The interesting distorted guitar on the track, an innovation in itself, was another piece of happenstance: somebody dropped the amplifier, or the rain leaked in on it, as the band drove from Clarksdale to Memphis.

ECONOMIST: Ike Turner

While the disks or drums might be a little rusty, that could be from having sat in the rain.

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Will molten fire rain from the sky or will the Web service stop working?

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And farmers and fishermen concede that the only way to get that much rain quickly -- from a tropical storm or hurricane -- would cause more damage than the worst dry spell ever in one the wettest places on Earth.

CNN: Severe drought threatens Louisiana coastal marshes

More than 800 people from around the world are expected to take part in the rain-or-shine event.

BBC: Saunter your way around Manhattan

Somewhere in the world, rain is falling on a mountain valley or forest, from where it will flow to people in cities like Tanga, Tanzania or Denver, Colorado.

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And on top of it was the more graspable everyday bewilderment of a sick child: the humiliation of being suddenly removed from class, the disappointment of missing a trip to the IMAX theater or to the rain-forest exhibit at Moody Gardens, the growing awareness of a defining and isolating vulnerability.

NPR: In 'Challenger Park,' Mom Is an Astronaut

In the end, the highly anticipated event was rain free, although it remains unclear whether that resulted from modification or good luck.

WSJ: Blizzard Renews Storm Over China Making Snow

Irrigated rice-farming, which is two or three times more productive than the rain-fed sort, is growing rapidly throughout the basin, albeit from a low base.

ECONOMIST: The Mekong river

Many of them, with their flimsy umbrellas breaking in the wind and icy rain, didn't know Brown but knew someone who did or benefited from some project he got off the ground.

CNN: Washington Diary

Thanks to stylized dialogue and obviously artificial settings, viewers are always at some remove from the action whether it be on a nearly deserted rain-soaked street at midnight or in a sparsely furnished, smoke-filled room lighted only by a bare bulb.

WSJ: Black and White and Noir | Dark Crimes: Film Noir Thrillers | By David Mermelstein