text:
"It's just a white cookie" the ad read. No big deal were led to believe in the onslaught of ads that followed over the next few years. "Do it for your family", "Do it for your friends", "Do it for the kids","Do it for mother earth", "Search inside your heart. Find the reasons to: Just do it". "It's as easy as a white cookie".

I don't recall when it became normalized, when the ads seeped into the mental landscape to become the dominant mindset of popular culture. Thinking back I can see clearly now that the kids and young adults were selected as the prime targets in this sociological re engineering project.

It must have started about the same time that the plight of the Fukushima children leaked out despite the MSM's relentless efforts to suppress the horror. Around the same time that logging off the internet became impossible with penalty for trying. When the state (my country) enacted monetary control over all private funds and the rest of the world followed suit. Around the time global governance, the end of physical money. and mandatory RFID implants started to become reality.

Yes that's about right, when this white cookie shit surfaced - just ahead of all that other stuff that has transformed our life into their nightmare.

"But it's just a white cookie. Just submit and all your dreams can come true. Submit and all the troubles, and penalties, and restrictions, and socially sanctioned shame and guilt, and hunger melt away", says the voice on the overhead radio to the bus passengers. They're making jokes and laughing about the so called "small minority" of the resistors or hold-outs, as were now being referred to as, for not submitting to the Plan To Save The Planet.

That's the latest message mutation being sold to us 24/7 via all media outlets. "It's the plan to save the planet and all the things in it that matter" or as I over heard someone saying yesterday, "Planned Planet Hood." "Do your part - it's as simple as a white cookie." The ads and pressures are everywhere. Fewer and fewer are resisting. Fewer still speak in defiance - people are beginning to "disappear". People are beginning to understand without the ads that the white cookie solution isn't really a choice. Choice is gone.

I'm on my way too. Supposedly this bus ride today, this mandatory "Request For Information" is "Strictly Routine" according to the registered letter. Just to check that the RFID implant hasn't shifted or gotten infected or more importantly, to them, been tampered with.

I can hear the words, "it's just a white cookie" echoing from some distant speaker as the GovTran pulls up to the regional CPU. We all file off like cattle at a meat market. Nobodies talking, but everybody knows this is it. Eye contact is limited and our yellow coloured shoulder patch informs all as to which area to push us towards. "Be free. Be part of the Plan" a reassuring voice sounds from multiple speakers above, as were shuffled out of the open air, into a yellow hallway that leads to a yellow building with "attendants" in yellow jump suits.

Fuck! I'm stressed. Starting to sweat. Want to run. It's too late now, to get out. It was too late six months ago when my chip went in and travel became chip dependent. My turn. I'm led to a small room with a man at a desk. I sit on the only spare chair. Fucking yellow chair.

"You're 718341676-FR?" he says without looking up. Before I can answer he points his portable scanner at my chip and looks at the data. "Look" he says, "This is really just an exercise in compliance. I see you don't have any recourse. You've got next to nil GovCred and zero GovConX. You," he leans forward on his desk and quickly glances at the black surveillance camera on the wall, "You really have a limited opportunity to freely accept the cookie. So what I need to know is if you're going to sign the release, take the cookie, and be part of the plan to save to planet? Or not? And I need to know now, I've got hundreds more to come after you. So what's it going to be?" "Would you do it?" I ask. "I have done it" he answers sharply. He leans back on his chair, and says, while looking away from the live-feed, "If you volunteer to do this, things will go back to normal for you. It's just a white cookie and then it's over, then you move on with the rest of your life. Full credits and privileges. If you don't, no credits, no privileges, and it happens anyway but with lots of pain, blood loss, and scar tissue."

"So we're about done here" he says as he stands up. "Okay, OK. I'll do it. I'll do it." He hands me the pen, I sigh and I sign the electronic pad. In a moment the door opens and a small white cookie on a small white plate is handed to me. I pick it up and stare across the desk at the guy in yellow. "It's just a cookie" he says smoothly in a tone devoid of emotion like he's been here, at this point, a thousand times. "I wish you'd quit saying that" I say as I start to chew it. "I have to say it. No options for any of us" he adds. I want to jump up and smash his face in. He notices the way I'm looking at him.

As I finish the sickeningly sweet cookie, he stands and hands me a pill bottle with one pill inside. Then he says, "You may notice a tingling sensation - that's normal. There will be bruising, then gradual shrinkage. If there's pain - take the pill." And with that I was shown out the back exit. I now know why the term White Cookie was used. Blue Balls was taken.

title: White Cookie,Blue Testicles, Green Planet.

question: Summarize the plot of the story.

answer: The world the narrator is living in has mandatory RFID implants and there is a plan to save the world with white cookies. The narrator has been summoned for a "Request for Information" with other people who have not eaten the cookies. The narrator is led to a small room and is convinced to eat the cookie. The narrator eats the cookie and then leaves.

question: What does the text say about the white cookies?

answer: According to the text, the white cookie is part of the plan to save the Earth. Some people, like the narrator, are resisting the plan, and refuse to eat the cookie. The ads state that "It's just a white cookie." Based on context clues provided, it seems that the cookies medically castrate the consumer, or at least make them unable to have kids.

question: Summarize the events that lead up to the story taking place.

answer: The events leading up to the plot of the story include the introduction of the white cookies. The cookies are being advertised in numerous ways, and most people have accepted the plan to save the planet. The world is now under a global government, and physical money is no longer used. RFID implants have become mandatory, logging off of the internet became impossible, and something to do with the Fukushima children happened. A combination of these events led to the narrator on their way to receive the cookie.


split: train

text:
The CHURCH OF ST MARGARET is a Grade I listed building, adjacent to Babington House in Babington, Somerset, England.[1] The church is owned and operated by the St Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust, which is completely independent of the management of Babington House.[2]

There may have been a Norman building on the site before the current church, which is thought to date from 1748 and was probably built by John Strahan or William Halfpenny,[3] and is considered to be very similar in conception to Redland Chapel in Bristol, probably by John Strahan but completed by William Halfpenny.[4] The building was commissioned by the Knatchbull family.[5]

The building includes an Apsidal sanctuary and a small west tower with an octagonal cupola.[6] The interior includes an unusual Royal Arms of the Hanoverians on the Rood.[7]

Within the churchyard there are a set of three chest tombs. The monument to John Shute is dated 1688 and that to Thomas Branch 1779.[8]

The church no longer hosts regular services but is licensed for public worship and has a licence allowing the undertaking of Church of England weddings. Certain other ceremonies such as baptisms, funerals etc. can also be performed in the church. The building may also be used for community and cultural purposes. Bookings can be made by contacting the Secretary to the St. Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust.[9]

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title: St Margaret's Church, Babington

question: Who owns the Church of St. Margaret?

answer: The church is owned and operated by the St. Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust.

question: Does the church still hold services?

answer: The church no longer hosts regular services but is licensed for public worship, as well as for Church of England weddings.

question: When was the church built?

answer: Unsure. There may have been a Norman building on the site before the current church, which is thought to date from 1748.

question: Where is the church located?

answer: The church is located in Babington, Somerset, England.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Church of St. Margaret is a church in Babington, Somerset, England. It no longer holds regular services, but is licensed for public worship and Church of England weddings.


text:
I have this "friend". Friend is used with quotation marks because real friends share the following information: pregnancies, graduations, launching of their new blog/website, how they just ate "the most mind blowing sushi EVER", new relationships, breakups, all the dirty details that go on in between, and the sort of information that is about to be revealed in this story.

Now my friend, we'll call him Alan, has worked out of state for almost three years now. He works on an oil rig so he spends two weeks in North Dakota and then lives two weeks in the great state of Utah. I hadn't seen Alan since he left but we've kept contact here and there. Alan is the type of friend that you don't share your deepest, darkest secrets with but is just a good time guy. You know, when you get a text from him it's just a sudden feel good. I know I won't be roped into a drawn out conversation about the meaning of life, how an unfortunate incident in his childhood scared him for life, or how Obamacare is single handedly destroying the United States and will certainly spur the Apocalypse. Side note: I don't believe that last statement is true. I live in a VERY conservative state where that seems to be the popular belief. He just checks in to say "Hi", send a great new song he heard, or just shoot the sarcastic random shit. I adore this about him.

Well, Alan was coming back into town and we decided that THIS TIME we will be getting together for lunch. It's been mentioned here and there but never actually came to fruition. It is decided that he will come pick me up at work and we will head over to Costa Vida because as he put it, "It's always good." I have a difference of opinion but hey, not everyone wants to eat a super healthy freak lunch like I do. Needless to say, I was excited regardless. I hadn't seen his face in forever and where we ate wasn't much of a concern to me.

Alan arrived and I, dressed in my tyed dyed hippie skirt, managed to use all my upper arm strength to pull myself into his truck that was raised about 10 feet off the ground. Yes, that's an over exaggeration but while wearing flip flops and a maxi skirt, it's like you're hoisting yourself onto the Empire State Building in one step. The ride there was a little on the awkward side but I didn't expect any less seeing as the last time we were in each others company was almost three years ago. We arrive at Costa Vida and stand in line waiting to order. The conversation is nothing short of small talk. "How was your trip back?" "How is your daughter doing?"...that sort of stuff. So it's now our turn to order and the man who initially takes the order looks, well, angry. Alan orders his burrito and I order a salad (which is just a burrito with twice as much lettuce and not rolled up.) Upon my request for something semi healthy, the man very clearly lets out a huge sigh. Apparently he was not satisfied with my request to give the world the impression that I do live a semi healthy lifestyle. Of course Alan and I found this funny and now the topic of conversation from there to the table was this one man's delightful presence.

Here's where the story takes a turn. We sit down at the table and I notice Alan is looking very nervous and is actually shaking. Then the conversation goes like this,

Alan: "I have a secret to tell you."
Me: "Okay...?"
Alan: "I'm married."

This is one of those moments in life where your brain goes completely blank and at the same time has more thoughts running through it than ever before. The result...time stands still. There are no words coming out of my mouth for a few moments because not one thought is being fully formed in my brain. They're all just floating through my head randomly like little bubbles popping so fast that I can't make out what they even are.

Me: "You're married?"
Alan: "Yeah."
Me: "Like married, married?"
Alan: "Yeah."
Me: "Since when?"
Alan: "Earlier this year."
Me: "Like in 2013?"
Alan: "Yeah."
Me: "Why didn't you tell me!?"
Alan: "...I don't know."

I feel the need to let everyone know that I wasn't even aware that Alan was engaged. Not only that but I wasn't aware that he was seeing someone. Alan and I have shared some texts in the past that were of the sexual nature. As a mother and a human with pretty high morals, I would not have done this had I known he had a special someone in his life. I have never felt the urge to be in a relationship with Alan or even have an ongoing sexual relationship with him. Okay, let me be completely honest by saying that yes, I have thought about having sexual relations with him but it would be a one or two time thing. Five times tops. He is that guy who you could sleep with and nothing between you would change. You would still go on being the same friends you were before the clothes came off and things got weird...in a (fingers crossed) good way. Not only that but he's on the very attractive side. Beard. Tattoos. Piercings. These things will instantly put a guy on my do-able list. Again though, had I known that he had a female in his life that was playing such a huge significant role, so much so that he actual married her, I would have thrown him into Friend Zone so fast that it would have completely erased any past dirty thoughts I had about the guy.

So upon further interrogation, I find out that he has been married since June (it's now October) and they actually did the whole ceremony. Which means there was a proposal, invitations, cake tastings, color samples, formal wear trying on, endless emotional breakdowns, engagement parties, bachelor parties, etc. Plenty of time to send a friend a quick text sharing your happy news. This, very obviously, did not happen and I had no idea that my "friend" even had an apple of his eye. Needless to say the next few minutes were very awkward. I think there were a lot of blank stares coming from my side of the table and a whole lot of eye contact avoidance from his.

Alan: "You're judging me."
Me: "Not yet. I'm still trying to let it sink in. Judgment will come later."

And it did. Of course it did. I'm divorced so sarcastic comments about marriage flow out of me like rain during springtime in Seattle. Not that I'm against marriage. Quite a fan actually. I love love and love when people are in love and want to be in love again one day. You know, the whole white picket fence, children running around half dressed covered in popsicle stains in the front yard, medium sized half breed dogs barking at the mailman, and the smell of freshly baked cookies pouring out the kitchen window. However, given this situation the only words I could come up with were, "Well, congratulations...?" and "Do I buy you a gift or something?" As we sat there continuing to involuntarily bask in the awkwardness of the moment, Alan tries to deflect the conversation.

He runs his hand across the chair next to him and says,

Alan: "This is really smooth wood."
Me: "Really? You want to comment on any of the other structural properties of the restaurant?"
Alan (looking up and the exposed ceiling): "The ceiling looks...warehousey."
Me (at the exact moment he says the word "warehousey"): "Industrial?"

We both laugh about his choice of word and the fact that it is not a word that would be recognized by any addition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and now we are back to our witty normal banter. I still have a special place in my heart for him and always will. Plus he did leave me with this memorable story to tell and one thing I do love about life, the moments that are so irrelevant but give you something to smile about years down the road. No drama. Just good times.

title: The ceiling looks...warehousey.

question: Why is the word "friend" in quotation marks in this story?

answer: The author posits that real friends share a ton of things. Alan is characterized as being tight-lipped.

question: Why did the author have trouble getting into Alan's truck?

answer: They were wearing flimsy footwear and a skirt.

question: Why does the author have bad things to say about marriage?

answer: They've been married, and presumably it didn't go well, as they are now divorced.

question: Why might the narrator have made the interaction awkward?

answer: They had previously exchanged sexual texts with Alan and now felt stupid.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator discusses a coworker named Alan whom they never considered to be a real friend as Alan kept a lot of things to himself. One day they finally go to lunch together and Alan and he confesses he is married. The narrator is divorced and has, in the past, exchanged texts of a sexual nature with Alan, so awkwardness ensues.


text:
Gentle hands stroke my back. I’m enveloped in a warm embrace by the person whom I love most in the world. I’m so happy just being here with them, so happy it almost hurts. I love them so much. I place a gentle kiss on their cheek which is with returned with equal tenderness. I can feel myself being pulled closer to them and although no words are being said, we know exactly what the other is thinking. Pure bliss is what best describes what I feel at this instant; nothing else seems to matter or even exist when I’m with them. This moment would be absolutely perfect…if only they loved me back.

All the times that have been shared, all the laughs that have been had, all the tears that have been shed, it’s hard to remember a time they weren’t there living life alongside me. Loyalty knows no bounds when it concerns us; the other is always ready to do anything that is requested of them. We cherish each other immensely and we are absolutely inseparable. If someone who didn’t know us took a quick glance at us, they would assume we’re lovers. How I desperately wish that were true. I know I should be happy with what I have, but human nature almost never allows one to be satisfied.

I look up at them to find a small smile playing upon their lips, their eyes half closed and looking relaxed as ever. I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks which they were able to see as well, causing them to laugh quietly. Ever so softly I press my lips to theirs, enjoying the sensation of them mirroring my actions. “I love you,” I whisper by their ear knowing that no matter what their reply is, it will not have the same meaning as that which I desire. I move closer still to them, and gently wrap my arms around them. They’ll probably fall asleep soon while I lie next to them thinking about tomorrow and what it may bring. Tomorrow, we’ll have more fun than today. Tomorrow, more memories will be made. Tomorrow will be the day they love me back. I slowly doze off with these thoughts floating around in my head but I know deep down that the thing I want most for tomorrow will probably never happen.

title: just something that came to mind

question: What feeling does this story evoke?

answer: This story evokes the feeling of love and being cared for.

question: How can you describe the narrator's feelings?

answer: The narrator is in a dream state, feeling all the love, and looking forward to making beautiful memories day after day.

question: Is the narrator fully satisfied with their relationship?

answer: It does not seem as though the narrator is fully satisfied with their relationship as they state that human nature almost never allows one to be satisfied.


text:
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It may be the find of a lifetime. A Houston art collector says a $90 thrift store painting may be a surprise worth thousands of dollars -- maybe much more.

Ray Riley says something about the painting caught his eye when he found it at the Guild Shop with a list price of $90.

Riley says his research leads him to believe this is a Sigmar Polke, a now deceased German painter.

"My next step is going through the authentication process. I am in the process now of contacting a guy over in California for the authentication process," said Riley.

Riley thinks the work may be worth a lot of money on the auction block.

"We are going through the authentication process and once we complete that, once it's verified and authenticated, we go from the $90 I paid for it the million dollars," said Riley.

While Riley waits on official word, back at the Guild Shop Executive Director Gaye Jackson knows a painting recently dropped off is by William Gaye York and worth every penny of the $18,000 price tag.

[William Gaye York painting]

"We found out at auction some of his work has gone had for as much as $64,000," said Jackson.

The painting was simply dropped off one day. It's not unusual for the Guild Shop to take in paintings that can be worth big bucks and longtime art browsers are not surprised by the price tag.

"I constantly thrift shop, I am always looking for the diamond in the rough that someone might overlook," said amateur collector Rebecca Garcia.

As for that Sigmar Polke, if it turns out to be real, we'll let you know.

Copyright © 2020 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

question: What was it about the $90 painting at the thrift store that caught the art collector's attention?

answer: Ray Riley, the art collector, found the art fascinating because it was an artwork by the now-deceased German painter Sigmar Polke and it's possible the painting was an original masterpiece which was why he further had it authenticated.

question: Why aren't high-priced paintings displayed at museums instead of at the thrift shop?

answer: It might be because the people who drop them off at the thrift stores possibly underestimate their value.


text:
I sat there watching the birds eat the crusty old bread the elders were throwing out in the middle of the park. I thought about how easy it would be if I could just become a bird and fly away from all of the troubles God has given me. The elders would laugh as they saw the crows fight each other for the largest piece of bread and trample each other as they saw more being thrown onto the cement. The birds wanted the bread and the old women were generous enough to give it away. The treats were just being handed to them and the women didn’t mind the violence they were causing to each other.  Why is it that I can’t be given back what was taken to me? Oh yeah. Because it wasn’t taken from me, it walked away. I let it slip through my fingers and I didn’t think twice about trying to catch it again. If only I was a bird.
	I held onto the charm on the silver chain hanging around my neck. I felt the engraving on the back of the star:
My little angel

title: Escape Artist: a little teaser

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The narrator, the old women, the crows

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: The middle of the park.

question: Why does the narrator want to be a bird?

answer: So he can fly away from all the troubles God has given him.

question: Who is the little angel?

answer: That information can’t be found

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is in the middle of a park watching old women feed bread to the crows, who are fighting and trampling each other for the biggest pieces. They are generous with the bread and don't seem to mind the violence they are causing between the birds. The narrator wishes he was a bird so he can fly away from all the problems God has given him.


text:
Tallahassee Mayor ANDREW GILLUM, the Democratic nominee for Florida Governor, will remain off the campaign trail until at least Wednesday while his community recovers from Hurricane Michael. That means the first gubernatorial debate will likely be canceled.

“I’m as eager to get back out there talking to folks,” Gillum said in a Facebook message to supporters. “I still believe in the possibilities that lie ahead to transform our state.… But we’ve got to get this job done here first.”

Gillum was set to appear at a TELEMUNDO debate with Republican gubernatorial nominee RON DESANTIS on Tuesday in Orlando.

“Over the past several days I have been unable to participate in dozens of campaign events, and this week that will include our participation in the debate sponsored by Telemundo 31 Orlando,” Gillum later said in a statement.

“I deeply appreciate the organizers’ understanding of the situation in Tallahassee. We will work diligently to ensure Telemundo and its audience are represented in the two scheduled debates and other possible forums.”

[]

Gillum noted the TALLAHASSEE CITY COMMISSION will hold a meeting on Wednesday evening. By that point, Gillum said, officials hope to restore power for 90 percent of city residents. But, right now, the city remains heavily impacted by the storm.

“My first priority, my first job,” Gillum said, “is to be the Mayor and to do that job as effectively as I can. To that end, we’re still here in Tallahassee and not able to get back on the trail yet.”

Gillum spokesman GEOFF BURGAN announced the news on Saturday afternoon.

That prompted political analyst STEVE SCHALE to note Gillum’s electoral success will rely on the candidate succeeding at the job he already holds.

“As the old saying goes, you do well by doing good,” Schale said. “He’s done a great job this week.”

Gillum left the campaign trail on Sunday when the storm, still a tropical storm, threatened the coast. Ultimately, the storm grew to greater strength than Hurricane Andrew, RECALIBRATING SCHEDULES FOR A NUMBER OF CANDIDATES.

But Gillum also noted Tallahassee didn’t bear the brunt of the storm. “We are extremely thankful that our community was able to, frankly, dodge what could have been a significantly more impactful storm,” he said.

Still, some 110,000 Tallahassee residents lost power at some point.

But because areas like Bay County and Mexico City suffered worse harm, Gillum said, and regional response remains important for Panhandle leaders.

He apologized to supporters who looked forward to seeing Gillum speak at campaign events, but asked they continue to represent his vision on the trail.

He hoped by week’s end, he could “get ourselves back on the trail with the rest of you working to flip Florida.”

[]

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at jacobogles@hotmail.com.

[]

question: Who is the mayor of Tallahassee?

answer: Andrew Gillum.

question: Why is he staying off the campaign trail?

answer: His community is recovering from Hurricane Michael.

question: How many citizens of Tallahassee lost power?

answer: 110,000.

question: Which ares suffered worse harm than Tallahassee?

answer: Bay County and Mexico City.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article mentions Mayor Andrew Gillum taking a break from campaigning in the mayoral elections for Tallahassee as his community recovers from the devastating Hurricane Michael. Although not as hard hit as other area, 110,000 citizens lost power.


text:
_BOOMBOX – EARLY INDEPENDENT HIP HOP, ELECTRO AND DISCO RAP 1979-82_ is a 2016 compilation album released by Soul Jazz Records.

Content

_Boombox – Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro and Disco Rap 1979-82_ is a 17 track compilation album which focuses on relatively unknown tracks and artists.[1][2] The compact disc version of the album contained a 40-page booklet, photography and original album artwork for these releases.[3] The release contains liner notes from Stuart Baker.[4] Baker's notes focus less on individual tracks, instead going into greater detail about the genre's more significant important elements of the era, such as how most rap artists were featured live bands instead of sampling.[5]

Release

_Boombox – Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro and Disco Rap 1979-82_ was released on 3 June 2016 by Soul Jazz Records on vinyl, compact disc and as a digital download.[6]

Reception

The _Irish Times_ gave the album a positive review, praising the music as “still packs quite a punch” and that the album photos were “just as fascinating”, describing it as an era long consigned to books, film and television.[7]

PopMatters noted that “things do start to feel a bit repetitious after awhile (especially across two whole discs), there are still genuine great takeaways to be found, whether it be Sweet G’s next-level boasting on “Boogie Feelin’ Rap” (“I’m the Clark Gable of the turn tables”) to the fantastic female guest spot on Bon-Rock & The Rhythm Rebellion’s “Searching Rap” to the downright silly “Cop Bop” by Portable Patrol, which avoids the common traps of playful boasting and party-rapping by tying everything to a silly narrative about “the Disco Cop” (who came here to bop).”[8]

_Fact_ later stated the release was one of Soul Jazz's “best releases in 2016” and as one of their best “sets in ages, a legitimate party in a box, overflowing with underground deep cuts that have seldom — if ever — been spotted on other collections.”[9]

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question: When was Boombox released?

answer: 3 June 2016

question: What is "Boombox"?

answer: It is a 17 track compilation album. It focuses on relatively unknown tracks and artists.

question: What does the compact version contain?

answer: The compact version of the album contains a 40-page booklet, photography, and original album artwork for the releases.

question: How did the Irish Times review the album?

answer: The Irish Times has given a positive review, praising the music as "still packs quite a punch."

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer:
The Boombox album is a 17 track compilation that focuses on relatively unknown tracks and artists. The album was released on 3 June 2016 by Soul Jazz Records on vinyl, compact disc, and as a digital download.

The Irish Times praises the music as "still packs quite a punch." The release was one of Soul Jazz's best releases in 2016.


text:
Michael wore aviators that he bought at a gas station. Scratched off the label and told everyone that they were custom built by some Italian guy. But after a Google search of Luigi Vespucci didn't yield an Italian eyewear crafter who specializes in American design, they called bullshit. So Michael called them uncultured.

Michael wore Tommy Hilfiger shirts and shorts with his sun-kissed Sperry's. He had yellow, red, purple, and green ones, seersucker, striped, solid, and dotted ones. He thought they made him look devil-may-care. They made him look snobbish. When there wasn't any sun, he hung his sunglasses off the top button of his shirt to flaunt true Italian craftsmanship.

Michael gelled his hair in a supposedly sensual way. On his chin, the goatee that he had been nurturing for over a month (but which he wasn't old enough to grow) struggled to survive. The wispy hairs swayed lazily with every condescending shake of his head. To his face, people complimented his mature appearance. Behind his back, they giggled mercilessly.

But Michael was proud of that emaciated patch of hair. You have to be proud of everything you accomplish when you don't accomplish much.

Unfortunately, Michael was unbearably proud. One time in grade school, he won Student of the Week. Everyone did, a fact that Michael refused to recognize. His teacher bought him a Dollar Tree medal with a frayed ribbon that read "You're #1!" Joy seizing his fingers, he tried to humbly adorn the honor but ended up beaming like the jack-ass he was. In the dull plastic, Michael saw a movie star loved by millions for his philanthropy, a rock legend who cured cancer, and a rocket scientist selling a million copies of his latest fantasy epic, all of which would be child's play for a man of his infinite potential. Right up to the day he moved out, Michael subtly hinted at his worthless trophy to any newcomer in his room until they had to notice it. He never won anything again.

Lack of material didn't stem Michael's bragging. Strutting across the freshly clipped lawns of his private high school, the sunlight glinting off his golden rings, he extolled his sleek new BMW, his sprawling mansion, and (the one time his parents refused to spoil him) even his shitty sunglasses. While his perfectly manicured fingernails tapped lazily against the delicate hairs of his chin, he complimented his own beautifully lush hair, his tasteful outfit, and the masculinity of his beard. One time he exercised; he bragged about how fit he was for a week. He boasted of his humility, intelligence, and creativity, asserting that the only reason he received subpar grades was he didn't give a fuck. Whenever he managed to muster a crowd, he nonchalantly told lavish, made-up tales of drunken glory, pussy attainment, and other forms of badassery.

And as part of building himself up, Michael tore others down. His tone refining into a sharp, sardonic edge, he mocked their modest homes, scuffed cars, and "gas station" aviators. Many times during lunch, he spilled milk on another's shirt and told them not to get upset since it probably wasn't worth much anyway. He criticized the nerds for trying too hard, the jocks for being idiots, and the poor for being lazy (like most rich kids, he felt he deserved his wealth). It was pitiful.

Aside from his reflection, Michael had few friends. Women avoided him like the plague, only touching him with brief glances of disgust. He spent every weekend alone, socializing vicariously through Facebook. Wherever he sat at lunch, others left. Whenever he asked about the upcoming party, everyone silenced. When people did bother listening to him, it was with a slight, mocking smile on their lips.

Michael got the picture. He knew no one could stand him. So, lost and cripplingly uncharismatic, he decided that the only way he could garner friends would be to garner respect.

But Michael did it all wrong. Since people must know what you've accomplish in order to respect you, he bragged. By exposing others' flaws, he validated his own superiority. And dressing himself in the finest clothes and sporting facial hair gave him a mature, respectable look. Or so he thought.

And what started out as subtle actions designed to win the approval of his peers led to mocking. So Michael upped the ante, but that led to more mocking. And this cycle continued until Michael became just an inescapable parody of himself.

By high school, Michael hated everyone else. Hated that they could be themselves. Hated that they all had girlfriends to share their burdens. Fiery tears burning in his eyes, he watched them laugh together, cry together, and poke fun at each other while he stood alone with only a nice care and a nice house and too much money. He pined to join them instead of being this self-absorbed asshole, but they would claim it was just another ruse to prove his superiority. Be it rational or irrational, Michael saw the only way forward as digging himself deeper into the grave he had begun in grade school.

So Michael wore aviators that he bought at a gas station. Scratched off the label and told everyone that they were custom built by some Italian guy. Because no one respects a man who wears gas station aviators.

title: Gas Station Aviators - 892 words, character description (Any feedback greatly appreciated. Could you see this character in a longer story or novel?)

question: Summarize the things Michael does to try to impress others.

answer: To try an impress others, Michael shows off his golden rings, sleek BMW, and sprawling mansion. He also wears gas station aviators and lies about their origin. He brags about his virtues, including fitness, humility, and intelligence. He also lies about how much he has sex. To build himself up, he tears others down. He exposed the flaws in others to validate his own superiority and dressed in nice clothes and grew facial hair to look more mature.

question: What does the story say about Michael's relationship with his classmates?

answer: Michael often tore his other classmates down, mocking their homes, cars, and "gas station" aviators. He outright bullied some kids, going so far as to poor milk on someone's shirt. He did not have many friends, as people tended to avoid him and didn't invite him to parties. By high school, he grew to hate everyone else. He was extremely jealous of them.

question: Summarize the irony of the end of the story.

answer: Michael has mocked people for wearing gas station aviators in the past. At the end of the story, he is wearing gas station aviators himself and lies about where he got them.

question: What does the story say about Michael's occupation as an adult?


text:
Transgender politics have taken Americans by surprise, and caught some lawmakers off guard.

Just a few short years ago, not many could have imagined a high-profile showdown over transgender men and women’s access to single-sex bathrooms in North Carolina.

But transgender ideology is not just infecting our laws. It is intruding into the lives of the most innocent among us—children—and with the apparent growing support of the professional medical community.

As explained in my 2016 peer reviewed article, “Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate,” professionals who dare to question the unscientific party line of supporting gender transition therapy will find themselves maligned and out of a job.

I speak as someone intimately familiar with the pediatric and behavioral health communities and their practices. I am a mother of four who served 17 years as a board certified general pediatrician with a focus in child behavioral health prior to leaving clinical practice in 2012.

For the last 12 years, I have been a board member and researcher for the American College of Pediatricians, and for the last three years I have served as its president.

I also sat on the board of directors for the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity from 2010 to 2015. This organization of physicians and mental health professionals defends the right of patients to receive psychotherapy for sexual identity conflicts that is in line with their deeply held values based upon science and medical ethics.

I have witnessed an upending of the medical consensus on the nature of gender identity. What doctors once treated as a mental illness, the medical community now largely affirms and even promotes as normal.

Here’s a look at some of the changes.

THE NEW NORMAL

Pediatric “gender clinics” are considered elite centers for affirming children who are distressed by their biological sex. This distressful condition, once dubbed gender identity disorder, was renamed “gender dysphoria” in 2013.

In 2014, there were 24 of these gender clinics, clustered chiefly along the east coast and in California. One year later, there were 40 across the nation.

With 215 pediatric residency programs now training future pediatricians in a transition-affirming protocol and treating gender-dysphoric children accordingly, gender clinics are bound to proliferate further.

Last summer, the federal government stated that it would not require Medicare and Medicaid to cover transition-affirming procedures for children or adults because medical experts at the Department of Health and Human Services found the risks were often too high, and the benefits too unclear.

Undeterred by these findings, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health has pressed ahead, claiming—without any evidence—that these procedures are “safe.”

Two leading pediatric associations—the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society—have followed in lockstep, endorsing the transition affirmation approach even as the latter organization concedes within its own guidelines that the transition-affirming protocol is based on low evidence.

They even admit that the only strong evidence regarding this approach is its potential health risks to children.

The transition-affirming view holds that children who “consistently and persistently insist” that they are not the gender associated with their biological sex are innately transgender.

(The fact that in normal life and in psychiatry, anyone who “consistently and persistently insists” on anything else contrary to physical reality is considered either confused or delusional is conveniently ignored.)

The transition-affirming protocol tells parents to treat their children as the gender they desire, and to place them on puberty blockers around age 11 or 12 if they are gender dysphoric.

If by age 16, the children still insist that they are trapped in the wrong body, they are placed on cross-sex hormones, and biological girls may obtain a double mastectomy.

So-called “bottom surgeries,” or genital reassignment surgeries, are not recommended before age 18, though some surgeons have recently argued against this restriction.

The transition-affirming approach has been embraced by public institutions in media, education, and our legal system, and is now recommended by most national medical organizations.

There are exceptions to this movement, however, in addition to the American College of Pediatricians and the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice. These include the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the Catholic Medical Association, and the LGBT-affirming Youth Gender Professionals.

The transgender movement has gained legs in the medical community and in our culture by offering a deeply flawed narrative. The scientific research and facts tell a different story.

Here are some of those basic facts.

1. TWIN STUDIES PROVE NO ONE IS BORN “TRAPPED IN THE BODY OF THE WRONG SEX.”

Some brain studies have suggested that some are born with a transgendered brain. But these studies are seriously flawed and prove no such thing.

Virtually everything about human beings is influenced by our DNA, but very few traits are hardwired from birth. All human behavior is a composite of varying degrees for nature and nurture.

Researchers routinely conduct twin studies to discern which factors (biological or nonbiological) contribute more to the expression of a particular trait. The best designed twin studies are those with the greatest number of subjects.

Identical twins contain 100 percent of the same DNA from conception and are exposed to the same prenatal hormones. So if genes and/or prenatal hormones contributed significantly to transgenderism, we should expect both twins to identify as transgender close to 100 percent of the time.

Skin color, for example, is determined by genes alone. Therefore, identical twins have the same skin color 100 percent of the time.

But in the largest study of twin transgender adults, published by Dr. Milton Diamond in 2013, only 28 percent of the identical twins both identified as transgender. Seventy-two percent of the time, they differed. (Diamond’s study reported 20 percent identifying as transgender, but his actual data demonstrate a 28 percent figure, as I note here in footnote 19.)

That 28 percent of identical twins both identified as transgender suggests a minimal biological predisposition, which means transgenderism will not manifest itself without outside nonbiological factors also impacting the individual during his lifetime.

The fact that the identical twins differed 72 percent of the time is highly significant because it means that at least 72 percent of what contributes to transgenderism in one twin consists of nonshared experiences after birth—that is, factors not rooted in biology.

Studies like this one prove that the belief in “innate gender identity”—the idea that “feminized” or “masculinized” brains can be trapped in the wrong body from before birth—is a myth that has no basis in science.

2. GENDER IDENTITY IS MALLEABLE, ESPECIALLY IN YOUNG CHILDREN.

Even the American Psychological Association’s Handbook of Sexuality and Psychology admits that prior to the widespread promotion of transition affirmation, 75 to 95 percent of pre-pubertal children who were distressed by their biological sex eventually outgrew that distress. The vast majority came to accept their biological sex by late adolescence after passing naturally through puberty.

But with transition affirmation now increasing in Western society, the number of children claiming distress over their gender—and their persistence over time—has dramatically increased. For example, the Gender Identity Development Service in the United Kingdom alone has seen a 2,000 percent increase in referrals since 2009.

3. PUBERTY BLOCKERS FOR GENDER DYSPHORIA HAVE NOT BEEN PROVEN SAFE.

Puberty blockers have been studied and found safe for the treatment of a medical disorder in children called precocious puberty (caused by the abnormal and unhealthy early secretion of a child’s pubertal hormones).

However, as a groundbreaking paper in The New Atlantis points out, we cannot infer from these studies whether or not these blockers are safe in physiologically normal children with gender dysphoria.

The authors note that there is some evidence for decreased bone mineralization, meaning an increased risk of bone fractures as young adults, potential increased risk of obesity and testicular cancer in boys, and an unknown impact upon psychological and cognitive development.

With regard to the latter, while we currently don’t have any extensive, long-term studies of children placed on blockers for gender dysphoria, studies conducted on adults from the past decade give cause for concern.

For example, in 2006 and 2007, the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology reported brain abnormalities in the area of memory and executive functioning among adult women who received blockers for gynecologic reasons. Similarly, many studies of men treated for prostate cancer with blockers also suggest the possibility of significant cognitive decline.

4. THERE ARE NO CASES IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE OF GENDER-DYSPHORIC CHILDREN DISCONTINUING BLOCKERS.

Most, if not all, children on puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormones (estrogen for biological boys, testosterone for biological girls). The only study to date to have followed pre-pubertal children who were socially affirmed and placed on blockers at a young age found that 100 percent of them claimed a transgender identity and chose cross-sex hormones.

This suggests that the medical protocol itself may lead children to identify as transgender.

There is an obvious self-fulfilling effect in helping children impersonate the opposite sex both biologically and socially. This is far from benign, since taking puberty blockers at age 12 or younger, followed by cross-sex hormones, sterilizes a child.

5. CROSS-SEX HORMONES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DANGEROUS HEALTH RISKS.

From studies of adults we know that the risks of cross-sex hormones include, but are not limited to, cardiac disease, high blood pressure, blood clots, strokes, diabetes, and cancers.

6. NEUROSCIENCE SHOWS THAT ADOLESCENTS LACK THE ADULT CAPACITY NEEDED FOR RISK ASSESSMENT.

Scientific data show that people under the age of 21 have less capacity to assess risks. There is a serious ethical problem in allowing irreversible, life-changing procedures to be performed on minors who are too young themselves to give valid consent.

7. THERE IS NO PROOF THAT AFFIRMATION PREVENTS SUICIDE IN CHILDREN.

Advocates of the transition-affirming protocol allege that suicide is the direct and inevitable consequence of withholding social affirmation and biological alterations from a gender-dysphoric child. In other words, those who do not endorse the transition-affirming protocol are essentially condemning gender-dysphoric children to suicide.

Yet as noted earlier, prior to the widespread promotion of transition affirmation, 75 to 95 percent of gender-dysphoric youth ended up happy with their biological sex after simply passing through puberty.

In addition, contrary to the claim of activists, there is no evidence that harassment and discrimination, let alone lack of affirmation, are the primary cause of suicide among any minority group. In fact, at least one study from 2008 found perceived discrimination by LGBT-identified individuals not to be causative.

Over 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosed mental disorder, and there is no evidence that gender-dysphoric children who commit suicide are any different. Many gender dysphoric children simply need therapy to get to the root of their depression, which very well may be the same problem triggering the gender dysphoria.

8. TRANSITION-AFFIRMING PROTOCOL HAS NOT SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF TRANSGENDER SUICIDE.

Adults who undergo sex reassignment—even in Sweden, which is among the most LGBT-affirming countries—have a suicide rate nearly 20 times greater than that of the general population. Clearly, sex reassignment is not the solution to gender dysphoria.

BOTTOM LINE: TRANSITION-AFFIRMING PROTOCOL IS CHILD ABUSE

The crux of the matter is that while the transition-affirming movement purports to help children, it is inflicting a grave injustice on them and their nondysphoric peers.

These professionals are using the myth that people are born transgender to justify engaging in massive, uncontrolled, and unconsented experimentation on children who have a psychological condition that would otherwise resolve after puberty in the vast majority of cases.

Today’s institutions that promote transition affirmation are pushing children to impersonate the opposite sex, sending many of them down the path of puberty blockers, sterilization, the removal of healthy body parts, and untold psychological damage.

These harms constitute nothing less than institutionalized child abuse. Sound ethics demand an immediate end to the use of pubertal suppression, cross-sex hormones, and sex reassignment surgeries in children and adolescents, as well as an end to promoting gender ideology via school curricula and legislative policies.

It is time for our nation’s leaders and the silent majority of health professionals to learn exactly what is happening to our children, and unite to take action.

question: What does the document describe as "gender dysphoria"?

answer: The document describes this as a person feeling trapped in their biological body due to not identifying with their body's sex.

question: Describe the section "THE NEW NORMAL".

answer: This section mentions the increase in protocols being used to affirm gender dysphoria in children at the time of this document.

question: What happens by age 16?

answer: If by age 16, a child who still insists they are trapped in the wrong body after being given puberty blockers, they will be given cross-sex hormones and girls can get a double masectomy.

question: What are some institutions that are mentioned in this document?

answer: The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society are mentioned.

question: What year was this document written?

answer: It's not clear the specific year, but it was written after 2014.

question: What is the goal of this document?

answer: The goal of this document is to alert United States leaders and health professionals that transition-affirming protocol is child abuse, and that they need to unite to take action.

question: What is the youngest age mentioned in this document?

answer: 11

question: Why are lawmakers caught off guard by transgender politics?

answer: The author implies that the lawmakers are caught off guard by transgender politics due to the rapid acceleration of it becoming a popular issue at the time of this document.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of the document, the author provided information about the increase in transgender affirming protocol and the harm it inflicts on children. The author called for the leaders of the United States and health professionals to learn  what is happening to the nation's children, and unite to take action.


text:
I met Randall Finn two years ago, when I was working at Stevens Laboratories in Boston. At the time, I was the manager of a drug research project, testing the safety of an antidepressant. We had just about finished our trials on mice, and I was looking for a chance to do a human trial. Problem is, there aren’t too many people out there who are willing to risk their own safety for the sake of scientific advancement. I didn’t have the budget to pay well, either. So when I heard that a white male in his mid-thirties was offering to participate in any scientific studies, I called him immediately. On the line, his voice was rich and warm, like I imagine some kind of singer or a good movie dad would talk. He said he’d come right over.
Randall lived about an hour away, so I spent the intervening time imagining what he would look like. That voice made me think of a rustic cowboy, retired and raising a family of three kids, by himself. He was probably a burly guy, with just a day or two of stubble on his chin. I sat down in my little office and Googled him. As it turned out, I didn’t get much right except that he was a burly guy with a day of stubble on his chin. In fact, he worked at a lab like mine in Sharon. Actually, he ran a lab like Draper Labs in Sharon. Randall had a classic rags-to-riches story; he was born into a poor family, did extraordinarily well in school, got a scholarship, and graduated cum laude from Stanford. He started working at Sharon Labs immediately after graduating, and within eight years, he was running it. I couldn’t think of why he was trying to be a test subject. Maybe it was a publicity stunt to get more test subjects for his lab.

When my secretary let him into my office, I couldn’t believe it. This time, the only thing I recognized was his stubble. He was thinner than most of my lab rats, and just as pale. He looked like a man who’d never seen the sun in his life.
“Dr. Wilson, I will try to be as honest as possible, and I hope you will do the same. I do not have the energy for politeness or sugarcoating.” He spoke quickly and precisely, as if he were reading cells in a spreadsheet, but he paused every few words to take a shallow breath. I felt my eyes lock with his as he leaned forward to emphasize his next sentence.

“I am dying. Quickly. I have approximately four months before I die. I have not come to you for help. My illness is terminal, and has no cure. I do not expect you to find one in the time I have left. I plan to make myself useful in my final months. As you might guess, I have no objections to anything that will kill me within a year, or nine months, or six. Do you have a problem with this?”

He gripped the edge of my desk tightly and pushed himself back up to lean back in his chair. I could feel him staring at my head as I looked to the side. At one level, I was overjoyed. Here was the ideal test subject: he has no fear of death or injury, and for good reason. He could walk straight up to Chernobyl and kick the reactor walls and it wouldn’t shorten his life by a millisecond. On the other hand, I couldn’t imagine not trying to help him. If nothing else, I had to know what was killing him.
“That sounds…fine to me, Dr. Finn. Now, if you’ll allow me, I’ll try to explain briefly the experiment that you’re signing up for…”

For the next three hours, we talked through every nuance, every control, every damn data point in my entire experiment. True to his word, he did not spare my feelings. Twice, he made a hissing noise through his teeth and said “Bullshit.” He didn’t shout, but he said it with such intensity that it felt like being slapped. As we went over the experiment, I realized that he was testing not just the rigor of the experiment, but also my intelligence. I was a new graduate student again, doing my thesis defense against a jury of scientists much smarter and older than me. It was possibly the most intense three hours of my life. Just as I had started to explain what exactly he would be doing in the lab, he stopped me.

“Thank you, Dr. Wilson, you’ve been very informative. I’ll be here tomorrow at eight o’clock to begin work.” He buttoned his suit as he stood up and walked towards the door, grabbing his jacket on the way out.

“Wait!” He turned around smoothly, pivoting on his left foot to face me.

“Why are you dying?” I came out from behind my desk. I had a sudden thought that if he tried to walk away, I would grab him and hold him in my office until he told me. He gave a little smile, just using the left side of his mouth.

“It’s a genetic illness. At the moment, my body is consuming itself. I can’t process enough food to keep myself alive.” His smile widened, looking more like a wolf’s grin.

“Funny, isn’t it…all those starving African children dying of malnutrition, and here I am, surrounded by wealth and power, dying the same way. Some kind of karmic justice for my sins. I wish I could remember what I did to deserve this.” He nodded slightly and walked out the door, moving so quickly and quietly I didn’t have a chance to decide whether to keep him or let him go.

That night, I researched everything I could on genetic diseases, wasting syndromes, ketogenesis…I couldn’t find anything like what he was describing. His male ancestors did seem to have wasted away; every obituary I could find said that the Finn men had simply grown weaker and thinner until they died. It was incredible. I felt like stopping my experiment and devoting my next four months to studying Randall Finn. He really was a mystery. But he didn’t want me trying to cure him. There were other mysteries to be solved, ones that didn’t involve my own test subjects.

(continued)

title: Randall Finn [unfinished] [feedback much appreciated]

question: What is the story about?

answer: A man who is dying of a genetic illness shows up to a lab to participate in a science experiment.

question: What is the main character surprised by?

answer: How thin the man who shows up is.

question: What laboratory does the main character work at?

answer: Stevens Laboratory.

question: What laboratory does Randall Finn work at?

answer: Sharon Labs.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The story is about a scientist who needs to find test subjects for her experiment. A man from another lab volunteers who is dying and offers to take part because he is not afraid of death.


text:
za_ is a brilliant orange-yellow foliose lichen.

This was a rather severe winter, with long-standing patches and sheets of ice on the lichen substrate. Here’s Xanthomendoza with a partial canopy of ice in a shape that doesn’t look at all like a puppy dog.

[Xanthomendoza-fallax-ice]_Xanthomendoza_ under ice.

Here’s a more uniform ice roof that looks like a miniature glacier.

[Xanthomendoza-fallax-glacier] _Xanthomendoza_ during the Ice Age.

Even through a mixed-up swirly ice lens, Xanthomendoza is dimly recognizable.

[Xanthomendoza fallax swirly] Xanthomendoza in the washing machine.

_Xanthomendoza fallax_ isn’t the only brilliant lichen at this sanctuary. A crustose species, golden sunburst lichen, _Candelariella aurella_, also has quite a sunny disposition.

[Candelariella aurella] Candelariella aurella is a golden-yellow crustose lichen.

Occurring with the colorful yellow ones are several rather gray lichens. One of these is a type of “frost lichen” that I determined through a chemical “spot test” employing a mixture of equal parts 20% potassium hydroxide (KOH), bleach, and self-delusional uncertainty, to be _Physconia leucoleiptes_. This so-called “KC” test consisted of applying the bleach, quickly followed by KOH, on the powdery soralia along the thallus margin, and then observing a resultant faint color change to yellow. (Did I mention “faint”?) [Physconia leucoleiptes]

 Physconia leucoleiptes is a frost lichen.

Physconia can be recognized, at least to the genus level, by the combination of light gray above, black beneath, moderate-sized lobes, and, its most telling feature, a “pruinose” surface. This is a chalky whitish powdery bloom, the basis for the common name “frost lichen.”

[Physconia leucoleiptes pruinia]_Physconia_ has a pruinose surface.

Growing alongside the frost lichen on several of the substrate stones is a another gray foliose lichen, but one with a most distinctive morphology.

[Physcia adscendens lichens] Hooded rosette lichen.

This is “hooded rosette lichen,” _Physcia adscendens_, which can be immediately recognized by its tubular paw-shaped lobes, often broken open at the tip, and with long cilia projecting from the upper margins of the lobes.

[Physcia adscendens]Hooded rosette lichen has paw-shaped lobes.

Hooded rosette lichen would be a bit difficult to recognize under thick ice, so it was nice to have a little “port hole” to see through.

[Physcia adscendens] Hooded rosette lichen under ice.

Another medium-sized gray foliose lichen seen here at Lichen National Park bears abundant apothecia. (Apothecia are the spore producing structures characteristic of the fungus group most lichens belong to, the Ascomycota.)

[Physcia phaea] A foliose lichen with abundant apothecia.

Although it is formally known from just one Ohio county (Coshocton), this _Physcia phaea_ is probably rather common on both natural rocks and lichen havens such as Thew. Its apparent rarity is a consequence of the fact that it was formerly lumped with a widespread very similar species, _P. aipolia_ (hoary rosette lichen). The main difference is habitat, trees versus rocks. [Physcia phaea] Physcia phaea is a rock-dwelling rosette lichen. The surface of Physcia phaea (as well as P. aipolia and several others in that genus) is a bit frosty-looking too, but instead of it being pruinose like Physconia, it’s maculate, i.e., spotted and mottled due to gaps in the algal layer. [Physcia-phaea-maculate]

Physcia phaea is maculate.

Here’s Physcia phaea and Physcia adscendens growing together under ice, including, on the left, a piece of ice that doesn’t look like anything like the head of a big-beaked bird.

[Physcia phaea.] Physcia phaea under ice.

A species of Physcia that is especially common on trees may be seen at these lichen sanctuaries, but, because it is so very narrow-lobed, can be discerned only if you look fairly closely.

[Physcia millegrana habitat] This small gray foliose lichen is abundant but inconspicuous.

It’s “mealy rosette lichen,” _Physcia millegrana_. Look for very narrow, finely dissected lobes broken into coarse soredia (asexual reproductive particles), along with abundant apothecia.

[Physcia millegrana apothecia] Mealy rosette lichen is narrow-lobed, with margins broken into a mass of soredia.

Yet another gray foliose lichen could easily escape notice not because it’s tiny (it isn’t) but because its color and texture match the substrate so well.

[Parmelia sulcata habitat] A large gray foliose lichen hides in plain sight.

This is “bottlebrush shield lichen,” _Parmelia sulcata_, a very common species seen most often on trees. It is fairly wide-lobed, patterned-maculate above, with a coffee-black undersurface.

[Parmelia sulcata lobes] Bottlebrush shield lichen has patterened ridges on its lobes.

This patch of substrate has what looks like a patch of spilled paint on its upper edge.

[Dimelaena oreina habitat] An unusual lichen growth form: squamulose.

Most lichens fall into one of three well-known catgories of growth form: fruticose (shrubby), foliose (leafy), and crustose (like a crust). However, there is another form called “squamulose,” that is more or less intermediate between foliose and crustose. “Squamules” are small scale-like lobes that lift from the surface, at least at the edges. “Golden moonglow lichen,” Dimelaena oreina, is a squamulose lichen found on sunny siliceous rocks.

[Dimelaena oreina squamules] Golden moonglow lichen is a greenish-yellow squamulose lichen.

Here’s Physcia adscendens, with a backdrop of a crustose or squamulose lichen that I haven’t been able to identify yet. [Physcia and-mystery lichen] Hooded rosette lichen, and a dark, as-yet unknown lichen.

Little White Dots on a White Oak Stump
(_Xylobolus frustulatus_, a crust fungus)
Seymour Woods State Nature Preserve Delaware County. Ohio. November 21, 2010.

Seymour Woods State Nature Preserve is a lovely woodland preserve that doesn’t require a special access permit, so it’s a great place for a spur-of-the-moment visit on a Sunday afternoon. On the crest of a ravine near a moment-spur, there’s this stump of a white oak.

[Xylobolus frustulatus habitat] White oak stump at Seymour Woods. November 21, 2010.

Stumps are substrate for a variety of interesting organisms, including of course fungi that are capable of digesting cellulose. (That is not an easy thing to do.) This stump has little white dots on it that seems to be some type of fungus.

[Xylobolus frustulatus stump] Little white dots on a stump. November 21, 2010.

Here’s a close-up of the little white dots. They look very distinctive, but what the heck are they ..and how the heck could you find out? They’re not mushrooms, so they’re not in the any of my mushroom books. I’m stumped!

[Xylobolus frustulatus] Little white dots, close-up. November 21, 2010. Delaware County, Ohio.

Once upon a time, identifying something like this would have taken a whole lot of poking around a library to learn what university has a friendly mycologist who specializes in wood-decaying fungi, to whom you could send it in hopes of getting a nice letter back with the name of the thing. That’s so much more trouble than typing some free-association beat poetry into Google, and miraculously seeing this (link): Hooray for the interwebs!! (link to mushroomexpert.com) Fabulous fungus fan Michael Kuo tells us this is _Xylobolus frustulatus_, which he calls “a fascinating crust fungus that looks like whitish tile fragments put together carefully with black grout. He whimsically and aptly compares this fungus to cubist art, and explains that it is is common, and grows nearly exclusively on dry, well decayed wood of white oak. Here’s a closer-up photo of “Crusty,” looking indeed quite like an art project.

[Xylobolus frustulatus]Xylobolus frustulatus is a fascinating crust fungus.

There’s another saprobic basidiomycete here in the woods. [Morganella pyriformis] Well-decayed log with a cluster of puffballs. November 21, 2010. Delaware County, Ohio. It’s one of the very few puffballs to occur on wood (as opposed to the ground), and a very common one: Morganella pyriformis, formerly known, and still widely referred to, as Lycoperdon pyriforme. The specific epithet means “pear-shaped.” With apologies to Peter, Puffball, and Mary (and most of all, to you)…here’s a pretty scary video.

Puff the Magic Puffball Lived on a Log.

[morenext]

[]

question: What is the main topic of the article?

answer: The topic of the article is about different lichen.

question: What is the purpose of the article?

answer: The purpose of the article is to inform about the different types of lichen. It seems there are many (missing) pictures associated with the description of each picture.

question: Who is the target audience of the article?

answer: The target audience seems to be for fungus fans wanting help identifying fungi.

question: What is a frost lichen?

answer: The article doesn't specifically address this.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The topic of the article is about different lichen. The purpose of the article is to help fungus fans inform and to help identify different types of lichen. It seems there are many (missing) pictures associated with the description of each picture.


text:
The ex-mayor who warned us to never forget the terrorist attacks has forgotten what he said about them

By  Matthew Rozsa

October 13, 2016 4:40PM (UTC)

RUDY GIULIANI SPEAKS AT THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CLEVELAND, JULY 18, 2016. (AP/CAROLYN KASTER)

Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor and Trump super-surrogate, has apologized for saying that Hillary Clinton wasn’t in the city after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — even though she was right next to him the next day.

"I made a mistake. I'm wrong and I apologize," Giuliani told the Associated Press on Wednesday night, later adding that he “probably deserve[s]” all the heat he’s getting.

The kerfuffle started when Giuliani accused Clinton of lying about going to Ground Zero on the day of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling a Florida rally, “I heard her say she was there that day. I was there that day, I don’t remember seeing Hillary Clinton.”

The Democratic presidential nominee, who was a U.S. senator at the time, was in Washington that day, and Twitter users were quick to point to an iconic photograph of Giuliani and Clinton walking side-by-side, wearing surgical masks, the day after the attacks.

  Rudy Giuliani just now: "I was there that day [on 9/11], I don't remember seeing Hillary Clinton."

  um pic.twitter.com/tyHQaOAOxp

  — Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) Oct. 12, 2016

Earlier this year, Giuliani praised former senator Clinton (along with her Senate colleague Chuck Schumer and the rest of Congress at the time) for being “enormously helpful” in the wake of that event.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Giuliani, who has stuck by his support for Donald Trump's presidential campaign even as much of the Republican Party establishment has fled from it. He has also recently taken flak for characterizing Trump’s recorded bragging about committing sexual assault as “exaggerated,” adding more controversy to the legacy of a man once widely regarded as “America’s mayor.”

Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and is ABD in his PhD program in History at Lehigh University. His work has appeared in Mic, Quartz and MSNBC.

MORE FROM MATTHEW ROZSA

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Trending Articles from Salon

question: Who wrote this article?

answer: Matthew Rozsa

question: Who is Rudy Giuliani?

answer: former New York mayor and Trump advisor

question: Who is Hillary Clinton?

answer: former United States Senator, Secretary of State, and First Lady

question: Who published this article?

answer: Salon

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article points out an inconsistent claim by Rudy Giuliani concerning the whereabouts of Hillary Clinton following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Giuliani said in October of 2016 that Mrs. Clinton was not in the city, despite being photographed with her in New York on September 12, 2001.


text:
[Holly Hwang dropped off her daughter, Mee, at day care before heading to work in Salt Lake City.]

Credit...Alex Goodlett for The New York Times

-   Oct. 25, 2018
-

SALT LAKE CITY — Before sunrise each day, Holly Hwang nestles her little girl into a carrier and bikes her to a day care center. It is a 10-mile slog, sometimes through rain or snow, before she reaches the warehouse where she earns $9.52 an hour operating a forklift. After clocking out, she rides back another 10 miles to pick up her 4-year-old and head home.

The commute can be exhausting, but not compared with the grueling journey that brought her here. It started when she escaped from her native North Korea to China with the help of a smuggler, who then sold her into servitude, and marriage, to a stranger. She fled once again and arrived in Salt Lake City with her child nearly three years ago — one of a dwindling number of North Korean defectors admitted to the United States in recent years.

“My life is settled and very safe in Utah,” said Ms. Hwang, 39, who hopes to learn enough English to become a truck driver.

North Koreans have been fleeing economic and political oppression by the thousands for two decades. While most have ended up in South Korea, which grants them automatic citizenship, at least 220 have come to the United States since 2004, when Congress passed the North Korean Human Rights Act and opened the door to political refugees.

Now, though, a crackdown by North Korea on its border, along with the Trump administration’s overall curbs on refugee admissions, has slowed new arrivals to a trickle.

President Trump has made significant efforts this year to engage North Korea’s mercurial leader, Kim Jong-un, in hopes of halting the country’s nuclear weapons program. His administration’s limit on refugee admissions, analysts say — whether such a consequence was intended or not — has aided the North Korean leader in his attempt to slow the pace of defections from a country seen as one of the most repressive in the world.

Only one North Korean defector arrived in the United States in 2017; five have been admitted this year.

Image[Ms. Hwang working at the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center, where she earns $9.52 an hour operating a forklift.]

Credit...Alex Goodlett for The New York Times

Supporters of the 2004 humanitarian law, which Congress reauthorized in July and Mr. Trump signed once again into law, have expressed concern that the drop in arrivals dilutes any message to North Korea that the United States is committed to integrating human rights with national security.

“The fact they are working on a nuclear agreement doesn’t take anything away from the fact Kim Jong-un is oppressing his people,” said Hans Van de Weerd, vice president for United States programs at the International Rescue Committee, one of the organizations that helps settle North Koreans in the United States.

The United States admitted 22,491 refugees from all countries in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the lowest number since the refugee resettlement program was created in 1980 and less than half the number the government had said it was going to allow. Last month, the government set the ceiling at 30,000 for the current fiscal year.

But 11 nations have been singled out for special scrutiny, based on security considerations, under what had initially been known as Mr. Trump’s travel ban. North Korea is one of them, and the more stringent background checks have extended the time it takes for United States agencies to process cases from North Korea. What once took months now takes years.

State Department officials have said that the current regulations require “extreme vetting” of nationals from a number of countries, and have not drawn any connection between the downturn in North Korean refugee admissions and the Trump administration’s attempt to forge new political openings with Mr. Kim.

The additional screening of North Koreans was, in fact, introduced when Mr. Trump was at odds with the North Korean leader. Analysts said North Korea’s inclusion was likely intended in part to help fend off legal challenges to the travel ban that argued it was based on religion, since the other 10 countries included have Muslim majorities.

“The United States continues to prioritize the admission of vulnerable refugees,” a State Department spokeswoman said in a statement.

The first nine North Korean defectors arrived in the United States in 2006. Entries were in the double digits each year until 2016, the year before Mr. Trump took office.

Image

Credit...Alex Goodlett for The New York Times
[]

Leaving the highly fortified country is notoriously difficult. North Koreans climb mountains, trudge through rugged terrain and cross rivers in their bids to escape. Even if they elude border agents and make it into China, the most common escape route, they risk being apprehended and repatriated by Chinese authorities.

In recent years, the vast majority of escapees have been women, often sold into forced marriages in China. Others are trafficked for sex or cheap labor.

Joanna Kim, who arrived in Salt Lake City last month, said that the Trump travel ban and the extra vetting that followed are to blame for her two “very hard and long” years parked in an immigration detention facility in Bangkok.

Other North Koreans who had applied to come to the United States gave up, she said, because the protracted wait became too stressful. They could reach South Korea in a matter of weeks.

Many, like Ms. Hwang, have no contact at all with the loved ones they left behind. Families there cannot exchange letters in the mail; there is no internet coverage. Moreover, there are fears that North Korean authorities could exact retribution against families if it is discovered that their close kin live in the United States.

“To be living as a North Korean defector in America is the biggest treason to the country,” said Andrew Hong, executive director of the group Emancipate North Koreans, a nonprofit that assists defectors in the Chicago area.

Those in touch with family in North Korea struggle to support themselves and those they left behind. In contrast to the enormous success of South Korean immigrants and their descendants in the United States, most North Koreans, as a result of limited education and English, qualify only for low-paying work.

G.D. Hwang, a defector who arrived two years ago, works at a factory by day and at a Walmart overnight. Every two months, he funnels cash to his family through an informal money-transfer network.

Image

Credit...Alex Goodlett for The New York Times
[]

Staring sadly at a frayed print of a digital photo of his wife and two children, he said, “I am free but it’s lonely without my family.”

In her first attempt to reach China, Ms. Hwang, the single mother, was captured by North Korean border agents and delivered to a labor camp, where she harvested potatoes and collected wood. If she talked to another detainee, she recalled, a guard might grab her by her hair and stomp on her. She was released when she fell gravely ill, she said.

“I was purple and blue and almost gone,” she recalled, her eyes glassy with tears as she shared her story in a playroom at the International Rescue Committee as her daughter, Mee, resplendent in a shimmery pink Korean long dress, entertained herself nearby.

Ms. Hwang and a sister eventually made it to China with the help of a broker, only to be sold off as brides to Chinese men who took them to different cities. They have not seen each other since.

Together with her baby from the forced marriage, Ms. Hwang made the passage to Thailand in 2015 with the help of South Korean guides. In Bangkok, mother and daughter were processed and on their way to the United States within six months — an unusually speedy transition.

Ms. Hwang, who helps load goods with heavy machinery at a Mormon aid distribution center, says her dream is to study business. She is also striving to master enough English to pass a commercial driving exam. “You make good money as a truck driver,” she said.

Like many North Koreans, she has found a South Korean church that provides her a sense of community and some financial support. But she still finds herself thinking often about home, she said.

“U.S. life is better. North Korea is hell,” she said. But she added: “I’m lonely and miss my family in North Korea. If someone said they don’t miss home, they’re lying.”

question: How busy is Holly Hwang's life?

answer: Holly Hwang's life is quite busy as she is busy taking care of a little girl while working, and having to bear the burden of a very difficult background.

question: How has fleeing from North Korea to China to Salt Lake City changed Holly Hwang?

answer: It can be assumed that fleeing from China to Salt Lake City has been difficult for Holly Hwang, as she has had to leave her community and culture behind in the hopes for freedom and a safe and protected life for her little girl.

question: How can you describe the state of refugees in the United States and how the United States is helping?

answer: The refugees are trying so hard to come to America to receive freedom, but they are dealing with a lot of scrutiny due to Trump's travel ban. The United States is making it difficult for refugees to attain their well deserved freedom.


text:
"What a waste of time." The apathetic voice rattled my conscience as I stood gazing upon the grave of whom such thoughts originated. I was unsure if the sentiment was born out of my memories of Walter while he was alive or the ground itself. Either way, I suppose I was looking for answers to questions I hadn't yet conceived and these five words made me question my presence here tonight.

"Seems appropriate a dead guy would caution the living about time," I replied to precisely no one. The cold night gathered these words inches from my face in a white cloud before they disappeared, along with the ambition that drove me three hours to my late friend's final resting place. Walter responded with a question.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" A valid inquiry. It was at this moment I understood that tonight was not about my questions. Tonight was about providing answers, which I owed Walter even in his death. I took a seat in order to be closer to my dear friend.

"It wouldn't have made a difference." A cop-out. It would have made all the difference. I suppose Walter already knew this. He did not question me to seek information; he questioned me because, even as a corpse, he understood I needed to come clean.

I sat with my eyes closed awaiting a response that never came. After a few minutes I sat up and didn't even bother brushing myself off. The flashlight that led me from my car to Walter's grave with such precision flickered for a few seconds before shutting off completely. Despite this inconvenience my memory was able to lead me back, and I hoped it would serve this function again someday.

Walter was right. What a waste of time.

title: Walter

question: What is the narrator's relation to Walter?

answer: Walter is the narrator's late friend.

question: How did Walter die?

answer: This information is not found.

question: What was the narrator's purpose for visiting Walter's grave?

answer: To ask questions but realized he needed to answer Walter's questions.

question: What was Walter right about?

answer: "What a waste of time"

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator mourns the death of his dear friend, Walter. He visits his grave and recalls his words, "What a waste of time". The narrator realizes that his visit was about providing answers to Walter and not about his own questions.


text:
THE BOOK OF DAVE

     In the beginning, Dave created a bunch of stuff like the earth, water, animals, and humans. He thought "Meh, it's cool I guess...", and then he pretty much sat back and watched everything unfold, chillin' like a villain and taking many forms. Mostly though he liked to be a plastic dove. He saw all his creations screw up the world he created, and it pissed him off pretty badly. He thought for centuries about how he could save the world he put so little effort into creating.

     One day, in the late 1990's he came up with a plan. It was about time too, because the world he created was in pretty pitiful condition by this time. He set out to create 5 strong men who would spread his holy name. One of them appearing to be a heretic, but obviously a believer. One of them a natural born leader to guide the prophets. One of them tall and strong willed and convert others. One of them with great musical talents with which to sing and play instruments in the name of Dave, and the last one. Dave's only son. He arranged so that these men would one day come together and use their own talents to spread the word of Dave.

     These young men grew and realized their talents (except for the son of Dave, who had a hard time because he had not yet recognized his true purpose in life). They misused their talents, however, because they did not know that their destiny was the destiny that Dave set for them. They would know in the future that Dave needed them to rid the world of ignorance and stupidity. It would take time, though, for them to be ready for the task at hand.

     By the time these 5 young men were ready for their destiny, the world was even worse than it was before. There had been terrorist attacks, wars, destruction in massive proportions. They were indeed ready at the last minute. The 5 boys had grown to be good friends, and were like family. One day, fate brought them all together, and set them on a journey that would open their eyes to the truth. Open their eyes to Dave.

    They found themselves in their leader's house, discussing the most important of current events, politics, economics, history, and other things of the like. Then, as fate may have it, they embarked on a journey. They started with a trip to a local general store to purchase liquid refreshment, and to win the heart of a fair maiden. They failed miserably at the winning the heart part, but succeeded in buying refreshments. They also caused the son of Dave to smudge a dipping sauce on his trousers. They then headed to a larger store to buy him a new pair of trousers.

     They failed in their quest to acquire new trousers, but had good hearty laughs and made the son wear clothes meant for girls. However, it was here that they discovered The Great Dave. They found him in his usual form, a plastic bird, perched upon a raised surface. They were drawn to him, and immediately knew that it was to be theirs. They did not know why, but they knew it must be.

     They purchased the plastic bird, took him home, and immediately idolized him. They knew that his name was to be Dave, and that he was of great importance. The boys did not truly understand that Dave was of much more importance until much later. The day after their trip to the store, their land was ice-ridden. The plants outside were enveloped in a solid sheet of ice, and the roads were only traversible by foot, because none of their automobiles were equipped to operate on the ice-covered roads.

     The young men grew hungry, and weary of being held inside their home, and by the will of Dave, which they still failed to recognize, decided to embark on a long journey to obtain cheap, delicious food. They left their home and started down the road, talking and laughing, unaware of the great events that awaited them. They would soon find out the true purpose of what was happening.

     They noticed a bird that looked exactly like their plastic bird that was perched upon a telephone wire. Then they realized that this, in fact, WAS their bird, but in the form of a living version of it's plastic form, guarding them, and guiding them. They then began to realize that they had a greater purpose in this journey, and that Dave was more than a mere plastic bird.

     They began to have revelations and realizations that Dave placed in their minds. They came to the conclusion that Dave was the true God, and that they were prophets, since they were the only ones who realized this truth. They then realized that the one with no apparent useful talent must have been the son of Dave, because of the hardships he faced and trials and tribulations. They realized that since he had no talent to offer Dave, he didn't require one, because him simply being among the other prophets was enough to please Dave.

     Then came their true sign that they were led by The Great and Powerful Dave. They noticed on the side of the path a beautiful sight. A useless, disappointing, fresh, beautiful sight. They knew in their hearts that Dave put this there for them, that he loved them, and that he wanted them to cleanse the world of the wrongness that had befallen it.

title: The Book of Dave

question: How does Dave feel about the things he has created?

answer: He appears to be indifferent to his creations.


text:
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August 30, 2018 | 12:20pm | Updated August 30, 2018 | 1:48pm

The late Sen. John McCain is not done speaking out against President Trump and his ties to Vladimir Putin — as he appears in a new documentary about Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election.

“The fact that there was an attack on the fundamental — the absolute fundamental — a free and fair election, should alarm all of us,’ McCain, who died Saturday of brain cancer, says in “Active Measures,” a new documentary from director Jack Bryan.

In a clip obtained by The Daily Beast, McCain referred to reports from the summer of 2016 that Moscow meddled in the election and Russian hackers targeted US voter-registration databases.

“Active Measures,” which hits the theaters Friday, also features Hillary Clinton, former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, Yahoo News chief investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff and others.

The title is a Soviet term for the “actions of political warfare conducted by the Russian security services to influence the course of world events,” according to the two-hour documentary.

“This really spooked officials in the White House,” Isikoff says about possible Russian involvement, adding: “And that’s the moment, I think, that the enormity of the Russian influence campaign really started to hit home.”

Bryan argues in the film that Russia had been cultivating Trump for years before he appeared on the presidential landscape.

“The Russians have a particular type of mark who they go after,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) says in the film.

“They go after someone who has business resources, perhaps some shady morals so they are amenable to bribery. Or perhaps they’re in a difficult financial situation or has either political connections or aspirations.”

He then adds after a dramatic pause: “I’ve just described Donald Trump.”

The director told The Daily Beast that he wanted to include McCain in the documentary because he was “the most forceful voice in Congress at speaking out against Russian aggression and standing up for democracy worldwide.”

“In 2004 when Putin tried to rig an election in Ukraine, John McCain stood with the Ukrainian people. In 2016 when Putin tried to do the same thing in America, he was one of the few voices in his party who refused to remain silent,” Bryan told the outlet.

“He and Hillary Clinton were Vladimir Putin’s greatest adversaries in the United States, and without their voices it would be impossible to understand how and why our country arrived at this point.”

The longtime Republican senator and war hero can be seen in the film assailing the Russian strongman as “an individual who poses a threat to the world” and “has no moral standards that I’ve been able to detect.”

McCain seems particularly alarmed by Team Trump’s successful effort to remove from the GOP platform a provision condemning Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine.

“I think that’s part of this whole scandal that needs to be resolved,” McCain says. “Why would the Republican Party remove a provision that would help people who have been invaded and slaughtered defend themselves?”

Rolling his eyes and smiling, he adds: “Interesting.”

In his final dig at Trump for failing to stop Russia from attacking US democracy, McCain says: “As long as people can do things without penalty, they’re going to continue to do them.”

His interview presumably predated Trump’s joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, which McCain described as “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

question: Who is speaking out against the President?

answer: John McCain.

question: What is the movie about?

answer: Meddling by the Russians in US elections.

question: What does the movie claim?

answer: That the President was groomed as a Russian agent.

question: Who has McCain stood up to his entire career?

answer: Putin and Russia.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The article is about John McCain's attitude towards the Republican party and the President after the election of a Russian asset to the White House.


text:
[]

$10.00

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 2 customer ratings

(2 customer reviews)

-   Remote Unlock
-   Phone unlocked within minutes once session is setup
-   unlock is permanent
-   blacklisted and clean Imei both supported
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Description

**PLEASE NOTE**

This service is for Remote USB direct unlock (simlock/network lock). It is equivalent to unlocking by code and is permanent. However, it will not remove your phone from “blacklist”, just like unlocking by codes.

You need a COMPUTER, usb cable and internet connection.

Specify your model number when adding to cart. Also note that SOMETIMES teamviewer will be necessary to do the unlock.

_Related_

question: Can we read the reviews?

answer: We cannot see the reviews in the text.

question: What is the service offered?

answer: A remote unlocking of a sim card or a phone, which allows it to work on any network.

question: Who is the service offered by?

answer: It does not say.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A short listing offering a phone unlocking service for $10.


text:
Preface: This was an idea for an argument, but it came out as a tiny fiction. It is maybe not so good. (Yes, rereading it, it is not so good). I could pretend that I want critique, but to be honest I just want praise. And to share! (I'll keep things tidy, testing waters and all... here it is ->)

The nihilist came to me and said, "The universe is a cold and meaningless place. There is no fate, there is no purpose -- these are things passed down by dying religions, by culture and tradition. Look at science. The truth is that the universe began as swirling gas that settled, and then settled, and on our planet bubbled up into this random life. We came along, and we keep going. No small feat, but don't be fooled. No designer has worked at it. Look at science. We are the lucky children of chance."

Having heard enough, I felt the urge to hit this man with a wide stick (or at the very least defile his shoe), but he stopped. Nevertheless, I pinched the fat that hung from underneath his left arm. He let out a small cry and recoiled.

"You have suffered," I said.

"Yes, I have suffered," he said. But his tone!

"Look here. You have suffered! And you made motion to avoid this suffering. You had an aim in your mind of ending it. Now, the universe created me, and--to what I presume you'll believe is your great misfortune--it did the same for you. And as cretins we have come together, made exchange, and given you desire. Is this not enough for meaning?"

"Have I only to avoid suffering and seek pleasure then, sir? The insufferable hedonist, is he your stubborn emblem of hope?"

"A heart will beg that it be out of suffering, and weep earnestly after pleasure. This I do not deny, but that a heart beats at all! From a lifeless world we have *some* matter that moves to meaning. No matter how menial or small."

"Small, yes. And to be whisked away at the soon-certain call of death."

"No, to have *been*. Let me make of my own life a proof to this fact: that the ability to believe in an illusion of meaning is proof there is meaning enough."

Presently, he laughs. "You are stupid," he says.

"I am, my friend, just as your laughter betrays you; neither of us is yet lost."

EDITs: sp and minor word choices

title: With the Nihilist

question: Who is the protagonist?

answer: The protagonist is not described.

question: How does the protagonist conclude that the nihilist has suffered?

answer: Because the nihilist lets out a small cry of pain.

question: What contrasting view does the protagonist offer to the nihilist?

answer: That the fact that the nihilist has a desire to avoid suffering means that his life has meaning.

question: What does the nihilist believe about the universe?

answer: He believes that the universe is a cold and meaningless place and that life has no purpose.

question: Why does the nihilist laugh at the end of the story?

answer: He finds the narrator's philosophical beliefs to be silly, although it is hinted that he may see some truth to the narrator's words.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The nihilist approaches the narrator and declares that the universe is cold and devoid of meaning. The narrator strikes the nihilist and notices that the nihilist both tries to avoid the blow and also cries out in pain. The narrator thus concludes that the nihilist's life does have some meaning, as he had the desire to avoid suffering. The nihilist laughs at the narrator's philosophy, which the narrator takes as further proof that life has meaning.