text:
_BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT_, stylized as _BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT — THE MOVIE_, is a 2003 direct-to-video science fantasy action film based on the Bionicle toy series created by Lego. Set in a universe filled with bio-mechanical beings allied with classical element-themed tribes, the story follows two friends from the fire-based village of Ta-Koro on a quest to find the owner of the Mask of Light, a mystical artifact that can potentially defeat Makuta, an evil entity threatening the island. The story is based on the latter half of the toyline's 2003 narrative.

The project was first proposed in 2001, during the original run of the Bionicle toyline. Lego contacted multiple writers for the project, including original Bionicle contributors Bob Thompson and Alastair Swinnerton, and Hollywood writers Henry Gilroy and Greg Weisman. Production began in 2002, taking approximately a year to complete. A major part of the graphical design was adjusting the characters so they could work in human-like ways while still resembling the original toys. The music was composed by Nathan Furst, who used orchestral and tribal elements to create the score. Voice casting was handled by Kris Zimmerman, and the voicework was done with the setting and mythos of Bionicle in mind.

Multiple studios were involved in the development and distribution of _Mask of Light_: it was co-produced by Lego and Create TV & Film, developed by Creative Capers Entertainment and CGCG, and post-production was handled 310 Studios and Hacienda Post. It was released on September 16, 2003, on home video and DVD, distributed by Miramax Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment under legal entity Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Upon release, the film reached high positions in VHS and DVD charts, and received generally positive reviews from journalists. _Mask of Light_ was followed by two prequel films, _Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui_ in 2004 and _Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows_ in 2005, and a stand-alone sequel, _Bionicle: The Legend Reborn_, in 2009.

Plot

The film takes place on a tropical island in the Bionicle universe. According to legend, the Great Spirit Mata Nui created the island's masked Matoran inhabitants. Mata Nui was sent into a coma by his envious spirit brother Makuta, who began a reign of terror over the island. His reign ended when six guardians, known as Toa, freed the island from his regime. The Matoran, alongside the Toa and Turaga leaders, live in Element-themed regions of the island. The events of the film take place during the latter half of the 2003 storyline.[1][2]

The film starts when two Matoran from the fire village of Ta-Koro called Jaller and Takua discover a Great Kanohi, a Toa mask imbued with Elemental power in a cave, and Takua is rescued from a lava wave by the Fire Toa Tahu. The two Matoran later participate in a multi-tribal game of Kohlii, the island's national sport;[3] the match reveals developing tensions between Tahu and the Water Toa Gali. At the end of the match, the Mask is accidentally revealed and the Turaga recognize its powers. They announce that it heralds the arrival of a seventh Toa destined to defeat Makuta and awaken Mata Nui. Jaller and Takua are sent on a quest to find the Seventh Toa, guided by the Mask. In the meantime, Makuta sends three Rahkshi, beings born from pieces of his own essence, to retrieve the Mask. The Rahkshi invade Ta-Koro in search of the Mask, destroying the village. Tahu is poisoned during the assault, causing his behaviour to become increasingly erratic and worsening his already-strained relationship with Gali.

During their journey together, Jaller and Takua receive aid from the Air Toa Lewa, and the Ice Toa Kopaka, the latter of whom temporarily immobilizes the Rakhshi by trapping them in a frozen lake. During their journey through the mountain tunnels en route to the Earth village of Onu-Koro, Takua wanders away from Jaller and is confronted by Makuta, who threatens to kill Jaller and the rest of the island's inhabitants unless Takua brings him the Mask; Takua then abandons Jaller in an attempt to shield him. Makuta then releases three more Rakhshi, who attack Onu-Koro as Takua arrives. Tahu, Kopaka, Lewa and Gali arrive to help the Earth Toa Onua and the Stone Toa Pohatu. Tahu is further corrupted during the battle and goes insane, forcing the Toa to subdue him and flee. Takua decides to rejoin Jaller, while Gali and the other Toa purge the Rakhshi poison from Tahu, resulting in his reconciliation with Gali.

Arriving at Kini Nui, a great temple at the island's centre, Jaller and Takua are confronted by all six Rahkshi. The six Toa mount a united offensive and defeat five of them, but the surviving Rahkshi attacks Takua. Jaller sacrifices himself to protect his friend, and Jaller's final words prompt Takua to don the Mask of Light; the Mask transforms him into Takanuva, the Toa of Light. Defeating the final Rakhshi, he constructs a craft powered by the worm-like creatures inside the Rahkshi to guide him to Makuta. Traveling to his lair beneath Mata Nui, the two hold a Kohlii contest to decide the island's fate. At Takanuva's bidding, the Toa, Turaga and Matoran gather together in the chamber, and witness Takanuva merging with Makuta to form a single powerful being. With Takanuva's willpower dominant, the being raises a gate leading deeper beneath the island, through which the gathered people flee. The being also revives Jaller before the gate collapses on top of it. The Turaga proceed to awaken Mata Nui using the Mask of Light, which in turn revives Takanuva. The film ends with Takanuva discovering the long-dormant city of Metru Nui, the Matoran's original home.

Characters

-   Jason Michas as Takua/Takanuva. Portrayed as an inquisitive Ta-Matoran, he is a disguised Av-Matoran (Matoran of Light) destined to become the Toa of Light.[4][5]
-   Andrew Francis as Jaller, the Captain of Ta-Koro's Guard, who is designated as the Herald of the Seventh Toa.[6][7]
-   Scott McNeil as Tahu, Toa of Fire; Onua, Toa of Earth; and Graalok the Ash Bear, a beast from Lewa's domain.[8]
-   Dale Wilson as Lewa, Toa of Air; and Turaga Onewa, leader of the Po-Matoran.[9]
-   Kathleen Barr as Gali, Toa of Water.[10]
-   Lee Tockar as the Makuta, the main antagonist; Takutanuva, a being created from the merging of Takanuva and Makuta; and Pewku, Jaller's pet racing crab.[11]
-   Christopher Gaze as Turaga Vakama, the leader of the Ta-Matoran.[12]
-   Lesley Ewen as Turaga Nokama, the leader of the Ga-Matoran.[13]
-   Michael Dobson as Kopaka, the Toa of Ice; Hewkii, a Po-Matoran Kohlii player.[14]
-   Trevor Devall as Pohatu, Toa of Stone.[15][16]
-   Chiara Zanni as Hahli, a Ga-Matoran.[17][18]
-   Doc Harris as Kolhii announcer.[19]
-   Julian B. Wilson as the Ta-Matoran Guard, and the Rahkshi (vocal effects), mechanical “sons” of Makuta driven by fragments of his being.[20][21]

Production

The concept for a movie based on the Bionicle toyline was proposed as early as 2001, when Bionicle became an unexpected commercial success for Lego: this idea was originally inspired by the fact that Lego advertised Bionicle as if it were a movie, and they had received inquiry emails and licensing requests from multiple film studios. Deciding to make the movie while retaining full creative control, Lego began discussing with potential partners, knowing that the film needed to come out while Bionicle was still looming large in the public consciousness.[22] Lego's eventual partner was production entity Create TV & Film. With the initial partnership set up, Lego created some development assets and went round various animation studios to find one that would develop the film. They narrowed it down to two studios, one of which was Creative Capers Entertainment. Creative Capers convinced Lego to employ them after producing a well-received short animated segment featuring Lewa. Creative Caper's three principles, directors Terry Shakespeare and David Molina, and producer Sue Shakespear, all took up their respective roles for the film's production. The deal was reportedly worth $5 million.[23][24] In a later interview, Shakespeare referred to the film's aesthetic as “primary colors that were coded to the areas”, saying it had a “younger feel” when compared to its prequel. He also referred to the film as “very intimate, very organic”.[25]

The film began full production in 2002. While most projects of its type took 18–24 months to complete, the development team completed the film in 13 months.[26] The project's budget was later estimated as being between $3.5 to $5 million.[27] In addition to Creative Capers, Taiwanese studio CGCG created most of the animation: at the time, overseas outsourcing was a rarity for CGI movies.[28] By the end of production, the film ran to 77 minutes of raw footage. At this stage, 310 Studios was brought in to handle post production, which mostly entailed cutting the film's length down by 7 minutes. According to 310 Studios president Billy Jones, the hardest part of this was deciding which pieces needed to be cut, as they were impressed with everything that had been produced. 310 Studios also created the opening title and ending credit sequences.[29][30] Lego also partnered with Miramax to distribute the film, along with developing a future full feature-length theatrical film.[31]

Five different people were involved in the creation of the film's story and script: executive producer Bob Thompson, original Bionicle co-creators and writers Alastair Swinnerton and Martin Riber Andersen, and Hollywood writers Henry Gilroy and Greg Weisman. The script-writing process began in 2002.[32][33] Gilroy became involved after a meeting with Thompson, and enjoyed working on the script as he greatly admired the Bionicle mythos. Two draft scripts were originally created to see who would write the better script: one by Swinnerton, and one from Gilroy. Due to time constraints, the Gilroy script was accepted with some of Swinnerton's ideas included. Gilroy's most difficult task was creating the dialogue for the Toa: he needed to take into account Thompson's own interpretations, and what the majority of fans thought they should sounds like. In the end, he attempted to stay true to original portrayals while giving the voice actors something unique to work with. He also needed to balance their portrayals and screentime, as each of the six needed a chance to shine.[34] The script went through eight different drafts before the final version, although this was far less than Gilroy was used to seeing on other projects. During planning stages, a lot of time was devoted to how characters interacted with each other: cited examples were Lewa's style of speaking, and Kopaka's stoic behaviour. These traits were accentuated for the film to give the characters more distinction and depth. He also needed to avoid putting in out-of-context pop culture references, which would not fit into the setting of Bionicle.[35] As part of the world and character development, expressions and exclamations unique to the world were created: a cited example is Jaller saying “You could have been Lava-Bones” when Takua narrowly escapes being killed by a flood of lava.[36]

Design

The characters of Bionicle had been portrayed in various ways across multiple media, including the official comics, Flash animations used for online videos, and CGI commercials for the sets. The team decided to use the models from the CGI commercials as their working base for the film models. Before commencing with designing the characters, the team went to Lego's Denmark headquarters and received lessons in the Bionicle design process. The team were originally not going to alter the characters that much, but they needed them to be emotive, which necessitated a redesign. The first step in creating the character models was redrawing the skeleton, then adding muscle pods that would interweave with the skeleton: the muscle gave the characters a more textured appearance, and were added to the shoulders, calves, abdomen and chest cavity. Each character was given a “heart light”, a pulsating light in their chest which would fluctuate even when the character was stationary in-shot. They also adjusted the eyes, making the sockets shallower than on the sets and giving them a pupil-like glow. While redesigning the Toa, the team consulted with the original Lego staff to determine what materials the characters were made of: the muscles were compared to rubber, the bones described as a mesh of titanium alloy and carbon fibre, while the armour was made of Kevlar. In general, the outer shells remained mostly unchanged from the sets, although the visible gears were removed and armour was fitted to their backs.[37] The Toa were also bulked up a little when compared to their sets so their feats would be believable for viewers.[38]

Several external features were redesigned for the movie, including the introduction of a movable mouth to allow for a more human character, and a four-pronged mechanical tongue to make them look less like dolls. Other characters used lights behind their masks to form mouth movement. Particular emphasis was placed on the eyebrows and lips of characters.[39][40] The main change from the original models was the inclusion of hands, which was a necessity if the character performances were to be made realistic.[41] Custom texture maps were created for each character so they would appear unique.[42] In addition to reinventing old characters, the team created original character designs with Lego staff. Makuta, who had only been briefly glimpsed in the comics and web animations, was created through a “Frankenstein principle”, taking parts and pieces from multiple Bionicle sets to create the ultimate Bionicle villain. Other original creations included Takua's pet crab Pewku, and a Gukko Bird designed to transport two Matoran.[43] The Rahkshi are described by Bob Thompson as “like hounds hunting down the [Mask of Light]”.[44] They were created by Swinnerton, and comic writer Alan Grant helped develop their characters. They were designed to appear more machine-like than the rest of the cast, and their design were strongly inspired by the bio-mechanical artworks of H. R. Giger.[45]

Audio

Voice casting was managed by Kris Zimmerman, who chose voice actors that seemed to suit certain roles: the Matoran were voiced by young adults, while the Turaga were voiced by older actors.[46] The voice actors and their performances were chosen so they would not sound like they came from a specific area of the world, instead sound like they came from and belonged in the Bionicle universe.[47] A notable event during recording was a behind-the-scenes incident between Michas and Francis: originally cast in the respective roles of Jaller and Takua, Michas came into a recording session in a muddled state and began reading Takua's lines by mistake. When Francis came in, he read Jaller's lines: when the staff heard them and were favourably impressed, the actors permanently switched roles.[48] Voice acting for the project was mostly done in 2002, but dialogue was re-recorded during Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR) into 2003: approximately 30% of the final film's dialogue was done during ADR.[49] Audio and music post-production was handled by Hacienda Post. The company's president Tim Borquez served as sound supervisor.[50] _Mask of Light_ was the first time in any media that Bionicle characters spoke.[51]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Nathan Furst, whose preferred composition style of grand orchestra and electronica was what the film's producers were looking for. Initially ignorant of the Bionicle universe, he explored the official website after getting the job as composer to get better context for his music. This and discussions he had with staff helped in the creation of eight or nine specific themes. The overall style is grand orchestral, but includes elements of electronic and tribal music. Furst used elements of African, Polynesian, and Eastern European music to communicate the fact that Mata Nui was an island, and when he could he incorporated his music into the action rather than leaving it as a standalone element within scenes.[52]

Originally unavailable for purchase as a soundtrack, Furst published the score of _Mask of Light_ as a digital album with Rising Phoenix Records in 2017, fourteen years after the film's release. The album, titled _Bionicle: Mask of Light Original Score Soundtrack (14th Anniversary Release)_, was published on March 10, 2017. It is fully remastered and contains the complete score as heard in the film, consisting of eighteen tracks which comprise approximately an hour of music.[53][54][55]

Original Score Soundtrack (14th Anniversary Release)

Release

_Mask of Light_ was first announced in April 2002 for release in September the following year. It was Lego Media's (later becoming Create TV & Film in early 2003) first project based on original characters and storylines, and their first direct-to-video production.[56][57] It initially released on 16 September 2003 for home video and DVD. It went on to release in 27 different countries over the next eight weeks. It was released under the Miramax Home Entertainment label alongside Buena Vista Home Entertainment.[58][59] Prior to its release, the film received a world premiere at Legoland in Carlsbad, California on 13 September: the premiere featured a huge mosaic built of Lego and a special effects show, in addition to special guests and costumed characters.[60] The following year, the film received its television premiere on Cartoon Network's Toonami program block.[61]

At release, the film ranked high in multiple sales charts. In the “Top Kid Video” compiled by _Billboard_, it came close to the top of the charts upon release.[62] Upon release, the film ranked at #2 on Amazon.com's VHS best seller list, coming in behind the VHS release of _Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_.[63] According to Lego's 2003 financial report, the game was top-selling VHS release in the United States in its first week, and ranked at #4 in a similar list compiled by _The Hollywood Reporter_.[64] It was also among the top premiere DVDs of the year.[65] The game's rental sales were also high, being placed at #8 in the animated direct-to-video charts and totalling $4.24 million revenue by October 2004.[66] According to _Animation Magazine_, the film is considered to be a commercial success.[67]

While Creative Capers Entertainment did the contract work for Miramax and The Lego Group, Disney was also involved with some of the production and release of the film. According to Terry Shakespeare, one of the directors for the film, would later state in an interview later on for the films’ prequel in 2004, that Disney may have recommended Lego to choose Creative Capers as animation partners because of their previous work with the company. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment under legal entity Buena Vista Home Entertainment also distributed the film alongside it’s two prequels in the trilogy.[68][69]

Although Buena Vista Home Entertainment distributed the traditional market release of the film, _Walt Disney Video_ instead is listed as the online retail distributor.

Unlike other regional releases, the film’s Russian special edition release featured the Disney DVD logo branding on both front and back sides of the DVD cover, which is not found on other region releases, but still also maintained the Buena Vista Home Entertainment label like the other releases.[70]

For the release of the film, Burger King also released a set of six kids meal toys from the United Kingdom in 2003.

The film was also part of a Disney-line-up of films featured in 2003 on an online trading card game collaboration between TokenZone and The Walt Disney Company, known as Walt Disney Pictures TokenZone (also simply referred to as Disney TokenZone).[71]

Critical reception

_Entertainment Weekly_ gave the film a favourable ranking of “B+”, calling it a “well-constructed CGI adventure” and saying that those who did not understand the story would enjoy the effects and action sequences.[72] DVDTalk's Don Houston was generally positive about both the film and its additional content: he called the visuals “exceptionally crisp and clear” when compared to other films of its type, and gave high praise to the voice acting and noting darker themes within the film. His main criticism was that it relied heavily on foreknowledge of earlier Bionicle storylines.[73] Sci Film.org praised the film's design and visuals, but felt that the film was too short, echoed Houston's criticism of a need for foreknowledge, and said that it was “too respectful” when compared to other films like _Transformers: The Movie_.[74] Jules Faber of Digital Views Daily said the story had been designed with children in mind, and again praised the visuals despite seeing some stilted animations and poorly-done environmental effects. He was generally positive about the DVD's audio and visual quality.[75] Both Houston and Faber noted homages to other well-known films, including _The Lord of the Rings_, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, and the works of Ray Harryhausen.[76][77]

Legacy

_Mask of Light_ won a Golden Reel Award for Best Visual Effects in a DVD Premiere Movie in December 2003.[78] In addition, it won the Best DVD release award at the 2004 Saturn Awards.[79] In 2014, Vulture.com made mention of the movie in a 2014 retrospective on Lego's history in the movie industry.[80] That same year, _Radio Times_ ranked it as among the best movies based on toys, say that the developers “did a better-than-average job of translating the appeal of the toys to screen”.[81]

_Mask of Light_ was promoted by Lego with new toys based on the film's characters, a video game based on its story that released in 2003, and a novelisation of the film.[82] Two further Bionicle movies were confirmed prior to the release of _Mask of Light_, with the second being another direct-to-video feature and a third for theatrical release.[83] The second movie, _Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui_, released in 2004.[84] The third movie, _Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows_, was released as a direct-to-DVD feature in 2005.[85] Both films were produced by the same creative team behind _Mask of Light_.[86][87] A fourth film by a different studio, _Bionicle: The Legend Reborn_, was released in 2009 through Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.[88] A four-episode television series based on the rebooted Bionicle toyline aired in the first quarter of 2016 on Netflix.[89]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47] “Making Of Bionicle: Mask of Light”.

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

[62]

[63]

[64]

[65]

[66]

[67]

[68]

[69]

[70]

[71]

[72]

[73]

[74]

[75]

[76]

[77]

[78]

[79]

[80]

[81]

[82]

[83]

[84]

[85]

[86]

[87]

[88]

[89]

title: Bionicle: Mask of Light

question: Why dd Lego rush to create a Bionicle movie?

answer: Because the company wanted the movie to be released while Bionicle toys are still within the consciousness of the public.

question: What made Lego go with Creative Capers Entertainment for the Bionicle movie project?

answer: Because of a short animation they did with one of the characters.


split: train

text:
Hey guys, thanks for reading; I am still adding onto this story, this is only the first part.

The horizon gleamed with a sterility usually reserved for more dire and artificial moments. I said her name twice and then once more: “Isabella, Isabella, Isabella.” We had walked at least a mile under the shade of trees and now rested on a sandy perch elongated on the shore of the Chattahoochee. With a gentle nudge she awoke; “Isabella! I thought that you would never open your eyes!” The sunlight was receding behind the brown trees across the river and the nip in the air made the fabric on Isabella’s dress stiffen and crinkle. Each time I touched her she would breathe sharply and then promptly smile as if she was anticipating something. I knew little of seduction, for I was bred into a modest life with people who suspected that there were no better things than what they had already been presented with. My families prominence had dispelled the need for convention- we were of a fortunate lineage and we lived properly but still on terms that we created for ourselves.  The afternoon’s wake had crashed long before we had wound up together beneath the spruce and I was starting to wonder what forces were at play.  I stood up and offered her my hand. “We should go before it gets too dark-I’m not as familiar with this side of the river.” I could smell the cedar that my father had cut into logs burning on the other side of the river; I was certain the estate was farther away. My Mother would always worry when I was gone for too long, but I was incensed with a desire that I had never felt before. I stood and brushed off the red and yellow leaves that had torn as I was lying on them. I offered her my hand as she still remained silent; I wished to get inside of her mind, feel her desire, swim in her thoughts- as if by doing so would make her existence even more real; surely there was a sequence of words to un-muddle  her mind. She looked up at me and smiled. The right strap on her purple sundress had fallen down her shoulder and her high cheekbones rose in such a way that made her eyes squint slightly. “Come, and lie back down- we have at least thirty minutes of sunlight left.” I didn’t want to refuse her, so I laid back down resting my head on a log that had been softened by rain. She rested her head on my chest, and I picked bits of leaf out of her long blonde hair. We both lied still for a while and enjoyed the dusk, and listened to the birds sing beneath an ethereal moon that was starting to appear in the still light, late afternoon. After a few moments she looked up at me: “Do you believe in god?” I didn’t know what to say to her; somehow my mind’s recesses had become filled at that moment and I was unable to ponder an answer. I quipped back nervously: “Sometimes.” I looked away from her and back to the darkening sky. She continued speaking: “I’m just curios. That’s all. Sometimes I don’t believe in him. I remember sitting next to my mother as she died. The hospital didn’t smell at all by the way- it was like they cleaned the death out of the air and made everything neat and they even had a cafeteria! How can you serve food in a place where people are dying all the time? Anyways, I always believed in god; my Mom raised me like that-even as I sat there and watched her die, and watched the tubes pump life into her, I still believed. She had barely enough strength to say anything, but she did say one thing. Before she died, she looked at me and said: even if there’s no heaven, I’ll be with you. No heaven? I thought she was crazy. How could there be no heaven? The next few weeks I thought about what she said over and over, and I still don’t know what to make of it. “I chuckled nervously and said something ridiculous like “yeah well that sure is something” “You’re adorable,” she said, and kissed my cheek. She stood up and I felt a light relief from my chest. She stood in front of me and started to dance. I said: “how can you dance with no music?” She didn’t respond as she did a twirl; I could see beneath her dress as she twirled in the still night air. She stopped and looked at me seriously. Her right strap was still caressing her shoulder. She looked at me for a while and then slowly took her right hand and let her left strap slide down her shoulder and her whole dress came sliding off of her. It was the first time I had seen her nude; she was beautiful.  She was so bold and still so very youthful and I didn’t know what to make of anything so I just sat there amazed. She walked over to me slowly: “What about right now?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Do you believe in God right now?” Without responding I stood up and kissed her right there on that sandy perch by the Chattahoochee- right there in front of all the birds and crickets, and maybe even in front of god. We steadily made our way to the ground.

title: Isabella (900 words)

question: Why does Isabella breathe sharply whenever the narrator touches her?

answer: She's anticipating more intimacy at every touch.

question: When and why did Isabella begin to question her faith?

answer: When Isabella's mother said on her deathbed that she'll be with Isabella even if there's no heaven.

question: Why does the narrator want to get inside Isabella's head?

answer: He's unable to anticipate how she expects him to behave because of his lack of experience in seducing.

question: Why does Isabella find the narrator's reply about her thoughts regarding her mother's last words adorable?

answer: She knows he's attracted to her and can't really think.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator enjoys the day's last lights with Isabella on the opposite side of a river from his home. He's not sure about what to do due to his lack of experience in seduction. After a brief discussion about how both youths sometimes don't believe in God, Isabella takes the matters into her own hands and lets her sundress fall, asking "Do you believe in God now?".


text:
Anna flipped the laundry basket over, dumping the newly-cleaned clothes onto her bed, before hurrying back outside to retrieve the rest off the clothesline. She had noticed that certain pieces of clothing had gone missing over the past few weeks, and wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again today. Hurridly, she grabbed the remaining garments and stuffed them into the basket, until the line hung empty.

Her friends, when told about the missing clothes, had all critisized her on her use of a clothesline in lieu of a modern drying machine. Anna had replied that she didn’t have the money to buy a dryer, and honestly didn’t want one, as the clothesline did the job just fine for free. However, the missing clothes were beginning to make her think about changing her mind.

Tossing the laundry on the bed, she busied herself with sorting and folding the various shirts, pants, and undergarments. Sure enough, something new was missing. A pair of jeans that she had just recently bought, and was quite fond of. Exasperation set in as she shoved the clothes into their drawers. Of all the things I have around here to steal, why my clothes?

Back outside, Anna carefully approached where the clothesline was. Perhaps, she figured, there might be a few footprings, or other incriminating clues, as to the culprit responsible. Unfortunately, grass grew under and all around the wash area. Her entire property, for that matter, was green.

Anna turned to walk back inside, nearly tripping over a sleeping dog. She glared.

“Tony, you really could bark every once in a while, you know, if you see anything. Those were my favorite jeans.”

The dog lifted his head, blinking slowly, then smiled with his tongue hanging out. Anna rolled her eyes, then made her way back inside the house.

Tony could hear her opening and closing drawers and cubboards, on the off-chance she had misplaced her missing garments. He put his head back in his paws, and licked his chops.

"Yeah, they were my favorite so far, too."

title: Man's Best Friend, Not Woman's.

question: Why do Anna's friends criticize her?

answer: She uses a clothes line instead of a dryer.

question: What keeps happening?

answer: The clothes she's hung out to dry go missing.

question: What's her dog's name?

answer: Tony

question: Who has been stealing her clothing?

answer: Tony.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Anna, a woman with roommates, is exasperated that she keeps losing items of clothing while doing laundry. Her friends say that it's because she uses a clothesline in lieu of a dryer. While putting them away, she remarks to her dog, Tony, that this time her favorite pair of jeans is missing. As soon as she goes out of earshot, Tony remarks that they were her favorite so far, too.


text:
-   June 23, 2007
-

Bear Stearns Companies, the investment bank, pledged up to $3.2 billion in loans yesterday to bail out one of its hedge funds that was collapsing because of bad bets on subprime mortgages.

It is the biggest rescue of a hedge fund since 1998 when more than a dozen lenders provided $3.6 billion to save Long-Term Capital Management.

The crisis this week from the near collapse of two hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns stems directly from the slumping housing market and the fallout from loose lending practices that showered money on people with weak, or subprime, credit, leaving many of them struggling to stay in their homes.

Bear Stearns averted a meltdown this time, but if delinquencies and defaults on subprime loans surge, Wall Street firms, hedge funds and pension funds could be left holding billions of dollars in bonds and securities backed by loans that are quickly losing their value.

Bear Stearns acted yesterday after the hedge fund and a related fund had suffered millions in losses and after shocked investors had begun asking for their money back. The firm agreed to buy out several Wall Street banks that had lent the fund money, which managers hoped would avoid a broader sell-off without causing a meltdown in the once-booming market for mortgage securities.

The firm is, meanwhile, negotiating with banks to rescue the second, larger fund started last August, which has more than $6 billion in loans and reportedly holds far riskier investments. Those negotiations were continuing yesterday, and it was unclear whether they would be successful.

“We don’t think it is over,” said Girish V. Reddy, managing director of Prisma Capital Partners, which invests in other hedge funds. “More funds will feel the pain, but not many are as leveraged as the Bear fund.”

Nervousness about the souring subprime loans and rising oil prices sent the stock market plummeting. Already down almost 60 points, the Dow Jones industrial average fell sharply after the announcement of the bailout and closed down 185.58 points.

Shares of Bear Stearns closed down $2.06, to $143.75; the stock was down more than 4 percent for the week.

For Bear Stearns, the drama surrounding its two troubled hedge funds has given it and its prestigious mortgage business a black eye. The bailout was a major departure for the firm, which has long resisted putting too much of its own capital at risk.

But in this case, the stakes were too high. If lenders had seized the assets of the funds and tried to sell billions of dollars in mortgage-related securities at fire-sale prices, it could have exposed Bear Stearns and the market to substantial losses.

While the board of Bear Stearns never met over the funds, all of its top executives, including the chief executive, James E. Cayne; its presidents, Alan D. Schwartz and Warren J. Spector; and the chief financial officer, Samuel L. Molinaro Jr., huddled in meetings over the last few days looking to find a way to contain the crisis, according to people briefed on the discussions who could not speak for attribution.

Even Alan C. Greenberg, the 79-year-old former chairman, who spends less time these days on the firm’s matters but remains an active board member, became involved.

Yet, as Bear Stearns worked to manage the crisis, many on Wall Street speculated about how the firm could let the funds get in such a precarious position.

In fact, executives at Bear Stearns Asset Management had debated last summer whether to start the second hedge fund.

The first fund, the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Fund — the one bailed out yesterday — was started in 2004 and had done well, posting 41 months of positive returns of about 1 percent to 1.5 percent a month. But investors were clamoring for even higher yields, which would require more aggressive bets on riskier mortgage-related securities and significantly higher levels of borrowed money, or leverage, to bolster returns.

The firm clearly had the expertise — it was a leader in underwriting and trading bonds and esoteric securities backed by mortgages. In addition, Ralph R. Cioffi, who ran the funds, had played a major role in building the Bear Stearns mortgage business.

So, in August, the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leveraged Fund — the second fund that eventually had huge losses — was started with $600 million in investments, mostly from wealthy individual clients of Bear Stearns, and at least $6 billion in money borrowed from banks and brokerage firms. Bear Stearns and a handful of its top executives invested a mere $40 million in both funds.

The timing could not have been worse.

By the end of last year, housing prices in many areas were cresting and beginning to fall. The decline began to expose lax lending standards in the subprime market. Soon borrowers started falling behind on payments just months after they closed on their loans, forcing several large lenders into bankruptcy protection.

The Bear Stearns funds, like so many others, had invested in collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, which invest in bonds backed by hundreds of loans and other financial instruments. Wall Street sells CDOs in slices to investors. Some of those pieces have low yields but they are easily traded and carry less risk; others are more susceptible to defaults and trade infrequently, which makes them difficult to value.

Last year, $316.4 billion in mortgage-related CDOs were issued, about 77 percent more than the year before, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said.

At first, the Bear Stearns hedge funds appeared to weather the storm. But in March, the older fund registered its first loss. One investor, who asked not to be identified because he was trying to recover his investment, said that when he moved to get his money out, he was told investors had tried to redeem 10 percent of the fund.

By April, the older fund was down by 5 percent for the year, and the newer fund had fallen 10 percent.

Managers tried to protect the fund by hedging potential losses in lower-rated securities they held, but did not do so for higher-rated bonds, which also fell in value.

“They didn’t realize this was Katrina,” the investor said. “They thought it was just another storm.”

In May, however, more significant problems began to emerge. The Swiss investment bank UBS shut its hedge fund arm, Dillon Read Capital Management, after bad subprime bets led to a $124 million loss.

Also that month, Bear Stearns Asset Management filed plans to start a public offering of a financial services firm called Everquest Financial, which, to some, appeared to be little more than a place to park the riskiest securities Bear Stearns had invested in. (The firm has no plans for now to move forward with the offering, according to a person briefed on the firm’s plans.)

Perhaps the most startling development was a sharp restatement in April of the second fund. The firm revalued some securities and told investors that the fund was down 23 percent, not 10 percent as it had said earlier.

Shocked investors began contacting Bear Stearns, demanding to pull their money out. In May, the firm froze all redemption requests. This month, at least three Wall Street firms — JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch — began demanding more cash as collateral for the loans they had made.

Fighting to save the funds, Bear Stearns sold $3.6 billion in high-grade securities. Meanwhile, its adviser, Blackstone, scrambled to line up a deal in which Bear Stearns would put up $1.5 billion in new loans and a consortium of banks led by Citigroup and Barclays would put in $500 million.

In return, the lenders would have their exposure to the funds reduced but could not make further margin calls for 12 months.

Some lenders, including Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, balked and moved to sell assets. At one point Wednesday, nearly $2 billion in securities were listed for sale, although some banks, including JPMorgan, eventually canceled scheduled auctions.

By the end of the day, out of the $850 million in securities that Merrill had put up for sale, only a small portion actually sold.

In the wake of the weak auctions, several other lenders, including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, reached deals with Bear Stearns. At least some of the deals involved the lenders selling the securities back to Bear Stearns for cash, although the prices were not disclosed.

Bear Stearns is bailing one of the funds out because it is worried about the damage to its reputation if it stuck investors and lenders with big losses, said Dick Bove, an analyst with Punk Ziegel & Company.

“If they walked away from it, investors would have lost all their money and lenders would have lost all of the money,” Mr. Bove said. But “if they did that to everyone in the financial community, the financial community would have shut them down.”

question: Summarize who Bear Stearns Companies are.

answer: They are an investment bank who have pledged up to $3.2 billion in loans. At the time of the article they were suffering the aftermath of loose lending practices, showering those with poor credit with money.

question: What is the overall conclusion of this article?

answer: The article appears to suggest more issues are on the way for Bear Stearns and other companies like it who have invested into those with subprime credit. Companies are scared of losing out as the value of their loans plummets.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: An article delineating the bailout given by Bear Stearns Companies, an investment bank, to one of its hedge funds. The article talks about the impact on the company's reputation in the aftermath of the necessary damage control.


text:
_COMMON SENSE_ was a magazine of left-wing theory published in Edinburgh, Scotland from 1987. It ceased publication in 1999.[1] The creators of _Common Sense_ aimed to be minimalist in its production.[2]

_Common Sense_ was the journal of the Edinburgh conference of Socialist Economics.[3] The magazine produced articles along the lines of Open and Autonomist Marxism;[4][5][6] its contents included articles from Italian leftists and some of John Holloway's earliest writings on the Zapatistas.[7][8] It attempted to draw on the Common Sense school of Scottish Philosophy.[9][10][11]

Well known leftist writers, like Holloway,[12][13][14][15] Harry Cleaver, Toni Negri, George Caffentzis, Werner Bonefeld,[16] and Richard Gunn[17] wrote for the magazine. Holloway presented one essay he had contributed to the magazine at the Conference of Socialist Economics on 27 January 1990 on the topic of the Poll Tax.[18]

The journal and the ideas it produced have influenced a number of later writers.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]  ephemera|website=www.ephemerajournal.org|access-date=21 December 2016}}

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Common Sense (Scottish magazine)

question: How long was Common Sense in publication?

answer: Common Sense was in publication for 12 years.

question: Where was Common Sense published?

answer: Common Sense was published in Edinburgh, Scotland.

question: Who were some of the writers for the magazine?

answer: Some writers for the magazine were Holloway, Harry Cleaver, Toni Negri, George Caffentzis, Werner Bonefeld, and Richard Gunn.

question: What political leanings did the magazine have?

answer: The magazine had leftist political leanings.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Common Sense was a Scottish magazine focusing on articles from leftist writers. The magazine and its ideas have influenced several later writers.


text:
Hello, everyone! This is my first-ever non-essay piece of writing, and as such, it's foreign territory to me. I don't claim to be a writer, never have been, but I find writing is a good way to vent, so I've taken a liking to it. Obviously the following *story*, if you can even call it that, is a convoluted mess with no plot to it of any kind and a stupidly dumb amount of adjectives, I know. Its a first draft, or maybe a kind of only draft, as I don't intend to expand on this in anyway. I was having a bad day, and I wanted to translate my emotions onto paper. So. content of the story aside, I'd like to know how to improve my writing just in general. Any tips would be adored, because I understand you'll be reading this as a chore, if you do. Its pretty terrible in a funny way. I guess, here it is...

Death is a powerful word. Its a word with the ability to incite a plethora of emotions with one mention, whether good or bad. Its a word often spoken in hushed or callous regard, not one to be tossed flippantly into the mindless fray of droning conversation that weaves the fiber of our existence day in, day out. Its the answer to some, a break from the monotony of everyday life, and a chance to set free ones’ own consciousness; and to others, its a problem--perhaps even the problem--one that lingers mercilessly over the heads of all who are doomed to be, to exist, luring them like cattle into a final and inevitable end. Yet, for me, its a word that hangs pitifully off my tongue, much as I hang off the road of existence in a fleeting limbo between life and that which I had welcomed with hollow appraisal and broken, toothless smiles. Death.

You never truly understand life’s fragility until you meet face-to-face with God’s green Earth and the American dream--a well kept and meticulously trimmed yard--as I did, one dreamy spring morning, when taking a leap from my mother’s cherished terrace. Anticipation clung to the air, that day, as if all the residents of the Valley, behind their collective, projected state of normalcy, yearned to satiate their morbid curiosity and disrupt the almost infuriating familiarity of an undisturbed morning, such as the one they experience that day. They aren’t much unlike me in that regard, then, the people of the Valley; unlike me, though, they maintained the will to endure the masquerade, I reminisced while supplying my legs with the necessary power to propel myself over the edge. And in those last fleeting moments, I found myself befuddled, unable to think as clearly as I had just moments ago. I blamed it on the the winds sailing through the valley, where the scent of asphalt, burnt in the new day sun, took refuge, creating a noxious repellent that stung your nose and seized your thoughts. The proverbial toxin was administered to everyone in the Valley with indifferent impartiality; yet, it angered me, as I detected an almost sinister nature to the currents of air, being as I was unable to formulate thoughts conveniently just before the apex of my trivial existence. Before I knew it, that existence was no more.

title: Death (feedback needed!)

question: How did the author come to understand life's fragility?

answer: They committed suicide.

question: What is "God's green Earth and the American dream"?

answer: Death.

question: How does their mother feel about their suicide?

answer: It is not said in the text.

question: How did they commit suicide?

answer: By jumping from their mother's terrace.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The author knows the meaning of life-which they describe as God's green earth and the American dream-once they have committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of their mother's terrace.


text:
[Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council tortures Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent with his poetry in the 2005 film _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_.]

The VOGONS are a fictional alien race from the planet Vogsphere in _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_—initially a BBC Radio series by Douglas Adams—who are responsible for the destruction of the Earth, in order to facilitate an intergalactic highway construction project for a hyperspace express route. Vogons are slug-like but vaguely humanoid, are bulkier than humans, and have green skin. Vogons are described as “one of the most unpleasant races in the galaxy—not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous”, and having “as much sex appeal as a road accident” as well as being the authors of “the third worst poetry in the universe”. They are employed as the galactic government's bureaucrats. According to Marvin the Paranoid Android, they are also the worst marksmen in the galaxy.

Description

[The Vogons' appearance in the film was partially based on the cartoons of James Gillray.] [An animatronic Vogon head, used in the film version of the story.]

Appearance and personality

Guide Description:

Vogons are roughly human-sized, although much bulkier, with green or grey skin. Their noses are above their eyebrows, which are either ginger (in the television series) or white (in the film). The film's commentary states that the idea behind the high flat noses was that they evolved both the noses and the severe bureaucracy from being repeatedly whacked by the paddle creatures under the sand on Vogsphere whenever they had an independent thought (in the film, the Vogon bureaucracy is centred on Vogsphere). In the radio series it is said that “Their highly domed nose rises above their small piggy forehead”.

Garth Jennings deliberately based his conception of the Vogons on the work of cartoonist James Gillray (1757–1815). “His creations were so grotesque...when we looked at them, we realised they _were_ the Vogons”.[1]

Origins

The series tells that, far back in prehistory, when the first primeval Vogons crawled out of the sea, evolution gave up on them. Through sheer obstinacy, though, the Vogons survived (partly by adapting a misplaced, badly malformed, and dyspeptic liver into a brain). As the radio show says: “What nature refused to give to them, they did without. Until their myriad anatomical deficiencies could be rectified with surgery.” They then emigrated _en masse_ to the MeagaBrantis star cluster (although the film has them staying on Vogsphere), the political hub of the galaxy. They banish the ruling philosophers to the tax office to lick stamps and within a few short Voge years took over pretty much all of the galactic civil service, where they form most of the Galactic bureaucracy, most notably in the Vogon Constructor Fleets (which, despite their name, patrol the galaxy demolishing planets). The only named Vogons in the stories are Jeltz (see below), Kwaltz (who appears in the film), Zarniwoop, revealed to be a Vogon in the Quintessential Phase, and Jeltz's son Constant Mown.

Behaviour

Vogons are described as officiously bureaucratic, a line of work at which they perform so well that the entire galactic bureaucracy is run by them.

On Vogsphere, the Vogons would sit upon very elegant and beautiful gazelle-like creatures, whose backs would snap instantly if the Vogons tried to ride them. The Vogons were perfectly happy with just sitting on them. Another favourite Vogon pastime is to import millions of beautiful jewel-backed scuttling crabs from their native planet, cut down giant trees of breathtaking beauty, and spend a happy drunken night smashing the crabs to bits with iron mallets and cooking the crab meat by burning the trees. In the movie, the Vogons seem to smash the crabs for no apparent reason besides pure pleasure at killing something.

The Vogons' battle-cry, and counter-argument to dissent, is “resistance is useless!” (cf. “Resistance is futile”).

Poetry

[Jeltz reading poetry at Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect in the television series.] Vogon poetry is described as “the third worst poetry in the Universe”. The main example used in the story is a short piece composed by Jeltz, which roughly emulates nonsense verse in style (example below). The story relates that listening to it is an experience similar to torture as demonstrated when Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are forced to listen to the poetry (and say how much they liked it) prior to being thrown out of an airlock.

    _"Oh freddled gruntbuggly,_
    _Thy micturations are to me_
    _As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee._
    _Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,_
    _And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,_
    _Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts_
    _With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don't!"_

A second example of Vogon poetry is found in the Hitchhiker's Guide interactive fiction game that was produced by Infocom. The first verse is as above; one version of the second verse follows:

    _"Bleem miserable venchit! Bleem forever mestinglish asunder frapt._
    _Gashee morphousite, thou expungiest quoopisk!_
    _Fripping lyshus wimbgunts, awhilst moongrovenly kormzibs._
    _Gerond withoutitude form into formless bloit, why not then? Moose."_

An unused extended version of the poem is also excerpted in Neil Gaiman's book _Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion_, in Appendix III.

A third example appears in _The Quintessential Phase_ of the radio series, again written by Jeltz.

A fourth example appears in _And Another Thing..._, the sixth book in the trilogy written by Eoin Colfer. The poem is also written by Jeltz.

Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz

The Vogon Captain in charge of overseeing the destruction of the Earth, PROSTETNIC VOGON JELTZ is sadistic and unpleasant to look at, even by Vogon standards. He enjoys shouting at or executing members of his own crew for insubordination, and takes professional pride in his job of demolishing planets. He very rarely smiles: “Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz smiled very slowly. This was done not so much for effect as because he was trying to remember the sequence of muscle movements.”

It is revealed in _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_ that Jeltz had been hired by Gag Halfrunt to destroy the Earth (though in the film it was Zaphod who gave the order by mistake). Halfrunt had been acting on behalf of a consortium of psychiatrists and the Imperial Galactic Government in order to prevent the discovery of the Ultimate Question. When Halfrunt learns that Arthur Dent escaped the planet's destruction, Jeltz is dispatched to track him down and destroy him. Jeltz is unable to complete this task, due to the intervention of Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth, Zaphod's great-grandfather.

In _Mostly Harmless_, Jeltz is once again responsible for the destruction of the Earth, after the Vogons infiltrate the Hitchhikers' Guide company offices to turn the Guide into a device capable of destroying all Earths in every dimension, this time presumably killing Arthur, Ford, Trillian, and Arthur's daughter, Random—a fate dodged by the characters in the Quintessential Phase.[2]

“Prostetnic Vogon” may be a title, rather than part of his name, since during the second episode of the third radio series (Fit the Fourteenth), two other Prostetnic Vogons are heard from. Also, in _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_, Gag Halfrunt refers to Jeltz as “Captain of Vogons Prostetnic” (although this may have been a play on Halfrunt's accent).

Jeltz appears in:

-   _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_
-   _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_
-   _Mostly Harmless_
-   _And Another Thing..._
-   _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ (computer game)
-   The Quintessential Phase.

In the first radio series, he was played by Bill Wallis. On television, it was Martin Benson. In the third, fourth and fifth radio series, he was played by Toby Longworth, although Longworth did not receive a credit for the role during the third series. In the film, he is voiced by Richard Griffiths. In cartoon he is voiced by Rupert Degas.

Spacecraft

The ships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet were described as “impossibly huge yellow somethings” (the colour being a parallel to bulldozers that demolish Arthur's house) that “looked more like they had been congealed than constructed” and “hung in the air in much the same way that bricks don't”; they are said to be undetectable to radar and capable of travel through hyperspace. They are not crewed exclusively by Vogons; a species known as the Dentrassi are responsible for on-board catering.

In the television version of the story, the craft are shaped like battleships, albeit with a flat bottom through which the demolition beams are fired. In the film version, the craft are grey and cubic, a continuation of the emphasis on bureaucracy in the Vogons' conception: “Douglas [Adams]'s description of the Vogon ships hanging in the air in much the same way that bricks don't [led to] these Vogon ships which are these massive concrete tower blocks, with hardly any windows, they just have a few doors around the base,” says Joel Collins.[3]

[1] Quoted in Stamp, R. (Ed.) and Simpson, P. _The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ (Boxtree 2005), p.48

[2] “THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY THE QUINTESSENTIAL PHASE: Fit the Twenty-Six” – Review by Jason Davis at Mania.com (retrieved 5 August 2008

[3] Quoted in Stamp, R. (Ed.) and Simpson, P. _The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ (Boxtree 2005), p.58

title: Vogon

question: Why are the Vogons so bad-tempered and cruel?

answer: Unknown; it might be an evolutionary thing. Or it may be that they envy those that they practice their cruelty on.


text:
GETACHEW KASSA is an Ethiopian vocalist and percussionist. Since he started playing with a band called Fetan Band – or Speed Band – at the Patrice Lumumba Bar in Wube Berha in the 70’s, Getachew established himself as one of the most accomplished[1] Ethiopian musicians of the period[2] Notable songs include “Addis Abeba”,[3] “Tiz Balegn Gize”, “Yekereme Fikir”, “Bertucan nesh lomi” “Bichayan Tekze” “Agere Tizitash”. He played for various groups, such as the Sehebelles band, the Venus band, and later with the Walias band. His songs Tezata Slow and Fast were featured on the album Ethiopiques, Vol. 10: Ethiopian Blues & Ballads.[4]

Getachew also lived in the USA for many years. In the mid-1980s he toured through the states and drew attention to the fate of the people who had been struck by hunger in Ethiopia. His self-image as a “world citizen” brought him the status of an illegal immigrant. But it was not until the year 2012 that Ethiopia returned. IN 2012, Nahom records released The Best of Getachew Kassa [5] Kassa was a part of the Stay Strong Project's Stay Strong Orchestra alongside Alemayehu Eshete [6] and a songwriter and singer.[7]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

title: Getachew Kassa

question: List some of Getachew Kassa's songs

answer: Addis Abeba, Tiz Balegn Gize, Yekereme Fikir, Bertucan nesh lomi, Bichayan Tekze, “Agere Tizitash

question: What was Getachew's immigration status in the 1980s?

answer: Illegal immigrant

question: What bands has Getachew belonged to?

answer: Fetan Band, Sehebelles, Walias, Venus

question: What sort of activism did Getachew engage in?

answer: Awareness for the Ethiopian famine

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses the Ethiopian musician Getachew Kassa. It lists his songs and some of the bands he had joined. It also describes his activism.


text:
 [Patrick Mooney, Matthew Kelly, Michael Sharpe & Professor Gangadhara Prusty]

Patrick Mooney, Matthew Kelly, Michael Sharpe & Professor Gangadhara Prusty

A new strategic partnership between St George Banking Group, UNSW Sydney and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre has been forged, in a move designed to advance Australian research and accelerate the introduction and commercialisation of new manufacturing technologies.

The partnership aims to help Australia unlock its competitive edge in manufacturing by bringing together three different streams of the Australian economy – research, industry and banking.

The partnership comes in the wake of recent job figures illustrating the re-emergence of the manufacturing sector, with domestic employment increasing 6.1% over the past five years.

In Australia, the sector employs approximately 978,000 people (August 2018 ABS trend data), which is approximately 7.7% of the total workforce.

Michael Sharpe, state director of AMGC, says he believes that every Australian manufacturer can transition to the digital age in order to build their business and compete globally.

“To improve our country’s innovation and competitiveness, manufacturers need to become highly-integrated, collaborative and export-focused so we can provide high-value, customised solutions to global supply chains.

“This complementary partnership will forge the industry ahead by helping manufacturers to think more laterally about how they can use the latest technology to scale their businesses and seek new opportunities both onshore and overseas.”

 “Manufacturing is an export focused industry, and digitisation, data, automation and new materials are driving the re-emergence of manufacturing in Australia,” said Matthew Kelly, head of Manufacturing and Wholesale at St George.

“Our customers are forward-thinking and want to tap into research to differentiate their businesses and make their processes more efficient, such as using real-time data to drive better decision making. We have a very clear understanding of Australia’s potential in this sector which is why St.George is backing manufacturers for the long-term through this partnership and other initiatives.”

Professor Gangadhara Prusty, director of UNSW-based ARC Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites, said the collaboration would give potential partners access to the nation’s most advanced manufacturing facilities, and where appropriate, secure funding through AMGC or other government funding sources.

“This partnership will enable St.George customers and AMGC members to leverage technologies developed at UNSW and take advantage of the University’s skills and expertise in the engineering field,” Professor Prusty said.

“Using advanced manufacturing automation and innovative material solutions, we can assist potential partners in solving their real world engineering challenges. We are excited to collaborate with new industry partners to ensure Australian manufacturing remains competitive in the global market.”

St.George manufacturing customer, Clem Tacca of Tacca Industries in New South Wales, will be one of the first to benefit from the new collaboration.

SUBSCRIBE TO ITWIRE UPDATE NEWSLETTER HERE

Now’s the Time for 400G Migration

THE OPTICAL FIBRE COMMUNITY IS ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THE BENEFITS THAT 400G CAPACITY PER WAVELENGTH WILL BRING TO EXISTING AND FUTURE FIBRE OPTIC NETWORKS.

NEARLY EVERY BUSINESS WANTS TO LEVERAGE THE LATEST IN DIGITAL OFFERINGS TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE MARKETS AND TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR FAST AND EVER-INCREASING DEMANDS FOR DATA CAPACITY. 400G IS THE ANSWER.

INITIAL CHALLENGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SUPPORTING SUCH PROJECT AND UPGRADES TO FULFIL THE PROMISE OF HIGHER-CAPACITY TRANSPORT.

THE FOUNDATION OF OPTICAL NETWORKING INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDES COHERENT OPTICAL TRANSCEIVERS AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (DSP), MUX/DEMUX, ROADM, AND OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS, ALL OF WHICH MUST BE ABLE TO SUPPORT 400G CAPACITY.

WITH TODAY’S PROPRIETARY POWER-HUNGRY AND HIGH COST TRANSCEIVERS AND DSP, HOW IS MIGRATION TO 400G NETWORKS GOING TO BE A VIABLE OPTION?

PACKETLIGHT'S NEXT-GENERATION STANDARDISED SOLUTIONS MAY BE THE ANSWER. CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

CLICK HERE!

WEBINAR PROMOTION ON ITWIRE: IT'S ALL ABOUT WEBINARS

THESE DAYS OUR CUSTOMERS ADVERTISING & MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ARE MAINLY FOCUSSED ON WEBINARS.
If you wish to promote a Webinar we recommend at least a 2 week campaign prior to your event.

The iTWire campaign will include extensive adverts on our News Site itwire.com and prominent Newsletter promotion https://www.itwire.com/itwire-update.html and Promotional News & Editorial.

This coupled with the new capabilities 5G brings opens up huge opportunities for both network operators and enterprise organisations.

We have a Webinar Business Booster Pack and other supportive programs.

We look forward to discussing your campaign goals with you.

MORE INFO HERE!

BACK TO HOME PAGE

[Peter Dinham]

Peter Dinham - an iTWire treasure is a mentor and coach who volunteers also a writer and much valued founding partner of iTWire. He is a veteran journalist and corporate communications consultant. He has worked as a journalist in all forms of media – newspapers/magazines, radio, television, press agency and now, online – including with the Canberra Times, The Examiner (Tasmania), the ABC and AAP-Reuters. As a freelance journalist he also had articles published in Australian and overseas magazines. He worked in the corporate communications/public relations sector, in-house with an airline, and as a senior executive in Australia of the world’s largest communications consultancy, Burson-Marsteller. He also ran his own communications consultancy and was a co-founder in Australia of the global photographic agency, the Image Bank (now Getty Images).

Latest from Peter Dinham

-   Pandemic ‘forces’ IT execs to adapt to home working, ‘unpredictabe’ IT changes
-   ParaZero to merge with Delta Drone South Africa
-   Consumer groups call for ‘radical’ overhaul of privacy laws
-   Cashrewards appoints David Norris as CTO

Share News tips for the iTWire Journalists? Your tip will be anonymous

question: What does the text say about the same initiatives happening in Perth?

question: What does the text say about the partnership between St. George Banking Group, UNSW Sydney, and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Center?

answer: The partnership is a strategic move designed to advance Australian research and accelerate the introduction and commercialization of new manufacturing technologies. It aims to help Australia unlock its competitive edge in manufacturing by bringing together research, banking, and industry - three different streams of the economy. The partnership comes after recent job figures that show the re-emergence of the manufacturing sector, with domestic employment increasing 6.1% over the past five years.

question: Who is Micahel Sharpe and what are his thoughts on the partnership?

answer: Michael Sharpe is the state director for AMGC. He believes every Australian manufacturer can transition to the digital age to build their business and compete globally. Sharpe thinks the complementary partnership will forge the industry ahead by helping manufacturers think more laterally about how they can use the latest technology to scale their businesses and seek new opportunities both locally and overseas.

question: What does the text say about the role of UNSW in the partnership?

answer: UNSW's role in the partnership is to give partners access to the nation's most advanced manufacturing facilities, and secure funding through AMGC or other government funding sources, where appropriate. Partners can leverage technologies developed at UNSW and take advantage of the University's skills and expertise in the engineering field. UNSW can assist potential partners in solving real-world engineering challenges by using advanced manufacturing automation and innovative material solutions.


text:
A strange man comes to collect the sick child from the garden of tiny statues.

Together, the pair enter the building in the garden. Inside, a woman is alone save for the two newcomers. She drops a quarter into a tin box on the wall. The sound of the coin hitting the metal echoes through the cavernous stone room as she lights one of a row of little white candles.

The two who enter the building make no sound, save for the child's muffled cough and sniffles. The child wants to go to the woman, but the man holds the child's shoulder. The child looks up at the man, who places a finger on his lips, shushing. The child understands, and nods before quietly walking over. The woman is crying. The child kneels next to her on the little padded bench in front of the candles.

After a time, the woman gets up and leaves the room. The child goes back to the man, takes his hand, and the two go outside again. They watch from the door of the building as the woman goes up to one of the little statues in the yard. She stands there, and the child leads the man over. As they approach, the woman leaves. The child cries out, waving to the woman. The man shushes him, but not before the woman turns around.

The man braces as though preparing for something terrible, but nothing happens. The woman looks back at where they stand, blankly. The child runs forward a few steps and waves to the woman. She continues looking-- looking, but without seeing-- for a brief moment, then turns again and leaves. Once the woman is gone, the child returns to the man's side.

The strange pair looks down at the statue of an angel embracing a tablet. On the tablet is an inscription. The child cannot read it, and asks what it says. The man reads it. The child is confused. Why would someone write that on a statue?

"Sometimes people write things on stones when they want to remember them for a long time."

The child doesn't have a response. They look at the statue for a bit.

"You're not coughing anymore," the man notes.

"Huh?"

"Your cough is gone." The man says to the child. "Are you feeling better now?"

The child pauses, and realizes the man is correct. He is pleasantly surprised.

"Yes." The child smiles.

The man returns the smile.

"Yes, I am, actually. Does this mean I can go back?" The child points back the way the woman went.

The man's smile turns sad. "No one can go back. But what it means is that you can go on."

The child frowns. "Do I have to? I mean, would you?"

"I would." The man doesn't hesitate a moment.

"Why don't you?"

"I can't."

"Oh." The child puzzles a moment. "Is it because you aren't better yet?"

The man smiles again. "Something like that."

The child thinks a moment more. "I think I want to go. Are you sure you can't come?"

"Sorry, not today."

"Well, I hope you get better soon!"

"Thank you," said Death to the now-empty graveyard.

title: A little thing to introduce a character who will feature in future projects. Comments/criticisms greatly requested.

question: Why does the woman drop a quarter in the tin box?

answer: She is visiting a childrens' graveyard and the tin box is for donations.

question: Why was the man stopping the child from comforting the woman?

answer: The child is actually a spirit in the afterlife. The woman he is trying to comfort is his mother, which he cannot do.

question: Why was the man bracing himself for something terrible?

answer: Information can't be found.

question: Who is "the man" in the story?

answer: Death.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: A mother visits a childrens' graveyard to mourn her child while Death tries to stop the spirit of the child from disturbing her moment. After she leaves, Death tells the child he is free to go on now. The child invites him but Death tells him he cannot join him.


text:
The RED UMBRELLA PROJECT is a New York based non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers and strives to empower them by giving them a voice.

History

The Red Umbrella Project was founded in 2010 by writer and activist Audacia Ray. As a former sex worker, Ray witnessed first-hand the discrimination against sex workers by police and society. Ray envisioned an organization where sex workers could come together to share their stories, advocate for change and help one another. She chose the name The Red Umbrella Project because in 2001 during the 49th Venice Biennale of Art in Venice, Italy, sex workers demonstrated against inhumane work conditions and human rights violation by holding up red umbrellas, making this a symbol of resistance to discrimination.[1]

In 2009 Ray started hosting storytelling events for sex workers at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York's Lower East Side. The goals of these workshops and storytelling events were to shine light and empower sex workers, but it soon became apparent that these sex workers shared several common burdens. Many identified as trans or queer,[2] there was an alarming rate of HIV/AIDS cases among them,[3] they feared carrying condoms due to the criminalization of condoms,[4] and most of all they were tossed aside and mistreated by most of society, when all they were doing is trying to make a living and find economic opportunity.[5][6]

Advocacy issues

Sex-worker diversion programs

In 2014 New York City created a series of special courts for sex workers arrested on prostitution-related charges. The new courts, known as Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTIC),[7] treated all sex workers as human trafficking victims, and through a variety of bullying tactics forced defendants to forgo their constitutional right of a trial by jury and agree to a plea bargain of a sex worker diversion program which consisted of a court mandated treatment program, followed by adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD).[8] The Red Umbrella Project argued that the city's intentions were good and that the new court does help people who are forced into sex work.[9] However, the court still treats the sex workers like criminals [10] and makes the assumption that all sex workers are victims of human trafficking and that no one does sex work out of free will, for their personal economic gain. There may also be assumed discrimination within the workforce due to the fact that many sex workers are of color, queer or trans. The counseling and assistance offered through the court mandated treatment program provides them with no way of economic opportunity other than sex work. The Red Umbrella Project wants to see the sex-worker diversion program restructured with an emphasis on economic empowerment through job training and economic opportunities.[11][12][13]

HIV/AIDS and trans health disparity

The Red Umbrella Project along with the Nation Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and Best Practices Policy Project (BPPP) published a report that transgender people in the sex trade are twelve times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than transgender people who were never involved in the sex trade and twenty-five times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than the general population. The Red Umbrella Project points to the fear of condoms as being used as evidence of prostitution along with profiling of race and gender by police officers where: “Women and trans people having condoms on them is criminalized, whereas a white cis male having condoms on him is looked at as safe-sex practice.” [14][15]

The Red Umbrella Project and other advocacy groups have been able to push for reform in heavily liberal cities such as New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., [16][17] but other more conservative cities such as Phoenix use condoms as evidence as part of their anti-prostitution campaign Project Rose.[18]

The Red Umbrella Diaries

The Red Umbrella Diaries started as a monthly story-telling event at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York's Lower East Side that sought to shed the stigma around sex work, make it less isolating and show that it can be both exploitative and empowering" at the same time. The Red Umbrella Diaries was listed by _The Village Voice_ as “The Best Way to Meet Sex Workers (for Free)”,[19] Best of NYC® 2010: Your Key to the City|website=Village Voice|access-date=2016-12-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170510170711/http://www.villagevoice.com/best-of/2010/sports-and-recreation/best-way-to-meet-sex-workers-for-free-6449197

|archive-date=10 May 2017}} and was listed as “Best of New York City's Sports and Recreation” in 2010.[20]

The monthly event eventually led to a documentary produced by Audacia Ray and multi-Emmy Award-Winning director David Kornfield and funded by the Red Umbrella Project. The documentary featured seven sex workers telling their stories about trading money for sex on the streets of New York City. The documentary premiered at the Portland Film Festival, in Portland, Oregon and at the IFC theater in New York City, and was a Doc NYC official selection.[21]

Memoir writing workshop

In 2012, the Red Umbrella Project started offering memoir writing workshops in New York City which was made possible in part by a grant from Poets & Writers. The peer-facilitated workshops were open to all people with experience in the sex trade and allowed sex workers a safe space to build writing skills, share their stories with others, and get feedback from their peers. Attendees of the workshop have the option of having their work published in the Red Umbrella Project's biannual literary journal _Prose & Lore_, and to share their work on stage as part of their Page to Stage workshop.[22][23]

[1]  Sex Work Europe|website=www.sexworkeurope.org|access-date=2016-12-19}}

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]  VICE News|newspaper=VICE News|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-20}}

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]  Filmmaker Magazine|last=Wissot|first=Lauren|newspaper=Filmmaker Magazine|access-date=2016-12-20}}

[22]  Red Umbrella Project|website=redumbrellaproject.org|access-date=2016-12-20}}

[23]  Poets and Writers|website=www.pw.org|access-date=2016-12-20|date=2013-01-03}}

title: Red Umbrella Project

question: What is the Red Umbrella Project?

answer: A New York based non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers.

question: Where does the Red Umbrella Project stand on Human Trafficking Intervention Courts?

answer: It says the intentions were good, but it treated sex workers like criminals and assumed all sex workers were forced into the work against their will. The court mandated treatment program did not provide an economic alternative to sex work. It wants to see interventions refocused on an emphasis on economic empowerment through job training and opportunities.

question: What does the project think of condom criminalization?

answer: It singles out people of Color and queer, Trans people. There's a double standard for these marginalized people whereas cis gendered white men are seen as simply practicing safe sex.

question: What was the goal of the Red Umbrella Diaries?

answer: To shed the stigma around sex work, making it less isolating and to show that it can be both exploitative and empowering at the same time.

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer: The Red Umbrella Project is a New York based non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers. In particular, it criticized New York Human Trafficking Intervention Courts and the practice of condom criminalization. It says the intentions were good, but it treated sex workers like criminals and assumed all sex workers were forced into the work against their will. The court mandated treatment program did not provide an economic alternative to sex work. It wants to see interventions refocused on an emphasis on economic empowerment through job training and opportunities. Of anti-condom policies it says they single out people of Color and queer, Trans people. There's a double standard for these marginalized people whereas cis gendered white men are seen as simply practicing safe sex. They established the Red Umbrella Diaries to shed the stigma around sex work, making it less isolating and to show that it can be both exploitative and empowering at the same time.


text:
ISAAC LOLETTE “IKE” JONES (December 23, 1929 – October 5, 2014) was an American film producer and actor. In June 1953, he became the first African American graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and was the first African American to serve as a producer on a major motion picture.[1][2][3][4]

Jones was relatively unknown outside of the film industry until 1970 when he publicly announced that he had been secretly married to actress Inger Stevens from 1961 until her death of a drug overdose in April 1970.[5] Jones’ claim was backed up in court by Stevens' brother, Carl O. Stensland.

Early life and education

Jones was born in Santa Monica, California, and attended Santa Monica High School.[6]

He studied motion picture production at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. While at UCLA, he also played end for the Bruins and was named to the 1952 All-Pacific Coast Conference team.[7] After graduating from UCLA, Jones was drafted in the 25th round by the Green Bay Packers in the 1953 NFL Draft, but declined the offer.[8]

Career

In 1953, Jones worked as an actor in bit parts and served as an assistant director on _The Joe Louis Story_.[9] Later on in the decade, Jones worked as an assistant producer for Hill-Hecht Lancaster Company. After that production company folded, Harry Belafonte hired him as vice president of development for Harbel Productions.[10] In the 1960s, Jones headed Nat King Cole's Kell-Cole Productions.[11] After the singer's death, Jones was hired as a producer on _A Man Called Adam_, a film starring Sammy Davis Jr. This was the first time that an African American was hired as a producer on a major motion picture.[12][13]

Personal life

On November 18, 1961, Jones and actress Inger Stevens were married in Tijuana, Mexico.[14] At Jones' suggestion Stevens agreed to keep their union a secret, in part, as to not harm her, or his, show business career.[15] The demands of their careers meant they spent much time apart, straining their marriage and they eventually separated. In April 1970, while the couple were estranged and living apart, Stevens died of a barbiturate overdose that was eventually ruled a suicide.[16] As Stevens left no will at the time of her death, Jones filed to become administrator of her estate thus making news of the marriage public. Despite being unable to produce a valid marriage license, Superior Court Commissioner A. Edward Nichols ruled in Jones' favor and appointed him administrator of her estate in August 1970. Jones announced that he would use a portion of the $171,000 of Stevens’ estate to open a mental health care clinic in Watts, Los Angeles. At the time, Jones managed a chain of convalescent homes.[17]

Around that same time, Jones had made a number of bad investments, straining his finances.[18]

Later years and death

In 1995, he became the first recipient of the Oscar Micheaux Award, presented by the Producers Guild of America.[19]

On October 5, 2014, Jones died “of complications from a stroke and congestive heart failure”[20] in an assisted-living facility in Los Angeles on October 5, 2014. He was 84.[21]

Legacy

A short street called Ike Jones Road near John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California is named for Ike Jones.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

title: Ike Jones

question: Summarize Jones' works before he became the first African American to be hired as a producer on a major motion picture?

answer: Jones worked as an assistant director on The Joe Louis Story; he also worked as an assistant producer for Hill Hecht Lancaster Company. After Hill Hecht Lancaster Company went under, he became the vice president of development for Harbel Productions.

question: Are there any less obvious reasons why Stevens and Jones decided to keep their marriage a secret?

question: Why did the Superior Court grant Jones the custody of Stevens estate though they could not produce a valid marriage certificate?

answer: Probably because Steven's brother, Carl O. Stensland, publicly confirmed that both Jones and Stevens are married.


text:
CWMHIRAETH is a hamlet in Carmarthenshire. Its name is Welsh and means the “valley of longing” in that language.

It is near Dre-fach Felindre and was settled as part of the wool industry which developed in this area, making flannel.[1] A woolen mill was built there in the 19th century, using water power from the Nant Brân stream, which flows through its valley. The National Wool Museum now records the history of the area.[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Cwmhiraeth

question: Where is Carmarthenshire?

answer: Presumably the U.K. since Cwmhiraeth is Welsh.

question: What is Dre-fach Felindre?

answer: A Welsh town presumably

question: What is Cwmhiraeth known for?

answer: Its wool industry.

question: What history does the National Wool Museum record of the area?

answer: Doesn't say

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Cwmhiraeth is a hamlet in Carmarthenshire. Its name means "valley of longing" in Welsh. The valley was settled by the wool industry in the 19th century, using water power from the Nant Bran stream. The National Wool Museum records the history of the area.


text:
Bad blood —

The country has a closely guarded registry of every citizen under the age of 43.

[Sweden’s national DNA database could be released to private firms]
In 1975, the Swedish government decided it could help medical research by collecting a blood sample from every child born in the country since 1975. Over time, this has left it with the most comprehensive DNA database in the world—containing genetic information on every Swedish citizen under 43. Until recently, it has been jealously guarded as a resource for the scientific community, and its data was mostly off limits for other purposes.

Now however, the government has commissioned a report on the possibility of opening up the database, which is maintained by Karolinska University Hospital, both to law enforcement and, rumour has it, to private insurance companies. Privacy campaigners in the country are up in arms.

The Pirate Party's Rick Falkvinge argued that such a move would be "an outrageous and audacious breach of contract with the parents who were promised the sample would be used only for the good of humanity in terms of medical research."

He added: "The instant there’s a _mere suspicion_ that this will be used _against_ the sampled newborn in the future—as is the case now—instead of being used for the good of humanity as a whole, people won’t provide the DNA database with more samples, or at least not enough samples to provide researchable coverage."

It's been reported that Swedish police have rarely been granted access to the database, known as the PKU Registry due to its aim to test for phenylketonuria (PKU), which is an inability to metabolise phenylanaline. They used it in 1998 and 2002 to exonerate people of murder, and in 2003 to help catch the man who murdered the popular left-wing politician Anna Lindh, after which the law was changed mandating the police to win a court order to access it. In 2004, temporary leave was granted to use it to help identify victims of the tsunami in south-east Asia.

Scientists are worried that parents will no longer give their consent for their newborns' blood to be taken, thereby spoiling a valuable resource. The inquiry kicked off in May, and is due to finish in December 2017.

question: Why does Sweden collect DNA from all its citizens?

answer: The original purpose was to help medical research.

question: How can the Swedish police currently gain access to the DNA database?

answer: The law was changed in 2004 that the police will have to win a court order to access it.

question: What will the impact be if the DNA database was made available to a wider audience?

answer: Politicians and scientists believe that parents will no longer give their consent for their newborns' blood to be taken, thereby spoiling a valuable resource.

question: Why are privacy campaigners up in arms?

answer: The government has commissioned a report on the possibility of opening up their DNA database both to law enforcement and to private insurance companies.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The government of Sweden has a comprehensive, and closely guarded, DNA database of its citizens born since 1975. Recently the government requested a report on whether the database could be made available to law enforcement and private insurance companies. Privacy campaigners are up in arms about this claiming that parents will refuse consent for their newborns' blood to be taken.


text:
COPPENHALL is a small settlement in Staffordshire, England. Coppenhall lies southwest of Stafford and NNW of Penkridge with Baron Stafford as lord of the manor.[1] The parish of ~ is bounded on the east by the Pothooks Brook. The centre of the village lies at 416 ft (127 m) above sea level, the ground rising from about 275 ft (84 m) in the east of the parish to over 475 ft (145 m) in the west.

[Coppenhall Church, April 2008]

Church of St Lawrence

The small ancient church of St. Lawrence, built c.1200, and described by Pevsner as “a perfect 13th century village church, small but of great dignity,”[2] is constructed of thick sandstone walls with a spired wooden bellcote, and has capacity for only about 60 worshippers. It was made a chapelry of Penkridge parish after the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. The church registers commence in 1678 and are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office.[3]

A church existed at Coppenhall by 1200, it being a dependency of Penkridge College by 1261, having also had a vicarage ordained by 1291.

[The spired bell tower and cockerel wind vane of Coppenhall church, May 2008]

The church was extensively restored in 1866, which involved fitting a new roof, repairs to the windows and gable-ends and the addition of a new circular window to the east gable. A new bell turret was also added with a taller spire, and a stone pulpit and circular font were installed at this time. In 1917, a memorial pulpit and lectern were bequeathed in memory of Charles Mort by his widow Helen. In 1932, an oak lych-gate was added in memory of Charles H and Lillie Wright.[4]

Butterhill

Close to Coppenhall is the tiny hamlet of Butterhill, which possesses a semi-derelict red-brick windmill [5] standing on a small hill.[6] The windmill has been a Grade II listed building since 1986.[7] This windmill “standing on high ground some 150 yards west of Butterhill Farm and locally said to have been the only six-sail mill in the county, was in use by 1820. About 1849 it was part of Lord Hatherton's estate in Coppenhall occupied by William Handy. It seems to have gone out of use between 1872 and 1876, but the tackle was not removed until 1912. The derelict brick tower probably dates from c.1800.”[8]

Also nearby stands Butterhill House, a 3-storey Georgian house with a large south-facing glasshouse or Orangery. [9] [10] Butterhill House was owned by the Marson family in the 19th century and then passed to the Busby family who still lived there in 1900. Mrs. A. J. Busby was one of the chief landowners in Coppenhall in 1912 and 1916, but between at least 1924 and 1932 Butterhill House was owned and occupied by T. P. Darlington. Miss Darlington was living there in 1940. The house was sold in 1955 to Mr. A. N. Hillier, who had converted it by 1956 into flats. It is a mid-19th-century brick building with gabled dormers, ornamental barge-boards, and stone bay windows. It also has a large walled garden to the north.[11] The house has for some years now been a residential care home for the elderly.[12]

[1] _History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire,_ William White, Sheffield, 1851

[2] N Pevsner, _Buildings of England: Staffordshire,_ Harmonsworth/Penguin, 1974, p.108

[3] History of Coppenhall

[4] L. Margaret Midgley (editor), _A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5 - East Cuttlestone Hundred,_ Victoria County History, UK, 1959, pp.141-143

[5] Picture of Butterhill windmill

[6] _Butterhill Windmill_

[7] _Windmill Tower North West of Butterhill Farmhouse, Coppenhall_

[8] L Margaret Midgley, _A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5, Coppenhall,_ pp.138-143

[9] Picture of Butterhill House, 1964

[10]

[11] L Margaret Midgley, _A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5, Coppenhall,_ pp.138-143

[12] _Butterhill House_

title: Coppenhall

question: What does the text say about the Church of St Lawrence's construction in Coppenhall?

answer: The church of St Lawrence is a small ancient church built around 1200. It was constructed by thick sandstone walls and a wooden roof bridge. It only had a capacity for 60 worshippers at a time. It was restored in 1866 when a new roof was installed and repairs were made to the windows. A bell tower with a taller spire was also installed.


text:
SEJAKPUR is a village and former princely state on Saurashtra peninsula, in Gujarat state, western India.

History

Sejakpur was one of the many petty princely states of Jhalawar _prant_, which during the British raj was handled by the colonial Eastern Kathiawar Agency.

It comprised two three villages and was ruled by a Kathi Chieftain. It had a population in 1901 of 864, yielding a state revenue of 3,600 Rupees (1903-4, over half from land), paying a tribute of 433 Rupees, to the British and Junagadh State.

title: Sejakpur, Jhalawar

question: How populous is the Sejakpur village in 1901?

answer: 864 people.

question: What's the state revenue of Sejakpur in 1901?

answer: 3600 Rupees.

question: What is the social structure of the village?

answer: The article doesn't mention the current state. However, they were ruled by a Kathi Chieftain in 1901.

question: What obligations does the village have?

answer: The article doesn't mention the current state. However, they used to pay tribute to the British Raj and the Junagadh State in 1901.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Sejakpur is a village in Gujarat, India. It used to be a princely state during the British Raj. In 1901, it had a population of 864 and had a state revenue of 3600 Rupees, paying 433 Rupees to the British and Junagadh State.