text:
Any kind of comments or suggestions are welcome. (English is my third language.)
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TALL BLACK LEGS
(( ↮ ))

An indirectly lit, long, underground structure with a low-hanging ceiling is disturbed with the unsettling sound of heavy noises. The stinky, dark place looks morose and murky, with its concrete supporting beams and bleak corners. A constant and distant echoing of water is only present, more like a soothing white noise. The floor is covered in dirty, muddy water. In the middle of the room it flows with a seemingly determined speed and course towards the invisible longer end, into the black. It might be some kind of an old sewage system. The walls are covered with grey slime and dirt. Irregularly placed pipes gaping on the sides. Like the broken rib-cage of a slaughtered animal.

The light comes from a somewhat circular shaped opening on the ragged ceiling – the work of a grenade – beams of a reflector come closer, bathing the filthy and foul smelling place in an unwelcome, neutrally tinted glow. With moderate noise something big and heavy is hoisted down. A tall, black oddity with legs and arms. From the middle of it comes the bright light, instantly seeking left and right, sweeping across the area even before it reaches the ground. It’s big, tall and black, heavy looking but non-metallic. It extends it legs, so it reaches ground sooner, it levels itself, the cables pop off with a tinny sound. The reflector stops sweeping, the thing adjusts itself and straightens up its back. The dark structure stands in silence. Like if waiting for something or someone, almost casually. Nonthreatening.

A couple of hundred meters to the end, where the sound of splashing water is more prominent and the darkness even darker, a very frightened, very little girl, in very dirty nondescript clothes hides behind a concrete beam. Crouching close to the black water – more like mud – trying to remain calm, breathing through her nose. Eyes and mouth shut tight. Concentrating on the white noise of the sewage waters. Breathing regularly, she doesn't seem to be concerned by anything. Her face is peaceful and calm. The opposite of someone who is being hunted.

A very long 137 seconds pass when the dark, big figure bends down silently and starts crawling forward in moderate speed. The little girls eyes pop open, her face still calm but her eyes increasingly reflect fear and despair. The big thing starts to sweep around with the reflector again with more intense light. And starts to call out in a very calm, very soothing gentle female voice towards the darkness. Without a rush, audibly.

**“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you...  Hadiya Nozwe...”**

**“Don’t be afraid, you are safe now... Hadiya. Come, we will go home. You are safe now.”** It calls out into the black, like a mother.
**“I worry about you... Hadiya, are you here? Are you here?”
“Where are you, sweet child? Where are you... Hadiya... I miss you very much.”**
**“Everything will be alright, come out, no one will hurt you anymore.”**
The gentle, pleading and comforting words echo through everything.
**“I came here just for you my love, I missed you so much. Where are you... Hadiya?”** It scans around hastily, moving the light left to right.
**“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid... Hadiya.”** The little girl with panic in her eyes starts to slowly crawl in the stinky water, that had been recirculated a million and a billion times, starting toward the nearest wall on the left.
**“I’m here to help, I love you, please come back to me.”** Echoes the friendly plead from wall to wall. She ignores it and crawls steadily with lips squeezed together.
**“Don’t be afraid, you are safe now... Hadiya. Come, we will go home.”** The sound came from closer now. Heavy steps rumble in the water.
**“Where are you, sweetheart?”** Faster movement generates bigger waves.
**“Are you there?”** Sounds much closer.

Some strange noises are coming from the wall she is headed for, a slow movement, and three short, adult men dressed in dirty brown robes and faces covered with masks climb from a small opening. The first sees the little girl and waves to her, she starts to crawl faster. The two other men stand in nervous stance clenching metal tubes with triggers on their end, while the first also starts to crawl in the water towards the little girl. The big dark figure stops, erects to two legs with a grotesquely curved back. From the arms silently rotating barrels slide out. It’s listening. Seconds pass in silence. Then it bolts forward fast, the water loudly splashing around its feet, thumping heavily. It turns left where the frightened little girl starts to run towards a man standing up from the water who is blinded by the light, but runs towards the little girl. The big dark machine shoots a blast between the two armed men while they are raising their weapons. The explosion blows one to pieces, the second ones right limbs and face rips off, his torso half open. He is tossed against the wall by the explosion and bounces off into the water, like a piece of rag. The man and the little girl are trying to run to the nearest supporting beam. He tries to grab the little girl, to hold her in cover, but the big dark figure fires a rapid round of bullets ripping his legs and torso apart. His flesh and blood tainting the little girl’s already soiled clothes. With its right arm extending, the big figure grabs her tightly, she screams in pain and fear. While with its left arm it shoot another round of bullets in the lying man’s head, rendering it to a soft splashed pulp of no particular shape.
Then it breaks her legs with one swift motion, she loudly screams in pain, and cries.
**“Don’t be afraid... Hadiya. You are safe now. We are going home.”** Said it with gentle words and a calming voice. Starting with big leaps backwards to the opening in the ceiling.
Only the white noise of the flushing waters remain, the mess gets washed away in the dark.

*Every story has a start, this is about Heavy Urban Tactical Unit MurAH 21-A.
Champion of justice, enforcer of the law.*

...

title: Tall Black Legs (1000 words, dark fiction)

question: Who is speaking?

answer: not answered

question: Where is the little girl?

answer: The passage seems to be set in some sort of sewage system.

question: Where is the home that the voice is speaking of?

answer: Not answered

question: Does the person know the girl?

answer: not answered

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: A large figure crawls through the sewer passages. It takes with it a little girl. 2 men try to shoot at it but are killed trying to dispatch it.


split: train

text:
The sand was blowing so hard it was difficult to see anything.  Even the tanks parked just a few feet away seemed insubstantial. The goggles I wore did little to keep the sand out.  I felt filthy.  My eyes ached and felt as if they could produce no more tears. My hands and all other exposed skin were raw and tender from the biting sand. I huddled in as close as I could to my battle buddy, Mike.  Outer discomfort was only part of the reason we kept so close to each other.  Fear dictated most of our actions. The need to hold on to something familiar. Mark and I had become good friends during our training. Our shared struggles in infantry and airborne schools had developed a trust that only deepened when we both washed out of the Ranger Indoctrination Program. Our faith in each other had become the only stable thing we had. Training was over and we were going to war.

We stood in that storm for what felt like hours before a wiry man stepped up to us and shouted in our ears to be heard over the wind “you fags follow me!”

Unquestioningly, Mark and I did as we were told and were lead through the sandblaster to a small tent where we could wait out the storm. As the storm failed we found that a meal and some water had been left for us. We had not had anything to eat or drink since landing in Kuwait at least sixteen hours prior to arriving at our little tent. Our hunger and thirst helped make short work of the food and water, but as we finished a wave of nausea washed over me and I ran outside to purge myself in the sand.

 “Why do I always throw up when I’m nervous?” I asked Mark after rinsing the bile from my mouth.
“I don’t know” he shrugged.
“That’s just the faggot coming out of you” barked a deep nasally voice with a hint of a southern drawl.

Mark and I both turned to the speaker ready to throw insults back in return.  Fortunately for us, our eyes were quicker than our tongues, and our words never quite reached the air. We both snapped-to upon seeing the same wiry soldier who had shown us to our tent.  Without the sand swirling between us we could clearly see the stripes on his collar.

“You privates want to say something?” he asked.
“No, First Sargeant.” we replied in unison.
“Good” said the First Sargeant.  “You two see that group of vehicles circled up about four yards to your twelve o’clock?”
“Roger, First Sargeant”
“Then double time over there and report to Lieutenant Black.”
 “And for fuck sake don’t salute” he yelled at our backs as we hurried off to follow his instructions.

We found Lieutenant Black playing spades in the back of a Bradley. He did not acknowledge our presence until he and the other soldiers with him had finished their hand. When he finally did look up he pointed at Mark and said “you first.”
“PFC Mark Strunk reporting for duty, sir” Mark replied.
“Sound like stump” grunted one of the soldiers who had been playing cards.
“Where you from Strunk” asked the Lieutenant
“Denver, Colorado, Sir.”
“Good. And who is this turd with you?”
Barely recognizing my cue, I stumbled over both my feet and my words and said “PFC Brandon McNair reporting for duty, sir.

“Alright, listen close Stumpy and Mcturd.” Said Lieutenant Black “The president is going to declare war any day now.  We are currently sitting less than a mile from the border. When he does declare war we are to be the point of the spear going into Iraq. You two are a liability to me. We don’t have time to train you up on unit SOP and I won’t have you getting someone killed by being in the way. So what that means to you is stay on the hip of the team leader I assign to you, keep your head down, and do what you are told.”

To be continued...

title: Stormcoming

question: What does the story say about Mark and Mike?

answer: Mark and Mike are soldiers in the middle of a sandstorm in the desert. Mark and Mike have become good friends since their training.

question: What does the story say about the qualities that make a good soldier?

question: What does the story say about the First Sargeant?

answer: Mark and Mike are soldiers in the middle of a sandstorm in the desert. The First Sargeant introduces himself and assigns them a task.

question: What does the story say about Mark, Mike, and Lieutenant Black?

answer: Mark and Mike found Lieutenant Black playing spades in the back of a Bradley. Lieutenant Black points out that the president is about to declare war any day now and he needs them to keep their heads down and follow orders.


text:
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” could cost them their lives.

North Dakota state Representative Keith Kempenich introduced a bill (HB 1203) that would make it legal (now get this doublespeak) for a driver to run into protesters who block traffic, resulting in injury or death, if that driver does this “unintentionally.” In that case, there would be no liability for damages.

Kempenich said he was motivated to take this action when the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters took to the streets to block his constituents from traveling the roadways. He told CNN:

  It turned from a protest to basically terrorism on the roadways, and the bill got introduced for people to be able to drive down the roads without fear of running into somebody and having to be liable for them. If people stay off the roadway, it has nothing to do with you. [But] if you’re on the roadway trying to intimidate some people, then you’ve got an issue.

Kempenich and other legislators who support the proposal equate nonviolent protests that may result in some inconvenience for drivers to “terrorist” tactics. It represents another of those “alternative facts” as underscored recently by Kellyanne Conway, President Trump’s White House Counselor.

The Dakota Access Pipeline as designed would carry oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana across the plains to Illinois. Protestors argue that a completed pipeline would desecrate spiritual ancestral lands, endanger the water supply, and unfairly burden the Standing Rock Sioux nation, which would gain nothing from any economic development resulting from the project.

The situation and choice of location to place the proposed pipeline beneath the Missouri River are very complex and much more intersectional. Originally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned to cross the pipeline under the Missouri River north of Bismarck, North Dakota, but decided to reposition the route due to potential threats to the drinking water in the vastly-majority-white municipality of Bismarck.

The Corps decided, instead, to direct the pipeline under the river just upstream from the northern perimeter of the Standing Rock Sioux nation’s land. The Corps made its decision after failing its federal mandate to consult with the those who would be most affected by the pipeline: the Standing Rock Sioux people who apparently matter far less to the government than the white people around Bismarck.

The United States government set aside this land for the Sioux — land it had previously stolen from native peoples – in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The placement of the proposed pipeline stands as yet another incident in the long and brutal track record of the U.S. government inflicting physical and cultural genocide on First Nation peoples.

Outside of North Dakota, bills intending to intentionally run over the First Amendment by discouraging non-violent protest have been proposed and introduced in other states, including Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa.

In Minnesota, the Republican-majority legislature passed a measure that now permits local governments to sue convicted protestors for the costs incurred by law enforcement agencies. The Republican state legislator, Rep. Nick Zerwas, who introduced the bill said:

“If you want to block a freeway, you’re going to jail, and when you get out, you’re gonna get a bill.”

In Indiana, legislators proposed a measure to allow police to clear roadways “by any means necessary,” and a proposed Iowa bill would make it easier for law enforcement officials to impose criminal charges against anyone blocking traffic.

People who engage in civil disobedience should understand the risks involved, and most do. As a long-time political organizer from the 1960s onward, as an anti-war, LGBT, anti-racism, social justice activist, I have studied the philosophies and strategies of the abolitionist, suffrage and first-third wave feminist, union workers, civil rights, and other progressive movements.

For example, we in ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) conducted highly visible demonstrations, often involving acts of nonviolent civil disobedience in which we on occasion placed ourselves at risk for arrest and even injury. ACT UP/New York, as an early example, staged a “sit-in” on Wall Street in 1987 during rush hour to protest price gouging by pharmaceutical companies for antiviral drugs.

Our purpose was not to “make nice.” It was, rather, to make people uncomfortable and angry. We wanted to cause inconvenience by waking people up to realities around us. We challenged not only the status quo, but the complacency and, yes, the collusion of the so-called “bystanders” who would rather not have been inconvenienced by having to face the injustices surrounding them.

In our AIDS activism, we not only challenged traditional means of scientific knowledge dissemination, but more importantly, we questioned the very mechanisms by which scientists conducted research, and, therefore, we helped redefine the very meaning of “science.”

The legislative tactics used by an increasing number of states to discourage nonviolent peaceful protest will have the reverse effect since it will empower increasing numbers of people to stand up to these injustices.

Joining together with my remarkable, dedicated, and steadfast friends in acts of civil disobedience has continually made real for me Margaret Mead’s insightful and stirring statement:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

question: What is the bill Rep. Keith Kempenich is introducing?

answer: The one that makes it legal for a driver to run into protesters who block traffic, resulting in injury or death, if that driver does this “unintentionally.” In that case, there would be no liability for damages.

question: Which state does Rep.Kempenich represent?

answer: North Dakota

question: With what does the author think Kempenich equates nonviolent protest?

answer: Terrorist attacks.

question: What other activism does the author posit will be greatly hindered by this bill, if passed?

answer: AIDS activism.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Across the United States, several representatives are pushing for bills that will determine whether or not aspects of peaceful protest-such as accidents involving vehicles and pedestrian protestors-are prosecutable in a court of law.


text:
I was born full-blooded princess with a bit of fairy powers. I was raised in an intricate stone four-story palace. My room was on the top floor. It had a pink Fisher Price vanity set and an extravagant tunnel cage for my dwarf hamster, Muffin. Along the wall I had a bay window, where I could look out and see the vast and perfectly groomed ground below. I was a powerful and graceful princess, who had everything ever needed. In this Kingdom I grew into a Queen, I was taught to be full of knowledge and love.

My father was the mighty King. He had a grand office and would care for every guest. My home had many rooms to explore. The basement was a dungeon; I was never allowed to go down the elevator. The dim chapel was great for hide and seek with my three siblings. The oval arrangement room with deep red satin chairs was the ideal place to read The Box Car Children in peace. Men would tend to the grounds and maids would dust the cherrywood stair railing. My father's guard, Steve, was a terrific man. He always worked on certificates and ascended to the basement. Occasionally, he snuck me dark chocolates from his suit pocket to satisfy my young, sweet tooth then press his finger to his smile, swearing me to secrecy.,

The castle was magical. Each morning it would fill with guest who had traveled from all walks of life in search of my father’s compassionate care. The visitors were remarkable; they always had a different age, race, shape, and size, as if they were from another land. The one common thread among them was that they always seemed so dense and weighted down by something depressing. As if the wicked White Witch from Narnia had cast them into a land of perpetual winter. My father, in his Kingly responsibility, would help them in their desperate state. They would always depart hugging my father and express gratitude to my mother for her hospitality. I believed my father had a power that could save people from anything.

The palace  was widely known for curing people who had a particular dark enchantment, the one where a body could fall into a deep slumber and never wake from it. My father would lay the individual in a beautiful personalized bed. We had a room specifically for the beds. The family would find that perfect one to help the cursed be cured. No sleeping beauty would ever stay long, because my father was mastered in his task. Each day before I would walk to school, I would pat their beds and tell them to sleep good. My proper mom would kindly correct, "Well, sleep well."

At school my best friend was Rachel. She lived in a boring suburb with her mom and brother. Although she was not a full princess, she was a faithful friend with true potential at eventually living as a royal. We would paint each other’s nails, watch princess Disney movies, and practice walking upright with books on our head. We shared a common goal in becoming Queens one day, marrying a cootie free Prince and having a castle of our own.

I love my childhood. I have no clue what made me fully believe that I was a whimsical princess. I suppose I was caught in pure bliss from my ignorance and youth. Perhaps I was hopeful that my books and Disney movies were real. Time and reality have revealed many truths to me. I came to realize I was raised in the loft of a funeral home, where my father helped the grieving memorialize their loved ones. Despite the truths, I still want to retain my prior lookout of life. I still love to look deep into rooms and search for the secrets and comforts they hold. My parents are still hardworking and loving people. Reality doesn't have to strip away beliefs that are rightfully mine. It simply adds credibility to those beliefs. I will always be a Mortician's Princess.

title: Mortician's Princess. My first post and hopefully more to come. Comments welcome!

question: What does the story say about how to become a mortician?

question: How does the narrator's belief about being a princess change throughout the story?

answer: The narrator grew up believing she was a full-blooded princess with fairy powers. She thought her parents were the king and queen, and that they lived in a four-story palace with a chapel and a dungeon. The narrator thought that her father was able to cure cursed people fell into a deep sleep (they were actually dead). As she grew older, time and reality eroded the ignorance and bliss of her childhood fantasy of being a princess. She soon realized that she was raised in the loft of a funeral home her parents owned and that her father is a mortician. Despite the truths, however, she wants to hold on to her prior outlook on life. Her parents are still loving and hardworking people, and that she will always be a Mortician's princess.

question: What does the story say about Rachel?

answer: Rachel is the narrator's best friend at school. She lives in the suburbs with her brother and mom. Rachel is a faithful friend who always hangs out with the narrator watching Disney movies and paint each others' nails. They both had a goal of becoming a Queen, marrying a cootie-free Prince, and have a castle of their own.

question: What were the actual rooms and areas in the funeral home the narrator imagined were something else?

answer: Her bedroom on the top floor was just a loft. Her father's grand office was the funeral office where he received the families of the departed. The dungeon was their basement where presumably, the morgue was, which is why she was not allowed to ride the elevator down. The dim chapel was just a chapel. The beautiful personalized beds were coffins and the special room they were stored was where the clients made their selection. The perfectly groomed ground could be the funeral home's garden or a graveyard (speculative).


text:
  “Hey, fuck-face, that’s my spot your in.”  A patron shouted as he walked through the door that served as an entrance to the derelict bar.
  “Ain’t got a name on it, and the barkeep never said it was spoken for, rekin you’re outta luck.” Bronco spoke nonchalantly never raising his eyes from the glass of Jack Daniels in front of him.
  At twenty-eight years old he stood six foot one and just shy of two hundred pounds.  He started work young doing yard work and odd jobs around town, eventually winding up in construction then down to the local shipyard.  He never drew much attention and never asked for trouble; it just had a way of following him and showing up.  Years of hard living and work had helped build him to take on most trouble that wanted to be found.
  “Listen, I told you it’s my spot, do I have to beat that in to you?” The fellow hollered walking closer to Bronco.  Roughly the same age, he could tell this kid was just pea cocking around for the other bar-flys.
  “Sorry for the mess, ma’am.”  Slugging down the last two inches whiskey in his glass and placing a hundred dollar bill down underneath it.  “Something’s just gotta happen” turning to face to noisy intruder.
  “The fuc-” never got to finish his sentence at swift left cross connected with his abdomen and sent him stumbling back into the bar stools, a second right hook caught his jaw laying the poor kid out on the floor.
  “Again sorry for the mess.”  Bronco stepped over the unconscious mess that once was.
  He walked to his beat up jeep; the sun was starting to set over the Pacific.

title: In the bar

question: Who is the main character?

answer: Bronco

question: What is Bronco drinking?

answer: Jack Daniels

question: Why does the guy bother Bronco?

answer: He wants his seat, but really, he wants to cause a ruckus and look tough.

question: Where does this story take place?

answer: Somewhere not far from the Pacific Ocean.

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer: Twenty-eight-year-old Bronco cuts a large, menacing figure at the bar, where he stares at the glass of Jack Daniels before him. He started out in construction, and then moved on to working at the shipyard, his current place of employment. A man calls out to him, insulting him, but Bronco does not overt his eyes from his drink. The guy insists that Bronco has taken his seat. He continues to antagonize Bronco, who says, sorry for the mess,quietly, to the bartender, slips a one-hundred-dollar bill under his glass of whiskey, and turns around. Before the pugnacious stranger can fully react, Bronco's fist connects with the kid's face, laying him out cold on the floor. Bronco repeats his apology, then walks out to his jeep.


text:
_RHACHIDELUS_ is a genus of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae. The genus is endemic to South America.

Species

The genus _Rhachidelus_ is monotypic, containing the sole species _RHACHIDELUS BRAZILI_,[1] which is commonly known as the BRAZILIAN BIRD SNAKE.

Etymology

The specific name, _brazili_, is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist Vital Brazil.[2]

Geographic range

_R. brazili_ is found in northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, and southeastern Paraguay.[3]

[1]

[2] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). _The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles_. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (_Rhachidelus brazili_, p. 37).

[3]

title: Rhachidelus

question: Where is Rhachidelus found?

answer: Rhachidelus can be found in northeastern Argentina, Southern Brazil, and southeastern Paraguay.

question: Which family does it belong to?

answer: It belongs to the subfamily Dipsadinae.

question: What is the snake commonly known as?

answer: The snake is commonly known as the Brazilian Bird Snake.

question: Who was Vital Brazil?

answer: Vital Brazil was a Brazilian herpetologist.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer:
Rachidelus, otherwise known as the Brazilian Bird Snake, is commonly found in northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, and southeastern Paraguay.

The name "Brazili" is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist, Vital Brazil.


text:
The FRANKLIN FAIRBANKS HOUSE is a historic house at 357 Western Avenue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It was built in 1860 for Franklin Fairbanks, a prominent local businessman and philanthropist. The house is an excellent example of Italianate architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1] It now houses professional offices.

Description and history

The Franklin Fairbanks House stands west of downtown St. Johnsbury, on the south side of Western Avenue (United States Route 2), between the Fairbanks Inn and the St. Johnsbury School. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a hip roof, clapboarded exterior, and brick foundation. It has a basic T-shaped layout, with gabled projections to both sides, with its main facade oriented facing east. It has high-style Italianate decorative features, including roof dormers with finials, a bracketed cornice, polygonal window bays, and a porch with chamfered posts. A carriage barn is attached at the southern end.[2]

The house was built in 1860 for Franklin Fairbanks, then a principal in the E. & T. Fairbanks Scale Company, whose factory complex was located roughly between the house and the Passumpsic River. The house is a close implementation of Plate 21 of _Villas and Cottages_, a design pattern book published by Calvert Vaux. Fairbanks is remembered locally for his philanthropy, which notably includes the founding of the Fairbanks Museum.[3] The factory complex was destroyed by fire in 1972; Fairbanks' house, which he occupied until 1872, has been converted for use as professional offices.

[1]

[2]  with

[3]

title: Franklin Fairbanks House

question: Where is Franklin Fairbanks House?

answer: 357 Western Avenue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

question: When was Franklin Fairbanks House built?

answer: 1860.

question: Who was Franklin Fairbanks House built for?

answer: Franklin Fairbanks.

question: What did Franklin Fairbanks fo?

answer: He was a businessman and philanthropist.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Franklin Fairbanks House, a prominent house in St. Johnsbury Vermont.


text:
_Accenture Interactive has created a project using artificial intelligence to tackle elderly loneliness. The Memory Lane initiative, produced in collaboration with Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi, has already piloted in the Nordic nation, and a broader rollout to the UK and beyond has not been ruled out._

The UK is one of a number of major economies facing the protracted effects of an ageing population, with 18% of the population aged 65 and over and 2.4% aged 85 and over. Births continue to outnumber deaths, meaning the population is rising, however this is largely thanks to the average life expectancy having steadily risen in recent years, and the baby boomer generation finally approaching that milestone. This is placing notable strain on the National Health Service and the country’s pension pots, as well as demand on social care, as the number of senior citizens no longer capable of caring for themselves rises.

Adding significantly to this strain is the worrying trend of social alienation which has become ever more prevalent in the UK since the collapse of the post-war consensus. As British society has become increasingly atomised, the nation’s most vulnerable people have become more and more isolated. In the UK, recent studies have shown that feelings of loneliness are now experienced on a regular basis by around 1.5 million people aged 50 and over, while charity Age UK estimates that 3.6 million older people live alone, and 2 million often feel “ignored or invisible”.

[Accenture Interactive uses AI to tackle elderly loneliness]

The impact of this goes well beyond an individuals’ mental health too, according to research by Accenture Interactive. In a global study, Accenture Interactive found that loneliness is linked to an increased risk of depression and dementia, putting additional strain on the UK’s under-resourced adult care sector, while also increasing the likelihood of being physically inactive, and of visiting a doctor or Accident and Emergency (A&E) hospital department – something which, in the UK’s case, has pushed the underfunded and short-staffed NHS’ services to the breaking point in recent years.

Following the rise of this phenomenon across the globe, Accenture Interactive has moved to do something to help alleviate the situation. In order to combat loneliness in the advanced years of people around the world, the consultancy created a project titled 'Memory Lane', which uses a voice assistant combined with conversational artificial intelligence to capture stories for future generations.

Created in collaboration with Swedish energy firm Stockholm Exergi, Memory Lane uses Google Voice Assistants to invite someone who is lonely to tell their life story. Once this has been captured, the discussion is then instantly converted into both a physical book and a podcast – creating a story co-written by human and machine that can be shared by participants with future generations.

Commenting on the project, Adam Kerj, the Nordics Chief Creative Officer at Accenture Interactive said, “When people experience little to no social interaction over extended periods of time, it can cause a sharp decline in their mental and physical health. In the two years we spent developing the software and the concept of the platform, we observed the urge to share stories by lonely participants was incredibly strong. To this end, we not only wanted to develop something that could hold a human-like conversation with them, but also capture those memories so they didn’t end up untold.”

So far, the firm has only piloted the solution in Stockholm, with two of the pilot participants’ stories having been documented online as part of a podcast on Memory Lane’s website. Accenture and Stockholm Exergi are currently looking for more people to take part in the project, with the aim of having a monthly podcast. At the same time, while the AI tool is currently still in development and is yet to be commercialised, the two companies told Design Week that the aim is to make the software “accessible” rather than “make a lot of money”.

question: Summarize the problems the elderly are facing in the UK.

answer: In the UK, 18% of the population is 65 or older, and 2.4% is 85 or older. The UK's life expectancy is rising, and this is putting a strain on the National Health Service, pension funds, and social care. Additionally, the UK has become increasingly atomised, further alienating the nation's elderly. According to recent studies, 1.5 million people 50 or older regularly feel loneliness, 3.6 million elderly people live alone, and 2 million often feel "ignored or invisible."

question: Summarize how Memory Lane works.

answer: Memory Lane uses Google Voice Assistants to invite someone who is lonely to share their life story. The program then converts the conversation to a physical book and a podcast to be shared with future generations. Accenture Interactive hopes that this will help improve the mental health of lonely individuals by holding a human-like conversation with them.

question: Summarize Accenture Interactive's rollout plan for Memory Lane.

answer: Accenture Interactive has piloted the Memory Lane Initiative in Sweden. They are currently looking for more people to take part in the project, and may eventually rollout to other countries such as the UK. The AI tools used in the project are still under development, and they are hoping to make it accessible rather than making lots of money.


text:
[Self-portrait
(date unknown)] EUGEN VON KAHLER, originally EUGEN KOHN (6 January 1882, Prague - 13 December 1911, Prague) was a Bohemian-German painter, graphic artist and writer of Jewish ancestry. Most of his works are in the Expressionist style.

Biography

He came from a family of wealthy industrialists who changed their name from Kohn to Kahler in 1894. From 1901 to 1905, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck. During this time, he also took private lessons from Hugo von Habermann.[1]

He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1900 and his education was interrupted by numerous stays in sanatoria.[2] Despite this, he was able to travel to Paris in 1907, where he took a course in plein aire painting at a private school and copied works at the Louvre. He was a regular patron at the Café Du Dôme,[3] where his associates included Friedrich Ahlers-Hestermann, Oskar Moll, Jules Pascin, Elisabeth Epstein and Sonia Terk. His exhibitions included several showings at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants.

In an effort to alleviate his suffering, he took a trip to Egypt in the summer of 1908, seeking a drier climate.[4] The following year, he visited Tunisia and Algeria, which inspired him to create numerous works with Orientalist themes; some of which were shown at an exhibit by the Neue Künstlervereinigung München in 1911.[5] That same year, his father was knighted and everyone in his family became entitled to attach “von” to their names. This was followed by his first solo exhibition at the Moderne Galerie, operated by the art collector, .

Success was short lived, however, as he succumbed to his illness two months later. A few days after his death, two of his works were displayed at the first exhibition of Der Blaue Reiter.[6] He was interred at the New Jewish Cemetery. His estate was managed by his cousin, the writer Erich von Kahler, who discovered a large number of poems. They were published in 1914 by Poeschel & Trepte, as a limited edition, under the title _Sinnen und Gesang_ (roughly, Feelings and Song). [7]

Selected paintings

File:Eugen von Kahler - Biblický motiv (1910).jpg|Biblical Composition File:Kahler-Bazaar.jpg%7COriental Bazaar File:Eugen von Kahler, Der Liebesgarten.jpg|The Garden of Love File:Eugen von Kahler - Na mořském břehu (1906).jpg|On the Seashore

[1]

[2]

[3] Brief biography @ Centrum Bavaria Bohemia.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7] _Sinnen und Gesang_ @ Biblio.com

title: Eugen von Kahler

question: What style do most of Eugen Von Kahler's work fall under?

answer: Most of his works are in the Expressionist style.

question: Where did Von Kahler study?

answer: Von Kahler studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck.

question: Where did Von Khaler exhibit his work?

answer: Von Kahler had several showings at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants.

question: When did Von Khaler die?

answer: He died on December 13, 1911.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article gives a brief overview of the life and work of Eugen Von Khaler, a Bohemian-German painter, graphic artist, and writer.


text:
[]Fluorine is an element. It is a gas, never occurring in its free state. In microscopic amounts complexed with other minerals, it is often listed as a trace mineral, a nutrient for human nutrition.

The fluoride added to 90% of drinking water is hydrofluoric acid which is a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing.

Such fluoride is manmade. In this form, fluoride has no nutrient value whatsoever. It is one of the most caustic of industrial chemicals. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder.

Hydrofluoric acid is used to refine high octane gasoline, to make fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons for freezers and air conditioners, and to manufacture computer screens, fluorescent light bulbs, semiconductors, plastics, herbicides, — and toothpaste.

It also has the ability to burn flesh to the bone, destroy eyes, and sear lungs so that victims drown in their own body fluid.”

Once in the body, fluoride is a destroyer of human enzymes. It does this by changing their shapes. In human biochemistry, thousands of enzymes are necessary for various essential cell reactions that take place every second we’re alive. Without enzymes, we’d die instantaneously.

THE HISTORY OF FLUORIDE

Some fifty years after governments began adding fluoride to public water supplies to reduce cavities in children’s teeth, declassified documents are shedding new light on the roots of that still-controversial public health measure, revealing a surprising connection between fluoride and the dawning of the nuclear age.

Today, a large percentage of public drinking water in the western world is fluoridated. Many municipalities still resist the practice, disbelieving the government’s assurances of safety.

Since the days of World War II, when the U.S. prevailed by building the world’s first atomic bomb, public health leaders have maintained that low doses of fluoride are safe for people, and good for children’s teeth.

That safety verdict should now be re-examined in the light of hundreds of once-secret WWII documents obtained by Joel Griffiths and Chris Bryson – including declassified papers of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. military group that built the atomic bomb.

Fluoride was the key chemical in atomic bomb production, according to the documents. Massive quantities of fluoride – millions of tons – were essential for the manufacture of bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. One of the most toxic chemicals known, fluoride rapidly emerged as the leading chemical health hazard of the U.S atomic bomb program–both for workers and for nearby communities, the documents reveal.

Other revelations include:

Much of the original proof that fluoride is safe for humans in low doses was generated by A-bomb program scientists, who had been secretly ordered to provide “evidence useful in litigation” against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens. The first lawsuits against the U.S. A-bomb program were not over radiation, but over fluoride damage, the documents show.

Human studies were required. Bomb program researchers played a leading role in the design and implementation of the most extensive U.S. study of the health effects of fluoridating public drinking water–conducted in Newburgh, New York from 1945 to 1956. Then, in a classified operation code-named “Program F,” they secretly gathered and analyzed blood and tissue samples from Newburgh citizens, with the cooperation of State Health Department personnel.

The original secret version–obtained by these reporters–of a 1948 study published by Program F scientists in the Journal of the American Dental Association shows that evidence of adverse health effects from fluoride was censored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) – considered the most powerful of Cold War agencies – for reasons of national security.

The bomb program’s fluoride safety studies were conducted at the University of Rochester, site of one of the most notorious human radiation experiments of the Cold War, in which unsuspecting hospital patients were injected with toxic doses of radioactive plutonium. The fluoride studies were conducted with the same ethical mind-set, in which “national security” was paramount.

The U.S. government’s conflict of interest–and its motive to prove fluoride “safe” – has not until now been made clear to the general public in the furious debate over water fluoridation since the 1950’s, nor to civilian researchers and health professionals, or journalists.

The declassified documents resonate with growing body of scientific evidence, and a chorus of questions, about the health effects of fluoride in the environment.

Human exposure to fluoride has mushroomed since World War II, due not only to fluoridated water and toothpaste, but to environmental pollution by major industries from aluminum to pesticides: fluoride is a critical industrial chemical.

The impact can be seen, literally, in the smiles of our children. Large numbers of U.S. young people–up to 80 percent in some cities–now have dental fluorosis, the first visible sign of excessive fluoride exposure, according to the U.S. National Research Council. (The signs are whitish flecks or spots, particularly on the front teeth, or dark spots or stripes in more severe cases.)

Less-known to the public is that fluoride also accumulates in bones – “The teeth are windows to what’s happening in the bones,” explains Paul Connett, Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University (N.Y.). In recent years, pediatric bone specialists have expressed alarm about an increase in stress fractures among U.S. young people. Connett and other scientists are concerned that fluoride – linked to bone damage by studies since the 1930’s – may be a contributing factor. The declassified documents add urgency: much of the original proof that low-dose fluoride is safe for children’s bones came from U.S. bomb program scientists, according to this investigation.

Now, researchers who have reviewed these declassified documents fear that Cold War national security considerations may have prevented objective scientific evaluation of vital public health questions concerning fluoride.

“Information was buried,” concludes Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, former head of toxicology at Forsyth Dental Center in Boston, and now a critic of fluoridation. Animal studies Mullenix and co-workers conducted at Forsyth in the early 1990’s indicated that fluoride was a powerful central nervous system (CNS) toxin, and might adversely affect human brain functioning, even at low doses. (New epidemiological evidence from China adds support, showing a correlation between low-dose fluoride exposure and diminished I.Q. in children.) Mullenix’s results were published in 1995, in a reputable peer-reviewed scientific journal.

FLUORIDE CAUSES DISEASE

Austrian researchers proved in the 1970s that as little as 1 ppm fluoride concentration can disrupt DNA repair enzymes by 50%. When DNA can’t repair damaged cells, we get old fast.

Fluoride prematurely ages the body, mainly by distortion of enzyme shape. Again, when enzymes get twisted out of shape, they can’t do their jobs. This results in collagen breakdown, eczema, tissue damage, skin wrinkling, genetic damage, and immune suppression. Practically any disease you can name may then be caused.

All systems of the body are dependent upon enzymes. When fluoride changes the enzymes, this can damage:

– immune system
– digestive system
– respiratory system
– blood circulation
– kidney function
– liver function
– brain function
– thyroid function

The distorted enzymes are proteins, but now they have become foreign protein, which we know is the exact cause of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, arthritis, asthma, and arteriosclerosis.

FLUORIDE AND OSTEOPOROSIS

Dr. Yiamouyiannis (former science director of the National Health Federation) cited a 1990 study of 541,000 cases of osteoporosis that found a definite connection between hip fractures in women over 65 and fluoride levels. The study was written up in JAMA. Several other major studies are cited, massive amounts of research, again all reaching the same conclusion – the undeniable correlation of fluoridation with osteoporosis and hip fracture in the elderly.

BONE IS LIVING TISSUE.

Bone building is a finely balanced, complicated process. Fluoride has been known to disrupt this process since the 1930s. Dr. Alesen, who was the president of the California Medical Association, clearly explains what fluoride does to bone formation.

He cites dozens of international scientific studies proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that fluoride has caused thousands of cases of osteoporosis, skeletal thinning, fractures, “rubber bones,” anemia, and rickets.

Fluoride also causes osteoporosis by creating a calcium deficiency situation. Fluoride precipitates calcium out of solution, causing low blood calcium, as well as the buildup of calcium stones and crystals in the joints and organs.

SO WHY DO WE CONTINUE FLUORIDATING IN PRESENT DAY?

One word…money!

Toxic disposal. The rise of the EPA since the 1970s. The increase in environmental consciousness as a political tool for creating the illusion of safety in recent decades.

Fluoride is a toxic byproduct in the manufacturing process of manmade chemicals.

Millions of tons of this poison are produced every year. Imagine the cost of containing and disposing of those mountains of waste every year. It’s in the billions.

Lobbyists from these industries have presented “scientific studies” paid for by the industries, and provided for a continual stream of media presentations about the health benefits of fluoride. They have created unimaginably lucrative positions for “research” and “education” within the Medical Conglomerates and Associations that are systematically destroying our health.

What are the economic advantages of that? Instead of paying money to dispose of toxic waste, money could now be made by selling fluoride to the water companies of the nation.

They basically use the public water supply as a sewer for industrial wastes and since there is money to be made, the vicious cycle has continued for decades.

WHAT DO THE REAL EXPERTS SAY?

“When historians come to write about this period, they will single out fluoridation as the single biggest mistake in public policy that we’ve ever had.”

– Paul Connett, PhD, Biochemistry

“Water fluoridation is the single largest case of scientific fraud, promoted by the government, supported by taxpayer dollars, aided and abetted by the ADA and the AMA, in the history of the planet.”

– David Kennedy, DDS President International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology

“Sodium fluoride is a registered rat poison and roach poison. It has been a protected pollutant for a very long time.”

– William Hirzy, PhD President of the Union of Professional Employees of the EPA

“sodium fluoride is a very toxic chemical, acting as an enzyme poison, direct irritant and calcium inactivator … .It reacts with growing tooth enamel and with bones to produce irreversible damage.”

– Granville Knight, MD president of the American Academy of Nutrition
Congressional Record, 31 July 56

“I am appalled at the prospect of using water as a vehicle for drugs. Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce serious effects on a long range basis. Any attempt to use water this way is deplorable.”

– Charles Gordon Heyd, MD, president, AMA

“no physician in his right mind would hand to his patient a bottled filled with a dangerous drug with instructions to take as much or as little of it as he wished … And yet, the Public Health Service is engaged upon a widespread propaganda program to insist that communities do exactly that … The purpose of administering fluoride is not to render the water supply pure and potable but to contaminate it with a dangerous, toxic drug for the purpose of administering mass medication to the consumer, without regard to age or physical condition.”

– L. Alesen, MD, president of the California Medical Association
Robotry, p14

“Fluoridation is the greatest fraud that has ever been perpetrated and it has been perpetrated on more people than any other fraud has.”

– Albert Schatz, PhD Nobel Laureate for discovering streptomycin
quoted in Sutton’s Fluoridation:The Greatest Fraud

“More people have died in the last 30 years from cancer connected with fluoridation than all the military deaths in the entire history of the United States.”

– Dean Burk, PhD National Cancer Institute — Fluoridation:A Burning Controversy

“Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not of all time.”
– EPA scientist, Dr. Robert Carton (Downey, 2 May 99)

WHAT KIND OF WATER SHOULD YOU DRINK?

Today there is enough grassroots consciousness about the dangers of tap water that cheap carbon filters are now available in any hardware store which attach easily to the kitchen faucet. It is likely that such filters get rid of most of the chlorine – for awhile.

But to really get the resistant biologicals, the fluoride, heavy metals, and other contaminants, the customer may consider one of the high-end drinking water filters. These cost between two and four hundred dollars and come in models for both over and under the sink.

Names like Alpine, MultiPure, and Spectrapure are among the dozens of brand names that have come along during the past 20 years. Everyone claims to be the best, of course, but we can find some important similarities in their advertising. When you begin to compare the better water filters, you notice common concerns:

– chlorine
– THMs
– chloriform
– chloramines
– cryptosporidium and giardia lamblia cysts
– fluoride
– pesticides and toxic chemicals
– heavy metals
– minerals
– MTBEs
– nitrates

Killing microbials is not a big deal since most of that’s been done by chlorine. Most contaminants are removed by the better filters. The problem when choosing a filter seems to come down to four main concerns: fluoride, minerals, THMs, and nitrates.

Difficult to find one filter that does everything: many reverse osmosis filters take out fluoride, but also the healthy minerals. Many of the high-end carbon filters will not remove fluoride or nitrates, but leave the healthy minerals.

Fluoride is obviously a biggie. Find out if the filter you are about to buy removes fluoride, and what percentage. After what we’ve learned about fluoride, we should expect a filter to remove it.

Due to fluoride advocate propaganda, most don’t even realize fluoride is bad, and therefore don’t think about it when considering a water filter.

NSF is a third-party non-profit testing agency that has been rating water filters for the past 50 years. Always ask – is it NSF-certified? Don’t be fooled if they say ‘NSF-tested.’ Big difference.

Minerals is an area of some controversy. You’ve got the hard water / soft water debate. Hard water has more minerals in it, which obviously is better for the bones and teeth, and probably for the heart as well.

That makes sense, although elemental minerals are the least absorbed of all types. Elemental means from rocks, and that’s the kind that would be in spring water, and therefore in filtered water, except for reverse osmosis.

Most naturopaths and holistic nutritionists don’t like distilled water because they say it leaches minerals from the bones and teeth. In general, that seems logical, although it may not make any difference unless the person is extremely malnourished.

The truth is, no formal studies comparing distilled with mineral water have been done, so it’s all pretty theoretical. But thinking about the Hunzas and their 120-year lifespan that was attributed to the glacial mineral waters they drank, one can see the value of minerals in drinking water.

A high-end water filter should take this discussion into consideration and give reasons about the importance or unimportance of filtering out certain minerals.

Comes down to a choice: reverse osmosis or carbon block. With reverse osmosis you’ve can remove fluoride but also remove many minerals, and wasting about 4-9 gallons to get one gallon of pure water. With high-end carbon mesh filters, you can get rid of everything but fluoride, and you’ll still have minerals.

BOTTOM LINE: Stay away from direct consumption of tap water and research effective filtration methods that remove fluoride, lead, arsenic, or specific contaminants. Not only will it improve the taste, it will improve your health.

THE FLUORIDE DECEPTION
‘The Fluoride Deception’ reads like a whodunit. There are conspiracies, cover-ups, human casualties, and broken careers. The prime suspects in this toxic thriller are compounds of fluoride; the coconspirators represent industry, the military, and the public health community. At the book’s ending, the suspect chemicals are not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but we are left with compelling evidence that powerful interests with high financial stakes have colluded to prematurely close honest discussion and investigation into fluoride toxicity.

question: What is the difference between fluorine and floride?

answer: Fluorine is a gaseous element mixed in with other minerals and is often listed as a nutrient for human nutrition. The fluoride added to drinking water is hydrofluoric acid, a compound of fluorine, that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. This manmade fluoride has no nutrient value at all.

question: Why did it become commonplace to add fluoride to drinking water?

answer: In recently unsealed WWII documents, it was revealed that the U.S. military group the Manhattan Project which built the atomic bomb used A-bomb scientists to provide "useful" evidence that fluoride was safe for humans in small doses against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens.

question: Why was the potential risk of fluoride unknown?

answer: As the first lawsuits against the U.S. A-bomb program were against fluoride damage, the evidence of adverse health affects from fluoride exposure were censored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

question: What has been the result of the fluoride exposure?

answer: Not only has the excess exposure grown in humans from water and toothpaste, but the environmental impact is huge, as fluoride is a critical industrial chemical. Many young people today have dental fluorosis, and fluoride buildup can be seen in the bones as well.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Around WWII it became commonplace to fluoridate American drinking supplies. Fluoride is synthesized from fluorine, a trace mineral and human nutrient, but the fluoride itself has absolutely no nutritional value. Fluoride is a critical industrial chemical used to create the atomic bomb, and because the first lawsuits against the A-bomb commission were from fluoride damage, the negative health impacts of the chemical were censored until recently. The damage can be seen in both the teeth and bones of young people, who get regular dosage of fluoride from drinking water and toothpaste, to environmental pollution, as fluoride is such a critical industrial chemical it is used to manufacture all sorts of different things.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

title: White Cookie,Blue Testicles, Green Planet.

question: Explain what the white cookie is.

answer: The white cookie is pushed onto the members of this society as a way to "save the planet". If they take it, they get full privileges, credits, and life goes back to normal. If they don't, they don't receive these benefits and whatever this cookie causes, happens regardless and with pain.

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The narrator

question: What state is the planet in?

answer: It's not clear, but humans now have chips implanted into their brain and this specific country is under authoritarian rule.

question: How does the narrator feel about their society?

answer: The narrator wants to resist the state, and seems to oppose state control.

question: What time period does the story take place in?

answer: The time period seems to be set in an authoritarian future.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator describes the state of his country, which appears to be under a futuristic authoritarian rule. Citizens have already been given chip implants. The narrator has noticed an increasingly normalized advertisement to take a "white cookie", which would give citizens privileges and a chance to return to normal. Despite his resistance, he goes to a facility where he is told there's a limited time to freely accept the cookie. He takes the cookie and notices it does something to his testicles.


text:
1.  REDIRECT List of rallies for the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign#Thank You Tour

Category:Aftermath of the 2016 United States presidential election Category:December 2016 events in the United States Category:Political career of Donald Trump

title: Thank You Tour

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A Wikipedia page on a list of rallies for the 2016 Donald Trump presidential elections.


text:
Moratorium sounds like an open space, a thick, black ribbon stretching on above her. She adds the definition in clean, blue letters: still searching.

That’s me, she thinks, pleased that she has a word for it. Moratorium: still searching. The word reminds her of the planetarium, and she speckles the black ribbon with white stars. At the end of the ribbon, there would be answers, little whispers of personality that were waiting to cling to her.

How awful, being a teenager, she thinks gloomily. Not being able to figure yourself out, and seeing the ones who already know it all.
They’re done taking notes for the day. The girl puts her pen down and closes her notebook. Suddenly, she flips to a random, blank page and prints her name in a fast, determined hand.

Who am I is added underneath it, and she scribbles some certainties. Fourteen-almost-fifteen, daughter, sister, student. She stares down at her words, at a loss for what else to write.

I like art and books, she thinks, and daydreaming. She puts the pen down again and sighs. Was she supposed to wake up one day – on her eighteenth birthday, maybe – and know herself? All of this was just a teenager thing, wasn’t it? It’d pass someday.

But what was someday? What did it look like?

Someday could be a star, right in the corner of the black ribbon. She bends over the paper, creates an ink-blue sky. If only she knew where her black pen was. She draws herself, and a question mark.

Today, the school bell sounds faint. She’s in a separate universe, reaching for someday.

title: Moratorium

question: To what does the title refer?

answer: 'Moratorium' is a word defined by the narrator in her notebook as 'still searching', which forms the theme of the story's question of self-identity.

question: What is the narrator trying to achieve?

answer: She's trying to find herself, trying to grasp a sense of self beyond the basic facts of her life.

question: How does the narrator define herself?

answer: As a teenager, daughter, sister, and student, who likes art, books, and daydreaming.

question: Explain any motifs present in the story.

answer: Space imagery is a motif that comes up in the form of the night sky illustrated by the main character, the way the word 'moritorium' reminds her of the planetarium, and how the idea of 'someday' seems like a star overhead.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A teenager contemplates her sense of self and wonders when she will have herself figured out the way so many adults seem to.


text:
DAVID GEORGE BALDWIN (born March 30, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Life and career

[Dave Baldwin in 2007] Born in Tucson, Arizona, on March 30, 1938, Baldwin pitched for three years for the University of Arizona. In the 1959 College World Series he beat Fresno State 5 to 1 on a two-hitter and lost the final game of the series 5 to 3 to Oklahoma State.[1] He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959 and pitched on three pennant winners in his first four years of pro ball.[2]

Later, he was a relief specialist for the Washington Senators (1966–69), Milwaukee Brewers (1970), and Chicago White Sox (1973). In 176 games he compiled a record of 6 wins and 11 losses, with 23 saves and an ERA of 3.08. The combined batting average of opponents against him was .234. In 1967, he ranked 3rd in the American League and 5th in the major leagues (of pitchers with 10 or more appearances) with an ERA of 1.70.[3] That season he ranked 5th in the American League for relief runs saved (11.8), ranked 7th in saves (12), and ranked 9th in pitching appearances (58).[4] In 1970, Baldwin led major league pitchers in range factor per nine innings (a measure of fielding proficiency) with a value of 5.094, the seventh highest value ever compiled.[5]

In 1974, Baldwin, at age 36, was the second oldest player in both the Pacific Coast League and the American Association.[6] Baldwin did not commit an error during his six-year major league career, handling 64 total chances (15 putouts, 49 assists) and committed only three errors throughout the 16 years he played professional baseball. But he was arguably the worst hitter in major league history. He achieved the only base hit of his career by beating out a bunt.

After he retired from baseball in 1974 he earned a Ph.D. in genetics and an M.S. in systems engineering from the University of Arizona.[7] He worked as a geneticist, engineer, and artist until his retirement in 2003.[8] Subsequently, he has collaborated with other researchers studying the physics, physiology, and psychology of baseball.[9] In addition, he has published his baseball memoir, _Snake Jazz_, and (under the pen name “DGB Featherkile”) a collection of his poetry, _Limbic Hurly-Burly_. Many of his poems have appeared in such journals as American Poetry Journal, Blue Unicorn, and Evansville Review.[10] His poetry won the Atlanta Review's 2007 International Publication Prize and the 2009 Fluvanna Prize from The Lyric.

Baldwin's painting “Fugue for the Pepper Players” is in the collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and was featured in _Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame_ by John Thorn (1998) pp. 188–189.[11][12]

Baldwin has been inducted into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2015) and the Pima County, Arizona, Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2011). He received the Professional Achievement Award from the University of Arizona Alumni Association in 2009.

Selected publications

-   Bahill, A. T. & Baldwin, D. G. (2007) “Describing baseball pitch movement with right-hand rules”, _Computers in Biology and Medicine_, 37:1001–1008.
-   Bahill, A.T. & Baldwin, D. G. (2004) “The rising fastball and other perceptual illusions of batters.” In _Biomedical Engineering Principles in Sports_. G. K. Hung and J. M. Pallis, eds. NY: Kluwer Academic / Plenum. pp. 257–287.
-   Bahill, A. T., Baldwin, D. G., & Venkateswaran, J. (2005) “Predicting a baseball's path”, _American Scientist_, 93(3):218-225.
-   Baldwin, D. (2008) _Snake Jazz_. Philadelphia: Xlibris (self-published).
-   Baldwin, D. G. (2001) “How to win the blame game”, _Harvard Business Review_, 79(7):55-62.
-   Baldwin, D. G. and Bahill, A.T. (2004) “A model of the bat's vertical sweetness gradient.” In The Engineering of Sport (5). M. Hubbard, R.D. Mehta, and J. M. Pallis, eds. Proceedings of the 5th International Engineering of Sport Conference, September 13–16, 2004, Davis, California, International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA), Sheffield, UK, 2:305–311.
-   Baldwin, D. G., Bahill, A.T., and Nathan, A. (2007) “Nickel and dime pitches”, _Baseball Research Journal_, 35:25-29.
-   Featherkile, DGB. (2009) _Limbic Hurly-Burly: Poems of Humor and Paradox_. Yachats, Oregon: Stillman & Hyla.
-   Mangan, R. L. and Baldwin, D. (1986) “A new cryptic species of Odontoloxozus (Neriidae: Diptera) from the cape region of Baja California Sur (Mexico).” _Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington (D.C.)_, 88:110-121.
-   McBeath, M. K., Nathan, A. M., Bahill, A. T., and Baldwin, D.G. (2008) “Paradoxical pop-ups: Why are they difficult to catch?” _American Journal of Physics_, 76(8):723-729.

Selected Solo Art Exhibits

[Dave Baldwin's painting “Fugue for the Pepper Players”]

-   _Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza_, Thousand Oaks, California (Apr.-May 1997).
-   _Grants Pass Museum of Art_, Grants Pass, Oregon (June–July 1997).
-   _R. Howard Dobbs University Center_, Emory University, Atlanta (Nov. 1997).
-   _Sarratt Gallery_, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (Jan.-Feb. 1998).
-   _Randall L. Jones Theatre_, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah (June-Aug. 1998).

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title: Dave Baldwin (baseball)

question: What does the text say about Dave Baldwin's career after he retired from professional baseball?

answer: After Baldwin retired from baseball at the age of 36, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in genetics and an M.S. in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. He collaborated with researchers studying the physics, physiology and psychology of baseball. In 2003 he retired from working as a geneticist, engineer and artist.


text:
The 2017 NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS FOOTBALL TEAM represented Northern Arizona University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 20th-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 6–2 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They received an at-large bid into the FCS Playoffs where they were lost to San Diego in the first round.

Schedule

-   Source: Official Schedule

Game summaries

at Arizona

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Western Illinois

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at Cal Poly

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Northern Colorado

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Illinois State

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at Portland State

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UC Davis

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Sacramento State

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at Montana

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Montana State

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at Southern Utah

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FCS Playoffs

San Diego–First Round

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Ranking movements

title: 2017 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

question: Who was the head coach of the 2017 Lumberjacks Football team?

answer: The head coach of the 2017 Lumberjacks was Jerome Souers.

question: What conference are the Lumberjacks a part of?

answer: They are part of the Big Sky conference.

question: What was the Lumberjacks record at the end of the season?

answer: They finished the season with seven wins and five losses. In the Big Sky conference play, they had six wins and two losses.

question: Who did the Lumberjacks play against in the playoffs?

answer: The Lumberjacks played against San Diego in the FCS playoffs and lost.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article details the 2017 season of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team, which is a part of the Big Sky conference. The Lumberjacks finished the season with seven wins and five losses.


text:
GÉRARD HACHÉ (March 17, 1925 – September 22, 2017)[1] was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1967 to 1970 as member of the Liberal party.[2]

Haché co-found farm equipment dealer G.G. Haché & Frères Ltée in 1947, was a councilor in Bathurst, New Brunswick and served as school trustee.

Honours

-   125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
-   Order of New Brunswick

[1] https://www.acadienouvelle.com/actualites/2017/09/24/deces-de-lancien-depute-gerard-hache/

[2]

title: Gérard Haché

question: Who was Gerard Hache?

answer: a Canadian politician

question: What was Gerard Hache a member of?

answer: Member of the Liberal Party

question: Where did Gerard Hache serve?

answer: In the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

question: When did Gerard Hache serve?

answer: from 1967 to 1970

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Gerard Hache was a Canadian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1967 to 1970. He served as a member of the Liberal party.


text:
iOS 12, Apple’s latest mobile software for iPhone and iPad, is out. The new software packs in a bunch of new security and privacy features you’ve probably already heard about. Here’s what you need to do to take advantage of the new settings and lock down your device.

1. Turn on USB Restricted Mode to make hacking more difficult

[]

This difficult-to-find new feature prevents any accessories from connecting to your device — like USB cables and headphones — when your iPhone or iPad has been locked for more than an hour. That prevents police and hackers alike from using tools to bypass your lock screen passcode and get your data.

Go to SETTINGS > TOUCH ID & PASSCODE and type in your passcode. Then, scroll down and ensure that USB ACCESSORIES are not permitted on the lock screen, so make sure the setting is OFF. (On an iPhone X, check your FACE ID settings instead.)

2. Make sure automatic iOS updates are turned on

[]

Every time your iPhone or iPad updates, it comes with a slew of security patches to prevent crashes or data theft. Yet, how often do you update your phone? Most don’t bother unless it’s a major update. Now, iOS 12 will update your device behind the scenes, saving you downtime. Just make sure you switch it on.

Go to SETTINGS > GENERAL > SOFTWARE UPDATE and turn on automatic updates.

3. Set a stronger device passcode

[]

iOS has gotten better in recent years with passcodes. For years, it was a four-digit code by default, and now it’s six-digits. That makes it far more difficult to run through every combination — known as brute-forcing.

But did you know that you can set a number-only code of any length? Eight-digits, 12 — even more — and it keeps the number keypad on the lock screen so you don’t have to fiddle around with the keyboard.

Go to SETTINGS > TOUCH ID & PASSCODE and enter your passcode. Then, go to CHANGE PASSWORD and, from the options, set a CUSTOM NUMERIC CODE.

4. Now, switch on two-factor authentication

[]

Two-factor is one of the best ways to keep your account safe. If someone steals your password, they still need your phone to break into your account. For years, two-factor has been cumbersome and annoying. Now, iOS 12 has a new feature that auto-fills the code, so it takes the frustration step out of the equation — so you have no excuse.

You may be asked to switch on two-factor when you set up your phone. You can also go to SETTINGS and tap your name, then go to PASSWORD & SECURITY. Just tap TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION and follow the prompts.

5. While you’re here… change your reused passwords

[]

iOS 12’s password manager has a new feature: password auditing. If it finds you’ve used the same password on multiple sites, it will warn you and advise you to change those passwords. It prevents password reuse attacks (known as “credential stuffing“) that hackers use to break into multiple sites and services using the same username and password.

Go to SETTINGS > PASSWORDS & ACCOUNTS > WEBSITE & APP PASSWORDS and enter your passcode. You’ll see a small warning symbol next to each account that recognizes a reused password. One tap of the CHANGE PASSWORD ON WEBSITE button and you’re done.

[Cybersecurity 101 - TechCrunch]

question: What does the text say about Apple's new security settings?

answer: In Apple's latest mobile software, new security and privacy features have been added. The USB Restricted Mode prevents accessories from accessing the device once it has been locked for more than one hour. This prevents other tools from bypassing the lock screen. The software update has improved account security by enhancing its two-factor authentication. Another new feature is "password auditing" which warns the user about using the same password on multiple sites from the password manager.


text:
26 Sep 2012 by Simon Thomas

[Nokia Lumia 920]

When Nokia unveiled the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 earlier this month both smartphones were listed as supporting Bluetooth 3.1, not Bluetooth 4.0. However, it looks like Nokia is now going to include support for the latest version of Bluetooth in the Windows smartphones.

WMPowerUser spotted that the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 have appeared as Bluetooth 4.0 certified devices over at Bluetooth.org. That opens up the potential for the smartphones to support new low-power Bluetooth accessories , which wouldn't have been possible had they only supported Bluetooth 3.1.

The Nokia Lumia 920 (pictured above) and the Lumia 820 are Nokia's first Windows Phone 8 smartphones which are due to launch in the 4th quarter of this year. Sadly , we still don't have any more precise details on their launch but they could land as early as October.

One of the most interesting things about the Lumia 920 is that it supports 4G LTE and will be one of the first smartphones to launch on EE's 4G LTE network in the UK. While the Lumia 820 is a more affordable Windows mobile that should offer a good alternative to mid-range Android handsets.

3G will be reviewing the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 as soon as we can get our hands on the mobiles and we'll also bring you all the latest news about Nokia's Windows Phone 8 smartphones when we get fresh information.

question: What are Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820?

answer: Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 are new smartphones (it's 2012).

question: Which Bluetooth do Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 support?

answer: Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 both support Bluetooth 3.1, not Bluetooth 4.0.

question: Which mobile network technology does Nokia Lumia 920 support?

answer: The Lumia 920 supports 4G LTE.

question: why is it good that Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 have appeared as Bluetooth 4.0 certified devices over at Bluetooth.org?

answer: That's good because it opens up the potential for them to support new low-power Bluetooth accessories.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: When Nokia unveiled smartphones the Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 in 2012., they both supported Bluetooth 3.1, not Bluetooth 4.0. but Nokia planned to include support for Bluetooth 4.0. The Lumia 920 supported 4G LTE.


text:
There are times when I think about how Paul Tibbets did it.  The man who flew the *Enola Gay* toward Hiroshima must have thought on what he was about to do.  Did pulling the lever to open the bomb doors take him more than once?  Did his hands shake?  After all, he would end the war.  More lives would be saved if many died sooner rather than later.  I have not read interviews, no more than a short biographical paragraph containing an anecdote on how his wife thought the physicists in the Manhattan Project were plumbers.  I am afraid I will be disturbed by what I find.  Times were different then, maybe dehumanizing propaganda made it easier for him.  Maybe he rested soundly knowing he had defeated evil.  That is a luxury one does not have in civil war.

I marched into the lobby with the case in hand.  It was a bulky thing, not like a normal briefcase that one swings about while strutting to work.  I held it out from my body.  When starting this assignment my shoulder would ache from carrying it but after these few months I was used to it.  The ache of my arm blurred into the routine.  Pick up the case, ride the transport, ignore the randomly chosen route, go through security and deliver the case, then wait to return it.  That’s just how this will go, like every other day of the past few months.  Eyes open and scanning the lobby, back straight, chin up.  The leather of my shined shoes squeaking as I stepped up to the security checkpoint.

“Lieutenant Palmer for Office 51.” I said, holding my badge forward.

The man behind the desk acknowledged my clearance.  I handed the case to him and he placed it to the side of the scanner.  The case was never scanned, never opened by anyone but the men in Office 51 and the general I took it back to.  I stepped into the scanner and the man behind the desk could see everything; the medals on my uniform, the writing on the to-do list in my pocket, the scar tissue going from the small of my back deep toward my spine from shrapnel, and the dead man switch surgically integrated into my left.  If I was killed or activated the switch the case would be destroyed along with its contents and anyone who may have hijacked it.  The war between Earth and the Seceded Colonies was in full swing.  There were many colony sympathizers and agents that had come to Earth before the civilian traffic was cut off.  Riots, sabotage and assassinations sprouted in the cities like weeds through the cracks of asphalt.  Security was tight.

“You’re clear Lieutenant.”

I stepped through the other side of the scanner and grasped the case firmly, lifting it up from the table and balancing the awkward load.  Eyes forward and chin up, I marched down my usual path away from the main elevators to the back of the building where two men guarded a secluded door with a 51 written on it in humble white paint.  One man nodded to me and opened the door.  I stepped through to the elevator behind it.  After entering a combination of codes into the keypad on the far wall of the elevator began its long lurching ride down into the bunker below the building, Office 51.  My fingertips itched when the keypad had taken my DNA sample.

There were no cameras in the elevator.  They didn’t want records of what came in and out of here.  Not much time.  I quickly dropped the case on the floor, threw off my cap and tore off the tight and starched uniform coat.

*Stop shaking, you knew there was no turning back.*

I had opened the case earlier on the drive over to place the items inside, in the secluded passenger section of the transport.  After a breath and a very quick prayer I pressed my thumb to the reader on top of the case.  They had complete confidence in me.  I had reason to hate the colonies; my parents were killed in the riots leading up to the war.  Decorated, wounded in combat, comrades lost.  My loyalty was without question.  But I couldn’t continue to ignore what was happening in Office 51.

It took me too long to catch on to what they were doing.  I am no physicist, but overtime I began to piece together snippets of conversation I shouldn’t have overheard and documents that I shouldn’t have seen out of the corner of my eye.  They printed things that were so sensitive no computer’s security could be trusted.  Inside Office 51 they were making a doomsday weapon, a planet-buster.  The war was going so poorly that the Earth regime would hold the lives of tens of billions hostage, after making an example of the Colonies’ capital first.  I could not allow it, not more mass murder.  I pulled out the pistol I had stashed earlier in the case and chambered a round.  My fingers felt numb.

The elevator chimed and the door slid open, slowly.  Every day for the last few months it had seemed to open more quickly.  Too many heartbeats filled the gap of time.  A guard was posted by the elevator, the same spot every day.  Cameron was standing there today.  The slide of my pistol rotated back and then forward, soundlessly expelling a smoking shell and replacing it.  I marched out of the elevator.  A door around the corner was cracked open, men were laughing inside.  I kicked the case into the small room where the physicists were working and raced back to the elevator.  Crouching in the corner I tapped out the sequence on my thumb to activate the switch.  Pointer, middle, pointer, ring finger.

title: En Masse (scifi) Feedback greatly appreciated

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: Lieutenant Palmer

question: What does the narrator do to the guard, Cameron?

answer: He shoots Cameron

question: Why does the narrator turn against his superiors?

answer: He learns that they are making a planet-destroying weapon, and he feels that that is morally wrong

question: Why are there no cameras in the elevator?

answer: The administrators don't want any records of what enters or leaves the facility

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Lieutenant Palmer is transporting a briefcase to Office 51. He has recently learned that the office is working to create a planet-destroying weapon to use against colonies which have rebelled against Earth. Believing this to be morally wrong, he kills the guard at Office 51, leaves the briefcase there, and then activates his dead man's switch, causing the briefcase to explode.


text:
At this point, you’ve probably heard that following a regular meditation practice is good for your mental health. You’ve also probably heard that embracing mindfulness is, again, good for you. But it's a little harder to pin down the difference between mindfulness and meditation, or to know which one you should pour your precious free time into, because hey, 10 minutes a day can be hard to come by when you have a billion other responsibilities on your to-do list. Luckily, there's no need to choose between the two, because according to an expert, they're actually closely related.

In an interview with Elite Daily, Pax Tandon, a mindfulness expert and author of the book _Mindfulness Matters: A Guide to Mastering Your Life_, shares her insight on some of the key differences between mindfulness and meditation, as well as some tips for how you can stick to a consistent routine that works for your lifestyle.

Basically, according to Tandon, meditation is a larger category that _includes_ mindfulness. "They are similar in that they are both forms of contemplation, awareness, or reflection," she tells Elite Daily. "One, meditation, is a general term. The other, mindfulness, is more specifically related to awareness of the present moment." But meditation, as a large category, she says, can also include mantra meditation (wherein you repeat a word or phrase that helps you feel centered), Vipassana meditation (several days of silent reflection), and other versions of the practice. Mindfulness, on the other hand, is always immediate.

Now, if you've ever sat down and tried to meditate, you've probably realized that it's almost impossible a lot of the time to sit still for even five minutes without mentally planning your grocery trip or speculating about the new episode of _Westworld_.

But if you're having trouble sticking with meditation, Tandon says you may be taking it too seriously.

According to the mindfulness expert, some of the pressures that many people place on "successfully meditating" may be holding them back. But instead of getting frustrated when you aren't seeing immediate results, or assuming you aren't the kind of person who should meditate, remember that meditation really is for _anyone_. “These practices aren't a luxury just for those who live chill, hippie lives and meditate all day," Tandon tells Elite Daily. "The busier you are, the more you need mindfulness and other forms of meditation.”

If you're a beginner, Tandon recommends starting with a meditation app. As a complete novice myself, I found that the app Headspace was great for guiding me through the basics of meditation gently and effectively. Also, I could listen to that narrator's dreamy voice _forever_.

As for the matter of fitting meditation into your day, Tandon says it could be helpful to combine the practice with another activity in your everyday routine, which might even make it more effective, too. "Link the practice to an instrumental task, like brushing your teeth, so it quickly becomes habit," she tells Elite Daily. "For example, practice every day just after brushing your teeth. Soon, your brain will link the two activities and you'll automatically head over to your meditation cushion right after brushing your teeth."

If you've already dabbled in meditation before, though, and you're looking to strengthen your routine, the mindfulness expert suggests finding a meditation coach at a nearby university or in your local area. While an introductory source like an app or a YouTube video is a great way to get started, exclusively solo practice won't make your meditation habit grow deeper the way joining a mindfulness group will, Tandon says. "There is no substitute for practicing with other human beings," she tells Elite Daily.

While meditation may be a practice you add to your routine first thing in the morning or at night before you go to sleep, you can easily find moments of mindfulness throughout the day.

Pay attention to the sounds and smells around you as you walk to work in the morning, and really savor that perfectly sweet watermelon slice you just grabbed. At its essence, Tandon explains, "mindfulness is a non-judgmental awareness of the present moment," so when you think about it that way, you can _always_ find time for the practice.

According to Tandon, there isn't really a wrong or right way to practice mindfulness or meditation; the most important thing, she says, is to not see it as just another step on your to-do list that you only do in an attempt to make the rest of your day more productive. "These practices are meant to be a way of life," she tells Elite Daily. Treat them as such, and pretty soon, you'll wonder why you hadn't started practicing sooner.

question: What tips does the article suggest for strengthening one's mindfulness and meditation practice?

answer: Tandon notes that meditation isn't just for hippies, the busier you are, the more you need mindfulness and other forms of meditation. They suggest starting with a meditation app. They also suggest combining meditation practice with another activity in your everyday routine, which might make it more effective, like tooth brushing. If you meditate everyday immediately after brushing your teeth, the habit will be triggered whenever you brush your teeth. They suggest finding a meditation coach in your local area because the practice grows much stronger when cultivated with other people. They recommend finding moments of mindfulness throughout your day, which can be as simple as paying attention to the sounds and smells around you as you walk to work in the morning, and really savoring that perfectly sweet watermelon slice. At its essence, "mindfulness is a non-judgemental awareness of the present moment. Finally, they note that you should approach mindfulness and meditation as a way of life.


text:
_THE ROOKIE_ or _'_The Rookie (Red Sox Locker Room) _'_ is a 1957 painting by American artist Norman Rockwell, painted for the March 2, 1957, cover of _The Saturday Evening Post_ magazine.[1]

The painting depicts several Boston Red Sox baseball players in a locker room, joined by an apparent new player who is dressed in street clothes and carrying a suitcase, along with his baseball glove and baseball bat. The painting was sold in a 2014 auction for over twenty million dollars.[2]

Creation

Rockwell wanted to create a spring training-themed cover for _The Saturday Evening Post_, and in August 1956 three Red Sox players (Frank Sullivan, Jackie Jensen, and Sammy White) drove to his studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to pose for reference photographs.[3] Ted Williams and Billy Goodman are depicted in the painting but did not make the studio trip, so Rockwell used other images of them.[4][5] Rockwell selected a high school student, Sherman Safford from nearby Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to pose for reference photos of the rookie baseball player.[6] Inspiration for the rookie player may have been Mickey McDermott, who joined the Red Sox in 1948 and was featured in a photograph in _Life_ magazine.[7] Rockwell visited Sarasota, Florida, and took photographs of the actual Red Sox spring training locker room at Payne Park.[8][9]

Composition

The painting features five members of the 1956 Boston Red Sox,[10][11] who were also with the team in 1957 when the painting appeared on the cover of _The Saturday Evening Post_;

-   outfielder Ted Williams, standing in the center of the image
-   outfielder Jackie Jensen, tying his shoe and seated in front of Williams
-   pitcher Frank Sullivan, seated to the left of Jensen (the '8' of Sullivan's uniform number 18 is clearly seen)
-   catcher Sammy White, seated at far left, wearing his catcher's mitt
-   infielder Billy Goodman, standing at far right, with his hand covering his mouth

Additionally featured in the painting are the eponymous rookie, standing between Williams and Goodman, and a fictitious player standing at far left whom Rockwell called “John J. Anonymous,”[12] and was based on reference photos of Rockwell's studio assistant Louie Lamone.[13] With the death of Frank Sullivan in January 2016, none of the featured Red Sox players are still alive.

2014 auction

The painting was sold at auction in May 2014 by Christie's for $22,565,000, including the buyer's premium.[14] A few weeks before being auctioned, it was publicly displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[15] The painting had previously been sold in 1986 for $600,000.[16]

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title: The Rookie (painting)

question: Who is Norman Rockwell and what did he paint for The Saturday Evening Post on March 2, 1957?

answer: Norman Rockwell is an American artist. He painted The Rookie (Red Sox Locker Room).

question: How much did the painting sell for at auction in 2014?

answer: $22,565,000

question: Who are the five members of the 1956 Red Sox team featured in the painting?

answer:
- Ted Williams - outfielder
- Jackie Jensen - outfielder
- Frank Sullivan - pitcher
- Sammy White - catcher
- Billy Goodman - infielder

question: Who was the "rookie" in Norman Rockwell's painting?

answer: The rookie in Rockwell's painting was fictitious. He got high school student, Sherman Safford from nearby Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to pose for reference photos of the rookie baseball player.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The Rookie is an iconic painting of a professional baseball locker room scene by American artist Normal Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post on March 2, 1957. The painting, which sold at auction for a staggering $22,565,000, depicts the arrival of a rookie at the Boston Red Sox locker room. It features five actual players from the Red Sox team: Frank Sullivan (pitcher), Sammy White (catcher), Billy Goodman (infielder), Jackie Jensen (outfielder), and Ted Williams (outfielder). The "rookie" in the painting was actually just a high school student, Sherman Safford.