identikit: A picture of a person, especially one sought by the police, reconstructed from typical facial features according to witnesses' descriptions.

German heliograph made by R. Fuess in Berlin (on display at the Museum of Communication in Frankfurt)

Heliograph

A heliograph (helios (Greek: Ἥλιος), meaning "sun", and γραφειν graphein, meaning "write") is a wireless solar telegraph that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter.[1] The heliograph was a simple but effective instrument for instantaneous optical communication over long distances during the late 19th and early 20th century.[1] Its main uses were military, survey and forest protection work. Heliographs were standard issue in the British and Australian armies until the 1960s, and were used by the Pakistani army as late as 1975.

automatic writing

Writing said to be produced by a spiritual, occult, or subconscious agency rather than by the conscious intention of the writer.

syzygy

A conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun.

A pair of connected or corresponding things.

A matrioshka brain[1] is a hypothetical megastructure proposed by Robert Bradbury, based on the Dyson sphere, of immense computational capacity. It is an example of a Class B stellar engine, employing the entire energy output of a star to drive computer systems.[2] This concept derives its name from the nesting Russian Matrioshka dolls.[3] The concept was deployed by its inventor, Robert Bradbury, in the anthology Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge, and attracted interest from reviewers in the Los Angeles Times[4] and the Wall Street Journal.[5

Russian doll

(though a recent study suggests that giant manta rays can also recognize their own reflections.

fire in the stove

when it kaaw-kaaws

Life in Sulaimani

The city of Sulaimani, or Al-Sulaymaniyah as known in Arabic and some formal correspondence, was founded by prince Ibrahim from the Baban tribe, known locally as Ibrahim Pasha Baban, in 1784. The story goes that Ibrahim Pasha was out hunting in the area when he ended up in the Sharazour plain, where the city is located now. He immediately fell in love with the spot and decided to build a city there, and named the city after his father, Sulaiman Pasha Baban. Unlike other cities in the region that grew from villages, Sulaimani was founded and established as a city from day one.

Sulaimani is located northeast of Iraq and southeast of Kurdistan. It is west of the Iranian border, which is the closest neighboring country to the city, and south from the Turkish border. Historically, it has functioned as a hub for trading between the two neighboring counties of Iraq and Iran. It has also influenced political and military movements of the two countries, especially in that region.

Sulaimani has not only influenced trading and politics of the region, but also has given birth to many famous Kurdish poets such as Nali, Mawlawi, Piramerd, Bekas, and most recently Sherko Bekas to name a few. It is known for naming its main streets after some of these poets. Because of its active and continuous contribution to the society’s art culture it is known and was named the Cultural Capital of Kurdistan by the Kurdish people and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The scenery and beauty of the city have inspired many artists and poets throughout history.  It is surrounded by beautiful and long ranges of mountains that add unique natural scenery to it, especially during the winter when the mountains are covered in snow. It is a tourism destination for tourists from inside and outside the country. In addition to the destinations that the city offers, it is close to many other famous tourist destinations in the area such as Dukan, Ahmawa, and Zewe. Additionally, the famous Halgurd mountain peak at 3607 m height is in the vicinity of the city.

The city houses a population of 800,000 people as of 2016, two public universities, and five private universities including the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS).

http://auis.edu.krd/life-in-sulaimani

‘The police have much to learn about the relative value of psychic phenomena in criminal investigations.’

psychic

Relating to or denoting faculties or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, especially involving telepathy or clairvoyance.

In the early 1970s the Central Intelligence Agency supported a program to see if a form of extrasensory perception (ESP) called "remote viewing" could assist with intelligence gathering. The program consisted of laboratory studies conducted at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) under the direction of Harold Puthoff and Russel Targ. In addition to the laboratory research, psychics were employed to provide information on targets of interest to the intelligence community. 

— Ray Hyman, Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 1996

The human brain is optimized to recognize faces, which could also explain why we are so good at picking out meaningful shapes in random patterns. This phenomenon, pareidolia, could be responsible for a host of otherwise unexplained sightings, such as the face of the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich. 

— New Scientist, 24 Dec. 2011

The promise of the Data Age is that the truth really is in there, somewhere. But our age has a curse, too: apophenia, the tendency to see patterns that may or may not exist. 

— Daniel Conover, Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 30 Aug. 2004

Clairsentience is an experience of the whole. You might get the sensation of hearing a voice, seeing an image, and even smelling a fragrance or odor.... Or you might not have any tangible perceptions, but just an overall sense of place or an event.... To get the most from clairsentient experiences, open yourself fully to the experience. 

— Rita S. Berkowitz, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Communicating with Spirits, 2002

telepathy

‘By and large, psychical researchers failed to convince the majority of the scientific and academic worlds of the existence of telepathy.’

The Douglas DC-3 that now serves as a weather vane at Yukon Transportation Museum located beside the Whitehorse International Airport.

Weather vane

A weather vane, wind vane, or weathercock is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word vane comes from the Old English word fana meaning "flag".

Although partly functional, weather vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional cockerel design with letters indicating the points of the compass. Other common motifs include ships, arrows and horses. Not all weather vanes have pointers. When the wind is sufficiently strong, the head of the arrow or cockerel (or equivalent depending on the chosen design) will indicate the direction from which the wind is blowing.

The weather vane was independently invented in ancient China and Greece around the same time during the 2nd century BCE. The earliest written reference to a weather vane appears in the Huainanzi, and a weather vane was fitted on top of the Tower of the Winds in Athens.

FidoNet

FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems (BBSes). It uses a store-and-forward system to exchange private (email) and public (forum) messages between the BBSes in the network, as well as other files and protocols in some cases.

The FidoNet system was based on a number of small interacting programs. Only one of these interacted with the BBS system directly and was the only portion that had to be ported to support other BBS software. This greatly eased porting, and FidoNet was one of the few networks that was widely supported by almost all BBS software, as well as a number of non-BBS online services. This modular construction also allowed FidoNet to easily upgrade to new data compression systems, which was important in an era using modem-based communications over telephone links with high long-distance calling charges.

The rapid improvement in modem speeds during the early 1990s, combined with the rapid decrease in price of computer systems and storage, made BBSes increasingly popular. By the mid-1990s there were almost 40,000 FidoNet systems in operation, and it was possible to communicate with millions of users around the world. Only UUCPNET came close in terms of breadth or numbers; FidoNet's user base far surpassed other networks like BITNET.[citation needed]

The broad availability of low-cost Internet connections starting in the mid-1990s lessened the need for FidoNet's store-and-forward system, as any system in the world could be reached for equal cost. Direct dialing into local BBS systems rapidly declined. The availability of internet connectivity is by no means universal, and although FidoNet has shrunk considerably since the early 1990s, it remains in use around the world.

Yep that's me

The cost of a life...

Snake Venom Antiserum I.P 10ml

Lyophilized

For I.V use only.

Approx Price: Rs 460 / Piece(s)

Snake Venom 1 ml Glass Bottle Necklace Charm - Vial Cork Pendant

SNABIRC-KENYA

Vision

A promise for a better, healthier and safer life.

Mission

To create a better life for people through bridging the poverty gap and empowering the community.

Objectives

To prevent and reduce the number of fatalities and injuries due to snake bites.

SNABIRC-KENYA is a non-governmental organization whose aim is to reduce the number of deaths and disabilities due to snakebites and snake attacks. Snake bite is a serious problem in rural Africa and access and availability of Anti-venom is not always guaranteed. We therefore work to alleviate their pain and hopefully save their lives and reduce mortality due to snake bites. SNABIRC-KENYA also hopes rehabilitates those that become disabled as a result of snake bites. The growing number of snake bites is attributed to human-animal conflict, environmental degradation as well as global warming. It is becoming a health as well an economic and social problem. According to the conflict resolution warden with the Kenya Wildlife Service, 680 cases of snakebites that resulted in 81 deaths and 577 injuries had been reported between 2003 and June 2009.These statistics have now changed since 2009 and rising cases present the ice tip of an underestimated problem.

Experts warn that these rising cases could be as a result of the warming climate which has enabled snakes to move to previously cooler habitats, clearing of forests and the worsening droughts that force the reptiles to go into people’s houses to look for water.

Families living in snakebite prone zones are now being advised to keep water outside their houses so that the snakes can get a share and avoid venturing into the houses. The only dilemma is these zones have water scarcity problems therefore there is none to offer to the reptiles.

As previously mentioned, the availability of anti- venom serum is not always guaranteed and when available the cost is beyond the reach of most people. Health officials and those from the KWS agree that past experiences of drug stock-outs in many government hospitals has made the public believe that a snake antidote is not available in government facilities and whenever they are bitten by a snake they opt for traditional treatment.

Provision of anti-snake: we provide anti-snake venom/serum to victims of snakebite, especially in rural Kenya.

Rehabilitation program: We also rehabilitate those that have lost a limb or vision as a result of attacks by linking them to rehabilitation centers and supporting them to become useful members of the community.

Research: We are involved in research into venom production, snake species, behavior and ecology.
Policy: Policy formulation and guidelines in snakebite management.

Health promotion: We are involved in sensitizing the community on various aspects of primary healthcare, first aid, infection prevention, wound care and general community health through health campaigns and promotions.

Training: We are involved in community training as well as health care workers on matters pertaining snakebite. We also train them on how to prevent snakebites around their homes

Community empowerment: we empower community through advocacy information on compensation in cases of valid human wild life conflict.

http://www.snabirc-kenya.org/

anti-snake venom serum (ASVS)

Venomous nightmare

Horses used for producing antivenom for snake bites are being subjected to callous treatment.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/horses-used-for-producing-antivenom-for-snake-bites-subjected-to-ill-treatment/1/245328.html

The Internet in Space? Slow as Dial-Up

Astronauts gripe that connectivity is “very slow,” but that could change with laser-based data transmission that NASA has already tested.

Outer space has its perks. But super-speedy Internet is, so far, not one of them.

Connection speeds from the International Space Station are “worse than what dial-up was like,” the astronaut Scott Kelly said on Twitter. (His colleague, Reid Wiseman, agrees: “We have a very slow internet connection, but reliable email,” he said back in February.)

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/06/the-internet-in-space-slow-dial-up-lasers-satellites/395618/

Sand Clock

Snake molting

King Cobra

Indian Gray Mongoose

schmaltz:

music, art, etc., that is very sad or romantic in usually a foolish or exaggerated way

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Pied Piper of Hamelin

Peacock feather earrings

Cowrie earrings

Unintentional live burial

At least one (almost certainly apocryphal) report of accidental burial dates back to the fourteenth century. Upon the reopening of his tomb, the philosopher John Duns Scotus (1266–1308) was reportedly found outside his coffin with his hands torn and bloody after attempting to escape.[3] Alice Blunden of Basingstoke was said in a contemporaneous account to have been buried alive, not once but twice, in 1674.

Revivals of supposed "corpses" have been triggered by dropped coffins, grave robbers, embalming, and attempted dissections.[4] Folklorist Paul Barber has argued that the incidence of unintentional live burial has been overestimated, and that the normal, physical effects of decomposition are sometimes misinterpreted as signs that the person whose remains are being exhumed had revived in his or her coffin.[5] Nevertheless, patients have been documented as late as the 1890s as accidentally being sent to the morgue or trapped in a steel box after erroneously being declared dead.[6]

Newspapers have reported cases of exhumed corpses which appear to have been accidentally buried alive. On February 21, 1885, The New York Times gave a disturbing account of such a case. The victim was a man from Buncombe County whose name was given as "Jenkins." His body was found turned over onto its front inside the coffin, with much of his hair pulled out. Scratch marks were also visible on all sides of the coffin's interior. His family were reportedly "distressed beyond measure at the criminal carelessness" associated with the case.[7] Another similar story was reported in The Times on January 18, 1886, the victim of this case being described simply as a "girl" named "Collins" from Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Her body was described as being found with the knees tucked up under the body, and her burial shroud "torn into shreds."[8]

In 2005, a body bag was delivered to the Matarese Funeral home in Ashland, Massachusetts with a live occupant. Funeral director John Matarese discovered this, called paramedics, and avoided live embalming or premature burial.[9][10]

In 2014 in Peraia, Thessaloniki, in Macedonia, Greece, the police discovered that a 45-year-old woman was buried alive and died of asphyxia after being declared clinically dead by a private hospital; she was discovered just shortly after being buried by children playing near the cemetery who heard screams from inside the earth and afterwards her family was reported as considering suing the private hospital.[11] In 2015 it was reported that in 2014 again in Peraia, Thessaloniki, in Macedonia, Greece, police investigation concluded that a 49-year-old woman was buried alive after being declared dead due to cancer; her family reported that they could hear her scream from inside the earth at the cemetery shortly after burial and the investigation revealed that she died of heart failure inside the coffin and found out that it was the medicines given to her by her doctors for her cancer that caused her to be declared clinically dead and buried alive.[12]

Attempts to prevent live burial

Robert Robinson died in Manchester in 1791. A movable glass pane was inserted in his coffin, and the mausoleum had a door for purposes of inspection by a watchman, who was to see if he breathed on the glass. He instructed his relatives to visit his grave periodically to check that he was still dead.[13]

Safety coffins were devised to prevent premature burial, although there is no evidence that any have ever been successfully used to save an accidentally buried person. On 5 December 1882, J. G. Krichbaum received U.S. Patent 268,693[14] for his "Device For Life In Buried Persons." It consisted of a movable periscope-like pipe which provided air and, when rotated or pushed by the person interred, indicated to passersby that someone was buried alive. The patent text refers to "that class of devices for indicating life in buried persons," suggesting that such inventions were common at the time.

In 1890, a family designed and built a burial vault at the Wildwood Cemetery in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with an internal hatch to allow the victim of accidental premature burial to escape. The vault had an air supply and was lined in felt to protect a panic-stricken victim from self-inflicted injury before escape. Bodies were to be removed from the casket before interment.[15]

The London Association for the Prevention of Premature Burial was co-founded in 1896 by William Tebb[16] and Walter Hadwen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_burial

auspice

observation by an augur especially of the flight and feeding of birds to discover omens

mojo

a power that may seem magical and that allows someone to be very effective, successful, etc.

augury

divination from auspices (see auspice 3) or omens Ancient augury involved the interpretation of the flight patterns of birds.; also : an instance of this

metempsychosis

the passing of the soul at death into another body either human or animal

wraith

the exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition

clairvoyance

‘He gained an early reputation for faith healing and clairvoyance and won fame throughout Mexico for his playful and unorthodox cures for a range of maladies including cancer and lameness.’

‘She regularly flies to the USA to see clients and give talks on astrology, palmistry, tarot and how to develop clairvoyance.’

‘I should also note clairvoyance or telepathy may be the reason why some people do significantly better than chance in guessing experiments.’

‘Apparently I have the same clairvoyance that my mother had.’

‘Prophecy and clairvoyance are so widely believed by millions of people that magicians are credited with psychic powers that not even Nostradamus would dare claim.’

‘Price reports that significant fractions of Americans believe in astrology, clairvoyance, telepathy, and communication with the dead.’

‘Other terms for clairvoyance include second sight, shadow sight, prophecy, and spiritual communication.’

‘If you could do a bit of mind and thought reading, clairvoyance, prophecy and divination, that is all it takes to be a magician.’

‘Now some might call that telepathy, others clairvoyance or precognition, or others dub it a trick or coincidence.’

‘We can awaken our power of clairvoyance with training.’

‘Instead of sunshine and bright colours she sees shadows and spirits, and, having gained the power of clairvoyance, can foresee death.’

‘Things that may be pure coincidence may appear to her as signs of clairvoyance.’

‘Anecdotes about psychokinesis and clairvoyance are given more credence than experimental results questioning these effects.’

‘I have only recently begun to explore my psychic side, but have been strong in the areas of psychic dreams and clairvoyance.’

‘Thus, it is possible that the attempt to explain the déjà vu experience in terms of lost memory, past lives, clairvoyance, and so on may be completely misguided.’

‘Students who score well on one type of ESP test, such as clairvoyance, are also likely to score well on another, such as telepathy.’

‘As in both of the other experiments, there were two conditions: one testing for clairvoyance and the other for true precognition.’

‘He provides two experiments for pure clairvoyance in the Appendix, predicting that both will provide nonsignificant results.’

‘She claimed to understand black magic and to possess clairvoyance, ESP, and other senses unsubstantiated by science.’

‘Further awakening of the inner potentials gradually bestows the supernormal powers of premonition, afflatus, telepathy, clairvoyance and prophecy.’

‘Other terms for clairvoyance include second sight, shadow sight, prophecy, and spiritual communication.’

cryptesthetic or chiefly British cryptaesthetic

the power or faculty of discerning objects or matters not present to the senses — called also cryptesthesia

clairvoyance

people who claim to have clairvoyance are sometimes asked to help locate missing persons

Reprint: I wrote this for Miss Alizee: My Homage.My Soul mate: An Unfinished Quest

My Soul mate: An Unfinished Quest

This is where I love to be
La isla bonita -- A girl sings this lullaby

Every moment is ecstasy
Where scorching sunray like embers of my memory

Her voice is divine and unheard symphony
That wreathes my soul like caged birds cacophony

Her eyes -- untold tales of prophecy
Sailors' quest for the island of Destiny

Emeralds and rubies -- premonition of Shangri–la -- She's my fantasy
She makes me believe in mirages -- that's some real sorcery

This is where I love to be
La isla bonita -- A girl sings this lullaby

She's the one -- White pearl and dark red ruby
My talisman -- I lost in the echoes of her lullaby.

This is draft of my first novel. Chapter: One

Rap. Rap. Rap.

He's buried in a coffin.

Light.

Don't be afraid. This is the world of the dead.

Welcome to the world of the dead.

Your name from now on is Lazarus.

I'm Lazarus too. 

In fact, all of us are. 

He felt thirsty.

How...? I died. Water...

It's ready.

He couldn't walk. 

They entered into a room.

There's a chair...table..computer..bed..

Images rolling on the computer..his funeral...his wife crying. People..pale faces..

Cigarettes. Have a smoke. You'll feel better.

Small sips..chilled water. But there doesn't seem to be a refrigerator in this room.

They're underground. Who are these people. Angels? Satans? Life after death. This is life after death?

He reached out for cigarettes....His hands were trembling...

They were looking at him with interest.

But they weren't smiling. They looked serious.

Why do you look so confused...it's quite simple...we know how to induce you into coma like state...artificial Lazarus Syndrome. And, we'd get you back to consciousness.

Stay here for a few days...till you regain some strength.

Draft copy

A Play in Verse. BTW, is this how you write a Libretto eh?

Day: One
I met a stranger
Roses and lavender
A girl in white shirt and blue suspenders
I just looked at her in wonder.

Day: Two
Fairly tall
Draped in Kashmiri shawl
I looked into her rainbow eyes
Lost my Chinese kite.

Day: Three
I asked her about the Battle of Waterloo
She said: I've no clue.
Oogle -- Doodle I don't care
I'm already having an affair.

Day: Four
My boyfriend has a Ferrari
And, we're going on a safari

Look my Russian doll
I'm ready for a brawl

Braille...

J.K. Rowling stops her assembly-line book signing for a moment to reach across and speak to Stephen Toth, a blind 5th grader who had read all of the Harry Potter books in braille.

Gaba has learned to read braille, walk with a cane, complete math assignments and maneuver his great helper, Mo-bot the Robot, which allowed him to virtually attend classes from the hospital.

When it's finished, the free application will help people with disabilities navigate public spaces by providing information about wheelchair ramps, disabled parking, braille menus and more.

Maq: The Evil Genius...

Yesterday: I accessed a supercomputer: IBM Watson -- for the first time. I was so excited. I didn't know what to do with it. I just want to share those thrilling moments with you denizens. May God bless these folks who are sharing this giant machine with us. It's so rare to find people like that.

Where did the hunchbacked, whirling dervish go eh?

I can't write -- numb and pale -- maybe, the djinn left me -- so was I possessed eh? -- it goaded me to insanity -- but there's something shamanic in me -- it gnawed me -- it said I'm conscientious and I don't bludge like you -- that's why I chastise you... -- so, was that my alter ego? -- where did it go now huh? -- it's just me: a skeptic and a cynic -- untethered life -- bloated and shameful.

old boy network (also old boys' network)

An informal system through which men are thought to use their positions of influence to help others who went to the same school or university as they did, or who share a similar social background.

‘many managers were chosen by the old boy network’

incognito

with one's identity concealed

The ancient Greeks and Romans knew that there were times when you didn't want to be recognized. For example, a myth tells how Zeus and Hermes visited a village incognito and asked for lodging. The apparently penniless travelers were turned away from every household except that of a poor elderly couple named Baucis and Philemon, who provided a room and a feast despite their own poverty. The Romans had a word that described someone or something unknown (like the gods in the tale): incognitus, a term that is the ancestor of our modern incognito.

white feather

A white-coloured feather used as a symbol or mark of perceived cowardice. During the First World War young men seen not wearing uniform were sometimes presented with such a feather, as part of a campaign to induce men to enlist for military service.

‘on his first trip out in civilian clothes, he'd been handed two white feathers’

egotism

The fact of being excessively conceited or absorbed in oneself.
‘in his arrogance and egotism, he underestimated Gill’

Origin
Early 18th century: from French égoïste, from Latin ego ‘I’.

Usage
On the difference between egotism and egoism, see egoism

egomania

Obsessive egotism or self-centerdness.

antivivisection / antivivisectionist

Opposed to the use of live animals for scientific research.
‘antivivisection campaigners’

antagonist

A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
‘he turned to confront his antagonist’

Origin
Late 16th century: from French antagoniste or late Latin antagonista, from Greek antagōnistēs, from antagōnizesthai ‘struggle against’ (see antagonize).

antagonism

Active hostility or opposition.

‘the antagonism between them’

‘his antagonism towards the local people’

‘petty antagonisms and jealousies’

Origin

Early 19th century: from French antagonisme, from Greek antagōnizesthai ‘struggle against’ (see antagonist).

white van man

British
informal
An aggressive male driver of a delivery or workman's van (typically white in colour).

witter

British
informal
Speak at length about trivial matters.
‘she'd been wittering on about Jennifer and her illness’

Origin
Early 19th century (originally Scots and dialect): probably imitative.

white hope

A person expected to bring much success to a team or organization.

‘the great white hope of the Tory Left’

Origin

1911: originally referring to a white boxer thought capable of beating Jack Johnson, the first black world heavyweight champion.

whoops (also whoops-a-daisy)

British
informal
Expressing mild dismay or regret (used when someone has had an accident or made a mistake)
‘Whoops! I nearly dropped it’

white elephant

A possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of.

‘a huge white elephant of a house that needed ten thousand spent on it’

Origin

From the story that the kings of Siam gave such animals as a gift to courtiers they disliked, in order to ruin the recipient by the great expense incurred in maintaining the animal.

white witch

A person who practises magic for altruistic purposes.

red-blooded

(of a man) vigorous or virile, especially in having strong heterosexual appetites.
‘he was attracted to her, as any red-blooded male would be’

fall guy

North American
informal
A scapegoat.
‘he contends that he is innocent, that he was set up as a fall guy’

fallback

An alternative plan that may be used in an emergency.
‘compulsory powers should be retained as a fallback’

falling star

A meteor or shooting star.

faithless

Disloyal, especially to a spouse or partner.
‘her faithless lover’

false step

A careless or unwise act; a mistake.
‘she made her first false step when she agreed to come back’

bag lady

A homeless woman who carries her possessions around in shopping bags.

retrogression

The process of returning to an earlier state, typically a worse one.
‘a retrogression to 19th-century attitudes’

ashram

(especially in South Asia) a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat.

emu

A large flightless fast-running Australian bird resembling the ostrich, with shaggy grey or brown plumage, bare blue skin on the head and neck, and three-toed feet.

rabble-rouser

A person who speaks with the intention of inflaming the emotions of a crowd of people, typically for political reasons.

retrograde

Directed or moving backwards.
‘a retrograde flow'

retrorocket

A small auxiliary rocket on a spacecraft or missile, fired in the direction of travel to slow the craft down, for example when landing on the surface of a planet.

bagatelle

A game in which small balls are hit and then allowed to roll down a sloping board on which there are holes, each numbered with the score achieved if a ball goes into it, with pins acting as obstructions.

hermitage

The dwelling of a hermit, especially when small and remote.

faith healing

Healing achieved by religious belief and prayer, rather than by medical treatment.

fledge

(of a young bird) develop wing feathers that are large enough for flight.
‘the young fledge around four weeks after hatching’