text:
Suddenly I’m awake in a lit room. My son’s room, I’m sure I turned off the lamp. Maybe not. No, I’m sure I did. If I didn’t then I wish I had. It isn’t the lamp being on that has stricken me with fear however. It’s what the light, that should be off, now reveals in the darkness.

In the wallpaper of my son’s room there is a face. I can see it clear as day and by the looks of it, it can see me back. The pattern of sail boats, some with open sails and some without, usually aligned vertically from floor to ceiling, have moved. Nothing else in the room has followed the sailboats into the realm of the impossible. My son’s teddy bear still sits hunched over on his dresser unmoved from when I placed it there before bed. The pile of toys has held it’s shape as a pile of toys, never striving to be anything more. Anything evil.

The sails, mangled together, through and around, conjoined in what is clearly a face. Two sunken closed eyes the size of my head. Hundreds of little sail boats as eyelids. A man’s face. I’m sure of it. Either way, face or not, this is not the pattern of my son’s wallpaper. Too terrified to move because what if it does?
Something just moved in the bed beside me. Under the covers. My bones would have leapt from my body had every muscle not been dead with fear. I didn’t think I could be more scared but now something is moving. My son rolls over and continues to sleep. A relief, it wasn’t Death, come to get me. Death is still on the wall. Back to the face after reassuring myself my son wasn’t going to wake up. My son! I fell asleep with him. How many nights has he slept under the gaze of this face? Were all his nightmares more than dreams? Should I have insisted that he no longer sleep with Mommy and Daddy? He had to be a big boy.
The eyes are open. All the little sails flipped back to reveal an onyx knot of little black sailless boats tightly formed into perfect pupils.

Then the teddy bear sits up. I scream.
Awake now in a dark room. Someone flicks the light on. My son, the light on his side, in his room. The wallpaper back to it’s meaningless pattern. Teddy, back to sleep on the dresser. My pillow, wet from the nightmare leaking out of my head.
I wipe my hair from my eyes and look at my son. At only six he worries when his father screams in the dead of night. I’m still terrified, nightmares linger far longer than dreams and I can’t shake the feeling that the room is watching me. We turn every light in the house on and go downstairs. I drink a glass of water; my son, a glass of milk.

Can’t shake it. It’s still dark out and I find no comfort in staring out the kitchen window.
“You saw him didn’t you?” My son asks.
“Come on, you can sleep in our room tonight.” I tell him. “Daddy just had a bad dream.”
We both know it isn’t true but we can talk about it in the morning.

We go back to my room and snuggle in close to my wife. She is warm with ignorance of what just occurred and it somehow makes me level headed about all of it. Makes me start to question what I had seen. It was all just a dream. It had to have been. It’s the only logical conclusion.
I see Teddy’s head poke up from the foot of the bed. The lights go out. I scream because that’s all there is to do then-

title: Scream

question: What does the narrator see in the darkness?

answer: The narrator sees the pattern of his son's wallpaper shift to form a face that stares at him.

question: What happens to the narrator while in his son's room?

answer: The narrator sees the pattern of his son's wallpaper shift to form a face that stares at him. The eyes blink, and his son's teddy bear sits up. His six-year-old son turns the lights on.

question: What are the emotions the narrator is feeling?

answer: The narrator is terrified.

question: Does the narrator interact with anyone or anything?

answer: The narrator and his son get up and leave the boy's bedroom. They go to the kitchen for something to drink. The boy asks his dad if he "saw him."

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator fell asleep in his six-year-old son's bedroom. He wakes and sees the pattern of his son's wallpaper shift to form a face that stares at him. The eyes blink, and his son's teddy bear sits up; the dad screams. The son wakes up and turns on the lights. He asks his dad if he "saw him". The dad and son go to the dad's room and snuggle in bed next to his wife. He convinces himself that it was a dream. He sees the teddy bear's head poke up at the foot of the bed.


split: train

text:
Abstract Art
When I was little, I used to draw
A lot.
I drew with pens on napkins while waiting
For food at restaurants.
I would scribble with crayons on the kids menus,
Ignoring the coloring exercises with strict lines that
I was told to color within. I guess it
Felt good to not follow the rules.  I was told
That I couldn’t, or that I wasn’t allowed to as a child.
The Menu would tell me to color in the star, or
Connect the dots. I would use my outside voice to yell
At the menu, saying, that I wasn’t going to follow the rules this time,
But I yelled in my head. I guess it good to be able
To efface the something that an adult had set out,
Had expected me to do. My four-pack of crayons was
My sled, and the coloring menu was a hill that I
Was told to shovel, but instead chose to sled down.

I would grab paper out of the
Printer when I was bored. I would walk
Into the kitchen, grasp the newest markers from the drawer
With my eager hands.  Drawing, I would discard the
Dried out markers that left faded lines on the blank page,
I only accepted the makers that left a wet, thick,
Glossy mark that created a chemical reaction
In my body, leaving me wanting to draw more.
I would draw lines, straight lines, curved lines, pipes that
Led to circles and squares, patterns that
Repeated, semicircles that turned outwards like
Petals on flower, and curved triangles that
Looked like the leaves of palm trees. I remember thinking
That the palm leaves were cool because
I thought of them, not anyone else. They weren’t
Anything that I was taught to draw in school, or
Something I saw on TV, they were mine.  My parents
Would see me coloring, and I would cover it up
With my arms, telling them to wait until I was done.
They would gawk when they saw it, asking me what it was.
I would respond with “I dunno.” Then one day
I saw a TV show about “abstract art.” From then on,
My drawings weren’t just “I dunno,”
They were “abstract art.”

I brought this “style” of drawing to class,
I would use my free time to grab a sheet or two
Of lined paper from the bin, and for the fist time
In school, I would disobey the lines.  I drew the usual with
Colored pencils:
Shapes, focusing mainly on the pipes and circles, for I didn’t
Want the other kids to see my palm leaves
Not because I was ashamed of them, but because
They were mine.  The other kids joined in, drawing their
Own abstract art. Each was a different style, each was
Creative.
Creative. That word was thrown around by teachers
And parents alike, and it made me feel proud.
Proud that I could be positively labeled
For something that sprang from a rebellion against
The very type of people that were praising me.
Adults.
Through drawing I learned that every
Once in a while, I could gain respect by disregarding what I had been taught.
As a result of this epiphany,
I continued to draw all day, carrying myself in an
Uncharacteristically insouciant manner.

As I grew up, my abstract drawings began to fade,
I began to grow tired with my loops and pipes,
And even my palm leaves began to get old.
It didn’t help that those around me
Started to look at my work, and back at me, but this time
With a worried eye.  “Something is different with
Him.”  I could hear their thoughts in my own head.
I remember kids saying that “anyone could make that,”
Or that I should “stop doodling and focus.”
“Not anyone could make that, because I made it.”
Eventually I stopped telling myself this.
I was told by some that I should try to express my
“Creativity” in more academic and mature ways.
There was that word again.
Only this it felt like a punch in the stomach. And I
Listened to them. Why did I listen?
Abstract art proved to have a direct correlation with this
Thing called “creativity.” I guess by middle school I was supposed
To have lost it.  At what age are children expected to outgrow
Their creativity? How can creativity be defined by anyone
Other than myself?  Despite all of these questions I still have,
I rarely draw anymore.

title: "Abstract Art"

question: What does the story say about how to make contemporary art?

question: What does the story say about the narrator's views on creativity?

answer: At first, the narrator was proud that his work was labeled creative by teachers and parents. The narrator thinks that abstract art had a direct correlation with creativity. He questions how creativity can be defined by anyone other than the artist. The narrator feels bad when others claim that his abstract art can be done by anyone because they're merely childish doodles and that he should express his creativity in more academic and mature ways.

question: What does the story say about the narrator when he was a little boy?

answer: When the narrator was little, he used to draw a lot on napkins while waiting for food at restaurants. He would ignore the strict lines in coloring exercises because it felt good to not follow the rules. The narrator felt good to efface something that an adult had set out and expected him to do. It would seem that he has a rebellious streak in him for not wanting to follow the rules of adults.

question: What does the story say about the narrator's abstract art?

answer: The narrator got the idea for the term "abstract art" from a TV show. His abstract art is just doodles of straight lines, curved pipes, circles, and triangles that look like palm trees. He brought his abstract art style to school and soon, other kids started drawing their own abstract art.


text:
Hi, I'm not really a writer. I wrote the below piece and just wanted to see what other people think of it. First reddit post, and I'm hoping it goes well. :)

"It had been a particularly cold winter. The white frost blanketed the ground, killing everything that lived, as if Death himself laid down his tattered cloak over the land. I soon forgot what warmth was. The feeling itself frozen and shattered from my memory. There was only the cold left to keep us poor folk warm.

It was during that desolate winter that I had the pleasure of meeting Joe, a stoic man who had come from farther up North, seeking a warmth his body didn’t feel and his mind couldn’t remember. When I saw the crystal clear blue of his eyes, I remember thinking that the cold was in him, in those eyes, and he would never escape from it. But I was sillier back then.

I was young. A girl alone in the world, left to my own devices on a neglected and deserted ranch. Or at least what was left of it. I sometimes thought to myself I was Jonah, and the dilapidated house around me the dying carcass of that biblical whale. The “farmhouse” I lived in had been falling down around me for the better part of my stay, and showed no signs of slowing. I had found it like this and it had stayed like this, as broken and empty as I was.

Most people kept their distance, as I was seen as undesirable. Whether I thought myself worthy of such a distinction or not I did not care. I only cared that they thought I was worthy of distance. Peace of mind was something rarely afforded to most in this world, and as long as I was an unnamed presence meant to be quarantined from the normal folk I was afforded that peace of mind.

Until Joe. We met in the cold and it was the cold that sustained us until the frost became too bitter. He had been sleeping in “my” barn, or at least what was left of it. I rarely ventured out of the main house, as it was there I felt the most safe. I sometimes looked out at it from the kitchen window, mostly in passing, to check if it was still there, giving it’s sorry condition.

I watched through a spiderweb of cracked and stained glass as he went to and from the barn. I didn’t know where he went, but around dusk he would always stumble back to the shelter that the barn provided.

I had been alone for so long by then that his presence wasn’t easily articulated into clear feelings one way or the other. I knew he might be dangerous, but I also knew he was like me. A connection flowed from that kitchen window to the door of that barn. We were both a body without a soul. A life wasted, created in misery, and destined to die with a whimper not a bang. So I decided to speak to him, the first person in a long time I felt connected to on any kind of level worth a damn.

How he had been surviving in the barn for this long with it’s missing shingles and barely patched south wall, which had been through absolute hell during tornado season two years past, was a mystery to me. Everyday had found the weather turning colder as if the ranch was turning solid, and the barn wasn’t much protection. I didn’t know how to approach him without scaring him, as I had come to think of him as a solitary fellow, never having seen anyone in his company while he stayed on the ranch.

So I knocked. My knuckles meeting the frayed once-red, now pink, wood that covered the brown oak that made up the barn. The sound of my knocks were small, my shivering not only a result of the winter wind, but nevertheless he heard. Joe had been a man slow to talk when we first met, but he opened up as our talks grew.

It was around then that I began to realize his eyes were more the blue of the ocean water that I had sometimes dreamed about than frozen ice. We talked of many things, and when I told him of how I felt like Jonah, his laugh brought back something in me, and I laughed along with him. It was the shared laughs more than anything that kept me coming back to that barn for so long.
He introduced a warmth that didn’t stretch very far but radiated with an unparalleled intensity between the two of us. We spent a month together on that cold farm, keeping the frost at bay. Eating when we could, sleeping, and most importantly living.

He and his watery eyes eventually moved on. But those days I kept with me for a very long time. I can still remember the bitter cold in my old bones, but I also remember the warmth that Joe and I rediscovered, that had been lost to us in the frigid world, until it to was killed off by the frost."

title: I wrote a very short story called Winter's Frost and am looking for feedback. Thanks!

question: What makes the narrator think Joe has cold with him?

answer: His eyes are ice blue.

question: Why is the world so cold?

answer: It might be the end of the world.

question: Who is Jonah?

answer: From the story in the Bible.

question: Why might Joe's eyes seem more like ocean water than frozen ice over time?

answer: He has opened himself up to the narrator and they have a camaraderie, which opens up possibilities in her heart. If a strange man could wander here and become a friend, maybe other good things could happen. She has a renewed sense of purpose.


text:
KARIM ZAIMOVIĆ (6 May 1971 – 13 August 1995) was a Bosnian writer, journalist and publicist, best remembered for his short story collection _The Secret of Raspberry Jam_.[1] He's considered one of the most talented writers from the wartime ex-Yugoslavian area.

Zaimović died during the Bosnian War as a result of injuries caused by Serbian mortar shells during the Siege of Sarajevo.[2][3]

Biography

Zaimović was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1971, the son of painter Mehmed Zaimović (1938–2011) and his wife Ašida.[4]

A lover of comic books, Zaimović began writing texts about them in his early teens. He started his journalism career at age 15, writing articles for Radio Sarajevo.[5] Zaimović continued to be involved in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian journalism scene, contributing to daily newspapers and magazines like Naši dani, Lica, Vidici, Quorum, Kvadrat, Patak, Slobodna Dalmacija, Nedjeljna Dalmacija, Književna revija, Mladina, Start, Erasmus, Oslobođenje, Večernje novine, Avaz, Ven, Sineast, Fantom slobode, and Dani.[6]

After graduating from high school at Sarajevo's Prva Gimnazija, Zaimović enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. He later transferred to the University of Philosophy in Sarajevo to study comparative literature.[7]

Before the start of the war, Zaimovic begins working at the magazine “Dani” as editor of the paper's culture section. Later, Zaimovic created the culture magazine “Fantom Slobode” with Semezdin Mehmedinović; there, he served as editor in-chief. He was a regular contributor to “Zid”, an independent radio network, and contributed to Sarajevo-based television programs like TV Sarajevo and TV Radio Sarajevo.[8]

During this time, Zaimovic wrote many short stories.[9] One of his notable works, “The Secret of Raspberry Jam”, was a critically acclaimed collection of 11 short stories, published posthumously in 1997.

The Belgian comic book artist Hermann Huppen dedicated his 1995 book _Sarajevo Tango_ to Zaimović's memory. The American graphic novel author Joe Kubert has also dedicated his _Fax from Sarajevo_ to Karim Zaimović. Zaimović's “The Secret Of Raspberry Jam” has been adapted for theatre.[10]

Zaimovic left behind a manuscript with two unfinished novels.

Works

-   _Tajna džema od malina_ (1995)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

title: Karim Zaimović

question: What did Karim Zaimovic do?

answer: He was a writer, journalist and publicist.

question: What is Karim Zaimovic best known for?

answer: His short story collection "The Secret of Raspberry Jam."

question: What nationality is Zaimovic?

answer: Bosnian.

question: What era of history is associated with?

answer: The wartime ex-Yugoslavian era.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Karim Zaimovic, a Bosnian writer associated with the wartime ex-Yugoslavian area.


text:
The flower that grew up from the top of her head was small and funny shaped, like a lazy ballerina who didn't care enough to raise her legs or was too tired from staying up late the night before, it leaned over to her left with one petal hanging limply to her right. It was purple sometimes, usually in the mornings, but she didn't know this because she usually woke up around noon, when the flower was yellow. She would lie in bed with the flower hanging limply over her forehead and stare at it's oddly shaped figure. She would wonder if maybe it had come loose during the night, that maybe during her sleep she had some how slept in such a way as to damage it enough so that it would come off, but the flower was always okay, misshapen as it had always been.

She would then lie in bed for an hour thinking about the same thoughts she usually thought, nothing particularly grand or special. Sometimes thinking that she must change and that today she is going to do something and work on her life. She thought all the thoughts on how to become a better person, how to become more ambitious. She knew exactly what she needed to do, she had thought about it all before, but soon, those thoughts would drift away and she would find her self masturbating for ten minutes before cumming in a mediocre splat of pleasure and continue lying in her bed. When she came, the flower would give off an aroma. It wasn't something offensive, but not pleasing either. It was neither this nor that; a ubiquitous scent that was a cross between warm sand and chives left on a kitchen counter. This is usually when she thought that she should brush her teeth. Another healthy and good thing that she knew that she should do, her hand wiping away her sploosh juice onto her panties, and continue to lie in bed.

Eventually, she would get up from bed walk to her bathroom to pee with the door open. With her legs resting on the top of her ties, she would stare at the shadow her head flower made on the floor between her feet. When she farted, she could see the flower shiver. This made her smile. It's her fart flower. A flowering fart. Wipe. Flush.

Looking at herself in the mirror, the flower would limp between the space of her left ear and eye. I have a limp penis on my head. A penis with petals. penis petals.

She had tried to pull the flower out when she noticed it growing. It had frightened her. This was not normal, to have flowers growing out of one's head. When it was very small, just budding, she had tugged at it and felt something pull at the center of her brain. She never knew she could feel her brain and it frightened her. She had tried to cut it, using a pair of kitchen knives, but the stem, as limp as it was, was actually quite strong. She had only managed to scratch it and saw that it created welts that spotted blood. Her blood. Her brain blood. This flower is from my brain.

title: the flower growing on her head.

question: Describe the woman's morning routine and how the flower changes according to her actions.

answer: She wakes up around noon, when the flower is yellow. In the morning, while she sleeps the flower is purple. As she lays in bed, she masturbates and the flower releases a scent upon her orgasm. When she farts on the toilet, the flower shivers and when she looks at herself in the mirror, the flower is limp with 'penis petals'.

question: What does the flower represent?

answer: It is unclear from the story what the flower represents.

question: Where is the flower coming from?

answer: The flower appears to be organic and connected to the woman biologically through her brain, since it bleeds when she tries to cut it. The origins of the flower are unclear, however.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The short tale of a woman with a flower growing out of her brain and how it reacts to her morning routine.


text:
nning an in-house contest to depict "a neat place to watch TV."

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

[]

Charles Schridde "House of the Future" for Motorola
 http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/

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question: Write a ~0 sentence summary.


text:
RICKI ORTIZ, also known as HELLOKITTYRICKI is an American professional fighting game player specializing in the _Marvel vs. Capcom_ and _Street Fighter_ series. Ortiz joined the fighting game community in the early 2000s and has since consistently ranked highly in high-profile tournaments.

Early life

In an interview, Ortiz described her childhood as “normal and relaxed.” She was raised by an engineer and a metalworker; her grandmother babysat her while her parents worked. Ortiz first came in contact with fighting games when her father brought her to a Golfland Entertainment Center in Milpitas, California. By the time Ortiz reached middle school, she spent time at the local arcade almost every day after school.[1]

Career

Ricki Ortiz left the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time in her life in 2001 in order to compete in a major tournament in Texas, following advice of her “friend and mentor” John Choi. After graduating high school, Ortiz moved to New York City in order to experience the local arcade scene. Ricki Ortiz first competed at the Evolution Championship Series in 2003 and has consistently ranked highly since playing games such as _Marvel vs Capcom 2_, _Street Fighter III: Third Strike_, _Capcom vs SNK 2_, _Street Fighter IV_, and _Street Fighter V_.[2][3]

In 2010, Ricki Ortiz placed second in the Evolution _Super Street Fighter IV_ tournament. In 2016, Ortiz came in second in the 2016 Capcom Cup, losing only to Du “NuckleDu” Dang in the finale and winning US$60,000 in the process.[4][5][6] Prior to this event, Ortiz trained two and a half weeks straight with Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, though she did note that her practice schedule throughout the rest of the 2016 season was less than ideal.[7] During the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour, Ortiz stopped playing _Street Fighter_ for several months and was not nearly as active as in past years. However, after NuckleDu pulled out of the 2017 Capcom Cup, Capcom offered his auto-qualification to Ortiz as the runner up of the 2016 Cup, which she accepted.[8][9] Ortiz lost to Tokido in the first round of the tournament.

Style

Ortiz prefers the _Marvel vs. Capcom_ franchise over other fighting game series, and has found herself needing to juggle it and the more popular _Street Fighter_ franchise. In an interview with _Yahoo!_, Ortiz stated that she is not comfortable playing online matches due to the inherent lag. She described playing online as being “like I'm playing blind almost, because you're taking my best attributes away.”[10] Ortiz' _Street Fighter_ character of choice had been Chun-Li since she first played the game at nine years old. In an interview with _ESPN_, Ortiz stated that “[Chun-Li is] the one who makes the game fun for me,” and that she had great difficulty switching to a different character when Chun-Li was nerfed in 2017.[11]

Personal life

Assigned male at birth, Ricki Ortiz came out as a gay man in 2003, though she noted later that it “didn't feel right.” Ortiz experienced a large amount of abuse from anonymous commenters online. In 2009, Ortiz discovered she was a transgender woman, noting that _RuPaul's Drag Race_ helped her realize this. Coming out as transgender sparked a new wave of harassment in livestream chatboxes. By 2012, depression affected Ortiz' fighting game career, though her mental state improved after reconnecting with an old friend and taking advantage of the resources and support groups available to her. In 2014, Ortiz started her transition.

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title: Ricki Ortiz

question: Where was Ortiz raised?

answer: San Francisco

question: What was Ortiz' early childhood like?

answer: She describes it as normal and relaxed. She was babysat by her grandmother. She played a lot of arcade games.

question: What is Ortiz' career?

answer: Professional fighting game player

question: What is Ortiz' preferred game?

answer: She likes the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article covers the life and career of professional gamer Ricki Ortiz. It covers her early life and tournament history.


text:
CEDARGROVE (sometimes spelled CEDAR GROVE) is an extinct town in the northwest corner of Shannon County, in the Ozarks of southern Missouri. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place.[1] The community is located just south of the Shannon - Dent county line on the Current River, just north of the Big Creek confluence with the Current. It lies at the end of Missouri Route B, two miles east of the Shannon - Texas county line.[2]

A post office called Cedar Grove was established in 1890, the name was changed to Cedargrove in 1895, and the post office closed in 1957.[3] The community was named for a grove of cedar timber near the original town site.[4]

[1]

[2] _Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,_ DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 55,

[3]

[4]

title: Cedargrove, Missouri

question: What is Cedargrove?

answer: Sometimes spelled Cedar Grove, it is an extinct town in the Ozarks of southern Missouri.

question: Is the town still populated?

answer: The GNIS classify it as a populated place.

question: Where is the community located?

answer: Just south of Shannon - Dent county line on the Current River. It lies at the end of Missouri Route B.

question: When was the town established?

answer: 1890

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Cedargrove, sometimes spelled Cedar Grove, is an extinct town in the Ozarks of southern Missouri established in 1890. Just south of the Shannon-Dent county line, it lies at the end of Missouri Route B. Although extinct and without a post office, the GNIS still classify it as a populated place.


text:
I'm an odd memory in most minds.  Like a harrowing communal conscience of migratory birds or a sea breeze that took a train to the prairies and is seen walking along the street.  I suppose I'm a sort of stationary, a figment used to paint a portrait of understanding but this is really strange since I am not at all like a brush or ladle or roller or whatever would make sense to paint something.  I've been a transient congested throat in days gone by.  I swam from seashores to deep blue waters and sailed away.  All in all I think I've had things pretty good up until now.  But right now I feel like a bag of squeezed lemons left to rot, like I've gone through a garlic press alongside the garlic, I feel like I can't even like this situation and I really wanted to like it.

Let me clarify.

I believe in god about as much as I believe in myself.  If you get to know me you'll find I don't believe in myself that much.  But if you get to know me better you'd know that I've met him.  I'm not saying him in that god is male it's just that calling him *it* seems strange and it's a default.  With that in mind it was a day just like today with me on a stage but I was in the middle of a wheat field and opera singers dressed as vikings were scattered around looking for cues, lines and presumably marbles in the dirt.  It hit me that I shouldn't be there, I was supposed to be somewhere else but I felt if I left now to I would likely be eaten or worse, stood on, read then knocked around by the vikings.

It was at this point that god pulled up in a brand new jeep made out of a thunderstorm and waved his arms in a motion that very distinctly triggered a perhaps unbelievable but entirely real sense that he was god and I should get on his thunderstorm-jeep-of-love to ride away to eternal safety and abundance.  So I hopped up onto the cloud and into the passenger seat.  He looked at me in a way only god could with eyes as deep as artesian wells, with a sort of sisyphean tenure gained only after watching over everything for ten times eternity and then started speaking with a very plain voice.

"Would you like to take the wheel?" he asked and I didn't really want to but this was sort of troubling because.... why would anyone turn down an offer from god and he said "It's alright, with the exception of your neighbor nobody has actually wanted to drive the thunderstorm the first time meeting me.  In general it is an odd question to ask, isn't it?"

I smiled politely.

Then he said "Alright here's the deal.  You get three questions answered.  Anything in the realm of conceivable knowledge of the infinity that is me.  Three of them.  Just ask whenever and I'll answer but when I answer the last one you will die."

"What!? Why?" I blurted out of shock as he looked at me.  I looked right back at those constellations within constellations within a walmart parking lot folded over into itself and back out towards the sunrise.

I smiled realizing the game was ruined and asked "Are you serious?"

Then he laughed, we drove a short while in silence and he dropped me off a block away from home still a little agitated by his interactions with my neighbor the week before.

"You can't screw this up by just asking silly off the top of your mind questions.  Here is my email address.  Send your questions there and I'll have an answer for you written out within a day or two." god said as plainly as before from inside his thunderstorm with the window rolled down while gesturing blindly in the air to make a point or sign what he was saying but it was entirely lost on me.  He could tell by my glazed look it was time to go so he simply said "Get a job" and drove off.

So now.  Slightly but not entirely glazed in circumstance I am struggling with this interaction.  I can know anything in the universe via email at the cost of my life.  I don't really have a desire to acquire knowledge or a need for something like this... so here I am a bag of lemons staring off at the sky like it is staring back in part of that endless crashing gaze of god wondering what the hell I should do with myself.  Aside from getting a job.

title: I've been writing a lot of poetry for a while but then I started reading Richard Brautigan and his stuff made me want to try short stories.  Here is my attempt at something weird and relatively short.

question: What does the story say about the location of the story?

question: What does the story say about the narrator?

answer: The narrator is a jobless man who doesn't believe in himself that much. He doesn't believe in God that much either, but claims to have met "him". The narrator escapes his reality by daydreaming he's someone or something else in an unbelievable scenario. He's been coasting through life like a transient and thinks he's had things pretty good up until the moment he claims to have met God face to face.

question: What does the story say about God?

answer: The narrator isn't sure if God is male or female, but goes with the default gender (male). God drives a new Jeep made out of a thunderstorm cloud. God's eyes are as deep as artesian wells, constellations within constellations, with a Sisyphean tenure gained after watching over everything for ten times eternity. God is anything in the realm of conceivable knowledge of infinity.

question: What does the story say about God's deal with the narrator?

answer: The narrator can ask three questions about anything in the realm of conceivable knowledge of the infinity that is God. He can ask these questions at any time and God will answer. However, when God answers the third and last question, the narrator will die. The narrator blurted two questions out of shock (What!? and Why?) and thinking he can get out of the deal by screwing with it, asked a third (Are you serious?). God just laughed and said that he can't screw it up by asking silly "off the top of your mind" questions. God is serious about their deal and gave the narrator his email address so he can send his questions when ready.


text:
 *That. Fucking. Bitch.*

*How poetic of you.*

*Well, brevity is the soul of wits.*

*Indeed.*

...

I met her in history. The professor read out the class list. "Erica?" "I prefer Al". **Well, I bet she's an over achieving know-it-all.** That was my first thought of her, it went mostly forgotten until much to late.

Two weeks later in the small group discussion the prof was trying to be subtly critical of Israel. He did this a lot, it was never subtle. I was sitting next to her. "So Al huh?" "Yup" "Is it short for something?" "You would think so, but no." "Is it like a condensed version of Angela?" "Nope..." **Fuck, I blew it.**

...

This guy was trying to get me to work on a project with him. He ended up doing nothing. I was trying to scribble down ten numbers and send him on his way as fast as possible. They weren't for him, I'd thought about it later, but he was a dial-tone. For a small girl she could move fast. Two minutes later after shouting her name three times I gave her the paper. It was awkward.

*I know You're supposed to wait three days to do this but I'm gonna busy for like the next week. Wanna get coffee tonight?*

*Absolutely, when and where's best for you?*

...

"We need to talk" **That's the line that you go with?** "What about" "Us" "Of course we do" "it's just not working" "We've been together for a month, what exactly is not working" "It's him" "Him again? Seriously? Babe, all I want to do is make this work" "It's just not fair to you, I have feelings for him that I'm afraid I wont be able to feel for you, or for anyone else for that matter"

...

*Hey, are you free tonight?*

*Yup*

*How soon can you come over?*

*Half an hour, why?*

*I'm leaving tomorrow. I want to see you*

**Don't do this to yourself. She breaks up with you a month before she leaves "to make it easier". You're 90% sure that she did it so she could try to sleep with him at least once before she left. You're her fall back and you know you're better than that.**

*I'll be there*

...

"Fuck, Aura has called three times now I think something's wrong" "Language. Just let me finish down here, and we'll call her back." Aura was admittedly jealous of me at first. She and Al had a history. Al was Aura's first encounter. Al regretted it, Aura was always clingy. At this time she was dating a history major. He was boring. "Hi Aura, what's the matter? .. Well dear, we've never had that problem .. Here can you talk to her? I don't know what to say" **Great, now I get to dole out sex advice to Aura** "Hello Aura, what can I help you with tonight?" "It's him" "I'm going to need a bit more information if I'm going to help" "Well. tonight was supposed to be our first night, and he couldn't .. He couldn't get it up" "Oh" "Have you ever had that problem?" "Of course not." " I think it's me, this isn't the first time this has happened to us an-" "Aura, stop that right now, his inability to perform has nothing to do with you".

I left Al's place, Aura was on my mind. **Shit. I bet I could.**

...

*Hey, where are you*

*Studying at the coffee shop.. what's on your mind?*

*I'll be there soon*

**You're a gigantic idiot. You know that right?**

...

**That stare lasted too long to be a good thing.**

...

*I'm going to break up with him. You're right, he's too boring for me.*

*That's what you said last time.*

*I mean it this though, it's not the same now*

*You have to tell him what happened.*

*I can't, it'll crush him.*

...

"Aura I can't be your partner, I'm too hung up on Al, and I think you and I should go back to being friends" "Are you fucking kidding me? After everything that happened?" "I'm sorry, but It's for the best" "I don't think so" "That's not really how it works"

...

*So I'm moving to a new place, I want you to meet my roommates*

**Maybe she's over you. This could be okay**

*Sounds like it could be fun, I'm in.*

...

"This is Jess" "Nice to meet you Jess" "Likewise" **Well, fuck.** Jess was the second roommate that I met the first was inconsequential. He didn't care much for me, and I for him, we just pretended like the other didn't exist. Jess though. Jess was a sweetheart, I regret not getting to know her as well as I should. She was too nice to deserve all of this.

...

*Didn't you hear Aura Moved on*

*Moved on how?*

*Our dear friend had her first one night stand last night*

*Well then, I happen to be coming over tonight, will I see you*

*I most certainly hope so.*

...

"Why not me? What's wrong with me?" "Nothing's wrong with you, I just see us as friends that's all" "But not her?" "It's different with her." "I don't think I want to see you ever again". She soon told me that it was her wish for me to never sleep with Jess or any of her other roommates again.

...

**Aura I'm sorry that what I did hurt you, that was never my intention. I want to make it up to you.**

**How?**

...

"Hey Gwen, Aura home?" "She'll be back later, I hear you have a plan to make things alright" "Whiskey fixes all" "I think I'm starting to like you" **Don't even think about it, Aura almost killed you last time** Jess had left to go visit family for a while. Gwen was the last roommate. She and I had met before, Aura had introduced us on her first night at the house. She was intimidatingly cool.

...

"Shit. Aura's awake" "What do we do now?" "we have to stop, she can't find out what happened" "Agreed, She'll kill me if she finds out."

...

Circumstance dictate that I leave a short while after all of this. Eventually Aura found out. Jess found out too. Neither were too pleased. I can only imagine what they had to say to each other.

title: Brevity and Pettiness

question: Who is Erica?

answer: Erica is a girl the narrator meets in his history class.

question: What project was the guy trying to get her to work on?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Who does the narrator break up with?

answer: The narrator breaks up with Aura.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer:
The narrator meets Al in his history class and falls for her. During that time he is dating Aura and so, he decides to break it off with her. But when he breaks the news to Aura, she seems like she is already over him.

Aura moves to a new place. The narrator meets her new roommates Jess and Gwen. They both seem cool to hang out with.


text:
[mzl.ehgqieyz.320x480-75]It seems like the longer you play _Magic: The Gathering_, the more massive your collection of cards inevitably grows, and the greater the urge is to somehow digitize it all becomes. Whether it’s because you’ve got tens of thousands of dollars of cards you want record of for insurance purposes, a neurotic need to catalog everything, or maybe just to quickly view your mana curve in a deck, that itch is definitely there. The problem is, every other app I’ve tried that serves this purpose has involved _loads of typing_. It’s just the nature of any data collection app, as the first step of analyzing any data is actual often irritating data entry.

_CardSplice_ (Free) aims to change all that. Using technical wizardry that straddles the line between optical character recognition and feeling like straight up black majiks when it’s working properly, all you need to do is wave your cards in front of your iPhone camera to enter them in to the app. Admittedly, it’s far from perfect, and there’s a bit of a learning curve in regards to how you need to hold your phone in relation to the card, how ambient light needs to be hitting the card, and other finicky things that makes the card recognition stop working.

The good news is, the developer is totally on top of this with two options for making papercraft stands for both your iPhone and the cards themselves. Whether you fashion this apparatus via elaborately folding paper or the (seemingly much more simple) cutting a few junk _Magic_ cards up, removing all the variation of holding the phone, holding the card, and making sure the image isn’t blurry seemed to make things go substantially better.

_CardSplice_ is free to try, and a single $2.99 in-app purchase unlocks the recently released “Dragon’s Maze" card set as well as every other card set to be released in the future. Better yet, your data isn’t trapped in your phone either, which often is another negative of these style of databasing apps. It’s all uploaded to the _CardSplice_ site where there’s a variety of options for sharing, searching, and exporting.

Really, the only serious down-side of _CardSplice_ is that the oldest set of cards supported by the app is “Magic 2011," making the app perfect for Standard players, but not so great for fellow obsessive _M:TG_ nerds whose weeks are defined by which nights you’re playing Standard, Modern, and Legacy. But, hey, this is a great start and from where I’m sitting, a necessary utility for any iPhone-owning _Magic_ player.

UPDATE: If you’re into nitty gritty rules discussion, there’s a pretty interesting thread forming on Reddit with various Magic judges (including a level 5 judge) on whether or not using this in a sanctioned environment is legal.

[]

CardSplice introduces a new and innovative way to quickly detect, organize, and analyze Magic: The Gathering Cards. Tim…

Post navigation

question: What is Card Splice?

answer: An app that allows Magic: The Gathering players to organize and digitalize their cards.

question: How much will the app cost?

answer: The app is free to try but a single in-app purchase of $2.99 will unlock the recently released "Dragon's Maze" card set.

question: Does Card Splice support all card sets?

answer: It does not support the oldest set of cards.

question: Is the app supported on all smartphones?

answer: The app is only available on iPhones so far.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Card Splice is an app that allows players to detect and digitalize card collections from Magic: The Gathering.


text:
U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)▲

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci failed to disclose nearly $50,000 in political contributions while registered as a Washington lobbyist starting in the late 2000s, according to an Associated Press review of federal records.

The AP review identified five reporting periods from 2008 to 2010 while the Ohio Republican was registered as a lobbyist when he either failed to file the required disclosure form or reported giving no political contributions when he had given.

Renacci, a businessman and former Wadsworth mayor, is Republicans' favored candidate to win a GOP primary and take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall in one of the year's most closely watched Senate contests.

Renacci's campaign said that he never lobbied. They said he was registered as the lobbyist with the consulting firm he helped launch in 2008, Smokerise International Group, as a precautionary measure.

Renacci's attorney, Laura Mills, said he "never performed any lobbying activities."

"He requested my office to deactivate him in 2009, as the entity in which he was a member never performed any lobbying and he wanted to be in full compliance of the law prior to entering into Congress," Mills said.

Mills provided the AP a form not available online that listed Renacci's lobbyist status as "inactive" as of Aug. 1, 2009. The campaign said only active lobbyists are required to disclose their contributions.

But an AP review found Mills didn't file the companion form required to deactivate Renacci's registration until 2011. Renacci's registration was terminated as of May 2011, about four months after he entered Congress.

And Renacci continued to file and digitally sign lobbyist disclosure reports, other than the two he missed, through mid-2011, as an active lobbyist would.

His campaign refused to specify why he filed the reports if, as it contended, they were not required or to address the inaccurate reporting of his contributions.

Campaign spokesman James Slepian said the campaign's position was "there would be no requirement for (Renacci) to report them since he never lobbied at any point."

Under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, signed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2007, federally registered lobbyists are required to disclose all federal political contributions of more than $200.

Along with that beefed-up transparency, the law increased civil penalties for knowing and willful reporting violations from $50,000 to $200,000.

A senior researcher at the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks lobbyists' efforts to influence congressional candidates and members, said submitting accurate lobbyist filings provides the public with its "only real source of information about how Washington is operating, and how government officials are being influenced and/or supported."

"It's somewhat self-policed, so we rely on the filers to file honest and accurate reports," researcher Dan Auble said.

Federal Election Commission reports show Renacci gave $26,875 in federal donations to other Republican candidates and party organizations that he didn't disclose on lobbyist forms and $17,450 to his own campaign.

AP's review found that Renacci:

— Filed no disclosure report for Jan. 1 to June 30, 2008, his first period as a registered lobbyist;

— Reported "No Contributions" for July 1 to Dec. 31, 2008, when he'd given two $2,300 contributions and a $12,500 contribution to campaign funds supporting Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential bid and $7,900 to Ohio Republican Party committees;

— Filed no report for Jan. 1 to June 30, 2009, when he'd given $1,000 to LaTourette for Congress;

— Reported "No Contributions" for July 1 to Dec. 31, 2009, when he'd given $500 to Portman for Senate, $375 to the Stark County GOP and $2,400 to his congressional campaign;

— Reported "No Contributions" for Jan. 1 to June 30, 2010, when he'd given $15,050 to his campaign.

All federal contributions over $200, including to one's own campaign, are required to be disclosed on the lobbyist disclosure form.

question: Are lobbyists expected to only contribute money that's not their own?

answer: It's implied that the expectation is that money they give comes from sources other than their own.

question: Did Representative Renacci give exorbitantly large donations.

answer: No, not really. The largest donation was $15,000.

question: How much could penalties be?

answer: Up to $200,000.

question: Why is there confusion about his status as a lobbyist?

answer: Because he filed half the required forms to end his tenure as a lobbyist, but kept submitting some reports as if he was still active. He also received donations he didn't disclose.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: US Representative Renacci is in hot water after failing to disclose $50,000 worth of contributions made to him during his tenure as a lobbyist immediately before becoming a congressman. There is confusion regarding his time as a lobbyist because he filed half the required forms to end his tenure as a lobbyist, but kept submitting some reports as if he was still active. He also received donations he didn't disclose. Fines could range between $50,000 and $200,000.


text:
The 2007 NERFU College Men's Division IV Rugby Tournament featured 8 teams from four conferences. The top 2 teams in each conference were seeded according to the success of their conference in the previous year.

In the championship match at the Kirwin Memorial Pitch at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, newcomer Salve Regina University lost to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by a score of 34-15. The match was well attended. Following the match, both UMASS Dartmouth and Salve Regina were promoted to Division III for the 2008 season.

Cup Championship Bracket

2008 Category:2007 in American rugby union Category:2007 rugby union tournaments for clubs

question: How many teams did the NERFU tournament feature?

answer: The 2007 NERFU tournament featured 8 teams.

question: Where was the championship match played?

answer: The championship match was played at Kirwin Memorial Pith at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island.

question: Who won the tournament?

answer: The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth won the tournament.

question: What was the score of the championship match?

answer: The final score of the championship match was 34-15.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The 2007 NERFU College Men's Division IV Rugby tournament featured 8 teams from four conferences. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth won the tournament.


text:
[Former Turkish school]

The AZIZYIE MOSQUE () is a mosque located at 2 Independenței Street in Tulcea, Romania, in the Dobruja region.

It was built in 1863, during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, to whom it is dedicated and after whom it is named. Among the largest mosques built by the Ottoman Empire in Dobruja, it is made of cut stone 85 cm thick. It has 32 windows, of which 18 are on the upper part, ensuring natural lighting for the interior terrace that surrounds the building on three sides. From the period when the mosque was founded, a Turkish school functioned adjacent to the mosque;[1] dating to 1865, it is now closed.[2] The current minaret dates to 1897. By that time, Dobruja was part of the Romanian Old Kingdom, and the minaret was rebuilt using funds supplied by the Religious Affairs and Public Instruction Ministry.[3]

The mosque and the former school are listed as historic monuments by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]  “Geamia / Moscheea Azizyie, Tulcea” at the Tulcea County Council site

[4]  Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Tulcea

title: Azizyie Mosque

question: What is the exact address of the Azizyie Mosque?

answer: 2 Independenței Street in Tuleca, Romania, in the Dobruja region.

question: When was it built?

answer: It was built in 1863 and deticated to Sultan Abülaziz who reigned at the time.

question: How big is it?

answer: It is one of the largest mosques built by the Ottoman Empire in Dobruja and is made of cut stone 85 cm thick. It has 32 windows.

question: Is it still operational?

answer: The mosque along with a Turkish school which functioned next door have both been listed as historic monuments.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Azizyie Mosque was erected in Tuleca, Romania, in the Dobruja region in 1863 and dedicated to Sultan Abülaziz, who reigned at the time. It is one of the largest mosques built by the Ottoman Empire in Dobruja and it is made of cut stone 85 cm thick and has 32 windows. Today, the mosque along with a Turkish school which functioned next door have both been listed as historic monuments.


text:
The 2017 SUPERLIGA COLOMBIANA (known as the 2017 SUPERLIGA ÁGUILA for sponsorship purposes) was the sixth edition of the Superliga Colombiana. It was contested by the champions of the 2016 Categoría Primera A season from 21 January to 29 January 2017.[1] Santa Fe were the winners, beating Independiente Medellín 1–0 on aggregate score.

Teams

  Team                     Qualification                 Previous appearances (bold indicates winners)
  ------------------------ ----------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  Independiente Medellín   2016 Apertura champions       _None_
  Santa Fe                 2016 Finalización champions   2 (2013, 2015)

Matches

First leg

Second leg

[1]

title: 2017 Superliga Colombiana

question: What was the 2017 Superliga Colombiana?

answer: The 2017 Superliga Colombiana was the sixth edition of the Superliga Colombiana.

question: When was the 2017 Superliga Colombiana contesed?

answer: The 2017 Superliga Colombiana was contesed from 21 January to 29 January 2017.

question: Which team was the winner of the 2017 Superliga Colombiana?

answer: Santa Fe were the winners of the 2017 Superliga Colombiana.

question: Who played in the finals of the 2017 Superliga Colombiana?

answer: Santa Fe and Medellín played in the finals of the 2017 Superliga.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The 2017 Superliga Colombiana, contesed from 21 January to 29 January 2017, was the sixth edition of the Superliga Colombiana. Santa Fe and Medellín played in the finals of the 2017 Superliga, and Santa Fe won.


text:
CSE: MDM
FSE: 2M0
OTCQB: MRPHF

KELOWNA, BC, Dec. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Marapharm Ventures Inc. (the "Company") announces that it has entered into an agreement with Emerging Equities Inc. (the "Agent") pursuant to which the company will offer, on a private placement basis, up to 20,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.86 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for proceeds of up to $17,200,000 (the "Offering").

Each unit will consist of one common share of the company (each a "Share") and one share purchase warrant of the company (each, a "Warrant"). Each warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one share at an exercise price of $1.25 at any time up to 12 months following the closing date (as defined below). The expiry date of the warrants is subject to acceleration such that, if following the closing date, the volume weighted average closing price of the shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") for 20 consecutive trading days is at least $1.72, the company may accelerate the expiry date of the warrants.

The offering will be completed pursuant to the terms of an agency agreement to be entered into between the company and the agent. Net proceeds from the offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes.

On closing of the offering, the company will pay to the agent a cash commission (the "Agent's Fee") equal to 10% of the gross proceeds of the offering placed by the agent, in cash; provided, however, that the agent's fee will be reduced to 4% of the gross proceeds from subscriptions by certain subscribers from a president's list of subscribers arranged by the company (the "President List"). In addition, the company will issue to the agent as compensation for its services such number of agent's warrants (the "Agent's Warrants") as is equal to 10% of the number of units placed by the agent; provided, however, that the agent's warrants will be reduced to an amount equal to 4% of the gross proceeds from subscriptions on the president list. Each agent's warrant is exercisable to acquire one share at $0.87 per share for a period of 14 months from the closing date.

Closing of the offering, which is subject to customary conditions, including CSE approval, are expected to occur on or about January 30, 2018 (the "Closing Date"). The offering will be offered to accredited investors (as such term is defined in National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemption) in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities issued, or to be issued, under the offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

ABOUT MARAPHARM VENTURES INC.

www.marapharm.com

Marapharm is a publicly traded company primarily investing in the medical and recreational cannabis space, with corporate operations based in British Columbia, Canada. Since 2016 they have rapidly expanded their footprint to include production locations in the key North American states of Washington, Nevada, and California. They actively seek expansion opportunities worldwide.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: facebook.com/marapharm

Twitter: twitter.com/marapharm

STOCK EXCHANGES:

Marapharm trades in Canada, ticker symbol MDM on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol MRPHF on the OTCQB, and in Europe, ticker symbol 2Mo on the FSE. Marapharm also trades on other recognized platforms in Europe including Stuttgart, Tradegate, L & S, Quotnx, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Berlin.

Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB® has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB® accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

MARIJUANA INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT:

Canadian listings (CSE) will remain in good standing as long as they provide the disclosure that is rightly required by regulators and complying with applicable licensing requirements and the regulatory framework enacted by the applicable state in which they operate.

Marapharm owns marijuana licenses in California and Nevada. Marijuana is legal in each state however marijuana remains illegal under US federal law and the approach to enforcement of US federal law against marijuana is subject to change. Shareholders and investors need to be aware that adverse enforcement actions could affect their investments and that Marapharm's ability to access private and public capital could be affected and or could not be available to support continuing operations. Marapharm's business is conducted in a manner consistent with state law and is in compliance with licensing requirements.

Copies of licenses are posted on Marapharm's website. Marapharm has internal compliance procedures in place and has compliance focused attorneys engaged in jurisdictions to monitor changes in laws for compliance with US federal and state law on an ongoing basis. These law firms inform any necessary changes to our policies and procedures for compliance in Canada and the US.

FORWARD - LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements contained in this news release consti

question: What is Marapharm?

answer: A publicly traded company primarily investing in the medical and recreational cannabis space

question: Where is Marapharm based?

answer: Its corporate operations are based in British Columbia, Canada.

question: What is Marapharm valued at?

answer: This information is not available

question: Where does Marapharm own marijuana licenses?

answer: In California and Nevada.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Marapharm, a Canadian publicly traded company, is investing in medical and recreational cannabis space. They have been expanding their footprint to include production locations in key North American States.


text:
It means an additional search through your wallet before cracking open a cold beer from the liquor vending machines most of us take for granted. But rest assured, it’s for a good cause.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  []
  A local resident inserts his driver’s license into an ID reader before buying a beer from a vending machine in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward.
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A growing number of the machines, criticized for years as abetting underage drinking, are being fitted with ID readers to curb alcohol abuse by minors. For those who do not have a driver’s license, stores can issue a card with a magnetic strip upon confirmation of age.

While gauging reaction to the new system, a man in his 50s was spotted fishing out his liquor card and almost unconsciously inserting it into the vending machine in front of a store in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward.

He said that he buys beer from the machine every day on his way home from work, and that the ID scanning did not bother him a bit. “It’s more troublesome to go into the shop and get the attention of the owner just for a can of beer,” he said.

Yet, the store’s owner said sales via the vending machine have dropped by roughly 50 percent since the machine was put in place in early March.

Industry observers said sales of ID-reading machines have been strong since the start of this year, following the Dec. 31 introduction of tougher punishment for liquor store owners selling alcohol to minors.

Fuji Denki Reiki Co., a major vending machine manufacturer, said it has sold about 1,000 of the machines so far, with 200 units purchased in February alone.

The Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association said that about 7,000 such machines were installed nationwide as of the end of last year.

While this increase reflects store owners’ concerns over the tougher laws, it is also a symbol of their desperate efforts to secure higher ground in the battle against newcomers, especially convenience stores.

According to insiders, the liquor shop business used to be a lucrative operation, protected from potential rivals by a strict licensing system.

“The business used to be so profitable that sons with college degrees would quit their office jobs to succeed their parents,” one insider said.

Yet, their dominance over the 6.2 trillion yen liquor market has eroded in recent years, with the license system gradually succumbing to government deregulation efforts.

In January, regulations prohibiting the opening of new establishments within 100 meters of an existing store in urban areas were dropped entirely.

Rules limiting the number of stores according to population are also being relaxed, from one liquor shop per 1,450 people in fiscal 1998 to one per 1,100 in fiscal 2002 in big cities.

Such moves have opened the market to discounters and convenience stores, with the former having a competitive edge on the pricing front and the latter in terms of longer hours.

According to Distributing Business Study Co., a private think tank, mom-and-pop liquor stores held 76.2 percent of market share against convenience store chains’ 3.5 percent and discount stores’ 0.5 percent in 1983.

But by 2000, liquor stores were estimated to have a market share of 27 percent against convenience stores’ 22 percent and discounters’ 31 percent.

Alarmed, liquor store owners have argued that unchecked deregulation will leave the sale of liquor open to irresponsible business practices.

“In Europe and other countries, there are regulations on the sale of alcoholic beverages. Only Japan is moving toward allowing anyone to sell alcohol under the name of deregulation,” said Hideo Seki, secretary general of the All Japan Liquor Merchants Association, a group of 130,000 liquor store owners nationwide.

The association argues that only traditional license holders, well established in the community, can responsibly sell alcoholic products.

Its criticism focuses especially on convenience stores, where they allege that part-timers on late-night shifts — often minors themselves — inadvertently sell alcohol to underage customers.

To “prevent underage drinking and nurture a responsible liquor trade,” the association is calling for the establishment of qualified sales managers on the shop floor.

The industry’s parliamentary group, consisting of Liberal Democratic Party members, is currently planning to submit to the Diet a bill mandating such personnel.

Convenience stores vehemently oppose such a plan, saying it is an attempt by entrenched liquor shop owners to block new market entry.

“First of all, we don’t understand how ‘qualified sales managers’ can do any better in preventing alcohol sales to minors than shop clerks given strict instructions,” said Hideki Murayama, secretary general of the Japan Franchise Association, whose members include major convenience store chains.

The argument for moral correctness and social responsibility, however, seems to fall flat in the face of liquor vending machines that sit outside liquor shops.

In 1995, the liquor store association decided on a self-imposed time-limit to remove liquor vending machines from the streets by May 2000. Yet many store owners, heavily dependent on the machines, did not heed the call.

“We cannot do business without vending machines,” a store owner in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, said, noting the store’s three machines earn about 20 percent to 25 percent of its sales.

“It is a matter of life and death, for we cannot stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.

The franchise association’s Murayama said liquor store owners should fulfill their social obligations before criticizing others, adding that all its members removed their machines by the end of November.

While the ID-reading machines may appear to be one answer to the problem, their introduction has failed to win support on all sides. Seki of the liquor store association, for example, finds it difficult to hide his frustration.

“The machines are a symbol of the self-contradiction the industry embraces,” he said. “It is hypocritical to keep vending machines while calling for greater consumer protection.”

Yutaka Yoshida, president of Distributing Business Study Co., takes an even harsher stance toward store owners’ continued use of vending machines, which he calls “the root of all evil.”

He charges that machines with ID readers are a cheap trick: “The liquor shop owners cannot make any persuasive (moral) argument unless they get rid of the machines.”

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question: What measure is being put in place to put underage beer drinking in Japan?

answer: Vending machines are being equipped with ID readers to scan driver's license.

question: What has been the effect of this change?

answer: Alcohol sales from vending machines dropped by 50%.

question: What is the general feeling of some liquor store owner on the new ID scanning installations on vending machines?

answer: They are concerned about their profits because of the tougher lows on selling to minors.

question: What advantage do some other liquor store other perceive in these new vending machines?

answer: Some liquor store owners believe vending machines can offer a more reliable 24-hour service than a liquor store.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Japanese government has mandated the use of ID-scanning vending machines to deter the sale of alcohol to minors. This move has divided the liquor stores owners who are grappling with this change. While some believe these machines will help them deliver better 24-hour service, some feel it would undercut sales and out people to buy beer in convenience stores instead.


text:
josh was an ordinary boy Just like you or me or... so it seemed, on the outside he was just a boy who for some reason , Hated life. In other words he was just a fifteen year old boy who showed no emotion, no feeling, no compassion. He appeared as if he WANTED to be hated in public, wearing clothes no other would DARE to wear at fancy party's he wore jeans a novelty shirt such as a video game character and he always held a cane for NO reason when asked the question "josh what has happened to you" he would reply,
"that name serves no purpose to me ... and what did i TELL YOU! i am the same GUY" but he wasn't he had changed... he had not always been like this with jet black hair the dyed red tip scraping his chin. people around him would know, he would only talk sorrow and death after that day... he spoke to M

title: Black and M a short story i am begging to write please tell me what you think

question: What kind of shirts does Josh normally wear at parties?

answer: Novelty shirts.

question: How old is Josh?

answer: 15 years old.

question: What color is Josh's hair?

answer: Jet black.

answer: N/a

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Josh is a normal 15-year-old on the outside. On the inside, however, he is filled with rage and discontent - a fact he is willing to communicate by wearing novelty shirts with outrageous captions.


text:
WOYIN KAROWEI DORGU (born June 1958) is a Nigerian-born Church of England bishop and former medical doctor. He has been the Bishop of Woolwich, an area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark, since his consecration on 17 March 2017.

Early life and education

Dorgu was born in June 1958 in Burutu, Nigeria.[1] From 1979 to 1985, he studied at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, graduating with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees.[2][3] He then worked as a general practitioner (GP).[4]

In 1987, Dorgu moved to the United Kingdom.[5] From 1990 to 1993, he studied theology at the London Bible College, an evangelical theological college in Northwood, Greater London.[6] He completed a Diploma in Evangelism in 1991, a Diploma in Pastoral Studies in 1993, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1993.[7][8] In 1993, he entered Oak Hill College, a Conservative Evangelical theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[9] He left after two years to be ordained in the Church of England.

Ordained ministry

Dorgu was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon, by David Hope, Bishop of London, on 1 July 1995 at St Paul's Cathedral;[10] and as a priest in 1996.[11] From 1995 to 1998, he served his curacy at St Mark's Church, Tollington Park, Islington in the Diocese of London.[12][13] He then joined St John the Evangelist Church, Upper Holloway; he served as an assistant curate/associate vicar from 1998 to 2000, team vicar from 2000 to 2012, and was the Vicar (incumbent) from 2012.[14][15] On 6 March 2016, he was additionally made a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral.[16]

Episcopal ministry

On 20 December 2016, Dorgu was announced as the next Bishop of Woolwich, a suffragan and area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark.[17] He was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during service at Southwark Cathedral on 17 March 2017.[18][19] At the end of the service, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, gifted Dorgu a mitre; this mitre had been given to Sentamu by Wilfred Wood, the first black bishop in the Church of England and a former bishop of the Diocese of Southwark.[20] As such, Dorgu became the first ever Nigerian bishop in the Church of England,[21] and the only black bishop to be consecrated in the Church of England since Sentamu in 1996.[22]

Views

Dorgu identifies with the evangelical tradition of the Church of England.[23] He supports the Church's current position on human sexuality; it defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and requires gay clergy to be celibate.[24]

Personal life

Dorgu is married to Mosun; she also trained as a medical doctor in Nigeria and now works as a consultant child psychiatrist.[25] Together they have two sons: Timi and Josh (died 2015).[26][27]

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title: Karowei Dorgu

question: Who is Karowei Dorgu?

answer: Dorgu is a Nigerian-born Church of England bishop.

question: What is Dorgu's education?

answer: Dorgu is a medical doctor and a theologist.

question: How many children does Dorgu have?

answer: Dorgu had two sons, but one of them died in 2015.

question: What does Dordu think about homosexuality?

answer: He requires homosexual people to be celibate.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Dorgu was born in 1958 in Nigeria. He graduated with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees and then worked as a general practitioner in Nigeria. He moved to the UK in 1987 and studied theology there. Dorgu became the first Nigerian bishop in the Church of England, and the only black bishop to be consecrated in the Church of England since Sentamu in 1996.