text:
My name is Chris Smith. I am 15 years old and I live in the middle of a forest in Kansas. I am home schooled by my mom, and my dad is a business man in a town nearby. He leaves for work early and gets home late so I rarely see him. I am an only child and my best friend Taylor lives about a mile away. My favorite part about living in a forest is my shed.. I go there all the time, and it is filled with my favorite things.
Last night, my mom told me about a man who killed a lot of people in a town not far from where my dad works. His name was Damien, but people usually called him Zarius. He lived there in the 1800s and he was caught and executed 6 years after the murders and that was the end of the story.
Today, when I woke up, I felt a little strange. I was very tired, despite sleeping for more than usual, and my whole body felt numb. Then, I felt as if something was pulling me towards the shed. It felt like there was something I needed to see. It felt like, fate was puling me to it.
I walked to it, and it felt suspicious. As I got closer, my need to go in it grew exponentially. There was a strange light coming from it. I walked in to see what was going on.
When I walked in, I felt something. I lost all control of my body and I couldn't move. It was completely black and I felt lonely, as if all in the world was slowly leaving me. After a few minutes, I was unconscious. I couldn't see or feel, rather than seeing and feeling the nothingness that surrounded me.
Suddenly, I woke up. I had no idea where I was or what time it is. There was the dim light of the darkness, so I knew I was seeing actual things. And, I could feel. I felt the wet floor under me and I could hear dripping.
I got up and looked around. Nothing gave me any clue to where I was. I heard a noise at the end of the corridor. I grabbed a piece of wood and waited. I saw a silhouette of what seemed like a man. I yelled “Hello” but rather than responding, it made a groaning sound. I heard the wet footsteps of his running and shortly after, it turned it's lantern on. It came around the corner and I got a good look at it.
It had the basic shape of a human, but it was still very deformed. It had a very ugly face and no eyes. It looked as if there was an “x” stitched where it's eyes should be. It had no nose and it didn't seem like it had ears or hair.
It walked towards me. I tried to stay still but I wanted to run. Just as I was about to book it, I heard a loud thump. The monster hit the ground and I lay there, confused and tired. Just then I lost consciousness.
I woke up in a big room filled with candles and lanterns. As I sat up and tried to orientate myself, I hear footsteps. I jumped up, only to hear a woman's voice.
“Whoa, calm down buddy” she said. “We felt a newcomer so we went to check it out, I guess we were a little too late.”
“Where am I- Where are we? What is this place?” I asked, nervously.
“It's not what it is, it's what it isn't. It may not be very believable, but we are in another universe. Now I know this isn't the kind of news someone can expect to hear on a peaceful Saturday morning, but yes, it is true”
“Will we ever get out?”
“We can only hope” She said, as she walked away, motioning me to come.
I walked with her. We walked past a few other people. I didn't know where we were going, but for some reason, I felt safe. It was reassuring to be away from those “things”. For now, at least.
Speaking of which, I've heard they're called “walkers”. I heard a loud crash come from the other side of the room. I saw a shadow, only it was floating. It was very interesting.
I heard someone yell “Run! It's the others!”. I ran with the group and I could see the destruction behind me. There was no stopping now, I had to run.
As I was running, I noticed how fast I was going. I ran past everybody and I couldn't see where everyone was. I still heard them yelling in the distance. I looked around. It looked strangely familiar even though I was fairly certain I haven't been there before.
After standing there for a moment I heard small footsteps. It wasn't the same footsteps I heard before, it wasn't trudging and it didn't sound as heavy. It also sounded faster.
The story will be finished soon :P

title: The Darkness (I'm only 13 tell me what you think)

question: Summarize how the narrator introduces themselves.

answer: The narrator introduces themselves by calling themselves Chris Smith. He is 15 years old and is home schooled by his mom. He lives in a forest in Kansas and his favorite thing about living in a forest is his shed.

question: Summarize the order of events that occurred after the narrator's mom told him about Zarius.

answer: Once the narrator's mom told him about Zarius, the narrator stated that he woke up feeling strange. He was drawn to his shed and he went there. As he walked in, he felt something and lost all control of his body. He became unconscious soon and and suddenly woke up to a place he had no clue about. He saw a silhouette of a man but soon saw that the "man" was deformed.

question: Will the narrator and others escape from the walkers?


split: train

text:
SIR FREDERICK ALEXIS EATON (20 January 1838 – 10 September 1913) was a British writer and editor. He was Secretary and chronicler of the Royal Academy, and a medievalist.[1][2][3][4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Frederick A. Eaton

question: Who was Sir Frederick Alexis Eaton?

answer: A writer and editor.

question: What was his nationality?

answer: British.

question: What year did he die?

answer: 1913.

question: Which academy did he chronicle?

answer: The Royal Academy.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Sir Frederick Alexis Eaton was a British writer and editor who chronicled the Royal Academy. He was also a medievalist.


text:
VLADIMIR (Albanian: KATËRKOLLË) is a village in Ulcinj Municipality located in southern Montenegro.[1]

Demographics

According to Montenegro's 2011 census, the population of Vladimir is 99.6% ethnically Albanian.[2] Moreover, 99.2% of the town's population considers Albanian to be their mother tongue.[3] Approximately 99.5% of the population follow Islam.[4]

Notes

-   Montenegrin Cyrillic spelling

-   Albanian name

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Vladimir, Ulcinj

question: What Municipality does Vladimir lie in?

answer: Vladimir is in the Ulcinj Municipality.

question: What census does this information come from?

answer: This information comes from Montenegro's 2011 census.

question: What religion is most of Vladimir?

answer: Most of Vladimir follow Islam.

question: What percentage of people in Vladimir consider Albanian to be their mother tongue?

answer: 99.2 percent of people in Vladimir consider Albanian to be their mother tongue.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Vladimir is a village in southern Montenegro that is mainly Albanian and mainly Muslim.


text:
Sorry in advance, my new year's resolution was to try my hand at writing at least once a week, so this is my sloppy first attempt at a pointless short story. Bear with me, it really is pretty short.

	I looked down and saw the little pock marks on the long bruises I called arms, and rolled down my sleeves. There was a whistling sound in my head driving me bad shit mad.

...

	So he looked at me with his sad face, with his petty remorse and his puppy dog eyes. “I have to do this, and I’m offering you a place in my committee because I want you to be here with me, making more money than you already do and hopefully living a better life.”

	I was fuming but something was gnawing at me in the back of my head. What if he was saying this kindly, not sarcastically? It took me a second to register that he wasn’t faking any emotions.

	I realized that the entire life I had known him he was a real, authentic individual. I guess the past several years had taken its toll on me, and I may have become slightly cynical. I looked up and into his eyes and saw no dark spots of mal-intent. He was a businessman, yes, and a wealthy and calculated one at that. But he had a core, sensible and clean, that he had always held within him since before he was picking my sorry ass off the floor after fights in junior high. He legitimately cared for me, but as I usually did, I dug deeper. I thought about his goals. He had a family, and however poorly he treated his kids, the real kindness you can find in a man isn’t reflected by how often he treats his children, but simply how he treats them. Molding them to have traits for success isn’t a poor thing of him to do at all, and when he was kind and loving to them it was golden with no itemistic parts. He never treated them to ice cream or toys as rewards, they had birthdays and christmas, but even then maybe a surprise toy wasn’t the worst thing in the world for them. It was more the principle that a reward system was right for his kids, he would rather them be content with what they had. It was important to him, contentedness, the rich, bussiness-expanding, effluent douchebag.

	He just gave them his holy words and that was more than enough to have them happy for that day and give them a lingering dad-high for the rest of the week.

But in the end, he valued his family over me. He knew that in the end, he would have to do something about me, and bringing me in was the best he could do. No, he just wanted to do it, the difference being that I could tell he wanted this all along, for me to with him.

I selfishly said no.

I told him I had more important things to do than to be in his heartless rich-boy 401k club and told him my family relied on me and it was all lies, every word. I wanted to tear up and give him the hug I had held in since junior high, but my head was somewhere else. It was as if somebody else had taken over my body and was headstrong, pessimistic, and a complete and utter liar. I told him to fuck off, and I told him to kill himself. I wanted to be dead. My family hated me and I was going down the rabbit hole. I was going to be homeless in a week and a day if by tomorrow he decided to go through with his plan.

	I walked up, sarcastically thanked him, feinted him a handshake and then punched him in his jaw. As hard as I possibly could. Who did he think he was? Toying with my emotions as he did.
	 He took another blow to the face. Somebody other than me was doing it, I swear. I was next to the man doing it, looking at HIM over his shoulder, but he was getting bloodier and bloodier. I got up and saw blood on my knuckles. That’s weird, I thought. There was no blood from my first hit on him. His lip split on the third blow. I shrugged, confused, and left the room. I could hear him crying. Maybe it was me. My world was bending, swirling into a hole, and I wasn’t even fighting the current dragging me into it. I laughed and fell into the rabbit hole, cursing love and intentions, where they could never hurt me again. I looked up, saw the sky and broken glass, which was falling, increasing in velocity, but never passing me. It was a curious sight, I wonder why it wa-

title: Out of place and into the dark (Cheesy as fuck title)

question: Why does the narrator think that the man treats his children poorly

answer: The narrator points out the father seldom gives his children treats, though he concedes that this may not be a measure of kindness. The man wants his children to succeed in life so he molds so by offering rewards for achievements rather than gifts for holidays. He wanted his children to be content with what they had.

question: Why does the narrator hit the man?

answer: The man had offered him an opportunity but the narrator turns him down and tells him to fuck off and die. Even though he loved the man. Perhaps the narrator's judgment was impaired by drug use. Perhaps he didn't think he deserved such an opportunity

question: Under what circumstance did the narrator and the man meet?

question: What is the likely cause of the narrator's current social position.

answer: The narrator appears to be down and out and his family hates him. It is likely that his situation has come to this because of the use of intravenous drugs.


text:
It’s strange how much things will change in a couple of months.  The thought echoes in your head, melding with the hollow sound your boots make on the pavement.  As you search around you, your eyes are met with gloom and the destruction of humanity.  You squint in the glare of the setting sun reflecting off of the windshields of vehicles.  Not all are empty of human occupancy, but all are devoid of life.  It was a hot day, but the heat was fading into the cool shade of night, and your sweat-damp shirt does little to cut the twilight breeze.  Gooseflesh raises on your arms and neck, alerting you to the need to find camp for the night.

You step off the shoulder of the road and pass noiselessly into the woods.  You choose your steps, but your careful endeavors are still enough to alert a protective squirrel of your presence.  It screams in anger, startling you.  Your body reacts before conscious thought catches up to your actions.  You are looking down the sights of your .40 caliber Sig Sauer with the safety off before the two sync again.  You are ready to kill.  You flip the safety back on and holster your gun.  You can’t see the squirrel to shoot for meat, and it is of no threat to you.

The shrill noise echoes in the distance.  It is an eerie sound.  You realize it is the first sound of a sentient creature you have heard all day.  You also realize that in a place where you would have once jumped in startlement you now readied yourself to destroy another life.  The idea doesn’t disgust you as it would have.  In fact, the reaction pleases you.  The thought flickers along your brain again:

Strange indeed

Your reflexes have been well earned, surviving in a perversion of what had been.  You don’t know why it all went to hell- that’s above your pay grade-, but it did, and when it did, it went big.  In a month the world had been drug by its ankles to the darkest pits of hell,  Cerberus nipping at it the entire way down.  War had broken out in the streets.  Brother fought brother in the streets.  Looters rampaged through everything, hoarding food and water. A couple committed suicide on TV because that would show their true devotion to the Lord.  Through it all reporters had stuck with it.  They were brave.  They went into the thick of things and tried to establish peace and logic, to shed light on what had been happening.  They failed.  The radio waves were blank now, those courageous souls all dead- succumbed to this new world.

 Pure luck had got you out of the city, and after that, you simply survived.  It didn’t matter what cost, you did.  You have eaten dog, rat, and crow after the measly supply ran out- and even with your lower standards you went hungry most nights.  But you haven’t eaten human, you aren't there... yet.  You had killed to survive.  Four dogs, seven cats, countless rats, a bear, a deer, and three humans.  The humans you felt no remorse for.  They had tried to kill you.  One tried to stab you in the night for your pack, another because they were wounded and dying, and you gave her mercy.  The last had simply tried to kill you because you looked like a meal to him.  That had been the easiest kill of all.  What haunted you was the look on the animals’, especially the deer’s face.  You had shot it through the back legs.  It hadn't been able to move.  As you approached it to finish the job you made eye contact with it.  The pain in its large, innocent eyes would haunt your dreams the rest of your life.  But it had fed you.  Its hide kept you warm at night.  You survived.

It was the day you killed the deer that you had stopped counting the days since you had left your home.  It was that day that you lost emotion.  That day had changed you.  You hadn't spoken, hummed, or sang since that day.  You simply lived.

Your thoughts are interrupted as the woods you were walking through gives way to a small meadow.  It smells of grass.  Across the meadow there is a tent, its door flap fluttering in the wind.  There are the remnants of a firepit some distance from the tent.  The receding light of the sun illuminates the scene.  Gooseflesh rises on your arms again, but not from the cold this time.  Pollen motes from some surrounding pines drift through the light.  It makes what you view somewhat hazy, giving it an otherworldly look.  There is an arm hanging out of the tent flap.  Crimson blood is crusted around pale fingers.  A gold band on her ring finger glows grudgingly in the light, miraculously untouched by the ichor.  You approach slightly further, and see the rest.  A woman is laying in the tent.  Someone had stabbed her.  Many times.  Her chest is one gaping wound.  Her face is a deathmask of terror, marring her pale beauty.  The emptiness in your chest begins to coalesce into a ball in your stomach.  The vomit comes up before you can turn away fully.  The retching hurts, and the acidity of your bile burns your throat.  You don’t know why you are vomiting- perhaps some of your lost humanity is still there.

When you are done you become aware of something else.  A low wheezing chuckle.  Your hand darts for your gun as something shifts in the tent.  You draw it as a sallow young man steps out of the tent.  His face is drawn and dirty except for where tears have washed it.  The chuckle comes from him.  He was handsome once, but it seems as if he hasn’t eaten or slept in weeks, and in those weeks grief has aged him millenia.  The end has hit him hard.  The chuckle becomes a laugh, and finally a deranged, hysterical scream.  It is a noise much worse than the squirrels.  It speaks of more pain than the deer could ever feel, and a disbelief of what this world has become.  “A grand joke, this is,” his scream says, “hilarious.”  You move back a pace, keeping your Sig between you and him.

Abruptly, he stops making noise.  In its absence you can hear birds that it disturbed fluttering off through the trees.  His sunken eyes make direct contact with yours.  A shiver runs along your spine.  He speaks.

“World’s gone to shit, ain’t it?”

You don’t respond.  You’re too confused by this to respond.  And your throat is too crusted over with the weight of this new world to speak anyways.  Instead you slightly incline your head in an affirmative nod.  He grins, understanding your pain as well.

“Oh well.  I ain’t the last.”

Your mind is too overcome with puzzlement to react to what happens next.  The man pulls a revolver from his pocket.  He raises it and fires, but not at you.  Blood spurts from his head as he smiles.  He crumples and falls next to the woman, ear-to-ear smile on his face and his scream still echoing in the distance.

Shock spreads throughout your body, then exits it.  You slowly holster your gun.  Your hand is shaking slightly for some reason.  You look up at the sky.  The sun is fading, but you decide its not too late to find another camp.  You walk back the way you came through the forest.  The squirrel screams again, but this time you don’t react.  You reach the road and continue walking.  Your long shadow pacing you.

As the sun sets the last light peeking through the trees glints of off the metal of the gun clutched in a cooling hand, and is dully reflected off of two golden bands on two lifeless hands, both miraculously untouched by blood.

title: My first attempt at writing. Needs a title and constructive criticism please.

question: Describe the setting of the story.

answer: The setting is a gloomy, apocalyptic world gone to hell, where humanity has been decimated by what appears to be war, disease, fighting on the streets, and the breakdown of society.

question: Did the narrator always have quick reflexes?

answer: No. The narrator's reflexes were earned trying to survive in the new world.

question: Explain why the narrator's set of morals and values still align with pre-apocalypse norms?

answer: The narrator's set of values and morals still align with pre-apocalypse norms because he only kills in self-defense and hasn't gone over the line by resorting to cannibalism.

question: Why did the man from the tent opt to kill himself instead of shooting the narrator?

answer: The man was probably dying (he was wheezing already) and he couldn't handle the grief of his wife's murder. He may also feel guilty for her death because he could have murdered his wife, or left her to search for supplies and return to find her dead. Either way, he's all alone.


text:
CARL CELIAN ICAHN (; born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified conglomerate holding company based in New York City, formerly known as American Real Estate Partners. He is also Chairman of Federal-Mogul, an American developer, manufacturer and supplier of powertrain components and vehicle safety products.

In the 1980s, Icahn developed a reputation as a “corporate raider” after profiting from the hostile takeover and asset stripping of the American airline TWA.[1][2] According to _Forbes_ magazine, Icahn had a net worth of $16.7 billion in 2020, making him the 26th-wealthiest person on the Forbes 400, and the 5th-wealthiest hedge fund manager.[3]

Icahn served as special economic adviser on financial regulation to U.S. President Donald Trump briefly in 2017, leaving amid concerns of conflicts of interest.[4][5][6][7][8]

Early life and education

Icahn was born in Brooklyn and raised in a Jewish family.[9][10] He was raised in the Far Rockaway, Queens neighborhood of New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School.[11] His father, Michael Icahn,[12] an atheist,[13] was a cantor, and later a substitute teacher. His mother, Bella (née Schnall) also worked as a schoolteacher.[14][15] Icahn graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in philosophy in 1957 after completing a senior thesis titled “The Problem of Formulating an Adequate Explication of the Empiricist Criterion of Meaning.”[16] He then entered New York University School of Medicine, but he dropped out after two years to join the army reserves.[17][18][19]

Business career

Early career 1961–2005

[This aircraft had originally been built in 1999 for TWA, as part of its last-minute fleet renewal, but due to Icahn's hostile take over was sold to American Airlines instead.] Icahn began his career on Wall Street as a stockbroker in 1961.[20] In 1968, with $150,000 of his own money and a $400,000 investment from his uncle, M. Elliot Schnall, which allowed him to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange,[21] he formed Icahn & Co., a securities firm that focused on risk arbitrage and options trading.[22] In 1978, he began taking controlling positions in individual companies.[23] Icahn developed a reputation as a “corporate raider” after his hostile takeover of Trans World Airlines in 1985.[24] Icahn systematically sold TWA's assets to repay the money he borrowed to purchase the company, which was described as “asset stripping.” In 1988, Icahn took TWA private, gaining a personal profit of $469 million, and leaving TWA with a debt of $540 million. In 1991, he sold TWA's London routes to American Airlines for $445 million.[25] He formed lowestfares.com to sell TWA tickets and acquired portions of Global Leisure Travel from Ramy El-Batrawi to merge into it.[26]

Icahn launched an unsuccessful $7 billion hostile takeover for 89% of U.S. Steel in late 1986.[27]

In July 2001, Icahn's Riverdale, LLC lent Genesisintermedia $100 million in exchange for an option to purchase 2 million shares of the company.[28]

In 2004, after Mylan Laboratories had announced a deal to acquire King Pharmaceuticals, Icahn purchased a large block of stock and threatened a proxy fight over the acquisition.[29] Mylan later gave up its efforts to acquire King.[30]

Takeover offers and pharmaceutical holdings: 2005–2010

In 2005, XO Holding announced its intention to sell the wired part of its business for $700 million to its majority shareholder and chairman Icahn; the money would be used to pay back its debts and to buy back its preferred stock for about $600 million from Icahn. Icahn would have then owned the wired business outright, and still own his 60% stake in XO. In spite of Icahn's majority ownership and the board of directors declaring the deal to be in the best interest of shareholders, R2 and other minority shareholders defeated the attempt through the Delaware Court in 2008, which awarded penalties for damages to the business caused by Icahn's self-dealing and/or conflict of interest.

In August 2006, Icahn bought stock in the video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, and later increased his holdings to 11.3% in 2009, becoming the company's second-largest shareholder.[31]

In January 2007, he purchased a 9.2% stake in Telik, a biotech company engaged in cancer research. He also made an investment of 6.1 million shares of WCI Communities (acquired by Lennar Corporation). He also owned about 33.5 million shares of Motorola, but in May was refused a seat on its board of directors. On February 9, 2007, Lear Corporation's board of directors accepted a $2.3 billion takeover offer from Icahn.[32][33] That month he also invested $50 million in Motricity, a North Carolina-based provider of mobile content delivery technology. In 2007, Icahn and his affiliates also owned majority positions in ACF Industries, American Railcar Industries, Philip Services, and NYSE-listed Icahn Enterprises. By September he also owned 8.5% of the business software company BEA Systems. He increased his holdings to 13% in October,[34] two months before Oracle Corporation announced it was purchasing BEA Systems.[35] Beginning in 2007, Icahn gradually increased his stake in biotechnology company Biogen.[36][37]

Icahn sold his casino interests in Nevada in February 2008, including the Stratosphere, Arizona Charlie's Boulder, Arizona Charlie's Decatur, and Aquarius Casino Resort which were operated through American Entertainment Properties, a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises. The sale price of $1.3 billion was roughly $1 billion more than he paid for the properties. In March 2008, Icahn sued Motorola as part of his effort to gain four seats on Motorola's board and force a sale of its mobile business.[38] In May 2008, Icahn purchased a large block of shares in Yahoo, and shortly thereafter threatened to start a proxy fight to remove Yahoo's board of directors in response to their rejection of Microsoft's takeover bid.[39] Instead, he forced an agreement to expand Yahoo's board to eleven members, including Icahn and two others of his choice.[40] In June 2008, Icahn launched _The Icahn Report_, which hosts United Shareholders of America where individual investors can sign up and campaign for shareholder rights. In September/October 2008 Icahn was involved in the rejected attempted purchase of Imclone by Bristol-Myers Squibb and in the eventual sale of Imclone to Eli Lilly and Company in an all-cash deal valued at $6.5 billion.[41] In December that year he filed suit against Realogy over a proposed debt swap.[42]

In April 2009, Icahn engaged in a proxy battle for Amylin.[43] In September, he offered to buy the shares of XO he did not already own for 55 cents each. He later raised his offer to 80 cents, which ultimately expired. In October, he resigned from the board of directors at Yahoo!,[44] and by the following February had reduced his equity stake from a one-time high of 75 million shares to 12 million shares.[45]

Icahn was a director of Blockbuster until January 2010 and the chairman of Imclone, Icahn Enterprises, XO Communications, WestPoint Home, Cadus, and American Railcar Industries. He is a beneficial owner of Adventrx Pharmaceuticals, and Vector Group. Icahn also tried to take over Marvel Comics.[46] Icahn, through a subsidiary of his Icahn Enterprises LP, acquired the Fontainebleau property in Las Vegas for about $150 million in February 2010. In March he was one of a group of lenders who purchased Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, bringing the company out of bankruptcy for $200 million. Also in March he conducted a failed takeover bid for Lionsgate Films.[47] In May he announced ownership of about 12% of Hain Celestial Group, Inc.,[48] and the purchase of an 8.54% stake in Lawson Software.[49]

Proxy battles and technology positions: 2010–2015

In May 2010, Icahn held a 6.9% stake in Mentor Graphics,[50] increasing to 14 percent in July. Mentor's retaliation with a poison-pill provision failed to deter Icahn who, in February of the next year, made an offer to buy the company for about $1.86 billion in cash.

In January 2011, Icahn once more made a bid to purchase the remaining shares of the XO Holder common stock.[51] By February he had accumulated a 9.08% stake in The Clorox Company (CLX).[52] On March 15, 2011, Mentor's board issued a strong warning to its shareholders against a proxy action by Icahn.[53]

In October 2012, Icahn purchased a 10% stake in Netflix.[54][55] In November, he tried to gain control of the Oshkosh Corp. board of directors.[56]

In February 2013, Forbes listed Icahn as one of the 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers.[57] By April he had accumulated a 9.2% stake in Nuance Communications, Inc.[58] On August 2, 2013, Icahn sued computer giant Dell and its board in an attempt to derail a $24.4 billion buyout bid by the CEO, Michael Dell, in favor of his own rumored forthcoming bid.[59] In October 2013, Icahn held 4.7 million shares of Apple, having been an outspoken proponent.[60][61][62] The same month, Icahn acquired around 61 million shares in Talisman Energy prompting shares in the ailing Canadian oil producer to surge.[63] Also that month he sold about 50% of his shares in Netflix for a profit in excess of $800 million in less than one year. In November he acquired a 12.5% interest in Hologic, a medical device and diagnostics manufacturer.

In January, 2014, Icahn paid another half billion dollars for Apple Inc. shares he considered “very cheap.”[64] Also in January, Icahn proposed to eBay to spin off PayPal, an e-commerce business. This started a proxy fight which was settled by April.[65] In October 2014, Icahn took a stake in Canadian energy company Talisman Energy. The company's stock price went down by 71% and he sold his shares two months later.[66]

Lyft, PayPal, and other pursuits: 2015–present

On May 15, 2015, Icahn made a $100 million investment in the ride-sharing service Lyft.[67] In November 2015, Icahn hired CBRE Group Inc. to market the unfinished resort Fontainebleau Las Vegas to potential buyers.[68] That month he swapped his stake in eBay for the same number of PayPal Holdings shares.[69] At that time Icahn held a 7.13% stake in Xerox, making him the second-largest investor after The Vanguard Group.[70] In December 2015 Icahn made a qualifying offer to purchase the auto-parts and maintenance chain Pep Boys for $15.50 a share.[71] He also raised his stake in the Houston-based energy company Cheniere Energy to 13.8%, making him its largest shareholder.[72] Icahn sold the unfinished Las Vegas casino, Fountainebleau, for $600 million in August 2017.[73]

In January 2016, Icahn held a 4.66% stake in Gannett Co. Inc.,[74] and also held shares in Cheniere Energy and Freeport-McMoRan, both of which declined in value.[75] Icahn sold his Apple shares in April 2016, citing concerns about Apple's relationship with China.[76] In August of that year he purchased 10 percent ownership of Herbalife; his holdings in the company were about 19 million shares by October.[77] Also in October, Icahn closed the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, citing a $350 million loss over several years as well as failure to reach a deal with striking union workers. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs.[78][79] That year he also increased his holdings in the car rental company The Hertz Corporation, after the company's stock price had declined significantly.[80]

On May 26, 2020, Icahn, 84, sold his entire 55.3 million shares of Hertz Global for 72 cents a share, according to a regulatory filing. His holding represented about 39 percent of the company's stock. Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the rental-car company, had filed for bankruptcy the previous week. This roughly six-year bet lost Icahn almost $1.6 billion. [81]

Icahn has been critical of passive investing and index funds, believing that the practice has led to a bubble in the price of US stocks.[82]

Public policy and economic views

Icahn endorsed Donald Trump for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He also announced the formation of a super PAC pledging $150 million to push for corporate tax reform, in particular of inversions, which occur when corporations leave the U.S. to take advantage of lower tax rates elsewhere.[83]

Upon becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump announced that he would nominate Icahn for Treasury Secretary.[84] However, this position went to Steve Mnuchin instead.[85][86]

On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Icahn would serve as Special Advisor to the President on Regulatory Reform under President Donald Trump.[87] CNBC reported that Icahn would aid Trump in an “individual capacity” rather than as a federal employee, and that he would not have “specific duties” and therefore would not have to relinquish his business interests while serving as an advisor to Trump.[88] Icahn stepped down from this role on August 18, 2017 citing a desire not to interfere with the work of Neomi Rao as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.[89] In February 2018, Icahn avoided a $6 million loss by selling down his holdings in a steel-price sensitive stock just days before the Trump administration announced a new 25% tariff to be imposed on steel imports.[90]

When the President had Icahn interview Scott Pruitt during consideration of his nomination as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Icahn specifically asked Pruitt about his position on the EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard.[91] Icahn has also spoken directly to President Trump and to Gary Cohn about his proposed changes to the ethanol rule.[92] CVR Energy, in which Icahn has 82% ownership, would save $205.9 million a year if Icahn's proposal is adopted.[93] The Sugar Land, Texas oil refinery benefited when President Trump made an exception to his regulation freeze to expand the tax advantage of master limited partnerships.[94] CVR Energy's stock doubled after President Trump's election, increasing $455 million in value.[95]

Personal life

In 1979, Icahn married Liba Trejbal, a ballerina from the former Czechoslovakia.[96][97][98] They separated in 1993 and divorced in 1999 after years of litigation during which Liba sought to invalidate a prenuptial agreement, claiming duress as she was pregnant when she signed it.[99] Liba originally fought Icahn's offer of roughly $1.5 million a year because he was worth billions at the time and eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.[100][101] They have two children, Brett Icahn and Michelle Celia Icahn Nevin.[102] His nephew is Rick Schnall.[103]

In 1999, Icahn married his longtime assistant and former broker, Gail Golden.[104] She has two children from a previous marriage.[105]

Personal wealth

[The Carl C. Icahn Center for Science at Choate Rosemary Hall] According to _Forbes_ magazine, Icahn had a net worth of $16.6 billion in 2017, making him the 26th-wealthiest person on the Forbes 400, and the fifth-wealthiest hedge fund manager.[106]

Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island in New York City is named after him, as is the Carl C. Icahn Center for Science and Icahn Scholar Program at Choate Rosemary Hall, a prep school in Connecticut. This organization pays for tuition, room and board, books, and supplies for 10 students every year for four years (freshman–senior), an endowment valued at about $400,000 per annum.

Icahn made a substantial contribution to his alma mater, Princeton University, to fund a genomics laboratory which bears his name, the Carl C. Icahn Laboratory at the University's Institute for Integrated Genomics.[107] He also made large contributions to Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, of which he is a trustee, which in return not only named a building the Icahn Medical Institute designed by Davis Brody Bond, but also, in 2013, renamed the Mount Sinai School of Medicine as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.[108] The genomics institute led by Eric Schadt was also renamed and is now the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology.[109] [The Carl C. Icahn Laboratory at Princeton University] His foundation, the Children's Rescue Fund, built Icahn House in The Bronx, a 65-unit complex for homeless families consisting of single pregnant women and single women with children, and operates Icahn House East and Icahn House West, both of which are homeless shelters located in New York City.

In 2010, Icahn joined the Giving Pledge list, pledging to give away more than half his fortune, yet has not decided on the specific beneficiaries.[110]

Awards and honours

Icahn has received a number of awards, including the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1984,[111] Starlight Foundation's Founders Award, and the Foundation's 1990 Man of the Year Award. He was also named Guardian Angel 2001 Man of the Year.

In 2004, he was honored by the Center for Educational Innovation Public Education Association for his work with charter schools.

In 2006, he was honored with the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Effecting Change Award for his outstanding contributions to improving education.

Thoroughbred horse racing

In 1985, Icahn established Foxfield Thoroughbreds, a horse breeding operation. At that year's Newstead Farm Trust sale run by Fasig-Tipton, he paid $4 million for Larida, a 6-year-old mare and a record $7 million for the 4-year-old bay mare Miss Oceana who was in foal to champion sire, Northern Dancer.[112]

Icahn's Meadow Star won the 1990 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Filly.

In 1992, Foxfield ended its racing operation and became a commercial breeder. Having bred more than 140 stakes horses.

In 2004, Icahn shut down Foxfield, selling all his mares and weanlings without reserve at the Keeneland Sales November breeding stock auction.[113]

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[11] About Me , carlicahn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2009.

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[26] Sale of portions of Global Leisure to Carl Icahn _November 3, 1999_

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[28] Carl Icahn's acquisition loan commitment _July 2, 2001_

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[34] “Icahn further raises BEA stake to 13.22 percent” , Reuters, 3 October 2007.

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[80] “Icahn Doubles Down on Hertz as Missed Earnings Punish Stock” . _Bloomberg Technology_, David Welch and Claire Boston November 9, 2016

[81]

[82] Carmen Reinicke (Aug 29, 2019). 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry is calling passive investment a 'bubble.' He's not the only finance luminary sounding the alarm. Business Insider, accessed 31 August 2019

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[96] Auletta, Ken (March 20, 2006). “Annals of Communications: The Raid” . _The New Yorker_

[97] Slater, Robert (1999). _The Titans of Takeover_ . Washington: Beard Books. p. 83.

[98] “Icahn: The Once And Future Dealmaker” , _Business Week_, 11 June 2000.

[99] Brede, Scott (May 3, 1999). “A Wall Street Icon's Divorce War” . _The Connecticut Law Tribune_.

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[101] Smith, Gayle Rosenwald (March 15, 1999). “Couples Take Divorce Out Of The Courtroom And Reinvent The Way It's Settled” , Philly.com

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[113]  Paulick Report|website=www.paulickreport.com|language=en|access-date=2017-02-20|archive-date=February 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221110450/http://www.paulickreport.com/tag/carl-icahn/%7Curl-status=live}}

title: Carl Icahn

question: Why did Icahn leave his position as a special economic advisor on financial regulation to U.S. President Donald Trump?

answer: He stepped down due to concerns about conflicts of interest.

question: Why does Icahn have a reputation as a "corporate raider"?

answer: Because he instigates hostile takeovers of companies such as Americal airline TWA and strips it of assets to make a profit.


text:
[]

On Mount Everest, a fistfight allegedly broke out near Camp Three, between climbers and Sherpas. This file photo shows the view from Camp Three at 24,000 feet on the mountain's Lhotse Face. COURTESY OF ALAN ARNETTE/AP HIDE CAPTION

TOGGLE CAPTION

 Courtesy of Alan Arnette/AP

[]

On Mount Everest, a fistfight allegedly broke out near Camp Three, between climbers and Sherpas. This file photo shows the view from Camp Three at 24,000 feet on the mountain's Lhotse Face.

 Courtesy of Alan Arnette/AP

Three climbers have halted their expedition on Mount Everest, after an argument with the Sherpas who were guiding them devolved into an alleged fistfight on the mountain.

The climbers say they were close to Camp Three, which is located at 24,500 feet, when 17 Sherpas accused them of kicking ice down onto them while the guides were working to set up ropes for the next part of the ascent. A dispute ensued, reportedly culminating in a crowd of 100 Sherpas confronting the climbers after they retreated to Camp Two.

At Camp Two, the climbers say, the Sherpas punched and kicked them, as well as throwing rocks and threatening to kill them if they did not leave the mountain.

The expedition included Italian Simone Moro and Swiss Ueli Steck; both of them have previously climbed Everest. British climber and photographer Jonathan Griffith was also in the group. In a statement posted on his website, Moro told his side of the story. It includes this version of events:

  "The Sherpas said that the reason they attacked the climbers was because they had knocked ice down on a Sherpa below. As it stands no Sherpa has come forward to show any injury. Furthermore on an ice face getting hit by chunks of ice is a very natural occurrence. The climbers believe that the lead Sherpa was tired and cold and felt that his pride had been damaged as the three climbers were moving unroped and much faster to the side of him."

An American bystander who witnessed some of the events tells the Agence France-Presse, "The Sherpas told the team not to climb above them while they were fixing the ropes but they did it anyway. Then some ice fell and hit the Sherpas, which made them angry."

Of the alleged attack at Camp Two, the witness said, "It was terrifying to watch — they nearly got killed."

Police in Nepal are investigating the incident, which occurred Saturday. The Nepali Times calls it "the highest brawl in world history," as well as evidence of a culture clash.

The AFP says that a meeting between some of the climbers and the Nepalese guides may have cleared the air Monday.

"Both parties apologized to each other and ended the meeting amicably," Nepalese tourism official Surendra Sapkota told the AFP.

We first noticed the story at Outside magazine's site, which reminds us that early reports about incidents on Mount Everest "are often murky or incorrect when first filed."

question: Why did a fight break out between the Sherpas and the climbers?

answer: The climbers knocked some ice on the Sherpas.

question: What did the Nepali Times call it?

answer: The biggest brawl in world history.

question: Why did the climbers think the Sherpas attacked them?

answer: They thought they had damaged the Sherpa's pride by going on ahead.

question: What did a witness say caused the Sherpa's behavior?

answer: They were angry with the climbers for disobeying a direct order and knocking ice onto them.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article recounts an incident where a crowd of about a hundred Sherpas attacked a group of climbers after the climbers knocked ice onto the Sherpas at Mount Everest. The dispute was caused because climbers ignored the Sherpas recommendation, although the climbers thought it was because they were better climbers than the Sherpas.


text:
COMPUTATIONAL PARTICLE PHYSICS refers to the methods and computing tools developed in and used by particle physics research. Like computational chemistry or computational biology, it is, for particle physics both a specific branch and an interdisciplinary field relying on computer science, theoretical and experimental particle physics and mathematics. The main fields of computational particle physics are: lattice field theory (numerical computations), automatic calculation of particle interaction or decay (computer algebra) and event generators (stochastic methods).[1][2][3]

Computing tools

-   Computer algebra: Many of the computer algebra languages were developed initially to help particle physics calculations: Reduce, Mathematica, Schoonschip, Form, GiNaC.[4]
-   Data Grid: The largest planned use of the grid systems will be for the analysis of the LHC - produced data. Large software packages have been developed to support this application like the LHC Computing Grid (LCG) . A similar effort in the wider e-Science community is the GridPP collaboration, a consortium of particle physicists from UK institutions and CERN.[5]
-   Data Analysis Tools: These tools are motivated by the fact that particle physics experiments and simulations often create large datasets, e.g. see references.[6][7]

_David Rousseau, “The Software behind the Higgs Boson Discovery,” IEEE Software, pp. 11-15, Sept.-Oct., 2012_

-   Software Libraries: Many software libraries are used for particle physics computations. Also important are packages that simulate particle physics interactions using Monte Carlo simulation techniques (i.e. event generators).

History

Particle physics played a role in the early history of the internet, the World-Wide Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee when working at CERN in 1991.

Computer Algebra

Note: This section contains an excerpt from 'Computer Algebra in Particle Physics' by Stefan Weinzierl

Particle physics is an important field of application for computer algebra and exploits the capabilities of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS). This leads to valuable feed-back for the development of CAS. Looking at the history of computer algebra systems, the first programs date back to the 1960s.[8] The first systems were almost entirely based on LISP (“LISt Programming language”). LISP is an interpreted language and, as the name already indicates, designed for the manipulation of lists. Its importance for symbolic computer programs in the early days has been compared to the importance of FORTRAN for numerical programs in the same period.[9] Already in this first period, the program REDUCE had some special features for the application to high energy physics. An exception to the LISP-based programs was SCHOONSHIP, written in assembler language by Martinus J. G. Veltman and specially designed for applications in particle physics. The use of assembler code lead to an incredible fast program (compared to the interpreted programs at that time) and allowed the calculation of more complex scattering processes in high energy physics. It has been claimed the program's importance was recognized in 1998 by awarding the half of the Nobel prize to Veltman.[10] Also the program MACSYMA deserves to be mentioned explicitly, since it triggered important development with regard to algorithms. In the 1980s new computer algebra systems started to be written in C. This enabled the better exploitation of the resources of the computer (compared to the interpreted language LISP) and at the same time allowed to maintain portability (which would not have been possible in assembler language). This period marked also the appearance of the first commercial computer algebra system, among which Mathematica and Maple are the best known examples. In addition, also a few dedicated programs appeared, an example relevant to particle physics is the program FORM by J. Vermaseren as a (portable) successor to SCHOONSHIP. More recently issues of the maintainability of large projects became more and more important and the overall programming paradigma changed from procedural programming to object-oriented design. In terms of programming languages this was reflected by a move from C to C++. Following this change of paradigma, the library GiNaC was developed. The GiNac library allows symbolic calculations in C++.

Code generation for computer algebra can also be used in this area.

Lattice field theory

Lattice field theory was created by Kenneth Wilson in 1974.[11] Simulation techniques were later developed from statistical mechanics.[12][13]

Since the early 1980s, LQCD researchers have pioneered the use of massively parallel computers in large scientific applications, using virtually all available computing systems including traditional main-frames, large PC clusters, and high-performance systems. In addition, it has also been used as a benchmark for high-performance computing, starting with the IBM Blue Gene supercomputer.

Eventually national and regional QCD grids were created: LATFOR (continental Europe), UKQCD and USQCD. The ILDG (International Lattice Data Grid) is an international venture comprising grids from the UK, the US, Australia, Japan and Germany, and was formed in 2002.[14]

[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/1301.1211 _Computational Particle Physics for Event Generators and Data Analysis_ retrieved 8/24/20

[2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234060239_Computational_Particle_Physics_for_Event_Generators_and_Data_Analysis _Computational Particle Physics for Event Generators and Data Analysis_ retrieved 8/24/20

[3] https://www2.ccs.tsukuba.ac.jp/projects/ILFTNet/ _International research network for computational particle physics_ retrieved 8/24/20

[4] _Stefan Weinzierl:- “Computer Algebra in Particle Physics.” pgs 5-7. Accessed 1 January 2012; (alternative link) : “Computer Algebra in Particle Physics.” . Accessed 1 January 2012. “Seminario Nazionale di Fisica Teorica”, Parma, September 2002._

[5] ''GridPP website '' : accessed 19 June 2012.

[6] '' Dirk Duellmann, '' “Oracle Streams for the Large Hadron Collider” _, page 3. Accessed 1 January 2011._

[7] '' M Liu, W Kuehn et al. , '' “Hardware/Software Co-design of a General-Purpose Computation Platform in Particle Physics” _, page 1. Accessed 20 February 2012._

[8] _Stefan Weinzierl, op. cit. : pgs 3-5._

[9] _Stefan Weinzierl, op. cit. : pgs 3-5._

[10] _Stefan Weinzierl, op. cit. : pgs 3-5._

[11] '' Kenneth G. Wilson, Confinement of quarks, Physical Review D, 10, 1974, p. 2445–59 ''

[12] '' David J. E. Callaway and Aneesur Rahman (1982). “Microcanonical Ensemble Formulation of Lattice Gauge Theory”. Physical Review Letters 49 (9): 613–616. Bibcode 1982PhRvL..49..613C. .''

[13] '' David J. E. Callaway and Aneesur Rahman (1983). “Lattice gauge theory in the microcanonical ensemble”. Physical Review D28 (6): 1506–1514. Bibcode 1983PhRvD..28.1506C. . ''

[14] '' C.M. Maynard: International Lattice Data Grid: Turn on, plug in, and download. Ch.2, pg. 3. arXiv:1001.5207, 2010. ''

title: Computational particle physics

question: What does the text say about pioneers in computational particle physics?

answer: Tim Berners-Lee incorporated particle physics when he created the World Wide Wev. Martinus J.G. Veltman wrote SCHOONSHIP, a program specifically designed for applications in particle physics. Veltman may have been awarded half od the Nobel prize in 1998 due to this. J.Vermaseren created a successor to SCHOONSHIP with FORM. In 1974, Kenneth Wilson created lattice field theory, which is a main field in computational particle physics.

question: What does the text say about data grids?

answer: A data grid is the largest planned use of the grid systems that will be for the analysis of the LHC produced data. Applications like the LHC Computing Grid and the GridPP collaboration have been developed to support it. In relation to lattice field theory, national and regional QCD grids were created. The International Lattice Data Grid was created in 2002 as an international venture.

question: Summarize everything that happened in the 1990s.

answer: In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee created World Wide Web with the help of particle physics. Around 1998, Martinus J.G. Veltman wrote the program SCHOONSHIP in assembler language. This lead to an incredible fast program and allowed calculation of more complex scattering processes in high energy physics. In 1998, it was claimed that the importance of SCHOONSHIP earned Veltman half of the Nobel prize.

question: What does the text say about smartphones?


text:
HINCKLEY GREYHOUND STADIUM was a greyhound racing stadium on Nutts Lane in Hinckley, south-west Leicestershire.

Origins

A man called Joe Grant started the Hinckley Greyhound and Whippet Racing Association in 1936 and a track was constructed in Nutts Lane directly on the north side of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway South Leicestershire branch.[1]

Opening

The track opened in 1936 and the racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club).[2]

History

During the 1930s and 1940s the stadium ran mixed meetings where the greyhound races were supplemented by whippet racing. Joe Grant purchased an extra one and a half acres in 1947 and the track was extended. A McWhiter hare system was installed and the track established itself as one of the leading flapping tracks in the country. Flapping was the nickname given to independent tracks.[3]

By 1960s the McWhirter hare system was replaced by the 'Inside Sumner' on a track measuring a 400 yard circumference with race distances over 300, 500, 710 and 900 yards. Racing was held on Wednesday and Saturday evening at 7.30pm.[4]

In 1972 Tom Grant took over from Joe after his death in 1972. During the 1980s and 1990s the track had a covered stand, car parking for 200 vehicles and a computerised totalisator.[5] The stadium also held a Sunday market.

Closure

The council granted Crest Nicholson planning permission in 2006 for 84 homes. The stadium was demolished making way for housing called Greyhound Croft.

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title: Hinckley Greyhound Stadium

question: Where was the stadium?

answer: On Nutts Lane in Hinckley, south-west Leicestershire

question: When did the track open?

answer: 1936

question: When was the stadium closed?

answer: Permission was granted to construct 84 homes on the land in 2006, and it was demolished, so it was probably closed before then

question: Who built the track?

answer: Joe Grant

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Hinckley Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium in Hinckley in south-west Leicestershire. It was built in 1936, and it was in use until at least some time in the 1990s. In 2006, it was demolished for a new housing project called Greyhound Croft.


text:
Saturdays with Sharal-Min Jones

Saturdays were always gloomy for Sharal-Min Jones. It was always sunny, not a single cloud in the sky, and the animals were hopping all around. It was also the day that everyone decided to tell him that he sucked. For example:

“Hey there John!”

“Sharal-Min? Gross, what are you doing outside? You really should go back in so we don't catch your ugly on such a beautiful day!”
And they were always completely serious. Not once did Sharal-Min see a smile or a snigger. Just completely straight and disgusted faces looking at him.

Nowadays he never went out. His skin had greyed over time (what a ghoul), and his teeth had yellowed because he never got toothpaste. Nor a new toothbrush. Usually he ate mice off the ground for food, and drank whatever dripped through the hole in his ceiling asbestos. Even I think he should be dead by now, and you should see my ugly face!

Today was the day that the mice stopped coming, the annoying neighbor's escaped chickadees built a nest over his water hole, and he started to die. “But I can't go outside,” he thought. Sure, nobody even knew who he was anymore (again: never went outside), but he had agoraphobia, and was therefore afraid of leaving home.

So finally he stepped outside. Then ran right back in. Then out. Then in. Out. In. Out. Out. Okay, he had done it! Sure, he had only confused himself, but he was managing, rig-

Sharal-Min half-fainted back into his house and clutched at his heart. Alright, there was only one solution to this: he needed to bring out the flour bag.

Flour bag? No, I'm not messing with you. This freak had an old flour bag in his strongbox. Just the idea that this guy had a strongbox should be creepy. He even named it, too: Marisson. When did he get it? I would say about ten years ago when he had visited that fortune teller. She had told him, “When you become mentally unable to leave your house, open this bag and say 'I wish 'dat I was coo' like 'dem udda kids.' It'll get rid of your fears like that!” With two snaps. Yeah, not one. Two. Pretty badass, huh?

So Sharal-Min Jones did as he was told. Instantly he felt better, but was kind of worried when he saw green smoke swirl up from the bag. It circled around the room, and only a few seconds later the bag coughed. Well, the opening did this sort of thing where it blew out really big then sucked back in, anyways. Sharal-Min doubted that the bag could be animate.

Then the freaking thing talked. “Thanks bro!” it said, and S-M. J. peed himself. He started back so badly that he knocked over some shelves, got hit with the various heavy bowling balls he kept on them, and died.

I know what you're thinking: “Great, so Sharal-Min Jones, the hero of the story, just peed himself and died by consecutive bowling balls to the head.” Yep, that's exactly right.

title: Saturdays

question: Why is Sharal-Min Jones' skin grey?

answer: He has agoraphobia and never leaves the house.

question: What is the theme of this story?

answer: Being a social outcast.

question: Why does Sharal-Min Jones have a Babylonian name?

answer: He may be immortal, very old, or undead.

question: What kills Sharal-Min Jones?

answer: He is shocked by his talking strongbox, pees himself, and dies from several bowling balls to the head.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This story is about Sharal-Min Jones, an agoraphobic man who never leaves the house. Eventually, he consults a talking strong-box in order to cure his skin condition, but the strongbox shocks him so much that he dies.


text: PSN users around the world have been booting up their various consoles only to be confronted with a message saying their passwords are incorrect. They've then had to go through the rigmarole of creating new login details, usually while still in the dark as to what happened to their accounts in the first place -- and whether they might have been hacked. Sony has since put out an explanation via various official channels in the US, EU and Japan, saying that only "some" users have been affected and that the password resets are "purely a precautionary measure" for "routine protection." We've contacted the company for clarification on its policy about contacting users individually in this sort of situation, and also to see if we can find out a little more about this "non-specific" threat to certain accounts.

question: What does the message say?

answer: The message displayed said that the passwords are incorrect.

question: Why is the message being displayed?

answer: According to Sony, the message was "purely a precautionary measure."

question: How can you solve the problem?

answer: Users had to create new login details.

question: Is the company clarification true or a cover-up?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer:
PSN users around the world are met with a message saying that their passwords are incorrect. They have had to go through the process of creating a new login wondering what happened to the old account.

Sony has put out an official explanation saying that only a few users were affected and the password reset is "purely precautionary." The company has been contacted about connecting with its users individually in such a situation.


text:
"There's been a terrible, horrible, unavoidable accident. And I'm sorry but your lover..." The following words that escaped that persons lips were white noise. The phone dropped into the dishwater. A spark jumped, but I didn't flinch. Didn't blink. My eyes burned. Singed with passion and pain. I pawed the faucet and the running water stopped. My life... my life was dead. I closed my eyes and whimpered. Then I grabbed my moms car keys and ran to the van. Speeding. Speeding like the blood choked up in my heart. Speeding like the air choked up in my throat. I sped for life, love. I sped for pain. I sped blindly through green lights and red lights, stop signs, police patrols. I sped because his life was speeding away.

"His"? Who was He? He was the love of my life, my soul. I gave my womanhood to him, I gave my life. He gave me his. And now that he's leaving, he's taking me with him. Blue lights flicker in the rear-view mirror. I sped up. No lights can take him away. Not even a white one.

I pull over when I see a parade of trucks and sirens. I don't even let the car stop. I jump out. I race barefoot to him. my feet pounding the concrete.

Pounding.

Heart.

Blood.

Pain.

Love.

Tears.

Sweat.

Sweet gloss.

Metal.

Stench from burning rubber.

Heated joints.

I hear a wailing. A mother crying. An aunt pleading. A friend clawing at his own face to stop tears. And when I see... when I see... a lifeless body.. a soulless shell.. sprawled onto the concrete.... blood.. skin.. hair.. All goes silent. My knees break. My arm fail. My soul disconnects. I crawl over, scraping my knees beyond recognition. A cut up face. A cut up love. Cut. Burn. Bleed. Loss. Soul. Love. Hurt. My lovers face whispers to my heart and I can't breathe and the earth spins too fast.. So fast that my brain pukes. I touch his face.. and... I cry on his cuts. And I use my white shirt to clean him. And he's beautiful. As beautiful as his jaded eyes. And then I cover his face with my head. I know, it's weird. It's strange because his life was leaving quickly. I picked up his head and hugged his neck and kissed his hair. His blood and sweat dribbled onto my shirt. I didn't care. I swallowed my heart, and his with mine. And then I knew he was gone. I knew he left. Tonight he fell asleep and will not wake up. And no matter how many tears will spill, he will not return. I love you. And goodnight...

title: The Accident

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: That information can't be found

question: What are the blue lights the narrator sees in their rear-view mirror?

answer: Probably police pursuing them because they are speeding

question: How does the narrator know where their lover's body is?

answer: They know where on the road it is by the trucks and sirens, but how they know which road it was on can't be found

question: Who does the narrator see at the accident site?

answer: Their lover's mother, aunt, and a friend

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator gets a call letting them know that their lover has been in an accident. They drop the phone and speed to the accident site. There, they see their lover's dead body and cradle it before realizing he is gone.


text:
image captionKen Wilkinson said he received a bullet in the post

A MEMBER OF THE PROGRESSIVE UNIONIST PARTY HAS SAID HE RECEIVED A BULLET AND A SYMPATHY CARD IN THE POST.

Ken Wilkinson said he opened the package in front of the postman and the bullet fell out.

"I'm not sure who is behind it, but I am a party member that continuously speaks out against drug dealers in our community," he said.

Mr Wilkinson said he was warned by the police last week about a threat to his life.

Just over a year ago, a car was driven up against his home in Antrim and set on fire.

His home was also targeted in a pipe bomb attack in December 2010.

"I will continue to work for the community and continue to speak out against issues affecting the community," he said.

A PUP spokesperson said: "We condemn those responsible for this latest attempt to threaten and intimidate a party member and we will continue to work to improve the lives of those living in local communities."

A police spokesman said: "We do not discuss the security of any individual.

"However, if we receive information that a person's life may be at risk we will inform the relevant persons accordingly. We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk."

-   -   -

question: Who is Ken Wilkinson?

answer: a member of the Progressive Unionist Party

question: Who threatened Ken Wilkinson?

answer: It's unclear who made the threats, but Wilkinson believes it's connected to his speaking out against drug dealers.

question: What does PUP stand for as relates to politics in Northern Ireland?

answer: Progressive Unionist Party

question: Did the police confirm the threats against Ken Wilkinson's life?

answer: no

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Progressive Unionist Ken Wilkinson said he has receive a bullet in the mail. Wilkinson has also been warned by police about a threat to his life.


text:
_MEMOIRS OF A PEASANT BOY_ () is a social and historical novel by Galician writer Xosé Neira Vilas published in Argentina on January 5, 1961. It is a book on the Galician field seen by the eyes of a child, and is the most read work of galician-language literature,[1] with more than 600,000 copies sold by 2015.[2] It is dedicated _to all boys and all girls who speak Galician_.

[1]

[2]

title: Memoirs of a Peasant Boy

question: Who is the author of Memoirs of a Peasant Boy?

answer: Xosé Neira Vilas

question: Describe the novel's plot.

answer: The plot is not summarized.

question: What genre is the novel?

answer: Social and historical

question: Who is the novel's protagonist?

answer: A young child, although no details are revealed about them.

question: How many copies did the novel sell?

answer: More than 600,000 copies as of 2015.

question: When was the novel published?

answer: January 5, 1961

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Memoirs of a Peasant Boy is a social and historical novel by Xosé Neira Vilas. It was published in Argentina in 1961 and is the most-read work of galician-language literature. It describes the Galician field through the eyes of a young child.


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

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

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

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

question: Why did Jack give his hat, coat and wallet to the homeless man?

answer: He didn't need it. He was about to kill himself

question: Why were Jack's family confused?

answer: They didn't understand why Jack had killed himself. He was a happy man.

question: Why would a happy man kill himself?

answer: It's an illusion. Jack shows the world the person they want to see. Nobody knows that he is unhappy and no longer wants to live.

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

answer: Because Jack was smarter than the current mayor

question: Write a ~18 sentence summary.

answer:
 Jack was a happy man. He had a good wife, a good son, and a good job. He wore sharp suits, gold watches, silk ties. He hosted parties and everyone came. He never forgot anyone’s name. He had six Mustangs in his garage that he never drove, and two that he did.

One day Jack went to a train station. He saw many people he knew. The people smiled and waved. Jack was a happy man. Jack saw a homeless man and gave him his hat and coat, and, as an afterthought, his wallet as well. There was plenty of money in that wallet.

Jack saw his train approaching. Jack was a happy man. The train was almost to the station when Jack stepped directly in front of it. At his funeral, Jack’s family was confused. Jack had never had a problem in his life, everything was easy for Jack. They all said, “but Jack was a happy man.”


text:
Synopsis

Industry is consolidating big time and it is the two or three players, who are going to dominate the market going forward, says Kapoor.

[]
With this move, Airtel which is the market leader with almost 32-33% market share will beef up its share a little more, its revenues a little more, its customer base a little more.

_In a chat with ET Now, SANJAY KAPOOR, Former CEO, BHARTI AIRTEL, says spectrum is one of the reasons for the deal because Telenor has the better 1800 megahertz spectrum with it._

_Edited excerpts:_

DO YOU THINK AIRTEL ACQUIRING TELENOR INDIA ASSETS IS ALL ABOUT ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL SPECTRUM?

First of all, the order of the day is very clear that the market is consolidating, the industry is consolidating big time and it is the few players in the market, two or three, who are really going to dominate the strategy going forward in such a market. And yes, spectrum is a very important raw material and this industry, which is exceedingly spectrum hungry, needs to be consolidated.

We all know that larger blocks of telecom are more potent and effective than smaller blocks of spectrum. So if that is true then spectrum is one of the reasons because Telenor has the better 1800 megahertz spectrum with it. Their customers at the bottom end may not create a lot of stickiness because they are not really data users and the game going forward is all about data. Putting together these players and actually going ahead with a larger entity makes a lot more sense to combat a Voda-Idea to combat the onslaughts from Jio and actually it is a game of three it clearly seems now in the market.

DOES IT SEEM LIKE THIS COULD REALLY PUSH OR ADD TO THE SUBSCRIBER BASE FOR BHARTI IN ANY WHICH WAY?

With Reliance Jio coming into the market, the incumbent operators have to give up some bit because the initial customers are not going to come from an additional market but , both customers and revenues are going to be from their existing bases.

With this move Airtel which is the market leader with almost 32-33% market share will beef up its share a little more, its revenues a little more, its customer base a little more. Even if dilution happens, they will still maintain their 32-33%. So, from that perspective to fortify their position it seems like a very natural move.

YOU CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT ARPUS BY AND LARGE FOR TELCOS ARE UNDER THREAT. DO NOT LOOK AT THE REL JIO 300 ARPU, THE TOP END OF THE INCUMBENTS WILL ACTUALLY COME OFF?

Yes, that is absolutely true because the top end of the market contributes disproportionately to both the top line and bottom line and when there is a capping or a benchmark or a threshold, that gets set for that customer base when everybody brings down the table.

If the table comes down, then the most profitable customers become not that profitable and therefore that puts a huge amount of stress on every metrics of the organisation. That is the fear for now. From an overall industry perspective, it seems that the industry is not going to look good in the next few quarters, maybe a couple of years till there is real semblance and three players have now settled down on an equilibrium where they believe that they have the desired customer base and market shares that they aimed for.

We always think it will happen but there is some disruption that happens. To my view I think these are the final steps of disruptions because you are not going to be able to shrink this market to less than three and there are three big relevant players. I am also worried about BSNL, MTNL, to say where do they stand in all this because they will get marginalised also by these biggies in the market place.

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question: Who is Sanjay Kapoor?

answer: Former CEO of Bharti Airtel

question: What assets did Airtel acquire?

answer: Telenor India

question: How much is Airtel's market share?

answer: 32-33%

question: What is the industry fearing now, according to Kapoor?

answer: The top end of the market contributes disproportionately to both the top line and bottom line. Capping, benchmarks, or setting a threshold for a certain customer base brings everybody down. When this happens, even the most profitable customers won't be as profitable anymore and puts huge stress on all the metrics in an organization.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Former CEO of Bharti Airtel Sanjay Kapoor sits down for an interview regarding the consolidating telco industry. According to Kapoor, two or three players are set to dominate the market, led by Airtel, who recently acquired Telenor India and already has a robust 32-33% market share. Kapoor says that spectrum is one of the reasons Airtel made the move because Telenor has the better 1800 megahertz spectrum. In telecommunications, 'spectrum' relates to the radio frequencies allocated to the mobile industry and other sectors for communication over the airwaves.


text:
1

He dies.

----------

2

He treads water and clenches to his split and failing craft. He says,

"And so I lay here on the splinters of my self spun boat. These planks I hewed  and wrapped in sinewy fibers. These oars I snapped from limbs and carved. The cracks were caulked by mine own  hand. And proving water tight I sailed. And now it's just hardly sinking in.
So what of my final home? Where am I to set my weariness? It's been some years last I was blessed and sinned I have since. Not only under great duress but often.

For instance, more or less every time she was there. I'd break to stretch my legs and walk the block thru the market to saunter past she, the dancing lass on the corner. Just this bit uncovered by the buttressed booths awnings and she dancing in the break of it, in the eye of it, in that one shaft of light amidst all of it, she ran with the capstan and called to all hands, we weather this squall I'll see once more my betrothed!

She never saw me though. And I but briefly stood by there, to admire her twirlings and soak in her, illustrious. So my pleased smile, my eyes so warm, my even clap to the fiddler's foot, it all tasked the viewer to match my own gaiety.

And blending so, leading bystanders even by my example, it was a simple thing  to walk right past as she turned her back. I'd spin while I clapped and feinting a fall, grasp right and left and deftly snatch some lustrous coins right from her cup. Tumbling back up and cradling my split head, no one thought me for a second to be a simple street thief, they so stricken in grief with my wail, pain excruciate!

Not for the need was it did, not for the spare of loose change in my tailored track pants. And I didn't do it for the thrill of the deed, as some mischief making teen might to defy the truth of his prolonged wean from the bottle. No, for I drank like a fish myself! why had you bottled me up then I'd have been your greatest chum. So, no, no miscreant am I, for  I  never drew pleasure from my criminality. and never did  I consider my personal vices to be  the  essential stuff of my character. Why, I washed in the drink like some wash in the tub, that virtue I claim.

And in virtue I am poor, I'll scrap till the last for any bit of it. So no miscreant am I. You might think me then some wayward soul, aimless and in need of direction. You couldn't be wronger. Now, my aim is fine and when I set mine I hit it near every time. But my sights have long been set low, and by some force of inertia, or by that complacentness so apt to befall idealists like myself, I've settled low and never flown far. And in my shade all canopy bowered I've lurked so long I remember none else. Now when I dream, I dream of a cavern deep, one watered dark and pooled.

Some irony then! Me, here, adrift all sun baked and isolate, like a toy in the bath. But this pool interconnects all over the globe and so really never seperated, I can say my last gasp and wherever she might be sea gazing she need only crane one ear cupped and strain some little bit to hear my words thus:

Please pray for me Amanda, our hearts once joined fast, so that I may see you again when all this has passed."

His tawny hair drops below the surface, there's no thrashing. Only bubbles, and soon naught.

----------

title: Last Musings Adrift

question: What is the setting of the story?

answer: The story is taking place in the ocean while the narrator is adrift with his failing boat.

question: Who is Amanda?

answer: Presumably, someone close to the narrator.

question: Explain what happens to the narrator ultimately.

answer: He drops below the surface.

question: What does the narrator wish of Amanda?

answer: That she also prays so they may be joined once again.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator clenches onto his failing boat and begins to reminisce on his life back on land. He is adrift, hoping Amanda is also praying for him so that may be together once again.


text:
She didn't say a word as she slowly walked toward me.
She didn't need to.
Her arms wrapped around me clasping my body as she dug her face into my chest.
That's when I knew. Her husband's cancer had won.

title: It was a Wednesday.

question: Who is the narrator referring to?

answer: This information is not mentioned.

question: Why was the woman here?

answer: The woman was here to tell the narrator that her husband had won his battle with cancer.

question: What relationship did the woman share with the narrator?

answer: This information is not mentioned.

question: Is the narrator a doctor?

answer: This information is not mentioned.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The woman walks towards the narrator, speechless. She wraps her arms around him and digs her face in his chest. It's at that moment that the narrator realizes that her husband had won his battle with cancer.


text:
MILE MEĆAVA (, ; 1915 – June 4, 1942) was a Yugoslav Partisan and a hero from World War II.

Early life

Mećeva was born in 1915 in a Serbian family from the village Vlaškovci, in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Austria-Hungary. His father Ostoja was a farmer. Also, he worked as the farmer before the War.[1] Mećeva joined the Communist Party in 1941.

World War II

Mećeva joined Yugoslav People's Liberation War in early 1941. In the first battles that took place in Aginci and Komlenac, he emerged as one of the bravest fighters of the Second Krajina (Kozara) Detachment. His courage stands out in battles on the mount Kozara, near Podgradci, Mrakovica and Turjak as well as near Gradina and Jasenovac.[2] Also, he fought in conflicts on the Prijedor–Banja Luka railway.

Ambush in Lipovac

In January 1942, Mećeva enters into the Kozara Proletarian Company, a newly formed assault unit led by Kosta Nađ and Mladen Stojanović.[3]

According to Nađ, the split between the Partisans and the Chetniks in Bosanska Krajina and central Bosnia began on 14 December 1941 in the village of Javorani. Lazar Tešanović, a schoolteacher in Javorani, influenced members of the local Partisan unit to join the Chetnik side.[4] Tešanović then organised a Chetnik unit of about 70 to 80 men,[5] and at the beginning of March 1942, he and his men were in the village of Lipovac. On 5 March, Mećava and his Kozara Proletarian Company led by Stojanović, Nađ, and Danko Mitrov (the commander of the 4th Krajina Detachment) set out for Lipovac.[6]

According to some sources, they went to Lipovac for pre-arranged negotiations with Tešanović,[7] while other sources state that they intended to disarm Tešanović and his Chetniks.[8] When the column of the Partisans approached the school in Lipovac, they were ambushed by Chetniks, and Mećava was wounded as well as Stojanović, who was severely wounded in the head.[9] The Partisans remained pinned down by Chetniks fire until evening; thirteen were killed and eight beside Mećava and Stojanović were wounded. At nightfall, he and the other wounded were transported to the Partisan field hospital in Jošavka.[10]

Battle of Dubica and death

On 1 June 1942, the Ustaše Black Legion led by Jure Francetić attacked the Free Territory of Kozara with tanks from Dubica and Jasenovac.[11] In this battle, Mećava entered as a sergeant of the 1st Proletarian Company of the Assault Battalion. In the battle in Klekovci, he dismantled two enemy tanks Fiat L6/40. Mećava has jumped on the first tank and liquidated tank's crew with hand grenades. Although he was hit hard from a neighbouring tank he continued to fight. When he defeated the crew of the second tank, he died of his injuries. His actions have seized two completely correct tanks on the Kadin Jelovac–Sreflije battlefront. These tanks were the first ones of the Partisans on Kozara.[12] After the battle, _Radio Free Yugoslavia_ repeated several times news of the heroism of the Mećava who heroically died on a hostile tank.[13]

Aftermath

Mećava has posthumously bestowed the National Hero of Yugoslavia. On his behalf, on 24 July 1953, his sister Vukosava received his medal of the Order of the People's Hero.[14]

Personal life

Mećeva had 10 siblings. His brothers Marko, Branko, and Ljuban were killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp in 1942.[15] His youngest sister Vukosava was the only survivor of World War II.

He is not related to fellow Serbian military officer and National Hero of Yugoslavia Petar Mećava.

Legacy

-   _10th Moštanica Working Brigade “Mile Mećava”_ was formed in the summer of 1943. Brigade was engaged in agricultural work.[16]
-   A street in the city center of Kozarska Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina bears his name.
-   In the village Gunjevci, near Kozarska Dubica, is a statue of Mile Mećava. Near the statue is parked an old Yugoslav People's Army tank.

Awards and decorations

  -- ----------------------------
     Order of the People's Hero
  -- ----------------------------

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4] , pp. 85–86

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9] , pp. 163–171

[10]

[11] Hronologija NOB-a na području Kozare 1941-1945

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

title: Mile Mećava

question: Why is there a statue of Mile Mećeva in the village of Gunjevci?

answer: Mile is considered a hero of the Second World War, so the statue is there to commemorate his actions during the conflict.

question: What did Miles Mećeva do to be considered as a hero?

answer: Miles single-handedly took down two tank crews (and in so doing, their respective tanks). He died from the injuries he sustained after defeating the crew of the second tank.

question: What was the effect of Mile's actions?

answer: The Yugoslav Partisans gained their first two tanks on the Kozara, which would have been a major addition to their military forces while decreasing that of their opponents. Radio Free Yugoslavia would also broadcasthe news of Mile's heroic actions, which would have likely increased the morale of the troops and the citizens.

question: How did Yugoslavia recognize Mile Mećeva?

answer: Aside from the statue in Gunjevci, he was also recognized as the National Hero of the country. His sister, the only one to survive of ten siblings, received his medal of the Order of the People's Hero.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Mile Mećeva is the National Hero of Yugoslavia. He fought in the Partisan Army in World War II. There, he single-handedly fought two tanks, defeated their crews, and in so doing, giving the Partisans their first tanks in the Kozara. He died from his injuries right after capturing the second tank.


text:
In the library we sat again; the only sound was the soft whisper of cotton gloves on antique parchment and leather bindings. Again, we searched for a primary source that had eluded us. We could not find his name as any title or tale. There is no number to convey how many tomes and texts that I had devoured for more than the hint of His purpose, and, to my sorrow, the only hints that I can find are memories of His passing. When my search may falter or fatigue, my companion, Michael, steels my resolve with ethereal perseverance.
	A clear tenor rang our across the tor of books, pamphlets, and manuscripts we had acquired thus far in our search, Michael asked me, “What are the key phrases again?”
	“ ‘The guarded mind cannot see what is not there. To open one, Mercurio will grant the other.’ ‘Thus did the madness Mercurio descend.’ and ‘Only in Darkness is the bane of Mercurio’s Light.’ ” I utter these phrases daily; I have read them countless times; I ponder them in my mind without end. Yet, like Hope, the spring of dark references to His work is eternal. So many speak of the wave of darkness that propagates from Him that it seems inconceivable that He authored no works to shape His influence and the future of His work. Were there some small grip in the darkness of my search perhaps I could replace fevered hope with the optimism of direction.
	“What if he was some folklore demagogue? Perhaps he spoke to the hedonistic needs of earlier Man.” Michael’s verdant eyes drifted to dusky windows as he proposed this concept as if making dinner plans or consider how the world would be different if pigs really did have wings. “Albeit, he does not come across as the most likeable of leaders. He appears to have led Aesop’s Fox to lead the Scorpion.”
	“No mere man could be Mercurio,” I countered as the flush of blood rose in my neck. “No, He could only have been some sort of demigod faux-leader like Azazel or Loki. How could He have lived a life as fleeting as a mortal man’s and leave scars on the marrow of Creation?” Michael had posited this concept throughout our search.  Michael spoke of Him as a mover of men, but I know that no man could move Creation so.
	The rustles of dead cloth halted our incipient argument. From between shelves of forgotten periodicals, an elderly man carried a book of leather and iron bindings. His milky gaze settles on the wastes of our books and notes with the weary hope that we would leave. My curiosity peaked not because of his withered appearance, but because neither Michael nor I had any notion of who he was; both of us frequented the library enough to know each of the faculty and staff by sight, name, and specialty. Shaking dazed confusion, Michael satisfied the demands of decency by inquiring his needs.
	A voice of exhaustion rattled from the elder’s cracked lips, “Gentlemen, one man may move another, but only ideas can truly change men.” At this, the elder dropped the weighty tome on our work. The only sound was the echoing knell-like thud. Michael’s eyes and mine stoked the ember of curiosity into a flame of excited lust:
        *The Philosophy Mercurio*
	Across a single moment of Creation, my heart ceased to beat and my soul felt as though it left my body. This unknown elder had laid the treasure of the Labyrinth at my fingertips. Michael took advantage that I could not even utter a gasp of surprise. He reached to remove the book from its lofty perch and turned back the iron lock from the cover.
	“There is not an author listed.” Michael searched the pages for some sign of copyright or ownership.
	“Ideas have no authors, only discoverers.” The elder’s eyes gave the very slightest hint of sadness on top of some carnal insight. “I would caution you: Ideas are not without reward, nor are they without costs.” At this, my hands began to ache with the desire to touch the book.
	“Michael give me the book. I have to touch it; I have to learn it; I have to own what it has to give.” I reached out to him like a foal trembles for its mother, but he was already deep in thought. He scanned the pages fiercely as if he were hearing the Word of God directly from the source.
	“Michael.” I could not shake him from the depth of his pensiveness.
	After eternal moments of silence, he raised his eyes to mine and spoke softly.
“I can see.” He spoke with the sense of wonder reserved for the innocence of childhood. His gazed looked into a future of what is, could be, and would be.
“Michael,” I said with some concern, “you did not even read the whole text.” When I reached to his hand, its grip on the book was as drowning man’s on a ship’s rope. As I rose from my seat, the elder put a feeble hand on my shoulder with a strength he could not possess.
“You cannot reach him now. He can see.” When I met the elder’s gaze, I saw ghosts haunt silver tears in his milky eyes. As if flying too close to the sun on wings of wax, the book fell from Michael’s hands. Once again, I heard the knell of its thud on the table.
“I can see.” Michael spoke with divine fever as the euphoria of the Lotus-Eaters washed across his face. Once again I asked for the book, and once again I was denied. His lips danced soundlessly and I could not understand him. But now, his eyes began to move back and forth as if surrounded and the drops of fear filled his voice.
“I can see.” Wonder and hope were gone from his words. As the sound of his voice died in the air, the green life leeched from his eyes. With unholy synchronicity, Michael’s eyes became as sun-blazed silver mirrors. The hope in his face gave way to concern.
“*I can see!*” His words became hurried and panicked. His breath now came in short gasps as sweat beaded on his brow. I was touched by fear. I rushed to elder in anger and took firm hold of his tattered grey cowl and lifted him from the floor.
“What have you done?!” I thundered Michael began to tremble, awaiting some unknown atonement for on inconceivable sin. The elder did not flinch.
“There is nothing I could have done.” This weak admonishment fell from his lips and Michael released a single scream that shattered his hold on any aspect of reality. I dropped the elder and rushed to Michael as the last eternal moment of his dirge echoed across vacant marble halls and he fell as poison stone to the depths of a forgotten well. Michael’s flesh had the cold touch of Lucifer’s prison.
I uselessly shouted Michael’s name. The elder made his way to me with no sound. His voice spoke to me with the sound of tears on my lost friend.
“To see what could be as it would be. Only ideas can change men, but there is only one end of change for men.” The elder put a hand of weak flesh on my shoulder to comfort this dark gift to me.

title: Mercurio - I welcome constructive criticism

question: Where does this story take place?

answer: In a library.

question: What is this story about?

answer: The perils of doing research.

question: What are the characters looking for?

answer: Knowledge of a particular being.

question: What happens to the character Michael?

answer: He reads from a book of pure ideas and becomes possessed by some evil energy.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A group of people sit in the library doing research on an unknown being. Then Michael opens a book of pure ideas and goes insane.


text:
DAVID JACKSON (1747 – September 17, 1801) was an American apothecary and physician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1785.

Jackson was born in Newtown-Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland, the son of Samuel Jackson. He attended the Philadelphia City College (now the University of Pennsylvania) and graduated in 1768 with a bachelor's degree in medicine. He settled in Chester, Pennsylvania and practiced there before opening a practice in Philadelphia.

In 1776, following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Jackson worked on behalf of the Continental Congress as a manager of a lottery held to raise funds for the Continental Army. He also served as paymaster for the Pennsylvania militia. He was forced to leave Philadelphia when British forces occupied the city in 1777. In 1779 he briefly served in the field with the militia as a surgeon and quartermaster. Afterwards he returned to Philadelphia to resume his medical practice and also open an apothecary shop.

After the war, Jackson was named as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1785, and attended the session from April to November that year. Leaving public service, he also gave up his medical practice and concentrated on his pharmacy business. From 1789 to 1801 he served as a trustee of the University of the State of Pennsylvania, continuing through its merger into the University of Pennsylvania.

Jackson was married twice; first to Jane Mather Jackson, his brother Paul's widow. After her death he married Susan Kemper, the daughter of Jacob Kemper. David and Susan had nine children: David, Susan, Samuel, Mary, Jacob Morton, Sophia, William Brown, John, Martha. David Jr. would take over his father's apothecary while Samuel became a physician and for thirty years was a professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jackson died in 1801, at his home in Oxford, Pennsylvania and is buried in the Oxford Cemetery in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was survived by his wife Susan and all nine children. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society and Philadelphia's Democratic Club.

title: David Jackson (Pennsylvania physician)

question: Why was David Jackson forced to leave Philadelphia in 1777?

answer: Possibly because of the British forces that occupied the city.


text:
_GROWING UP FEMALE_ is a 1971 documentary film directed by Julia Reichert and Jim Klein. The film focuses on the socialization of American women and the effects of stereotypes placed by media, advertising, and personal relationships while following the lives of five young women and girls.[1][2] Those interviewed include: Janelle (a 12-year old girl), Terry (a 16-year old attending a vocational school and studying cosmetology), Tammy (a working 21-year old), Jessica Jones (a working 21-year old mother with one daughter) and a Mrs. Russell (a married, working mother of three daughters).

The film has been described as one of the first films to emerge from the Women's liberation movement. In 2011, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.[3][4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]  Film Registry {{!}} National Film Preservation Board {{!}} Programs at the Library of Congress {{!}} Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/%7Caccess-date=2020-10-13%7Cwebsite=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}

title: Growing Up Female (film)

question: Which year was Growing Up Female, a documentary by Julia Reichert and Jim Klein, released?

answer: It was released in 1971.

question: What did the 1971 documentary focus on?

answer: The documentary was about the socialization of American women and the effects of cultural stereotypes on them.

question: What action did the United States National Fil Registry take on the film in 2011?

answer: The film was selected for preservation in the registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Growing Up Female (1971) is a documentary that focuses on the socialization of American women and the effects of cultural stereotypes on them. The makers interviewed women of different ages and backgrounds for the film. Growing Up Female was elected for preservation in the registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.