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Sideshow's G.I. Joe Snake Eyes Review
Published: April 8, 2009 at 2:07 PM
I have to admit, I was shocked when Sideshow Collectibles announced they had acquired the rights to produce 1/6-scale G.I. Joe figures. G.I. Joe has been a staple of Hasbro's portfolio for going on 5 decades and along with Mr. Potato Head helped transform a small-town, textile remnant company into one of the world's largest toy makers. So what would cause Hasbro to lease the rights to one of their most successful brands?
Hasbro's business plan relies on mass-production and volume sales. High-end collectible figures, such as the ones produced by Sideshow, don't fit that plan because they pose too great a risk when you factor in research and development, production time, price-point and mass appeal. By giving Sideshow a shot at the G.I. Joe license, Hasbro satisfies the demand for collector-quality merchandise without taking that risk; and they make some money while they're at it.
If it's collector quality you're after, Sideshow's first offering in the G.I. Joe line, Snake-Eyes, delivers. Fans of the G.I. Joe animated series will immediately recognize Snake-Eyes' signature black wears, balaclava with visor, bandolier and Mk-23 pistol. Those unfamiliar with the animated series should have no problem appreciating the layers of military-accurate, holsters, harnesses, arms and accessories that accentuate the stealthily silent character. The figure's level of meticulous detail, coupled with the vast number of accessories is unprecedented in any of Sideshow's previous offerings. Snake-Eyes is Sideshow's best figure to date; by far.
It's worth noting that Sideshow's G.I. Joe line focuses on the 1980s A Real American Hero series and not the 1960s-era kung-fu grip, Chia Pet hair-styled Joes. Sorry old-timers. Anyways...
Snake-Eyes' comes armed with a number of detailed knives, ninja swords and firearms, and his countless magazine rounds and grenades never lack a storage pouch or pocket. His equipment and arms arsenals are complimented by several pairs of interchangeable hands and boots that, when geared-up on Sideshow's newly-engineered Prometheus body, can achieve a broad array of life-like action poses. The Prometheus body is much improved since its debut on Sideshow's Indiana Jones figure, earlier this year. The loose limbs and frequently disconnecting joints have been corrected, though the body silhouette looks a tad on the thin side for Snake-Eyes, who is usually portrayed as being a bit more muscular.
Snake-Eyes' clothing and accessories are well made. The hooks, clips, belts and harnesses are to scale and function just as you'd expect them to, if not better. The stitching on and around the pockets and Velcro did have some exposed threads and the Velcro's stick is a little weak on some pouches. This tends to result in pouches that won't fully close or flop open when you move the figure, which isn't so much a detriment as it is a nuisance. My only real gripe—besides the omission of Snake-Eye's pet wolf Timber, which Sideshow addressed in their upcoming Recon at Waypoint 12 Environment—was fitting the ammo clips into the pockets of the light assault vest. The clips just didn't want to fit and I found the canvas-constructed material would tear if I tried to force the clips in without wiggling them around. I eventually got them in, but it was frustrating.
I give Sideshow Collectibles' 1/6-scale G.I. Joe Snake-Eyes figure a 9.5 out of 10. Yo Sideshow!
Sideshow's Idol Chamber Environment Review
Published: February 19, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Continuing my review of Sideshow Collectibles' Dr. Rene Belloq, today I take a look at the Idol Chamber Environment, which is the unique piece included with the exclusive version of the figure.
During the priority pre-order for this set, I couldn't help but think the version of Belloq packaged with the Idol Chamber Environment was an odd choice. I also couldn't help but think "Holy shit! I can't believe they're including an idol chamber as the exclusive," but that's beside the point. If you recall, at the beginning of Raiders, Belloq swipes the fertility idol from Indy wearing a safari-esque outfit with khaki shirt and pith helmet. Though that version of Belloq would have been a more obvious choice to include with the chamber, the good news is we get a Belloq figure, and khaki shits and pith helmets are a dime a dozen in the 1/6-scale world. In other words, it'll be easy to make your own jungle Belloq, should you choose to.
Before I start my review, let me get this out of the way; the Idol Chamber Environment alone is worth the $140 you're paying for the set. The chamber is made from polystone and comparatively shopping Sideshow's site for other polystone pieces with similar dimensions, you'll find this set sells for considerably less. And you get a Belloq in the deal. Anyone complaining about the price of this package has no justification in my book.
The idol pedestal is hollow, but still has some good weight to it. Both it and the additional floor piece have soft foam along the bottom to prevent them from moving or sliding, which is a nice touch. The carvings on the chamber aren't completely screen-accurate, but they're close enough. What really surprised me is the level of detail Sideshow was able to achieve with the vegetation on the pedestal. The moss and growth on the rock looks very realistic and has depth and dimension. It's well done.
Now what's an Idol Chamber Environment without an idol? Despite including a fertility idol with their Indy figure--who you'll most likely be displaying in the chamber--Sideshow included a solid metal idol with the environment. The idol has a gold-metallic finish and is quite heavy for its small size. The metal idol holds detail better than its plastic counterpart, so you'll most likely bag the idol included with Indy in favor of this one.
So what's wrong with the Idol Chamber Environment? Not much. My only complaint is the use of an additional floor piece to extend the floor, instead of widening the floor on the base. I think it would have looked better as a complete, single piece. Besides that, I think it's a great piece and a must have if you're an Indy collector. I give Sideshow Collectible's 1/6 scale Idol Chamber Environment a 9 out of 10.
Sideshow's Dr. Rene Belloq Review
Published: February 18, 2009 at 3:32 PM
My Sideshow Collectibles' exclusive Dr. Rene Belloq 12-inch figure (with Idol Chamber Environment) arrived via UPS, yesterday. Like one of my previous UPS shipments, the box had a gratuitous gaping hole at the bottom, so my excitement was mixed with the concern that something had been damaged. Luckily, I avoided disaster yet again, but still contest that brown is an appropriate metaphor to describe UPS' service.
Out of the box, Belloq's suit is a little wrinkled so you may want to press his coat and pants. The material and tailoring are well done and the stitching is clean. His pants are...well they're hiked up high enough to raise anyone's voice a few octaves, so you'll most likely want to display him with the coat closed. The problem with that is the clasp used to button the coat shut was applied slightly higher than it should have been (curse the factory!), so it gives the coat the appearance of being tight. Moving the clasp should help alleviate the fat guy in a small jacket appearance.
I was a little disappointed by the quality of Belloq's tie. The tie is pinned into a knot with a piece of thread, instead of being tied or glued to achieve a realistic look. This looks cheap, but thankfully can be remedied with a bit of innovation as seen on the Sideshow Collectors forum. There's also some debate amongst diehards on the Sideshow Collectors forum regarding the color accuracy of Belloq's shirt. I'm going to let this one slide since there are film stills that depict both white and blue shirts, so it can go either way (though blue looks to be the correct version).
The Belloq figure is built on Sideshow's new Prometheus body, which debuted on their Raiders of the Lost Ark version of Indiana Jones, late last year. The body has since been improved with tighter joints and limbs that aren't as loose as they were on the majority of the Indy figures. In fact, the figure holds poses well and I haven't had an incident of 1/6 leprosy, where a joint on the figure falls out of the socket. Belloq's shoes connect directly to the legs with a socket so there are no feet included. This is no big, but there aren't any socks included. This means Sideshow either missed this detail or Dr. Belloq was not only scholarly, but had an incredibly forward-thinking fashion sense in wearing a linen suit with no socks (think Miami Vice).
Belloq's likeness to Paul Freeman isn't bad; at profile it looks like Freeman, but the resemblance isn't completely there from the front. The figure's brown hair should have been highlighted with a touch of gray, especially on the sides. The proper highlights would have helped improve the likeness. Thankfully, the hat covers enough of the hair to hide the fact that Sideshow wasn't accurate with their paint applications. The hat itself is made of a soft plastic and fits snugly over the sculpted hair. I wish Sideshow would have used the same approach with the hat on their Indy figure because it looks great and works well.
You have several options in accessorizing Belloq including a pocket watch, a bottle of liquor with his family label and a MP-40 machine gun. I was hoping the pocket watch would have a "glass" face, but it didn't achieve that level of detail. The watch chain is a vast improvement over the chain Sideshow used for the necklace on their Lord of the Rings Frodo because it doesn't clump and knot. The detail on the MP-40 is also an improvement on what has come to be expected from Sideshow. The gun is molded in several pieces that fit together, has a removable clip, a spring-loaded chamber, a strap, and a working, retractable stock. In addition to the open/gripping hands, Belloq includes a pair of interchangeable clinched fists.
I obviously have a few gripes with this figure, but I consider them to be more lapses in detail than serious flaws. The problem is that Sideshow isn't demonstrating the same level of detail that Hot Toys is putting in their 1/6-scale figures and collectors are starting to recognize it. I personally like this figure and believe a few corrections to the lack in detail I mentioned above would vastly improve it. As a result, I give Sideshow Collectible's 1/6 scale Dr. Rene Belloq a 6 out of 10, which is a shame because it really should have been an 8 or higher. The Exclusive Belloq is limited to 1000 pieces and retails for $139.99 and as I'm writing this, is still available for order on Sideshow's Web site.
Stay tuned, tomorrow, for my review of the accompanying Idol Chamber Environment.
Top 5 Android Applications
Published: November 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
The Android Market has been growing steadily since the T-Mobile G1 launched this October. Thanks to the five-star rating system and user comments, in the market, it's been relatively easy to identify the applications worth downloading and those that should be avoided altogether. Here's a list of the top 5 Android applications that every G1 shouldn't be without.
- Locale (and Locations): Locale dynamically manages your phone settings based on conditions such as location and time. Locale works in conjunction with Locations—an application that pinpoints your GPS coordinates—and requires Locations if you're using geographic rules in your settings. You'll never have to worry about your ringer going off in the wrong place or at the wrong time. I personally use Locale to set my G1 to use my wireless Internet connection whenever I'm at home.
- ShopSavvy and CompareEverywhere: I've found that both ShopSavvy and CompareEverywhere have their unique upsides and are most effective when used in tandem. Use the camera in your phone to scan the barcode of any product to find the best prices on the Internet and at nearby, local stores. You can then read product reviews to find what others think as well as keep track of your items in a shopping list.
- Twidroid: If you tweet, Twidroid is for you. Twidroid a full-featured, mobile Twitter client that includes direct messaging, photo posting and background notifications. Twidroid is still in beta so not all of the features work flawlessly, but it boasts a clean, easy-to-use interface and has a lot of promise.
- WeatherBug: WeatherBug uses your GPS location information to provide live, local weather information featuring location-based forecasts, severe weather alerts, radar and satellite maps, camera views and more. WeatherBug is the most comprehensive weather tool in the Android Market.
- Dial Zero: Dial Zero allows you to quickly dial the customer service number of over 600 companies and skip the prompts to speak directly with a person. No more menu trees or annoying voice recognition software to stand in your way!
My First Week with the T-Mobile G1
Published: October 28, 2008 at 6:04 PM
I've been at it for one week with my Android-based, T-Mobile G1. I admit that every time I get a new cell phone I either get a tinge of buyer's remorse or end up comparing it to my previous phone more than I should. The G1 is no exception. When I pulled the G1 out of the box, my initial impression was that it was a bit clunky, bulky and even heavy. I know comparing the G1's size to a Motorola RAZR (which it's replacing) isn't exactly fair considering what the G1 is capable of, but a precedence had been set.
What the G1 lacks in aesthetics, it more than makes up for in functionality. Sure I would love the G1 to be the same size as the RAZR, but my concerns that the G1 would be a brick in my pocket subsided as I familiarized myself with the Android interface and started making use of the features that I cursed my RAZR for not having. I also felt better when I had a chance to compare the G1's vitals to a friend's iPhone. The weight of the two devices is very similar and though the G1 is thicker, the QWERTY keyboard that adds to the extra thickness is totally worth it.
Once I got over the dimension shock, the only real issue I had with the G1 is battery life. If you'll be using your G1 heavily throughout the day, you'll need to keep a charger handy. Even with recommended settings to extend the battery life (GPS, brightness, WiFi and auto sync settings turned down or off) the phone eats up the charge quickly. I would imagine that if you took the phone on a trip to use as a reference guide and were out of the hotel all day sightseeing, you wouldn't make it into the evening without needing a charge. I'm not sure how this compares to the battery life on an iPhone, but I could definitely see it being an issue at some point.
What I don't see being an issue is the Android Market. There have been dozens of new applications added since theG1 launched on the 22nd and every time I check the Android Market, the application and game libraries seems to be growing. Obviously some of the applications are more useful than others, but it's nice to know there's no shortage of developers working on the Android platform. I'll blog a more detailed account of some of my favorite applications later in the week, but want to include a quick real world example of how the G1 is making a difference in my life.
I downloaded one of the first applications available in the Android Market, named QuickList, to create a running grocery list throughout the week. If you're wondering why I don't just write a list out, I've tried and since my list isn't at my hip at all times—like my phone—I always seem to forget something. As I navigated the aisles of my local Publix this weekend, checking off the list items as I add them to my cart, I didn't have that usual "I'm forgetting something" feeling that comes over me right before I check out. When I cleared those automatic doors I not only felt confident that I got everything I needed, I also realized that for once, I didn't forget the garbage bags!
In the end, my week with the G1 was as much of a learning experience as a realization that the device has the ability to change the way people live their lives. It's not that the G1 can make you a better shopper, a healthier eater, an accurate tipper or even more productive, but it gives you the tools that put you on the right track.
Holy Sequel, Batman!
Published: July 22, 2008 at 2:09 PM
"The Dark Knight" is an anomaly; one of the rare instances where the sequel to a successful motion-picture outshines the original.
The second installment of the grittier, more serious take on the Batman franchise is nothing short of stellar. The way each character, relationship and situation is developed is not only immersive, but intertwined with emotion. The sub-plots are just as compelling and you feel empathy for Bruce Wayne's internal strife, realize the maniacal co-dependency that drives the Joker and understand how the fragility of Harvey Dent's persona puts him over the edge...literally. And did I mention the film is full of action?
The action sequences in "The Dark Knight" are plentiful; non-stop even. Yet, they never detract from the film's focus or feel forced. George Lucas, take note. Instead, the scenes help tell the story and compliment the character development. I especially found the explanation of the origin of Batman's glowing eyes—as illustrated in many comic renditions—cleverly done.
Also cleverly done is Heath Ledger's interpretation of the Joker, arguably Batman's greatest antagonist. Ledger sheds the Joker's cartoonish-image and brings out a real-life eccentric insanity. He portrays the Joker as a madman obsessed with wreaking havoc on Gotham and the darker tone of the film compliments his creative direction. Do I think it was Oscar worthy? Possibly, but has there ever been a bad portrayal of the Joker?
My only complaint with "The Dark Knight" is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who gave the weakest performance of the cast. It's not that I'm a huge fan of Katie Holmes, but I dislike the inconsistency of brining back a character in a sequel and not having the same actor reprise the role; especially a major role.
Finally, a movie that lives up to the hype! I give "The Dark Knight" a 9.5 out of 10.
Sideshow's Commander Praji Review
Published: May 30, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Commander who? OK so I admit I do know a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to the original Star Wars trilogy, which I guess classifies me as a geek. Commander Praji, however, I don't know. Geek classification revoked! In order to figure out just who this Imperial crony is, I had to pull a Wookiepeia and watch a YouTube clip (start 3:17 in). Now I realize by going to Wookiepeida I'm back to being a geek. In that case, check out my geeky photos of Sideshow's 12-inch Commander Praji in my photo gallery.
Commander Nahdonnis Praji is an Imperial Officer who gets his 15 minutes seconds of fame aboard Princess Leia's Rebel Blockade Runner. Unable to locate the stolen Death Star plans aboard the Tantive IV, Darth Vader instructs Praji to personally oversee a detachment to the planet Tatooine in an effort to retrieve the plans from a jettisoned escape pod. We all know where that leads... my photo gallery.
Sideshow Collectible's Commander Praji figure is our introduction to Imperial officers in their Militaries of Star Wars line. Though he wouldn't be my first choice to immortalize, he's got an interesting back-story and Sideshow has been known to take that into account in their character selection.
The 12-inch Praji figure features the Art S. Buck body dressed in a standard-issue Imperial officer uniform. The detail and tailoring on the uniform is well done. The pants look great and have the widely flared thighs tapering from the knees to the ankles (an obvious reference to the pants worn by WWII-era German officers) while the top is a little stiff making it difficult to locate the slits for the silver tubes. Besides the tubes, the uniform is detailed with a rank insignia.
Commander Praji comes with a pair of swappable hands/gloves and pair of swappable Imperial caps. Praji ships dressed in the gloves and I'll warn you that they are better left on as they're very difficult to fit back once removed. I like the option of the two caps; one fabric and one sculpted. I don't have a personal preference, but I do think the fabric cap looks better in person while the sculpted cap photographs better.
Praji is armed with a stormtrooper blaster with folding stock as well as a blaster pistol, the latter of which fits into the holster on his belt. The simple leather belt is what it is, but I do like the magnetic clasp on the holster, which has thankfully become a standard feature on Sideshow's figures.
My biggest problem with Commander Praji is well...Commander Praji. The choice of this character is obscure considering the pool of Imperials Sideshow had to choose from. What makes things worse is that the likeness of the figure, in comparison to the actor, is poor at best making it even less desirable.
All in all there really isn't much to this figure. He's an obscure character, in a well-done, yet simplistic costume with an inaccurately sculpted likeness. I give Sideshow Collectibles 1/6-scale Imperial Praji a 6.5 out of 10.


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Welcome to Bishop Elementary School and the home of the Bobcats!
A Leader in Me School
Our Mission Statement
We empower everyone to have a voice and the confidence
to persevere as learners and leaders
who will inspire change in themselves and in the world.
Our Motto
Lead Together and Inspire Change
450 N. Sunnyvale Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
(408) 522-8229 Phone Office Hours
Monday - Friday
7:30 am to 3:30 pm
Leadership Day is a special opportunity for our school to open our doors to the community to show off the great things that are happening.
Summer came and went faster than we could have imagined. However, the construction progress kept up with the pace and we continue to take strides towards completion.
Bishop is excited to announce its new App, an all-in-one information source for Bishop families. The app was developed specifically to provide direct access to the most sought after information in the most convenient format -- your mobile device.
Congrats to our Employees of the Year Mirell Kazos, Shawn Machado, Daniel Poo and Esteban Ybarra and to all our nominees! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our students!
History really came alive for Bishop fourth-graders on May 25 where teachers and parent volunteers transformed the campus to Gold Rush-era California.
A group of 5th-grade BAWSI girls at Bishop Elementary decided to address bullying for their Upwards Roots project.
Construction of Bishop Elementary's new campus continues to move forward.
Parents in Education, or PIE, is a program that welcomes parents to see firsthand the research-based best practices being implemented in our classrooms. This year, there will be five opportunities for parents to learn about an array of subjects ranging from English language development to math.
Thanks to Sunnyvale School District's community partner, Reach Potential Movement, there is now a bookshelf in nearly every home for Bishop kinder families. This is the fourth year that the nonprofit has brought the literacy project to the school.
Construction of Bishop's new classrooms is in full swing. In order to have as little impact on the students and staff during the regular school year, most of the construction is taking place offsite, just an hour and a half away in Manteca at American Modular Systems (AMS), a designer and builder of educational facilities
Bishop held its first annual Leadership Day on May 26.
Families, teachers, and administrators came together March 9 to celebrate students for overcoming extraordinary challenges and demonstrating unwavering resilience and leadership.
Bishop has launched a vision of leadership for our young bobcats. In 2015-2016, Bishop Elementary School officially became a Leader in Me school.
The green thumbs with the Bishop Buds Junior Garden Club at Bishop Elementary have received some extra cash to help with their gardening in the form of a $2,000 grant from Whole Foods.
Join us in welcoming Mrs. Tara Lubrano as our new Assistant Principal.
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM A la Carte Food Truck
1:30 PM - 6:00 PM Food Distribution
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM PIQE - Principal's Forum/Graduation
10:15 AM - 11:30 AM Kindergarten Graduation
8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Leadership Rally
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM A la Carte Food Truck
8:15 AM - 9:15 AM PTO Meeting

subset: commoncrawl


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Ok. I don't have any real fans yet, but a girl can dream.
A fey can also decorate.
Friday, December 29, 2006
See, we are FANS of 99 Sense
Ok. I don't have any real fans yet, but a girl can dream.
Posted by Kangsta! 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: 99 cents only, kinda gay, youtube
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Spanish-American War
I was reading A.M. NY this morning and the front page story was about NYC hitting a record tourism rate this year. 44 million visitors! I was wondering what was going on, because the streets are crowded like crazy. Anyways, this little bit in the article stood out to me.
"At the "twofer" TKTS Broadway show ticket line by the Marriott Marquis, Spanish tourist Eve Jimenez, 28, said she found New York safe and friendly.
And her favorite part of the city? "Shopping. The 99 cent stores," she said."
Word up Eve Jimenez. And I was kidding about that war stuff.
Posted by Kangsta! 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Los Angeles: 99 Cent Store - 6th & Fairfax
Hello. This is my first post. You may recognize me from such blogs as DGCommunity. I like to go to discount stores, and check out all of the wonderful and shitty things they sell. My camera was pretty crap at the time that I took these first pictures, so bear with me for the moment. I've upgraded my technology. So here's a sample of some gems I found in the 99 cent store on the corner of 6th street, and Fairfax in Los Angeles. This particular 99 cent store has a terrible sulfuric odor outside it all times. It's like a fart store. They also sell bananas.
I was really digging the selection of air fresheners. Nothing smells better than freedom and graffiti. This is what it must have been like in the old days in the train yards. Please note that the graffiti air freshener has a tag that almost says KFed, who is also currently experiencing freedom, and is most definitely street.
If there's something everybody needs in their bathroom, it's some Bully. It will beat your ass stank out with every flush. Count on it. Why? Cuz it's depend-o.
Speaking of that ass, here's some help for the children. You can't read the box, but it says it's relief for the un-happy butt. We shouldn't have unhappy butts crawling around, because Whitney once told me that the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way. I won't follow someone with an unhappy butt. It's just a policy I have.
Also for the children, cherry flavor Boogie Busters. It's cold season. When your kid's nose is crusty and boogery, bust em with some monkey moisture, like Pladaow!
I really wondered what their version of Polo could have smelled like for 99 cents. I imagine, a horse. Will you check out that guy's mane?
Posted by Kangsta! 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: 99 cents only, bully depend-o, butt aid, los angeles, maxi pads, pregnancy test, street scents


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What's included in our Mixed Hedging? Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Guelder Rose, Wayfaring Tree, Spindle, Crab Apple, Holly, Hazel, Field Maple and Buckthorn
Offering an instant impact hedge with a variety of wildlife interest throughout the year, it's no wonder that our species-rich mixed native instant hedging has become one of our most popular hedging options. Provided in 1 metre lengths this truly instant hedging is already knitted together to form a hedge, no need to wait years for your plants to grow into one another. Our instant mixed native hedging contains 8 different species, in every 6 metres you are guaranteed at least 8 different species - larger quantities will contain all species.
This instant hedging mix is ideal for a wildlife friendly hedge and will contain the following species - in every 6 metres you are guaranteed at least 8 different species.
Perfect for wildlife-friendly gardens, paddocks and gardens with neighbouring fields. This fantastic instant mixed hedge will provide shelter and food for wildlife whilst offering screening, berries, colour and flowers
This native instant hedging will grow approximately 20/40cm a year, Native hedging is ideal for final hedge heights of 1-4m.
Trim your native hedge in the summer to keep it neat and if required cut back harder in late autumn. Please view the Best for Hedging Care and Planting instructions in our Advice section.
Each 'unit' is 1 metre long, so we'd recommend 1 per metre.
We ask all customers to provide their opinion to an independent feedback company. We cannot edit which comments appear and which do not, so the following reviews offer a true representation of our customers experience and we are very proud of our huge number of Excellent reviews. The comments on this page apply to this species/product specifically - to see the full feedback from all customers please visit Best4Hedging's Feefo profile.
|Customer Comment
Mixed Hedging


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Category Archives: Mental Health
How to Deal With Anxiety – 3 Very Simple Steps to End Your Suffering
Anxiety attacks can occur any time at any places. Prior to it strikes again, it's usually much better to discover about methods on how to deal with anxiety for future managing. To help accomplish this job, there are several methods available. These methods are to be practice in your daily life, so that you can … Read More
How to Deal With Anxiety Without the Need of Medication
Is it probable to find out how to deal with anxiety with out taking prescription drugs? The speedy answer is yes, but you have to become prepared to know that you just merely possess a disorder initial. All of us care for some kind of anxiousness and tension all by way of our day-to-day lives. … Read More
Panic Attack Symptoms and Anxiety Treatments
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How You Can Determine Panic Attack Symptoms
Panic attack symptoms are hard to decide. This ambiguity also tends to create them incredibly scary. Folks do not know what's going on as soon as they experience these symptoms and it tends to freak them out. Panic symptoms typically commence manifesting in folks among the ages of 15-19… but you will have the ability … Read More
The Diverse Varieties of Severe Anxiety
Help for Severe Anxiety Offered that anxiousness occurs in really some sorts and in really some strategies, it stands to result in that some anxiousness is a whole lot additional significant than other people. Generalized Anxiousness Disorder (GAD) – normally a considerably significantly less significant type of the disorder – is knowledgeable by numerous, from … Read More
Solutions to Remedy Anxiety and Panic Attacks?
Anxiety and panic attacks is normally a mental disorder in which someone fears just about something and pondering every single outcome will turn out to become the worst. This worry is frightening basically simply because it definitely is so intense and worry that somebody is ordinarily following them. When you have got any sort of … Read More
Significant Facts About Anxiety Panic Disorder
An anxiety panic disorder is characterized by the recurrence of significant panic attacks. The panic attacks are complex to predict although you'll find basically anticipatory attacks triggered by the patient's worry about acquiring a further attack. The health-related globe has not reached a clear-cut conclusion on the anxiety panic disorder, inside the sense that some … Read More
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms and Treatment
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) describes a situation exactly where you regularly be concerned and are distracted out of your day-to-day activities. Probably you're troubled by a sense that one thing undesirable is going to come about and also you just can't shake the feeling. Persons with generalized anxiety disorder are chronic worriers who really feel … Read More


text: It's that time of week again! Tomorrow, as we should all know, is an important day in the opera world – the opening night at the Metropolitan Opera! So, to celebrate this, here is a clip from an opera that is being brought back for this season – Dialogues des Carmelites. This is the painfully beautiful Salve Regina that the nuns sing as they go to their deaths at the guillotine. With Leontyne Price and Maria Ewing (and I promise something more cheerful for next week!)


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Sound Mix
The swirling cosmic nebulas were built from scratch. They contain a high level of detail and required several overnight renders. Once the nebulas were ready, we added animated typography displaying marquee names and phrases. Camera moves were choreographed to create the impression of traveling through space. As the camera flies closer to the text, the letters deconstruct into a series of moving points connected by thin lines for a techie, futuristic feel. We also applied the graphic look to the Science logo affectionately known as "Morph."
Pop quiz: What do Firefly, Dollhouse, Terra Nova and Fringe have in common?
Answer: They all first aired on FOX.


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It's May and finally Spring / Summer here in Ottawa. My heart is jubilant. My children, too. My feet - not so much. My feet have felt delicious all winter from wearing very flexible, zero heel, wide toe boxed boots (this one to be precise - I'm not affiliated with the company, btw) and because Ottawa has been snowed in for the last 43, oops, 5 months, my feet have had the privilege to experience uneven, naturally slopy terrain on my daily walks. I say privilege because each foot has 33 joints with numerous muscles and nerve tissue attached to them and these structures like to be stimulated. Our feet are the foundation of our body and I like a good foundation. I bet you too.
The melting snow exposed hard, flat asphalt. And because I'm wearing minimal shoes in the spring / summer too (this one in black and an older version of this one - I'm affiliated with the latter), my feet are complaining of the always-the-same input they are getting. Especially since they are exposed to hardwood and tiled floor in my house too. They've been achy all of a sudden and been navigating towards softer and more diverse grounds. I'll share what I'm doing with you.
Tip 1: Walk on natural ground as much as you can. It might not be as accessible to you as it may be to me but look around you and walk "outside the box". The grass I walk on are my neighbour's lawns. I just smile and say Hello and nobody has complained for years.
Tip 2: Find bigger rocks or balls or roots or things on which to place your foot. On the pictures you see my feet on the stones around our herb patch, balls and toys that lie around my house and cobblestones glued to a net that my friend found at the dollarstore the other day and which decorate our bathroom floor now.
Allow your foot to relax over the new shape. Move your foot slightly and allow another part of your foot to experience the new input.
Tip 3: Introduce your ankle to uphill slopes when you are out walking. Make sure that your heel is actually on the ground. That is also something our ankles (and calves) rarely experience.
If you're not out hiking every weekend, seek out a hill and walk it up and across just for the sheer fun and goodness of it.
Tip 4: Beware of flip flops this summer!
Shoes should have a flexible sole, no positive heel, a toe box wide enough to fit all toes comfortably (the space where the toes are should also not slope up and away from the ground) AND the shoe should be firmly attached to the foot. Flip flops don't have an ankle strap and your toes have to grip to hold onto the shoe. This causes tightness in the front of the foot and changes the natural gait pattern.
Katy Bowman's book "Whole Body Barefoot"
My upcoming "From the Feet Up" Workshop (above book is included)
Find your local Restorative Exercise / Healthy Foot Specialist


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HTML5 Canvas MMORPG Games Javascript Webgl Node.js Nowjs Websocket socket.io mmo
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Install nowjs in Windows
There's two requirements for nowjs to run on windows:
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime:
Go ahead and install it if you don't already have it.
Install Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime (4.8 MB)
So we can open a CMD window and type:
C:\progra~1\nodejs\npm install socket.io
If your node.js install is in a different directory then change the path accordingly.
NPM will install it to:
C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\socket.io
Good. Now we need to obtain the nowjs windows build here:
The file will read something like Flotype-now-0.7.6-3-gb41b2b2.zip
Unzip it to a folder. Inside that folder you'll have another folder with a similar name.
So: ~\Downloads\Flotype-now-0.7.6-3-gb41b2b2\Flotype-now-b41b2b2
Let's rename the second folder to now
So: ~Downloads\Flotype-now-0.7.6-3-gb41b2b2\now
Copy out the now folder and paste it to:
C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\
So: C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\now
Inside of that now folder there should be subfolders like bin, doc, examples and other items.
You now have nowjs installed within windows as a module for node.js. It looks like quite a bit of steps, but in reality it is quite painless and if you followed the steps you've seen that.
Time to test it!
The nowjs people have supplied us with three example projects:
They are located in: C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\now\examples
Let's jump to the fun stuff and try and get multiroomchat_example going.
Firstly close down any node.js server CMD window instances you have running.
Open up a new CMD window and type:
C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\now\examples\multiroomchat_example\multiroomchat_server.js
Hit enter.
You now have node.js running the multiroom chat example server.
Take a look by pointing a few browsers to http://localhost:8080/ it will prompt you for a name.
You'll end up with:
And if everything went perfectly you have now installed and tested nowjs.
A multi-room chat example in under 10 minutes, less than that if you're quick! From this point we have the ability to communicate in real-time to multiple browsers and a server, the basis for a MMORPG.
6 comments:
Cannot find module 'now'...
I have the "now" folder @ nodejs/node_modules
and is not working =/
"C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\node_modules\now"
Can you run: C:\Progra~1\nodejs\npm install nowReplyDelete
then try: C:\Progra~1\nodejs\npm install now -g
The -g is for global installation.
See what it spits out, if you're on windows 7, there is a good potential it will fail with the "make" command
Please make sure you have installed socket.io, either through npm or just copying the folder. Socket.io should succeed with the npm install socket.io and this will let us know if your npm install/modules/etc are jazzed up. Repeat the same thing for node-proxy.
Give upgrading the node.js base windows executable a shot, you never know, it might fix things:
That's obviously v0.6.6.
And potentially a new version of nowjs:
I'm going to try and upgrade to that version and reinstall nowjs from scratch.
Try an update to the latest beta of NPM: http://npmjs.org/dist/ReplyDelete
You need to unzip this to the same folder structure as the previous npm.
After that run: npm update
Great! Thanks for your guidance with this, George.ReplyDelete
On first try, I got an 'Error: listen EACCES' and found I needed to change the port number. After that, sweet!
Awesome, I got it all working. So awesome, thanks!ReplyDelete
This is the only normal tutorial on how to install node.js and now.js on windows I was able to find.ReplyDelete
Probably many things were updated, but now npm installation installs into C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules
Node.js that I install for windows installs to Program Files\nodejs and for some reason it has node_modules and another node_modules inside. So i copied socket.io and now to all of those locations just in case. By the way installing now through npm on windows didn't work and their official website is down.
Well I managed to get the server running, but there is only one problem left after going to /localhost:8080/
and looking at the source - the now.js file is not loading on the client side. Endless problem! Any help???


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A while ago I noticed "The Snowy Ride – 2013" and decided to join in. I arrived at the Dandenong departure location at about 7.50 a.m. only to find it totally bereft of older people on motorcycles. I figured I must have missed a logistical detail or two and knowing how fast the group rides, relative to me, immediately gave up hope of catching up, if in fact there was a Ulysses posse ahead of me.
I decided to travel via Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Cann River, Bombala, Cooma and finally to Jindabyne. It looked straight-forward and completely logical on the map which I bought at a servo as a concession to the value of logistical planning, however slight. What I did not know was this was going to be an 11 hour journey around the Cape of Good Hope, mostly into the sun (or seemed like) and that at the destination I'd feel more than halfway into a body bag. The sun shouldn't be an issue for me as I have a pair of dark, dark glasses as well as a pull-down tinted visor in my helmet. The combination of the two works really well combating the sun but it gets so dark I can't see the road half the time which I regard as a real concern. For every plus, there's always at least one minus, maybe two…
On arrival at the the place I had booked outside Jindabyne, absolutely totally wrecked, I pointed the Triumph toward the driveway entrance without taking any notice of the angles. That is, the driveway had a short, steep uphill entrance, and the hill was also angled downward to the right to match the slope of the road that it was on. So we've got an off-camber uphill curve which falls off to the right and the sun, you guessed it, shinning in my face and in my infinite exhaustion and wisdom I approached the driveway from the left side at slow speed, got over-balanced to the right and no matter how hard I tried, my right leg would not hold it up. Soooooo I tried to lay it down as softly as possible.
No way to pick it up by myself so I just waited for somebody to come by. Finally a young bloke stopped. He comes flip-flopping over, has a look and says, "Geez, you dropped your bike!" Well, I never heard a truer thing said in all my years. Never. I said, "Yes, would you help me pick it up?" So we got the Triumph back on its feet and parked next to my apartment. The lad went on his happy way. I'm sure he was stoned out of his brain because he looked and acted just like I did at his age. Stoned or not, I was very grateful to him. My subsequent driveway entrances were approached on the right side with immensely improved results.
Enough about my travails. The point of this post is the children with cancer who benefit from the Great Snowy Ride. There were 3,200 registered riders this year and a good portion of them participated in the Ride. The ride itself was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced. I was near the end of the posse (normal for me) and to see bikes in their thousands snaking up that canyon felt like an immense show of strength and commitment to the cause of improving the chances of survival for thousands of children.
Listening to the presentations after the ride, I learned that whilst government funds hospital and clinic infrastructure like the Childrens Hospital, it does not contribute much to cancer research. This leaves it up to private charity organisations to keep the research ticking along, thereby giving more hope to those who need every sliver they can get.
So here we are in our thousands standing before a stage in Thredbo Village. We were jam packed to the extent one almost couldn't move. They had various things happening up there, raffles and such and short speeches from Honda and other large sponsors of childrens cancer initiatives.
Then this little lady stood before all of us and for fifteen minutes told her daughter's story of a particularly lethal form of leukemia. She simply talked about what it is like for the child, for her and her husband, for the extended family and of course, for the doctors and nurses who do their best all the time. This lady took all of us on the journey without any hint of feeling sorry for herself or anyone else. It was just "how it is". The gift she gave us was a graphic understanding of the plight of these children. She thanked us for the $250,000 that we had generated for the cause, but she didn't ask for anything else. It was and is up to us/me to decide what to do with the insights she gave us.
As an aside, during this lady's 15 minutes you could have heard a pin drop which isn't bad for 3,000 bikers all of whom are used to talking pretty much non-stop and all at the same time... At the end of her speech, they brought her child, Emily, a beautiful little girl, and do you know what, she squirmed around like any other kid. Emily's survival chances are about 50-50.
The good news is that research funded by organisations like The Snowy Ride, are making real headway into understanding the structures of many child cancers. It seems like they are getting a virtuous process going where each new insight triggers the development of new, effective drugs. And as these drugs are used, they can observe the impacts and design yet more effective drug therapies. The result is that survival rates continue to increase on a constant upward trajectory. And this, of course, gives children and their families more hope.
I guess you have gotten the impression that I was deeply touched by this experience. It almost brought me to tears a couple of times. These children did not choose to be sick. Cancer chose them. They need a chance to live full lives like the rest of us, but many won't.
So that was the Saturday. I waited long enough to see if I won the Honda CBR800 and while I waited, this young woman appeared out of nowhere and asked me if I was ok. I said, "No, I'm not ok, I am seriously fatigued and plan to catch up with a good night's sleep." She asked if I thought I could get down the mountain safely and I assured her I would. She didn't look convinced. After they called somebody's else's name for the CBR (which surprised the hell out of me) I walked down to the Triumph which was perched securely on its sidestand, to my eternal relief. As I was getting the helmet and gloves on the same woman appeared and asked again if I was right to get to Jindabyne. She was genuinely concerned which I did appreciate, however it did make me feel every one of my 64 years. Did I really look that bad? Anyway she next said she was staying in an apartment a couple blocks away and would I like to take a nap on her spare bed? ……….At this point I needed to reflect… what's going on here? Instantly I launched into one of those fantasies characteristic of older men. It lasted a nanosecond, like a bottle rocket. Then my boots were firmly back on the pavement and I was thanking her for her generous offer but I reckoned I could get down safely. And I did.
Sunday was go home day. I gave the map close inspection and decided the shortest way home would be to take The Alpine Way over the hill to Khancoban, on to Corryong, Wodonga and finally the Hume. Well, right from the get go I took a wrong turn and ended up at Perisher and Charlotte Pass. The latter is a dead end. It says "Pass" but doesn't pass one on to anything which I feel is a form of dishonesty. You have to go back to find the Alpine Way! The ride up to Charlotte Pass is beautiful and I recommend it to people who actually intend to go there. My mistake cost me about 90 minutes.
Taking the Alpine Way as described above is probably the shortest way to go in terms of distance, but not in time. This is because the Alpine Way is a goat track. Very slow and careful for me. Dangerous. By the way, the road between Khancoban and Wodonga is a lovely stretch with lots of fast bends. Bikers love it and the police know it. They were omnipresent on that road. On the Saturday an officer caught somebody doing 190. Took his license and bike on the spot. And so he should.
To traverse the 11 hours home I had to dismount about once an hour. I had sore knees, sore feet, sore ankles, sore arms, sore back, sore neck, sore eyes, sore ears, sore hair. The little 10 minute respites were what got me home.
Next year I'm going to hire a Chinook helicopter to transport my Triumph up there and back.
Thanks for reading.
- jamesford's blog
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Hey, great story James,
Hey, great story James, thanks for sharing.
Well done James, sounds like
Well done James, sounds like a great weekend/adventure, all for a good cause :)
Shame we missed you.
James i would like to say it was a shame we all didn't catchup as Roger Foot and 4 other rides & me included had a brilliant time at Thredbo Village and we'd loved of caught up . We'd agree it was a magnificent weekend and the roads were paradise for the motorcyclist. We certainly landed on our feet with the weather compared with this weekend. You missed the snow on Monday which made it interesting -2 degrees . But the ride home through to Mansfield ,Yea and on to Melbourne was devoid of traffic and we flew home . I'd recommend the ride for next year as it was for a good cause and seeing those brave little guys in the Honda Gold Wing side cars on the mass ride on Saturday was a buzz. Thanks for sharing your trip.
Great story thanks James
Thanks James - really added the personal touch to your experience of the Snowy Ride.


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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held their first meeting in two months amid an impasse in denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.
The diplomats "reaffirmed the ironclad alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement, "and pledged to maintain close coordination to ensure the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
South Korea's foreign ministry said the two exchanged "in-depth views" on ongoing talks between Washington and Pyongyang, and progress in inter-Korean ties.
While reaffirming the importance of maintaining sanctions on the North, they also agreed to continue to work together for complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said in a statement.
The allies have sought to coordinate their policies on North Korea as the South pushes to expand cross-border ties to facilitate Pyongyang's denuclearization, and the US remains wary of action that could undermine sanctions imposed on the North for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Kang was in Washington as the head of a South Korean government delegation to Wednesday's funeral of former US President George H.W. Bush.
The ministry said she and Pompeo also committed to encourage their respective negotiating teams to come up with a mutually satisfactory agreement on renewing a cost-sharing deal tied to the stationing of some 28,000 US troops in South Korea.
US forces have been deployed to the South to deter North Korean aggression since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)


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Beading is a whole world of incredibly interesting possibilities for creating little masterpieces with your own hands. This process helps develop creativity in women and girls. There is nothing more beautiful and valuable than something made with love and care. At our site you will find interesting articles devoted to beading, news and lots of beading tips.
If we trace beading through the ages we will discover that beading was known and used by people of Ancient Egypt. There are many interesting and fun facts about beads and we would like to share them with you. Besides, jewelry and décor made of beads can be found on all the continents and includes clothing, luxury items, church and household utensils. Today we know about over a dozen beading techniques, such as openwork weaving, tapestry weaving (handmade weaving), jabot, needle weaving, brick netting, mosaic weaving, cross stitch bead weaving, Ndebele, ogalala, American (spiral) rope, square rope, rope bead crochet, bead knitting, bead embroidery, Kumihimo, soutache, freeform.
Why do we like beads so much? Almost all kinds of bead are made of glass, but they differ in shape and color. There are different kinds of crystals round, square, oblong (cylinder shaped). When it comes to color crystal beads can be: opaque and clear, glossy, mat and metallic. Here comes the answer! Crystal beads resemble little jewels, but they cost a lot less.
Beads made products, ropes, bracelets, ear-rings, or flowers look very beautiful. But are they easy to make? No,especially for beginners. However everything starts with the basics, and bead weaving is not an exception. Our tip for beginners is to begin with making simple bracelets which can be used as a jewelry element or an excellent gift.
Also at our site we will speak about where to find inspiration for jewelry projects. Whether you are just a beginner in the art of bead weaving or a skillful artist you may confront with the challenge of getting inspired to create more projects. There are several ways how you can get inspired, but the easiest one is to browse the Internet. Global network has plenty of resources for designers. Social networks, blogs and even just a selection of interesting pictures and photos of the projects are an excellent source of new interesting ideas. Dont get upset if you failed to find the idea for your next project, just give you some time, a day off that you will spend in an unusual offbeat way!
Beaded jewelry and decorations became fashionable not just this year. It means that simple designs wont impress anyone now. So beadwork artists should be very creative and combine in each item of handmade jewelry various materials and techniques. Only unusual unique combination has the potential to stand out. Not only is beaded jewelry trendy, but also decorating fabric for clothing with tinsels, wooden beads, shells, embroidery and appliqués mixed with beads. Fashion blends everything: bright colors with pale ones, large beads with small ones, beads made of glass and wood.
Today, beadwork has become a favorite hobby for many women. Of course, this kind of art requires special skills, patience, dexterity and accuracy. Good mood and well developed imagination play a key role as well. Consider trying beadworking yourself!


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Tiny star heading to the top
SHE'S only 3ft 9ins tall but Spice Girls be warned – no one should underestimate the girl power of this tiny talent.
Connie Talbot finally launched her attack on the charts last night five months after winning over the nation on the ITV show Britain's Got Talent.
The seven-year-old is now up against the Spice Girls, Leona Lewis and even Led Zeppelin in the race for the top Christmas album.
Connie is also taking on her old television co-star, Paul Potts, the previously unknown opera sensation who went on to win the ITV show. Connie's debut album is called Over the Rainbow, named after the song which first helped to propel her into the spotlight. It is even being released under a label created especially for her, the Rainbow Recording Company.
Head of the label John Arnison, who has managed Status Quo and Phil Collins in the past, says he has no doubt that his new signing could become the next Charlotte Church.
He admitted: "Even though I had heard about her, I still asked myself 'Can she sing?' But when I met her I was blown away.
"What will amaze people is not that she's talented but just how talented she is. She sings naturally and effortlessly. We are not going to give her singing lessons – we don't need to."
To cause as little disruption as possible to Connie's daily routine, the album was recorded in her aunt Vicky's spare bedroom. A mini-studio was set up in the house at Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands and Connie stood on a box to reach the microphone.
It is a far cry from the slick operation of the recently reunited Spice Girls. Last night the girl group sent a message to fans via their official website revealing that Tom, Katie and Suri Cruise had stopped by at rehearsals.
"David and I are great friends with Tom and Katie," said Victoria Beckham. "Katie has told me that she used to be a big Spice fan so it was great for her to meet the other girls."
Their tour starts in Vancouver on Sunday. But last night bookmakers Ladbrokes said Connie could be a better bet for Christmas glory.


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- Your translation of your scene - your homework.
- Your copy of the play.
- Your composition book.
- A half sheet of losse-leaf paper.
Entry title: Synectic Challenge
Answer the following question in your composition book for a grade! Be prepared to read your response as part of your grade. You have 5 minutes!
Directions: Choose one of the pictures below and complete the following sentence using TREES!
The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is like a...
Sample Response
The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is like a spycam. This is because Romeo was eavesdropping on Juliet and she had no idea. For example, Romeo says, "She speaks yet she says nothing. What of that?" A spycam is used to listen to and record people's actions without people knowing. Romeo is like a spycam because Juliet has no clue she is being watched and he is eavesdropping.
(When you finish, put a heading on another half sheet of paper and open your book to Act II, Scene 3 (Page 85))
- Do Now - Vocabulary
- Reminder: Raise your hand to speak!
- There may be a quiz tomorrow on the material we read today!
- Quote - "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ― Dr. Seuss
- Today's Question: What are some reasons Fr. Lawrence may may have for helping Romeo?
- Class Discussion: Can you think of an adult in your life that you can confide in and trust?
- Mini-lesson - Explanation of mentorship and how Shakespeare characterizes the relationship between Romeo and Fr. Lawrence.
- Guided Practice - Dramatic Reading of Act II, Scene 3 for a grade.
- Assessment - Ticket out the door for answering Today's Question.
- HW - Bring in your translated scene tomorrow so you can rehearse!


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You are hereCrappie Forums / General Crappie Talk / Fishing Electronics / SI Images of crappie we caught
SI Images of crappie we caught
Here is another example of seeing crappiei on the Humminbird 1197 and then catching them. These are 3 snapshots I took just before Charlie and I fished this area. I was pretty sure they were crappie because of their size. The were relating to a drop and a single underwater tree you can see in one of the snapshots. We caught about 10 crappie off this spot in 2 passes with the trolling poles. In the first snapshot you can see the crappie around the tree and all the way out to the boat. In the last 2 snapshots you can see how they are scattered down the drop. We marked 3 spots with the Humminbird 1197 from the console where the fish were along the drop and used the GPS on the 797 up front to stay on the fish because the points were transferred to the front by the interlink. I am really liking this set up and learning more all the time.
ray, can this same thing be done between two 797's?
Yes DW you can interlink the 2 Humminbird 797's and have the way points transferred automatically to the front when you mark them from the back.
Thanks for stopping by www.crappie101.com. We are the site dedicated to crappie fishingi. We bring you tips and techniques from crappie country's top pros and the everyday fisherman not to mention the most complete information on crappie lakes from all around the country.


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After the StormBook - 2014 | Berkley mass-market edition.
From the critics
Community Activity
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These books are fun to read, but completely unbelievable. Like instant love unbelievable. So, just be prepared. Seriously, two days after meeting Eve, Donovan is declaring he wants her to stay with him forever and he wants to be a family with her and her siblings. It made Donovan appear like an obsessed stalker, even though he says it with the best of intentions. I'd like to say it came across as romantic, but it didn't. It was rushed and ridiculous. It creeped me out so much that I had to write a comment...lol...don't get me wrong. I'm all about finding your soulmate and the many other wonderfully cheesy things you read in romance books. But, could you at least give it a week before you are declaring to a practical stranger that you want to spend forever with her?
I've hooked several of my friends on these KGI series. We really enjoy the characters and the plot.
We are looking for more books like these.
Book 8 in the KGI series. Donovan is definitely the sweetest, nicest, most-loving, and caring guy in the KGI family. Ahhh! Can you imaging a guy like that in the real world? Single moms would be beating down his door. I love the Kelly's they are soooooooo awesome!
Enjoyed the story. Another great book in the series
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Who we are
John F Larkin QC, Attorney General for Northern Ireland
- John F Larkin QC was born in Belfast in 1963.
- He was educated at St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School and at Queen's University Belfast.
- He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in Michaelmas Term 1986 and later to the Bar of Ireland.
- Between 1989 and 1991 he was Reid Professor of Criminal Law inTrinity College Dublin.
- He took silk in Michaelmas term 2001. In the last ten years his practice has been mainly in Constitutional and Administrative Law and Human Rights.
Following the transfer of policing and criminal justice powers to Northern Ireland he was appointed Attorney General for Northern Ireland on 24 May 2010. He is the first person to hold the office separately since its functions were assumed by the Attorney General for England and Wales in 1972.
Ian Wimpress, Solicitor to the Attorney General
- Ian Wimpress graduated in law from Queen's University Belfast in 1979 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1981.
- He trained with D H Smyth & Co, Solicitors in Newtownards and entered government practice in the Crown Solicitor's Office in 1982 where he initially was engaged mainly in County Court litigation and later in High Court litigation. He subsequently specialised in judicial review, employment law and Parole Commissioners casework.
- During the 1980s he was a part time lecturer in County Court Practice for the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
- In 2004 he was appointed as a fee paid Chairman of the Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal.
- In 2010 he was appointed as Director of Litigation in the Departmental Solicitor's Office
- He is a serving member of the Law Society's Contentious Business Committee and Court of Judicature Rules Committee.
In 2012 he was appointed as Solicitor to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.


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Eric Yorkie, The Van Helsing of Forks
Vampires have come to Forks, and only one person can possibly stop them. That would be me. I am Eric Yorkie, the Van Helsing of Forks. The True Adventures of a Vampire Hunter. A Twilight AU JokesonJane made this awesome banner
I don't own Twilight.
7. Chapter 7 Where The Battle Begins
Rating 5/5 Word Count 4814 Review this Chapter
The hardest part of being a vampire hunter is that no one believes in your work. Skepticism regarding the supernatural is rampant. Tell people God talks to you, and they'll believe you. Tell them you hang with vampires, and watch the scoffing begin. –From The Diary of a Vampire Hunter by Eric Yorkie
I'm standing stark naked on the front steps of the school. Kids are streaming by me on their way into the building, and I'm terrified someone is going to notice I don't have any clothes on. I've got my hands over my dick, and I'm praying nobody turns around to see my naked butt.
The sun passes behind a cloud, and it gets nighttime dark. I am stumbling down my driveway, trying to find my way in the darkness. The Cullens pull up next to me in a minivan. The side door slides open, and Bella holds out her hand, like she wants me to come inside. "Hey, Eric," she says in a low, gravelly voice.
I want to jump inside the van. I know Bella needs me. "Come on, kid," she says, gesturing with her hand. She must be sick or something because her voice is so deep and raspy. But I can't see who or what else is in the van, and it's scaring me. I shake my head at her, and dejectedly, she closes the minivan door, and it pulls away. I try to call her name, to tell her to come back or to jump out of the van, but it's like I've been struck dumb. I can't make a sound. Rosalie appears next to me, all smiling and sexy and welcoming, until she speaks with that same gravelly voice Bella had. "Kid. Wake up."
My eyes fly open, and Solomon Kane is standing above me. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Rise and shine." I roll over and groan. If I thought he smelled bad last night, he was a rose compared to this morning's aroma. The bathrooms at the Mariners' games after a double header smell better. "Sun's up," he growls. "Let's go catch them vampires."
I get dressed in the bathroom−no way I'm changing in front of him−and we head downstairs. I chow down a bowl of cereal as fast as I can while he accepts a cup of coffee from my mother. When she leaves the room, he takes a flask from his pocket and surreptitiously pours some of it into his coffee.
"What's that?" I ask around a mouthful of Sugar Pops.
"Vampire repellant," he says, smiling and saluting me with his cup.
Yeah, right. Like he needs it with that smell. After breakfast, we climb into his van. "Where to, kid?" he asks, fishing for his keys.
"The Cullen house is over in North Forks," I say. "Go back out to the highway and take a right."
This is so exciting. We're going into Vamptown; I feel like a fucking warrior. It occurs to me I should have a weapon. I turn to him as he inserts the key into the ignition. "My mom has a samurai sword. Maybe I should go get it." I'd probably have to sneak it out. It's a family heirloom that hangs in my parents' bedroom. But I've seen it unsheathed, and it's absolutely lethal-looking. It's a katana forged by Dotanuki, over four hundred years old. I've always dreamed of swishing it through the air. It's sharp enough to cut stone.
Solomon takes his hat off his head and rubs his forehead with his forearm. "May not be the wisest decision to go face them in their nest right off the bat. Is there someplace around town where we could scope them out a bit beforehand?"
He's probably right. It's just the two of us against the seven of them. "Well, Dr. Cullen might be at the hospital." I don't really know what the bunch of them do on weekends. It's not like it's a school day; then I'd know where they'd be. "They said something about baseball. I wonder if Bella knows anything. Maybe we should drop by her house."
"Bella?" he asks, smooshing the hat back on his head.
"The girl I told you about? The one Edward is enslaving?" For all I know, he's got her into some harem-esque Princess Leia slave outfit. Is it wrong that I fervently hope so?
"Oh, right." He turns the key, and with a grin, slaps the stick shift into reverse. "Then let's go see Bella."
We start bumping down the driveway. "You're sure these are vampires, right?" he asks me, glancing over. "I mean, I've never heard of seven of them living together. They usually prefer to wander by themselves or with a mate. Occasionally you'll see a threesome, but never more than that."
"I'm sure." I review everything I know in my mind. "I've seen speed, strength, athletic ability. There's the mind-reading, the hypnotism, the good looks…" Rosalie's bodacious set of tits…
"And they go out during the day? You've seen them in the sunshine?"
"Yeah," I say, but then I catch myself. Have I seen them in the sun? They're always out 'hiking' during the sunny days of school. "I've seen them all walking around during the day but maybe not in the sun."
Solomon pulls a ragged pack of Camels from his shirt pocket and lights one up. The window I've already rolled partway down for some relief against his sour smell goes down the rest of the way. I wonder if he actively cultivates that odor to ward off vampires because it's enough to knock small children off their feet.
But I have to know what kind of weapons he does have. "Tell me, what do you use to, ah, off them?"
He takes a drag off his cigarette. "What? You mean the vampires?"
I nod, my mouth suddenly dry. We're talking about the death of people I know, people in my school. Well, maybe not people, but creatures or beings, at least.
"See the stakes?" He points a thumb towards the back of the van, which is a jumbled mess of clothes, tools and empty beer cans. There's even a leaking bean bag chair back there, which I am guessing serves as the back seat. But clattering against the inside wall of the van I see a set of what looks like white pickets torn out of somebody's garden fence. "Hit 'em with that in the chest, and they turn to ashes," he says with conviction.
"Really?" They're wooden stakes, so that falls in line with legend. I have doubts though; everything else about the Cullens has refused to fit into the classic mythology of vampires.
He sneaks a glance at me out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, yeah. Done it a thousand times."
I frown. That sounds like it's for the kind of vampires you'd find in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, not the kind actually walking around in Forks. I try to picture Rosalie with a stake in her chest, and it makes my stomach squirm. Crap, I can't even picture Edward like that without getting slightly queasy, and I don't even particularly like him. On the other hand, Jasper looks right at home that way.
I go to say something when I realize I see Bella's old clunker pass us going the opposite way. Edward's driving, and Bella's on the passenger side with her arm resting out the window.
"Wait! That's them!" I yell, trying to keep an eye on them in the rearview mirror. "They just passed us. Turn around."
Solomon manhandles his Econoline into doing a three point u-turn while it squeals in complaint, coughing and sputtering. This is like a slow motion car chase; it's about as exciting as watching grandmothers chase each other around a bingo table.
"Give us plenty of distance," I say. "I think Edward can read minds."
"We'll stay well back then. Try not to think about them."
We drive for thirty seconds. How can you not think about something? My mind keeps going back to why we're doing this and vampires, vampires, vampires. "Can we put on the radio or something?"
"Sure." He reaches over and fiddles with the knobs. The static slides into a Chemical Romance tune. Cool song, until I realize the song that's playing is Vampires Will Never Hurt You.
"Ah, maybe something else," I say, reaching for the knobs. I tune into the indie station from Port Angeles. Jesus Christ, it's that Bauhaus tune about Bela Lugosi. I spin the knobs again. This is ridiculous. It's that Warren Zevon tune. I'm ready to give the knob another savage yank when Solomon cries, "Wait!"
I freeze, thinking something has happened with Bella's truck, but way up ahead it's chugging along at a sedate forty-five miles per hour.
Solomon hits the volume and sings along. "Little old lady got mutilated late last night. Werewolves of London again." He sings as good as he smells.
We ride along one-oh-one, staying well back from Bella's truck, when it takes a turn onto an unpaved road. "They must be headed over Edward's," I say. "That goes to the Cullens."
"Anything else down that road?" Solomon growls.
"I don't think so."
"Does it connect with any other routes?"
"No," I answer. "There's nothing but national park for miles."
"Well, what goes in must come out," he says. "We'll wait for them to come back out. Then maybe we can go after them one by one."
We pull off of one-oh-one, and Solomon finds a place to park the van in between the trees. We edge backwards through some bushes for a bit of camouflage, but we can still see the end of the dirt driveway. He turns off the engine, settles back in his seat and pulls his hat over his face. "Keep an eye on that road and wake me if you hear anything."
I sit up straight, keeping watch like I'm guarding the Louvre, and the Mona Lisa's been threatened. Occasionally a car drives by. I hope Bella is okay, and the damn vamps aren't munching on her while we just sit here. I have a pretty good idea what Edward wants from her, and I bet she's going to be walking stiffly again come Monday. I remember how Emmett and Jasper scoffed at the idea that Edward was screwing Bella. I have to hand it to them; it was a brilliant attempt at mis-direction. Everybody knows vamps are over-sexed libertines.
It's actually a nice spring day. The sun is out, at least intermittently, and the birds are chirping. A rabbit hops across the road. Some squirrels chase each other around the trees. I hang my head out the window, escaping at least some of Solomon's sour smell. It's been maybe an hour when I hear the faint rhythmic sound of footsteps crunching through the leaves on our right, deeper in the woods. Instantly I'm on guard.
One of the Quileutes, the big one called Sam, is following a deer track maybe a hundred yards away. He's walking with his head down, not paying much attention, and I don't think he's seen us. He's naked. Now why you'd want to wander around naked in these woods is beyond me. I can only imagine the horror of getting a bunch of mosquito bites on your dick. It'd probably make it all swell up.
Hmmm. That might be a good thing. Make your dick look bigger. Girls like monster dicks, right? I file this idea away in my mental "inventions" category. In addition to a game designer, I also plan on being an inventor. And a sure-fire way of enlarging your dick would probably rival the invention of the PC for money-making opportunities. It's really not that hard a stretch to see me kicking back with people like Bill Gates and Dean Kamen. What I can see of Sam though, it doesn't seem like he'd have too much need of an invention like that. Still, between the insects and the branches reaching out to snag something precious, running around naked doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Is he drunk? Have the Quileutes become nudists? Is this some secret Indian initiation rite? The only person stupid enough to wander around naked in these woods is one who had to have lost his clothes… Suddenly, I flash back to the shredded clothes I'd seen over by my grandparents' house.
Werewolf. It has to be him. And where there's one werewolf there have to be more.
Don't wolves usually run in packs? The whole damn Quileute tribe could be a bunch of werewolves. It makes perfect sense. All those bonfires the tribe sponsor, the way they stick to themselves.
Sam follows the forest path, his shoulders slumped. He's must be tired from running around the whole night. Well, now I feel stupid. Back when I was talking to Colin on First Beach, he was likely just yanking my chain. He knew all along what was going down. How can you be a werewolf and not know vampires are around? Don't these supernatural creatures all protect each other's backs?
My mind races with the implications. Indians. All of them. The whole tribe's gotta be in on this. I wonder if the girls are werewolves, too. Why not? Gotta make puppies to keep the bloodlines going, right? What about that guy, Jacob's father−the one in the wheelchair? I bet he uses one of those little doggie wheelchairs, the kind that just supports the hind quarters, like a little cart with wheels.
All of a sudden, Sam stops. He raises his face to the wind, sniffing the air. I hold my breath; has he smelled us? But no, he looks across the road where Bella's truck had gone. I can hear a rumble coming out his chest. My jaw literally drops as he shimmers and shakes, and two seconds later, a huge, ginormous motherfucking wolf stands where Sam was.
"Holy shit," I gasp. This wolf is huge, like horse huge. His ears prick up; he looks toward where our van is, and I freeze. Then with a wave of his huge bushy tail, he bounds into the forest and disappears. You know, it really is amazing how accurate I have been about the supernatural creatures overrunning Forks.
"Solomon." I reach over and poke his shoulder. "Wake up. A werewolf just came by."
"Huh? What?" he says, pulling his hat off.
"Werewolf. Just took off thataway."
"Werewolf?" he asks, scratching his neck. "I thought we were doing vampires."
"We are, but apparently there're werewolves around here too."
"Well, I gotta charge extra if we're doing werewolves, too."
I don't have any more money to give him. "Okay. Maybe I can deal with the werewolves later. But we need to do something. We're getting nowhere just sitting here."
"All right," he says, firing up the van. "Let's go see if we can find the rest of these vampires."
We spend most of the day driving around town. We follow Jasper's Camaro when we come across it as he and Emmett hit the True Value hardware store. Solomon pulls the van over a bit down the street.
"That's two of them?" he asks as we sit in the van watching them cross the street towards the store.
"Yeah," I answer. "Jasper and Emmett. Emmett's the big one."
"They look pretty normal to me," he says skeptically.
"Of course they do. That's the whole idea; get everybody to accept you and then, bam!" I slap my fist into my hand. "The havoc begins."
We follow them when they leave the store, but we lose them in the mild traffic of Forks. Score one for the Camaro versus Solomon's bitching rig. Why is it the bad guys always get the coolest cars?
It isn't until the afternoon when we spy Emmett's jeep coming from the direction of Bella's house. "There they are," I say, spotting Edward and Bella in the front seat. "That's Emmett's jeep." I look over at Solomon. "This time we're gonna follow them all the way." No more of this crapping out and waiting, I decide. We've been doing that all day, and it hasn't gotten us anywhere.
They take a dirt road not far off of the highway. This time we creep up the road, pausing every now and then until we can't hear the jeep anymore, and then we park.
I get out of the van and look around. It's nearing dusk, and under the trees it's pretty dark. We can hear the far off booming and rumbling of thunder. Solomon gets out and goes to the back of the van, opens the door and grabs some items out of the back. When he closes the door, I can see he's got the picket fence stakes in his hand. It makes me swallow hard.
Solomon is obviously not a physical fitness enthusiast; twenty minutes into the hiking, he's sweating and starting to turn red. A few more minutes pass as we follow the trail, and he sits down on a log. "Hold on a minute, kid," he pants. "Give me a chance to catch my breath."
"Come on," I insist. "We're going to lose them."
His head is hanging down as he gasps for air. "Tell you what. Why don't you go scouting ahead and come back for me in a few minutes?"
"Okay," I agree, eager to catch up with Edward and Bella. "I'll be right back."
I follow the path up a bit. It seems like the thunder is getting closer. There are some sharp cracks of noise that don't seem to correspond with any lightning.
I'm getting closer to a large clearing; I can see the light start to grow beyond the tree line, and Emmett's jeep is parked nearby. I turn back to go tell Solomon, and I'm nearing where I left him when I hear some serious bush rattling. "Solomon?" I call. "You okay?" I ask, picking up speed.
"Oof. Ha! Stay back, Eric!" he calls from the center of a thicket. There's some loud grunting and then a couple sharp whacks. "I got one!"
Got one? I push through the bushes. There's one of those picket fence stakes in the ground, and it's covered by a puddle of ashes.
Solomon is wiping his forehead with his arm. "One of them attacked me. Lucky I had my stakes handy."
"What are you talking about?" I ask in utter confusion.
"A vampire came at me, so I staked it. See? It turned into ashes." He points at a grey pile on the ground.
It's getting pretty dark, but I bend down to look at the ashes. They're all grey and powdery, still settling in the light breeze that's ruffling the branches.
I glance up at him; he's standing with his hands on his hips. One of his hands is all gray, and there's a big lump in his pants pocket. I look back down at the ground. There's a freaking cigarette butt mixed in the ashes. "What the hell…?" I pick the butt up gingerly. Sure enough, it's a Camel.
I stand up. Suspicion washes over me. "What's in your pocket?"
"Listen, kid. I just saved you from a vampire."
"Shut up!" I yell. All of my frustrations and worry are coming to a head. "Show me what's in your pocket."
"Jesus, we've just been-"
"Stop it!" I roar. Finally, I've got his attention. He's standing and staring at me. "Your pocket. Now."
Shamefacedly, he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a crumpled, lunch-size, brown paper bag.
"Give that to me," I snarl and snatch it out of his hand. I look inside. It's obviously the remains of someone's ashtray, a dirt grey pile of ashes littered with cigarette butts.
"Hey, listen, I was just trying−," he starts placatingly.
"Just trying what? To con me? Christ!" I throw the bag of ashes on the ground in disgust. "What, do you think I'm joking around here?" What an asshole. I can't believe I paid two hundred dollars for this. "I've got fucking vampires running around my home town, and you're playing games?" I'm really shouting now.
He starts shouting back. "Of course, it's a game! What do you think-we're serious?"
"We better be! Vampires are running around Forks, and you're -"
"Grow up, kid. There's no such thing as vampires!"
I stare at him in utter disbelief and frustration. He hitches up his pants, which are on the verge of sliding down right off his legs, having long ago given up the fight to try to cover his massive belly. We glare at each other, caught in an impasse.
From behind my left shoulder, a silken, feminine voice carries. "What's all this talk about vampires?"
I whirl around. There's a woman I've never seen before standing at the crest of a nearby rise. She's got brilliant red hair, and she's barefoot. Even in the deepening dusk, I can see a flash of crimson in her eyes. She's pretty in a scary, feral kind of way. Her skin is pale and unmarked, but she's got twigs and bits of leaves stuck in her flame-colored hair. Her eyes hold all the mercy and empathy you'd see in the eyes of a jungle cat, which is to say, none. I'm so surprised I can't think of anything to say.
"What do we have here?" She takes a sniff, tasting the air. In the blink of an eye she moves from the top of the crest, which is maybe fifteen yards away, to right beside us. Solomon takes a step back, he is so shocked.
"Hunting vampires, huh?" she purrs, circling us. "How's that going for you?"
My instincts are screaming at me to run. This woman has taken the air of menace the Cullens try to hide and amped it up by a thousand. The hair on the back of my neck is standing straight up, and I can see Solomon's eyes are getting very wide. Maybe now he'll get a clue. She glances at me out of the side of her eyes as she passes behind Solomon, and her red eyes promise death. I have no doubt-this is a vampire. A really ferocious vampire. She looks Solomon up and down. "Mmm, juicy," she murmurs.
She moves instantaneously from our left to behind my right shoulder. She runs her nose just above the back of my shirt. "Fragrant," she whispers menacingly.
I have no idea what to do. I'm scared if I start running, her predator instincts will kick in, and she'll chase after me. What do the survivalists say? Attacked by bees? Run. By bears? Play dead. Nobody has any survival tips for encounters with vampires. Solomon obviously has no clue either. I can only hope as the bigger man, he'd be the more attractive meal. But then my heart sinks, because Solomon and attractive don't belong anywhere near each other.
From out of nowhere, Solomon pulls a gun. I don't know if it was in a pocket or his waistband, but his hand is shaking as he points it at the female. "You leave m-m-me alone," he stutters.
Leave me? Uh, I believe the polite thing to say would be, "leave us alone." I should be in fear for my life, but I can't even believe what a shithead this guy has turned out to be. At least maybe now he'll believe in freaking vampires.
"Oh, fatso," she says, shaking her head. "Go ahead and shoot."
"I will," he says, backing away. "I swear to God."
Fearlessly, she steps forward as he steps backward, pacing him. "Come on. I dare you."
With a grimace, he pulls the trigger and the gun goes off. I close my eyes and turn my head, afraid to look. The shot echoes in the forest, ringing through the trees, the fading to an eerie silence. I look up and nobody's moved. A wisp of smoke rises from the barrel of the gun. Then she turns her hand up, and in the palm of her hand is a bullet. She caught the fucking bullet.
A wicked, nasty smile spreads across her face like an oil stain. Her red eyes almost start to glow, and a rumbling, animalistic growl starts to emanate from her. Crouching like a tiger preparing to spring, she takes another step toward Solomon, who is now paralyzed in fear.
I, however, am totally pissed. Maybe it's because I've been threatened too often by vampires lately, but all this−it's like too much. When is it going to end? I'm just getting tired of these vampire games.
I pull the crucifix out of my shirt. "Hey, lady," I yell as she advances on Solomon, who is absolutely terrified. There is a wet stain growing in the crotch of his khakis.
I wave the crucifix at her. She straightens up from her crouch and looks at me. Her shoulders shake once, and then she giggles. I shake the crucifix again, and she starts giggling louder and louder. "Oh, you have got to be kidding," she says, laughing. It's the crucifix; I swear it's like laughing magic.
Suddenly, her head whips around. "Victoria!" a male voice calls sharply. A male with sandy-colored hair dressed in hiking clothes is standing on the rise. "What are you doing?" he barks. "She's going to get away. Let's go!" he demands.
She glances back at the rise, the merest shadow of resentment crossing her face. "Gotta run, boys. We've got a pet to catch," she whispers. Her face stretches in a crocodile smile. "Later." A moment later, they're both gone; the only trace of their passing is the swirling of leaves.
Gradually, the leaves settle to the ground. Solomon looks at me, dumbfounded. Useless. Absolutely useless. We've lost Edward and Bella's trail for sure. "Come on, let's get back to the van," I say, resigned to missing them again. "We should probably leave. Those two may be back."
Solomon jumps when I say they may be back, and then he starts running back towards the van, crashing through the bushes like a runaway bull. I take off after him, and it's easy to keep up despite the fact he's going as fast as he can. He starts huffing and puffing soon enough, but suddenly he slides, tripping over something on the ground and falls to the forest floor.
I go and grab his arm to help him up. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he pants. "I slipped in something." He looks back to his feet. That's when a wave of horrific odor rolls over us. His loafer is covered in the biggest pile of dog shit I have ever seen.
"What is that?" he says, horrified and finally smelling something worse than himself.
There's only one canine I've seen big enough to make a pile that big. "I'm pretty sure that's werewolf shit."
He looks at me with a wild look in his eyes, and I can tell he's a man on the edge. He gets up off the ground, and his shoe and shin are smeared with shit. He takes off again, jogging back to the van.
We arrive at the van, and he grabs a rag from the back, wiping his soiled leg before jumping in the driver's seat.
"So where to now?" I ask as I clamber in the passenger side.
"Shut up," he says. "Don't say a word." His face is stern and set.
Well, okay. We ride back to my parent's house in silence. He pulls up to the front door and says, "Get out."
He hasn't turned off the van. I open the door, slide out and pause. "Aren't you coming?" I ask with my hand on the door.
"I'm out of here," he says, shaking his head.
"Out of here?" I can't believe he's going to run. "You're supposed to help me get rid of the vampires."
"This is way too fucked up for me," he growls, shaking his head. "You're on your own."
"But−but I paid you two hundred dollars," I sputter.
"Forget it, kid." He takes a wad of cash out of his pocket and throws it at me. It flutters to the ground at my feet. "You need more help than I can give you."
"Coward," I mutter, slamming the door shut.
"Try the Vatican," he yells through the open window as he drives away.
Yeah, sure. I bet they're just waiting for my call. I pick up the wadded bills as his single tail light disappears down the driveway. I sigh as I turn toward the front door.
I don't think Van Helsing had to put up with this shit.
Thank you to all my readers and to my reviewers, bunches of flowers.
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2 Where I Begin My Stalking
- Chapter 3 Where I Gather Information
- Chapter 4 Where Secrets Are Revelaed
- Chapter 5 Where Games Are Played
- Chapter 6 Where I Am Confronted
- Chapter 7 Where The Battle Begins
- Chapter 8 Where Things Get Serious
- Chapter 9 Where I Attack
- Chapter 10 Where Allies Are Gained
- Chapter 11 Where We Make A Run For It
- Chapter 12 Where Oaths Are Taken
- Chapter 13 Epilgoue
- Author
- duskwatcher
- Rating
1 2 3 4 5
- Reviews
- 34
- Words
- 39930
- Views
- 1
- Published
- 09 Aug 10
- Updated
- 19 Dec 10
- Status
- Complete


text:
"I started Padme PT for 2 reasons...
Playing in several "old men's" leagues I have unfortunately become dependent upon physical therapy. What I have found is that Alicia is the Gold Standard when it comes to physical therapists. Her vast knowledge of anatomy and physiology coupled with her yoga expertise and lifestyle, allow her to deliver what I call a "holistic" approach to healing. Not just a list of exercises to do, but an informed plan to repair the damage and to prepare your mind and body for what's ahead. I can not recommend Alicia enough to anyone looking to feel better and to get back to living.
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