[Chris McKeown]

We have closed the Galactic Soap Box, we are still debating if this should be a permanent closer or just temporary. The reasoning behind this closer is:

1. This is a Sci-Fi based site not a political site.

2. With all the turmoil that is going on around the world it's just depressing and we feel that this site should be a get away from whats going on in normal day to day life.

3. A lot of members have just grown tired of it.

If you have input please post it here, but please do not start a debate over this, just post your input and move on.

Thank You

[Captain Spock]

Ok Good enought reason for me, hope we can move on & it can someday reopen.

[maneth]

Good call. Most of the recent new threads have been in that forum. I wouldn't mind seeing the soap box permanently closed down.

[Scorned]

Hmmm I would disagree.

Just because this is a Sci-Fi site doesn't mean you have to talk about only Sci-Fi all the time. That would get boring. It seemed to be the only area on here that was getting any new posts (by yours truly). Does this mean that this site is going to close other channels to make it more main stream and only Sci-Fi related? I would think that many of the users getting tired of it is only a reflection of the current times and the lack of new users. I think it is merely a cycle.

[CiCi]

Yay

[strong]

Ivanoushka the Simpleton

In a kingdom far away from our country, there was a town over which ruled the Tsar Pea with his Tsaritza Carrot. He had many wise statesmen, wealthy princes, strong, powerful warriors, and also simple soldiers, a hundred thousand, less one man. In that town lived all kinds of people: honest, bearded merchants, keen and open-handed rascals, German tradesmen, lovely maidens, Russian drunkards; and in the suburbs all around, the peasants tilled the soil, sowed the wheat, ground the flour, traded in the markets, and spent the money in drink.

In one of the suburbs there was a poor hut where an old man lived with his three sons, Thomas, Pakhom, and Ivan. The old man was not only clever, he was wise. He had happened once to have a chat with the devil. They talked together while the old man treated him to a tumbler of wine and got out of the devil many great secrets. Soon after this the peasant began to perform such marvelous acts that the neighbors called him a sorcerer, a magician, and even supposed that the devil was his kin.
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Yes, it is true that the old man performed great marvels. Were you longing for love, go to him, bow to the old man, and he would give you some strange root, and the sweetheart would be yours. If there is a theft, again to him with the tale. The old man conjures over some water, takes an officer along straight to the thief, and your lost is found; only take care that the officer steals it not.

Indeed the old man was very wise; but his children were not his equals. Two of them were almost as clever. They were married and had children, but Ivan, the youngest, was single. No one cared much for him because he was rather a fool, could not count one, two, three, and only drank, or ate, or slept, or lay around. Why care for such a person? Every one knows life for some is brighter than for others. But Ivan was good-hearted and quiet. Ask of him a belt, he will give a kaftan also; take his mittens, he certainly would want to have you take his cap with them. And that is why all liked Ivan, and usually called him Ivanoushka the Simpleton; though the name means fool, at the same time it carries the idea of a kind heart.

Our old man lived on with his sons until finally his hour came to die. He called his three sons and said to them:world of warcraft gold,

"Dear children of mine, my dying hour is at hand and ye must fulfill my will. Every one of you come to my grave and spend one night with me; thou, Tom, the first night; thou, Pakhom, the second night; and thou, Ivanoushka the Simpleton, the third."

Two of the brothers, as clever people, promised their father to do according to his bidding, but the Simpleton did not even promise; he only scratched his head.

The old man died and was buried. During the celebration the family and guests had plenty of pancakes to eat and plenty of whisky to wash them down. Break went on to say that.

Now you remember that on the first night Thomas was to go to the grave; but he was too lazy, or possibly afraid, so he said to the Simpleton:
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"I must be up very early to-morrow morning; I have to thresh; go thou for me to our father's grave."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka the Simpleton. He took a slice of black rye bread, went to the grave, stretched himself out, and soon began to snore.

The church clock struck midnight; the wind roared, the owl cried in the trees, the grave opened and the old man came out and asked:

"Who is there?"

"I,"wedding dress, answered Ivanoushka.

"Well, my dear son, I will reward thee for thine obedience," said the father.

Lo! the cocks crowed and the old man dropped into the grave. The Simpleton arrived home and went to the warm stove.

"What happened?" asked the brothers.

"Nothing," he answered. "I slept the whole night and am hungry now."

The second night it was Pakhom's turn to go to his father's grave. He thought it over and said to the Simpleton:

"To-morrow is a busy day with me. Go in my place to our father's grave."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka. He took along with him a piece of fish pie, went to the grave and slept. Midnight approached, the wind roared, crows came flying, the grave opened and the old man came out.replica watches,

"Who is there?" he asked.

"I," answered his son the Simpleton.

"Well, my beloved son, I will not forget thine obedience," said the old man.

The cocks crowed and the old man dropped into his grave. Ivanoushka the Simpleton came home, went to sleep on the warm stove, and in the morning his brothers asked:

"What happened?"

"Nothing," answered Ivanoushka.

On the third night the brothers said to Ivan the Simpleton:

"It is thy turn to go to the grave of our father. The father's will should be done."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka. He took some cookies, put on his sheepskin, and arrived at the grave.
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At midnight his father came out.


Ivanoushka the Simpleton

[eagle]

The Letter

The following day was dull and foggy.The Hall was sur rounded by heavy,low clouds,which opened now and then to show the grim,cold moor and its wet,grey rocks.The weather made us miserable.It was difficult to be cheerful when we felt danger all around us.I thougth of Sir Charles'death,and the awful sound of the hound,which I had now heard twice.Holmes did not believe that there was a supernatural hound.But facts are facts,and I had heard a hound.Was there a huge hound living on the moor?If so,where could it hide?Where did it get its food?Why was it never seen by day? It was almost as difficult to accept a natural explanation as a su pernatural explanation.
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That morning Sir Henry and Barrymore argued about Selden,the escaped prisoner.Barrymore said that it was wrong to try to catch Selden.

'But the man is dangerous,'said Sir Henry.'He'll do any thing.Nobody is safe until he is in prison again.We must tell the police.'

'I promise he won't break into any house,'said Barrymore,'and he won't cause any trouble.In a few days he will catch a boat for South America.Please don't tell the police about him.If you tell the police,my wife and I will be in serious trouble.'

'What do you say,Watson?' asked Sir Henry,turning to me.

'I don't think he will break into houses,or cause trouble.If he did,the police would know where to look for him and would catch him.He's not a stupid man.'

'I hope you're right,'said Sir Henry.'I'm sure we're breaking the law.But I don't want to get Barrymore and his wife into trouble,so I shall not tell the police.I shall leave Selden in peace.',ffxi gil,

Barrymore could not find the words to thank Sir Henry enough.Then he said:'You have been so kind to us that I want to do something for you in return.I have never told any one else.I know something more about poor Sir Charles'death.'

Sir Henry and I jumped up at once.

'Do you know how he died?'Sir Henry asked.

'No,sir,I don't know that,but I know why he was waiting at the gate He was going to meet a woman.'

'Sir Charles was meeting a woman?Who was the woman?'

'I don't know her name,'Barrymore said,'but it begins with L.L.'

'How do you know this,Barrymore?'I asked.
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'Well,Sir Charles got a letter on the morning of the day he died.It was from Newtown,and the address was in a woman's writing.I forgot all about it,but some time after Sir Charles died my wife was cleaning the fireplace in his study.She found a letter.Most of it was burned,but the bottom of one page was not burned.On it was written:“Please,please,burn this letter,and be at the gate by ten o'clock.L.L.”The paper fell into pieces as my wife went to move it.We don't know who L.L.is,but if you could find out,you might learn more about Sir Charles'death.We haven't told anyone else.We felt it would not be good for poor,kind Sir Charles.But we thought we ought to tell you,Sir Henry.'

The Barrymores left us and Sir Henry turned to me.'If we can find L.L.,the mystery may be at an end,'he said.'What do you think we should do,Watson?'

'I must write to Holmes at once,'I said,and I went straight to my room and wrote a letter to Holmes,which gave him all the details of Barrymore's story.

On the following day heavy rain fell without stopping.I put on my coat and went for a long walk on the moor.I thought of Selden out on the cold moor in this weather.And I thought of the other man,the mysterious watcher.

As I walked,Dr Mortimer drove past me.He stopped and said he would take me back to the Hall.

'I expect you know almost everybody living near here,'I said.'Do you know a woman whose names begin with the let ters L.L.?',wedding dresses,

Dr Mortimer thought for a minute,and then he said:'Yes,Mrs Laura Lyons.She lives in Newtown.'

'Who is she?'I asked.

'She's Mr Frankland's daughter.'

'What,old Frankland who has the large telescope?'

'Yes,'said Dr Mortimer.'Laura married a painter called Lyons who came to paint pictures of the moor.But he was cruel to her,and after a while he left her.Her father will not speak to her,because she married against his wishes.So her husband and her father have made her life very unhappy.'
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The Letter

[luoxiaosang]

I was RuneScape Gold,in my mid-20s (about 10 years ago) when this occurred. A friend had a small group of us over and we were drinking and carrying on， and by night， we were all feeling pretty good. At around 3 in the morning， we had the brilliant idea of going outside and wandering the RuneScape Gold neighborhood.
For starters，archlord gold, the neighborhood was in a not-so-great part of town， pretty well-known as a haven for drug users of all kinds， mostly crackheads， as well as gangsters and general thugs. While I didn’t live too far away， the difference was night and day. I knew better than to wander this area， especially at night， but off we went. To add to that， we were pretty tipsy， talking quite loudly for the hour， I’m sure， just generally being archlord gold disorderly.
We started last chaos gold,crossing a small park， when we were approached very suddenly by a short， grinning black man. He appeared to be in his late 40s， possibly early 50s， with a thin afro， some of it gray. His smile was absolutely beaming and it made me smile hugely， too. It was the most infectious smile I’d ever seen. In fact， this man had the most infectious spirit I’d ever encountered. I felt joyous beyond belief. Immediately we greeted and hugged each other. We called one another by name without introducing ourselves， and although I can very clearly remember him calling me by my last chaos gold name.
I couldn’t wow cd keys,remember his name even as soon as the next day. But at that moment， we absolutely knew each other， absolutely loved each other， like no two people had loved each other before. The only other words we spoke to one another were， "I know you." And we said this almost in synch， as the hugeness of that thought just occurred to both of us. Our souls were absolutely intimate. The moment lasted about 30 seconds. My friends merely watched with astonishment because something was just generally so bizarre about that wow cd keys moment.
Then maple story power leveling,the man moved on around us， and I didn’t watch him go， but could see him leaving out of the periphery of my vision. I have no idea why that little detail strikes me as being so important， to this day， but it does. I’m sure I smiled on for another good minute， just being extremely happy. I was absolutely， positively， 100% no longer drunk from that moment on. The episode， the "meeting，" was not the result of being drunk， but it sure ended it.I don’t know who that man was. I’d never met him in my life. I’m quite sure if you asked him， he’d say the same thing about me today. I don’t know why I know maple story power leveling that.
What had been dog carriers,so beautiful that night the next day scared the hell out of me. I couldn’t understand what had happened. I remembered vividly what had happened， but it made no sense to me. Likewise， my friends all contend it’s the strangest thing any of them ever experienced. They all felt something "heavy" occurring as the two of us met. They somehow knew that we didn’t actually know each other， despite our reaction to one another.Something purely spiritual happened that night， I’m quite sure of it. I’ll never forget dog carriers it.