved from Mile High Stadium to Invesco Field at Mile High, with the investment company Invesco acquiring the naming rights
-   The Pittsburgh Steelers moved from Three Rivers Stadium to Heinz Field, with the H. J. Heinz Company acquiring the naming rights

In addition, the turf at Veterans Stadium was replaced with NexTurf after a preseason game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens is cancelled. Ravens coach Brian Billick told officials of the NFL that he refused to have his team play on a slippery and bouncy turf field which he deemed unsafe.

Uniform changes

-   New Orleans Saints – Replaced their gold pants with black pants.
-   San Diego Chargers – White pants instead of blue with their white jerseys.
-   St. Louis Rams – New font for uniform numbers.
-   Chicago Bears – White pants instead of blue with their white jerseys.

Following 9/11, every jersey had a patch to remember those who died on that day, while the New York Jets and New York Giants wore a patch to remember the firefighters who died.

[1]

[2]

[3]

title: 2001 NFL season

question: What kind of information does readers of NFL sports like to see?

answer: Based on the contents of the article, information about regulations, rosters, as well as team and player performance/statistics seem to be directly related to appreciating the sport.


text:
EXERGY is software developed by SilverBridge Holdings, a South African developer of business software for the financial services market in Africa.

SilverBridge Holdings was listed on the AltX Stock Index on November 27th, 2006.

Focus area

The software is designed for life insurance companies to assist them in the administration of their policies.

In 2012, SilverBridge entered into a partnership[1] with Net2Africa.

Exergy celebrated its 10th anniversary[2] in 2014. In the same year, the software saw the introduction of Exergy KnowledgeBase,[3] designed to provide a way of reducing risk in IT projects.

Business in Africa

At the company's 2016 results,[4] it was reported that Exergy is being used by businesses across Africa including in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, and Ghana.

In November 2016, it was reported[5] that SilverBridge has done an implementation at GetSure Zimbabwe to help the company migrate its business to a cloud computing system. The solution was based on the Exergy system.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]  IT News Africa – Africa's Technology News Leader|website=www.itnewsafrica.com|access-date=2016-12-20}}

[5]

title: Exergy (software)

question: What is Exergy?

answer: a software developed by SilverBridge Holdings

question: What does Exergy do?

answer: assists life insurance companies in the administration of their policies

question: Where is SilverBridge Holdings based?

answer: South Africa

question: As of 2016, what countries contain companies using Exergy?

answer: Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Exergy is a software developed by SilverBridge Holdings. It is used widely across Africa.


text:
LONG SUTTON is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 833.[1]

The village of Long Sutton has a village green with a lime tree at each corner and a chestnut tree in the centre. The Devonshire Arms Hotel[2] is at one end of the green and at the other are the school and Holy Trinity church, dating from 1490.[3] The village is made up of two hamlets, Knole at one end and Upton at the other.

The Reading to Taunton line railway runs under the bridge at Upton and at one time certain trains stopped at Long Sutton and Pitney Halt, as it was called until its closure in the early 1960s. The bridge over the River Yeo is medieval in origin, but was probably reshaped in the 18th century.[4]

History

There is evidence of Roman occupation throughout the parish.[5] It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Sutone.[6] The parish of Long Sutton was part of the hundred of Somerton.[7]

The manor was given by King Alfred to his Athelney Abbey and was held by the abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. In 1600 it was bought by Sir John Spencer, who was previously the Lord Mayor of London. It was later part of the estates of the Duke of Devonshire, who dispersed it in 1919.[8]

Until the 20th century agriculture remained the main industry. The population has remained between 800 and 1,000 from about 1800.[9]

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Langport Rural District.[10] The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

The village is in Turn Hill electoral ward. _Long Sutton_ may be the most populous area of the ward but it stretches west to Aller. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,830.[11]

It is also part of the Somerton and Frome county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Landmarks

[Knole Mill waterwheel] Opposite the Quaker Meeting House, known as Quakers' Corner, are two cottages, once thatched. In one of these cottages it is said that Mrs Palmer of Huntley & Palmers fame made her first biscuits and cakes to help provide for her family. Some of the gravestones mark the resting place of the Palmer family in the grounds of the Friends' Meeting House.

The Manor House, on the green, probably dates from the late 15th century.[12] Court House on Langport road is from a similar period.[13]

Knole has a waterwheel dating from 1879, having been moved from a site higher upstream where it was first recorded in 1479–80.[14] The wheel is in diameter and in width and was cast by ‘The Somerset Wheel & Wagon Co, Engineers & Millwrights, Martock’.[15]

Religious sites

Holy Trinity church

[The painted pulpit] Holy Trinity church dates from 1493. An earlier church would have stood on this site from the 9th century or earlier. The current church was built of local lias stone cut and squared, with hamstone dressings. It has stone slate roofs between stepped coped gabled with finials to the chancel and north porch. Internally, the chancel has a ceiled wagon-roof, with moulded ribs and plaster panels. The tower exhibits the tracery typical of Somerset towers. The under-tower space has a lierne vault, and a 15th-century octagonal font with quatrefoil panels. The building has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[16] The tower has a ring of six bells, the tenor weighing .[17]

The coloured timber pulpit, with a fly approach stair, dates from 1455–58 and is older than the church itself. It has 20th-century wood figures in the statue niches.[18] It bears the initials identified as those of Abbot John Petherton of Athelney and vicar William Singleton.[19]

The wood screen is also ornately carved and dates from the late 15th century.[20] Memorials in the church include a tablet to Elizabeth Banbury, died 1716, with Corinthian columns and entablature, side and bottom swags, as well as a number of 16th- and 17th-century Keinton stone slabs in the floor.[21]

Quaker Meeting House

The parish was a centre of Quaker worship from 1662, and there was a licensed meeting-house by 1669.[22] The present Quaker Meeting House was built in Queen Anne style and finished in 1717, with a bequest from William Steele.[23] It is still used for worship by the Quakers. It was closed briefly in 1793 and 1798, but prospered after the closure of the Somerton meeting house in 1828.[24] There is a mounting block outside the building, which worshippers used to mount and dismount their horses. Worshippers came from as far away as Street, nearly seven miles away.

Culture

Punkie Night originated many years ago and was started by farm labourers to light their way home after work. An alternative explanation of the term is that it is derived from pumpkin or punk, meaning tinder.[25] It is now the “children's night” and held on the nearest night to Halloween. The children carry their “punkies” made from either mangolds, turnips, or marrows, which are hollowed out and faces or animals carved on them.[26] They are lit with a candle inside similar to the modern Halloween custom.

Notable residents

-   George Palmer, founder of Huntley and Palmers biscuits, was born in the village.[27]
-   2004 Children's Champion Award winner Doreen Roberts MBE foster mother to over 300 children.[28]
-   Antony Jay CVO Writer, broadcast, director and actor. Famous for co-authorship of political television comedy _Yes Minister_ and _Yes Prime Minister_.[29]

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

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[29]

title: Long Sutton, Somerset

question: In which district is Long Sutton located?

answer: South Somerset.

question: Who has responsibility for local issues?

answer: The parish council.

question: Why might annual accounts be produced?

answer: For public scrutiny.

question: To which well-known holiday are the customs of Punkie Night comparable?

answer: Halloween.


text:
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because Krish Vignarajah has a résumé tailor-made for the #MeToo movement.

The tables at the Jaycees Community Center are worn, the faded bingo stand left out from some event other than this Democratic gubernatorial forum in Waldorf, Maryland. For an hour and a half, a moderator pulls questions from the audience of maybe 50 people, who fill the folding chairs with their nods, stares and half-hearted applause. Krish Vignarajah, tries to inject some enthusiasm into the quiet crowd on a Sunday in April. “The orthodoxy out there is that no man can beat Larry Hogan,” she says, pausing for emphasis. “Well, I am no man,” she rallies, her black slacks and gold-buttoned, white jacket looking every bit like a military uniform — as if to say, yes, this daughter of Sri Lankan immigrant teachers will wage the necessary war to defeat the Republican incumbent.

She is at the vanguard of the Year of the Woman, in a state without a single woman in its 14 federal offices, following the retirement last year of longtime senator Barbara Mikulski. The “no man” line is a fittingly nerdy nod to _The Lord of the Rings_, uttered by the shieldmaiden Éowyn as she strikes down a demon king, who might be as daunting a foe as America’s second-most popular governor. Vignarajah first notably used the quip in a campaign ad a month before, one that caught the attention of everyone, from _The_ _New York Times_ to _People,_ because the spot featured her breastfeeding her months-old daughter.

Vignarajah has leaned into her femininity as a direct contrast to both President Donald Trump and Hogan. Her résumé seems perfectly crafted for the #MeToo era, as she was policy adviser for first lady Michelle Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton — but don’t expect her to ride their coattails. “I want to stand on my own two feet,” she says, adding that she hasn’t asked her former bosses for an endorsement. In November, she released a sexual harassment policy plan with the help of Ashley Judd, one of the first public accusers of Harvey Weinstein. “Krish’s policy will both help shed light on rampant sexual harassment and create concrete solutions that improve gender norms,” Judd said.

Yet Vignarajah is still searching for traction in her Democratic primary. “I do think the ad has broken through,” she says, noting that it had been seen by 1 million people. Still, she is mired in the low single digits in the polls against five other Democrats with the June 26 primary approaching. At the Waldorf forum in April, her rousing efforts are noticed. “She has a compelling story to tell,” says Russell Yates, a treasurer for the local Democratic Party. But it’s hard to score points when your opponents don’t even show up. The three Democratic front-runners — Prince George County executive Rushern Baker, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamenetz (who died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest weeks later) — sent running mates in their stead. Meanwhile, Vignarajah is left to juke with shadows, toiling in an obscurity the 39-year-old couldn’t have imagined, considering her early publicity. “If you can’t show up to ask people for their votes,” Vignarajah asks, “how can you ask people to believe you will be there to take care of their concerns?”

  I sometimes feel this chip on my shoulder in terms of making it clear how I have greater executive experience than anyone in the field.

  Krish Vignarajah

By showing up, Vignarajah cuts a compelling picture. Her parents fled Sri Lanka with $200 in their pockets and a 9-month-old Krish in tow, eventually settling in as teachers in Baltimore. Krish won both the most likely to succeed and worst dressed awards in high school, then went on to Yale, Oxford University and Yale Law. At the State Department under Clinton, the senior adviser focused on domestic youth initiatives as well as global women’s entrepreneurship. The policy wonk’s issues page runs the length of a novella, spilling 16,000 words on everything from paid family leave and free prekindergarten to reducing gun violence with “Smart Gun” technology and creating universal broadband access while promising to add a quarter-million jobs.

[Krish with m obama]

In a year when female political newcomers are all the rage, Vignarajah faces an awkward authenticity question: Maryland requires its governor to be a resident of the state five years before the election, and Vignarajah listed a Washington, D.C., address as recently as two years ago. She argues it wasn’t her full-time residence, but the press around it could have ripple effects, including making donors skittish. “Where is the money? People don’t know her,” says Karen Fennell, a party activist who attended the Waldorf debate. Emily’s List, the nation’s largest fundraiser for liberal, pro-choice women, is “monitoring the race closely” but has not made any decisions, per spokeswoman Christina Reynolds. And after Kamenetz’s sudden death in May, his running mate, Valerie Ervin, decided to run at the top of the ticket, meaning Vignarajah can no longer claim the mantle of the only woman in the race.

Vignarajah often performs well in straw polls at candidate gatherings, but she has every underdog’s lament of not getting enough debates. Elizabeth Embry, the running mate for Baker, says Vignarajah’s lesser experience was something the first-time candidate “will have to address with the voters.”

“I sometimes feel this chip on my shoulder in terms of making it clear how I have greater executive experience than anyone in the field,” Vignarajah says. She points to the multibillion-dollar initiative Let Girls Learn, a “seed of an idea” which through her cultivation spread through seven federal agencies and 100 private partners. Here she quotes her mother: “If you want your money managed well, give it to a woman.” She remembers working in the East Wing, traveling from Morocco to Venice with the first lady, who taught her “to entertain people first, and then you can educate them.” Vignarajah has the attention-grabbing part down. Will Maryland listen to the rest?

question: Who is the main character of the excerpt?

answer: Krish Vignarajah

question: What is Krish's ethnicity?

answer: Sri Lankan

question: What campaign ad caught the attention of the New York Times to the People?

answer: A campaign ad in which Krish was featured breastfeeding her months-old daughter

question: Who was Krish a policy advisor to?

answer: Krish was a policy advisor to Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This story is about a Sri Lankan woman, Krish Vignarajah, who has re-shaped the #MeToo Movement and is an example of a woman who came from nothing and now holds her ground on her own two feet. She is new female politician who sheds light on rampant sexual harassment.


text:
I will not recount here the details of the tragedy that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, nor the responses that followed which mirrored the views of White supremacists, or the views of those of us who are firmly in opposition to such hatred and bigotry. We are all aware of the words of the President of the United States who said that both sides were to blame for the violence that tragically took the life of Heather Heyer. I join with all who insist that there is a complete lack of shared blame or moral equivalency between the group that blatantly displayed their symbols of hatred and bigotry and the group that opposed those vicious and inhumane views. It was also a day when two Virginia State Patrol policemen lost their lives, and 19 people were injured.

What I will recount here are instances in my own story that explain why I was so profoundly frightened and outraged by what took place in Charlottesville. I was frightened because I have personally witnessed such displays of White supremacy. In recalling my outrage I lift up the last words that our shero, Heather Heyer, wrote on her Facebook page: “If you are not outraged you are not paying attention.” I will also speak to what I strongly feel we can and must do in response to the brutal outpouring of hatred that took place in Charlottesville.

Many among the protesters in Charlottesville wore symbols and shouted out words associated with the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, and other White supremacist groups, including swastikas and the robes and hoods of the Klan. Seeing all of those objects of hatred, especially men in the garb of the Ku Klux Klan, took me back to that day when I, a 20-year-old graduate student, had come to my home town of Jacksonville, Florida, with another graduate student who was my fiancé…. a White American man. A telephone call was made to our home with this threat: “If that nigger-lover white man doesn’t get out of town there could be a cross burning or something worse at your house.”

The shouts, signs, and symbols of White supremacy in Charlottesville conjured up the terror about lynchings that I experienced as a youngster living in Jacksonville, Florida. Even though I had never had to witness one, I knew that lynchings took place; and I was taught the basic rules of what I must never do or say that could put me in the way of such brutal harm. A recent study by the Equal Justice Institute indicates that there were 3,959 racial terror lynching in America between 1877 and 1950. Charlottesville had 90 confirmed lynchings in that period; and Florida, the state that I was born in and where I was living in 1950, had lynched more Black people per capita than any other state.

I shuddered when I saw and heard men in Charlottesville shouting “Jews will not replace us,” for I know that such horrific sentiments, spoken in different words and in different languages, were spewed out during the Holocaust. It is such words that have an indelible association with the genocide in which 6 million European Jews were killed because of the ideology and actions of Adolf Hitler and those who followed him.

During the Jim Crow era in which I grew up, I saw signs that said, “No niggers, Jews or dogs allowed.” Over the years as my consciousness expanded, I became aware that there were signs in Texas that said, “No Mexicans or dogs allowed”; and in some parts of the U.S. there were signs that targeted Asians in what were known as Sundown Towns.

On that tragic day in Charlottesville, in addition to shouts of you will not replace us and Jews will not replace us, there were shouts of F — k you faggots; commie scum, and White lives matter. All of which reflect how White supremacists manage to spew out and act on their hatred for any and all people who are outside of their definition of “the superior White race.”

While I grew up in those wretched days of legal segregation and ubiquitous racism, I also grew up in a family and a community that taught me that no matter my fear of being harmed by racist acts, I had a responsibility to push through my fear and to do whatever I could to act against injustices. A sense of that responsibility has stuck with me, and leads me in the wake of Charlottesville to pose this question: What can and must we do? Doing nothing is not an option, for as Audre Lorde reminded us: “Your silence will not protect you.”

Here are five actions that we can and must take.

1) WE MUST ENGAGE IN RESISTANCE AGAINST INTOLERANCE, BIGOTRY, AND HATRED IN ALL FORMS. How critical such a posture is as we deal with the realities of these troubling times. Resistance can take multiple forms, from having courageous conversations with a colleague, family member, or stranger overheard using racist language, to participating in one of the many demonstrations and protests taking place all over our country against bigotry and hatred and in support of all instances of human rights. As I think about our responsibility to resist domination and oppression, I am reminded of the critical point that bell hooks made when she said:

It is important to remember as we think critically about domination, that we all have the capacity to act in ways that oppress, dominate, wound (whether or not that power is institutionalized). It is necessary to remember that it is first the potential oppressor within that we must resist — the potential victim within that we must rescue — otherwise we cannot hope for an end to domination, for liberation.

2) WE CAN AND MUST REMAIN CONNECTED TO OUR FUNDAMENTAL VALUES SUCH AS RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIVERSITY AND THE NEED TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS. Those of us who are associated with or work for organizations that have made their diversity and inclusion values public and even published them have an additional responsibility — to call on the leaders of those organizations to reaffirm those values. As Mahatma Gandhi said:

Your beliefs become your thoughts

Your thoughts become your words

Your words become your actions

Your actions become your habits

Your habits become your values

Your values become your destiny.

3) WE CAN AND MUST TAKE CONCRETE ACTION. The most obvious one is to call on our elected officials to stand up and to speak out against hatred and bigotry in any and all forms. As difficult as it may be to reach out to and to lobby elected officials who we know do not share our values, we have a responsibility to do so. Let us follow the example of Bernice Jagger who has said, “ I don’t believe in lobbying only progressive and liberal members of congress. I don’t believe in doing interviews only with those who share my views. I want to reach a wider audience.”

4) WE CAN AND MUST READ! Reading is a powerful means to learn about the lives of people who are different from oneself. As the late senator S.I. Hayakawa said, “It is not true that we have only one life to live. If we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.” When we read the stories of others, we can also discover the multiple ways in which, in addition to the lines that divide us, there are ties that bind us. As C.S. Lewis reminds us, “We read to know we are not alone.”

5) LASTLY, BUT EVER SO IMPORTANTLY, WE MUST NEVER SUCCUMB TO HOPELESSNESS. We dare not give into White supremacy, racism, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism. As Helen Keller has said, “Optimism is the fate that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

In these days, months, and years that follow what took place in Charlottesville, as we continue the many faceted struggles for social justice, let us remember these words of Caesar Chavez: “Perhaps we can bring the day when children will learn from their earliest days that being fully man and fully woman means to give one’s life to the liberation of the brother (and the sister) who suffers.”

question: What does the article say about how to oppose racism observed in Charlottesville?

answer: The author asks her readers to resolve themselves to resist in defiance of their fears. She recommends reaching out to influential people, even ones who don't share her views. The author then recommends reading as much as possible to understand more and never to give up their values of diversity and inclusion.

question: What are the scary parts of what the author saw in Charlottesville?

answer: She grew up in an environment where she had to avoid certain behaviors due to fearing a white supremacist lynch mob. The Charlottesville protests reminded her of that and more, including the slogans and chants favored by the KKK or Nazis. She recalls signs equating various races to dogs while growing up.

question: What does the text say about race baiters?


text:
As a small business owner, you know all too well about stress. There’s the stress of paying the bills; the stress of finding new customers; the stress of retaining your current customers; the stress of finding, hiring and firing employees; the stress of keeping on top of the day-to-day management of your business… And yes, the list could go on and on. But that’s not what we’re focusing on here.

Instead, this article is about how to manage and ease all of that stress. Read on for eight ways you may not have considered.

1: EXERCISE

[reduce stress - exercise]

Okay, so this one’s a no brainer, and I know you’re sitting there reading this thinking “Where am I going to find the time for that?”. If it’s important to you, you’ll find the time and make the time to work out. Consider it officially important. Exercise in any format (spin class; boxing; running; walking; or whatever works for you) helps to heighten your level of endorphins, which are those hormones that give you a “feel good” sensation, and serves to alleviate stress. Pencil in some exercise into your calendar. It will help.

2: MEDITATE

[reduce stress - meditate]

Thinking a hundred or a thousand thoughts a second – like most small business owners do – can take it’s toll on your ability to think clearly. Quiet down your mind by spending time quietly focusing on your breath or a chant of some kind. If you need an introduction to meditation,Headspace is perfect. You can learn online for just 10 minutes a day through your laptop or through an app, and you can’t beat Andy’s soothing British accent. You’ll learn plenty of ways to begin meditation and those teachings will also help you in stressful moments to breathe and just focus on your breath instead of what’s stressing you out. Plus, how many times have you not been able to fall asleep thanks to a racing mind? Meditating before going to bed helps you calm your mind and will hopefully help you fall asleep faster.

3: STRIKE A YOGA POSE

[reduce stress - yoga]

This is basically a combination of the first two. You’re working your body while also working to quiet your mind. And you’ll quickly learn to focus just on the positions in yoga, as otherwise you could easily lose your balance. Yoga is all about being in the moment while stretching and relaxing your body, serving to counteract that stress.

4: GET A MASSAGE

[reduce stress - massage]

It sounds like an indulgence, but a massage is worth it to relieve stress. One note: If you’re new to massage, don’t jump into a level 3 or 4 therapeutic massage, which is when the massage therapist digs deep into your muscle tissue. You might wind up with a different form of stress from the “ouch” of worked out muscles instead of the “could almost fall asleep” relaxation from a soothing massage.

5: RECONNECT AND LAUGH WITH FRIENDS

[reduce stress - laugh]

You know that best friend from college you’ve been meaning to catch up with over dinner? Call them and make a plan to do just that. You’ll be able to revisit old memories and laugh about them (snort laughs are VERY good for the soul and to relieve stress) while also creating new fun memories.

6: GARDEN

[reduce stress - garden]

Digging your hands into the dirt, planting, weeding, harvesting — are all excellent ways to quiet the mind. You’re focusing on simple, methodical tasks, stretching your body and giving your mind a chance to roam. Plus, returning to nature in any form (be it a walk in the woods, sitting by a lake, or gardening) helps to soothe the soul.

7: DELEGATE

[micro management]

You are only human and you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything in your company. That’s why you’ve hired employees and that’s why you should also farm out tasks to those employees. Focus on what you do the best and delegate the rest to the smart people that you hired.

8: TALK IT OUT

[reducs stress - talk]
If your stress is really getting to you, talk to a therapist. It’s okay to do so. Really. Therapists are trained to help you talk through your stressors and work with you to figure out the best way for you to deal with them.

question: What does the text say about managing stress?

answer: The author of the article suggests some ways to manage stress: you should exercise as it heightens your level of endorphins; you should meditate; get a massage; reconnect old friends, revisit memories, and laugh about them. Gardening is a good way to quiet the mind. Delegate some work to the people that you hired, and you may talk to a therapist.

question: What does the article say about how small business owners can become more efficient?


text: Though the showers predicted by the forecast were worse than mentioned, Sir Kingston still expected Allen to show up on time. The  "Franklin Temple," where Kingston planned to meet Allen, was a hell hole and the last place to plan a meeting at. Kingston, however, was no new-comer and was well aware of its rowdiness and danger. A fight near the poker table was the main attraction at the present moment, but Kingston and a couple of other people kept to their own well being. The front door swung open, but it was the coming in rain and cold air that brought the peoples attention to it. It was only a person to the people, but for Kingston it was Allen. " Here boy," Kingston exclaimed to the bright-eyed teen, and Allen made his way quickly to the table. Allen sat and drew in some air, " I almost drowned out in that weather," he said. Before Kingston could get in a word, three hefty men in grey and blue rammed their way through the doors, it was the authority. People took to the exits in hoping they won't be caught as the authorities made their way towards the brawlers near the pool table. Kingston motioned towards Allen to head for the doors and got up. As they made way for the exit a pair of arms grabbed the two men and stopped them in their tracks. " Strangers," exclaimed the authority "You are to remain silent and resist any temptations to struggle." Allen exchanged a worried glance at Kingston, but he seemed to not be troubled. " You are arrested for engaging in illegal conduct," said the man. The two of them were quickly escorted outside the pub and into the open doors of an authority vehicle. Inside it they were greeted by the two brawlers, now bloody and bruised, and sat down facing each other. Their hands were tied and they were strapped to their seats. As expected the young, worried Allen struggled in his present state, but not Kingston." There is no use in struggling, just sit and do as instructed," commanded Kingston. With that Allen sat still, not saying a word as the doors on the vehicle closed. Allen looked out the little window next to his head and saw the pub grow shorter and shorter in the distance. Kingston sat with his quiet manner like he did in the pub.

title: A lone man's game.

question: What would have happened if Allen and Sir Kingston canceled their meeting due to the bad weather?

answer: They would not have been arrested by the authorities.

question: Why does Sir Kingston seem unfussed that he and Allen were arrested?

answer: Sir Kingston has a calm personality. He stays calm even under pressure.

question: What "illegal conduct" did Sir Kingston and Allen committed?

answer: It is not stated in the passage, but it seems they have been doing it for a time and the authorities have finally tracked and cornered them.

question: Why did Sir Kingston choose to meet Allen at the Franklin Temple?

answer: Perhaps Sir Kingston thought he and Allen won't be noticed in the crowd of rowdy men around them.


text:
TORONTO — It was as smooth as silk watching Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, both born in the same year (2000) of the Canadian men’s national team’s last major title, connect for the opening goal.

  WATCH: A slick pass from Alphonso Davies sets up Jonathan David for the first goal of the night!

  1-0 #CANMNT #CNL pic.twitter.com/jTJBsM2MXm

  — Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) October 16, 2018

It was that sort of precision and cutting-edge movement that allowed Canada to coast to a 5-0 victory over Dominica on a chilly Tuesday night. And while Davies technically lined up as a left-back at kickoff, he was essentially a second winger. David, meanwhile, partnered with Lucas Cavallini and caused fits for the Dominican defence all evening. Both teenagers were involved in four of the five goals for _Les Rouges_.

No, there aren’t many significant takeaways from a match in which Canada was expected to cruise to victory. However, as these Concacaf Nations League qualifiers go by, Canadian coach John Herdman’s selection headache grows stronger.

Canada’s formation varied throughout the 90 minutes. It went from a straight 4-3-3 to a 2-3-5 and even a 2-1-7 with Dominica parking 10 players behind the ball. Eventually, Ballou Tabla and Cyle Larin were thrown into the match, which further exemplified the team’s depth in quality.

However, Herdman won’t have the luxury of starting several attackers in the Gold Cup, Nations League and World Cup qualifiers. He’ll also need to settle on a back four, which he claims is still in an assessment period. But the English tactician knows how he’ll be able to determine his starters up front.

“I think you have to be really, really clear about the identity of the team and looking at players who will be committed to that,” Herdman explained. “Playing this type of game tonight, the options were different. We knew the type of style Dominica was going to come out with, which meant certain players – those attacking players – could go into other areas of the field. There is no way you’re going to do that against Mexico, and therefore, the competition is going to be immense.

“I’m challenging them in one-on-one meetings to keep pushing to the next level because selections are going to get tougher. Those players that can live above the line and own those moments of our identity, they’re the players who will play consistently.”

Many coaches would love to experience Herdman’s so-called dilemma. He definitely seems buoyed by the prospect of having different options with the Concacaf Gold Cup looming as well. But for now, Canada has attacking verve and bravery on the ball, two characteristics that have seldom been associated with the men’s program.

Even the veterans have noticed the changing of the team’s identity.

“The movement on the pitch, in the attacking third, the way we get into dangerous positions so quickly, our movement off the ball, our movement off the ball, everybody is locked in,” said captain Atiba Hutchinson. “That’s what we’ve been really stressing. We’re very direct in our play, and at the same time, we want to keep it patient when it’s not on so that the confidence is there … There’s just a real presence in the team. We feel good, we feel confident and there is a good mix in the group.”

“I think a lot of the guys trust each other on the team and they want to show each other that fearlessness that a lot of the young guys have,” said Larin. “Now we get a lot of guys forward and we’re not afraid to play against other teams and to just play with confidence.”

The poster boy behind this new wave of Canadian talent has been Davies, who assisted two of Canada’s five goals on the night. Larin latched onto one of the teenager’s low crosses into the box and finished with aplomb to round off the victory.

  WATCH: Alphonso Davies swings a ball in from the left side of the box and Cyle Larin puts it in the back of the net

  5-0 #CANMNT #CNL pic.twitter.com/Qw6lMOZLmC

  — Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) October 17, 2018

“[Davies] is a special player and to have him on our team and to play with him, it’s great,” Larin boasted. “When you get a lot of chances in the game, it’s a good for me and I like it. In the next coming games, we’ll do well and obviously we want to make the Gold Cup and I think we’ll do well there, too.”

“In my opinion, I think he’s probably going 50 per cent out there,” defender Derek Cornelius suggested when speaking about Davies. “He’s fast, he can take a guy one-on-one, he can make a pass. Even defensively, we’re seeing him playing full-back in these games, and he’s aware of the situations. A great player … Great player.”

There is an incentive for Canada to play proactively and push forward. The top six sides in the Nations League qualifiers book a spot in next summer’s Gold Cup and are drawn into League A for the main tournament, which features the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States.

Because there are only four games, goal difference becomes crucial in tie-breaking scenarios. Canada is currently second place on a plus-13 goal differential, with Curacao topping the group on plus-15. Therefore, the Canadians can’t afford to pump the breaks in the final third.

It’s easy to recall a time when most attacking players, such as Larin, were automatic starters. Now he has David, Lucas Cavallini and Tosaint Ricketts battling for the No. 9 role. Davies, Tabla, Liam Millar, Junior Hoilett and many others are fighting for places out wide.

“You can see Alphonso’s injection in the Gold Cup was a game-changer for Canada,” Herdman proclaimed. “The big x-factor for me, watching from afar, was what Alphonso brought to the team … All across the team, I wanted to add that youth. I wanted to add that spirit, that fearlessness. When you’ve got leaders like Atiba and Scott around the team, you’ve got good people. They are seasoned pros that aren’t going to try and pull the rug out from underneath these kids, and sort of beat them up and bully them mentally. They’re not those type of guys. You could see that young kids could flourish in that environment.”

Herdman definitely has the talent. Now the next step is to manage that depth heading into 2019 and beyond.

question: What year were Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David born?

answer: 2000.

question: Who was Canada victorious over?

answer: Dominica.

question: What was the score in the Canada-Dominica match?

answer: 5-0.

question: What year was the article written?

answer: 2018.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The article summarizes the Canadian team's match against Dominica and then discusses changing cultural attitudes on the team.


text:
[The title page of the book, copy D, held by the Library of Congress[1]]

_THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL_ is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs. Like his other books, it was published as printed sheets from etched plates containing prose, poetry and illustrations. The plates were then coloured by Blake and his wife Catherine.

It opens with an introduction of a short poem “Rintrah roars and shakes his fires in the burden'd air”.

William Blake claims that John Milton was a true poet and his epic poem _Paradise Lost_ was “of the Devil's party without knowing it.” He also claims that Milton's Satan was truly his Messiah.

The work was composed between 1790 and 1793, in the period of radical ferment and political conflict during the French Revolution. The title is an ironic reference to Emanuel Swedenborg's theological work _Heaven and Hell_, published in Latin 33 years earlier. Swedenborg is directly cited and criticized by Blake in several places in the _Marriage_. Though Blake was influenced by his grand and mystical cosmic conception, Swedenborg's conventional moral strictures and his Manichaean view of good and evil led Blake to express a deliberately depolarized and unified vision of the cosmos in which the material world and physical desire are equally part of the divine order; hence, a marriage of heaven and hell. The book is written in prose, except for the opening “Argument” and the “Song of Liberty”. The book describes the poet's visit to Hell, a device adopted by Blake from Dante's _Divine Comedy_ and Milton's _Paradise Lost_.

Proverbs of Hell

[Plate from _Marriage of Heaven and Hell_] Unlike those of Milton and Dante, Blake's conception of Hell begins not as a place of punishment, but as a source of unrepressed, somewhat Dionysian energy, opposed to the authoritarian and regulated perception of Heaven. Blake's purpose is to create what he called a “memorable fancy” in order to reveal the repressive nature of conventional morality and institutional religion, which he describes thus:

In the most famous part of the book, Blake reveals the Proverbs of Hell. These display a very different kind of wisdom from the Biblical Book of Proverbs. The diabolical proverbs are provocative and paradoxical. Their purpose is to energise thought. Several of Blake's proverbs have become famous:

Blake explains that,

Interpretation

Blake's theory of contraries was not a belief in opposites but rather a belief that each person reflects the contrary nature of God, and that progression in life is impossible without contraries. Moreover, he explores the contrary nature of reason and of energy, believing that two types of people existed: the “energetic creators” and the “rational organizers”, or, as he calls them in _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, the “devils” and “angels”. Both are necessary to life according to Blake.[2]

Blake's text has been interpreted in many ways. It certainly forms part of the revolutionary culture of the period. The references to the printing-house suggest the underground radical printers producing revolutionary pamphlets at the time. Ink-blackened printworkers were comically referred to as a “printer's devil”, and revolutionary publications were regularly denounced from the pulpits as the work of the devil.

Doors of Perception

The book includes “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern”.[3] This has similarities with Huxley's concept of “Mind at Large”.

Influence

_The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ is probably the most influential of Blake's works. Its vision of a dynamic relationship between a stable “Heaven” and an energized “Hell” has fascinated theologians, aestheticians and psychologists.

Aldous Huxley took the name of one of his most famous works, _The Doors of Perception_, from this work, which in turn also inspired the name of the American rock band The Doors. Huxley's contemporary C. S. Lewis wrote _The Great Divorce_ about the _divorce_ of Heaven and Hell, in response to Blake's _Marriage_.

According to Michel Surya, French writer Georges Bataille threw pages of Blake's book into the casket of his friend and lover Colette Peignot on her death in 1938.

An allusion from _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, depicting Aristotle's skeleton, is present in Wallace Stevens's poem “Less and Less Human, O Savage Spirit”.

Benjamin Britten included several of the _Proverbs of Hell_ in his 1965 song cycle _Songs and Proverbs of William Blake_.

_Infinite Jest_ by David Foster Wallace features in it an avant-garde film called _The Pre-Nuptial Agreement of Heaven and Hell_.

_Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead_ by Olga Tokarczuk takes its title from one of the _Proverbs of Hell_.

Allusions to the work have often been made within aspects of popular culture, notably in the counterculture of the 1960s. The Norwegian experimental band Ulver released an album that was a musical setting of Blake's book, titled _Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_. The American black metal band Judas Iscariot extensively quotes parts of _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ in their song “Portions of Eternity Too Great for the Eye of Man” (whose title itself was taken from a quote from Blake's work). The American power metal band Virgin Steele released two albums based on Blake's work, 1995's _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I_ and 1996's _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II_. “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom” is also seen printed out and displayed in one of the scenes of David Cronenberg's 1975 film _Shivers_.

Citations

General sources

-   -   Nurmi, Martin (1979). “On _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_{{-”}}. In _Blake's Poetry and Designs_. Mary Lynn Johnson and John E. Grant, eds. New York: Norton.

Further reading

-   _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_. in _Blake's Poetry and Designs_. eds, Mary Lynn Johnson, John E. Grant. New York: Norton. 1979; 2nd ed. 2008.

[1]

[2] Nurmi, 558-562

[3] William Blake, _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_

title: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

question: Explain Blake's metaphysical standpoint.

answer: Blake believes that the material world and physical desire are equally part of the divine order.

question: How does Dante imagine Hell?

answer: Dante thinks that Hell is a place of punishment.

question: Does Blake think that Hell is a bad place?

answer: Not necessarily. He imagines it as a source of unrepressed energy.

question: What is the main point of Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell?

answer: Both good and evil are necessary to life.


text:
[ReBoot.png]

REBOOT is a CGI-animated action-adventure television series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company, Mainframe Entertainment, and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace, with the visuals designed by Brendan McCarthy after an initial attempt by Ian Gibson.

The shows director was Richard Zondag, excutive producers are Stephane Reichel and Steve Barron.

It is credited with being the first full-length, completely computer-animated TV series.

ReBoot is a big worldwide success, and is the world's first long-form computer animated piece, predating both Pixar and Dreamworks' later movies. The highly inventive and quirky series really hit its strident stride in the second and third seasons, and is considered a classic example of early steam-driven computer animation. Episodes have been shown and stored at The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC for posterity. Computer games, toys and motion rides were developed from the series

Plot

The setting is in the inner world of a computer system known by its inhabitants as Mainframe. The city is populated almost entirely by binomes, little creatures that represent either 1s or 0s, as well as a handful of Sprites, such as Bob and Dot, who are primarily humanoid creatures of more complex design and are the main characters of the series.

Most of their adventures focus on fighting computer Viruses, such as Megabyte and Hexadecimal, and defending the city from Game Cubes sent by the User.

History

ReBoot premiered on September 10, 1994 with the episode The Tearing.

The show ran for two years on the ABC Network. They largely restricted the content of ReBoot with over stated censoring of the show. ReBoot had a difficult time growing due to the odd restrictions placed on the networks shows. It was aired during a saturday morning line up. See: Broadcast Standards and Practices

The second season of ReBoot was when the show became famous. A ReBoot toy line was introduced and a video game named ReBoot: Countdown to Chaos was released near the end of the second season. This game was outside the network censors and not restricted in content. Dispite this fandom and success, ABC canceled ReBoot in 1996 when the network was purchased by Disney.

The third season aired in Canada on the YTV Network. The shows popularity continued to grow. It's target audience was changed to children ages 12 and above, reaching more households then ever before.

ReBoot also aired in the United Kingdom. See: ReBoot in the UK

In March 1999, years after Canadian audiences saw the third season, U.S. audiences saw the episodes on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network aired season 3, and then looped to seasons 1 and 2. The show was canceled following the episode Firewall (episode).

The show was canceled in 1997 after three years of episodes. See: Episode List.

It was latter revived in 2001, with two made for tv movies, each shown in four parts. The first is named ReBoot: Daemon Rising, and the second is named ReBoot: My Two Bobs. They were aired on the Cartoon Network while the previous seasons were shown during a night time line-up.

A third movie and a music episode were slated to be created but the fourth season was canceled before they were made.

In 2008 ReBoot experienced a fan based revival in the form of a web based comic book. They have also talked about redesigning the show, this has produced mixed feelings amoung most fans. The comic book has completed it's first run and seems to have had some success. However, there is no talk of continued additions to the web comic.

The current owners of ReBoot, Rainmaker Entertainment, are now in production of a theatrical movie of ReBoot. The ReBoot Movie is scheduled for release in 2010. On October 5, 2009 Rainmaker released the first trailer for the movie on their website. ReBoot 2010 Trailer

References

-   The show was named after the computer Reboot. It is an action to reset a computer of software in it to a new or old format.

question: Which is better of Reboot's two seasons and why?

answer: The second season of Reboot is when the series became famous, so it can be said that this is the better season.


text:
Barking.
Barking.

Constant barking.

Charlie rested alone on his bed, over hearing the howls and barks of his dog upstairs in wanting of his beloved owner to come home. That being Charlie's sister of course. The dog was getting old, and Charlie only wished what was on his dogs mind as he barked and howled.

Charlie felt work already taking a toll on him. It wasn't much hours yet but he was getting a bit tired indeed. Music became a ringing buzz in his left ear. The ambience of the room was quiet. Imaginary ciggarete fumes escaped Charlie's lips. His eyes searched for meaning in this room of his. As he exhaled, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Because well, there was nothing much to do. Loneliness was a word over used, and a feeling much grasped to him. It was loneliness that bound his last minutes tonight.

Thats just how it was,
and will be.

title: A Downcasted Moment

question: Who is the dog's owner?

answer: The dog belongs to Charlie's sister.

question: Why was the dog barking continuously?

answer: It may be implied that the dog was missing his owner.

question: Why was Charlie at his sister's home?

answer: This information is not mentioned.

question: What did Charlie do at the house?

answer: Charlie was already tired from work, the music playing in the background had turned into plain buzz to his ears. He was tired and lonely.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer:
Charlie is at his sister's house, alone. Her dog is upstairs barking continuously while Charlie rests alone in the bed.

He is tired from work, the music in the background turns to plain buzz to his ears. Charlie tries to examine the meaning of the room. He lays there quiet, tired, and lonely.


text:
Dom’s wife says he’s a fat piece of shit. Who cares.

Thick smoke in the Lincoln. Windows up. Three dead Reds in the ashtray. Fourth burning.

It’s late. Rain hits the car off-beat.

88.9 FM. Tango music idles low. Dom doesn’t notice.

Deep woods. Deep woods for a $30 cab to downtown, anyway.

Cush pads: lawyers, doctors, VPs, artsy cocksuckers - bigshots. Fat pads spread out, less than twenty.

1107 SENTINEL DR

Dom’s parked in the neighbor’s driveway.

They’re visiting the daughter at school. She loves them. Precious.

Glovebox: 2 packs Marlboro Red, empty. 1 1999 Lincoln Town Car 4DR Executive Owner’s Manual. 1 lighter, out of butane.1 SIG P226 9mm handgun. Receipts, business cards, parking tickets, trash. 1 9mm Suppressor, brand new.

88.9 FM: ..with you late, bringin to you all the crucia-

Deer bolts in front of the Lincoln. Dom’s sphincter tightens.

1..2..

Stupid baby deer follows mommy.

Exhale.

Silence. Rains harder.

Small headlights approaching.

Radio: OFF. Cigarette: OUT.

Tense, reeeaaal fuckin tense. Cotton-mouth.

It’s been a while. How long? Two years?

Can't even remember the last one's name.

Five grand, upfront. Wife bought a treadmill. Christ.

Sweat beads run down creases on his XL face. Gettin’ old, shouldn’t it be easier now?

Headlights bigger.

Concentrate. Deeeeeeep breath:

I’ll do it, then I’ll go get some food. A fat Reuben. Maybe some eggs and bacon. Maybe-

Headlights bigger.

100 yards.

Lightning.

Headlights stop – 1106 SENTINEL DR

Delayed: BOOOOM

Lexus headlights?

Headlights turn right. Dom catches profile.

Lexus headlights.

Lexus stops in front of garage door. Garage door stays closed.

Headlights: on. Exhaust: smoking. Music: loud. Windows: tinted.

Dom's gaze: fixed.

Waiting.

A woman's laugh - Uh oh.

Who you with, Mr. Gaslow?

title: Intro to a story I might write. Be a critic, TODAY!

question: Describe Dom.

answer: Dom is an ageing, overweight, married man who smokes regularly and is implied to be a hitman.

question: What is Dom doing on Sentinel Dr?

answer: He's watching a house from the neighbor's driveway, waiting for someone to arrive at the house.

question: Does Dom love his wife?

answer: It's unclear; his language indicates resentment.

question: 'They’re visiting the daughter at school. She loves them.' Who are 'they'?

answer: Unclear - either the people who live in the house he's watching, or the neighbors whose driveway he's parked in.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Dom is smoking a cigarette as he waits for Mr. Glasgow to arrive home on Sentinel Drive. He is tense, parked in the neighbor's driveway with a handgun and brand new silencer ready. It's been two years since he did this; last time, his wife bought a treadmill with the money. When Mr. Glasgow arrives, he has a woman with him.


text:
WHILE APPLE'S NEW LTE-EQUIPPED IPADS ARE DESIGNED TO OFFER CUSTOMERS THE SAME EXPERIENCE REGARDLESS OF WHICH U.S. MOBILE CARRIER THEY BASE THEIR PURCHASE ON, THE VERIZON MODEL CURRENTLY BOASTS THE EXCLUSIVE CAPABILITY OF SHARING ITS HIGH-SPEED MOBILE BROADBAND CONNECTION WITH OTHER DEVICES FOR UPWARDS OF FIVE TIMES LONGER THAN MOST STANDALONE LTE MOBILE HOTSPOTS.

The highly-technical Anand Lal Shimpi over at _AnandTech_ recently revealed that his tests of the new Verizon iPad found that it could act as a mobile hotspot by sharing its LTE connection with other devices — such as a notebook — for approximately 25.3 hours under the proper conditions — namely that the device's display remained turned off. That's roughly 5 times longer than the 4 hours and change of popular LTE MiFi hotspots from Novatel and Samsung.

Those claims were backed up Monday by independent tests conducted by the _Verge_, which configuring a notebook to utilize the new iPad's LTE connection, running tests that continuously cycled through web content for more than 24 hours before exhausting the battery of the iPad, which similarly had its screen turned off in addition to notifications and push email accounts.

"Best of all, we saw no evidence of dropped or stalled connections," the gadget blog reported. "That's not to say there aren't caveats here: LTE reception in our Manhattan office is top notch, and it remains unclear how things would fare in areas with weak signal."

The largely unpublicized hotspot feature remains exclusive to the Verizon models for the time being, as such capabilities are not yet available with the AT&T models. A spokesman for the carrier indicated earlier this month that it was "working with Apple" to enable the hotspot feature on the new AT&T iPad "in the future," but offered no timetable for when it might become available.

Verizon's LTE coverage map of the U.S. with service indicated in red.

[]
AT&T's LTE coverage map of the U.S. with service indicated in blue.

For more on the new iPad and how it stacks up against its predecessors and competitors, see _AppleInsider's_ in-depth review.

question: What are the benefits of the new iPad's LTE connection?

answer: The connection can be used to make the iPad a hotspot for other devices.

question: What is the main point of the document?

answer: The main point of the document is to report on the new Verizon iPad and it's LTE connection feature.

question: How many anecdotes are in this document?

answer: There is only one anecdote and it comes from a gadget blog.

question: What are some traits of the new iPad?

answer: The iPad can act as a mobile hotspot by sharing its LTE connection, the connection can last for up to 25.3 hours under the right conditions, and there are no dropped or stalled connections in the current testing conditions.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This document reported on the new (at the time of the document) Verizon iPad and it's LTE connection feature


text:
[Bronze statue at Willy Brandt Place in Nuremberg]

The WILLY BRANDT MEMORIAL at the Willy Brandt Place in Nuremberg remembers the former Federal Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Willy Brandt. The bronze sculpture, which is sitting on a bench, was opened on 9 November 2009 in Anwesenheit by Ulrich Maly, Josef Tabachnyk and numerous contemporaries of Brandt, such as Hans-Jochen Vogel.[1][2]

Around one year before, on 6 November 2008, the sculptor Josef Tabachnyk won a competition with this memorial. Tabachnyk’s entry won against three other competitors. The Culture Committee of the city of Nuremberg decided to invite a limited number of artists to participate in this competition on 4 June 2008.[3]

The financing of this memorial was achieved through three sponsors, Walter Metz (Initiator), Bruno Schnell (Publisher) and the PSD Bank. The city council of Nuremberg took over the building costs necessary for installing the sculpture at Willy Brandt Place, including costs for the sculpture’s foundations.

[1] Unveiling of the Willy-Brandt-Monument on nn-online.de, 9 November 2009

[2] Willy Brandt Skulptur Nürnberg, 27 Fotos from Gerhard-Stefan Neumann of Willy-Brandt-Monument

[3] Decision made in the competition for the skulpture for Willy Brandt on nuernberg.bayern-online.de, 7 November 2008

title: Willy Brandt Memorial (Nuremberg)

question: Who is Willy Brandt?

answer: He was the former Federal Chancellor in Germany and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

question: How was the financing of the memorial achieved?

answer: It was achieved through three sponsors, Walter Metz, Bruno Schnell, and the PSD Bank.

question: What happened on November 6, 2008?

answer: Sculptor Josef Tabachnyk won a competition against three other competitors to create this memorial.

question: When was the memorial unveiled?

answer: It was unveiled on November 9, 2009.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses the William Brandt memorial, which was unveiled in November 2019 as a bronze sculpture. Brandt was the former Federal Chancellor of Germany and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.


text:
After watching a lot of streams for a lot of hours, I noticed that basically everyone wants to go 'second' at the start of the game. The 'compensation' of going second is making it an advantage compared to going first. Here are a couple of examples:

-   In your starting hand, you can return up to four cards instead of three.
-   You get a 'mobile mana crystal' which gives you a single-turn mana advantage which can be used throughout the whole game.
-   You get two extra starting card cards (including the coin)
-   You can reflect to your opponents starting move, íf he can play anything at all; The chance of a 'one drop' in the first turn is ridicilously low, which basically causes the one who's second to attack first.

That's why I urge Blizzard to relook at this situation, especially because it's still in Beta in order to practice some alternative options. If you have a suggestion yourself, feel free to leave a comment below.

~ Arneah

EDIT: POSSIBLE IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SITUATION:

-   The coin shouldn't be accounted as a spell.
-   The player going second should only be able to mulligan three cards.
-   The coin should rather be a button than a card.
-   The one going second can still mulligan four cards, but not draw.

question: What sort of game is being discussed?

answer: It appears to be a card game.

question: Describe a disadvantage of going first.

answer: You can only return up to three cards in your starting hand.


text:
MATUSEVICH FJORD (, _Fiord Matusevicha_),[1] is a fjord in Severnaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.[2]

This fjord is blocked by heavy ice the whole year round. Its iceberg-producing activity is unmatched by other fjords of Severnaya Zemlya.[3]

History

Matusevich Fjord was first put in the map at the time of the 1931 expedition led by Soviet researchers Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev that explored for the first time Severnaya Zemlya. More accurate cartographic work of the fjord area was carried out by the 1950 expedition led by B.V. Zubov and A.I. Stepanov using aerial photography.[4]

The fjord was named in honor of Nikolai Matusevich, a prominent researcher of the Soviet Arctic.[5]

Geography

Matusevich Fjord is a fjord has its mouth in the northeastern area of October Revolution Island, west of Cape Figurny on the Laptev Sea shore of the island. It is the largest fjord in Severnaya Zemlya. Vollosovich Island and Blizhny Island lie off the mouth of the fjord to the west and to the east respectively.[6]

The fjord extends in a roughly northeast/southwest direction for about . The basin inside the fjord has steep mountains on both sides, the highest reaching a height of at Gora Bazarnaya. At its inner end there are three branches converging into the fjord, all with active glaciers stemming from the Rusanov Glacier in the northwest and the enormous Karpinsky Glacier in the southeast, producing a great amount of icebergs. The constant outpouring of the glaciers at the head results in massive amounts of ice streaming out of the fjord.[7]

There are two small islets in the inner fjord, close to the glacier terminus' zone, Trudny Island with a diameter of , and long Pregrazhdayushchy Island where a geodetic point stands.[8]

Ecology

Matusevich Fjord is part of the Northern Nature Reserve, one of the seven subdivisions of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve. There are numerous bird colonies in the cliffs of the fjord, including thick-billed murres _(Uria lomvia)_, gulls _(Larus hyperboreus)_ and snow buntings _(Plectrophenax nivalis)_, among others.[9][10]

File:Thick-billed Murres, 1989.jpg|There are large concentrations of thick-billed murres in the cliffs flanking the fjord. File:Plectrophenax nivalis CT2.jpg|The snow bunting, another Arctic bird species breeding in the cliffs of Matusevich Fjord.

[1]

[2] GoogleEarth

[3]

[4] Б. В. Зубовской К истории картографирования центральной части Советской Арктики (B.V. Zubov._Mapping History of the Central Part of the Soviet Arctic_)

[5] Биография Николая Матусевича на сайте Планета Матусевичей

[6] Map U-47-XXXI,XXXII,XXXIII бух. Кренкеля. Scale: 1 : 200 000. Состояние местности на 1988 год. Издание 1992 г.

[7] Гвоздецкий Н. А., Михайлов Н. И. Физическая география СССР. Азиатская часть (Vozdetskii NA, Mikhailov NI. _Physical Geography of the USSR. The Asian Zone_.)

[8] Map T-47-I,II,III бух. Сказочная. Scale: 1 : 200 000. Состояние местности на 1984 год. Издание 1992 г.

[9] Таймырский экорегион

[10] Выживание в экстремальных условиях, Северная Земля

title: Matusevich Fjord

question: Where is the Matusevich Fjord?

answer: The fjord can be found in Svernaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It's mouth is in the northeastern area of October Revolution Island to the west of Cape Figurny.

question: What is the fjord named after?

answer: It is named after Nikolai Matusevich, a prominent researcher in the Soviet Arctic.

question: What are the noteworthy traits of this fjord?

answer: It is the largest fjord in Severnaya ZSemlya, all of the three branches of the fjord has active glaciers, and its cliffs are home to numerous bird colonies.

question: Where does the ice in the fjord come from?

answer: The three active glaciers all stemm from the Rusanov Glacier, that, combined with the Karpinsky Glacier produce a lot of icebergs. The outpouring of the glaciers creates the large amounts of ice that come from the fjord.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Matusevich Fjord, in Svernaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, is affected by icebergs created by the Rusanov and Karpinsky glaciers. This is why the fjord produces a large amount of ice.


text:
*Back to the Past*

It was our first journey in the Time Machine.

My companion Susan was at the helm. "Doctor, are we ready to travel back in time?"

"Yes, Susan. How are the biometrics?"

"They are 100%."

"Good. Hit the GO button."

"Roger." Susan hit the GO button and we began moving back in time. I watched as the 2000s, the 1990s, and the 1980s went by. You could see the silhouettes of history and they were beautiful.

"Stop the machine, Susan. I want to witness the Moon Landing."

Susan stopped the machine and veered the craft towards the moon.

There we saw the astronauts loping around the moon. We rolled down the window and laughed at them. "We have a time machine!" Then we rocketed back to Earth to see what chips tasted like with trans fats.

*The Assassination of JFK*

"Susan, we have arrived in Dallas. It is ten minutes until the assassination. We must act fast."

"Right, doctor. Do you have your gun?"

"Yes. Did you bring the soda and crackers?"

"No, doctor. I forgot."

I looked at Susan. "Then the President gets killed. Are you happy? Get in the fucking Time Machine, you twit! We're going back."

*Ewoks*

Susan and I had decided it was time to travel to one of the most famous times of all time: a long, long time ago.

The problem was the galaxy far away part. We had all the coordinates of far away galaxies, but there were just too many.

So, when we got there, we just called the indigenous swamp creatures Ewoks.

Though, they could not sing and dance, they did serve us food.

But the joke was on us. It was Endor and the food was actually Ewoks.

We all had a good laugh.

*The Revolutionary War*

We were back in time once again. It was Susan, my long time companion, and I. We had been dating for several years, but I never took it any farther. I feel that Susan and I do not need a state's blessing to live our lives together. She disagrees. She thinks that it is a covenant between man and woman and that maybe it will curb my "Philandering". This got me angry and I told her so.

Oh, and the Revolutionary War was going on all around us. It was really embarrassing.

*The Future is Yours*

"Susan, how are the biometrics?"

"100%."

"Good. We are going to the future. There is going to be tons of neon, put these glasses on."

Susan put the glasses on and I hit the FUTURE button.

*Deadly Swamp Things*

Susan and I arrived in a lost time. It was a patch of murky soil within a swamp. We stepped out of the time machine.

"Susan, do you see that swamp creature!" I yelled.

"Yes, Dr. Haverly. We must get back inside."

"Wait!" I said. "It could be sentient. Susan, just because something is ugly, does not mean it is not intelligent. Swamp Thing!?"

"Yes?" The swamp thing asked. It looked like a magnificent spider with long octopus tentacles.

"You look like a spider with octopus tentacles - did you know that?"

The Swamp Thing just kinda nodded and pulled out a giant swamp joint.

"See, Susan. He's just a laid back guy."

That's when the Swamp Thing slapped Susan.

*Time Wars!*

My assistant, Susan, and I were once again traveling through time. She was a worthy assistant and helped me to no end in my ventures.

"Susan, how are the biometrics?"

"They are 100%."

"Excellent. I think we will be at our destination soon." We were travelling to Christ-time.

"It will be wonderful to see Jesus in real life."

"Yes." I confirmed. But I was a little worried. The micro processors were giving me some bad readings. I took a look and realized we were headed for trouble. "Susan, there's a Time War up ahead!"

"What's a Time War?" Susan asked.

"It's when many time travelers travel to the same date at the same time. This could get hairy."

I handed her a razor.

*Biometrics*

"Susan, what are our biometrics?"

"They are 100%."

"Good. Can you get me a reading on the time weather we will be passing through on the way to the 1920s?"

"The weather is good. There are a series of time storms that have just passed through the 1930s, so we are OK."

"Glad we're not going to the 1950s." I said jokingly. "Start the time engines."

Susan started the time engines and we headed off to travel in time.

I boned her on the way.

*Susan*

"Susan, how are the biometrics?"

"Not good."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. They are claiming that you have VD."

"But, how?"

"You tell me. Or - wait, let's go back in time and see what you were doing when I had the flu for a week back in 2013."

"We could do that. Or we could kill Hitler. Which will it be?"

"You do this every time. We've killed him hundreds of times."

"So, you're more important than 8 million people? Is that it?"

"Currently, he's dead."

"Not fifteen minutes before the last time we killed him."

"But it doesn't matter."

"Of course it does - you brought it up."

"I..but..I did?"

I do this to Susan every time she brings up the VD.

*The Twenties*

We stepped outside of the time machine and I pulled my gun. The 1920s are notorious for crime in America and I was pretty sure we were in America.

"Hey, are we in America?" I asked a stranger.

He said nothing. Apparently dogs cannot talk in the 1920s like they can in the 3040s.

But you can still have sex with them.

*The Land That Time Forgot*

After hitting the time machine button the machine began emitting a large electrical current around itself and we were whisked away.

I had forgotten to enter in a date to go to, so it sent us to the default year 9999.

We stepped outside the machine and found an Earth that was unrecognizable. It had two suns and three moons.

And six penises. Man. Time totally forgot about that Earth.

*Dinosaur Disaster*

We arrived in dinosaur times. We looked around and saw dinosaurs. This confirmed: Dinosaur Times.

Our first dinosaur seemed to be a sort of giant crocodile that watched us from afar.

We immediately shot it.

title: [HM] The Time Travelers Who Traveled Through Time!

question: What eras do the time travelers go to?

answer: They visit the Moon Landing, the Assassination of JFK, the Revolutionary War, Ewoks from Star Wars, Deadly Swamp Things, a Time War at the time of Christ, and the time of the Dinosaurs.

question: What style is the story written in?

answer: The story has almost no description. It states events as they happen and relies mostly on dialogue. There are also many punchlines in the story. Rarely do we encounter characters other than the Doctor and Susan.

question: What different fandoms does the story draw on?

answer: The story draws on content that may be copyrighted. For instance, Ewoks from Star Wars and the Land Before Time are mentioned as settings. Most interestingly however the form of the story is similar to the popular British Television show "Doctor Who" although in this story the Doctor has a name — Dr.  Haverly.


text:
[Henryson addressed his _Testament_ to a readership of women. Painting by Robert Campin, 1438. ]

[Diomede and Cressida, perhaps]

_THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID_ is a narrative poem of 616 lines in Middle Scots, written by the 15th-century Scottish makar Robert Henryson. It is his best known poem.[1] It imagines a tragic fate for Cressida in the medieval story of _Troilus and Criseyde_ which was left untold in Geoffrey Chaucer's version. Henryson's cogent psychological drama, in which he consciously resists and confronts the routine depiction of Cressida (Cresseid) as simply 'false', is one of the features that has given the poem enduring interest for modern readers and it is one of the most admired works of northern renaissance literature. A modern English translation by Seamus Heaney, which also included seven of Henryson's fables from _The Morall Fabillis_, was published in 2009.

Narrative outline

Diomedes, an Achaean hero with whom Cresseid begins a romantic relationship after being separated from and subsequently losing romantic interest in Troilus, banishes Cresseid from his company thereby leaving her destitute. After wandering for a while amongst the Greek soldiers, seeking their company, she returns to the home of her father Calchas, a keeper of the temple of Venus. Though Calchas welcomes her heartily, Cresseid desires to hide away from a disapproving world and encloses herself in a private oratory, where she weeps and rages against the cruelty of Venus and Cupid in, as she sees it, leading her on. The gods take offence at this blasphemy, and assemble to pass judgement on her, and the poem features graphically-realised portraits of the planetary pantheon of gods in the dream vision at its heart. They strike her with the symptoms of leprosy which remove her youth and good looks, leaving her disfigured and blind. She is thus considered a social outcast and decides she must join a leper colony. There she laments her fate until a fellow leper woman encourages her not to sigh over things which cannot be changed, but instead to take her cup and clapper[2] and join the other lepers to beg for daily alms.

As Cresseid joins the lepers to go out begging, Troilus and the garrison of Troy happen to pass by. She lifts her eyes to his, but since she is blind she cannot recognise him. Troilus, similarly unable to recognise the disfigured Cresseid, yet being reminded of her, without quite knowing why, is spontaneously moved to give up to her all the wealth he has about him at that moment (his belt, a full purse of gold, and jewels) before riding off, almost fainting for grief when he reaches Troy. The lepers are astounded at the unexpected show of beneficence and when Cresseid asks of her benefactor's identity and is told, she, like Troilus, too is overcome with emotion. She berates herself for her treatment of him and renounces her previously 'selfish' complaints, before sitting down to write her testament, or will, dying soon after.

Henryson's portrayal of Cresseid's 'disgrace' and ultimately tragic end, through the narrator of the poem, is observed with a largely rigorous objectivity. Where the narrator comes to judge, rather than reinforcing the institutional admonishment of a 'shocked' or disapproving society, he 'confesses' to his natural pity for Cresseid's misfortune, against the standard view of 'false womanhood' which she was taken in his day to represent. This is perhaps all the more expressive for having been apparently withheld or 'repressed' within the conceit of the poem. The most explicit statement of this breaks through in the passage:

             Yit nevertheless, quhat ever men deme or say
             In scornefull langage of thy brukkilnes,
             I sall excuse als far furth as I may
             Thy womanheid, thy wisdome and fairnes,
             The quhilk fortoun hes put to sic distres
             As hir pleisit, and nathing throw the gilt
             Of the, throw wickit langage to be spilt!

Characters

-   Cresseid, daughter of Calchas, who is punished for breaking her vow of love to Troilus
-   Troilus, one of the sons of Trojan king Priam, and former lover of Cresseid
-   Calchas, Cresseid's loving father. In the Testament, he is a priest of Venus and Cupid.
-   The gods Cupid, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Phoebus, Venus, Mercury, and Cynthia.

Structure

-   Throughout the poem, Henryson makes use of the rhyme royal, a rhyme scheme introduced and popularised by Geoffrey Chaucer, and set out as follows- ABABBCC. The stanzas are generally seven lines each in length, and in iambic pentameter. However, in the section in which Cresseid laments her fate from the leper colony (a Complaint), the stanzas are nine lines in length, and with the rhyme scheme AABAABAAB

Notes

[1]

[2] http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/clapper

title: The Testament of Cresseid

question: What action of Cresseid offends the gods?

answer: She returns to her father's home where she isolates herself. She then rails against Cupid and Venus for leading her on. Her unhappiness is caused when Diomedes, with whom she had a romantic connection banishes her from his company.

question: How does the story connect Cresseid and Troilus?

answer: Cresseid and Troilus were once romantically connected but they were separated and Cresseid lost interest in him. As punishment for blaspheming the gods Cresseid was struck with leprosy which disfigured and blinded her. One day she and Troilus meet but he doesn't recognize her because she is disfigured and she is blind so she doesn't know he is there.

question: Why does Diomedes banish Cresseid from his presence?


text:
The emptiness crept up with no warning. Still can't put a name to what it is, the hole punched into the middle of my chest, leaving my vitals exposed for the world to play with, to fill with their fingers and poisons, to manipulate like puppet masters.

It's like coming down from a great high, that rushing feeling of overwhelming reality as the earth falls into pieces, crushing you with the weight of the sky. In the back of your mind, you know it's another damn day, but today is the end of the world. And for all you know, so is tomorrow, and the next day, being smothered under the weight of life over and over, struggling to breathe, to find fresh air, to free yourself, to break away from all that is dragging you down into the dark abyss. But the strain is too much, you collapse and give in to the pressure, looking for anything around you to help you forget what's happening, the bottle, the pills, the knife, the gun, and oh if only you could end it. End it now. Once and for all. Because you are sure that today is just another damn day, and tomorrow will be the same.

title: Another Damn Day

question: Describe how the narrator is feeling.

answer: The narrator is feeling overwhelmed and struggling.

question: How does the narrator feel about the future?

answer: They feel hopeless, as if tomorrow will be the same.

question: What are some themes of this passage?

answer: Some themes of this passage are hopelessness and suicide.

question: What does the narrator compare the feeling to?

answer: They compare it to coming down from a great high.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator feels empty inside. They feel overwhelmed by everything, and they don't think it will get any better tomorrow. They are struggling, and are considering suicide.


text:
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TEENAGER Jade Anderson has confessed to being the girl who threw a shoe which hit One Direction star Harry Styles in the crown jewels.

Jade, 14, of East Kilbride, said she just wanted the singer to touch something that belonged to her and had no intention of hurting him.

She said: I was just thinking that if he touched him, it would be a special moment for me for the rest of my life."

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question: What is the name of the girl who threw a shoe at One Direction star, Harry Styles?

answer: Her name is Jade Anderson.

question: How old is Jane Anderson?

answer: She is 14 years old.

question: What reason did the teenager give for through her shoe?

answer: She wants Harry Styles to touch something of hers.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Jane Anderson, a 14-year-old teenager has confessed to having thrown her shoe at One Direction star, Harry Styles. She claims she had no intention of hurting him but want him to touch something of hers.