text:
THE LYELL READERSHIP IN BIBLIOGRAPHY is an endowed annual lecture series given at Oxford University. Instituted in 1952 by a bequest from the solicitor, book collector and bibliographer James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell (1871–1948),1 the series has continued down to the present day.[1] Together with the Panizzi Lectures at the British Library and the Sandars Lectures at Cambridge University, it is considered one of the major British bibliographical lecture series.[2]

Lectures

-   1952–1953 Neil Ripley Ker: English Manuscripts in the Century after the Norman Conquest
-   1954–1955 Walter Wilson Greg: Some Aspects and Problems of London Publishing between 1550 and 1650
-   1956–1957 Stanley Arthur Morison: Aspects of Authority and Freedom in Relation to Greco–Latin Script, Inscription, and Type
-   1959–1960 Fredson T. Bowers: Bibliography and Textual Criticism
-   1960–1961 Henry Graham Pollard: The Medieval Book Trade in Oxford
-   1961–1962 Philip Hofer: The Artist and the Book in France
-   1962–1963 A.N.L. Munby: Three Nineteenth-Century Collectors of Manuscripts
-   1963–1964 Jacques Guignard: L'Art de le Reliure en France et l'Action des Bibliophiles: Quelques Aspects de la Question
-   1964–1965 William Beattie: Some Aspects of the History of the Advocates' Library
-   1965–1966 Simon Harcourt Nowell-Smith: International Copyright Law and the Publisher in the Reign of Queen Victoria
-   1966–1967 Anthony Ian Doyle: Some English Scribes and Scriptoria of the Later Middle Ages
-   1967–1968 Harry Graham Carter: A View of Early Typography up to about 1600
-   1968–1969 : The Labours of Hercules: Some Observations on the History of Erasmus's _Opera Omnia_
-   1969–1970 William Burton Todd: Scholarly Texts: Variable Techniques and Designs
-   1970–1971 Otto Ernst Pächt: The Art of Drawing within the Realm of Medieval Illumination
-   1971–1972 : The Bibliography of Early Printing in the Low Countries between 1767 and 1874
-   1972–1973 André Masson: Le Catalogue Figuratif: A Pictorial Guide to the Contents of European Libraries from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century
-   1973–1974 Alan W. Tyson: Beethoven: Studies in the Genesis of his Music 1803–9
-   1974–1975 T.A.M. Bishop: The Script of Corbie
-   1975–1976 David F. Foxon: Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade
-   1976–1977 T. Julian Brown: The Insular System of Scripts, c.600–c.850
-   1977–1978 Mme Jeanne Veyrin-Forrer: La Famille Fournier et la Fonderie Typographique en France au XVIIIe Siècle
-   1978–1979 Howard Millar Nixon: English Decorated Bookbindings
-   1979–1980 Monsignor José Ruysschaert: Recherches Vaticanes sur la Miniature Italienne du Quinzième Siecle
-   1980–1981 Ian Gilbert Philip: The Bodleian Library in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
-   1981–1982 Berthold Wolpe: The Quest for Beauchesne: Contributions to the History of Elizabethan Calligraphy and Print-Making
-   1982–1983 Jonathan J.G. Alexander: Creation and Transmission: Methods of Work of Manuscript Illuminators in the Middle Ages
-   1983–1984 Robert Shackleton: The Bibliographical History of Montesquieu
-   1984–1985 Gordon Norton Ray: The Art Deco Book in France
-   1985–1986 Edwin Wolf: Books, Bookmen, and Booksellers in Colonial Philadelphia
-   1986–1987 Mary Pollard: Dublin Trade in Books 1550 to 1800
-   1987–1988 D.F. McKenzie: Bibliography and History: Seventeenth-Century England
-   1988–1989 Donald H. Reiman: The Study of Modern Manuscripts: Public, Confidential, and Private
-   1989–1990 Elizabeth L. Eisenstein: Grub Street Abroad: Aspects of the French Cosmopolitan Press from the Age of Louis XIV to the French Revolution
-   1990–1991 A.R.A. Hobson: Two Renaissance Book-Collectors: Jean Grolier and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Their Libraries and Bookbindings
-   1991–1992 R.H. Rouse: Book-Producers and Pook-Production in Paris: Family, Shop, and Neighbourhood on the Rue Neuve Notre-Dame, 1200–1500
-   1992–1993 Bernhard Fabian: English Authors and German Publishers in the Eighteenth Century
-   1993–1994 Joseph Burney Trapp: Illustrations of Petrarch from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century
-   1994–1995 Henri-Jean Martin: Du Manuscrit au Livre Imprimé: Mise en Page et Mise en Texte des Textes Littéraires Français de la Fin due XVe Siècle au Milieu du XVIIe Siècle
-   1995–1996 Peter Beal: In Praise of Scribes: Manuscripts and Their Makers in Seventeenth-Century England
-   1996–1997 Robert Darnton: Policing Literature in Eighteenth-Century Paris
-   1998–1999 Malcolm B. Parkes: Their Hands before Our Eyes: A Closer Look at Scribes
-   1999–2000 David McKitterick: Set in Print: The Fortunes of an Idea, c.1450–1800
-   2000–2001 Rodney Malcolm Thomson: Books and Learning in Twelfth-Century England: The Ending of 'Alter Orbis'
-   2001–2002 Bruce Bryning Redford: Designing the Life of Johnson
-   2002–2003 Nigel G. Wilson: The World of Books in Byzantium
-   2003–2004 Kathleen L. Scott: Suppleatur per Ymaginacionem: Exceptional Images in Later Medieval English Manuscripts
-   2004–2005 : Literary Life and Book-Market in Germany under the Swastika 1933–1945
-   2005–2006 Leslie Howsam: Historical Knowledge and British Publishers, 1850–1950: Discipline and Narrative
-   2006–2007 Mirella Ferrari: The Scriptorium and Library of Bobbio
-   2007–2008 Kristian Jensen: Collecting Incunabula: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Market — Rediscovering and Re-Creating the Earliest Printed Books in the Eighteenth Century
-   2008–2009 Christopher F.R. de Hamel: Fragments in Book Bindings
-   2009–2010 Ian Maclean: The Business of Scholarship: The Trade in Latin Books in the Age of Confessions, 1560–1630
-   2010–2011 David Parker: Describing the New Testament
-   2011–2012 Lukas Erne: Shakespeare and the Book Trade
-   2012–2013 Richard Beadle: Late Medieval English Autograph Writings and Their Uses
-   2013–2014 H.R. Woudhuysen: 'Almost Identical': Copying Books in England, 1600–1900
-   2014–2015 Michael Suarez, : The Reach of Bibliography
-   2015–2016 Teresa Webber: Public Reading and its Books: Monastic Ideals and Practice in England c. 1000–c. 1300
-   2016–2017 Paul Nelles: The Vatican Library in the Counter-Reformation[3]
-   2017–2018 David Pearson: Book Ownership in Stuart England
-   2018–2019 Richard Sharpe: Libraries and Books in Medieval England: The Role of Libraries in a Changing Book Economy

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title: Lyell Lectures

question: What is the Lyell Readership in Bibliography?

answer: An endowed annual lecture series.

question: What is meant by "endowed"?

answer: The article does not elaborate.

question: At which university does the series occur?

answer: Oxford University.

question: When was the series instituted?

answer: 1952.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Lyell Readership in Bibliography is an endowed annual lecture series endowed annual lecture series. It began in 1952 by the bequest of James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell. Over the years, scores of distinguished scholars have given lectures at the college.


split: train

text:
_ANACITHARA OSUMIENSIS_ is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Horaiclavidae.[1]

R.N. Kilburn disputed in 1994 that _Mangilia osumiensis_ should belong to the genus _Anacithara_, as it shows features that are unknown in _Anacithara_, such as two vestigial folds on the inner lip.[2]

Description

The length of the dark white, fusiform shell attains 4.5 mm, its diameter 2 mm. The shell contains 7 whorls and is distinctly spirally striated. The aperture is oblong. The sinus is very short. The wide siphonal canal is curved.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off Japan

[1] WoRMS (2015). Anacithara osumiensis (G. B. Sowerby III, 1913). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=432957 on 2016-12-22

[2] Kilburn, R. N. “Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 7. Subfamily Crassispirinae, section 2.” Annals of the Natal Museum 35 (1994) p. 179

title: Anacithara osumiensis

question: What family does Anacithara Osumiensis belong to?

answer: Anacithara Osumiensis belongs to the family Horaiclavidae.

question: What genus did R.N. Kilburn believe Mangilia Osumiensis should belong to?

answer: R.N. Kilburn believed that Mangilia Osumiensis should belong to the genus Anacithara.

question: How many whorls does the shell of Anacithara Osumiensis have?

answer: Anacithara Osumiensis' shell has 7 whorls.

question: Where can Anacithara Osumiensis be found?

answer: Anacithara Osumiensis can be found off the coast of Japan.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Anacithara Osumiensis is a species of sea snail. It was originally mis-categorized as Mangilia Osumiensis, which was corrected by R.N. Kilburn. This sea snail occurs off of the coast of Japan.


text:
_TINGMIATORNIS_ (meaning “bird that flies”) is a genus of flighted and possibly diving ornithurine bird from the High Arctic of Canada. The genus contains a single species, _T. ARCTICA_, described in 2016, which lived during the Turonian epoch of the Cretaceous.[1]

Description

[Referred humerus] Given the small number of bones that are referrable to _Tingmiatornis_, it is difficult to infer much about the animal. However, the thickness of the cortical bone (on average, ) and the relative length of the humerus suggest that it was apparently a flighted bird that also likely was capable of diving, similar to the possible hesperornithine _Pasquiaornis_. _Tingmiatornis_ can be differentiated from the latter by numerous traits including larger size, a more globe-shaped dorsal condyle on the humerus, an olecranon process of the ulna that does not project outward as strongly, as well as a smaller bicipital tubercle of the ulna.[2]

_Tingmiatornis_ also differs from _Ichthyornis_ in the following ways: the head of the humerus is more rounded and projects further downwards; the deltopectoral crest of the humerus is narrower and curves slightly forwards; the secondary pneumotricipital fossa of the humerus is deeper; and the expansion of the humerus known as the bicipital crest is longer, with a slightly convex bottom edge that transitions smoothly into the rest of the humerus rather than being hatchet-shaped.[3]

Discovery and naming

The remains of _Tingmiatornis_ were found on Axel Heiberg Island in the High Arctic of Nunavut, Canada, in an as-of-yet unnamed -thick layer of Turonian rock between the Kanguk Formation and the Strand Fiord Formation. Radiometric dating places the age of these rocks at 92 Mya.[4] The type specimen consists of a left humerus labelled with the specimen number NUFV 1960, kept in the Nunavut Fossil Vertebrate Collection of the Canadian Museum of Nature. Other specimens referred to _Tingmiatornis_ consist of a partial humerus (UR 00.200, stored at the University of Rochester) and ulna (NUFV 1838).[5]

The genus name of _Tingmiatornis_ incorporates the Inuktitut word “Tingmiat”, which means “those that fly”. The species name, _arctica_, refers to the specimens being discovered in the High Arctic.[6]

Paleoecology

A number of other vertebrates are known alongside _Tingmiatornis_ from the locality on Axel Heiberg Island, including champsosaurs that measured in length;[7][8] fish including gar, bowfins, members of the extinct Vidalamiinae, and indeterminate teleosts;[9] turtles, including _Aurorachelys_,[10] _Borealochelys_, indeterminate eucryptodires, and indeterminate trionychids;[11] and juvenile elasmosaurs, known from teeth.[12][13] During the Turonian, the area would have been a large, freshwater to brackish bay[14] situated at approximately 71° paleolatitude.[15]

This habitat, which had a mean temperature of approximately 14 °C,[16] would have been an ideal nesting ground for _Tingmiatornis_, although no eggs or nests have been found at the locality to date. The bowfins that swam in the surrounding water, which likely measured in length, may have competed with _Tingmiatornis_ for smaller fish, if the latter was a diving bird. _Tingmiatornis_ may also have fished at night, much like the modern Western grebe; at this latitude, it would have experienced approximately two months of continuous darkness per year.[17]

During the Late Cretaceous, high latitudes appeared to have been dominated by ornithurines as opposed to the more basal enantiornithines.[18][19] This may be due to ornithurines exploiting more aquatic niches[20] or having higher growth rates in highly seasonal climates;[21] the latter likely did not apply as strongly to _Tingmiatornis_ due to the warm local climate.[22]

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title: Tingmiatornis

question: How did the Tingmiatornis become extinct?

answer: It's not mentioned in the article.

question: Why did paleontologists say that the Tingmiatornis can possibly dive?

answer: The thickness of its cortical bone and the relative length of the humerus are similar to the Pasquiaornis, which is a diving bird.

question: How does the Tingmiatornis differ from Ichthyornis?

answer: The shape of the humerus of the Tingmiatornis is different from Ichthyornis.

question: Describe the Tingmiatornis.

answer: It is a bird that lived during the Turonian epoch of the Cretaceous. It can fly and dive. Its remains were found in the High Arctic of Canada.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The remains of the species T. Arctica, a flighted and possibly diving bird that lived during the Turonian epoch of the Cretaceous, were found in the High Arctic of Canada. Not much can be inferred about it due to the small number of bones found.


text:
[simple wedding cake]
Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/489062840756731015/
Those trailblazing Romans!

They gave us law, roads, aqueducts, agricultural irrigation, plumbing and more.  But would you guess they also paved the way for what has evolved into show stopping wedding cakes, worthy of their own hit television shows?

[521ef04188f4d$!400x]

Before we even get to think about formal towering cakes and painterly cascading gum paste flowers, we have to go way back in time to the Roman Empire.  It all started with the Romans breaking wheat or barley bread over a bride’s or the couples’ head(s) and sprinkling them with the crumbs.  The symbolism of this custom ranged from the groom’s dominance over the bride to wishes for the couple’s fertility and abundance.  Medieval nuptials weren’t much more glamorous, and were consecrated with unadorned biscuits.

[elegant wedding cake]
Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/49469295877845173/
Fast forward a couple of centuries, and people had started stacking up those biscuits.  If a bride could stretch over the biscuit pile to bestow a kiss upon her new husband, the fortunes would smile upon their union.  Croquembouche (that delightful pièce montée of cream puffs, wrapped in a gossamer web of caramelized spun sugar) eventually morphed out of this tradition when some French pastry chef’s muse was working overtime.

[pictures of wedding cakes]
Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/409757266068264392/
Around the 1600’s, sugar was becoming more readily available, albeit still quite costly. Because the more refined the sugar, the whiter (and more expensive) it was, a very white wedding cake bespoke the family’s affluence, as well as the bride’s innocence.  To economize on the little bit of sugar that they could afford, the less affluent decorated their slightly-sweetened cakes with a paste fashioned out of almonds and sugar – the forerunner of fondant, which has actually been around for centuries.  Prior to the days of refrigeration, fondant was used to cover dense wedding fruit cakes as they aged (sometimes for as long as 6 months).  Upon serving, the fondant was usually discarded.  (Even now, many people love the look, but don’t actually eat it.)  Similarly, the traditional delectable and aromatic fruit and rum/wine delicacy Jamaican/Caribbean Black Cake is still covered in fondant or royal icing.

[buffalo_missouri_backyard_wedding_by_jordan_brittley_112$!400x]

Starting around the Victorian era in Europe, cakes grew increasingly elaborate and came to resemble today’s wedding cake masterpieces.  Starting with Queen Victoria’s cake and continuing with cakes for Charles and Diana, and Fergie and Andrew, Saudi and Swedish royal wedding cakes have become the stuff of legend.

More modernly, here in the American South, the groom’s cake was born.  It has since morphed into sometimes elaborately detailed nods to the groom’s interest, on a day that can seem to center around showcasing the bride.  Typically, it’s meant to serve about a quarter of the guests or fewer.  (Depending on the complexity of design and the labor involved, a groom’s cake can potentially get to be quite costly, despite being so much smaller than the wedding cake.)

[5230c318252dd$!400x]

Today, the English still favor wedding cakes made of a dense fruitcake, and covered in a thin layer of apricot jam and marzipan, then covered in fondant or royal icing for an exceptionally flawless finish.  Europeans used to opt for smaller wedding cakes, but are catching up with us in the trend of preferring a showpiece.

Contemporary wedding cake can tell guests a lot about the couple joining their lives.  It can reflect the couple’s personal style or design sensibility.  For instance, some brides are all about the “bling belts” around the tiers, and the Swarovski crystal monogram as a cake topper.  Then there are the weddings where a beautiful, simple buttercream cake with fresh organic flowers is the only thing that will do.  But no matter the design or ingredients, the newlyweds’ first act as husband and wife is a nurturing one: feeding each other wedding cake.  This custom symbolizes taking care of each other, as well as joining lives and sharing abundance with each other, and loved ones.

[Screen Shot 2014-02-25 at 11.41.26 PM]

Plain or elaborate, the wedding cake will always be a sweetly integral part of the first day of a married couple’s new life together.  On no other day of their lives will there be an occasion for so meaningful a cake.

question: What does the text say about the symbolism of wedding cakes?

answer: The symbolism of wedding cakes began with the Romans breaking bread over a bride or couple symbolizing the groom's dominance over his bride and wishes for their fertility and abundance. Centuries later, if the bride could stretch over the cake and kiss her husband, it symbolized the fortunes that would bestow on them. In the 17th century white sugar was available but expensive and a very white cake symbolized the family's affluence and bride's innocence. Contemporary cakes reflect the couple's style or design preferences and the act of feeding each other cake symbolizes taking care of each other and sharing abundance.


text:
The farmer examined his apple trees. They were withered. Rain that never came teased him now, dabbling his face. But the growing season was over. The crop had failed. Knobby little apples hung from limp branches, the acuity of their thirst long since passed as they had shriveled into hardened corpuscles of seeds, preserving their contents in resignation. Worthless fruit. It was harvest time, and there was nothing to reap.

The farmer looked towards his dilapidated house. His wife watched from the doorway, holding a dirty child. Another clung to her knees. Small voices could be heard from deeper within the sagging, musky hovel. There would be no crop this year. There was nothing to sell. There was nothing to save. His wife's face was empty. She knew. Her arms bounced the baby on her hip, but her eyes betrayed her soul. She held his gaze, and their eyes communicated what they could not say. There was neither a question nor an answer to be had. They simply knew.

The farmer turned back towards the sun-baked, dusty orchard. The sky continued to mock him, sprinkling bits of water over his impotent crop, insolently offering hints of life months past due. The farmer turned his head towards the sky and its wispy clouds. Drops moistened his lips. Even still it did not rain. This was an insincere offering, a sadistic intimation of life and happiness when there was already no hope for that. Like asking a dying man to attend a festival as his last breaths rattle through his chest.

The farmer again turned back towards his house. His wife was no longer standing in the doorway. The wind began to pick up, and the sky's final insult was not enough to keep the dust from whipping apart from the ground and stinging his eyes. He covered his face with his collar and walked stiffly towards his home. His bones ached. They had all been rationing as well as they could. They were all skinny. The children cried too much. The baby was sick. There wasn't enough milk for it.

And there was nothing to harvest. There had been no miracle. They had not been saved. He couldn't sell this withered fruit. Nor could they consume it themselves. His mind felt dead. He felt as if he were already gone. He felt so weary. He wondered if there was anything to be done. Anything at all.

He stepped inside, and his family looked at him expectantly. They knew he would provide for them. He was a father. A husband. It was his duty. He was an honorable man. He would do his duty. He looked at each of the small, grimy faces and then to his wife. Her eyes held the same tired pain as his own, he knew. There was no blame in them, no reproach. Just an aching weariness, the final expression of one who is passing beyond their capacity to endure. The look of defeat.

He sat at their table. It was a leaning artifact, an heirloom no one else had wanted. He put his head in his hands for a moment. But he straightened up. He looked again at the faces that surrounded him, looking upon him for their salvation. He told them of the rain outside. It had come at last, he said. There was still some time. In only a little while the fruit would absorb the water, the long-awaited water. They would have fresh apples, and applesauce, and fritters, and pies, and they would sell their surplus and they would eat fresh bread, and would buy a roast from the butcher and display their harvest at festival time. The rain had come, he said. Everything will be alright.

He got up from the table and walked back outside. The rain had stopped, and the wispy clouds were growing thinner as the sun returned, shining down with the warmth of Hell.

He gazed out over his orchard. There was one thing he could do, he thought. He could talk to the Seer. He picked a piece of withered fruit from the nearest tree and put it in his pocket. After pausing for another moment to look once more upon his little dried-up orchard and house, he began to walk purposefully. He walked for hours.

Dusk had begun to fall. He was walking up a hill. There was a crumbling stone tower at the top, and even in the twilight the grass around it was slightly greener than one might consider natural in the midst of such a devastating drought. Or so he supposed. It was hard to tell. He reached the top of the hill, and faced a heavy, oaken door deep-set in the masonry.

He raised the heavy brass knocker and let it fall. The impact boomed through the tower and into the air around him. There was not an immediate answer, so he lifted it again. The second impact rang like the first, and a few bats careened out of the highest portions of the tower, where stones had fallen away and left spaces for them to reside. The door swung open, but no one was there. A steep, winding stairwell led down into the bowels of the hill. The farmer peered into the gloom, and seeing nothing, began making his way down the steps.

The tower went deep. Far more of it existed beneath the earth than above it. As he descended, he thought about his family. His home. His orchard. All was lost. He imagined being the last of them to die. How he would have to bury them all, because he was the strongest. Because that would be his duty. Husband. Father. Mortician. Grave-digger. Priest.

The stairs ended. He could see nothing in the dark, save a bluish glow a short distance ahead of him. A reflecting pool. A small, robed figure hunched over it, silhouetted. The farmer approached the Seer. When he stood at his side, the Seer turned his gaze toward the farmer and faced him with white, marbled eyes which did not see light.

“Give me the apple.”

The farmer was startled, but reached his hand into his pocket. His fingers closed around the gnarled, inedible fruit. He withdrew his hand and presented it into the Seer. The Seer examined it for a moment, then threw it into the pool. The water swirled. The farmer's eyes grew wide as he beheld his house, his orchard, his family. His sagging house. His dry, dead, dust-covered orchard. His starving family. He felt the Seer's gaze upon him.

“What do you want to see?”

The farmer wanted to know if there was a way out. If there was anything to be done. If the orchard could be saved. If there was food anywhere to be found. If there was a way to avoid burying the ones he loved. The Seer reached inside his robes and pulled out a handful of indiscernible matter, which he deposited into the swirling pool.

“Here is the future.”

The scene remained the same for a moment. And then clouds began to roll in. A peal of thunder. The farmer saw his family come out of the house to watch the sky. His wife, still holding the baby, lifted her free arm towards the heavens in rapturous anticipation. The other children ran into the orchard excitedly. The sky turned dark and vital, rich and grey with moisture. The clouds swelled and burst above them. Torrents of life-giving rain drenched them and the orchard. Rivulets of water ran between the parched roots, more than enough. The apples took new shape. The orchard became heavy with ripe fruit, abundant with good apples. They had all been saved.

The farmer continued watching the pool. He watched his family pick the apples. There were so many. They were all laughing in the rain. They were happy. The rain, the rain... His wife turned and looked out of the pool into his eyes. Her face was radiant. She was again the woman he had fallen in love with. Their children danced and played in the puddles, and the fear was gone.

The farmer thanked the Seer. He had been wrong to despair. The rain would come. The rain always came. He should have known. The rain always came. He began running towards the stairs, but the Seer's voice stopped him dead.

“You mustn't go back.”

The farmer slowly turned around. He looked at the Seer with disbelieving eyes. His elation had turned to dread in an instant. He didn't move. His shoulders sagged, and he only waited for the Seer to speak again. The Seer beckoned towards the pool.

“They will only live so long as you watch them from here. If you go back, they will die. They will shrivel into dust. And then you will bury them with your own wasting hands.”

title: "Apples" - A short story I wrote a couple of years ago while in the depths of personal grief. I just re-read it and was surprised at how allegorical it was, because I hadn't really intended it to be. I'm curious how it strikes other people.

question: Why is the farmer desperate?

answer: Because it is harvest time, and there is no apple to reap due to drought. He and his family will die if he does not find a solution.

question: What is the baby sick from?

answer: It is not stated, but the baby might be suffering from malnutrition.

question: Is the farmer a virtuous person?

answer: It seems he is. He does his best to fulfill his duty to provide for his family.

question: Why won't the farmer go back to his family?

answer: It is not stated he won't, but it is implied. The Seer tells the farmer that his family will only live so long as he watches them from there. If he goes back, they will die.

question: Write a ~11 sentence summary.

answer: The farmer is desperate because there is no apple to reap as they are withered due to drought. He and his family will die if he does not find a solution. He will have to bury them all because he will be the last of them to die since he is the strongest. He decides to go and see the Seer and ask him if there is anything that can be done.  The Seer reached inside his robes and pulled out a handful of indiscernible matter, and says 'Here is the future'. Then the rain starts to fall, and the orchard becomes heavy with ripe fruit, abundant with good apples. The farmer watches his family picks the apples. They are all saved. The farmer thanks the Seer and moves to leave, but the Seer tells him that he must not go back. His family will only live so long as he watches them from there. If he goes back, they will die.


text:
KEVIN RICKS (born 1960) is a convicted sexual predator who targeted mostly high-school age boys from at least the late 1970s until his arrest in 2010.

1970s

Ricks's first known victim was targeted at a summer camp in North Carolina in 1978. This victim, a ten-year-old boy, was attending Camp Holiday Trails, at which Ricks was a counselor. It is also at this summer camps where Ricks met his wife, who would accompany him on his travels around Japan and the United States without discovering Ricks's activities with the boys he mentored.

1980s

After graduating, Ricks worked at four different private schools in the southeastern United States from 1983 to 1987. The private schools at which he was employed include Brandon Hall School in Atlanta, Georgia, where Ricks served in a position that required him to live in the dormitory hall with students. In 1988, Ricks moved to Kyushu, Japan, to teach English in the town of Oguni. While living in Oguni, he was popular with the local students and routinely held gatherings with his students in his private room.

1990s

In December 1992, Ricks's new wife, Abby Ricks, joined him in Aso City, Japan. One victim to come forward, Takashi Kajiwara, says that in 1994, Ricks took him to the United States for a cross country road trip. On this road trip, Kajiwara says that Ricks offered him shots of tequila and he drank until he passed out. Video tapes and photographs of Ricks undressing and molesting Kajiwara were recovered by police. Ricks and his wife left Japan in 1995 after shoplifting accusations made the school officials decide to let his contract lapse.

Ricks taught for one year on a temporary teaching license in North Carolina, and immediately afterwards took a job in Danville, Virginia, even though he did not have a license to teach in that state. Also during this time, Ricks entered into a foreign exchange program, Education First, and hosted young students from all over the world in his home. A Danish student who was hosted by Ricks, Uffe Emborg, says that after drinking with Ricks one night, he discovered nude photographs of himself by Ricks's bedside table. Out of fear, Emborg did not report this to the police, and instead burned the photographs with Ricks in the backyard. Ricks and his wife left Danville after Ricks was fired from Education First after being accused of stealing $2,000 from a student's bank account.

2000s

In 2000, Ricks received a three-year teaching license for the state of Maryland and began teaching English at Colonel Richardson High School in Caroline County. While teaching at Colonel Richardson, Ricks was the head of a group called “Students Helping Other People”. Parents of one group member accused him of stalking, and brought the issue to the school board, who then brought it to Child Protective Services. The school officials allowed Ricks's teaching contract to expire without renewal, referring to a licensing technicality. However, private discussions pointed to the real reason being the accusations of inappropriate behavior against Ricks.

Even after he stopped teaching in Caroline County, Ricks continued to host foreign exchange students, this time with American Scandinavian Student Exchange. After a German exchange student was removed from Ricks's home during the 2003-04 school year, a restraining order was filed against Ricks by the student, who alleged that Ricks frequently called and offered gifts. Although the restraining order was not granted, ASSE fired Ricks.

In 2006, parents of a 13-year-old boy reported that Ricks asked their son to sit on his lap and play video games, although a police investigation resulted in no charges. In the spring of 2007, Ricks was convicted of felony theft. After appealing the conviction, he left to look for a new job.

In 2007, shortly before he was again convicted and spent a weekend in jail, Ricks was hired in Manassas, Virginia. On his application, Ricks stated that he had never been arrested or convicted.

In 2008, Ricks was tutoring a boy in Fauquier County, Virginia, and the boy's parents went to the school with a series of Myspace messages between the boy and Ricks, as well as allegations that Ricks was stalking the boy and his friend, and was a predator. A year after the accusations of stalking, the Manassas school district recommended Ricks for a full five-year teaching permit, despite his ineligibility. This recommendation was denied by the Virginia Department of Education.

The same year he was denied for his teaching license, Ricks molested one of his sixteen-year-old former students during winter break. He would later recount the event in his journals, referring to it as a romantic occasion.

Arrest

On February 18, 2010, Ricks was arrested after reports of inappropriate Facebook messages between the boy and Ricks were received. When his home in Federalsburg, Maryland, was searched by police, dozens of handwritten journals were discovered that detailed more than three decades of Ricks's serial sexual abuse. In addition to the journals, police also recovered numerous pieces of video and photographic evidence of the abuse of many young boys by Ricks.

Conviction

On March 3, 2011, Ricks pleaded guilty to seven charges of producing and possessing child pornography. The U.S. District Court of Alexandria, Virginia, sought the plea to get a long sentence for Ricks and to save the victims the stress of having to testify at a public trial. Over a dozen teenagers had come forward to say that they had been molested or targeted by Ricks. The charges, resulting in a sentence of around twenty-five years, are mostly related to his offenses in Virginia and Maryland, as well as the trips to the West Coast that Ricks invited several students on.

title: Kevin Ricks

question: What does the text say about Kevin Ricks?

answer: Kevin Ricks is a convicted sexual predator who targeted mostly high-school-age boys.

question: What does the text say about his wife?

question: What does the text say about Ricks' arrest?

answer: Ricks was arrested after reports of inappropriate Facebook messages between a boy and him. When his home was searched by the police, dozens of handwritten journals, photographs, and videos were discovered that detailed more than three decades of his serial sexual abuse.

question: What does the text say about Ricks' conviction?

answer: Rick pleaded guilty to seven charges of producing and possessing child pornography and was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.


text:
KEVIN BOLLAND (born November 6, 1959) was born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. Kevin works at their family owned business, Bolland Machine located in Chippewa Township, PA. He races the #777 DIRTcar Big Block Modified at dirt track circles in the NorthEast.

Racing career

Kevin Bolland's racing experience dates back to his childhood. Like many drivers, his first influence of racing came from his father Don, who introduced him to racing at an early age. The New Brighton, PA, native spent much of his youth driving and winning soap box derbies, which won him a trip to Akron, Ohio, Derby Downs for the world finals in 1971.[1]

In 1979 at the age of 20, Kevin competed and toured the country with the pro motocross series. In the spring of 1979 Kevin suffered a serious motorcycle accident requiring 3 surgeries and 17 months in a cast. While recovering Kevin decided to get into some sort of stock car racing, so his father, Don, contacted friends from his drag racing days. They spoke to Darrell Dean and Ernie Toth for whom Don had built big block Chevy race engines; they introduced him to Jim Cole who built chassis's in Oxford, PA. Shortly after, they ended up putting a car together with Jim Cole. The relationship produced an innovative car design, Jim built the chassis, while Don's engine shop, D&D Rebuilding Service of New Brighton, PA, (now Bolland Machine) built the engine package. The cars first race was driven by Danny Johnson, a NY D.I.R.T. track star at Syracuse’s New York State Fairgrounds in October 1981. These events would enable Kevin to make the demanding adjustment from motocross to big block modified dirt racing.[2]

The Bolland family purchased the new “Cole” built chassis and Kevin started racing his own car in the 1982 season as a rookie big block dirt modified driver. This season proved to be a banner year, and as a rookie Kevin won 7 features between Mercer Raceway Park, Lernerville Speedway, and Sharon Speedway. He won the track championship at Mercer, won Lernerville’s Invitational Event, and also captured rookie of the year for cavalcade points for western PA.[3]

From that rookie year on, Kevin and the Bolland racing team continued to achieve a venerable reputation for racing and building cars—capturing the 1985 and 2000 Tri-City Speedway track championships.[4]

In 1991 the Bolland family business was growing and Kevin’s responsibilities outside of racing were demanding more and more of his time. Bob McIltrot approached Kevin early in the year to ask if he would consider driving for his team. The opportunity afforded Kevin the time to practice his craft and perfect his driving skills. He raced for McIItrot through the 1998 season.[5]

In 1999 the Bolland's created Bol-Tech Motorsports, Inc. and purchased a new 1999 Bicknell chassis and put a team together of their own. They assigned crew members to specific jobs and challenged them to excel. Kevin’s father Don was in charge of R&D and engine program. His brother Keith crew chief, and Todd Chamberlain car preparation and chassis stats. Brother Ken and Ron Kosmal in charge of tires. Stephanie Chamberlain was in charge of event statistics. Dave Chamberlain in charge of the car’s appearance. Kevin focused on driving, chassis, suspension, and set up.[6]

Kevin has always credited his accomplishments to teamwork, doing all necessary homework, and successfully utilizing a limited budget to get the most out of a little. They innovate, focus on the team, the car, finishing races, keeping quality parts and good prevention maintenance. They also have a “don’t follow -– lead” philosophy that won them the 2002 Lernerville Speedway Track Championship and got them into the winning circle ten times in 2002 (winning 26% of their races) and finishing within the top three 56% of the time.[7]

Career highlights

-   2010 Lernerville Speedway Track Champion
-   2010 Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame's First Motorsports Inductee
-   2009 DIRTcar Northeast Western Regional Points Champion
-   2009 Weekend of May 22–24: 3 Feature Wins in a Row, including two BRP tour races
-   2009 100th Career Win [04.24.09]
-   2008 Tri-City Speedway Track Champion
-   2008 Lincoln Electric/Goss Gas Iron Man Champion
-   2008 Tri-City Speedway Track Record Holder - 18.358 seconds
-   2007 Tri-City Speedway Track Champion
-   2007 Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Champion
-   2006 Lernerville Speedway Track Champion
-   2006 Tri-City Speedway Track Champion
-   2006 Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Champion
-   2006 Lincoln Electric/Goss Gas Iron Man Champion
-   2006 Winner Lernerville/Tri-City Speedway Big Block Modified Challenge Series
-   2004 Twin State Auto Racing Club Findlay Sportsmanship Award
-   2003 Lowe's Motor Speedway Track Record Holder - 15.642 seconds
-   2003 Winner Eckerd 100 Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina
-   2002 Lernerville Speedway Track Champion
-   2000 Tri-City Speedway Track Champion
-   1985 Tri-City Speedway Track Champion
-   1982 Mercer Raceway Park Track Champion
-   1982 Western PA, Rookie of the Year with 7 Feature Wins
-   1979 Pro Motocross series
-   1971 Beaver Falls, PA, Soap Box Derby Champion

Media coverage

-   Bolling Them Over: PA’s Kevin Bolland. Pg. 50

[1] Driver profile at his Official Website; Retrieved April 27, 2008

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

title: Kevin Bolland

question: What happened to change Kevin from a motorcross to a dirt track racer?

answer: Kevin had a serious accident in 1979 and spent 17 months in a cast. While recovering he decided to try stock car racing. His father, Don, contacted friends from his drag racing days. He was introduced to Jim Cole. Cole built the chassis and Don built an engine pack. This allowed Kevin to adjust from motor cross to big block


text:
The sound of glass breaking was the last noise I can remember hearing before I woke. Silence, like I’ve never felt before. Disoriented, momentarily stunned, and a tad bit aloof, I stumbled from my folds, reaching for the light; lost in the absence of.  Faltering to the source of the crash in my ominous stupor, as I quickly perceived the reality of the situation, my head was filled with quipped puns; my clock was broken. It appears that someone had a smashing time. Everything existed as it always had, the front door remained untouched, all of the windows swinging in place. I had no reason to be concerned, accidents happen.

I strode humbly too the bathroom, pondering the events that created the scenes of my early morning. The air in my abode had a frigid taste to it. More upset by the demise of my favorite clock, rather than the cause, I slowly climbed into the shower. Steam has always soothed my conscious in times of unrest. I remembered when I bought that clock. It wasn’t too long ago; I was outside walking on a particularly frail fall afternoon. Noted for it’s rich historical architecture, I was too admonished by the building’s too notice the seemingly sedentary older lady selling off the treasures stowed away in her basement. I strewed inside, if not for perusing a souls life times’ collection, then for the pleasurable conversation. I entered the room, and almost as if placed perfectly in my line of sight, a clock with a pair of painted eyes, with a rusty glass panel, stared at me from across the room. I walked up to it, admiring the creators’ attention for detail. There was something familiar about those eyes. I offered her five dollars for it, and to my surprise, she nonchalantly agreed. Hearing that the house was foreclosed upon a few months after my visit, I found myself contemplating the waste of cultural architecture. I let out a jolt remembering that, and knocked over the shampoo in my haste. I forgot I was in the shower.

After fumbling into my clothes, and distastefully coordinating colors, I eventually made my way too the coffee. I took a smell of pleasant seditions, only too have the most distasteful feeling of déjà vu I’ve had in years.  Staring at the wall where my clock once hung, I can’t help but feel like I’ve done this before. I started sweeping up the glass. The eyes on the clock stare at me, almost tauntingly it seems. Like the way an autumn day passes by without a lover’s hand to hold. My mind can’t help but take me back to that day I bought the clock. Ruminating on that basement, and the quiet old lady who sold it to me. Curiosity ripped through me like an electrical current, I let my thoughts flow freely in the moment. What transpired next was a moment I was only too willing to create.

Lacking something important to do that day, I took a walk for the sake of nostalgia. I should have been looking for a new clock. Air rigid, with frost gently laden over the landscape, the old ladies house reflected a much more disingenuous aura in the heart of December.  The windows had long ago been boarded up. Weeds had grown out of control and the grass had died, I couldn’t help but wonder what lye inside still. I knew better. Trespassing wasn’t what I intended to do that day; I was just enjoying the scenery. Before my mind could tell my hands no, I was climbing into the house through a cellar window someone forgot to close.

Dampness, I thought too myself, what the fuck am I doing down here.  The smell of mold was unbecoming, the small portion of refracting light displayed a tragic story of it’s own. Time had claimed the basements history. Possessions scattered and torn, mildew stained books, and blankets lofting over long forgotten memories of a life once lived. The old lady, I thought. Why would someone move and leave all of their possessions behind?  As I leafed through a stack of old newspapers, my phone lit up, revealing an obituaries page stuck too the wall. I scanned the names and photographs on the list, until I came across a familiar face. There she was! The older lady who sold me the clock. It was her picture in black and white, staring up at me from the old newspaper. Like my fate was predetermined, I started reading her obituary. She had died on a fall day, a few months ago. I turned the page, only to see my own face. I died the same day. Before I could read my obituary, I awoke to the sound of breaking glass.

title: The Leaking Mind: ode to time.

question: What wakes the narrator up?

answer: The sound of glass breaking from his favorite clock

question: Where did the narrator get the clock?

answer: From an old lady selling her things from her basement

question: How does the narrator feel about the clock's breaking?

answer: Upset because it was his favorite clock

question: What does the narrator discover about himself?

answer: He sees that he died months ago

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator awakes to the sound of glass breaking and finds that his favorite clock has suddenly broken. He takes a shower and recalls when he first got the clock from an old lady having a yard sale in her basement. He takes a walk and goes to the lady's former house. He slips into the basement through an open window and find obituaries for both the woman and himself. He then wakes up again to the sound of glass breaking.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Huh?"

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

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

"Yes." The child smiles.

The man returns the smile.

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

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

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

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

"Why don't you?"

"I can't."

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

The man smiles again. "Something like that."

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

"Sorry, not today."

"Well, I hope you get better soon!"

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

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

question: What is the relationship between the man and the child?

answer: It is implied that the child is dead and the man is Death.

question: Whose statue were they looking at?

answer: Information not found.

question: What was the inscription on the stone?

answer: Information not found.

question: Where were they?

answer: In a cemetery.

question: Where is the child going?

answer: Not to a specific place but he is going on in death.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Death collects a child's soul from a children's graveyard. It seems like the child does not know he is dead. They see a woman, the child tries to catch her attention but the man doesn't let him do that. After they read an inscription of a statue, the man confirms to the child that he can go on but he is unable to follow.


text:
[Owen Jones]

[Image for post]

I’ve been off on holiday (I’m back tomorrow, lucky me!), during which a never-ending twitter storm continues to batter my timeline. It comes from ‘hard Remainers’: those who wish to reverse the EU referendum result either by Parliamentary vote or through a second referendum. Given the intensity and volume (we’re talking thousands of accounts emblazoned with EU flags and the word ‘saboteur’ recast as a badge of honour), you’d think that I was Nigel Farage. Rather than, say, someone who campaigned for Remain and doesn’t advocate a ‘hard’ Brexit and never has. So here’s some points of clarification to those who have decided their priority target is somehow me.

1.

    I campaigned passionately from a left-wing perspective for Remain during the referendum campaign, in rallies across the country, on television, in my Guardian articles (like here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), on social media, in YouTube videos (like here and here). I received threats of torture and violence as a consequence, which was pretty unpleasant.
2.

    A year before the referendum I wrote a column suggesting the left needed to consider the arguments for Leave because there was a left-wing critique of the EU which centres on the devastating cuts imposed across the eurozone, the treatment of Greece, and treaties and directives which institutionalise pro-market ideology. There was therefore a left-wing case for exit — or Lexit, if you will.
3.

    I came very swiftly to the view that Lexit was a fiction. Not because the critique wasn’t valid, because I stand by every word of my criticisms of the EU in its current form. There was no ‘flip flop’ (although it’s curious how hard Remainers bandy ‘flip flop’ around when their success depends on flipping the views of the electorate): I remain a left-wing critic of the current incarnation of the EU. But ‘Lexit’ didn’t exist. Britain would only exit on the terms of right-wing xenophobic populism. The benefits of the EU (like workers’ rights and action on climate change and tax avoidance) would be imperilled. The rights of migrants would be threatened. The things I didn’t like about the EU (the pro-market ideology), on the other hand, would only gain ground. Left forces, such as Podemos in Spain and ex-Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (who I campaigned with for Remain), wanted Britain to stay, and for a unified continental campaign to change the EU.
4.

    The official Leave campaigns waged a disgraceful, xenophobic, deceitful campaign. I’ve said this over and over again and in no way do I rescind from this.
5.

    The day Britain voted to leave the European Union was — and I’m sure this goes for many of the people reading this — one of the worst days of my life, a day celebrated by the most reactionary elements of British society. Not because the majority of Leave voters were all thuggish racists — which is absolutely not true: but because the minority of thuggish racists felt emboldened. I haven’t changed my view that the result was, frankly, terrible for the country.
6.

    The official Leave campaigns, prominent Leave politicians and the pro-Leave tabloid press share responsibility for the surge in hate crimes which followed the Leave vote.
7.

    Since the referendum, I’ve passionately rebutted the argument that those who voted Remain are expected to just shut up and disappear. That’s not how democracy works. Remainers — who are not a homogenous bloc (as I’ll come on to) should be vocal about their views. The country’s future belongs to both those who voted Remain and Leave, and all voters have a right to shape that future.
8.

    I’ve been particularly outspoken about the attempt to delegitimise dissent towards— or even scrutiny of — the form of Brexit on offer from the right-wing hard Brexiteers, which paints any internal opposition or criticism as somehow treasonous (like here, here, here, and here).
9.

    Even when I was, quite frankly, disillusioned with the Labour leadership, I argued in favour of their decision to vote to trigger Article 50 in order to honour the referendum result. I also argued that those who resigned had no choice but to do so, representing as they did constituencies that voted decisively for Remain.
10.

    However, I’ve repeatedly made the case that Labour should fight to stay members of the single market and the customs union. My timeline is full of people claiming that I now support a ‘hard’ Brexit, even though there’s no evidence for it. Like, none.
11.

    There is certainly an issue with a democratic deficit if we retain membership of the single market and customs union, because we will be subject to the laws and rules of EU membership but have no say over it. That was one of the most powerful arguments against leaving the EU in the first place. It’s why voting to leave is a bit of a mess. It’s an issue I’ve been trying to grapple with. Leave voters believe they would regain sovereignty: actually this would mean they end up with the caricature of the EU (completely undemocratic, imposing laws without popular consultation) the Leave campaigns painted during the referendum. Tough, some will read this and say. The economic consequences of leaving both will be disastrous, the implications for democracy are unfortunate but nothing else. Life doesn’t work like that. Badly functioning democracies fuel dissent which is then exploited by populist movements with far-reaching consequences. That’s partly why we ended up with Brexit — or indeed Trump — in the first place. So this problem has to be addressed and I don’t have an obvious answer to it.
12.

    Being members of both single market and customs’ union should remain on the table. Fine, it might not be possible to retain membership of the single market and customs’ union in the end. If that is the case, Labour have to spell out how the “maximum benefits” of both can be retained, and what at economic and political cost.
13.

    Those arguing the referendum is advisory and thus can be disregarded as beyond delusional. You can’t say the referendum was full of lies, and then say a referendum the government — and opposition — promised to honour was “advisory”. That’s now how the public saw it, whatever the technical nature of the referendum. Such an act would destabilise our democracy. How would our democratic system ever be trusted again? It would be regarded as a coup against the popular will.
14.

    Those arguing for a second referendum are perfectly entitled to do so. Again, my own view is that most Remainers accept that the referendum result should be honoured. If a second referendum hypothetically throws up a narrow Remain vote, what is to stop the Brexiteers demanding yet another referendum, and the already poisonous divisions in Britain being widened? But it’s up to those hard Remainers to make the case. That means being persuasive and having a grassroots campaign — not seeking to reverse the decision through the courts and/or Parliament — that wins over those who voted Remain, let alone Leave. Yes, Britain did have two referendums on Europe (though the referendums were not the same thing). But they were four decades apart.
15.

    Some hard Remainers show absolute no interest whatsoever in understanding why so many voted to leave the EU, showing they have absolutely no interest in understanding why they lost in the first place.
16.

    I’ve consistently and passionately argued against anti-immigration sentiment, and defended the rights of EU citizens in Britain (like here, here, here, and here). Arguing otherwise (as some have done on my timeline) is just farcical, to be perfectly honest. Labour has made it clear that it would grant EU citizens their rights from day one. Those saying Labour are throwing EU citizens under a bus are being disingenuous — and causing unnecessary fear to those who are already feeling deeply insecure. Is this not a sizeable difference between Labour and Tory Brexits, given the impact on three million people as well as their lovers, families, friends, colleagues and neighbours? If it’s being argued there’s no tangible difference between Labour and the Tories’ Brexit position, then surely the argument is the rights of EU migrants is inconsequential?) Jeremy Corbyn himself has more consistently defended migrants and refugees than almost any other politician — his first act on becoming leader was to address a pro-refugee rally. That said, the way he described EU immigration on the Marr Show was clumsy and wrong and must be avoided in future.
17.

    I believe freedom of movement across Europe — combined with firm, progressive legislation to protect workers’ rights and prevent a race to the bottom — is a good thing and should be preserved.
18.

    Hard Remainers need to learn that most of the population do not share their uncritical adulation of the European Union. Theirs is a fringe view, not shared by millions who voted Remain, let alone Leave. If they believe Remainers are all EU flag waving zealots, they are in for a rude awakening. They need to understand where people are if they are going to convince them.
19.

    I’m sorry, but the Hard Remainers online are increasingly becoming a cult, which is ironic because that’s how many of them traditionally describe the left. More and more they resemble ‘cybernats’ (who were themselves entirely unrepresentative of SNP voters). Intolerant, hectoring, obsessively repeating a mantra that doesn’t convince outside of their bubble, subjecting any who dissent from their hardline stance to repeated social media pile-ons, engaging in outright abuse and harassment, saying that people who voted Remain aren’t really Remain supporters and are heretics. Every time I tweet about anything — including LGBTQ rights, with some comparing themselves as Remainers to when gay and bisexual men were persecuted by the law — they obsessively bring it back to Brexit. Do they think they are going to persuade anyone with this sort of behaviour?
20.

    There is no question that ‘centrists’, ‘Macronists’, whatever you want to call them, are seeking to weaponise Brexit for other political purposes. I campaigned for Corbyn to become leader and voted for him twice, but I lost faith in his ability to win before the election on grounds of presentation and polling. Centrists disagreed with him politically, but relied on a pragmatic argument — that left-wing platforms would lead to electoral oblivion, whoever the leader was. When the election discredited this argument, they needed a point of principle to justify their existence. And Brexit provides that convenient point of principle.

As I’ve said, if I’m the enemy of these Hard Remainers, then I have absolutely no idea whatsoever how they believe they are going to convince the rest of the country (particularly those of them casting the electorate as backward, thick and bigoted). They need a better strategy than this. A much better strategy.

question: Who is Owen Jones?

answer: He is probably a British columnist.

question: What was Owen Jones's political stand on the EU Referendum?

answer: He campaigned and voted for Remain.

question: What is Lexit?

answer: It is a left-wing case for exit.

question: Why did Owen Jones say that Lexit is a fiction.

answer: He thinks Lexit didn’t exist and Britain would only exit on the terms of right-wing xenophobic populism.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Owen Jones campaigned for Remain and doesn’t advocate a ‘hard’ Brexit. He thinks that Britain leaving the European Union is terrible for the country.


text:
The INTERNAL GLOBUS PALLIDUS (GPI or MEDIAL GLOBUS PALLIDUS; in rodents its homologue is known as the ENTOPEDUNCULAR NUCLEUS) and the external globus pallidus (GPe) make up the globus pallidus. The GPi is one of the output nuclei of the basal ganglia (the other being the substantia nigra pars reticulata). The GABAergic neurons send their axons to the ventral anterior nucleus (VA) and the ventral lateral nucleus (VL) in the dorsal thalamus, to the centromedian complex, and to the pedunculopontine complex.[1][2]

The efferent bundle is constituted first of the ansa and lenticular fasciculus, then crosses the internal capsule as the Edinger's comb system then arrives at the laterosuperior corner of the subthalamic nucleus and constitutes the field H₂ of Forel, then H, and suddenly changes its direction to form field H₁ that goes to the inferior part of the thalamus. The distribution of axonal islands is widespread in the lateral region of the thalamus. The innervation of the central region is done by collaterals.[3]

The internal globus pallidus contains GABAergic neurons, which allow for its inhibitory function. As the GPi, along with the substantia nigra pars reticulata, forms the output of the basal ganglia, these neurons extend to the thalamus, the centromedian complex and the pedunculopontine complex.[4]

Function

[Direct and indirect striatopallidal pathways: Glutamatergic pathways are red, dopaminergic are magenta and GABAergic pathways are blue. STN: Subthalamic Nucleus SNr: Substantia Nigra pars reticulata SNc: Substantia Nigra pars compacta GPe: External globus pallidus] The GPi acts to tonically inhibit the ventral lateral nucleus and ventral anterior nucleus of the thalamus. As these two nuclei are needed for movement planning, this inhibition restricts movement initiation and prevents unwanted movements.

Direct pathway

The GPi receives inhibitory GABAergic signals from the striatum by way of striatopallidal fibres, when a movement requirement is signaled from the cerebral cortex. As the GPi is one of the direct output centers of the basal ganglia, this causes disinhibition of the thalamus, increasing overall ease of initiating and maintaining movement. As this pathway only contains one synapse (from the striatum to the internal globus pallidus), it is known as the direct pathway.[5]

The direct pathway is modulated by stimulation of the GPi by the external globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, via the indirect pathway.[6]

Clinical significance

Dysfunction of the internal globus pallidus has been correlated to Parkinson's disease,[7] Tourette syndrome,[8] and tardive dyskinesia.[9]

The internal globus pallidus is the target of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for these diseases. Deep brain stimulation sends regulated electrical pulses to the target. In patients with tardive dyskinesia treated with DBS, most people reported more than a 50% improvement in symptoms.[10] Tourette syndrome patients have also benefited from this treatment, showing over 50% improvement in tic severity (compulsive disabling motor tics are symptoms of Tourette patients).[11] The GPi is also considered a “highly effective target for neuromodulation” when using deep brain stimulation on Parkinson's disease patients.[12] There is seen to be only some involvement in Huntington's disease[13] with mostly the external globus pallidus being affected.[14]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

title: Internal globus pallidus

question: Summarize the function of the internal globus pallidus.

answer: The internal globus pallidus contains GABAergic neurons that tonically inhibits certain parts of the thalamus. These parts are the ventral lateral nucleus and ventral anterior nucleus, and they control movement planning. By inhibiting these areas, the internal globus pallidus restricts movement initiation and stops unwanted movements.

question: Summarize how the internal globus pallidus sends and receives signals.

answer: The internal globus pallidus is one of the output nuclei of the basal ganglia. The internal globus pallidus receives signals from the cerebral cortex via striatopallidal fibres. This pathway only contains one synapse and is known as the direct pathway. The GABAergic neurons within the internal globus pallidus send signals to the ventral lateral nucleus and ventral anterior nucleus of the thalamus. They also send signals to the centromedian and pedunculopontine complexes.

question: Summarize the internal globus pallidus's importance in the medical field.

answer: There is a correlation between dysfunction of the internal globus pallidus and several diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome, and tardive dyskinesia. Because of this, patients have responded well to deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation in the internal globus pallidus. Patients with tardive dyskinesia and Tourette syndrome showed over 50% improvement in some areas. Deep brain stimulation of the internal globus pallidus is shown to be highly effective in patients with Parkinson's disease, but only some involvement with those with Huntington's disease.


text:
(Note: I'm a very inexperienced writer, and this is all I have since I started writing it at 2am in the dark while I couldn't sleep. Be slightly gentle?)

I know pain. More painful than a physical pain, harder to endure than death itself at times. The notion of a love strong enough to ache for the sweet linger of shadows where he has once walked, the urge to enclose his face in my hands and touch his lips to my own, the craving of his fingertips lingering on my skin, brushing by with little idea of the intoxicating effect. The way his eyes quiver with tears at my own pain, the golden tints reflected back in his. Empty inside, lacking a piece of myself when he’s gone. The gentle embrace of his arms, keeping me safe in his towering protection, the soft eloquence of a single breath belonging to him graze my cheek. These are the things that make it harder to let go, to release him for even a second, when he wasn’t even mine to begin with, somehow lucky enough to have found a sense of ownership, but yet more of an equality, like a single being.
Love ignores ignorance, love does not care who you are. Love disregards everything else, it drives you to the edge of insanity at times, but it’s always worth it. Love isn’t just for the lucky ones. It does not, however, happen to just anyone. So if you ever get the chance to love, if you were given the opportunity, the gift of love, don’t ever throw it away. No matter what, don’t give it up, because it may never come again. The sad truth is many people who were chosen for something so beautiful don’t hold on to it, for petty, stupid reasons. Too many times I’ve seen people give away a precious gift that was probably the best thing to ever happen to them.  I just wish people would understand.

Words could not dare describe the growing pit of despair growing in my heart. The thoughts clouded my mind, pulling away the possibility of focus. I impatiently drummed my fingers, just waiting for another heart crushing event. He slid into the room wordlessly, a look of sadness replacing the smile that usually resided on his face.  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his voice breaking. I only shook my head in reply. He took me once again in his arms, drawing me back into my warm, towering safety. He released me with a soft chuckle. “What?” I asked with a hint of wistfulness behind my usual monotone.
“Nothing, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“Well, I was thinking, ‘If we aren’t accepted here, maybe we should go somewhere else’.”
“What do you mean?” I inquired. And then every hint of humor left the room with the next words that escaped his mouth.
“Run away with me.”

title: Runaways

question: What pain is worse than physical pain, worse than death?

answer: The loss of love.

question: What makes love special?

answer: Love ignores ignorance, love does not care who you are. Love disregards everything else, it drives you to the edge of insanity at times, but it’s always worth it. Love isn’t just for the lucky ones.

question: What does the protagonist miss about love?

answer: Holding her lover's face, kissing him, the feeling of his fingertips on her skin, the way his eyes quiver with tears at her pain, the embrace of his arms, his breath on her cheek, etc.

question: Where are the two hoping to be accepted into?

answer: Unclear

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: A pair of lovers are hoping to be accepted some place. While her lover is away, the protagonist reflects on love and how special it is. She lists things she loves about being in love: holding her lover's face, kissing him, the feeling of his fingertips on her skin, the way his eyes quiver with tears at her pain, the embrace of his arms, his breath on her cheek, etc. She warns readers to never let love slip away, it might not ever come back again.


text:
WILDCAT CREEK is a stream in southern St. Francois County in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1] It is a tributary of Wachita Creek.

The stream source is high on the southwest side of Wachita Mountain at and it flows south and west to its confluence with Washita Creek at .[2][3]

Wildcat Creek was so named on account of wildcats in the area.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3] _Wachita Mountain, Missouri,_ 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1980 (1986 rev.)

[4]

title: Wildcat Creek (Wachita Creek tributary)

question: Where is Wildcat Creek located?

answer: In southern St. Francois County in Missouri, United States.

question: Describe the fauna in the Wildcat Creek area.

answer: There are wildcats in the area.

question: What is Wildcat Creek's relation to Wachita Creek?

answer: Wildcat Creek is a tributary of Wachita Creek.

question: When was Wildcat Creek first discovered?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Wildcat Creek is a stream in southern St. Francois County in Missouri, United States. It is a tributary of Wachita Creek and is named for the wildcats in the area.


text:
TERRY WINTER (November 1, 1942 – December 10, 1998) was a Canadian televangelist, who hosted _The Terry Winter Show_ on Vision TV.

Unlike some other Christian televangelists, Winter took an intellectual approach to faith. He taught that Christianity is a simple faith, not a simplistic one, and that if one decides to become a Christian, one does not need to leave one's mind at the door.

Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Winter was raised in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Winter died of a brain aneurysm in Vancouver, British Columbia at age 56 in 1998. His television program continued to air in repeats for a few months, ending permanently in early 1999.

title: Terry Winter

question: What are Winter's thoughts on Christianity?

answer: Winter took an intellectual approach to faith and views Christianity as a simple faith, not a simplistic one.


text:
I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT, in some very prominent place in his mind, John McCain is in the second year of his second term as president of the United States. He certainly is president of John McCain. I don't know the source of this delusion; in no way, is the guy a leader, either of his party or his nation. His only obvious followers are Senators Huckleberry Butchmeup from South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte, the Richelieu Of Rye. I suspect it has its origins in his unsuccessful 2000 campaign against George W. Bush. No politician in my memory got better press than McCain did from the national media in those days, including some from, well, me. McCain had so much sunshine blown up his ass that his colon must have looked like Cabo San Lucas. This would have been enough to turn the head of anyone who wasn't essentially a rank opportunist, something that no fair person ever could say about John McCain.

Having already draped himself in a toga, McCain's response to the Obama administration has been both petulant and imperious, a small boy commanding an army of butterflies. This is most recently illustrated in his response to the deal cut by the administration to arrange the release of Bowe Bergdahl from captivity. The conservative chorus of opposition to the deal is a lovely harmonic convergence of complete hypocrisy and profound historical amnesia on the always delightful topic of "negotiating with terrorists." There's nothing we can do about the former; without complete hypocrisy, the entire conservative project would blow away into a pile on Frank Luntz's lawn. It would be like asking swine not to wallow. But there certainly is something we can do about the latter.

Anyway, McCain went on _Face The Nation_ to furrow his brow and express his deep concern.

  _I think there are legitimate questions about these individuals who have been released. And the conditions understand which they will be released. These are the hardest of the hard core. These are the highest high-risk people. And others that we have released have gone back into the fight. That's been documented. And it's disturbing to me that the Taliban are the ones that named the people to be released. So all I can say is that we need to more information about the conditions of where they're going to be and how. But it is disturbing that these individuals would have the ability to reenter the fight. And they are big, high-level people, possibly responsible for the deaths of thousands._

Speaking of high-level people who definitely _were_ "responsible for the deaths of thousands," let's fire up the old Wayback Machine and journey back to the early 1980's, when John McCain was an ambitious young congresscritter seeking to beef up his neoconservative foreign policy cred. In the attempt, McCaingot involved with something called the U.S. Council On World Freedom, which was run by retired General John Singlaub, and even among the skeevy operators drifting around the Washington foreign-policy elite in those days, Singlaub was notably rancid, playing footsie with ancient Nazi collaborators and the most vicious of death-squad commanders all over the world. By the middle of the decade, just as Ronald Reagan was kicking off his second term, Singlaub took on another project. His organization became one of the cover operations for gthe illegal activities central to what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. According to Theodore Draper's essential study of that era, _A Very Thin Line_, by 1984, Singlaub was central to Oliver North's scheme to evade U.S. law and arrange third-party funding for the Contras in Nicaragua. He worked with the governments of Taiwan and South Korea. Through his shadowy network of arms dealers, Singlaub arranged for Soviet arms to be shipped into Honduras, thanks to the effort of a Honduran customs official paid to look the other way. "Singlaub," writes Draper, "became a one-man collection agency." Eventually, Singlaub became too much of a wild-card even for Ollie North -- at one point, according to Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus in their book, _Landslide_, Singlaub, acting on his own, actually underbid Richard Secord, who was the CIA's official arms conduit to the Contras, on a shipment of weapons -- and the scandal moved off in other directions, including selling missiles to Iran for the purposes of raising money for the Contras.

(But North wasn't free from Singlaub. According to _Firewall_, the memoir by Lawrence Walsh about his days as the Iran-Contra special prosecutor, at the trial of North's old boss, John Poindexter, North testified that he previously had lied to Congress about meeting with Singlaub.)

This was the guy with whom the young, ambitious John McCain allied himself when he first got to Washington. This was the world of spooks and crooks to which he was more than willing to hand the foreign policy of the United States. As with so many things, the unfinished business of the Iran-Contra scandal, and the yet-unplumbed depths of the foreign-policy crimes of the Reagan Administration, are the Rosetta Stone to understanding so much about what has gone wrong with America's relationship with the world over the past 30 years. It remains a monument to the addiction on the part of the country's political elites to secret deals and the dark magic of intelligence work. It remains a monument to a fundamental contempt for democratic institutions, and for the rule of law, and for the clear constitutional mandates through which Congress must have a role in our dealings beyond our borders; as unwilling as modern Congresses have been in exercising these mandates, it acted back in the 1980's. It forbade aid and assistance to the Contras. The Reagan Administration, and the people instructing John McCain on foreign policy, simply ignored the law. It was all about selling missiles to mullahs in order to obtain the release of American hostages in the Middle East and then using the profits to finance a war that Congress already had determined was illegal. The Iran-Contra scandal remains a monument to ends justifying means. If you want to understand the essential emptiness of the Republican opposition to what happened with Bowe Bergdahl, Iran-Contra is the ur-text. John McCain knows all of this. He was there.

And now comes John McCain, and so many people like him, furrowing their brows again and expressing "concerns" over a negotiation in which no money changed hands and no weapons changed hands. And then, I suspect, he goes out onto the sidewalk in front of the CBS studios in Washington, and stands there, puzzled as to why there is no limo waiting to take him back to the White House until some kind soul calls him a cab.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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question: What political leanings does the author have?

answer: Presumably progressive as he's critical of John McCain


text:
Vancouver’s zero-waste movement could be more economically viable than merely trendy as Nada, a grocery store where customers bring their own containers, is set to open on the corner of Fraser Street and Broadway in June.

The zero-waste store will be the second such venture in the city, following the Soap Dispensary/Kitchen Staples expansion into groceries in September of last year. They join other stores across Canada, including West Coast Refill in Victoria, Nu Grocery in Ottawa and Épicerie Loco in Montreal.

The success of these businesses could demonstrate that low- to no-waste shops can survive and thrive in a rapidly evolving and increasingly environmentally aware retail marketplace.

The City of Vancouver recently passed motions banning single-use plastics such asstraws and foam containers by June 1, 2019, with aims to reduce plastic bags and coffee cups as part of a drive to be the world’s greenest city by 2040.

Stores like Nada are the embodiment of the zero-waste movement and are eager to help consumers and businesses see alternatives to single-use plastics. The store, which operated as a monthly pop-up in Kitsilano for two years, won’t have any disposable containers for walk-in customers looking to get produce or other groceries.

“No plastic or paper bags, only reusable items,” said Alison Carr, Nada’s buyer and supplier relationship manager, in a conversation with Business in Vancouver.

She said the store will encourage customers to bring containers and work with organizations to provide reusable bags.

“[Owner] Brianne Miller started the pop-ups to test the model,” said Carr. “We were doing incredibly well; with only a few hours and a few volunteers we covered costs and then some.”

But groceries are a low-margin industry, which entrepreneurs attempting to run zero-waste stores are quick to recognize.

For Linh Truong, owner of the Soap Dispensary/Kitchen Staples on Vancouver’s Main Street, that means looking for alternative revenue sources.

“I realized immediately that we can sell food but [should] offset that with merchandise,” said Truong.

Her store sells spices, oils and other pantry goods alongside higher-margin items like lunch-box sets and reusable toothbrushes.

“It’s not that different from a conventional grocery store,” said Truong. “You have chocolate bars right at the till to offset that broccoli.”

Truong started operating Soap Dispensary in 2011 as a bring-your-own-container store for soaps and shampoos. She added food products in 2015.

From the beginning, she could tell there was a demand for stores following a similar model despite difficulty starting out.

“I had people reaching out to me from around the world asking me to franchise within the first month. We lost money for the first three months of running the store, but people wanted me to franchise? It was encouraging.”

Truong added that she sees other zero-waste stores opening to immediate success and receives weekly requests for help from entrepreneurs looking to start their own stores, including Nada and two other businesses opening in Chilliwack.

“Everywhere I look, I see [zero-waste stores] thriving and expanding.”

Truong’s store expanded to 2,000 square feet from 500 in seven years, and newer stores like West Coast Refill doubled their space in only six months.

But compliance with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) regulations prevents a lot of conventional grocers from allowing reusable containers in their stores and was a key reason Truong did not expand her store into grocery sales earlier.

“In 2013, [VCH told me] that they would shut down a business that has customers bringing their own containers,” said Truong, “but I talked to a different agent in 2015, and they were super supportive.”

Although there is no law preventing customers from bringing their own containers to use in grocery stores, it’s up to individual health inspectors to determine what is unhygienic.

Stores like Whole Foods Market, which once allowed customers to bring their own containers, are therefore at the mercy of different health inspectors. Truong said that some suppliers didn’t want to work with her store because they didn’t want to get in trouble with VCH.

In an email to BIV, VCH affirmed that it’s working with the City of Vancouver to amend food safety and sanitation plans to accommodate reusable containers.

Until then, businesses considering moving to reusable containers should contact VCH to avoid any potential problems or failed inspections, which is what Nada did.

Like Soap Dispensary, Nada will also seek cash flows outside of groceries, but each store has a different focus. Nada will also sell products like reusable containers and straws, but a new initiative will be a snack and smoothie bar, which Carr said also allows the store to use produce that’s not perfect for shelves.

The City of Vancouver’s recent decision on single-use plastics has many businesses looking for such alternatives, and, according to Lisa Papania, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, businesses will be lowering costs in the process.

“It’s five times cheaper to use reusable containers,” said Papania, citing a Government of Quebec study on reusable coffee cups.

Papania has been lecturing on business strategy and innovation for 15 years and has been running her own zero-waste business, Lupii Cafe in Champlain Heights in Vancouver, since 2015.

She understands that for businesses, the upfront investment necessary to have reusable containers can seem insurmountable.

“I was in the same position when we were starting up,” said Papania. “A dishwasher for $1,000 and reusable cups for $1,000 is high [for a startup], but a month from now it’s a no-brainer.”

Papania noted that upfront investment can generate significant reductions to marginal per-cup costs and that stores will have made their money back within 43 uses of a cup. In her eyes, the onus is on banks and the government to allow startups the room to make these investments.

“We make it impossible for startups.”

Papania added that the government should again offer to match funds for some startups, and that banks shouldn’t limit them with onerous restrictions.

question: What are some ways Vancouver transitioned into a zero-waste movement?

answer: By passing motions banning single-use plastics such as straws and foam containers.


text:
_EL LEÓN_ (Spanish for _The Lion_) is the seventh studio album by the Argentine ska and reggae band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Released in 1992, the album combines multiple genres and incorporates Caribbean rhythms as well as salsa, calypso and reggae influences. It is a notable album in the history of Argentine rock. In 2007, the Argentine edition of _Rolling Stone_ ranked it 21 on its list of “The 100 Greatest Albums of National Rock”.[1]

“Carnaval Toda La Vida” and “Gitana” are carnival hymns, while “Manuel Santillán, El León” is discernibly a ska track, “Siguiendo La Luna” is a ballad, and “El Aguijón” and “Crucero del Amor” contain aspects of reggae and salsa. Many songs from the album were released as singles, enjoying moderate to great success, such as “Desapariciones”, a cover of a song by Panamanian songwriter Rubén Blades. The album was certified Platinum by CAPIF.[2]

Reception

The Allmusic review by Victor W. Valdivia awarded the album 2.5 stars, stating, “El León is a transitional album. Throughout the album, it's clear the Fabulosos Cadillacs are slowly developing their fusion of rock, reggae, and Latin music ... A cover of Ruben Blades' 'Desapariciones', a song about the victims of Argentina's military dictatorship, is the album's most powerful number. The title cut (done in two versions: reggae and salsa) depicts an urban hell in vivid terms.”[3]

Track listing

1.  “Carnaval Toda La Vida” (_Lifelong Carnival_) (Vicentico) – 6:03
2.  “Manuel Santillán, El León” (Reggae) (_Manuel Santillan, The Lion_) (Flavio Cianciarulo) – 3:57
3.  “Gitana” (_Gypsy_) (Cianciarulo) – 3:12
4.  “Siguiendo La Luna” (_Following the Moon_) (Sergio Rotman) – 4:57
5.  “Gallo Rojo” (_Red Rooster_) (Vicentico) – 4:27
6.  “El Crucero del Amor” (_The Cruiser of Love_) (Cianciarulo, Rotman) – 4:23
7.  “Destino de Paria” (_Destiny of Pariah_) (Vicentico) – 5:01
8.  “Arde Buenos Aires” (_Buenos Aires is Burning_) (Cianciarulo) – 3:14
9.  “Desapariciones” (_Disappearances_) (Rubén Blades) – 5:35
10. “Venganza” (_Revenge_) (Cianciarulo) – 5:10
11. “Cartas, Flores y un Puñal” (_Letters, Flowers and a Knife_) (Cianciarulo) – 2:16
12. “El Aguijón” (_The Sting_) (Vicentico) – 4:51
13. “Soledad” (_Loneliness_) (Cianciarulo) – 3:00
14. “Manuel Santillán, El León” (Salsa) (Cianciarulo) – 3:23
15. “Ríos de Lágrimas” (_River of Tears_) (Rotman) – 2:54

Contributing Artists

-   Vicentico – vocals
-   Flavio Cianciarulo – bass
-   Anibal Rigozzi – guitar
-   Mario Siperman – keyboard
-   Fernando Ricciardi – drums
-   Toto Roblat – percussion
-   Fernando Albareda – trombone
-   Sergio Rotman – alto saxophone
-   Daniel Lozano – trumpet & flugelhorn

[1]

[2] [http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=Los+fabulosos+cadillacs&album=&LanDesde_MM=0&LanDesde_AA=0&LanHasta_MM=0&LanHasta_AA=0&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP Certification]

[3] Valdivia, V. Allmusic Review accessed January 22, 2011

title: El León (album)

question: Summarize the artists involved with the production of the album El León.

answer: The album El León is the seventh studio album of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Some of the artists involved include Vicentico as a vocalist, Flavio Cianciarulo on bass, Anibal Rigozzi on guitar, Mario Siperman on keyboard, and Fernando Ricciardi on drums. Other musicians include Toto Roblat on percussion, Fernando Albareda on trombone, Sergio Rotman on alto saxophone, and Daniel Lozano on trumpet and flugelhorn.

question: Summarize the reception of the album El León.

answer: The album El León was released in 1992 by the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. According to Victor W. Valdivia the album scored 2.5 stars out of 5. He states that El León is a "transitional album" and that the band is still developing. Despite this, El León was ranked 21st on Argentina's "The 100 Greatest Albums of National Rock" in 2007. The album was certified Platinum by CAPIF.

question: Summarize the contents of the album El León.

answer: The album El León was released by Argentine ska and reggae band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in 1992. The album contains 15 songs, with lengths ranging from two minutes to six minutes. The album spans a wide range of genres, several of the songs are carnival hymns, one is a ballad, and several have influences of ska, reggae, and salsa.


text:
The CALIFORNIA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY (CALHFA), established in 1975, is an independent California state agency within the California Department of Housing and Community Development that makes low-rate housing loans through the sale of taxable and tax exempt bonds.[1][2]

History

CalHFA was created by the Zenovich–Moscone–Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act of 1975, which also permanently established and reorganized the California Department of Housing and Community Development.[3]

Known until 2002 as CHFA (commonly pronounced “cha-fuh”), CalHFA was rebranded “to keep pace with our expanding audience and the growing needs of the affordable housing marketplace” and “to elevate CalHFA’s profile on all key fronts.”[4][5]

Historically, CalHFA has provided housing assistance in three areas: below-market interest rate mortgages and downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers, most of whom were low- and moderate income families and ethnic minorities not well-served by market rate products, insurance for single-family home purchase mortgages, and loans for the development of multifamily rental housing. These financial products were funded through sale of revenue bonds secured by the mortgage products and the underlying property. The operating costs of the agency are paid by origination and service fees, and the difference between the interest paid on outstanding debt and the interest charged on the loans made. Beginning in 2002, passage of Proposition 46 (2002) provided funding for additional activities through sale of general obligation bonds.[6] This source of funding was extended by passage of Proposition 1C (2006).[7][8]

In 2014, the CalHFA board voted to expand first mortgage eligibility to non-first-time homebuyers.

Structure

The Single Family Division provides low interest rate home financing to low to moderate income homebuyers in California, as well as down payment and closing cost assistance.[9]

The Multifamily Programs division provides permanent financing for the acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation or new construction of rental housing that includes affordable rents for low and moderate income families and individuals.[10]

The Asset Management Division is responsible for the management of agency-financed multifamily rental developments, where each project is monitored regarding its financial, physical and occupancy compliance with various regulations in California.[11]

Programs

The CalPLUS loan programs feature a CalHFA fixed interest rate first mortgage, insured either through FHA or on the conventional market. This loan is fully amortized for a 30-year term and is combined with the CalHFA Zero Interest Program (ZIP) for down payment assistance.

The Cal EEM + Grant combines an FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage with an additional 4% grant to help homebuyers improve their home with energy-efficient upgrades.

The California Homebuyer’s Downpayment Assistance Program (CHDAP) offers a deferred-payment subordinate loan amount of (3%) of the purchase price of appraised value, whichever is less, to be used for down payment and/or closing costs.

The Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program (ECTP) is intended for eligible teachers, administrators, classified employees and staff members working in high priority schools in California. Offers a deferred-payment junior loan of an amount not to exceed the greater of $7,500 or 3% of the sales price or in CalHFA-defined high cost areas an amount not to exceed the greater of $15,000 or 3% of the sales price. Assistance can be used for down payment.

The Mortgage Credit Certificate Tax Credit Program (MCC) is a federal credit which can reduce potential federal income tax liability, creating additional net spendable income which borrowers may use toward their monthly mortgage payment. This MCC Tax Credit program may enable first-time homebuyers to convert a portion of their annual mortgage interest into a direct dollar for dollar tax credit on their U.S. individual income tax returns.

Operations

CalHFA is authorized to administer the activities of the California Housing Finance Fund, the California Housing Loan Insurance Fund, and two state general obligation bond funds.[12] CalHFA has $6.8 billion in assets that are mainly loan receivables and investments related to bond proceeds.[13]

CalHFA is a statutorily independent agency and component unit of state government, and is not subject to Budget Act appropriation.[14] Budget information for CalHFA is displayed within that of the Department of Housing and Community Development.[15]

Down Payment Assistance programs are all different with certain requirements for each. State or local housing authorities, a non-profit organization, or lender usually set the requirements and conditions for the DPA program. Some programs require you or your loan officer to take a short course on Down Payment Assistance for first time home buyers.[16]

[1]

[2]

[3] California Statutes 1975 1st Ex. Sess. (Vol. 2), Ch. 1, pg. 3855

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16] “Down Payment Assistance”

title: California Housing Finance Agency

question: What does the article say about long-vs-short term loans?

question: What does the text say about the options available for low-income would-be homebuyers?

answer: The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) offers several options with different requirements for homebuying assistance. They offer loans with a low interest rate, down payment assistance, additional funds for energy-efficient upgrades to houses, and a tax credit program that can convert a fraction of annual mortgage interest into a tax credit on the U.S. individual income tax returns.

question: Summarize the article about how CalHFA finances its services.

answer: In general, they use the sale of taxable and tax-exempt bonds. They amortize the operating costs through their origination and service fees and the difference between interest paid with the interest charged for loans. Since 2002, they can sell general obligation bonds to finance their operations. They hold $6.8 billion in assets that are mostly loan receivables and bond proceeds investments. Finally, they are not subject to the Budget Act appropriation.


text:
NIZAM SIDDIQUI is an Indian Allahabad-based author writing in Urdu. He did his schooling from the Anglo Bengali Inter College and graduate and post-graduate work at Kanpur University. His literary critique _Mabad-e-Jadidiat Se Naye Ahed Ki Takhliqiyat Tak_ won the 2016 Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu. In addition to this work, he has created seven works of fiction and two books on criticism[1][2]

[1]

[2]

title: Nizam Siddiqui

question: Who is Nizam Siddiqui?

answer: He is an Indian Allahbad-based author writing in Urdu.

question: What works has Nizam Siddiqui produced?

answer: He has created seven works of fictions and two books on criticism along with his most well known work, a literary critique, Mabad-e-Jadidiat Se Naye Ahed Ki Takhliqiyat Tak.

question: Where did Nizam Siddiqui do his graduate and post-graduate work?

answer: He did his graduate and post-graduate work at Kanpur University.

question: What award did Nizam Siddiqui's literary critique win?

answer: It won the 2016 Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article highlights the accomplishments of Nizam Siddiqui, an Indian Allahbad-based author writing in Urdu.