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Night Calls
NIGHT CALLS by Robert Reed Although Robert Reed's latest tale is clearly a homage to one of science fiction's most famou...
Author: Reed Robert
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NIGHT CALLS by Robert Reed Although Robert Reed's latest tale is clearly a homage to one of science fiction's most famous stories, inspiration for this piece came from elsewhere, too. As Bob tells us, "despite what the outside world might believe, little Lincoln, Nebraska, has a substantial immigrant population. I once worked with Vietnamese refugees, and a substantial group of Sudanese have lately come to town. There's also a strong Iraqi community. By some odd coincidence, I have seen several young Muslim women having meetings with boyfriends in the city parks. And at one of those big patriotic events, my family and I found ourselves sitting with Iraqis, listening to patriotic music while watching patriotic pyrotechnics. One young lady had a blond, blue-eyed man-friend. He looked comfortable, but only to a point. And I got interested in him and his situation. And everybody was watching the sky." **** Ferrum was no Believer. In that, he felt normal. This was an age when the powers of religion were plainly on the run. The old temples stood empty, except for the rare exceptions populated with worshippers embracing a thin, heartless scripture. Much of the world seemed eager to mock superstition and ritual, and every plaintive cry for God's vengeance was conspicuously ignored. Indeed, despite these heretical attitudes, modern life was abundant and generous and often fat. The sciences constantly generated new understandings and powers, each revolution delivered to all the races and distant creeds. Yet if some supernatural punishment ever became necessary, those same sciences promised more suffering than any Deity sitting in the most perfect Heaven could deliver. Really, Ferrum could not understand why any sober, honest citizen would entertain the preaching of mad souls and charlatans. After all, this was the Day of those twin Geniuses, Invention and Discovery, and hadn't history proved that nothing in the Creation was as half as powerful or a tenth as good as what was best about people? Yet Rabiah insisted on finding weakness in the fashionable disbelief. "What do you mean?" asked Ferrum sharply. "What weaknesses do you see?"
"Start with your name," she suggested. "It's old, and it means iron." "I know what 'Ferrum' means." "To the ancients, our world was the obvious center of the universe. And since what is heavy must sink, it was only reasonable to assume that the world's heart was made of iron and the rarer metals." "The core is iron," he agreed, laughing without much heart. "Those old fools happened to get one puzzle right." "'Ferrum' comes from the Fifth Day." She looked past her newest lover, concentrating with her usual intensity. "That was when the Boy Emperor conquered half of the world's land. Then the Sixth Day began, and an obscure tribe marched across a slightly different half of everything. And then the Seventh Day emerged from the darkness, and the Pale Prophet appeared, claiming to have walked with the True God who told Him to subjugate the world." "Which those zealots nearly did," Ferrum interjected. "And then that Day came to its end, and my ancestor stumbled out of the desert, inspiring a holy war that set the scene for our very long Day." The young woman had a temper. While it was popular to deny the value of stereotypes, Rabiah nonetheless fit the model of her people: She was passionate with a preference for strong opinions. Suggesting she was wrong, even in the most minimal fashion, brought the risk that she would explode with hard words or even a few defiant slaps delivered to her lover's bare chest. Ferrum managed to restrain his mouth. "Of course neither of us Believes," she continued. "Yet don't we assume that people should be good to one another, even if it serves their own selfish interests? Don't you hunger for a world where ethics have teeth and decent, generous citizens are called godly?" He continued to say nothing. "And now look at the rules and rituals embedded in our major faiths. What do you find waiting there? Codes and commandments—a set of principles that pave the path to excellence."
Ferrum was breathing deeply, staring at the bland, water-stained ceiling above his bed. "You and I are creatures of science," she continued. "But what is science? And by that, I am asking what it is that our discipline assumes, first and before anything else?" "Evidence," he offered. "Science demands evidence." "It needs evidence to live, but that's not what it assumes." She paused for a moment, carefully considering her next words. "The universe has order and meaning. Before anything, science must believe in that. What is true here, on our tiny patch of ground, has to apply everywhere. Scientific principles must be uniform and fair. Because if they are not fair, where's the value in lofty theories that only pretend to explain the questions worth asking?" "What are you talking about?" he asked, honestly confused. "I'm talking about God," she admitted. "Not the old gods, who were tiny and not all that mighty. I mean the kingly Gods from the last Days. They taught us that the universe has a single overriding authority. With wind and floods, they proved what they said, and that made us ready for the Four Natural Forces and the eighty-one known elements." Ferrum couldn't agree. "What are you arguing here? If we never believed in God, we wouldn't have science today?" A happy wobble of the head ended with a fetching stare. "What I think ... well, yes, I do believe that if our ancestors hadn't surrendered to the idea of one viable answer, compelling and perfect, then our minds wouldn't have bothered to chase new ceramics or the principles of gravity, much less waste fortunes probing the depths of the sky." Ferrum lay still, taking a deep breath and holding it inside as long as possible. Meanwhile, Rabiah laughed and swung one leg over his hips, climbing on top. This was no lover's pose. She was a wrestler holding her opponent's arms flush against the spongy mattress, thick legs wrapped around his thighs and her long black hair falling loose, tickling his chest and belly. "So everybody is a Believer, even if we don't like thinking so. Is that it?"
She laid her hand on his chest. "The two of us are Believers. Our souls are lashed to the faith of universal order." "And what about other people?" he asked. "Give me names." Ferrum offered candidates from their few shared friends—smart, well-educated souls—and then before she could answer, he mentioned her parents, and his. "Are they all secret Believers, like silly us? Or could they be only what they claim to be?" "What do they claim to be?" "Unrepentantly modern, godless and untouched by old foolish ways." "Some are like us." Rabiah's weight had settled on his middle, her eyes watching him carefully. "But really, most of the world doesn't understand science. Not truly. What people like to do is throw out a few popular phrases, trying to fit in with what they perceive as convention." "And what about your cousin?" Ferrum asked. "Which cousin?" "You know who." But Rabiah didn't wish to talk about the man. So she changed topics, telling Ferrum, "You know what would happen, if the world ever changed for the worst...." Her voice trailed off. "What would happen?" She shifted her weight. "At the first sign of serious trouble—I guarantee it—every last temple would overflow with clumsy but devout worshippers." Ferrum watched her pretty face, skeptical about her arguments but unable to refute the words. "And if our civilization collapsed," she continued, "then even our best scientists would pull out knives and start sacrificing livestock to the Moon
and the lost Sisters. And when those desperate gestures didn't appease our old gods, our greatest minds would invent new ones and then happily, happily cut each other's throats...!" **** Ferrum met his difficult lover at the city's largest park—an abandoned silica mine too hilly to be farmed but perfectly suited for tough trees and sedges, with clay-lined ponds in the low spots and tended fields where children and adults could hike and play. He drove to the park after work but before the evening wind died down. On a whim, he had purchased a cheap paper-and-stick kite, and using skills that he hadn't employed for years, he assembled the toy, tied on fresh string and then managed to pull his creation far enough into the air that he could stop running, panting while he admired his achievement. It was a warm spring evening. The sun was setting, a perfect wind blowing from the north. Ferrum happily looked over his shoulder, the boyish part of him hoping for spectators. Three of the Sisters were still above the horizon, each bright enough to keep the evening pure, but their combined light too dim to feed plants or coax the tired mind into staying awake. He watched the Sisters for a long moment, observing how close they had drawn to each other; and then he glanced back at the ruddy skies to the west. That's when he noticed a small car parked close to his, and inside the car, what looked like a young woman. She was sitting behind the steering wheel, hands across her face, and, even at a distance, she looked as if she was suffering some awful, consuming grief. Ferrum wasn't an outgoing person. Pretending to see nothing was easy. He focused on his kite, and, as the wind died, its increasing demands. Then the wind vanished, and he had no choice but to reel in the string and carry his toy back to his car. The girl was still sitting close by. Nobody else was visible. She remained behind the wheel, but for the moment, her suffering was done. Sad swollen eyes glanced his way, and he noticed how pretty she was. Then with a mixture of embarrassment and expectation, she smiled: She didn't want to be noticed, but on the other hand, her pain was too large and important to hide away. In a moment of unusual fortitude, Ferrum approached. "Do you need help, miss?" For some reason, that was an extremely funny question. She broke into a smart little laugh, and just as suddenly, she was sobbing again.
"I'm sorry," Ferrum muttered, beginning his retreat. "But I liked watching," she confessed. "Excuse me?" "The kite. I enjoyed its dance." In Ferrum's mind, she was exotic. The colored scarf and the style of her dress made her different from every other woman he normally spoke with. Refugees were fleeing their native lands, desperate to escape a host of political troubles. She must have been among the recent émigrés. Her voice carried a rich accent. Her face and beautiful skin betrayed a history composed of the lost nation's ancient tribes. Ferrum asked, "Where are you from?" Laughing, the stranger named his home city. Of course, she was a naturalized citizen. What was he thinking? "I'm sorry," he muttered. "That was a stupid question." The girl saw something worthy of a smiling stare. "You should ask something smart, then." Ferrum learned her name and pieces of her life story. It was Rabiah who brought up the possibility of dinner, and Ferrum mentioned that he was free for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, she had a previous commitment. Eventually they settled on the evening after next, and following several meals and two concerts, not to mention the calculations and negotiations common to any romantic venture, their relationship moved into the physical realm. At that point, Ferrum finally asked about the sadness in the park. "Oh, that was nothing," Rabiah said with a heavy tone, implying otherwise. "Nothing?"
"I used to meet my old boyfriend there. That's all." But her confession wasn't quite honest. It took more weeks of prodding, plus some carefully gathered clues, before the ex-boyfriend's story was told. The man was considerably older than Rabiah, and he was married. He would meet his young girlfriend in the park, and they would make love in the passenger's seat. Rabiah carelessly offered details, letting Ferrum imagine her climbing on top of that old fellow, him yanking down her underwear and shoving his business inside her, enjoying her body until he was spent, or until he had to leave for home and his ugly old wife... "Why are you telling me this?" asked Ferrum, sickened yet aroused. "What do you think you're doing?" Now three people were lying in their little bed. Smiling with a calculated menace, his girlfriend asked, "Do you know who he was? And is?" "I don't want to," he claimed. "My cousin," she admitted. "Oh, God," the agnostic whispered. "A second cousin, and you needed to know," she claimed. "If we're going to continue seeing each other, darling ... there will be a moment when you have to meet the man..." Ferrum couldn't help but think along stereotypic lines. "But why? Do you want me to fight with him?" "Goodness, no." Rabiah laughed softly for a moment or two. "Is he a jealous fool? Will he attack me, maybe?" "My cousin is more civilized than either of us. In fact, he's a mathematician, and a great one at that!" Then, with a wink, she added, "But if you'd like ... if it would make you happy ... maybe you could slice off his penis...." Then she broke into wild laughter, and for several moments, her new
boyfriend wasn't sure if his embarrassment and horror was the source of her pleasure, or maybe, just maybe, this exotic desert creature expected him to commit some horrible revenge... **** Five Sisters ruled the evening sky: Mistress Flame, Little Wind, Ocean's Angel, and the Sullen Twins. Out of fascination and fear, ancient peoples had studied those bright bodies, measuring their slow, stately motions; and after so much focus and the occasional insight, it was decided that the heavens—the sun and moon and every Sister—rode upon a collection of nested spheres, crystalline and perfect. And the world was a perfect sphere sitting at the center of all that existed. And because it was a good story, the ancients decided that each Sister was given to the world by the gods, each lending its distinct magic to the lives of good people everywhere. Of course those old explanations were flawed, but they allowed those early astronomers to predict how the sky would look in another half year, and after a full lifetime. With bare eyes and persistent calculations, people realized that the Sisters could never huddle close together. Envy had to be the reason; none wished to dilute her beauty with her siblings' glow. But there were years when the solitary Sisters pushed close enough to fill one kite flyer's gaze, while the Sullen Twins stood in the opposite direction, carefully balancing the heavens. Once in a thousand years, on average, their good world would throw its shadow across the moon; and at the same moment, the Twins would dive behind that lifeless gray rock, allowing themselves to be swallowed whole. One Day would end, and shortly after that, the Next Day would begin. But for a little while, darkness and chaos were unleashed on the world. Or so it was said. Threads of evidence did support those legends. Lost cities and early societies had collapsed at the same approximate moment. Chance might be to blame, and of course those first civilizations might have been frail and failing as it was. But whatever the cause, survivors blamed the darkness that lay between the Days. Then for the next thousand years, old women would happily tell their horrific stories to frightened, spellbound young children. "The Night makes a soul insane," they would claim. "Good families will suddenly fight with their neighbors, and brothers always turn against
brothers. Homes are burned; the old laws are forgotten. And then the Twins rise again, and nothing can ever be the same." "But what do people see?" the children asked. "What did the Night show them?" "Nobody knows," the old women would promise. "Whatever was there, it was too awful and far too strange to be remembered." "Then we won't look," young voices proclaimed. "If the Night shows itself, we'll hide indoors. We'll live in our cellars, with sacks tied over our heads." "And what then? Do you think that you're the first clever people? Make no mistake, little darlings. Wherever you hide, the Night will find you." Nothing can save a person, particularly when he or she insists on believing in a particular fate. If the entire world decided to remake itself every thousand years, then the Night was a fine excuse, chaos sweeping away what was weak and old so that tiny prophets had their chance to stand on the wreckage, proclaiming new faiths and followings. **** Ferrum's grandmother liked to tell the wicked old stories. She would laugh out loud when she described riots and wars and other flavors of mayhem. This was all in the past, of course. The perceptive soul was free to mock the ignorant hordes from Days gone. But she made a critical error—the same mistake repeated by millions of sturdy, doubting adults across the world. She assumed her little grandson would hear about the Night and its madness, and Ferrum would realize that this was nothing but a fun old story. Yet young boys have a fondness for worlds that teeter on the brink, ready to collapse into fire and blood. Ferrum wanted to believe in the Night's power. "When will the darkness happen?" he asked, his voice soft as a whisper, but fearfully sharp. "Soon, does it?" "Very soon," she told him. He imagined going to sleep after this evening's meal, and then waking
in the morning to find the world transformed. "Twenty-four years from now," she continued. "But that isn't soon," he pointed out. "I suppose not." She laughed. "Yet for me, it's as good as forever." "Why?" Ferrum asked, genuinely puzzled. "Because I won't live long enough to see this next Night." The grim words made the old woman cackle. Already his grandmother's eyes were turning soft and dark, and by year's end she would be living inside her own endless Night—a suffocating experience that would make her bitter, small, and hateful. "But my little Ferrum ... you'll still be a young man when the Night happens. Probably with your own wife and family to share the experience with...." The boy couldn't shake the images of insane people fighting in the darkness, setting fires and spilling guts. When terrified, young boys will find something very compelling about mayhem. The bigger, the sweeter. "But what does the Night look like?" he asked again. "Does anybody know?" "Oh, everyone knows what the sky holds," she told him. But Ferrum didn't. The subject never came to mind before this. He was young and ignorant, curious, and very persistent. From that moment, he would bombard adults with questions about this once-in-a-thousand-years event. He interviewed his parents and teachers and neighborhood adults. And what struck him about their confident answers was that each vision was very similar, but no two were perfectly identical. Which brought an epiphany that twenty-four years and a considerable amount of education hadn't wrung out of him: Each eye, no matter how ordinary, inevitably sees its own Night. Ferrum's grandmother proved to be a flawed prophet. Ferrum became a man, and the Sisters indeed were aligning themselves in
accordance with elegant scientific principles. But he stubbornly remained unmarried and childless. There was only Rabiah in his life, and nothing about their relationship seemed secure: Long periods of passionate, desperate love would dissolve with a suddenness that always mystified him, and even when their fight was finished, the tension between them remained so deep and dangerous that a single careless word would surely shatter their love forever. Their worst battle stemmed directly from the Night. Several years earlier, Ferrum paid a considerable fee to reserve time at an observatory being built for the occasion. The large mirror and assorted optical equipment cost a modest fortune, but the resulting telescope would reach deep into the sky, harvesting details that larger instruments couldn't achieve on an ordinary evening. Ferrum liked to boast about his investment: It meant that so many heartbeats could be lived with one eye pressed against a viewfinder. And because he loved the girl so much, he gladly promised that he would share half of his time, or nearly so. But Rabiah didn't appreciate his charity. "How much did this cost?" she asked, her tone dismissive, even scornful. "This is a one-in-forever event, and what are you planning to do? Catch a glimpse through a tiny sliver of glass?" "It's more than a glimpse," he responded. "And more than a sliver of glass, for that matter." "Come with me instead." "Where?" She named a place that he didn't know, and then promised, "My entire family is gathering, and hundreds more too. This is our traditional way of meeting the Night. Don't you think a celebration sounds both fun and appropriate?" He didn't think so, and Ferrum decided on honesty. The resulting fight went on for a long, painful time. He finally had enough. Apologizing for his stubbornness, Ferrum said, "Tell me again. Where's this gathering to be?" The site was far from any city, on a plain shackled by high hills.
Nobody was building giant mirrors, but if Ferrum joined Rabiah, he could bring his father's old hunting telescope to watch the sky. He spent a few moments trying to convince himself that this was best, that it would even be worthwhile. But what would he do with his reserved place in line? "Sell it," Rabiah advised. "You could make back your investment, and probably more too." The girl might be right, yes. "But what happens there? What does your traditional celebration mean?" Rabiah named favorite foods, old dances and music, and then almost as an afterthought, she mentioned the Night's culminating event. Ferrum cringed. "What's wrong?" "A once-in-forever event, and that's what you do?" "I know it might sound silly," she agreed. But she didn't act joyful or much in the mood for teasing. "In our history, for as long as anyone remembers, my people have met the Night in a very similar way." "How stupid," he blurted. No lover would tolerate those words or the tone they were delivered with. But Rabiah's anger was so large and consuming that she couldn't speak, giving Ferrum time to begin making amends. "I don't mean you're stupid," he offered. "I would never say that." Then he confessed, "It seems like such a waste, that's all." Finally, he snapped, "This doesn't make any sense." She worked on him with silence and her eyes. "The event of our lifetime," he complained, "and you're letting a tribe of ignorant nomads dictate what you are going to do...?" Rabiah dropped her gaze.
At last, Ferrum realized how deeply he had hurt her. But he didn't offer apologies. With the last of his resolve, he told himself that she deserved the truth, and maybe in the next Day, she would thank him. But then his lover suddenly looked up, and with a dry, almost dead voice, she mentioned, "My cousin will be there." "The cousin you slept with?" Rabiah didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she just smiled at him. Then for the first time, and last, she told Ferrum, "You are a bright young man, darling. Well-read and thoughtful. But my cousin is smarter than you, and, in ways you'll never be, he is wonderfully wise." **** Ferrum lost that fight, and as a result, sold his time on the giant telescope. Just as Rabiah predicted, he made a fat profit—enough to pay for their coming travels. Despite his car's age and several worrisome cracks in the ceramic shell, that is what they drove. Her vehicle's sordid history would be too much of a distraction. They pretended to be married, spending their first evening at an isolated lodge far from the highway. The nearly full moon was still below the horizon. Even without the benefit of an eclipse, the sky proved dark enough to use his father's little telescope. There was a bonewood field nearby, recently harvested and usefully bare. Ferrum set the telescope on a flat stump, four stubby legs holding the tube and lenses steady. Then he focused on the narrow crescent of the Lost Sister—a nearby world of rock and blazingly hot air that showed itself only at dusk and dawn. When Rabiah bent to look, Ferrum described what was known and what was guessed. In the earliest days of Creation, their sun was surrounded by dust and countless half-formed worlds. Collisions and near-collisions shaped the history of those worlds; titanic forces shattered crusts, melting each to its core. Debris was flung this way and that. By chance, one world gathered more than its share of the solar system's metals. Then came the final collision: A rogue body from one of the Sisters struck hard, ripping away fat portions of the stony exterior while leaving the precious iron mixed swirling inside the molten stew that remained. That miserable world became their home, and its former crust pulled
itself into their stony moon. "We won the iron," he mentioned. "Without it and the other metals, we wouldn't be here." She had heard his lecture before. But Rabiah could be a good listener, even if her lover repeated what both of them knew. "And if we didn't have our moon," he continued, "then the stone crust under our feet would be too deep and stubborn for volcanoes to crack open. Without volcanoes, minerals wouldn't be recycled. And our carbon cycle would probably collapse. In the end, this would have become a giant version of the Lost Sister. And I wouldn't have you begging for my affections." "What did you say?" she asked. Rabiah was only pretending to listen to him, he assumed. But then she laughed. "You are the beggar, my dear." "How can you say that?" "This business about worlds colliding ... it's a symbolic tale about lust and intercourse and the like..." Maybe she was right. Soon they were making love on the soft ground beside the stump. Then later, as Rabiah slept and the moon rose, Ferrum focused his telescope on the Twins—ruddy little suns dancing close to one another, illuminating a few dead worlds well beyond the reach of all but the most powerful telescopes. As he watched the sky, a tiny artificial moon silently spun its way overhead. Later, he roused his lover and led her to their bed, and they made love again before sleeping longer than they intended. In the morning, they drove fast until their fuel ran low, and then Ferrum picked a random station and parked against an empty nipple. Stepping out of his car, he heard a stranger shouting, "Hello," to somebody. Innocently, Ferrum made an agreeable gesture, in case he had met
this fellow before. But the stranger was talking to Rabiah. He smiled and said her name, and she smiled back at him, replying, "Hello, Ocher." This was the infamous cousin, Ferrum realized: A heavy man worn down by one or several infirmities. And the woman riding with him looked very much like his wife would look. She was short and fat, and when she saw the young woman smiling at her husband, her expression said everything. The fat wife turned away, snapping off a few hard words. But the cousin—Rabiah's former lover—seemed untroubled. He invested a few moments staring at his replacement, and then he smiled. And suddenly Ferrum found himself grinning too. So this was the cheating husband? The fellow that he'd been jealous of for months? Goodness, he was just a chubby old fool with a homely, nagging wife. Really, the situation couldn't have been funnier. Ferrum suddenly wished they'd brought Rabiah's car. What did it matter? The image of that invalid and his girlfriend doing anything in the front seat ... well, it was sad, even pathetic, and how could he have wasted his worries about the two of them...? **** An acquaintance from work purchased Ferrum's time on the new telescope. But before he would agree to the asking price, the buyer wanted to see the equipment and its placement. One evening, the two men drove out of the city, to the high hill where teams of engineers fiddled with gears and lenses and the astonishingly large mirror—a highly orchestrated chaos in full swing. Ferrum's companion didn't seem especially worried that with just a month left, nothing was finished. Indeed, he spent remarkably little time examining the facility or the fancy equipment that would split the light, directing it into dozens of eyepieces. He didn't say two words to the experts who liked nothing better than to break from their labors, explaining their narrow discipline to any interested face. No, the fellow seemed most interested in the view behind them. Standing on the highest knoll, on a pile of weathered sandstone, he looked back at their city and the dark swatches of irrigated farmland, bonewood and lickbottom trees dark with the season. And with a matter of fact tone, he declared, "Soon all this will be swept away."
Ferrum asked, "What do you mean?" The man's intentions were obvious, at least to him. So obvious that he said nothing, his mouth closed for a long moment, perhaps expecting his companion to suddenly say, "Oh, swept away. I didn't hear you with the wind. Yes, I know exactly what you mean." But Ferrum didn't understand, and he asked his question again. They were workmates, not friends. But Ferrum's companion was as smart as him, or smarter, and he was definitely better read in matters of history and politics. With a devotion to the past, the co-worker could discuss the ebb and flow of civilizations, the relative strengths of different governments, and the dangers inherent in ignorance and blind trust. He was particularly fond of the great men: Those godly names that everybody recognized, even when few understood the bloody particulars of their glorious lives. Ferrum's companion studied him, as if examining his soul for flaws. Then he looked back down the hill, saying to the wind, "The Night will remake the world." It was an old sentiment, and perhaps not unexpected. But Ferrum felt surprised nonetheless. "It's just darkness," he muttered. "And we know what we'll see—" "Do we?" "Of course." History might not be Ferrum's favorite terrain, but he felt at ease with the sciences. "I can tell you exactly what you're going to find when you look through that telescope." "So it's not worth my money?" the man asked. Ferrum hesitated. Was this a bargaining ploy? "If you 'know' what you'll see, there's no point in looking. At the sky, or anything else." The man offered a wicked little laugh, adding, "That girlfriend of yours. You've seen her naked once or twice, so why look at her body again?" "Enough," Ferrum warned.
"But do you see my point? When you and I set our eyes on anything, anything at all, we refresh our memories. Make new what is familiar. And if we're very lucky, we might even see a detail or two that we somehow missed with every past glance." For an instant, Rabiah's wondrous body drifted before Ferrum's eyes. Then the man continued, pointing out, "In another month, countless people are going to look through these telescopes and see the sky in a new way. Everyone will witness the Night in its full glory. Unless of course you're unfortunate enough to be stuck on the Wax Islands or the Gray Continent." Those bits of land were on the far, daylight side of the world. "I agree with you, Ferrum. Intellectually, yes, we know exactly what the Night brings. But if you study history as I have ... well, there's only one conclusion: Each Day brings its revolution." "Because we expect change." In a charitable mood, Ferrum would concede this point. "Self-fulfilling prophecies." But his companion dismissed that easy answer. "Do you think something mystical is at work here?" Ferrum asked. "Do you believe in an Almighty hand?" "What I believe..." Then the wind gusted, and the voice hesitated. Ferrum looked over his shoulder, tired of their game. "Explanations don't matter much," the fellow claimed. "I accept the possibility that one of our Gods, or even some unrecognized scientific principle, might be at work. But mostly, I believe everything changes because nothing can stay the same." The smile was joyous, the eyes grim. "It is the nature of people. Of history and our world. The old must be swept aside, my friend. And what better place to begin than with the Dawn?" **** Ten millions years ago, an elderly shield volcano choked on its own
magma, and moments later, a single titanic blast flung rock and dust across the sky. The surrounding countryside was scorched and then buried. Every end of the world saw the sun grow dim, and no doubt there were places where a different Night held sway, too little light finding its way down to hungry leaves and a billion blind, terrified eyes. The resulting winter would have been sudden and years in duration. Countless species must have gone extinct, while others prospered in the ripe chaos. But then the rich dusts finally fell to the ground, and the climate found its new balance, and with the patient hands of wind and rain, the remains of that gutted volcano were gradually carried away. What remained was a ring of dark mountains, and in the middle, a plain as round as a coin and as flat. The mountains helped keep the country too dry for crops or trees, and most importantly, those rounded peaks practically guaranteed that the skies would remain free of clouds. A few towns were scattered across the wide emptiness—just enough to supply food and water to the crowds coming from the cities. Every little highway was jammed with cars. The sun was high and bright, and driving out onto the plain, Ferrum understood why Rabiah's tribe had picked this location. He was thinking about the evening to come, anticipation pushing aside every lesser emotion. But then Rabiah said proudly, "Do you know who picked this site for us?" "Your cousin," he guessed. "I have quite a few cousins," Rabiah reminded him. "But it was Ocher, yes. Of course it was." "The cheating husband," he muttered. "Why don't you ever say his name?" Ferrum replied with a thoughtful silence, and then asked, "How much farther?" They arrived at the designated location in the early afternoon. Where a volcanic crater once stood, more than a thousand strangers were building a busy, temporary city. Men were pitching colorful tents, setting up long tables, and testing the fires in a hundred big camp stoves. Women were chatting happily, sweeping out the tents and assembling the beginnings of the evening feast. Children seemed to be everywhere, and Ferrum was glad to see them: The adults used their mother tongue, but the youngsters screamed and complained in the language he knew.
Ferrum had met Rabiah's parents, but it took him a few moments to recognize them now. Instead of the drab clothes of business people, they were dressed in the brilliant robes of their desert tradition, and instead of being reserved for the sake of propriety, they were outgoing, even giddy. They greeted both their daughter and her boyfriend with warm hands and quick kisses. "I was afraid you were going to miss all this," the mother confessed. Her voice was very much like her daughter's, but slowed by an accent that made her words difficult to understand. Turning to Ferrum, she asked, "Did you have trouble finding us?" Ferrum didn't want to mention oversleeping, since that might bring up the matter of sharing one bed. So he offered a simple, pragmatic lie. "It's my fault. I took a wrong turn at Damp Sand." "You did not," Rabiah snapped. Ferrum hesitated. "We were up late watching the sky," Rabiah confessed. The mother's eyes twinkled. "More than just sky-watching, I hope." With a dismissive gesture, Rabiah said, "He did just enough for me. Yes." Then both women broke into a hard, shared laugh. Ferrum was embarrassed. He dipped his head while looking at the father, trying to read emotions that hid behind a broad, painfully polite smile. When he and Rabiah were alone again, he asked, "Why did you say that?" "What did I say?" she replied. And then, as if suddenly understanding the simple question, she added, "My parents are thrilled to have a responsible man in their little girl's life. In fact, I think they adore you. At least a little bit." "Adore me?" "As long as you keep me happy, they will." But Rabiah's happiness was never easy, and to make matters worse, Ferrum had the impression that his own feelings, good or lousy, were
inconsequential when it came to their relationship. The remains of that afternoon brought introductions to cousins and aunts and family friends, plus people who Rabiah didn't know but who felt curious about this fellow of hers. Almost every name offered was forgotten before the introduction was finished. A hundred polite conversations ended in uncomfortable silence. Soon the faces surrounding Ferrum looked much the same, and he found himself thinking about inbreeding and other uncharitable possibilities. The feast proved amazing, and miserable. By convention, young men shared the same long tables while the single women were safe at the far end of the field. Strangers filled the pillows beside Ferrum. Most were conversant in his language but few were willing to use it. Foods he had tasted on occasion were suddenly heaped high on his platter-sized plate, every bite laced with spiced salts that burned his mouth and throat, and later, his belly. When the feast was finished, he lugged his swollen carcass to a large black tent that Rabiah had pointed out earlier. "I'll meet you there," she had promised. But standing in the tent's long shadow, it occurred to Ferrum that his lover hadn't specified an exact time for this meeting. Where was she? Was that her standing over there? But no, Rabiah had been wearing trousers and a simple blouse, while most young women were showing off the gaudy dresses of their home country, legs and arms and the long elegant necks covered with jewelry, their feet balanced on impossibly delicate shoes. She was testing him, Ferrum hoped. Because every other possibility seemed more awful. Suddenly a pair of young men approached. They wore smiles and tool belts, and the nearest fellow called to him by name before saying, "Come with us." "Where to?" Ferrum asked. "Over there," he said with a wave. "She told us you would help us." "You mean Rabiah?" Just mentioning the name made both strangers laugh. Then the second man, wrestling with the unfamiliar language, said, "Come. Help." "With what?"
"The show!" the first man shouted. "We are slow. We need cool hands, please." Ferrum followed them through the noisy, happy crowd. He couldn't see how he might help, but at least he wasn't standing in one place, waiting for a woman who might never appear again. "Have I met you already?" he asked the first man. That deserved another laugh. "I'm sorry," Ferrum continued. "I don't remember names—" "Rabiah," the man interrupted. "Excuse me?" The stranger stopped and turned, and with his pleasure receding into some other emotion, he said, "You are lucky. Very lucky, you know." "In what way?" The second stranger asked a question of his companion. An answer was offered—an impatient bark of syllables. And then the first stranger turned back to Ferrum, regarding him with a careful gaze before saying, "Or maybe you are not fortunate. Too soon to say, maybe." Again, the three men walked on. Eventually they fell into the open, and later, far from the celebratory racket, they were standing on a flat-topped little knoll. Suddenly Ferrum understood what was happening, and after a lot of consideration, he still didn't approve. But what else could he do? Perhaps twenty other men were busy with this very important work. Rare skills were on display. What Ferrum was qualified to do was uncoil the new copper wires while walking quickly from place to place. It would be best if the job was finished before evening, and the men were thankful for his help. After a while, there was an odd moment when Ferrum completely forgot his old objections. He discovered that he was enjoying this uncoiling and stretching of the wires, and later, the careful planting of long tubes. Then a gentleman that he didn't know smiled at him and said, "Good," and Ferrum's reaction was to smile back and bow a little, saying, "Thank you," with relish.
The sun set before they were finished. Once, then again, older men approached to complain, mentioning the time remaining and the sorry state of affairs. But the full moon made their work easy enough, and they were done even before the world's slow shadow began to obliterate the sky's brightest light. Ferrum joyfully accepted the thanks of his new friends, and then he returned alone to the black tent, imagining Rabiah waiting for him. But the tent had been moved or dismantled, and his lover was still missing. Where could she be? He walked about the camp, searching for everything that was lost. He wanted to retreat to the car and grab his telescope, but there wasn't much time left. The moon was already half-consumed, the Sullen Sisters hovering close to its left limb. Ferrum spent a few moments listing the ways that the woman had made his life miserable, and then he stopped walking, closing his eyes while wishing he was anywhere else in the world. Somebody called his name. Ferrum turned and opened his eyes, finding a familiar face, and then that face said to him, "You look so very unhappy." "Hello, Ocher." "I know where we can find a good telescope," the old man mentioned. "But we don't have very much time. This way, please." And without hesitation, Ferrum fell in beside his newest friend. **** Ocher's telescope was set on flat ground outside the campground. It was no hunter's tool meant to search for herds of poor-lillies and fat blackbottoms, but instead it was a precise astronomical instrument with three heavy legs and a broad mirror, tiny gears and motors moving the tube along the same course that the sky took. Ferrum's long first look showed him the brilliant snows of the moon's southern pole—a frigid terrain famous for killing the only explorers to ever set foot on it—and then the world's shadow fell over that wasteland, a rainbow flash marking the sunlight as it passed through the same air he was now breathing in gulps. "Did you hear?" Ocher asked. "It is raining at home." He looked up from the eyepiece. "Now?"
"A colleague called me with the sad news," his companion allowed. "A squall line is sweeping out of the west. Probably gone before sunrise, but there's going to be a lot of angry souls in its wake." Ferrum imagined hundreds of novice astronomers standing beside that expensive, useless telescope, faces glistening with the rain, every sorry voice screaming at the profoundly unfair sky. His personal gloom began to lift, just a little. The moon was soon immersed in the night. Ocher pulled a small timepiece from his shirt pocket, adjusted his telescope's aim and then stepped back again. "If you wish, watch the Sisters vanish." "Don't you want to?" "Oh, I'm not being generous," said Ocher. "I just want my eyes kept in the dark, to help them adapt." Those distant suns looked like twin gemstones, brilliant but cold. Ferrum's vision blurred, but he watched carefully as the lightless bulk of another world rose to meet them. Then thin dry atmosphere made one flicker, then the other, and then the first Sister touched the rim of a crater, and it vanished. "I hope she's watching," Ferrum muttered. "I am sure she is," Ocher promised. Then he made a low sound, as if intending to say something else ... or ask his own question, perhaps ... but that's when the final Sister plunged out of sight, and the lightless air was filled with gasps and exclamations, old prayers and inarticulate screams as old as their species. The Night had come. Ferrum jumped back from the telescope. Like a startled animal, he looked up. His eyes chose a random line, and after wiping the eyes dry, he stared as hard as he could into the new sky. But what was he seeing? Somehow his mind had forgotten a thousand lessons of science, and for that delicious moment, he felt scared and
happy, and confused, and absolutely enthralled. There was nothing to see; there was nothing but black upon black. That was because there was nothing there. Except for the Sisters and their own sun, the universe was devoid of meaningful light. Eyes a thousand times stronger than Ferrum's would do no better. Only mirrors that were a billion times more powerful could work, and then only when thrown high above the world's atmosphere ... and even the luckiest of those telescopes would gather in nothing but a few weak photons—odd travelers from regions too distant and ancient to resolve with any confidence whatsoever. This was the Creation, utterly empty and divinely cold. Save for this one tiny realm, of course. "Where is that girl?" he growled. "Standing directly behind you," said Rabiah, her deep voice laughing. Then despite telling himself not to, Ferrum turned, ignoring the sky in order to reach out and grab a body and face that he knew better than he knew anything, including his own sloppy pounding heart. **** The three of them stood close together in the absolute Night. The hollering and chants in the camp gradually fell away, becoming gentle conversation and reflective silence, and at some imprecise point Ocher began to talk, using surprisingly few words to explain the basics of his life's work. "Has Rabiah told you?" he began. "I'm a failed scientist. I tried physics twice before falling into mathematics. But I'm very good with calculations, and my old school chums use me to test their ideas. 'Do my equations balance, Ocher? Are they pretty? And are we telling the truth about the universe?'" "What about the universe?" Ferrum managed. "It is far larger than we can see," the genius reported. "There is physical evidence to support that hypothesis. Microwave radiations. Exhausted particles from hot, bright places. Even the shape of the cold holds its clues." He had a pleasant voice, smooth and almost musical at times. "The true universe is unimaginably grand, and it doesn't have to be
as smooth and empty as we find it here. Hydrogen and helium can pull together, with help. Through simple probability, it can be shown that there must be regions full of suns and worlds like ours, and presumably, worlds very different from the handful that we know well. "But not our realm, no. "And so long as we think in small ways, this is where we will be trapped, and for all of our Days." A sudden shout interrupted the lecture. From the knoll where Ferrum had helped uncoil wire, someone shouted a single command ... and then, on that signal, a soft wet woosh could be heard. Ferrum saw red sparks rising in the darkness. Rabiah's warm hand slipped inside his grip, and now she leaned hard against him, waiting for a kiss. Then the first explosive was detonated above the flat barren plain—a bright greenish light that flung stars in every direction, accompanied by a host of bright sharp blasts. A cheer rose up with a wave of rockets. Rabiah had explained the tradition this way: In ancient times, the desert people were never caught unaware of the Night. Their open country was the best place to watch the sky, and when the heavens warned of darkness coming, scarce wood was piled high. When it was impossible to see, great bonfires were set ablaze. The tribes feared that the gods would forget what light was if none could be seen, and that was how people ensured that the Sullen Sisters would find their way to the other side of the moon. In recent times, bonfires gave way to more interesting pyrotechnics. Each wave of rockets was bigger than the last, and despite his doubts, Ferrum found himself spellbound. The colors; the noise; the wild patterns burning into his eyes: The show was spectacular and lovely, and thrilling, and he didn't mind that the darkness was being pushed away. He smelled the burnt powder and his own excitement, and he felt Rabiah's wonderful body pressing hard against him. When the fourth wave exploded, he looked into her face. When the fifth broke, he clumsily pawed her. Then came the sixth wave, and he thought to look for Ocher. Her one-time lover
was standing beside his telescope, his hands on the tube but his gaze watching the nearer spectacle. Ferrum walked to him. Together, they watched the seventh salvo of rockets head skyward, and just before the carefully timed blasts, he put his mouth against the man's ear, asking, "What did you mean?" "Mean?" the man replied. Then neither could hear anything but the noisy rainbows flying overhead. When the rockets paused, Ferrum said, "If we think in small ways, we will be trapped?" "Yes," said Ocher. "But what is a large way to think?" The eighth flight of rockets was the largest—a thunderous fleet of suicidal machines arcing higher and higher into the smoke-rich sky—and as they watched the grand ascent, Ocher said simply, "Space can be cut, if you know how. If you focus enough energy in the proper ways. And then a brave soul can leap across a trillion light-years in the time it takes one Night to pass." The heavens were suddenly filled with ornate figures. Ferrum retreated to the girl again. "What did you ask him?" said Rabiah. "What?" "Did you ask him about me?" "No," he confessed. "Not at all." Then as the roaring in his ears fell away, Ferrum added, "Ocher was telling me about tomorrow, and about the next revolution to come..."
Robert Reed - Night Calls
Night Calls The Green Falcon
Robert McCammon - Night Calls The Green Falcon
Darkness Calls
Temptation Calls
Judgment Calls
Cat Calls
Fury Calls
Devotion Calls
Death Calls
Danger Calls
NIGHT CALLS THE GREEN FALCON by Robert R. McCammon CHAPTER ONE : NEVER SAY DIE He was in the aeroplane again, falling ...
Report "Night Calls"


What a busy summer it has been!
What a busy summer it has been! Even as many of us found some time to get away, the Washington real estate market never truly slows down. We have been busy updating our entire marketing platform, from our new team logo, to photography and video.
We believe growing our digital presence will benefit our clients and give us the maximum possible reach when promoting properties on their behalf. We welcome your feedback on the changes!
A stunning brick facade in prime location with views of the National Cathedral. Features an updated kitchen and two-car garage parking.
Are You Ready for the Fall Market?
It's hard to believe that fall in DC is just around the corner. We have been preparing this summer for exciting new inventory, and the new buyers who start looking after Labor Day. If you have any questions about listing your home, it would be our honor to assist you. We customize a Marketing Plan that is unique to every client so we can achieve the best results for you. We welcome the opportunity to discuss our process with you and why it works.
" It has been an absolute pleasure having Kimberly and Daryl by our sides through our real estate adventures. They make buying and selling a home into an exciting and effortless experience from beginning to end. Kimberly and Daryl work tirelessly around the clock and attend to every detail to ensure their clients' needs are met. It is beyond comforting to work with people we trust so whole-eartedly, especially with something as important as buying or selling a home. With Kimberly and Daryl, there is no question they will get the most out of every deal and come up with creative solutions where they are needed. On top of it all, they are personable, knowledgeable, caring, and delightful people to be around. We will never use any other agents when buying or selling a home."
Backed by the prestige and power of Washington Fine Properties, their track record speaks for itself. They are consistently ranked among the top teams nationally and locally, with over half a billion dollars in sales.
They are referenced as "Power Brokers" and "Real estate phenoms" in the press and have recently been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NY Times, Capitol File, DC Modern Luxury, Washingtonian, Washington Life, Washington Business Journal, the Georgetown Dish, and more.
Their reputation has been forged by offering the same level of dedication and enthusiasm to each transaction they pursue. With access to private listings, developer pipelines and their finger on the ever-changing pulse of the Washington, D.C. market, Kimberly & Daryl give their clients an undeniable edge.
For many of us, buying and selling a home is the biggest financial transaction of our lives. Accept nothing but the best, with access to the finest .
Washington Fine Properties is recognized worldwide as a leader in the Capital Region's residential real estate market. The agents have the highest average sales volume in the nation, for seven years running, as ranked by REAL Trends. It is a truly collaborative brokerage where agents work together to give their clients access to exclusive listings and the best possible marketing platform.


BRISTOL, Tenn. - Junior tailback Detrez Newsome scored a career-best four touchdowns on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as Western Carolina dropped its 2016 Southern Conference football opener, 34-31, to East Tennessee State in front of an ETSU single-game record crowd of 13,863 at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Newsome tallied two TDs on the ground to accompany a pair of receiving scores in the loss. The Raeford, N.C., native moved into a tie for ninth-place in school history with his 22nd career rushing score, matching David Mayfield (22, 1984-86). Newsome finished with a combined 172 all-purpose yards including 32 yards rushing, 86 receiving yards on four catches, and 54 yards on kickoff returns.
All told, ETSU scored 24-straight points to erase WCU's 21-3 advantage and take a 27-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. And, in one of the game's deciding factors, ETSU monopolized possession in the third quarter, holding onto the football for 12:13 of the 15 minute frame.
Down by 10 inside the game's final two minutes, Newsome tallied his fourth TD of the game to give the Catamounts a glimmer of hope. Slipping out of the backfield, Newsome made a reception and weaved his way through the defensive-back laden ETSU secondary as he raced into the end zone from 45 yards out to pull WCU to within three. However, on the ensuing onside kick, WCU was unable to get fortuitous bounce as ETSU receiver Dalton Ponchillia collapsed on the football to ultimately end the game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrie Adams was again solid for the Catamounts, completing 26-of-39 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native added a team-best 37 rushing yards as the Catamounts were limited to just 100 combined yards on the ground.
Junior Terryon Robinson caught a game-high eight passes, just missing the 100-yard plateau with 96 receiving yards. Redshirt sophomore WR Jordan Mathis had six catches for 58 yards before leaving the game with a leg injury.
Defensively for the Catamounts, senior Trey Morgan led the way with nine tackles and a pair of pass break-ups, while classmate Fred Payne finished with eight stops. A.J. Newman was credited with seven stops including a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered by Kendall White. Defensive end Avery Worsham finished with two of WCU's seven tackles for loss, posting six stops on the day.
Quarterback Austin Herink completed 24-of-37 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns to lead the ETSU comeback, adding 30 rushing yards. Herink spread the ball around to 10 different receivers, led by Vincent Lowe with five catches for 31 yards and a score. Receivers Keith Coffee and Matt Thompson also hauled in scoring strikes for the Bucs, who were playing their first SoCon game since 2003. Tailback Jajuan Stinson rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown while J.J. Jerman booted a pair of field goals in the winning effort.
Western Carolina enters its bye week before returning to the friendly confines of E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field in Cullowhee for its first of back-to-back home dates Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. The Catamounts host the option attack of The Citadel on Oct. 1 for Family Weekend before hosting Wofford on Oct. 8 with a special postgame fireworks display presented by Ingles and iHeartRadio partners, 99.9 Kiss Country and Star 104.3.


Receptions are fun. There's music and dancing and tons of stuff packed into one afternoon or evening. But here's some food for thought: why not spread some love to the other portions of your wedding day?
The mark of any good wedding is having almost every moment filled with something interesting. The pre-ceremony is one of the most boring and wait-filled times for guests. Everyone is slowly filtering in, the bride and groom are still getting ready; pretty soon everyone is just sitting there with nothing to do but look at their phones and chat. Instead of just letting your friends and family play the waiting game, there are things you can do to ensure everyone's spirits are up by the time you walk down that aisle!
One great way to keep guests happy before the wedding is food. This is especially true if you have a morning wedding. Doing something simple like providing a little tea and coffee buffet can go a long way. Guests will love that you thought of them, and don't forget, they got up early, so you want them to feel appreciated.
Sometimes when you're just waiting before a ceremony, the mood isn't really set. The best way to remedy this is music! I've been to weddings with beautiful music playing before the ceremony and it really put me in the wedding-way. You can even entertain your guests with live music. A lot of churches provide such services, or you can always hire performers if you're not getting married in a church.
Guests will enjoy any little thing you give them before the wedding starts that is useful. For example, it's always nice to provide guests with schedules. This way they can plan their day and know what's going on. The perfect time to hand these out is while they're waiting for everything to start. You can also hand out other useful items like blankets if it's chilly or cute hand fans if it's hot. You'd be surprised how much handing out goodies can affect guest morale.
A fun way to start off the day is by way of drink. Pass out a shot or champagne to each guest as they enter and orchestrate a toast for the bride and groom. It's a little different to do this before the wedding and not after, but it's a great way to shake things up and make guests feel involved right away.
Sometimes we think of wedding games as strictly for the shower and the reception, but that's simply not the case! Since there's some time, why not keep guests involved and interested with a fun little wedding game. It doesn't have to be controlled or emceed; you can provide simple little games like wedding Sudoku or word scrambles; just something little guests can opt in or out of.
You can also provide stand up games like horse shoes or bean bag toss. Again, why keep all the fun for the reception? You can set up the games outside your wedding venue or even inside if the space is big enough.
Kids attend weddings too. One of the best ways to keep them from getting riled up right before your ceremony is to keep them distracted. You know what's interesting to kids? Toys. Provide little things to keep them occupied while they wait. This will not only keep the children happy, but also the parents who are trying to keep them in line during this downtime.
Just another fun way to ring in your big day. Get guests excited for what's to come by offering sparklers and other firecrackers before the ceremony. This way the celebrations can get started right away. It's perfect if you want your big day to have a joyous feel as it will definitely get your guests into a celebratory mood!
Give your guests an important task before the wedding starts. This can be anything from a guest well-wishes video diary where they record themselves to each one lighting a candle. You can also substitute a flower girl for all your guests by asking each one to choose and lay down a flower. This is especially cool for the ceremony because every flower down the aisle is a well-wish from each guest attending. Giving everyone a task to accomplish keeps them from checking the clock for a little while and makes your day seem overall more enjoyable.
Give your guests a video viewing before the ceremony. You can feature something that's basically a picture slideshow of you and your partner put to music. You could do a morning-of video with interviews of the bride and groom if you have someone tech savvy who could whip it up.
Another option is the classic couple's video with the story of how you two met and things like that. This is a very cute way to get your guests ready so long as you don't overdo it.
By filling the waiting time with things to do, you show your guests you care. They will immediately feel comfortable and not agonizingly bored. These things are especially important if you know you'll be a while getting ready. Providing activities gives you that little bit of buffer time if anything unexpectedly takes a little longer than you anticipated.


Ethos' Community Hero of the Day to be awarded to three-year-old Elmo.
The Go Team Elmo! campaign in aid of Elmo's treatment is the Ethos Charity of the Year 2018.
The Cambridge United vs Bury match on Saturday, Elliot Michelson AKA Elmo will receive Ethos' Community Hero of the Day award.
After suffering a brain injury at birth, Elmo, 3, has spent more time in hospital in his life so far than some people will in their entire lives. He spent the first month of his little life in intensive care and continued to spend many months in and out of intensive care due to his poor muscle tone. Elmo's family were told that it was unlikely he would see his first birthday, but Elmo has defied all odds.
There is no cure for a brain injury, but there are treatments and therapies that can reduce the impact the condition has on Elmo. Unfortunately, due to unavailable and limited resources, the NHS cannot support regular or intensive therapy for children like him.
Elmo's family have and continue to self-fund and fundraise for all his investment and are currently raising money for Just4Children to support Elliot's intensive treatments over the next 36 months. The Go Team Elmo! campaign is currently looking for any businesses or individuals who would like to take on fundraising events and projects in aid of the campaign and would welcome anyone that is willing to support little Elmo and his journey ahead.
We hold on to the hope that every one of our dreams for him will come true, and with continued extensive therapies, stimulation and all the love that we can give, he will one day walk, talk and be the independent little boy we know he can be."


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Posts Tagged 'vitali klitschko'
Olympic Super-Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua Turns Pro
Posted: July 25, 2013 in Boxing
Tags: anthony joshua, audley harrison, boxing, david haye, derek chisora, heavyweight, hughie fury, olympics, richard towers, tyson fury, vitali klitschko
The following article is an original article by me published through BleacherReport.com
The British heavyweight boxing scene just added another player to its ranks with the announcement, via Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian, that 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua has decided to join the professional ranks.
Joshua won the Olympic gold last year with a controversial victory over defending champion Roberto Cammarelle after a judges' countback. Behind after the opening two rounds, Joshua valiantly fought back to earn a draw on the judges' cards, thereby triggering the countback, which involves tossing out the highest and lowest scores from each fighter's cards and recalculating the scores on the remaining ones.
Following his Olympic gold, Joshua signaled his intent to remain an amateur and try to follow up his Olympic success with a World Championship gold, having missed out on gold in the 2011 World Championships by just one point.
In choosing to become a professional fighter, Joshua joins a British heavyweight scene that is quickly approaching the cramped level.
Fellow Brits David Haye and Tyson Fury are set to fight in September, with the winner hoping to earn a shot at Vitali Klitschko's WBC World title.
Dereck Chisora got back to winning ways with a controversial stoppage of previously undefeated American Malik Scott.
David Price has seen his stock fall somewhat after back-to-back stoppage losses to veteran American fighter Tony Thompson.
Britain's first ever Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist, Audley Harrison, refuses to stay out of the ring. After Chisora's victory over Scott, Harrison took to Twitter to declare his availability for a September showdown.
Richard Towers is a promising prospect who is ready to make a step up in his level of competition. His bout against Lucas Browne was recently scrapped after he was denied an Australian visa due to a past conviction for kidnapping.
Also climbing up the British heavyweight list is Tyson Fury's cousin Hughie Fury. Having only joined the professional ranks this year, the 18-year-old Fury has already rattled off eight victories from eight contests as he seeks to beat Mike Tyson's record by becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever.
Now with Joshua, another tall and rangy heavyweight, stepping into the professional ranks, the British heavyweight scene is really heating up. While Joshua will take it slowly and steadily as he makes the transition to professional fighting, he certainly has the talent to be competing on a high level within a few years.
Johnathon Banks' Future as an Elite Trainer Looking Bright
Tags: boxing, emanuel steward, johnathon banks, mariusz wach, seth mitchell, vitali klitschko, wladimir klitschko
The story below is my original work published through bleacherreport.com
Wladimir Klitschko fought his first professional boxing match in over eight years without his hall of fame trainer, the late Emanuel Steward, when he defeated Poland's Mariusz Wach on Saturday. While the outcome of the fight was almost a foregone conclusion to many, how Klitschko would perform without Steward interested me. Enter Johnathon Banks.
Banks himself is a professional boxer, fighting in the heavyweight division, who was trained by Steward. Following Steward's passing, Banks stepped into his old mentor's shoes on Klitshcko's behalf in taking on the role of trainer, all this while preparing for his own fight on November 17th against undefeated heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell.
I was interested to see if Banks was merely "filling a role" for Klitschko's fight with Wach, or if he was actually going to be a hands on trainer during the bout.
When a Klitschko brother fights, the other brother is usually close at hand and often performing a job in the corner. Knowing this, I wondered if Vitali would take the role of the main communicator between rounds while Banks was just an additional pair of eyes.
I watched the bout live through EpixHD, through which the lack of commercials between rounds allowed me to see the dynamics in the corner. I was happy to see that the man who had stepped up and assumed the trainer role for the fight was allowed to do just that–train.
Vitali stayed mostly as a background figure, assisting where needed and holding the bucket. Banks broke down the round as he saw it, and gave a great breakdown of how the fight was going and what he wanted to see moving forward. Vitali occasionally echoed Banks' instructions, always in English, and both brothers appeared to respect what Banks was saying.
Wladimir followed the rookie trainer's instructions well. If Banks said to jab more, Wladimir jabbed more. When Banks wanted him to bring the right hand into play more frequently to follow the jab, there were more right hands.
Banks had obviously spent his time under Steward paying attention to more than just the instruction he was being given for his own fights. He astutely instructed Wladimir on the best approach round-to-round and when it was time to start mixing things up in order to keep Wach on his toes.
Even more impressive was the manner in which Banks was able to keep the corner calm at the end of Round 5, a round that ended with Wach catching Klitschko with a strong right hand and then pushing forward and looking to do more damage.
In the corner, Banks kept things calm, talking to Wladimir about staying on task, keeping the jab going and keeping the pace under his control. For a novice trainer to keep everyone—including himself—grounded and level headed after seeing his fighter eat a big right hand was a good thing to see.
To all appearances, it seems as though Klitschko intends to keep Banks on full-time and after working well together in the build up to Saturday's bout—and again during the fight—it seems to me like a wise choice.
@SuperMc123 Not my site buddy - had this handle since long before that streaming site popped up 4 months ago
@Davidhowellj You need to go deeper - I have nothing to do with those crooks. I write occasional articles and set t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 4 months ago
@Davidhowellj Sorry bro - I'm not associate in any way with the streaming site. Wish you the best with them, I get… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 4 months ago
readboxing.com/2018/08/01/jos… 1 year ago
Mayweather vs McGregor Live Stream Online Free likhadito.com/boxing/ #mcgregorvsmayweatherlivestream 2 years ago

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When it comes to insect infestations, it's possible for the problem to remain hidden for long periods of time.
This is particularly true with termites and other pests that will hide inside the walls and remain largely unseen.
It's not enough to keep an eye out for the actual creatures, you also need to watch for the common warning signs that they're taking up residence in the home.
Here are three indicators that you may have a little home wrecker living inside your walls and damaging your property.
The sound of scratching in the attic probably isn't just a tree rubbing against the house. In many cases, you'll hear rodents and other pests before you see them. This is especially a problem for those who have a fear of mice, rats, spiders, and other insects.
If your home is normally clean but you're noticing a mysterious odor, then mice and other rodents may be to blame. Mice are experts at hiding, and they can be present in your home for weeks or months without you realizing that you have visitors. As they urinate and defecate inside the walls, an odor will become evident in the home.
If you are noticing the early stages of mice or other rodents in your home, you can set traps for them. With any luck, you will be able to take care of them yourself and they will be out of your home in no time. By the time you can smell their presence, you're dealing with a substantial infestation. At this point you will want to call a pest control service to come out to your home and take care of the problem.
Take a close look around your home exterior for gaps and cracks. A seemingly harmless space between your roofline and fascia can provide an entry point for birds, small rodents, and other animals. In addition to sealing off these points, you may also benefit from having a pest control service come to your home. Once the professionals inspect the property to confirm that it's free of unwanted visitors, you can seal up these points with confidence (Source: Green Pest Services, a pest control company in Alexandria).
You should also keep an eye out for signs of bite marks on wood trim, or piles of odd debris appearing in corners and other areas. Mice like to gather odd items for nesting, and you may see the piles behind appliances and in forgotten corners. If you see little droppings that look too small for mice, then you may dealing with a roach problem. In the case of termites, your first indicator may be the damaged finish on your antique furniture or wood trim.
The most obvious telltale sign is to see the pests themselves. Remember that insects tend to stay hidden, so seeing one mouse or a few fleas can be an indicator of a much larger problem. The good news is that most of these issues can be effectively addressed, but you'll want to reach out for assistance as soon as possible to avoid major property damage.
What Is Pest Control And How It Works?
Are Termites Destroying Your Property?


text:
Dieser Artikel zeigt die Ergebnisse der Qualifikationsrunden für die J&T Banka Ostrava Open 2021 des Damentennis. Insgesamt nahmen 24 Spielerinnen an der Qualifikation teil, die am 18. und 19. September 2021 stattfand.

Einzel

Setzliste

Ergebnisse

Weblinks

WTA Tour 2021
Tennisturnier in Ostrava

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Ошибка в PyGame Вот код:
from os import getcwd
import pygame
import random
link_to_files = getcwd() + "\\files\\"

#Цвета

color= {
        "white":(255,255,255),"black":(0,0,0),"red":(255,0,0),
        "green":(0,255,0),"blue":(0,0,255)
}

#Параметры окна:
#Размер = ширина, высота = (400, 300)
size = width, height = (500,500)

#Создаём экран (холст)
screen = pygame.display.set_mode(size)
pygame.init()

def draw_widgets():
    screen.fill(color['white'])

    #screen.fill(pygame.Color('red'), pygame.Rect(230,230,40,40)) Rect(x,y, width, height )
    for i in range(10000):
        screen.fill(pygame.color['blue'],(random.random() * width,random.random() * height))

draw_widgets()

while pygame.event.wait().type != pygame.QUIT:
    pygame.display.flip()

pygame.quit()

Вот текст ошибки:
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Tests>python main.py
pygame 2.0.1 (SDL 2.0.14, Python 3.8.6)
Hello from the pygame community. https://www.pygame.org/contribute.html
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "main.py", line 29, in <module>
    draw_widgets()
  File "main.py", line 27, in draw_widgets
    screen.fill(pygame.color['blue'],(random.random() * width,random.random() * height))
TypeError: 'module' object is not subscriptable

A: Попробуйте вместо pygame.color['blue'] использовать pygame.Color('blue')
В pygame color действительно является модулем (т.е. файлом color.py), и у него есть класс Color, который и нужно использовать

A: Не совсем понятна идея кода так как про нее ничего не написано. Предпологаю что нужно вывести 10000 синих прямоугольников чтобы они залили весь экран.
C учетом что массив цветов уже задан нужно его и использовать, иначе pygame.Color(цвет),
Заливка fill вторым параметром требует прямоугольник т.е. 4 значения: [x, y, w, h]
Если нужно сделать эффект заливки пикселями можно попробовать такие прямоугольники:
[align(random.random() * (width + 1)), align(random.random() * (height +1)), 5, 5]

функция выравнивания будет такой:
def align(value):
  return value - value % 5

чтобы видеть динамические изменения нужно вызывать обновление экрана вручную:
pygame.display.flip()

Далее идет исправленный исходный код (с заливкой не пикселями так как в вопросе не указано что именно должна делать программа).
from os import getcwd
import pygame
import random
link_to_files = getcwd() + "\\files\\"

#Цвета
color = {
  "white":(255,255,255),"black":(0,0,0),"red":(255,0,0),
  "green":(0,255,0),"blue":(0,0,255)
}

#Параметры окна:
#Размер = ширина, высота = (400, 300)
size = width, height = (500,500)

#Создаём экран (холст)
screen = pygame.display.set_mode(size)
pygame.init()

def draw_widgets():
    screen.fill(color["white"])
    for i in range(10000):
        screen.fill(color["blue"], [0, 0, random.random() * (width + 1)  , random.random() * (height +1) ])
        pygame.display.flip() # для того чтобы видеть обновления

draw_widgets()

while pygame.event.wait().type != pygame.QUIT:
    pygame.display.flip()

pygame.quit()

заливка будет с левого верхнего угла:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Author Lily Williams has struck again with the next book in her series about what would happen if an animal became extinct, this one titled, If Polar Bears Disappeared. In this book, we learn what would happen if polar bears became extinct animals. Not only do we learn what will happen to the polar bears if sea ice continues to melt, but how their disappearance will affect so many other aspects of the artic environment. With beautifully clear illustrations to accompany the text, this is definitely one to add to your library as you are #RaisingReaders.
–I love how Lily Williams explains it all. She doesn't just start with the disappearance, she explains what would cause their disappearance. Also, she doesn't just tell you they'll be gone, she also suggests how you (even as a child) may prevent that from happening.
–She explains complex ideas, like global warming, in a way that a young child who picked up her book will understand.
–Like I mentioned in my review of If Sharks Disappeared, I love that the main character is a young girl of color, and now she has a female companion with her in this one. As the mother of a curly haired brown girl, I love the Girl Power!
My kids loved the first book in the series, so they were super excited for me to read this one. They definitely enjoyed this one, and are even more knowledgeable about the how the environment works as a result. This book would be great for a child who is an animal and/or environment lover and/or in a classroom where you are learning about global warming, Earth Day, endangered or extinct animals or animals in general. I could continue with other times this would be a great book to read, but really it doesn't have to fit into a certain time, its just a great book to share with children.
*I was provided with an ARC of this book as a member of #bookexcursion.


text:
$40 million lawsuit accuses Ferguson police of beating, drowning non-protestors
Posted 7:42 pm, August 28, 2014, by CNN Wire, Updated at 07:53PM, August 28, 2014
FERGUSON, Mo. — In a $40 million federal lawsuit, five people arrested recently in Ferguson, Missouri, accuse police of using "wanton and excessive force" and treating U.S. citizens "as if they were war combatants."
A complaint filed Thursday alleges that police officers from Ferguson and St. Louis County used unnecessary force and made unjustified arrests as they cracked down on protests after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown earlier this month.
The lawsuit lists Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, Ferguson officer Justin Cosma, several unnamed officers and the city and county governments as defendants. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A St. Louis County police spokesman declined to comment, referring inquiries to the county counselor's office.
RELATED: Ferguson officer suspended after threatening photographer with rifle
The suit — which includes accusations of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision, and assault and battery — details circumstances allegedly surrounding several arrests between August 11-13:
Tracey White was about to buy an ice cream sundae at McDonald's when officers "in what appeared to be army uniforms, carrying rifles and sticks and wearing helmets" entered and ordered her to leave, according to the lawsuit. She was told to shut up, thrown to the ground and handcuffed after criticizing officers for the way they were treating her son, the lawsuit claims.
Dewayne Matthews was walking to his mother's house when a group of officers in military uniforms shot rubber bullets at him, the lawsuit alleges. He fell into a creek or sewer, the suit says, where officers "pounced on him, slammed his face into the concrete, and pushed his head into the water to the point that he felt he was going to be drowned."
Kerry White was shooting footage and holding his camera out his car window when an officer snatched his camera, "took out his memory card and threw it to the ground," the lawsuit says.
Damon Coleman and Theophilus Green were peacefully protesting, the lawsuit says, when police in riot gear fired tear gas and what appeared to be stun grenades in their direction, then "hurled racial epithets at them, while punching and kicking them the entire time."
Police tactics to calm the crowds drew sharp criticism, including a rebuke from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
"At a time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community, I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message," Holder said as the protests unfolded.
As criticism of police tactics mounted, Gov. Jay Nixon Missouri tapped State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson to head up security in Ferguson on August 14.
This week, Johnson said police were scaling back their efforts in Ferguson now that the situation has cooled.
Belmar, the St. Louis County Police Chief, told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn't regret his agency's decisions to fire tear gas at protesters. That approach, he said, was much better than using nightsticks or dogs.
Even though President Barack Obama has called for a review of military equipment sales to local police deparments in light of the clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson, Belmar said that such equipment is often necessary.
"I never envisioned a day that we would ever see that kind of equipment used against protesters," he said. "But I also never imagined a day in 28 years when we would see that kind of criminal activity spin out of peaceful demonstrations."
Filed in: National/World News
Topics: ferguson
Michael Brown: pot smoking Bloods gangstah felon. He's where he belongs.
I want my free money!!!
Codswallop Hogwash
This is ridiculous, and typical scam. They will try anything to get money.
what is really ridiculous is bringing out swat teams to quash people expressing themselves under the first amendment. Sure they threw some bottles at guys with bullet proof vests, helmets, goggles, riot shields, gas masks, machine guns, snipers, armored vehicles. And the over equipped cops shot UNARMED protestors with bullets, tear gas, rubber bullets, stun guns, they smash peoples heads into the ground, they scream and shout orders as if that somehow makes what they are saying or doing legal. You as an American should be PISSED at this kind of police action, its not about race its about right and wrong, its about constitutional rights, its about time we take the country back from this oppressive police state mentality !! If they keep shooting us,(civilians) then we will eventually fight back !!!! Our forefathers were considered treasonous, today they would be labeled as 'enemy combatants', maybe we need to honor their plight and resume their fight !!!
The real criminals are those ego maniacs with badges they hide behind badges claiming they are enforcing laws when they don't even KNOW what the laws are! They use their position of power as an excuse to assault, injure and violate the CONSTITUTIONAL rights of all people, black and white. This country is going to tear itself apart from the inside and it will be those that we trusted to uphold our laws that will be to blame !!!
MS-13 used machetes, cut out victim's heart in Los Angeles-area killings: officials
Lawyer: 'El Chapo' was whisked away to Colorado supermax prison within hours of sentencing
World Champion Drag Racer
Man shot to death after tripping on barbecue, bumping into apartment door
Lawsuit: Teacher sexually assaulting a child was catalyst for events leading up to Deputy Gumm's death
Husband charged after wife's phone recorded deadly fall from parking garage
Texas police officer charged with murder in Dallas shooting
Missouri man accused of killing cats he found on Craigslist
Homicide suspect killed in officer-involved shooting near Colorado Mills mall
Lawsuit accuses Aurora cop of turning off body cam, planting drugs
Aurora police release body camera footage of disturbance leading to death in December
Authorities ID man killed after firing at officers in Jefferson County
Missouri toddler dies after being left in hot car for 15 hours, police say
Fugitive killed after firing at officers during arrest attempt in Jefferson County
2 Virginia police officers fired for alleged ties to white supremacist groups
Chief of Wheat Ridge Police Department announces retirement after 42-years in law enforcement


text:
Watchdogs: 'Good' state-based exchanges also have controls problems
by Allison Bell
July 16, 2014 at 07:07 AM Share & Print
Federal investigators say they found weaknesses in applicant eligibility review systems at the state-based public exchanges in California and Connecticut.
During a review period that ran from October 2013 through December 2013, the Covered California and Access Health CT exchanges did not keep all of the eligibility data they needed to show that applicants were eligible to enroll in exchange programs, according to Kay Daly and Joyce Greenleaf, officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG).
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides two sets of subsidies for QHP applicants: Premium subsidies, and "cost-sharing reduction" subsidies that help lower-income enrollees pay QHP deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance amounts.
Staff members from HHS OIG — an agency that monitors the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — went to the offices of the California and Connecticut exchanges to see how well those exchanges were verifying the information provided by people who wanted to sign up for private qualified health plan (QHP) coverage and QHP subsidies through the exchange.
HHS OIG staffers also visited the offices of HealthCare.gov, the enrollment system for the HHS-run PPACA public exchanges.
California and Connecticut had enrollment websites that worked reasonably smoothly during the first public exchange individual QHP open enrollment period, which ran in most of the country from Oct. 1, 2013, through mid-April 2014. Managers of exchanges in other states have viewed Access Health CT, in particular, as an example of a state with a successful state-based public exchange.
"The presence of an internal control deficiency does not necessarily mean that a marketplace improperly enrolled an applicant in a [qualified health plan] or improperly determined eligibility for insurance affordability programs," Daly and Greenleaf say in a written version of testimony for a U.S. House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee hearing on PPPACA exchange eligibility verification programs. But the internal controls problems could limit the exchanges' ability to prevent the use of inaccurate information in QHP eligibility applications, the officials say.
In a full HHS OIG report released early, agency officials reported that both Covered California and Access Health CT had good controls in place for verifying whether applicants were incarcerated.
Covered California seemed to have trouble with controls for verifying applicants' information about citizenship and lawful presence in the country. Access Health CT had problems with controls for verifying whether consumers had minimum essential coverage through non-employer-sponsored insurance.
Neither exchange always maintained eligibility data properly, investigators found.
See also: Exchange plan users face calls about 'inconsistencies'


EZ Tees can make your t shirts from 100% organic material or recycled. We can have a variety of graphics printed on them using 100% all natural vegetable/plant based inks, and can be used for a wide range of purposes. EZ Tees are great for Earth Day events, health and wellness fairs and expos, health product promotions, festivals, company charity programs, community events, any eco-friendly or environmental gathering and event to name a few. When you use Eco Friendly T Shirts you are making a statement on where you stand on environmental issues. We here at EZ Tees are making a difference in our world.


text:
Научная библиотека Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета — одна из старейших и крупнейших библиотек России, является памятником просвещения, науки и культуры. По богатству и разнообразию фондов она находится в одном ряду с известнейшими университетскими книгохранилищами мира.

См. также
 Список крупнейших библиотек России

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Библиотеки Санкт-Петербурга
Библиотека


text:
Man rescues dog hanging near highway overpass by electrical cord
by: CNN Newssource
Posted: Aug 7, 2019 / 11:02 AM CDT / Updated: Aug 7, 2019 / 11:02 AM CDT
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (WDAF) — A Missouri man was headed to work when he noticed a dog in desperate need of help.
The dog had been tied to a power bow by an electrical cord and was hanging from an interstate overpass.
"The way I found him, I just couldn't believe somebody would do that to an animal at all," David Fredman said. "I saw what looked like a dog that was being hung over the side of some sort of power box. The cord was definitely strangling him. His feet were touching the ground, but they were barely touching the ground. He was trying to whip his head left and right but could barely move it," Fredman said.
Fredman first called 911, then grabbed his knife.
"As soon as I cut him down, he couldn't breathe. He was trying to breathe. I tried to get him to walk. He couldn't walk," he said.
Fredman took the dog to KC Pet Project, who discovered Max was microchipped and his owner had been looking for him since Monday morning when he somehow disappeared from about a mile away.
"Two hours later there was a phone call came in asking if I was missing my dog," Dee Vaughn said.
Vaughn said there's no way the 16-year old dog who struggles to walk could have gone that far, that fast on his own. He was horrified when he saw photos of what Max had been through.
"Literally you could see the imprint around his neck where they hung him," Vaughn said.
But he was also grateful for the man who stopped. He invited him to his home as soon as they both got off work Monday.
"Thank you, David, so much. You stopped what you were doing to turn around and save my dog's life," Vaughn told Fredman.
The overpass and surrounding area is an area frequented by the homeless. Both men now just wonder if someone put Max in a very bad spot or if it was something sinister.
"I don't know if he fell off or somebody tried to hang him. The cameras will show," Vaughn said referring to surveillance cameras from nearby or possibly SCOUT cameras he's been unable to access.
"From the way it looks, somebody could have definitely been on purpose. They could have strung him up like that. It was really sad," Fredman said.
Vaughn said when he called the police, about the possible theft of his dog and the manner he was found, he was told to contact animal control.
More Newsfeed Now Stories
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Weekdays at 10:30 a.m. CST/11:30 a.m. EST, Newsfeed Now will be streaming the top stories in the U.S. utilizing our newsrooms across the country. If you miss the live report, you'll be able to see a replay minutes after the stream ends.
(NEXSTAR)- After the House impeached President Trump for the second time, it is now up to the Senate to decide whether to hand him his first conviction.
Newsfeed Now: What's next after impeachment vote; New video shows a Texas officer shoot an unarmed man
(NEXSTAR) - President Donald Trump is now the only American president to be impeached twice. He has less than a week left in office, and now all eyes are on whether the senate will act to try to remove him before then.
Newsfeed Now: House debates impeaching Pres. Trump; hidden 'beer cave' discovered in neighborhood
(NEXSTAR)- President Donald Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time, with the U.S. House of Representatives planning the unprecedented vote Wednesday over his encouragement of supporters who stormed the Capitol.
Local traffic stop for window tint violation leads to large drug bust
Bar owner in Louisiana successfully fights back against ATC for suspending license during pandemic
WATCH HERE: Local 33 News at 6:00PM


On this week's programme my guest is Professor Pam Grossman who is Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. The opportunity came about to interview Professor Grossman when she gave a keynote address to the annual conference of the Association for Teacher Education of Europe.
Professor Grossman was previously a guest on the programme in May 2011. You can listen back to that programme here.
On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with SIobhán Keenan Fitzgerald, the principal of Eglish National School in Galway. In this part of the interview Siobhán talks about how as principal she introduced the public speaking programme she developed, LET'S STAND, in the school, how she uses video examples of public speaking in her teaching and how her school was selected as a Changemaker school.
In November 2016 Siobhán won the over 19s category of the National Final of the Europe Direct Soapbox Competition. You can watch her winning poetic speech Siobhán Keenan Fitzgerald.
My guest on this week's programme is Siobhán Keenan Fitzgerald who developed the Let's Stand programme to teach public speaking to children. In the programme Siobhán outlines the difference between public speaking and debating, she tells the story of how a presentation she gave in Japanese to a group of Japanese tea-ladies reinforced for her the power of public speaking and she explains how she began to apply principles of Toastmasters in her teaching. Siobhán is principal of Eglish National School in Galway, which is recognised as a changemaker school.


text:
Famed violinist plays do-over at DC train station
Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell brought Bach back to a train station Tuesday, as he did in 2007, but this time Washington noticed.
Famed violinist plays do-over at DC train station Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell brought Bach back to a train station Tuesday, as he did in 2007, but this time Washington noticed. Check out this story on thenorthwestern.com: http://oshko.sh/1vvq8CM
By Brett Zongker, Associated Press Published 8:40 p.m. CT Sept. 30, 2014
Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell performs with young musicians who are alumni of the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) during a performance, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, at Union Station in Washington. Seven years ago, Bell performed incognito for tips in a Washington subway station, but almost no one stopped to listen. The subway performance was an experiment with The Washington Post to see if anyone would notice some of the world's great music during their rush to work. It made for a good story that eventually won the Pulitzer Prize and inspired a children's book and even mentions in church sermons. (Photo: AP )
WASHINGTON – Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell brought Bach back to a train station Tuesday, as he did in 2007, but this time Washington noticed.
Hundreds of music fans packed Union Station near the Capitol shoulder to shoulder to hear the 46-year-old Bell perform works by Bach and Mendelssohn, along with nine young musicians he has mentored.
Seven years ago, Bell famously performed incognito for tips in a Washington subway station, but almost no one stopped to listen. The subway performance was a stunt with The Washington Post to see if anyone would notice a world-class musician playing some of the world's great music during their rush to work. It made for a good story that won the Pulitzer Prize and inspired a children's book and even messages in church sermons.
This time Bell's fans had some advance notice, and it made all the difference. Music is a two-way exchange and needs an audience, Bell said after his performance that drew big cheers, whistles and shouts of "bravo" from people young and old in the rapt crowd.
When Bell asked the audience if anyone else played the violin, 16-year-old Katie Banks of Sterling, Virginia, shot her hand in the air. The young musician who plays with the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra skipped school to see Bell. She's been playing violin since she was 3 and knows one of Bach's violin concertos almost by heart.
"I can play it in my head along with him," she said. "That's kind of fun."
Banks' 8-year-old sister Sara chimed in, saying she wants to be a violin player when she grows up.
Vindicated might be too strong a word, but Bell said the warm welcome back to Washington "certainly capped off the whole experience."
Nearly every day for the past seven years, someone has reminded Bell of his subway performance.
"I wouldn't want to be defined by just that experience," Bell told The Associated Press. "Hopefully the rest of my body of work will carry more weight than that."
The Grammy-winning violinist now wants to call attention to the need for music education in every school. He was lucky, he said, to have parents who encouraged him to play from an early age. Now students make it through school without any music or art instruction.
Bell performed with young musicians he mentored for an upcoming HBO special "Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass," which debuts Oct. 14.
Also on Tuesday, Bell released his first album of Bach violin concertos and arrangements for violin and orchestra. He began his career playing Bach's music but resisted recording it until now.
"Bach is in some ways the holy grail in classical music," Bell said. "It's so important to me but important that I get it right. … I kind of finally felt ready."
As always, Bell played his multi-million-dollar Stradivarius violin. It was made in 1713 — around the same time Bach was writing his music.
In the train station, Bell and his protégés weren't able to play for tips this time. Union Station doesn't allow it. But Bell said he does look at street musicians differently now.
"It's not really fun to be playing for people walking by," said Bell, who lives in New York City. "When I walk by I always give something now because after my experience, I don't want to be the one who walks by and doesn't pay attention. I'm sometimes occasionally recognized by the street performers' and they say 'hey, thanks for that experiment because after that people are a little bit more aware of what we're doing here.'"
Read or Share this story: http://oshko.sh/1vvq8CM
It's OK to enjoy a pint while checking out this beer history book
April 5, 2019, 10:40 a.m.


Creating of RADAR-invisible objects - reduction of radar area.
If needed - 100% absorption of electromagnetic interference ("clean room" technology).
EMI shielding (especially Ni-content carbon fibers).
TM-4 is 4-layer fabric, layers are bonded by linen weaving repeating.
T-P is twill weave 2x2 fabric. T-1 - twill weave 2x2. T-2 - linen weave 1x1. T-8S - 8 harness satin.
Fabric is on paper roll (60 mm diameter min).
Roll length is 700±30 mm. In every roll only 1 (one) piece of fabric.
Fabric weight: 5kg min; 3 kg weight is allowed for 10% of pieces in the lot.
Roll of fabric is wrapped into polyethylene (PE) film and then packed into cardboard box.


I miss the miniature horse I'm used to seeing at my feet…I called you "the flea that lived on me"….. I was so content & always felt so beautiful around you. I will remember our precious time we had together and how fun it was to share you with everyone. I love you, miss you and I'll hold my breath until we get to meet again…..