Between speeches, there are quorum calls, time killers in which a Senate clerk calls the roll at the rate of one name every few minutes.

NEWYORKER: The Empty Chamber

And the way it came to me was that there was a angel in heaven watching the plight of this couple try to have a kid, and it was God's favorite little angel, and one day, God calls a roll call, and she doesn't answer.

NPR: 'Unpredictable' Actor and Musician Jamie Foxx

Lasso, meanwhile, promised to be friendlier to foreign investment, lower taxes on job-creating companies and roll back elements of what Correa calls his "21st century socialism, " such as a 5 percent tax on capital removed from Ecuador.

NPR: Ecuador Leader Heavily Favored To Win Re-Election

So are you all ready for this? (Applause.) Are you fired up? (Applause.) Are you ready to go? (Applause.) Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and make some calls, go to a battleground state, get it done?

WHITEHOUSE: Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event

To minimize customer churn and attract new customers, service providers are offering discounts and promotional offers like free minutes, free calls to other subscribers, and roll-over minutes.

FORBES: Verizon May Have A Wee Bit Of Room To Go Higher

At an event in San Francisco, Google said the new service, which will roll out this week, is free for calls to the U.S. and Canada at least until the end of the year, though there are costs to make international calls to landlines and mobile phones.

WSJ: Google Adds Calls to Gmail

Running out of toilet roll and having difficulty contacting a Chinese takeaway have been revealed as some of the 999 calls made to Devon and Cornwall Police in 2012.

BBC: Toilet roll 999 call made to Devon and Cornwall Police

Net2Phone will roll out features in the coming months that will wrap voice around other Internet media and make conventional calls look primitive.

FORBES: Sound Idea

"Lie To Me, " the opening track on a three-disc mother lode of rarities Tom Waits calls Orphans, is two minutes and 10 seconds of pure, unfiltered rock 'n' roll bliss.

NPR: Tom Waits' 130 Seconds of Rock Bliss