text:
His heart skipped a beat as he peered out his tiny, filth ridden window to see Chimera skipping down the street in his direction. She stopped suddenly, directing her gaze towards him; a gentle smile slowly crept across her face as she waved for him to come outside. As he opened his front door he couldn't help wondering how no one else seemed to notice her beauty. Her brilliant blue eyes peered through a soft, pale face framed by waves of golden hair which fell to her fragile shoulders. Chimera grabbed his hand and jerked him back into reality as she took off running towards their favorite spot, a small creek surrounded by tall oak trees. They would sit there for hours talking about whatever it was that came to their minds, he often wondered why no one asked about her, why his parents never noticed his absence, but her melodious voice made him forget all his worries and confusion.

“Everything is so perfect here,” she whispered. “It’s like these trees are a fortress, keeping out all the hate and evil. When you’re here, you know everything is going to be okay.” He agreed quietly and listened to her reminisce about all the good times they had spent beside the winding creek; he wanted her to keep talking forever, because he didn't want her to go. He thought to himself how dreadful of a sound goodbye makes. He hated knowing that such happiness was coming to an end, and that he would have to return to the reality of a busy world that didn't seem to notice him the way she did. She cared about his thoughts and opinions in a way that no one else ever had; she didn't blame him, she just smiled and reminded him that pain doesn't last forever. The problem was that happiness didn’t either, a truth that came crashing down on him in the form of a fist.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, you sick son-of-a-bitch?!” his father screamed as he threw the final punch. He collapsed to the rotting floorboards, trying his best to hold it in, to keep the memories out. He didn't want to remember the reason behind his father’s loathing; he didn't want to go back to those after school “tutoring sessions”. He waited for the door to slam before wiping the blood from his face and pulling himself off of the floor. He tried to go back to his fortress, to be with Chimera, but he couldn’t. Instead he went back to a windowless classroom, to be with Mister Keres.

title: Freedom Doesn't Last Forever

question: Why did the main character's heart skip a beat?

answer: He notices Chimera skipping down the street, and finds her beautiful

question: Who do the brilliant blue eyes belong to?

answer: Chimera

question: How is the main character's relationship with their father?

answer: It sounds very abusive. His father beats and berates him in the final paragraph.

question: What happens to Chimera at the end of the story?

answer: That isn't clear, but it seems that she may the main character's imaginary friend.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The boy in this story leaves his home to go to his fortress near a small creek with Chimera, who may be his imaginary friend. He believes she is the only one who cares about his thoughts and opinions. He hates saying goodbye to her, knowing that the happiness ends and reality comes back. At home in reality, his father beats him and he is sent to after school "tutoring sessions" instead of going to the fortress with Chimera.


split: train

text:
You hear this one a lot: “The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect different results.”

That isn’t true.

No, that’s not insanity.

I had a friend once. We’ll call him Jason. Sure, Jason. One thing you need to know about Jason is that he was a chronic nail-biter. He was the type of kid who you rarely saw without his hand up to his mouth, chewing. Just gnawing on the tough protein covering his fingers. I remember when we were very young his mother would paint his nails with clear Thum nailbiting polish that would leave a peppery and bitter taste in his mouth. But Jason didn’t care. He’d grit and bite the polish right off. He just did not care. His poor mother put that polish on his nails every single day, but he outlasted her. She eventually stopped once she realized Jason was starting to actually like the taste.

They were perpetually moist, his fingers. Jason near constantly bit his nails. He bit them right down to the epidermis and until his teeth couldn’t get a grip on the nail itself, or until it bled. It wasn’t a nervous thing, it was just a Jason thing. When you first got to know Jason you’d politely ignore it but eventually you’d get annoyed and disgusted. Then you learned to ignore it.

Jason wasn’t your average nail-biter, though. This kid never, not even once, spit out a chewed up keratin remnant on the ground. He told me the habit was disgusting enough, and he didn’t need to ramp it up by spitting nail all over the carpet. So he pocketed them. Each one. He’d chew and gnaw and bite and peel and once he had shaved off just enough of the nail to tear it off, he’d put it in his pocket.

Aside from this admittedly common habit, Jason was by and large average. We played sports together, soccer league. My mom would babysit him after school sometimes. He liked his sandwiches cut diagonally. One time I went over Jason’s house to spend the night.

Your nails grow at an average of 3 millimeters a month. They’re a form of hair, not many people know that. That’s why when you file your nails, that unmistakable smell pierces your nose, crinkling the minuscule hairs deep inside your nasal cavity. The speed in which they grow all depends on the length of the terminal phalange, so your index finger grows the quickest. In the summer, your nails grow faster. It’s true.

Every young kid has been in a situation where their friend falls asleep first at a sleepover and they don’t know what to do with themselves. On foreign territory, you’re on your own to either entertain yourself quietly or force yourself to fall asleep. On this night at Jason’s house, that kid was me. Jason was sound asleep on his bed and I was on the floor next to him in a sleeping bag, wide awake.

Bored out of my mind and doing anything to keep myself occupied before I got sleepy, I start feeling around the darkness of underneath his bed. It was very dark and I could only make out darker blobs of some number of objects tucked away under the safety of his mattress. To get a better reach, I turn myself on my stomach and turn my head flush against the carpet, unable to see what I was grabbing at now.

Jason wasn’t your average nail-biter. I reached my arm further under the bed and wrapped my fingers around what was surely some sort of glass jar. Still on my stomach with my head turned to the side, I slowly moved my hand up the jar’s opening. A mass of something cold and wet my fingers feel. Like tiny, wet wood chips. Like chewed up sunflower seeds. Like chewed up nails.

I jerk my hand back, moving my head back in position to see under his bed. Still, the darkness shrouds the jar I was feeling at. I get on my chest again and use my middle finger to delicately roll the jar out from under the bed and into plain sight. As I rolled it closer, the contents of the jar were clear.

An entire jelly jar’s worth of chewed up and spit out, *and pocketed*, nail fragments lined the inside of the glass. Half moon crescents of nail stuck to the inside walls of the jar, stained purple from scraped out Smucker’s grape jelly. Without a lid, a mass of chewed nail clippings was near dribbling out the exit of the jar, moist with saliva. Pocket lint was scattered throughout the mess. The smell is a thing difficult to describe but for fans of black licorice I’ll spare you the thought.

I look under the bed once more, seeing three, four, maybe even five more dark cylinders. More jars. More jars full of nails. I reach under again and touch glass. This jar wasn’t as full as the last. A new collection.

Gagging on the smell and desperate to hide my intrusion I roll both jars back to their original resting place. A wet glob of nails knocked loose by my jostling of the jars just lay on the carpet, moistening the plastic fibers. The lump of finger protein almost seemed to be taking the form of the original contents of the glass jar. I dig the side of my palm into the carpet and grit my teeth, scraping part of Jason’s nail collection back under the bed.

The side of my palm now wet from the spit that covered the nail shavings, I wipe it on a dry section of carpet. Making every effort going to sleep, I feel like I’m laying on a bed of nails. No pun intended.

You do any one thing enough times, over and over again, it begins to become ritual. More than ritual, even. It starts to become who you are. Doesn’t matter what it is. Washing your hands obsessively. Making sure every straight edge is aligned perfectly. Cracking your knuckles repeatedly. Biting your nails. Storing them in jars. Over and over. Over and over. Never expecting a different result—but enjoying the power of knowing it.

That’s insane.

title: INSANITY

question: What does the narrator think the definition of insanity is?

answer: Enjoying the feeling of knowing the result of a common activity.

question: What is Jason like?

answer: He's a normal person aside from his compulsive nail-biting habit, according to the narrator

question: How does the narrator know Jason?

answer: They'd been friends since they were kids and it's implied their families know one another.

question: What terrible discovery does the narrator make?

answer: They discovered Jason kept all of his fingernail cuttings in large jars under his bed.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator reflects on the behavior of their nail-biting friend, using them as an example for their definition of "insanity". The friend stores their bitten fingernails in jars.


text:
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question: What are BuyDomains selling?

answer: Domains.

question: How soon can the reader get a quote?

answer: Within 24 hours. Immediately if we call.

question: Is there a number the reader can call?

answer: Yes.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A landing page to buy a domain from 'BuyDomains' with various contact details required to do so.


text:
HUGH GEOFFROY MILLAIS (23 December 1929 – 4 July 2009) was a British author and actor known for his film collaborations with director Robert Altman.

Early years

Hugh Millais was the son of Raoul Millais (1901–1999) a painter-illustrator of some considerable importance, and his first wife Elinor Clare (d. 1953), daughter of late Allan Ronald Macdonell, of Montreal. Raoul was the son of painter and gardener John Guille Millais and the grandson of the painter Sir John Everett Millais founder of the pre-Raphaelite movement by his wife Effie Gray who had been previously married to the author John Ruskin. He was brought up Roman Catholic.[1] As a child he lived in Blackwater Valley and Cork in Ireland.[2] He was educated at Ampleforth during the war, and made a deal with his housemaster. If let off games and allowed to keep his two ferrets and 24 snares, he would keep the house provided with meat. On his best day he provided 21 rabbits and a cock pheasant. Legend has it that Basil Hume tried to teach him to play rugby.[3][4]

World traveller

Millais was a noted raconteur who loved nothing more than to sit his six-foot six frame on a high bar stool, pick up a guitar and sing Calypso songs.[5][6] Before becoming an actor, he worked as a real estate broker, developing property in Spain with portrait painter, Dominic Elwes. Millais had crossed the globe and known some of the great eccentrics of art, architecture, acting and adventure. Having drifted from England to Ireland and Canada, he hitch-hiked around South America, sailed all over the Caribbean and then moved regularly between France, Italy, Spain and Britain mixing with the cream of society that included Hollywood celebrities. By his own admission, he had been, among other things, a journalist, yachtsman, property developer, bar owner, oil dealer, club entertainer, interior designer, chef to the stars, and Pamplona bull-runner.

Culinary exploits

As for his cooking, there are many stories surrounding his culinary adventures. Millais made a meal for Orson Welles after the actor-director had hired his house in Andalusia, Spain for a year while filming, then left him stranded, penniless, in Naples. On another occasion, Rita Hayworth shed her lipstick in his onion soup. Once, Millais and Gary Cooper were said to have fled unwanted “friends” at a Paris party by hiding in a bathroom. Millais was once presented with a platter of seafood by Salvador Dalí served on the artist's naked wife, Gala. There was also an occasion where Millais shared Huevos Cubanos with Ernest Hemingway (whose chauffeur he apparently became for a while), Ava Gardner and Marlene Dietrich after sailing into a mini-revolution in pre-Castro Cuba and getting shot through the arm at the helm of his racing yacht, the Benbow. These and many other anecdotes are in Millais' cook-book _“Hugh's Who: The Name-Dropper's Cookbook”_ which was published in 2007.[7] A devoted falconer, he is said to have turned down a role in the film _Shoot the Sun Down_, in 1976, to go to Saudi Arabia, for a falconers' meet.[8]

Acting career

Millais' career as an actor came about by accident. Spotted in a bar at during the feria in Pamplona, he was invited to meet the director, Robert Altman in England. Altman immediately hired him to play bounty hunter Dog Butler in _McCabe & Mrs. Miller_ (1971), in which his character uses a single-shot elephant gun to shoot Warren Beatty's McCabe. During filming he adopted a phoney Texan accent, but Altman told him: “If I’d wanted an American heavy, I would have got Lee Marvin"; Millais' final voice track is spoken with a British accent. Altman then cast him to portray Susannah York's lecherous neighbour, Marcel, in the psychological thriller, _Images_ (1972). In 1973 Millais took the lead role in Wolf Mankowitz's play _The Samson Riddle_, again with York at the Gate Theatre, Dublin. He portrayed Roy Endean in _The Dogs of War_ (1980) and Uncle Martin, an 18th-century grandee in _The Wicked Lady_ (1983), in which John Gielgud played his butler and Faye Dunaway his niece. He played the US Colonel in _Chicago Joe and the Showgirl_ (1990), as well as appearing in British TV shows such as _Deceptions_, _Ruth Rendell Mysteries_, _Kavanagh QC_ and _Foreign Affairs_.[9]

Millais lived in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire until his death in July 2009. As Herbert Kretzmer put it, Hugh showed “wisdom and acquired magnificence by not doing any one thing for too long”, while Robert Altman said: “As an actor, he is an excellent cook. As a cook, he’s a fantastic actor.”[10] He had three children by his second marriage to Suzy Marthe Falconnet Millais. They are Ian Everett Millais (50), Joshua Rengault Millais (48) and Tara Romany Maria Millais (41).

Filmography

  Year   Title                            Role                   Notes
  ------ -------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------------
  1971   _McCabe & Mrs. Miller_           Butler
  1972   _Images_                         Marcel
  1973   _The Samson Riddle_                                     (Play)
  1980   _The Dogs of War_                Roy Endean
  1983   _The Wicked Lady_                Uncle Martin
  1985   _Deceptions_                                            TV Movie
  1990   _Chicago Joe and the Showgirl_   US colonel
  1990   _Ruth Rendell Mysteries_         Martin Silk            1 episode
  1993   _Foreign Affairs_                Sir Thomas Fellowes    TV movie
  1996   _Kavanagh QC_                    Vice Admiral Kinross   1 episode, (final appearance)

Bibliography

_“Hugh's Who: The Name-dropper's Cookbook”_ (Park Press 2007)

[1]

[2]

[3] http://jennydavidson.blogspot.com/2009/07/les-deplorables-hugh-millaiss-greatest.html

[4]

[5] http://article.wn.com/view/2009/07/16/Hugh_Millais_actor_in_Robert_Altmans_film_Images/

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

title: Hugh Millais

question: When was Hugh Millais born?

answer: 23 December 1929.

question: What was Hugh Millais?

answer: An author and actor.

question: What nationality was Hugh Millais?

answer: British.

question: What director was he known for collaborating with?

answer: Robert Altman.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Hugh Millais, a British author and actor. It discusses his childhood, acting career, traveling, and culinary exploits.


text:
Part of the Council for International Schools (CIS) accreditation process asks schools to “demonstrate a commitment to internationalism/interculturalism in education” and that this should be “reflected throughout the life of the institution.” In this article, I will be presenting the case that schools of a religious tradition are best placed to fulfil this aspect of education given their deeply rooted sense of history, tradition and culture.

In her book “International Mindedness” Lesley Stagg concludes by paraphrasing Dan Young “Internationalism advocates the quality of ‘being’ international within the overall climate and character evident when you enter the school. It includes the one for all organizational principles that reflect a global community concern (known to its community to exist inside and outside its walls), as well as an overall positive attitude between diverse cultures (and countries). It is evidenced where students and faculty celebrate this quality as they come together for learning and teaching… when common global interests and collaboration are recognized as imperative.”

To my mind, in order to successfully meet this goal, it is essential that the school have at least one unifying feature. There must be something tangible that unites all in the midst of diversity. CIS exhorts the guiding statements of a school as this focal point and these guiding statements must be embedded in the curriculum and in the culture of learning. This is not particularly controversial and is something commonly accepted in the domain of international schools. However, I would like to suggest that in reality, many international schools across the world do not have this one unifying feature and that, in fact in many cases, their guiding statements are contrived, jargonistic and essentially meaningless. The exception to this fact being those schools, which have a deep-rooted sense of history, enshrined in tradition and have a culture that is known and embraced by the wider community. I would argue that this is the case in schools underpinned by a religious tradition.

Moreover, in order to create an “overall positive attitude between diverse cultures (and countries)” it is necessary to celebrate what unites families from diverse cultures and countries and in many cases, this is their religious experience. Children from a multitude of countries, different races, speaking different languages and having a range of cultural norms, inevitably populate an International School. Finding something to unite such a diverse community is a challenge CIS recognizes, but within a school embracing a religious tradition, there is no challenge because, despite the obvious diversity, children and their families are united by their religious beliefs. This is more obviously the case when they all hark from the same religious tradition, but I contend that it can also be the case when children of different religions, or denominations within a particular religion, are educated together as their belief in God (or in some cases a Supreme Being) transcends any of their apparent differences. Many dismiss too often religion as a cause of conflict but I would argue the contrary and suggest that in reality religion unites people due to the fact that they have a common sense of purpose and of human dignity. Nothing is more unifying than a common set of beliefs. This permeates deeper than any contrived ideology.

Central to religious identity is a call to community, to social justice, to a respect for human dignity, to peace and reconciliation and to celebrating unity in diversity. These are the features of international mindedness that CIS wants schools to embrace. Whilst many schools barely touch the tip of the iceberg with respect to international mindedness, schools with a religious identity and faith commitment are deeply rooted in their sense of mission, of their ethos, of their values. International Schools of a non-religious nature could learn a lot by looking at schools of a religious nature. They would observe that in the vast majority of cases (some schools with a religious identity are clearly better than others) that the guiding statements of the school are embedded throughout the institution. In the best schools, the mission and ethos of the school are deeply embedded in the curriculum. Such schools do not have a narrow view of curriculum as merely the teaching of a syllabus or academic program but moreover that it is inclusive of all aspects of a child’s learning experience and development as a human person. Subsequently, children will learn explicitly about issues of prejudice and discrimination, different belief systems (other than that of the denomination of the institution), ethical systems, cultural norms, the dignity of the human person, social enterprise and the like. Furthermore, schools with a religious tradition have always valued prayer and meditation as an essential part of human development. Recognizing this the secular world now promotes “mindfulness” as a non-religious alternative to meditation. Separating meditation from faith, where Buddhist, Christian or another, is somewhat morally bankrupt and a very dubious business in itself.

Many international schools have adopted mission statements but sometimes these are a uniformity of bland clichés with no deep sense of an underlying philosophy. Perhaps even more worrying is the trend for schools to adopt the language of “No child left behind” and focus on college and workplace preparedness as the raison d’etre of education rather than focusing on the development of the whole child with the human dignity. It is immoral to see a child as no more than economic fodder for the future workplace. Schools should reject any policy or system that diminishes the dignity of the human person and refutes the idea that anyone can be reduced to the status of an economic unit or passive-dependent.

Recognizing the distinct nature that schools underpinned by a religious tradition have, and by learning from their best practice, International Schools across the world can learn to emulate the “one for all” educational principles that underpin faith schools. The shared “worldview” that unites people of faiths underpins the values and mission of such schools and enables them to be truly international.

question: Summarize all the information relating to the accreditation process for the Council for International Schools.

question: Summarize all the information relating to the definition of internationalism in the case of international schools.

answer: It is the quality of 'being' international within the overall climate and character evident when you enter the school by teachers and students coming together for learning and teaching. The one for all organizational principles will reflect a global community concern as well as an overall positive attitude between diverse cultures. A shared worldview that unites people of faiths underpins the values and mission of a school and allows it to be truly international.

question: Summarize all the advantages of an international school with a religious tradition.

answer: In the author's opinion to successfully meet the definition of internationalism, an international school needs a unifying feature, something tangible that unites all in the midst of diversity. Religious traditions give international schools a deep-rooted sense of history, enshrined in tradition and a culture that is known and embraced by the wider community. There is no challenge of diversity because the families are united by their religious beliefs.

question: Summarize the unique challenges faced by international schools.

answer: Many international schools do not have a unifying feature for its diverse community, in fact the guiding statements of many schools are contrived, jargonistic and essentially meaningless. Children from a multitude of countries, different races, speaking different languages and having a range of cultural norms, inevitably populate international schools, finding something that unites in such a community is a challenge. An additional worry is that some schools only focus on college and workplace preparedness rather than focusing on the development of the whole child with human dignity.


text:
F4R2-Q system, Catch region. On the 1st of January at 19:09 EVE Standard Time, the first shot was fired in the massive offensive that signaled the start of the Winter War.

The attack was perpetrated by Goonswarm Federation [CONDI] and Stain Wagon (SW) coalition in an attempt to destroy the two forward bases deployed by Circle-Of-Two [CO2] and Test Alliance Please Ignore [TEST] in the system to be used in the alliances’ invasion of the area.

The 9 hour long battle would see thousands of ships destroyed, with both sides fielding massive fleets that clashed spectacularly across the system. Capital fleets and even a supercapital armada would make their appearance, as the two sides fought bitterly over the fate of two Fortizar citadels.

Background

Following the Tribute War, the dispossessed Circle-Of-Two was joined by its ally Test Alliance Please Ignore, who vacated its Vale of the Silent holdings. The two alliances moved to the Curse region, setting a base of operations there. These two alliances, together with DRONE WALKERS [WALKA], formed a coalition with the intention of invading SW holdings in the south-east of New Eden, first targeting the Catch region, which serves as the gateway into the area. They were soon joined by Vanguard Coalition (VG) led by Triumvirate. [TRI] and Phoenix Federation (PF) coalition led by Fidelas Constans [FCON]. The two coalitions each had a score to settle with SW; VG over SW’s aid to its enemy Red Menace (RMC) coalition in the Insmother war, and PF over continued border friction and violations of diplomatic treaties. Thus, the two groups were more than happy to lend a hand to the budding coalition, creating a mega coalition which, for the purpose of this article, will be named Fourth Quadrant, due to all its participants hailing from the North East regions of New Eden.

Circle-Of-Two and Test Alliance Please Ignore chose to attack the F4R2-Q system first, a vital strategic system in the region both for logistics and for launching attacks into the heart of the region. In order to capture the system, two Fortizar citadels were brought and anchored, one for each alliance. An effort was also made to disrupt the system’s infrastructure, resulting in the destruction of the infrastructure hub. This made sure any sovereignty upgrades, such as jump bridges or system wide cynosural jammers, could not be used by the defending SW forces to impede the attackers’ advance.

With the citadels set to online on the night of the 1st of January, both sides realized the first battle of the war, termed the Winter War, was to be fought over the structures. The Fourth Quadrant would have to muster all of its resources in order to defend the citadels and gain a foothold in the Catch region. Goonswarm Federation and SW were cast in the role of attackers, bent on destroying the structures and stopping the invasion dead in its tracks. On the 1st of January, all eyes would be on F4R2-Q.

Preparations

Goonswarm Federation and its allies, including SW, prepared a massive armada. While exact figures are impossible to tell, due to constant reinforcements and pilots re-shipping, the initial attacking force had no less than two Machariel Battleship fleets, three Proteus strategic cruiser fleets, an electronic warfare fleet (which included many frigates) and several squadrons of dreadnoughts to be used for destroying the citadels. Besides this force, a combat carrier fleet and a supercapital fleet were held in reserve, ready to jump in as needed. This entire force concentrated in the EX6-AO system in Catch, where Goonswarm Federation had set up its forward base.

In response, the defenders assembled a formidable force of its own. Though once again exact numbers are unavailable, no less than three Machariel fleets, a Maelstrom battleship fleet, a Nightmare battleship fleet, a Hurricane battlecruiser fleet, a Tengu strategic cruiser fleet (supplied by League of Unaligned Master Pilots [LUMPY]), a Proteus fleet, a Svipul tactical destroyer fleet and an entire interdictor fleet. The defenders also drew on three separate dreadnought groups, each at full wing (50 pilots) strength. This force would be later reinforced by another Proteus fleet flown by Northern Coalition. [NC] and a Machariel fleet brought by Mercenary Coalition [MC].

The Mittani, leader of Goonswarm Federation, gave a speech a few hours before the first Fortizar was supposed to finish anchoring. The Mittani hoped to use the opportunity to rouse his members and launch the attack before the defending forces were ready, seizing the field first and forcing the defenders to pay a hefty toll just for entering the system. However, the defenders’ main fleet commander, who served under The Mittani in the past, had seen through the plan and rushed his form up, hastily moving his forces into the system and setting them up on the ZXIC-7 gate, the most likely point of entry for the attackers. More and more Fourth Quadrant fleets joined him, forming an effective blockade.

Upon seeing this, the attackers were forced to alter their plans and bridge into the system, using towers and safe citadels as safe spots to portal through their numerous fleets. The defenders, seeing this, changed their position in the system, withdrawing to the 1P-WGB gate and setting up there in order to defend their supply route. The myriad of defending fleets anchored up while the interdiction fleet rushed to lay a massive wall of warp disruption probes, making sure the enemy forces would be caught at optimal range of the guns of the defenders.

The attackers finished bridging the last of their fleets and prepared to engage their enemies. The many fleets initiated warp, heading towards the 1P-WGB gate and the awaiting defenders. The fleets exited warp, all of them intercepted by the wall of warp disruption probes. For a brief moment, both sides simply stared at each other, presenting the illusion of serenity. A few seconds later, that illusion would shatter as the attackers anchored up and the two sides opened fire, signaling the start of one of the bloodiest battles in the history of New Eden.

[Bird's View of the Fighting on the 1P-WGB Gate in F4R2-Q]

Bird’s View of the Fighting on the 1P-WGB Gate in F4R2-Q

The Battle Commences

The battle that unfolded on the 1P-WGB gate was a chaotic sight. The two sides maneuvered their various fleets on grid, attempting to remain in optimal range of their guns. Maelstrom and Machariel fleets exchanged artillery fire, joined by the Hurricane fleet. The Nightmare fleet used its tachyon beam lasers to snipe from afar, while the strategic cruisers fought at medium range, their smaller beam laser turrets and railguns firing away. For the most part the two sides targeted each others’ battleship fleets as they began a bloody trade.

Volley after volley saw a Maelstrom or a Machariel battleship explode in a bright flash. Soon these flashes dotted the entire grid as more and more ships were destroyed in the furious fighting. Logistics wings were, for the most part, rendered useless by the immense fire strikes unleashed upon their fleets, as their adversaries coordinated their vast armadas, marking out individual fleets for destruction. Battleships on both sides caved in to the relentless barrages, soon joined by strategic cruisers and support ships that ventured too close to the optimal range of the hostile fleets.

While the main fleets battled out on the grid, interceptors and interdictors were locked in their own deadly fights. Countless skirmishes developed in and around the maelstrom of battle as frigates and destroyers engaged each other. Soon, interceptors and tactical destroyers swooped in, snatching logistics cruisers or hounding electronic warfare frigates. Anti-tackle squadrons were kept well busy by the smaller ships which buzzed around the edges of the fight like so many vultures.

Stealth bombers had also made their appearance in the fight. Goonswarm Federation in particular utilized a whole wing of stealth bombers, directing them at the battleship formations of its enemies. The small frigates would probe down the hostile ships and warp down towards them, uncloaking and launching their deadly payload into the ranks of the enemy. Countless battleships were felled during these bombing runs, as well as any smaller ship unlucky to get caught in the blast radius. However, the stealth bombers themselves were not immune to the carnage, often caught by interceptors or even friendly payloads as confusion reigned supreme.

Friendly fire incidents became commonplace, as the number of allies on the field increased and the fleets became more spread out. One example saw a Goonswarm Federation Machariel fleet land on top of the Test Alliance Please Ignore Nightmare fleet. Test Alliance Please Ignore was suffering communications issues, its server unable to handle the load presented to it, and was forced to rely on in-game resources. This caused the Nightmare fleet to be caught flat footed. The Nightmares managed to extract the majority of their fleet, warping off as soon as possible, but leaving several squadrons behind. At the same time, a bombing run carried by Goonswarm Federation bombers on the Nightmare fleet was already under way. The bombs hit the few Nightmares caught by the Machariel fleet, but also its own allies.

For nearly three hours the battle on the 1P-WGB gate went unabated. Hundreds of wrecks littered the gate grid, joined by countless corpses of capsuleers who lost ships and were stuck in the fire exchange. Yet, neither side was backing down. Even as losses mounted on both sides, the two simply kept reinforcing their fleets, sending pilots to re-ship and fresh ones to join relief forces which were either bridged in or jumped straight into the fight from 1P-WGB.

As the fourth hour of the fight began, Goonswarm Federation decided to escalate first, slowly streaming in combat carriers to the field. The capitals jumped into the grid, their numbers slowly rising from a mere squadron (10 ships) to a full 100 carriers. The ships unleashed squadrons of fighters, sending a swarm of them at the defending fleets, who tried to dispatch them. Siren fighters quickly pinned down battleships, allowing other fighters to descend upon them and dispatch them with relative ease. Several of the fleets withdrew to a safer distance, while others attempted to keep abreast of the deadly cloud of fighters.

[Goonswarm Federation Combat Carriers Jumping into the 1P-WGB Gate Grid in F4R2-Q]

Goonswarm Federation Combat Carriers Jumping into the 1P-WGB Gate Grid in F4R2-Q

At this point, combatants started reporting server performance issues. The server was already straining, the fight having started with 10% Time Dilation, but the arrival of the combat carriers seemed to have pushed it over the edge. Reports from various combatants on both sides were given of desynchronization, unusual module lag or lack of response, not to mention random player disconnects. This would later prove disastrous, especially for Goonswarm Federation.

Change of Venue

While the fighting raged on the 1P-WGB gate, Goonswarm Federation and SW used the distraction the battle had generated and brought a squadrons of dreadnoughts to the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar. The dreadnoughts were intended to destroy the structure, or at the very least pause it’s repairing cycle, while the bulk of the defending forces were busy at the gate. However, the arrival of the carriers had pushed several of the defending fleets out, who used the opportunity to re-group and move to defend the actual structures. One by one, the major defending fleets gathered on Circle-Of-Two’s Fortizar and attacked the dreadnoughts.

The dreadnoughts could do very little to resist the immense firepower unleashed upon them. In rapid succession the capitals were destroyed, leaving their wrecks to float near the structure. Yet, before the defenders could celebrate their success, the attackers brought in more dreadnoughts, determined to stop the structure from achieving operational status. The defenders were forced to keep targeting the constant stream of dreadnoughts, taking them down as fast as they could lock them.

By this point, with the 1P-WGB gate mostly deserted by the defenders, the attacking fleets re-grouped as well. SW had to merge its two Proteus fleets after they sustained heavy losses in the fight. The reconstituted fleet warped to the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar, attempting to help its dreadnoughts. Once on grid, the strategic cruisers warped again, landing on top of the Maelstrom fleet, which was isolated from its allies. The strategic cruisers landed near it, opening fire and unleashing their wrath upon it.

The allies quickly reacted, perching across the grid before warping in on the strategic cruisers to free their trapped allies. The strategic cruisers were forced to burn off, pinned down by the defenders, who focused their considerable firepower onto them. Dozens of strategic cruisers were cut down in furious barrages as no less than five defending fleets tore into the strategic cruisers. At the same time, the defenders called forth their own dreadnoughts, in order to deal with the continued dreadnought reinforcements of the attackers.

Several squadrons of dreadnoughts jumped in to defend the Fortizar, the massive ships entering their siege cycles and aiming at their hostile brethren. Once more, the attackers’ capitals were more focused on the citadel than their enemies, leading to many of them being destroyed without a shot fired in their defense. By then though, the attackers had re-grouped and started to land on the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar. Machariel fleets, combat carriers and strategic cruisers rallied on the Fortizar, tearing into it and forcing the defenders to withdraw to the second Fortizar belonging to Test Alliance Please Ignore.

That Fortizar had just finished anchoring, and was supposed to go online, but was once again stopped by a dreadnought squadron belonging to the attackers. The defenders wasted no time, going after the hostile dreadnoughts while their enemies occupied themselves with Circle-Of-Two’s Fortizar, and the few friendly dreadnoughts which had not managed to extract in time. This led the two sides to exchange dreadnought losses as the battle continued.

[More Dreadnoughts Caught in the Crossfire]

Dreadnoughts Caught in the Crossfire on the Fortizars in the F4R2-Q Battle

The carrier fleet sent several of its fighter squadrons to the Test Alliance Please Ignore Fortizar, while keeping its focus on destroying Circle-Of-Two’s. The fighters crossed the distance between the two structures and attacked the citadel, preventing it once again from becoming operational. Not content with only using its carrier fleet, the Goonswarm Federation force escalated again, jumping a small supercapital force into the system. The supercapitals, many of whom were supercarriers, warped to the grid, landed at long range of the Fortizars (Approximately 2,000 kilometers) and unleashed their own fighter bomber squadrons. The bombers slowly made their way to the structure, adding their formidable firepower to the mix.

By then, the fight had moved to the Test Alliance Please Ignore Fortizar. The two sub-capital armadas once again clashed over the structure, with fighters and fighter bombers focusing their attention on destroying the citadel itself. The defenders attempted to counter this, bringing in more capital reinforcements, including a squadron of anti sub-capital dreadnoughts (Dreadnoughts equipped with high angle weapons, also known as HAW dreadnoughts) and two squadrons of carriers. The carriers were equipped with space superiority fighters, and quickly targeted the hostile fighter squadrons, shooting many of them down as the sub capital fleets engaged once more.

Once more the battle settled into the usual grind, the opposing forces simply volleying mainline ships on either side. Battleships dropped like flies, every minute seeing half a dozen of them destroyed. Whether it be Maelstrom, Nightmare or Machariel, no battleship fleet was immune to losses as the fight already raged for seven consecutive hours with no respite on the horizon. Pilots would later recall falling asleep at their keyboards, falling victim in the relentless battle that refused to die down. Just as it was on the 1P-WGB gate, on the battle on the Fortizars was ferocious.

Disaster Strikes

With the eighth hour of fighting reaching its end, the engagement still seemed far from over. The Circle-Of-Two Fortizar was nearing total destruction, the attacking force pummeling the structure without pause. What’s more, the attackers started paying attention to the small capital force deployed by Test Alliance Please Ignore, forcing the defenders to attempt and extract it. The vast majority of capitals managed to evacuate, but a fair few got caught by the attackers, and  were subsequently destroyed. As this was going on, the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar finally gave in to the enemy fire, and blew apart in a great explosion which briefly illuminated the battlefield, signalling that the first of the two strategic objectives had been accomplished for the attacking forces.

At this point, a few supercapital pilots disconnected from the server in the Goonswarm Federation fleet. The server stressed beyond its limits, caused the ships to warp to the 1P-WGB gate, where they had come from. A few fleet commanders on the defenders’ side noticed this, and sent their forces to the gate in an attempt to capture the supercarriers. The first to warp out was an Aeon super carrier. It landed on the gate, but its pilot managed to log in and warp out in time, evading capture.

However, four other supercarriers were not so lucky. By the time they exited their emergency warp to the gate, following their pilots’ disconnection, they found the defending fleets already prepared for them. Warp disruption probes and focused warp disruption fields snared the behemoths, and the allies started to fire on the mostly defenseless ships. What’s more, cynosural inhibitors were deployed on the field, making sure they couldn’t light cynosural beacons and bring in help.

[The Goonswarm Federation Super Capital Fleet Entering the Field on the 1P-WGB Gate. 4 of Its Members Would Be Destroyed in the Fighting.]

The Goonswarm Federation Super Capital Fleet Entering the Field on the 1P-WGB Gate. 4 of Its Members Would Be Destroyed in the Fighting.

While this was going on, the attackers turned their attention to the Test Alliance Please Ignore Fortizar, which was by then under-defended as several of the defending fleets had left the grid, going to the 1P-WGB gate in order to destroy the tackled supercarriers. However, the attackers had no knowledge of this, instead believing they managed to ground those fleets, and engaged the few defending fleets that remained.

These few defenders came under a brutal assault from the combined attacking armada, reinforced by fighter squadrons that cut through many remaining battleships. The defenders fired back, taking down hostile ships, but overall traded poorly, mostly due to their reduced numbers.

At the gate, things looked differently. The four supercarriers were slowly going down. In order to hasten their demise, not knowing how long the attacking armada would be occupied on the Fortizar, the defenders brought the remainder of their dreadnoughts to the field, managing to deploy nearly a full wing of capital ships. The dreadnoughts started targeting the supercarriers, tearing into them with devastating fire.

One by one the four super carriers, three Aeons and a Nyx, their hulls bombarded by hundreds of ships. As the last one fell, the attacking forces had nearly brought the Test Alliance Please Ignore Fortizar into ruin.

With the supercarriers destroyed, the defenders remained in the system, guarding their capitals as they extracted and looting the behemoths, stripping them of any valuables which survived their demise. With the last few dreadnoughts safely out of the system, the defending host prepared to extract as well, knowing it could not contest the attacking armada at this point and preferring to retreat. On the Fortizar, the remaining defending fleets, harrowed by their continued defense of the citadel, prepared to extract as well, clearing tackle and preparing to warp out to the 1P-WGB system and retreat.

Finally, the Test Alliance Please Ignore Fortizar fell. Meanwhile, the defenders began clearing the system, jumping out with the attacking forces on their heels, warping after them to the 1P-GWB gate and trying to delay and destroy as many of the remaining defender ships as possible. The defenders did not halt their evacuation efforts, with those unable to flee left to die behind.

This left the attacking forces to take control of the field, clearing the last stragglers before extracting their capital and supercapital fleets safely. Having managed to achieve the destruction of the two Fortizar citadels and win the field, the survivors of the attacking armada extracted their main fleets, having secured complete victory.

The Battle from the Perspective of the Northern Coalition. Proteus Fleet

The Battle from the Perspective of the Circle-Of-Two Proteus Fleet

The Fourth Aeon

As the battle still raged on the 1P-WGB gate, Goonswarm Federation lost its first supercapital in the fight, near its staging system. The Aeon wished to deploy with the rest of the supercapital fleet, but decided instead of jumping in with the fleet, to travel directly via stargate. It was soon spotted by local alliances, which had kept an eye on the fighting.

Tactical Supremacy [TIKLE] and Dangerous Voltage [DV] have been embroiled in a long war with SW forces over the few constellations they managed to wrestle from its member alliances in the Catch region. With the war coming to their new home and Goonswarm Federation forces staging in their own constellation, Tactical Supremacy kept an eye on events, but chose for the most part to remain outside the main fighting in F4R2-Q, mainly due to timezone constraints.

However, the alliance and its ally Dangerous Voltage had scouts spot stragglers and returning pilots for quick kills. Their surprise was great when reports came in of the gating Aeon. Realizing the Aeon’s course would take it through the alliance’s staging system of CNC-4V, the two alliances hastily formed a couple dreadnought squadrons and set up interdictors and heavy interdictors on the in-gate of the Aeon. Once the ship entered the system, it found itself trapped in a cover of warp disruption probes, and quickly tackled by the heavy interdictors, preventing it from using the gate to jump back out.

With the Aeon tackled, Tactical Supremacy warped in its dreadnoughts while lighting a cynosural beacon to allow the Dangerous Voltage dreadnoughts to jump in. With the capitals on field, the Aeon stood no chance. The supercarrier faced a relentless capital barrage and succumbed swiftly to it, internal explosions tearing its hull apart before it finally ruptured in a great conflagration.

[The Goonswarm Federation Aeon Destroyed by Tactical Supremacy and Dangerous Voltage (Click for Killmail)]

The Goonswarm Federation Aeon Destroyed by Tactical Supremacy and Dangerous Voltage (Click for Killmail)

Undisturbed, Tactical Supremacy and Dangerous Voltage extracted their capitals and looted the wreck, adding another major loss to the attackers.

Aftermath

The battle in F4R2-Q was, put simply, a bloodbath. The fight went on for nine straight hours, and even after the main fighting was over saw continued engagements as remnants of the different fleets logged in and found themselves to be the target of roaming gangs and hostile gate camps.

Though exact figures are unavailable, it was reported that more than 4,000 players took part in the battle simultaneously, with the figure of actual distinct pilot possibly higher due to continued reinforcements by both sides. Time Dilation was at a constant 10% throughout the fight, with many phenomena associated with over-stressed servers reported.

The butcher’s bill for the system stands at 1466 ships at the time of the article’s writing.

Due to the size of the battle, the battle report had to be broken down to smaller segments, which we supplied below in 2 hour chunks:

Battle report for 19:00-20:00 can be found here.
Battle report for 20:00-22:00 can be found here.
Battle report for 22:00-00:00 can be found here.
Battle report for 00:00-02:00 can be found here.
Battle report for 02:00-04:00 can be found here.
Battle report for 04:00-06:00 can be found here.

The defending Fourth Quadrant forces lost 763 ships in the battle, including 148 battleships, 44 strategic cruisers and 21 capital ships resulting in 226.22 billion ISK of damage.
Goonswarm Federation and Stain Wagon lost a combined 703 ships, including 167 battleships, 87 strategic cruisers, 53 capital ships and 4 supercarriers in the fight itself, reaching a total of 466.88 billion ISK damage.

According to Test Alliance Please Ignore and Circle-Of-Two, though the F4R2-Q push proved unsuccessful, the two alliances did manage to successfully deploy forward bases only two systems away, allowing the coalition to continue its push into the Catch region.

While the first battle in the war proved to be both a costly and deadly affair, readers must remember that under the Aegis sovereignty system most battles over systems would take the form of mobile warfare, leaving major fights like this to be fought over staging bases such as citadels. Thus, a second battle of this magnitude is not expected for quite some time. When it does, however, EVE News 24 will be there to cover it.

* All images appearing in this article belong to Razorien and used with his explicit permission.

_Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden_

question: What is the main topic of this article?

answer: The article details a fictional 9 hour battle in space.

question: Where did the battle take place?

answer: The battle unfolded on the 1P-WGB gate and at the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar in the F4R2-Q system, Catch region.

question: Who was fighting the battle?

answer: Goonswarm Federation and Stain Wagon attempted to destroy two forward bases deployed by Circle-Of-Two and Test Alliance Please Ignore.

question: What was the outcome of the battle?

answer: "According to Test Alliance Please Ignore and Circle-Of-Two, though the F4R2-Q push proved unsuccessful, the two alliances did manage to successfully deploy forward bases only two systems away, allowing the coalition to continue its push into the Catch region."

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article details a fictional 9 hour battle in space. Goonswarm Federation and Stain Wagon attempted to destroy two forward bases deployed by Circle-Of-Two and Test Alliance Please Ignore. The battle unfolded on the 1P-WGB gate and at the Circle-Of-Two Fortizar in the F4R2-Q system, Catch region.


text:
My mother died when I was nine. Maybe that’s why I’m writing this now, today. Not that I’ve never thought about this before. It’s just that nothing happened today. I woke up. I sat on the couch for an hour. I checked my mailbox around noon: nothing. I watched the clouds roll by to the droning of the television. I’m not even sure what it was that was on. Some game show or other shit program that advertises false happiness for free. I’m so fed up with wealth being the only source of happiness that’s feasible anymore. But everyone thinks that, don’t they? I can’t even be original with my angst. Not that I was original in anything I’ve done thus far with my life.

See, my mother died when I was nine. I’ve already said that, but the point is I never quite came to terms with it. I woke up in September, and she was dead. Car accident. Not that the cause is really important. The end result is always the same. And like I said, I never really dealt with this. I was nine. What nine year old can comprehend death? What third grader can grasp the idea that their mother stopped living?  She’s gone, they told me. She’s in heaven. I remember looking up the directions to heaven that night. Why did she go, and not bring me? When is she coming home? Mommy is never coming home, they said. Well, never is a long time. Never hasn’t come and gone yet, not for me. And see, I struggled with this concept for a long time. And as a nine year old trying to come to grips with his and everyone else’s mortality, I wasn’t very fun to be around.  I grew up with no real friends, just people I talked to on occasion. That kid in the back of the class that everyone whispered about and avoided in the halls? That was me.

My father tried to help, at least. He tried to get me interested in sports. He’d take me outside to throw a football. I pretended to be interested. I tried really hard to be enthusiastic about something, anything. But really, what was the point? We all live; we all die. It’s a useless cycle of oxygen exchanged with carbon dioxide. Eventually we all become food for trees. Apathy had a stranglehold, and it wasn’t letting go. I tried therapy. They told me I was depressed, so I tried antidepressants. They just made me anxious. I tried writing, but I was never any good. Everything came out stiff. I tried learning an instrument but my fingers never moved the way I wanted them to. Eventually even my father gave up on me. So forgive me if I don’t believe you when you say you care. When your father gives up you, you’re at the bottom. That’s really just it. And what’s sad, what is so fucking pathetic, is that none of this is unique. Do you know how many assholes have lived this same life? This apathy isn’t original, it’s cliché. I’m just a sad speck in the spectrum of grey nothingness that is the universe.

And today, nothing happened. I woke up; I lived; I sighed; I gave up. My dog hasn’t even looked at me today. Aren’t dogs supposed to sense emotions and respond appropriately? Maybe it’s because I’m not sad. I’m not angry. I’m not anything. I just am. I exist. Who cares? Not my dog, not my father; not my mother, that’s for damn sure. So the sun set today, like it has every day in history, and I sat down at my desk. This time I’m not writing for catharsis. I’m not writing to get better. I’m writing so you understand why. And tomorrow the sun is going to rise. Just like today, the day that nothing happened. Just like that day in September when I was nine and my mother was dead. And tomorrow, something might happen, just not for me.

title: The Day That Nothing Happened

question: How has the narrator's mother's death affected them?

answer: The narrator never really recovered from the death. They struggled to make friends, couldn't find something they enjoyed doing, and became an apathetic person.

question: How did the narrator's mother die?

answer: She died from a car accident.

question: Describe the relationship between the narrator and their father?

answer: The father was at first helpful towards the narrator, but eventually gave up on them. The narrator feels their father doesn't care about them.

question: What did the narrator do "today"?

answer: The narrator didn't do anything but write for catharsis.

question: What is the narrator fed up with?

answer: The narrator specifically states that they are fed up with with wealth being the only source of happiness. However, throughout the story it is clear the narrator is fed up with life, their sadness, and their apathy.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator describes how their mother's death when they were nine deeply affected them. They struggled to make friends, find things they like to do, and feel that they aren't cared about. The narrator describes themself as a sad speck in the universe. Their apathy leads them to believe that nothing will happen for them.


text:
JAMES WANSACZ (born June 8, 1972)[1] is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2000 through 2010. He was first elected in a special election held on June 20, 2000[2] and served until his retirement in 2010[3] after an unsuccessful run for the State Senate. In 2011, Wansacz was elected to serve on the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners. In the 2015 Democratic primary, he was defeated for renomination by former Democratic chairman Jerry Notarianni and Republican-turned-Democrat Patrick O'Malley.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: James Wansacz

question: When was James Wansacz born?

answer: James Wansacz was born on June 8th, 1972.

question: What political party does James Wansacz belong to?

answer: James Wansacz belongs to the Democratic Party.

question: How was James Wansacz first elected?

answer: James Wansacz was first elected in a special election on June 20th, 2000.

question: When did James Wansacz retire?

answer: James Wansacz retired in 2010.

question: Who defeated James Wansacz in the 2015 Democratic primary?

answer: Jerry Notarianni and Patrick O'Malley defeated James Wansacz in the 2015 Democratic primary.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: James Wansacz is an American politician. He was on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2000 to 2010. He tried to run in the 2015 Democratic primary, but was beaten by Jerry Notarianni and Patrick O'Malley.


text:
It's been a blue day, leave some feedback

our story begins with a crescendo of its own but don't worry there is still one more waiting. so there i am, still as a photograph. frozen in time, i sit strapped down to this thousand ton machine they say will take me to the moon and beyond. the count down begins from ten to one as my heart beats to the rhythm. then blast off, a rush of speed and force the likes of which i have never experienced in all my years. i shoot through the sky like a bat out of hell, past clouds and all the air they float through. soon out of the clutches of this world i head off to the embrace of another. lets take a second to describe the utter bliss that is weightlessness. the feeling of your actions in their most pure form is beauty in motion, like a symphony of the body reaching out to your fingertips. as i float about this metal monster in space navigating the bright switches and numerous panels before me i set course for the great beyond. my destination, the far out lands of my favorite marble in the solar system,  mars. my course plotted and my head left to wander i climb into my vertical bed to rest. ive kept a picture of you folded crisply across my heart in hopes that the drum within me will reach you no matter the distance between us. its been a long time in this capsule destine for the extravagant but the thought of you has yet to escape me. passing terrestrial bodies strew about the cosmos i count the days to my arrival on the fat red planet. in these floating spheres i spot an oddly shaped ball spinning wildly. too late do i realize that this wild dancing asteroid is here to claim me a victim. i begin pulling my body about the labyrinthine of my soon to be metal coffin in space, desperately climbing toward the control center. and just as it had been seen the wild dancer came tearing into my ship. ripped apart in a fantastic show of splintering metal and flailing tubing, the metal beast i called home becomes nothing more than sand strew across the beach of space. i float lifeless about the shards, my hand frozen over my heart just above the now-worn picture of you to keep my body company. so dies the internal drum connecting my soul to yours, here i bid you farewell.

title: Spatial Reflection

question: Who is the speaker?

answer: An astronaut on his way to Mars.

question: Explain the first crescendo.

answer: The first crescendo is the take off of the spacecraft. The speaker is strapped into the thousand ton machine. The heart of the speaker beats in time with the countdown. The spacecraft shoots through the sky out of the clutches of this world.

question: Explain the second crescendo.

answer: An asteroid is on its way to hit the spacecraft that the speaker is in. The speaker spots it too late and realizes that the spacecraft and the asteroid will collide. The speaker attempts to reach the control center, but the asteroid destroys his ship. The speaker floats in space between the pieces of the destroyed ship with his hand over the picture close to his heart.

question: Did the ship reach its intended destination?

answer: No, it is destroyed by an asteroid before it reaches Mars.

question: Summarize all the information relating to the photo the speaker has.

answer: The speaker is still as a photograph as the spacecraft launches. The speaker has a photograph of the object folded crisply across his heart in hopes that the drum within him will reach the object no matter the distance between them. After the ship is destroyed by an asteroid, the speaker's hand is frozen over his heart above the now-worn picture of the object to keep him company.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The speaker departs on a spacecraft on a mission to Mars. He has a photo of someone with him, folded over his heart. An asteroid suddenly destroys the spacecraft and the speaker floats out into space with his hand frozen over his heart and the photograph.


text:
_SPIRITS OF THE JAGUAR_ is a BBC nature documentary which aired on BBC Two in 1996. Narrated by Alan Ereira and created by Paul Reddish, the series documents the indigenous civilisations of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the relationship with the animals around them. It was part of the BBC Natural History Unit's _Continents_ block.

Episodes

1. THE FORGING OF A NEW WORLD

This episode talks about the volcanic origins of the Latin American region, and also looks at the evolution of its wildlife.

2. FORESTS OF THE MAYA

This episode looks at the Maya civilization of southern Mexico and Central America and the animals which featured in their mythology, notably the jaguar.

3. HUNTERS OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA

The penultimate episode looks at the Taino, who immigrated to the Caribbean 2000 years ago, the marine animals which provided food for the indigenous people, and ultimately, how they met their end when Christoper Columbus arrived in the region in 1492.

4. THE FIFTH WORLD OF THE AZTECS

The final episode documents the rise and fall of the Aztecs, a powerful indigenous civilization which dominated northern Mexico, and the animals which inspired their mythology.

title: Spirits of the Jaguar

question: Who produced the documentary?

answer: BBC

question: How many episodes did the documentary have?

answer: 4

question: What was the documentary about?

answer: It is about the indigenous civilizations of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the relationship with the animals around them.

question: What's the last episode about?

answer: It's about the rise and fall of the Aztecs and the animals that dominated their mythology.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The article describes the BBC documentary "Spirits of the Jaguar" and its 4 episodes.


text: Brian was stuck in a hallway of mediocrity and complacency. There was a huge looming exit at the end of the corridor but barring his way were a few obstacles. Seeing the obstacles led to Brian's twinkling eyes lowering to the floor. Looking away from the large door Brian's gaze rested on his little nook, it was nice, safe. Living on the other end of the hallway Brian was, not happy, contented? When sitting straight up on his favourite patch of lino Brian could see the large warm door out all the way over the obstacles. Seeing the door, Brian reassured himself that if he really needed to he could get to the door. Probably quicker than most people at that. As he settled down to sleep in the corner of his little comfortable nook Brian told himself that tomorrow he would start working his way to the door. He fell asleep with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye.

title: The hallway

question: What were the obstacles in the hallway of mediocrity?

answer: Information not found.

question: Did Brian manage to get to the exit?

answer: No

question: Where was Brian sitting?

answer: On his favorite patch of lino.

question: How did Brian fall asleep?

answer: With a smile on his face and a tear in his eye.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Brian was in the hallway of mediocrity, looking at the exit. Instead of trying to exit and going over obstacles he chose to stay there thinking that if he would want to go, he could.


text:
Presented by: Tofiga Fepulea'i

Directed and Edited by: Mario Gaoa

Camera: Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa

question: Who presented?

answer: Tofiga Fepulea'i.

question: Who was the editor?

answer: Mario Gaoa.

question: Who was the director?

answer: Mario Gaoa.

question: Who was the cameraman?

answer: Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The text seems to be a part of the credits section of a video.


text:
Jack was a happy man. He had a good wife, a good son who took care of him, a good job, and a good house. Jack was a happy man. He wore sharp suits, gold watches, silk ties. Jack was a happy man. He hosted parties and everyone came. He never forgot anyone’s name. He had six Mustangs in his garage that he never drove, and two that he did. Jack was a happy man. He got along with his in-laws, his parents visited him often. Jack was a happy man.

One day Jack went to a train station. He didn’t have a ticket, but he wanted to go to the train station. He walked to the train station and saw many people he knew on the way to the train station. The people smiled and waved at Jack, and Jack smiled and waved at them. Jack was a happy man. When Jack got to the train station, he had to wait for a little bit, because someone he knew was waiting for a train. Jack knew most people. Jack was a happy man. Jack and his friend talked for a long while about sports, the weather, and politics. Jack’s friend told Jack he should run for mayor, because he was smarter than the current mayor. Jack said he’d consider it. Jack was a happy man.

Jack’s friend boarded the train that pulled in at the station. Jack’s friend waved good bye. Jack waved good bye. Jack knew the conductor, and they waved to each other. The train left the station. Jack was a happy man. Jack took off his hat and coat. He looked around and saw a homeless man. Jack gave the homeless man his hat and coat, and, as an afterthought, his wallet as well. There were four hundred dollar bills and three fifty dollar bills in that wallet. Jack was a happy man. Jack looked down the tunnel, and he saw his train approaching. Jack was a happy man. The train was almost to the station when Jack stepped directly in front of it. At his funeral, Jack’s family was confused. Jack had never had a problem in his life, everything was easy for Jack. They all said “but Jack was a happy man.”

title: Jack Was a Happy Man (trying out a new kind of different style, feedback appreciated!)

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: Jack, his friend who he meets on the train, Jack's family.

question: Why is Jack a happy man?

answer: Jack has what appears to be a good life: good wife and son, good relatives, good job, good house, cars, friends, parties, the works.

question: Why did Jack kill himself?

answer: No one knows because he was always so happy.

question: Why did Jack's friend say he should run for mayor?

answer: Because Jack was smarter than the current mayor.

question: Write a ~9 sentence summary.

answer: Jack has what seems to be a perfect life on the surface and he's a happy man. He has a good family, job, house, cars, plenty of friends, everything comes easy for him, and everyone knows him. When Jack throws a party, everyone comes, and everyone greets him everywhere he goes. One day, Jack heads to the train station. After another round of smiles and greetings, he sees his friend and they talk about the usual stuff: sports, weather, and politics. They both wave goodbye when his friend rides the train. Jack then gives a homeless man his hat, coat, and wallet with $550 in it. He waits for another train to arrive and steps in front of it. At Jack's funeral, his family was confused because he never had a problem in his life and always seemed to be a happy man.


text:
BRUSHY CREEK is a stream in southeastern Ste. Genevieve County in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1] It is a tributary of Saline Creek. The headwaters of Brushy Creek are within the Mark Twain National Forest at and the stream flows northeast to its confluence with Saline Creek about 1.5 miles southwest of the community of Minnith at at an elevation of 440 feet.[2][3]

Brushy Creek was so named on account of brush along its course.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3] _Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,_ DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 49

[4]

title: Brushy Creek (Saline Creek tributary)

question: Where is Brushy Creek located?

answer: Southeastern Ste. Genevieve County in Missouri, United States.

question: How did Brushy Creek get its name?

answer: It is named after the brush along its course.

question: What is the connection between Brushy Creek and Saline Creek?

answer: Brushy Creek is a tributary of Saline Creek.

question: When was Brushy Creek first discovered?

answer: That information can't be found,

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Brushy Creek is a stream in the southeast of Ste. Genevieve County in Missouri, United States. It is a tributary of Saline Creek and is named after the brush along its course.


text:
It was 1:30am after a grueling Day 3 on the Inca trail. I haven't pooped since day 1. I had hoped to hold it until we returned to the hotel the following night.  But I knew when I crawled into my bag that this night might have other plans.  It was such a strange mixture of feelings.  On the one hand, there was almost an inevitability that pooping would happen this night.  I was afraid if I stayed in the tent there might be an extremely embarrassing situation. On the other hand, I was freezing and I didn't want to leave the tent.  I didn't want to wake up my travel companion.  I was afraid that the poop might be a messy affair, and just maybe I could hold it for another day.

After hours of tossing and turning, I decided I must get up.  I put my freezing FiveFingers on my already freezing feet.  Upon exiting the tent, I'm greeted by the most haunting, beautiful gift of a vista.  It was a clear night, the first since we had started hiking.  Machu Picchu Mountain was visible bathed in silvery moonlight.  In the distance were the snow capped peaks of the Andes, also reflecting the brilliance of June's supermoon.   I saw constellations I've always read about but never seen: the Crab, Pegasus and his Great Square--even Orion was here!  I didn't expect to see him in the Southern Hemisphere!  The Big Dipper, low on the horizon and upside down, pointing towards home.  And Cruz, the beautiful Southern Cross.  CSN kept repeating in my head--"When you see the Southern Cross for the first time.  You understand now why you came this way.  The truth that you've been running from is so small, but it's as big as the promise, the promise of a coming day!"  The truth is that I'm a worthwhile person.

I could've stood mesmerized there for hours, except that I had a job to do, a biological imperative.

I walked up a lonely trail to the restroom.  My experience with the free restrooms on the trail was that they were nasty.  This one proved to be no exception.  I open the door and look in.  There's shit all over the floor, but it doesn't matter.  This is my destiny.  There's no toilet, just a porcelain hole in the ground.  I drop trou, being as careful as I can not to let my hiking pants touch the turdy tile floor.  I squat slightly, with no idea what's going to happen.  I'm afraid it's going to be a drawn out watery affair, and I will have to stay in this tiring squatting position a long time while my insides flush out.   I'm afraid I might slip on the floor, damp with piss and excrement.  I'm afraid I might miss the hole and make the room even more unsanitary.  Was I standing in exactly the right position?

It was the moment of truth.  In less than a minute, there was a solid compact mass of well-formed shit.  It felt like a beautiful black birth.  I knew in an instant that that was going to be all, and it was enough.  It seemed to fall towards the porcelain hole for an eternity.  And…

Bullseye.

My job done, I wipe (though I hardly had to).  I open the door and walk to the hand washing station.  When I'm done, I turn to revel in the light of the moon, the stars, and the promise of a coming day.

title: Pooping On The Inca Trail [500 words, OC]

question: According to the passage, why is the floor of the toilet covered with poo?

answer: The narrator is a tourist visiting Machu Pichu Mountain. He was on the Inca trail on Day Three of his journey when he felt the urge to poop. He held it until he and his companions returned to the hotel since the trail was not conducive to performing such duties. However, when the night came the narrator was still unwilling to leave his hotel to poop as it was quite cold. Fearing he might poop in his pants, the narrator decided to brave the cold and head for the toilet. The floor of the toilet was covered with poo when the narrator got there. Just like any other public restroom, it seems the users do not care how they use it. Also, the seems the cleaning schedules are not very well maintained.


text:
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[]
FLIR airborne law enforcement infrared imaging video during police pursuit shows suspect’s suicide with a shotgun after fleeing southbound Judson St. in San Diego (Video removed by YouTube for violation of terms).

[]
Image of suspect who eventually shot himself bailing from a car rolling to a stop.

[]
Suspect runs to backyard with police officer with gun drawn (right) in pursuit.

[]
Suspect, seconds before self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head.

SAT NOV 11 2007 — A carjacking suspect bails out the passenger side of a stolen car southbound on Judson Street in San Diego in the Linda Vista neighborhood at 1:04 A.M. The driver of the pursued car rolls the car southbound a few more feet while the passenger runs southbound passing five houses to the end of the street, and then toward a backyard.

[]
Chrysler 300 SRT-8 (file photo).

The police pursuit began on state Route 163 when police identified a black 2007 Chrysler 300 reported taken at gunpoint (about 45 minutes prior) on Beadnell Way near Mount Abernathy Avenue in Clairemont shortly before midnight Friday. The driver of the stolen car took the Genesee Avenue exit and headed south on Judson Street toward a dead end.

View Larger Map of crime scene, pursuit initiation, and of Linda Vista neighborhood where pursuit ended.

San Diego Police are given instructions on the ground from the vantage point of a police helicopter equipped with a FLIR Infrared Thermal Imaging camera. The airborne law enforcement camera is able to warn the pursuing officers on the ground that a fleeing suspect has a shotgun and officers are advised not to jump over a fence where the suspect appears to be ready to use the shotgun on the pursuing officers. Shortly afterwards, the suspect is shown with thermal imaging to fire a self-inflicted, fatal gunshot to his own head with the shotgun.

Suspect was found in the middle of a backyard of the last house (southbound toward the dead end) on the west side of Judson Street in San Diego. The other suspect, the driver, was apprehended further north in 2200 block of south Judson Street.

1141=Ambulance needed or “ambulance”
ABLE = San Diego Airborne Law Enforcement (ABLE)
FLIR = Forward Looking InfraRed detects warm objects against a cold background in complete darkness, and “sees” through smoke, fog and haze better than visible light camera.

Under California Penal Code Section 215, carjacking is the successful taking of a vehicle from someone’s immediate possession with the use of force or fear. The penalty for carjacking in California is up to nine years state prison, plus additional time if a weapon is used or if someone is injured.

More info …
U.S. Department of Justice:Carjacking Statistics
FindLaw.com: California Penal Code Section 211-215
FLIR.COM
Wikipedia: Chrysler 300
Wikipedia: FLIR

question: When did this chase happen?

answer: This chase happened on Saturday November 11, 2007.

question: What weapon did the suspect have?

answer: The suspect was armed with a shotgun.

question: What happened to the suspect with the shotgun?

answer: The suspect killed himself with the shotgun.

question: What does the acronym ABLE stand for?

answer: The acronym ABLE stands for San Diego Airborne Law Enforcement.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The police are in pursuit of a stolen car. One suspect bails from the car and runs into a backyard. The suspect kills themselves to avoid capture, and the driver is apprehended elsewhere.


text:
I never told this story to anyone.  Frankly, nobody would believe me.  I wouldn't believe me either.  I mean I'm in New York so people just automatically assume you're full of shit.  Hell, I'm on the internet so there's probably someone out there thinking the same thing.  But this happened....

I had a dog named Ares.  He wasn't the biggest dog but he was very protective of me.  He would always lie down in front of me when I played games or read a book.  I remember when I walked him, he would bark at approaching strangers.  Seriously, he would bark at any approaching stranger until I told him to calm down.  Granted, I didn't live in the nicest of neighborhoods so in hindsight I suppose some good may have come from it, but I digress.  Ares could be hostile but he was friendly I swear.  If I approved you and he got to know your scent, he would let you pet him and he would lick your hand.  He would even wake me up by licking my face.  Actually it was a bit annoying but I figured that's how he showed affection so I didn't mind much.

Anyway, I was 13 at the time.  I just started High School and I was getting picked on.  Let's just say that I was less than fit although that would be an understatement.  Hell, I was probably close to 200 lbs at 5'2.  That said, my hefty stature made me the target of bullying and frankly, there was nothing I could really do about it.  One of the bullies even lived pretty close to me so he would sometimes bother me until I got home, which was about a 15 minute walk from the train station.  You know the type, though, I'm sure; seems like the perfect gentlemen around adults but an ass otherwise.  I mean I could start working out and stuff but that would have taken quite a while.  That said, I did have some friends.

Well one day, two of my friends came over to my place and we started playing Halo.  Just a couple of guys hanging out, playing Halo, dicking around, trash talking each other and talking about random shit.   One of the things that came up was people bullying me.  One of my friends told me to just ignore it which I've been doing but the other one told me to sick Ares on them.  Well Ares just kind of looked at me, as if wondering why his name was said.  I told him not to worry and just pet him and that was the end of that.

So fast forward a little bit and it's winter.  New York winters suck.  Especially when there's snow.  Everything turns to slush.  This year, there was a fair amount of snow so everything was particularly gross.   Honestly I hate going outside when the out when it's like that but I had to walk Ares so I went out.  Apparently so did my bully.

I decided to pretend not to see him and turned to walk in the other direction.  The thing is, he saw me.  So he called out to me and when I didn't respond, he threw an ice ball at the back of my head.  I flinched.  Ares lost it.  He broke out of his leash and jumped at the guy.  The guy, he jetted across the street just as the lights turned.  Ares, he wasn't so lucky.  When he was halfway across the street, Ares got hit by a car and died shortly thereafter.  My bully?  He left the scene.  I suppose he ran back home but I'm not sure.  I just watched over Ares, crying as he died.

We buried Ares the next day in our back yard along with his favorite toys.  Now that I think about it, I have no idea if that's actually legal but whatever.  I wanted him there.  He would always be family to me.  I stayed home from school for the next few days to mourn.

Well when I went back, my bully he bothered me about it.  About how I was unfit to own a pet.  That Ares died because of my incompetence.  That was when I snapped.  I lunged at him and punched him the face.  Heh... that's what I wish I did.  I couldn't do anything about it.  The guy was bigger than me, stronger.  I... I was a coward.  Ares was dead and I could not do anything for him.  On some level, I guess I thought he was right.

Apparently, Ares thought differently.  My bully never made it home.  In one of the three blocks between home and the train station.  My bully was apparently mauled to death by what they said looked like some wild dog.   I didn't believe that shit.  That wasn't the greatest neighborhood but I don't remember seeing any wild dogs here and I lived there for most of my life.

That night, I sat on my bed and asked out loud if it was Ares.  There was no response.  I figured as much.  The supernatural seems totally faulty of course.  I went to sleep thinking about Ares.  That night, I dreamed a very vivid dream.  I was walking Ares again, my dear friend.  God I miss him.  It's a simple dream, just us walking down the usual routes.  I woke up that day with my face covered in what felt like dog slobber.

I think that was Ares' way of just acknowledging that it was him.  I have no proof.  But the other bullies stopped bullying me.  I have no idea why.  I just assumed that was because one of their group died.  Recently though, I found out from one of my friends, for some reason they started calling me the creepy dog guy.  I don't know.  But I love Ares.

title: My Dog Ares

question: Is Ares a dog?

answer: yes

question: Did Ares and the narrator grow up together?

answer: Information not found.

question: Why was the narrator bullied?

answer: Because he had a big build, a hefty stature.

question: Did the narrator get a new pet?

answer: Information not found.

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator had a dog, Ares, that he loved. The narrator was usually bullied at school because he was bigger than the other kinds, one of his bullies lived next to him. One day when he went out for a walk with Ares, the bully calls out to the narrator and Ares gets very agitated, breaking out of the leash and jumps at the bully. While running after him, Ares gets hit by a car. He dies and gets buried the next day. A couple of days later the bully dies, being attacked by a wild dog. The narrator wakes up with what seems to be dog slobber all over his face. he is convinced Ares's ghost killed his bully.


text:
E3 is a hulking, ever changing beast. It will eat your enthusiasm, digest and then evacuate it as a gross and raw and cynical sludge. But only if you let it. It can also be special, in a monstrous sort of way.

I did my best to explain various components of this marketing machine and put them into the context of the industry as a whole. I don't know if I quite landed on my intended target, but I think I fell close. I couldn't have done even that without the hard work of many great journalists and videographers. This video has a number of clips from years past and I want to use this post to provide proper attribution.

More importantly, I encourage you to take the time to watch these videos. They are like historic relics, as exciting, if not more exciting, that the intensely rehearsed brand presentations that await us at the modern E3. (Watch on Youtube)

A nearly two hour collection of footage from E3 1995, focusing on the Atari Jaguar. Footage of primitive VR headset should tickle skeptics of Oculus Rift.

SEGA's Saturn promotion for E3 1995.

The surprise announcement of PlayStation's $299 price tag, which echoed at last year's PlayStation 4 presser.

GameSetWatch's scans of the E3 1995 show floor.

Footage of the XBAND modem's connection screen.

Microsoft's 2007 press event.

The uncomfortable Activision presser hosted by Jamie Kennedy.

Tony Hawk, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron at E3.

Lightning round:

The drummer from Wii Music, the Nice job, Jeremy moment, the Nintendo Vitality Sensor announcement, the Kinect as skateboard scanner, the bottom of Kudo's foot, the Mortal Kombat 3 stage actors, the Kazuo Hirai RIIIIIDGE RACER scream, and of course, Reggie "My body is ready" special.

And lastly, be sure to watch our E3 predictions for Sony and Microsoft. I've added the Nintendo video below.

question: What is E3?

answer: It seems to be a video game event

question: From what year is this post?

answer: 2007

question: Where can people watch the videos from years past?

answer: Youtube

question: What is the main topic of this post?

answer: The main topic of this post is to encourage readers to watch the historic relics (videos) on Youtube in anticipation of the modern E3.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The main topic of this post is to encourage readers to watch the historic relics (videos) on Youtube in anticipation of the modern E3.


text:
BOLSHOY LOG is a botanical reserve of regional importance in Krasnensky District of the Belgorod Oblast.

Vegetation

Most of the reserve is covered with steppe vegetation. On the right, the eastern slope of the ravine contains numerous outcrops of chalk, which are covered by the “lowered alpine” vegetation (alpine postglacial relicts). Two species from the Red Book of Russia — _Androsace koso-poljanskii_ and _Hedysarum grandiflorum_ — were discovered there. In the upper part of the ravine there are two small gully forests.

Environmental significance

In 2012 Bolshoy Log was included in the Emerald Network of prospective areas of the Europe in Belgorod Oblast.[1]

[1] Территории особого природоохранного значения Белгородской области / А. В. Присный, Э. А. Снегин, А. Ф. Колчанов, А. В. Лазарев // Изумрудная книга Российской Федерации. Территории особого природоохранного значения Европейской России. Предложения по выявлению. Ч. 1. — М.: Институт географии РАН, 2011–2013. С. 54–58.

title: Bolshoy Log

question: What is the Bolshoy Log?

answer: A botanical reserve.

question: Where is the Bolshoy Log?

answer: The Krasnensky District of the Belgorod Oblast

question: What sorts of vegetation grow in the Bolshoy Log?

answer: Steppe vegetation. Two species of Red Book of Russia were also discovered there.

question: Describe the environmental significance of the Bolshoy Log.

answer: It was included in the Emerald Network of prospective areas of the Europe in Belgorod Oblast in 2012.

question: What is steppe vegetation?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Bolshoy Log is a botanical reserve in the Krasnesky District of the Belgorod Oblast. Steppe vegetation grows there, as do two species of Red Book of Russia.