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The Godfather finds it bizarre. To yours truly, it's outright inconceivable that a genre-centric distributor such as Media Blasters would release THREE versions of this historic sequel with nary a phone call, e-mail or singing telegram to the very filmmaker whose name they so enthusiastically exploit. The return of Herschell Gordon Lewis after a 30-year absence from the slaughterhouse sinema he pioneered is, for rabid gorehounds, akin to a phoenix-like reemergence of Orson Welles to direct Rosebud's Revenge!!! Though surely Orson would've been afforded the requisite audio commentary on his "2-disc special edition" in which to regale we mortals with fanciful tales of the afterlife. Perhaps not, but without question the presumably extras-stuffed release would, at the very least, boast more than a passing nod to the original flick's unique place in movie history! Maybe even a filmography? Well, no, given Media Blasters' ham-handed handling of Herschell's latest, Orson would likely rate the same -- and that's BUPKIS!!!
[Deep breath.] Alrighty, do let me momentarily clamber down from this sniper's nest and sponge the bile-tinged foam from my mouth as decorum dictates my outrage be shelved long enough to properly herald a gooey dream come true for this and countless other horror fiends: a Blood Feast sequel unspooling right in our living rooms! GORY, GORY HALLELUJAH!!!
Ol' Fuad must've found time for an ice cream social or two outside his hobby of hacking up nubiles to appease the Egyptian, er, make that Babylonian goddess Ishtar, because now his GRANDSON has returned to reopen the exotic catering biz unaware of the shop's sinister past. Yet no sooner than the last board is removed from the windows, young Fuad Ramses III (J.P. Delahoussaye) fatefully switches on the whorishly hypnotic red light of Ishtar's supply room haunt and instantaneously succumbs to the family bloodlust. He too must prepare a feast. He too must brain as many babes as possible. He too must overact and drag his bum leg like the Elephant Man. Fortunately, Fuad's just landed the Lampley wedding and little Miss Tiffani (Toni Wynne) being the tasty little bride-to-be she is, naturally has a gaggle of equally delish maids of honor. All of whom are, uh huh, ON THE MENU!!! Hence the whole goldang point of this nostalgic exercise where silicon special FX are solely for Lacie Hundies' bodacious bosom. As many well know, the Godfather of Gore's time-honored gospel demands the nearest slaughterhouse be raided for a ghastly array of near-rancid entrails to be wrenched from these poor lovelies -- usually by slapstick aid of random kitchen utensils in this misadventure. A corkscrew to remove coed brain matter. A melon baller to pop peepers out. An electric carving knife to, um, well y'all get the idea. It's these comically outrageous eruptions of divine grue that'll reacquaint CineSchlockers with the H.G. Lewis of yon.
Although, even to such an unapologetic disciple as myself, the flick's sum total doesn't land comfortably within the Lewis lexicon. Despite its tumbled technical edges, the swoopy dolly shots and other haughty production miscues fail to honor the raucous run 'n' gun aesthetics of the original and its classic exploitation siblings. Then there's the script rife with dicey Zucker Brothers schtick such as a migratory corpse (played by investor Chris Mauer), an impromptu weather report, zany sound effects and an exhausting running bit involving a gluttonous detective (John McConnell) which crescendos with his puke-worthy tongue lashing of a cruller.
Melissa Morgan's ingenious performance as the deliciously self-absorbed Mrs. Lampley is really the only character, including Fuad, that'd easily survive the three-to-four-decade time warp into any of Herschell's previous movies. Whilst costars seem content to playact in a cartoon, she creates comedy through winkless bitchery. However post-production subtlety busters apparently sought to rectify her oversight by overdubbing a juvenile "SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!" stinger whenever Lampley enters frame. So beyond the glorious grue, the historic reteaming of Lewis and exploiteer David F. Friedman, the fan-friendly Blood Feast riffs and Ms. Morgan's welcome contribution, what else is there for CineSchlockers to revel in? How about final-reel savior John Waters' cameo as a priest on the prowl!?! That, dear readers, oughta curl your pencil mustaches!
12 breasts. 12 corpses. One dead cat. Chloroforming. Puking. Slow-mo lingerie party. Nose mining. Decapitation. Hammy Hamlet quotation. Wriggling maggots. Sapphic massage. Bloody organ fondling. Arm in a meat grinder AND a garbage disposal. Self gratification. Excessive feasting. Drooling. Suggestive crosswords. Throat slashing. Gratuitous "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game. Amazing redhead-to-blonde transformation. Gratuitous shower scene. One jail break. Multiple "Emeril" refs. Brainpan whittling. Arterial high five. Multiple disembowelments.
Huzzah to first-time screenwriter W. Boyd Ford for exercising the good sense to have Misty Morning squeal: "Hey! You just HAVE to see the new bra I got yesterday!" J.P. very nearly out emotes a bug-eyed Mal Arnold with: "I don't need you to SERVE appetizers. I need you to B-E-E-E-E-E appetizers!!!" Detective Loomis has an eye for detail: "Well, without a real autopsy, I'd say the cause of death is this corkscrew stuck in her ear." Mark McLaughlan shamelessly channels Deputy Fife: "Don't play coy with me Ramses! We know what you're up to! Harvesting human organs for the black market! SAVAGE! FIEND! WE'RE GONNA NAIL YOUR HIDE TO THE WALL!!!" However the flick's funniest moment is thanks to the Pope of Trash's attempt to recruit a pair of kindercare altar boys: "Hi, kids! Do you know what HELL is? ... Well, it's where bad little boys go. Do you want to go there? ... Then you should always hang around with priests!!!"
OK, see the flick, it's a gas! Yada. Yada. Now it's time for that furrowed brow again. "One source of outrage: I see several websites advertising 'The Director's Cut,' " Mr. Lewis tells me. "I had no involvement with any cutting and, in fact, have objected to several overlong scenes (one in which a girl wearing only part of a towel climbs stairs, to no purpose), lack of necessary repulsive death/strangulation noises accompanying the gore sequences, the final scene's lack of a zoom into Ishtar's severed head and the omission of one scene I specifically had asked to be included." Thankfully, Media Blasters who had indeed touted Release No. 2 as such, did have the foresight to rechristen this incarnation simply "Uncut" before it hit shelves.
"I also object to releasing Blood Feast 2 direct to video after shooting in 35mm color," Herschell continues. "Had we shot digitally, we could have had two cameras as well as the tool I missed most, a zoom lens." While it'd been a treat to see the flick in wide theatrical distribution, what's more tragic is this crude transfer that degrades the original 35mm so severely that it could easily be confused for a desktop digital production. From its acquisition announcement to its retailer pitches, Media Blasters promised the flick would be presented in anamorphic widescreen, yet only trotted out letterbox with an equally dodgy soundtrack. (No fault of crooners Southern Culture on the Skids, of course, but would it have killed 'em to make with a little more of Blood Feast's kettle drum?)
Anyway, we gorehounds gotta have this movie, right? Forget Blockbuster-aimed Release No. 1 with its R-rated cut and appalling cover art. The single-disc, Uncut Release No. 2 is the only recommended option, because Release No. 3's dubiously-appointed, hardly "special" edition barely warrants a rental. All three releases feature the Lewis teaser trailer, production photos (without captions) and reels for other titles including an extensive ode to Media Blasters' first in-house feature, Flesh for the Beast, plainly illustrating they really CAN produce high-quality extras when they wanna.
Despite its adornment with a SPECTACULAR illustration by Gary Pullin that brilliantly recalls the original Blood Feast poster, the little black hearts of CineSchlockers will sink when they crack open their two-disc sets to have the second "special features" disc tumble out in a plain paper sleeve. The greater indignity? The content! Barely 30 minutes in all and woefully unworthy of the $10 price hike. Probably best among the lousy lot is the fleeting "Behind the Gore" reel that wobbles a video camera in the general direction of FX slingers Joe Castro and Johnathan Thornton. The 12-minute "Behind the Scenes" featurette, epic by comparison, dwells much too much on periphery players and crew members who have little to say. Probably by shear accident, there IS some amusing footage of Mr. Waters rehearsing with those aforementioned kiddos. Two deleted, or more accurately, "extended" scenes are included. One featuring that extra zinger Mr. Lewis wanted. As for what he didn't, there's a stag-reel easter egg that regurgitates all the flick's flesh. And finally, "On Set with Herschell Gordon Lewis" provides an ocassionally audible and all-too-brief glimpse at the man himself in action -- look even closer and you'll see yours truly in an enraptured state. My mood at the time of this writing is decidedly different given the poor performance of the distributor whose website promised a proper special edition tribute right up to their street date, yet delivered only disappointment. "I admit I'm getting worked up over this, because it strikes me as bizarre that Media Blasters never bothered to contact me," Mr. Lewis confides. "I'll just hope to one day make Grim Fairy Tales and do it my way." (2002, 99 mins [Uncut], 1.85:1, DD 2.0, Deleted scenes, Featurettes, Photos, Trailers.)
G. Noel Gross is a Dallas graphic designer and avowed Drive-In Mutant who specializes in scribbling B-movie reviews. Noel is inspired by Joe Bob Briggs and his gospel of blood, breasts and beasts.


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Set Up to Fail: A History of Movies That Debuted Against Blockbusters
As you may have heard — if you have watched a television, been to a movie, visited a website, or looked at the side of a bus in the past two months — there's a motion picture coming out tomorrow called The Avengers, and it is expected to be quite the big hit. What you might not be aware of this that there are two other movies hitting multiplexes this weekend: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a comedy/drama from Shakespeare in Love director John Madden (no, not that John Madden) featuring the Anglophile wet-dream cast of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, and Bill Nighy; and something called A Little Bit of Heaven, a romantic comedy in which Kate Hudson has cancer, Peter Dinklage is a male prostitute, and Whoopi Goldberg is God. No, seriously.
Those two films could be most diplomatically deemed "counter-programming," that old Hollywood notion of putting out movies designed to appeal to audiences far different from those of the big blockbusters. The problem is, a movie like The Avengers defies counter-programming; it's a movie that cuts across demos and marketing quadrants. Everybody wants to see that movie. (I, for one, know far more young women who are interested in seeing The Avengers than another goddamn Kate Hudson movie.) What you often end up with instead are kamikaze movies — films whose release opposite a major, hype-driven blockbuster indicates a competing studio is just giving up and burning off a movie that they have to release sometime (maybe even for contractual reasons), so this is as good a time as any.
There's a long, strange history to be found in tracking the movies that opened against the sure things; we'll take a look at a few prime examples after the jump.
THE DATE: May 27, 1977
THE BLOCKBUSTER: Smokey and the Bandit
THE COUNTER-PROGRAMMING: Star Wars
THE RESULTS: Believe it or not, the movie to beat on Memorial Day weekend, 1977 was Smokey and the Bandit, the country-fried truck-and-cops action/comedy from director Hal Needham and star Burt Reynolds. Smokey was opening in over 300 theaters on Friday, May 27th — a pretty puny number by today's standards, but a flashy wide release for 1977. 20th Century Fox didn't have anywhere near that many lined up for Star Wars, a sci-fi space opera from the director of American Graffiti; to try to get a little bit of a jump on Burt, they moved the release up two days, to Wednesday, May 25. Star Wars opened in 32 theaters that Wednesday, with a few more screens added Thursday and Friday for a total opening weekend engagement in 43 theaters. The most high-profile of those, Mann's Chinese, was only booked because William Friedkin's Sorcerer, originally slated to open that weekend, was pushed back a month to complete post-production. But Star Wars, as you well know, became the weekend's runaway, word-of-mouth #1 hit; lines went around the block, more screens were added by the handful, and it ended up becoming the year's biggest hit, with over $300 million in box office. (The Chinese famously kicked it out after a month to honor the Sorcerer booking, but that film tanked and Star Wars returned to the theater for nearly a year.) But Smokey didn't exactly suffer; it was the year's fourth-highest grosser, bringing in over $125 million and begetting two sequels.

subset: commoncrawl


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Can you believe it's been 202 years since the marriage of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen? While you weren't invited to the wedding, the anniversary is better known today as Oktoberfest. About 6 million people will fill the tents and bierhalles of Munich between Sept. 22 and Oct. 7. And to wash down all that Schweinshaxe, they'll consume about 7 million liters of beer. But good luck finding a plane ticket for under a grand. Fortunately, there are many festive Oktoberfests across the United States.
The way to celebrate Oktoberfest is with German or German-style Festbiers—Märzen-style lagers marked by toasty maltiness with lingering Noble hops—but anywhere you celebrate will have some local beers. So don your lederhosen or your dirndl and don't leave your kinder at home because Oktoberfest is a family affair. After enjoying a few liters in the sun, you'll be doing the chicken dance with gusto or very possibly with Gustav.
Cincinnati, OH
Cincy is almost as much northern Kentucky as it is southern Ohio, but it's all very German, which explains why it's home to the single largest Oktoberfest celebration in America, attracting more than 500,000 people. Then again, that's only one of a dozen celebrations in the area, including many church-sponsored events, according to Chris Nascimento, president of the Cincinnati Malt Infusers, one of two such large area beer clubs. The other is the Bloatarian Brewing League, one of the country's oldest homebrew clubs, founded in 1986 by Ray Spangler, whose college roommate and brewing buddy is Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer. Bloatarianism is said to have started as a religion, which is fitting since beer is practically its own religion in Cincy. As is Cincinnati chili, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Locals almost dogmatically stick to German-style beers, though some heretics have seen the light (or rather pale, amber, and dark) of American craft beer. The first name in brewing is Christian Moerlein, dating back to 1853. Though it didn't survive Prohibition, the brand was revived by Hudepohl Brewing and its successors until a revitalized Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. was formed in 2004 in the original brewery district, Over-the-Rhine (OTR). The company also makes heritage brands such as Hudy Delight and Little Kings Cream Ale as well as craft brands such as OTR Pale Ale and, of course, a Märzen called Fifth and Vine.
One of the buildings used to brew Hudepohl later was used to brew Samuel Adams Boston Lager under contract. It is now owned by the Boston Beer Co. Owner Jim Koch is a native son, but apparently Samuel Adams Cincinnati Lager didn't have the same verve. No public tours or a tasting room is offered.
The newly opened Moerlein Lager House (115 Joe Nuxhall Way) is no mere brewpub. It is a complex of about 25,000 square feet on the banks of the Ohio River that owner Greg Hardman says will become the largest-grossing brewpub in the United States. It features a biergarten rivaled by few and a beer menu that delves far deeper than its own house brands.
In Newport, KY, Munich's Hofbräuhaus (200 E. 3rd St.) opened its first American outpost and has found a large following. There's room for 250 inside the bier-halle and an additional 400 revelers in the biergarten with an ideal view of the Cincy skyline. Look for the classics in terms of beer and cuisine, including a nightly oompah band.
On the opposite end of the brewing scale is Rivertown Brewing (607 Shepherd Drive #6), 12 miles north in Lockland. Ohio Breweries author Rick Armon says that Jason Roeper and Randy Schiltz (clearly not of the Schlitz beer baron family) founded the brewery in 2009. He says the two "had aspirations to open a brewpub. … They ended up scaling back (their) plans after banks and the Small Business Administration questioned why they wanted to get into the food business since they didn't have previous restaurant experience. Instead, they decided to focus just on their passion: beer." The brewery straddles the line between catering to local tastes with Bavarian lagers such as a Helles and Oktoberfest and brewing plenty of super hoppy ales. Armon's pick is The Hop Bomber Pale Ale "with a spicy finish because of the use of rye malt." There is Hop Baron Double IPA, and even a limited release called Pestilence, a sour brown ale with hibiscus petals. Look for these beers in bottles at specialty stores such as The Party Source (95 Riviera Drive, Bellevue, KY), just south of the Ohio River. The selection of craft beers is astounding. "What's more impressive is that the store sells growlers and offers regular beer tastings," Armon says.
You'll also find Rivertown on draft at The Lackman (1237 Vine St.), where it is one of the 14 rotating taps in addition to at least 30 bottled offerings from the region and beyond. As for other beer bars, Fries Café (3247 Jefferson Ave.) is in the Clifton neighborhood next to the University of Cincinnati. Part beer garden, part homey backyard, it's a hit with beer geeks and students.
Adjacent to Xavier University is Listermann Brewery Supply and Brewing Co. (1621 Dana Ave.). Owner Dan Listermann is a man of interesting hobbies, from taking up homebrewing in 1973 to raising racing pigeons. On my visit, he asked if the brewery was the filthiest I'd ever seen. He took the affirmative response as a point of pride. So visit to try the beer if you must because he does zero distribution, but don't miss the keginal (a keg fashioned into a urinal).
Mt. Carmel Brewing is a former farmhouse in Mount Carmel, considered part of East Cincinnati. Rather than farmhouse-style beers, it makes clean beers such as blond and amber ales. Mike Dewey and his wife, Kathleen, have moved out of their house, leaving the brewery in an otherwise residential neighborhood, and have hired a full-time brewer in Mike Arnold. Armon recommends trying the Nut Brown Ale, widely available in local stores.
Locals are proud to support local and are generally fiercely local to their favorite chili parlor. Cincinnati chili is a specialty akin to red or green chile (with an E) in New Mexico. It consists of meaty chili spiced with cinnamon and other sweet flavors such as allspice or chocolate, then ladled over spaghetti or coneys (don't call 'em chili dogs). No visit is complete without conducting your own taste test at fast food chains such as Skyline (about 200 locations), Gold Star (nearly 100 locations), and Dixie (few stores in northern Kentucky). Three-way chili has shredded cheese on top, but it's possible to find up to seven-way, adding items such as beans, onions, oyster crackers and garlic.
For upscale dining, head to Teller's of Hyde Park (2710 Erie Ave.). The Brown Ale Braised Pork Shank pairs nicely with German classics such as Schneider Aventinus Weizenbock or local treats such as Rockmill Brewing's Tripel from Lancaster, near Columbus, OH.
Another institution is Graeter's Ice Cream. Scoop shops abound, and flavors such as Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip feature distinct dark chocolate chunks. The shops also make great floats. So, say you're staying at The Cincinnatian Hotel (601 Vine St.) in the central business district less than a mile from OTR, you can pick up a pint of ice cream from the Graeter's at 511 Walnut St., then a growler of stout or porter from the Rock Bottom Brewery (10 Fountain Square) a block away, before walking back to your room, just one block farther.
New Ulm, MN
Cities such as Cincinnati and Milwaukee have larger German-American populations, but tiny New Ulm—population 13,500—is the most German city in America per capita based on the U.S. Census. It's so German that it supports two Oktoberfests simultaneously. One is a ticketed event at the Holiday Inn, and the other is downtown and free. But it's not the biggest event in this rural town. That accomplishment belongs to Bock Fest at the August Schell Brewing Co., America's second-oldest surviving brewery founded in 1860 and still in the hands of Schell's fifth- and sixth-generation descendents.
In an age when most production breweries are in nondescript business parks, a visit to the August Schell Brewery (1860 Schell's Road) begins with a stroll through the gardens with peacocks strutting around next to a large pen with deer reportedly descended from the same line that August kept, the inspiration behind its Deer Brand beer. While there's great history here, the hospitality center is new, though some of the memorabilia housed inside are quite old. Of course, visiting in the fall demands drinking Oktoberfest, while visits in the winter call for drinking the bock. In fact, try it "poked." Having a red hot iron poker placed in your winter lager warms it, creates caramelized malts and adds a smoky flavor you're not likely to find anywhere outside the fest.
Terry Sveine is a native New Ulmer and the Convention and Visitor's Bureau manager. He says that New Ulm—founded as a German utopia that didn't establish an English-language newspaper until after World War I—is home to Turner Hall (102 S. State St.).
"The Turner movement started in Germany," Sveine says. Promoting the concept of "sound mind, sound body and general good German fellowship," the Rathskeller is Minnesota's oldest bar. Today, diners and imbibers can enjoy Gemütlichkeit ( a sense of coziness) while gazing at 19th century murals of Old World scenes. Turner Hall remains the epicenter of social and business activity for the town.
Proffering an authentic German cuisine is Otto's Feierhaüs & Bierstube (2101 S. Broadway St.). It is tucked into the Holiday Inn but operated separately. When Sveine last visited, he enjoyed the Landjäger, a tasty wurst made from pork and beef. If you're hungrier and feeling old school, try the Hasenpfeffer, rabbit braised with spices in red wine and fruit, practically a mainstay of the German-American diet before World War I. Otto's serves it with sweet and sour cabbage and housemade spätzle.
Veigel's Kaiserhoff (221 N. Minnesota St.) is another institution that has been here since 1938 and features a broad menu heavy on German classics such as Jägerschnitzel, or just go for the Stout Burger. Either way, order the sauerkraut balls to start. Schell's beers are served, but so are wines from Morgan Creek Vineyards, the local winery started by one of August Schell's other great-great-grandsons. It makes some German-style wines such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer. And for the kinder, the restaurant carries the Ulmer Brewing Co.'s soda, contract brewed at the Schell Brewery.
Pop directly behind the Kaiserhoff for an after-dinner brew at the Pub and Patio (225 N. Minnesota St.), which has a gorgeous back bar about 100 years old made by Brunswick of billiard table fame. Across the street is The Lamplighter (214 N. Minnesota St.) for a family-friendly atmosphere. All these bars are hospitable to locals and visitors alike. Sveine adds to the list Rodney's Tavern (6 S. Minnesota St.).
One of downtown's main attractions is the 45-foot-tall glockenspiel that plays daily at noon, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Three blocks away is the B&L Bar (15 N. Minnesota St.), operating as a saloon since 1897, although it served only near beer during Prohibition. Schell's is rumored to have made that near beer.
When it comes time to go schluffen, rest your weary head at the Holiday Inn (2101 S. Broadway St.). Those who seek unique accommodations may balk at the idea, but the host of the town's original Oktoberfest boasts German-themed décor and fills up quickly (see sidebar for details). For more down-home lodging, the Deutsche Strasse (404 S. German St.) is a B&B perfectly named for the street it's on. Old-world hospitality with delicious breakfasts included can be enjoyed a four-block walk from downtown.
Though New Ulm is understandably dominated by Schell's, consider visiting comparatively off-the-beaten-path breweries in the area. If driving, check out Worth Brewing just below the state line in Northwood, IA (826 Central Ave.) run by the husband-and-wife team of Peter Ausenhus and Margaret Bishop, a fifth-generation brewing family. Their Herminator Dunkelweizenbock should be ready before the fest. Brand new is Okoboji Brewing, in Spirit Lake, IA, a destination only the most ardent beer traveler can claim to have visited. Another new brewery, Heist Brewing in Brookings, is one of South Dakota's few craft breweries. Unlike the Germanic beers in New Ulm, these New World brewers make beers such as Tea Off, similar to a Witbier with green tea added. On your way back to New Ulm, be sure to detour to Lucan, MN, population 191, home of Brau Brothers Brewing, which features a hopyard and estate barley field.
San Luis Obispo County, California
While German immigrants settled everywhere in the United States, their influence was less west of the Mississippi, which may be why Germanic traditions there seem to take on multicultural flair. By the time they reach California, anything goes. Firestone-Walker Brewing Co., the largest brewery in Central California, throws a festival with some authentic events and some that would be less recognizable to Prince Ludwig and his bride. The region is dominated by vineyards and wineries where the Firestone-Walker Brewery developed as an outgrowth of the Firestone Winery. The brewery features traditional British ales employing oak barrel fermentation, so the party is called Oaktoberfest.
Firestone-Walker's production facility is in Paso Robles (1400 Ramada Drive), 30 miles north of San Luis Obispo. The company just opened a restaurant adjacent to the brewery that focuses on fresh and local fare, specializing in grilled meats and pizzas that perfectly pair with its beers. San Luis Obispo is halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles (10 miles inland from Pismo Beach) on Highway 101, one of the most gorgeous scenic highways in America, especially when it overlaps with Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. The Firestone Taproom, the original brewpub, is 60 miles south of San Luis Obispo in Buellton (620 McMurray Road), just north of Santa Barbara. Brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker founded the brewery in 1996. Considering the brewery has earned dozens of medals at the Great American Beer Fest and World Beer Cup combined, brewmaster Matthew Brynildson has earned a reputation as master of the pale ale (Double Barrel Ale, Pale 31, and Union Jack IPA), which makes their autumn festival occasion far hoppier than is traditional. But they do roll out barrels of Märzen lager promotionally called Oaktoberfest.
This being the West Coast, Dave Louw, who is active with the San Luis Obispo Brewers (SLOB) homebrew club, lists a few new, smaller breweries in the Central Coast. In Buellton is Figueroa Mountain Brewing (45 Industrial Way in Buellton), which Louw recommends
Many of their beers are in the West Coast pale ale style, but look for their Danish Red Lager to keep the Oktoberfest bier theme going. In San Luis Obispo proper, Creekside Brewing (1040 Broad St.) is where Louw enjoys the Double Dark Stout and Bird of Prey IPA. House beers go into many of the brewpub's dishes from its Rosemary and Ale Porkchop to the classic Creekside Stout Burger (topped with double-smoked bacon). Nearly 30 miles west of Paso Robles over a fun, mountainous drive along Highway 46, is Cambria Brewing in the quiet beach town for which it's named. When you visit, make sure to check out the elephant seals along the beach, as well as Hearst Castle a few minutes away in San Simeon. Built by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, the Castle includes a zoo with zebras roaming the hillsides.
As for tap houses in the area, Louw recommends The Pour House (1331 Vendels Circle, Paso Robles). Tucked away behind the Firestone brewery and Spike's Pub (570 Higuera St., SLO), it has a wide selection of beer and some pub food choices. If you want to pair food with local brews, pop into Eureka Burger (1141 Chorro St.) just three blocks from Spike's, with excellent gourmet burgers and a great selection of beers and bourbons, Louw's personal favorite is the Jalapeño Egg Burger washed down with a Fire-stone Union Jack IPA. For a more romantic setting including patio dining creekside, Louw recommends Novo (726 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo). While the farm-to-table California cuisine restaurant has a multi-page wine menu, the beer list is no afterthought. Come morning, The Breakfast Buzz (295 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo) is the place to soak up the alcohol. It prepares awesome breakfast burritos at good prices.
Remember, this is the Oktoberfest option for the nontraditionalist. When leaving the Old World behind and going west, young man or woman, head as far west as possible. Forgo the bratwursts for some tacos, Cali-fusion style, at Taco Temple (2680 Main St., Morro Bay) where the Pacific Coast Highway returns to the beach. Louw says the beer selection is small but good. Up the coast is Cayucos, an excellent spot for surfing, picnics and running. If your family vacation includes Fido, it's a dog-friendly stretch of beach. Oktoberfest may welcome the onset of autumn, but here you can enjoy the endless summer.
Brian Yaeger
Brian Yaeger is the author of Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey.


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"We cannot stress enough how important is to understand that the physical condition of a book – how worn or, hopefully, unworn it is – has a large impact on its value. In real estate, it may be 'location, location, location'; in book collecting it is 'condition, condition, condition.'" - Allen & Patricia Ahearn – Preface to Collected Books (4th edition, 2011)
The most important thing to remember when estimating the value of your books is that condition is everything.
When it comes to price, a book that might be worth $500 in fine condition can be nearly worthless in fair or poor condition. It's also important to note that just because a book might be old does not mean it is worth any significant amount. The 150-year-old bible that has been passed down through your family might be a cherished family heirloom (and so it should be) but to a book dealer or collector it will be just another well-thumbed book.
When you do decide to put a value on your collection, you should ask yourself why you are doing this? Is it for fun, to sell the books, or for insurance purposes? There are several different ways find this information.
How much is my old book worth? › Play Video
The Internet is a powerful tool for the book-buyer. You can browse the offerings of thousands of booksellers from around the world and gain insight into pricing for particular books and editions – and do in seconds. On AbeBooks, the advanced search is a wonderful method for obtaining rough estimates.
However when it comes to placing a value on a book that you own, you should be careful when browsing Internet listings. The most important thing to remember is that when you run a search on AbeBooks (or any other site for that matter) the books you are seeing are those that are on offer but have not been purchased. Just because a book is listed for $4,000 does not necessarily mean that it will eventually sell for that amount.
The Internet marketplaces for rare books are a grand way to obtain a rough estimate. Try to match your copy as accurately as possible to the copy in your collection. Please remember that prices do rise and fall, according to popularity, demand, scarcity, trends within collecting and even the foreign exchange market.
A professional book appraiser is a rare book specialist, probably a bookseller, who is well versed in the pricing of rare books. An appraiser can be hired to deliver an unbiased recommendation as to the expected replacement cost of your book(s) or the fair market value for selling your books. Most often an appraiser is hired to assess the value of a book or collection for insurance, or for tax purposes during probate or judging the value of an estate, or sometimes a collector wants an accurate assessment of what their books are worth. It should be noted that taking your books to a book dealer is not the same as hiring an appraiser. An appraiser is bound to give you their best estimate as to the fair market value rather than what they would pay for said book. AbeBooks has a list of recommended book appraisers.
Catalogs and lists of items sold at auction or sales are published from time to time. For a collector looking to value their books, without the aid of an appraiser, tracking the prices paid for their particular volume over a recent time period is probably the best way to estimate a book's value. A good online resource for auction lists and a price database is the AmericanaExchange.com which has over 3 million auction records for books and ephemera. Sotheby's also publishes the selling prices after major auctions.


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A thorough inspection of your race car and all of its major components is a great way to prepare for the second half of your race season.
Let's face it. Parts break, parts wear our, and we can easily overlook minute issues that can turn into big problems down the road–especially in the harsh environment of a racetrack. What started as a near-perfect race car, suspension component(s), or chassis setup can quickly become just the opposite as wheel-to-wheel racing can wreak havoc on our cars. On the other hand, what started as good race car can slowly change over the course of a drama-free race season, and with so many parts working together dynamically, diagnosing a problem can become frustrating and time consuming.
The halfway point of the race season is a great time to give the chassis and suspension of your race car a good onceover. We know the majority of racers are in tune with their race cars and have their hands on the major components on a regular basis. But a solid inspection and some preventative maintenance can go a long way–especially in the second half of a season when you're chasing a championship.
Preventative maintenance is extremely important for a number of reasons. Catching issues early can help you avoid problems on track, and in many cases can be much less expensive and time consuming to fix before it turns into big problems. Another benefit is a more thorough knowledge of your race car. The more familiar you are with your chassis and suspension, the easier it will be to locate and identify problems that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
Over the next few pages, we are going to cover 10 of the most important parts of the chassis and suspension to inspect and service around the mid-season point. Much of what we are going to talk about works together, and can be the difference between a properly and ill handling race car.
Shocks are an extremely important component to any race car. They control the distribution of loads as the chassis adjusts to load transfer. Over the course of one short feature, shocks perform an incredible amount of work–especially if you consider how much most race cars weigh. As a shock cycles, it also creates heat, which can shorten the life of seals and oil's viscosity, effectively changing the shock rate.
After a thorough cleaning, inspect all four shocks for leaks, bent shafts, and internal damage. Cycle the shocks to ensure operation is smooth and have them dyno'ed if possible. Setup changes over the course of the season can affect not only what shock rates are needed, but could requre a different shock package.
To complete the inspection, check the shock mounts on the A-arm and the chassis for any bent tabs, and cracked welds. The shocks handle a lot of weight. Bent and cracked mounts are very common. Again, a good cleaning may expose a problem that was hidden by a little dirt build-up from being on track.
A thorough inspection of your race car and all of its major components is a great way to prepare for the second half of your race season
Roll/Moment Center
Roll Center or Moment Center is one of those unseen things that can negatively affect a race car, when everything else looks right. Checking to ensure roll center hasn't changed is extremely important, especially because changing ball joints, installing new length control arms, installing new spindles (they are not all the same height usually, even if they are stamped the same), and use of different tires with different circumferences (this changes all of the chassis mounting point heights) will all change the roll centers.
If adjustments need to be made at this point, go back and recheck your bumpsteer and toe settings after getting the roll center where it needs to be. Changes in control arm lengths and angles affect the arc on which the ball joint travels, and that affects the bumpsteer.
In reality, your alignment should be checked before every race. At the very minimum, you should be checking caster, camber, and toe weekly. As part of a mid-season refresh, or anytime you change any front or rear suspension components, the alignment needs to be verified.
Verify that the alignment is where is should be. This includes Ackermann, bumpsteer (could have changed with caster changes or spindle changes), rearend alignment and rear steer (trailing arm angles), and toe (front and rear). With so many moving parts in both the front and rear suspension, it isn't uncommon for tolerances to change, parts to move, and alignment specs to change. Slight alignment changes can make huge handling differences on track, and that could be the difference between winning and losing.
A-arms, like any other link connecting the chassis to the wheels, usually see large amounts of load. These links, especially ones that change dynamically during the course of a race, take a beating. The arms themselves, plus the mounting points, and the spindles are all susceptible to wear from normal use. Visual inspections will usually uncover any issues, but slight bends might not be noticeable to the naked eye. Make sure none of the arms are bent or damaged, and with them removed, check for cracks in the welds and ball joint straps, and check for rust. A build up of dirt can cause rust to weaken the material. Make sure the bushings are free and the arms move freely before reinstalling the arms.
Rod Ends
Rod ends can almost be looked at as wear items, like brakes or tires. Although brakes and tires wear out at a much quicker rate, rod ends directly transfer high loads, and take tons of abuse on a regular basis. Add a dirty, unfriendly environment to the mix, and the rate at which performance degrades increases. All of your rod ends should be cleaned and greased on a regular basis. While cleaning, you should check for smooth operation with no wear. Check for cracks in female ends and bent male ends, clearance and excessive wear, and cracks in aluminum ends (your not really using aluminum rod ends are you?)
Braking systems see a ton of torture to say the least. In short-track racing, brakes see the most heat and abuse of all the systems in most race cars. Besides brake pads, which wear over time, heat can damage piston seals causing leaks, and cooked fluid, which reduces performance. Inspecting for issues before they become serious problems is huge–the last thing anyone wants is to drive into a corner and find out they have no brakes. A thorough inspection includes checking seals, pads, fluid, and caliper alignment. Brake fluid should be replaced fairly often, as moisture build up is common, and excessive heat for long periods of time breaks fluid down. Rotors and calipers should be checked thoroughly also. Check rotors for deep cracks, excessive wear, and warping. Improper caliper alignment can cause damage to the caliper, and if damage is present, said caliper should be replaced.
Steering System
Any time there are moving parts, wear can be an issue, and there are a lot of moving parts in a race car's steering system. It is very important to inspect these moving parts (steering box, tie rods, drag link, idler arm, spindles, or rack-and-pinion if your car runs this style of steering), as almost any damage can decrease steering ability. Check for slop. Loose steering can be a good sign that something in the system isn't right. Check the seals for leaks, idler arm bushings on drag link systems for wear, and look for bent drag link components. Once everything is checked and reassembled, run the steering through its entire range of motion. Look and feel for any tight or dead spots, and ensure the steering is smooth through its entire range of motion in both directions.
The driving force of your race car is something that needs to be taken care of. The rearend sees many different forces as a car goes around the track. Engine torque is transferred to the rear wheel through the rearend, loads are shifted to the chassis through the rearend, and the weight of the car sits (literally) on top of it. Many times in wheel to wheel racing, the rearend can be damaged, and it may be minor enough that there is no visible damage, but over time, small amounts of damage can turn into big issues. When you have the opportunity to inspect the rearend of your race car, check the seals for any leaks, replace the gear oil, and check the axle tube to ensure nothing is bent. The internals are just as important. Check the pinion for play, check and/or replace springs in locker-type rearends, check the ring gear and pinion gear for wear, and look for bent or worn axles. Once your inspection is complete, check for worn lug nuts and studs (especially if your series has pit stops).
Check your springs for any height change from the start of the season. Although the tensile strength of the spring's material won't change, the height of the spring can change due to the constant weight of the car resting on it. This height change can affect the setup, as roll centers, corner weights, and ride height will all be affected. Beyond the height, check for bent springs and signs of coil binding, rubbing on shocks for coilovers, and incorrect mounts that contact additional coils on big springs. Note: Springs don't lose rate, they can lose height and that might increase the rate. The reduction of height with the same number of coils brings the coils closer together, which can add to the advertised spring rate.
Tying It Together
Preventative maintenance is important. The more time you spend examining the car and its components, the more familiar you'll be with it and the easier it'll be to spot problem. In most cases, small problems can turn into larger, more expensive ones, and catching them early can save you time and money, and many times will result in less part failures on track. Clean and inspect your car often, it's an important step on your way to the winner's circle!
There's no denying your chassis has a rough life. This is why it's important to inspect it regularly. Hard racing, bumpy tracks, even being strapped down in the trailer can cause bends and stress cracks that might not be easy to find. This is why checking the welds at the pick up points is extremely important. Once you've inspected everything, string chassis and measure for any changes–especially if you've been involved in any wrecks. Do a complete chassis alignment with strings or lasers to ensure the front or rear clip has not moved. What may have seemed like a light hit can cause large amounts of damage.


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Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet are
failing to comply with European laws that ban pre-checked boxes on
websites that sell flight tickets. New rules provide that optional
price supplements must be accepted on an 'opt-in' basis.03 Dec 2008
The European Commission announced this week that it is stepping up pressure on airlines to ensure websites selling tickets fully comply with EU laws that demand pricing transparency.
Commissioners have written to airline representatives setting out 26 consumer rights which all websites selling air tickets must respect. The letter requests that members of the airline associations amend all websites to ensure they fully comply with the listed obligations.
"My message to the airline industry is very clear," said Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. "Full compliance with EU law is an obligation, not an option."
The Commission began investigating travel websites in September 2007. It claims that 60% of websites that it found to have irregularities have now been corrected. "But there are still too many consumer complaints about hidden charges and fees, and too many cases where pricing is not clear," Kuneva said.
The Commissioners' letter cites various laws that apply to the sale of air tickets, including the Directive on unfair commercial practices, the Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts and a Regulation on air carrier liability. It also cites a new Regulation on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community, which came into force on 1st November.
The Commission did not name specific websites found to be in breach of the new Air Services Regulation, but OUT-LAW's own review of two leading budget airline sites today found evidence that the Regulation is being breached.
The Regulation provides that on websites selling flight tickets: "Optional price supplements shall be communicated in a clear, transparent and unambiguous way at the start of any booking process and their acceptance by the customer shall be on an 'opt-in' basis."
In OUT-LAW's test, the online booking process for Ryanair.com added a £6 charge for priority boarding, unless the option was actively unselected. It also added £8.38 for insurance for a domestic return flight, unless the customer unselected that option. On easyJet's website, we had to unselect a £6 each-way fee for 'hold baggage' and a £9.25 fee for insurance for a domestic flight.
The Regulation also states that: "The final price to be paid shall at all times be indicated and shall include the applicable air fare or air rate as well as all applicable taxes, and charges, surcharges and fees which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication."
Ryanair and easyJet add additional fees for most card payments that are not obvious at all times during each company's booking process. However, they appear to comply with this provision of the Regulation by excluding holders of Visa Electron cards from the fees.
Ryanair charges most users of its website a 'handling fee' of £4 each way. The fee is waived for those paying by Visa Electron card, which Ryanair presents as 'a special offer' for 'a limited period only'.
Visa Electron cards are aimed at, though not restricted to, people under 18 years of age. Payment association Apacs told OUT-LAW that they account for 5.8 million of the 145 million credit and debit cards in the UK.
Ryanair allows children aged 14 to 17 to travel alone – but they cannot check-in online. Ryanair charges an additional fee of £4 per passenger for each airport check-in.
EasyJet also levies a 'booking fee' on card payments except those made by Visa Electron or the French debit card Carte Bleue. Its terms do not allow children to book flights, though. "You have to be at least 18 years old to be the lead booker," they say.
A spokesman for Ryanair told OUT-LAW that the company is reviewing its site to ensure compliance on fare transparency.
"Ryanair has always welcomed and complied with EU regulations and will, if necessary following a complete review of the new provisions, move to make any changes required to ensure continued compliance," he said.
EasyJet told OUT-LAW that it believes it complies with the laws though it may change elements of its booking process.
"The European Commission has not addressed easyJet in relation to failing to comply with EU rules on transport pricing," said a spokesman. "We believe that this is referring to traditional carriers who charge 'kerosene' surcharges and other booking fees."
"As for the question regarding optional price supplements, we believe that we are currently compliant; however, the matter is being looked at again with a view to possibly changing elements of the booking process in the New Year," he said.
The Commission said it will publish a compliance report in May 2009.
(See article 23 of this 18-page PDF)


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ABDL Stories - Browse Stories from A to Z
Search Our Archive of Diaper Stories & Abdl Stories sorted for ease.
» » Tina Babysitter « «
Author: Anonymous
Summary: Mike's girlfriend Tina tells him to pee himself while snuggling on the couch then 'punishes' him by returning him to diapers.
Tina and I were snuggling on the couch drinking wine one evening when I whispered, "I have to pee." Tina rubbed my crotch and said, "Just go, I have a surprise for you." I started to get up but Tina wouldn't move her arm. "Like I said, just go." I was a little confused but the wine was starting to get the better of me. So I started to relax my bladder muscles and after a few minutes I started peeing my pants....
I felt the hot urine begin flowing into my pants making a wet spot appear. As the wet spot grew Tina began rubbing it cooing, "Don't worry baby. Just let go, wet your pants." The urine was flowing unimpeded, cascading over my scrotum and pooling under my ass. "There, doesn't that feel better?" I smiled and nodded, still a little confused especially since she just encouraged me to wet myself and was now rubbing my soaking wet crotch. Tina continued stroking my crotch until she was sure I had finished peeing. She started to get up saying, "Now you wait there, I'll be right back..." She left me sitting in my puddle wondering what she was up to for several minutes. When she returned she had what looked like a large purse over her shoulder. She looked at me with mischief in her eyes then looked down at my crotch and threw up her hands saying; "Look at you, sitting there on the couch, with your crotch soaking wet! Try and deny that you wet your pants this time!" She obviously didn't expect me to say anything because she kept on talking.
"Let me guess, it was an accident! I told you what would happen the next time you peed in your pants like a little baby, didn't I?" Tina glared down at me tapping her foot looking genuinely angry, "Well," she prodded. I looked at her rather confusedly, seeing how she had never mentioned it and nothing like this had ever happened before. "You'd punish me?" I meekly offered. "Close," she snapped, "I told you that if you ever wet your pants again that I'd give you a good spanking, and then I'd put you back in diapers until I think you're able to use the toilet again. Now I wanted to protest a little, "But I can use the toilet." I replied. Tina just stared at me, "Did you just pee?" I nodded. "And precisely where did you pee, did you use the toilet?" "No." I said, looking down at my crotch. "No, you peed in your pants. Now that tells me that you obviously can't use the toilet. Only babies pee in their pants, correction, babies don't even pee in their pants they pee in their diapers." This was music to my ears, I'd been a diaper lover since I was a child and although we'd discussed it, Tina had never participated in any of my diapering or even given any sign that she was interested in doing so.
"Now get up and take off your pants," she commanded. While I stripped off the offending article she pulled a plastic bag out of her purse. Once I had placed them in it she moved one of the wooden chairs into the middle of the room and began unzipping the side of what I now recognized as a diaper bag. She sat on the chair, placed the changing pad she had just removed from the bag across her lap and said, "This is in case you wet again while I'm giving you your spanking. Now LIE DOWN!" I lay across her lap and she began spanking me quite hard, "Maybe you thought I was kidding. Perhaps you didn't think I would do it, but I warned you, if you wet your pants like a baby then I'm going to treat you like a baby." After 20 swats my ass was burning and I tried to cover it with my hands. This just earned me another 10 swats from Tina. When she was finished she said, "Now stand in the corner, and if you touch your bottom you'll get another 30!"
I stood in the corner, my cheeks bright red and on fire, begging to be rubbed. I could hear Tina moving around behind me but couldn't see what she was doing. "Come here and lay down," she ordered. When I turned around I discovered that she had placed the changing pad in the middle of the living room floor. It had a white, adult-sized disposable diaper lying on it. Beside the pad were a bottle of baby lotion, a tub of wipes and a container of baby powder. I walked over to her and gently lay down on the diaper, as my ass was still quite sore. Tina pushed an over-sized pacifier in my mouth and proceeded roughly cleaning my crotch with baby wipes. Once she was satisfied I was clean, she rubbed the baby lotion into my crotch making me lift my bum so she could get it too, for which I was very grateful. She told me to turn over and once I was on my stomach she sprinkled baby powder on my butt and gently massaged it in.
The sweet smell of baby powder wafted into my nostrils, soothing me and exciting me at the same time. She made me roll over again and gave my front a generous dusting of baby powder paying special attention to my penis before drawing the front of the diaper up between my legs and taping it shut saying, "So you want to pee in your pants... Well now you can pee in your pants all you like, as a matter-of-fact I insist since you're going to be wearing diapers for quite a while. Now go stand in the corner while I put your pants in the wash." Before she left she took the pacifier out of my mouth and handed me a baby bottle of juice (actually it was wine but I think it was supposed to be juice), "Drink this, and you'd better be finished by the time I get back!"
She gathered up the couch cushion and my pants and left me standing in the corner drinking my bottle of 'juice' wearing nothing but my shirt and a diaper. After I had finished 3/4 of it I had to pee again. Although I really wanted to wet my diaper I decided to hold it to make a show for Tina. Another 15 minutes passed and by the time she returned I had finished my bottle and was really struggling to not wet myself. I was squeezing my legs together and practically hopping from one foot to the other. Tina looked at me and said, "I don't know why you're fighting it, its not as if I'm going to let you use the toilet. Sooner or later you'll end up wetting that diaper so you might as well get it over with, you'd probably be a lot more comfortable."
I knew Tina was right but I was trying anyway. Tina brought me another bottle and sat down to watch. I managed to last another 5 minutes while she watched my hopeless struggle with an amused smirk on her face. The pressure became too much though and my bladder suddenly gave out. There was no build up in the stream at all, it went from nothing to full-bore instantly and try as I might I couldn't stop it. Tina smiled broadly as I gasped and instinctively grabbed my crotch. Both our gazes fixed on my crotch as I flooded my diaper. A small yellow spot appeared right in the front and quickly spread across and down, towards my ass. "There, now doesn't that feel better?" Tina asked coyly. I couldn't help but smile since it felt REALLY good.
I just stood there with a goofy grin on my face as I continued wetting my diaper. Tina came over and ran her hand across the front of my warm wet diaper and asked, "Does baby Mikey wike going wee-wee in his didee?" She slipped her hand between my legs and pressed the sodden padding up against my balls. I was still peeing a mile-a-minute and the diaper had reached saturation point and the added pressure caused it to leak sending little rivulets of warm pee trickling down my legs. I was surprised to discover that all this was making Tina really horny as she stuck her hand down the front of my diaper and started stroking my penis as I continued to pee. The added bulk of her hand in my diaper pulled the leg gathers away from my legs sending urine pouring down my legs to puddle at our feet. She leaned in and gave me an extremely passionate kiss and moaned, "I can't believe how cute you look peeing in your diaper."
She looked down at the puddle I was standing in (thank god for hardwood floors) and said, "Turn around so mommy can get a good look at your diaper." I turned around and Tina grabbed the urine-soaked seat of my diaper and squeezed it against my ass, making even more pee leak down my legs. "Mmm, tell me how wet you are baby." I looked at Tina, smiling and responded, "I'm really wet Mommy, my didee's leaking." "It sure is baby, tell mommy how it got that way." Tina coaxed as she put her hand back down the front of my diaper and started easing me towards the changing pad. "I went pee-pee in my diaper." I exclaimed. Tina gestured for me to lie on the changing pad asking, "Did you have an accident?" I lay back and spread my legs, squishing more urine out of the diaper to pool around my ass, "No mommy, I didn't have a accident I went pee in my diaper." Tina slipped her panties off before kneeling down to open the tapes of my diaper, "Do you mean that you went pee in your diaper on purpose?? Aren't you supposed to be a big boy and use the toilet?" she inquired as she popped the tapes and pulled down the front of my diaper exposing my raging hard-on. I shook my head and said, "No mommy. I'm just a baby and need to use my diaper."
Tina teased my erection for a second, "Well I guess mommy will have to keep you in diapers until you're old enough to use the toilet." she sighed as she climbed on top of me and slid my cock into her hot pussy. We kissed deeply and began the best lovemaking session we had ever had yet. When we were finished I looked deep in her eyes and said, "Tina, what if I said I don't want to be old enough to use the toilet?" Tina asked, "Do you mean you want to keep playing baby, baby?" "Well I mean I want you to keep me in diapers." I replied. She pushed herself up on her elbows and studied my expression, "How often and for how long?" she asked enthusiastically. Biting the bullet I decided to tell her the truth, "24/7 for as long as we're together." She looked at me with a poker face for a second leaving me hanging in anticipation of her response. After what seemed to be an eternity she finally smiled and said, "I had a feeling you were going to say that.
Of course I will, but you have to realize what it means." I looked up at her with a renewed sense of awe and love and listened to what she had to say. "First, if you're going to wear diapers 24/7 that means no more toilet...at all. You will do all your 'business' in your diaper. Second it means that without my express consent you may not remove or change your diaper. Third as long as you're in a diaper you'll have to be 'looked-after' like a baby, meaning when I'm not around I'll have to find you a baby-sitter. Fourth, don't expect me to try and hide the fact that you're in diapers when we're at home if it's convenient for me I'll change your diaper right in front of whomever happens to be over. I think that should about cover it for now, any other rules we can deal with as they arise." I just looked at her with tears in my eyes, this was a dream come true. "Well?" she asked, "What do you say?" I pulled her close and said exactly what was in my heart, "I LOVE YOU MOMMY!" We hugged for a long time before I whispered, "I gotta pee again." Tina smiled at me and said, "So go. From now on I don't want you holding it, if you have to go, then go." I started peeing.
Since Tina was lying on top of me, the piss went up to our bellies before rolling down our sides to collect around my ass. . We lay there for a few minutes, then Tina said, "I guess mommy should put you in a dry diaper now. We don't want baby to get a rash do we?" She told me to stand up while she went and washed off the changing pad. She laid it out on the floor, grabbed a fresh diaper from the bag, unfolded it and laid it on the pad, "OK baby, lie down." I lay down and Tina powdered and taped me securely in the diaper. Before getting up she looked me in the eye and said, "I had no idea putting you in diapers would be so much of a turn on. I'm really going to enjoy having you as my baby!" I smiled back at her, happier than I could ever remember being in my life and replied, "And I'm going to love being your baby!" I pulled her close and gave her a big kiss. No sooner had I answered than the phone rang. Tina answered it, "Oh hi, Jessie. We're great. Of course you can come over, by the way, are you still storing your sister's old playpen? Really? Can you bring it with you? Awesome, see you soon." Tina turned back to me and said, "Now where were we?"
She looked at the package of diapers and said, "If you're going to be in diapers 24/7 were definitely going to need a whole lot more of them and maybe we should consider getting some cloth ones while we're at it." She read the look on my face and cut me off before I could even say anything, "I know you prefer disposables but if you're going to wear them full-time it wouldn't hurt to have a couple dozen cloth ones around the house, just in case." I had to admit she was right, besides cloth diapers might be fun too, they're certainly economical (not that we were worried about money), and they definitely stayed wet-feeling after they were peed in (unlike most disposables which are designed to feel dry unless they're REALLY soaked). Tina went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of wine and a bottle of juice (real juice this time) and I lay with my head in her lap drinking my bottle while we were going over everything. I was halfway through my bottle when the doorbell rang. Tina answered it; sure enough it was Jessie (Tina's best friend) and immediately asked if she had brought the playpen. From where Jess was standing she couldn't see the living room.
She waved a hello to me before she turned back to Tina asking, "Ya, I brought it, why do you need it?" Tina simply answered smiling, "For my baby." Jess shook her head and said, "You wanna run that by me again." Tina replied, "Help me bring it in and I'll explain." They returned a few seconds later with the playpen, "I told you, I need it for my new baby. Remember when I told you about Mike and how his diaper fetish?" Jessie thought for a second and nodded. "Well I decided to indulge him and in the process discovered that not only did I enjoy it, but Mike wanted to wear diapers for a longer period than I had decided to keep him in them." Jessie just stood there as she was digesting this information so Tina continued, "I was originally going to keep Mike in diapers and treat him like a baby for the weekend but he wants to be my baby full-time. So we agreed that from now on Mike is going to be my baby." Jessie blinked a couple of times, "He's going to be your baby?" Tina smiled and started bringing the playpen into the living room, explaining, "Yes, he's my baby. From now on he'll wear diapers 24/7, drink from baby bottles, use a pacifier etc." Jess followed Tina into the living room asking, "Does that mean you're making him use his diapers as well?" Tina just laughed as they started setting up the playpen, "Of course. That's what babies do; when they have to go 'potty' they just go in their diapers. That's what they're for. See."
Tina gestured at me and Jessie looked at me for the first time that evening. I was still on the couch, baby bottle in my hand, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a disposable diaper. Tina said, "Mike, why don't you stand up and give Jess a better look at your diaper." I shrugged and stood up and slowly turned around while Jess checked out my diaper from every angle. "I can't believe you're wearing diapers," she said to me in disbelief. Turning to Tina she added, "I have to admit, he looks pretty cute in them though." They finished setting up the play-pen and Tina suggested, "Climb in and try it out baby." I stepped over the railing and sat down on the plastic-covered floor. Tina smiled and placed my pacifier in my mouth, "Aww, doesn't he look cute?" Turning to Jess she asked, "Want a drink?" "Please." answered Jess as she examined the diapers and other baby things scattered around the living room.
Tina returned with a glass for Jess, the rest of the bottle of wine and another bottle of juice for me. After I got my bottle they sat on the couch where they could get a good look at me. The moment I began drinking I felt the need to pee. I tried to relax my bladder but nothing came out so I continued drinking while Tina and Jess talked. "Jess," Tina began, "I need to ask you another question." "Shoot." Jess replied taking a sip of her wine. "I want to know if you'd consider being Mike's baby-sitter?" "Baby-sitter? Why does he need a baby- sitter?" Jessie asked somewhat confused. Tina quickly replied, "Because he's a baby. You can't leave babies alone by themselves, someone has to look after them, feed them, play with them, change their diapers."
I couldn't believe this, I had a bit of a crush on Jess ever since Tina introduced us, but I never considered that at some point she might become part of my diaper fantasies. They were both looking at me; I could almost see the gears turning inside Jess' mind. She was looking at me with a sort of dreamy smile on her face and I was hoping she'd say yes. Just then the need to pee returned, this time I spread my legs wide to try and make peeing easier and also to make sure both of them could see my diaper clearly. I took another swallow of juice and gave a little push and was suddenly rewarded with the pleasant feeling of wetting my diaper. I didn't do anything to draw their attention to it; I just drank my juice and watched their faces. Jessie's dreamy smile disappeared for a second and her eyes narrowed and focused on my crotch. A smile started spreading across Tina' face as quickly as the warm urine was spreading through my diaper. Tina said, "Why don't you stand up and tell us what you're smiling about." Sensing what Tina wanted I stood in the playpen with my legs spread and in my best child- like voice said, "I go pee-pee." Tina looked at me like a mother looks at her toilet-training toddler asking, "Are you going toilet like a big boy?" I shook my head and answered with, Uh-uh." and grabbing at the crotch of my diaper and pretending as though I was trying to hold it like a toddler would, peeing all the while. "I go pee-pee in my pants! See!" "Where do big boys go pee?" Tina asked with mock sarcasm. "Toidy?" I offered. "And where do babies go pee?" she prodded. "Pampers." I responded reflexively.
"Don't you want to use the toidy like a big boy?" Jess was grinning from ear to ear at this point. I shook my head no, "I don't wanna go toidy! I wanna pee didees!" Jess jumped in, "You mean you just wet in your diapers like a baby?" I looked Jess square in the eye, "Uh-huh."
"Do you like wetting in your diapers like a baby?" I nodded enthusiastically, "UH-HUH!" Jessie walked up to the side of the playpen, "Does baby Mikey want aunty Jess to change his wet didee?" I looked over at Tina who nodded her approval, "Ya." I said as I took Jess' hand as she led me over to the changing pad and lay down on it. As soon as I was lying down Jess knelt down between my legs. The first thing she noticed was the 'tent' my raging hard-on made in my diaper. "It certainly looks like Mikey enjoys having his diaper changed!" she commented with an amused grin. Tina gave her a knowing nod adding, "He likes having them changed almost as much as he enjoys wetting them." Jess pulled the tapes open and pulled down the front of the diaper, immediately we were greeted with the aroma of urine and baby powder. Jess wiped my front with a few baby wipes before sliding the diaper out from under me, and then she cleaned up my butt. She grabbed a fresh diaper and slid it under me and asked, "Tara, what about his erection? His diaper won't fit right with that there." Tara looked at Jessie and replied, "You're quite right...someone should do something about it."
Jessie squirted some baby lotion into her palm and started stroking my penis. "What a big pee-pee baby Mikey has." I just lay there in ecstasy, I always had a crush on Jess and now she was jerking me off before she put me in diapers, with Tina's approval! I was so excited I came in less than 2 minutes. Jess wiped up my cum with a baby wipe, applied a some lotion to my ass, massaged in a large amount of baby powder and taped me securely into my new diaper. She patted my diaper- covered penis, "There you go, fresh and clean." she finished. Tina gave me my pacifier and said; "Now why don't you crawl around for a while whilst Jess and I talk?" So I crawled around the living room as they talked. While they were talking I could feel the need to poop growing. They continued to talk for 45 minutes while I played with my stuffed animals and crawled around the living room. Tina took a sip of her wine, "So, will you be Mike's baby-sitter?" Jess looked at me crawling on the floor and smiled, "Sure, I'd love to." Tina sighed, "Thanks Jess, I wanted someone Mike already knew and I probably would've had a hell of a time finding anyone else to do it, adult baby-sitters aren't heavily sought after." They both looked at me smiling, just as my bowels contracted and I started filling the seat of my diaper with poo.
As the first contraction hit me I bit down on my pacifier and my face went flush. I could feel the warm mass pushing the seat of my diaper out as it made some room for itself. I had never intentionally shit my pants as an adult and was surprised to discover that it didn't feel too bad. It didn't feel as good as wetting myself but I thought I could get used to it. Jessie abruptly stopped what she was saying, as I gave a grunt and pushed the last bit of poop into my diaper. As soon as my anal sphincter closed my bladder sphincter opened and I began wetting uncontrollably. Tina looked at Jess then turned to me, "What's up baby?" she cooed. I pulled my pacifier out of my mouth, "I go poopy!" I exclaimed. Tina said, "Well come over here you little stinker and I'll change your diaper." I crawled over and sat on the changing pad squishing the poop and spreading it throughout the confines of my diaper. I lay back, spreading the contents of my diaper around even further. I smiled and spread my legs as Jess replaced my pacifier in my mouth and Tina started peeling back the tapes. As she pulled back the front of my diaper we were subjected to the aroma of poo mixed with urine and baby powder. Jess waved her hand in front of her face, "You certainly made a mess of that diaper, didn't you stinky pants."
As Tina was cleaning me up she asked Jess, "Are you sure you still want to baby-sit?" Jessie looked down at me and smiled, "Ya, I think I can handle a few messy diapers. Most of the time they're just wet, if he shit himself as often as he wets himself that would be another story. Besides I think he looks cute in diapers." Tina had just finished wiping up my mess and was rolling it up in the diaper, "Well, he does wet a lot but you're right, I can't get over how cute he looks in a diaper!" Tina finished cleaning me up, applied a liberal coating of lotion and powder before taping me into a fresh diaper. She turned to Jess and asked, "How would you like to start babysitting right now?" Jessie said, "Sure, what's up?" "I just realized that we're going to need a lot more supplies than we have in order to do this properly. A diaper pail, for starters. We're also going to need more diapers, bottles and other baby supplies. Plus I've got to find a changing table, a high chair and a crib, to say nothing of clothes." Jess said, "I might be able to help with some of that. I have a friend who makes baby clothes and I'm sure if I asked her she'd make clothes for Mike, she'd probably get a kick out of it. And don't forget, my brother's a carpenter. I know he'd make any furniture you need for next to nothing." That brought a smile to Tina's face, "Thanks. So if you two will be okay I'll go to the store." Jessie and I exchanged smiles saying, "We'll be fine."
Tina grabbed her purse, gave me a kiss and as she was leaving said, "Now be a good baby for Jessie while I'm gone." Once Tina was gone Jess patted the seat beside her and asked, "Why don't you come cuddle with me and watch some TV?" I sat down next to her and she told me to put my head in her lap. She ruffled my hair and put the nipple of my baby bottle in my mouth saying, "Well it looks like you've had a dream come true, you've been put back in diapers 24/7 and you're being treated like a baby." I smiled around the nipple and nodded. "You really enjoy wearing diapers don't you?" I looked up at Jess and removed the nipple from my mouth replying, "Not as much as I enjoy wetting them. I don't know why but for some reason peeing my pants/diapers feels so good it almost brings me to orgasm."
Jess looked at me questioningly, "It really feels that good?" "Absolutely! When I was younger I used to put them just before I had to pee just so I could wet them. Ask yourself, doesn't the release after you've had to pee for awhile feel good?" Jess agreed with that. "And don't you like it when your genitals are warm and wet?" She nodded. "Ok now put those two feelings together and that is what it feels like to wet your diaper." I said smiling as I began wetting myself. I let out a deep sigh and a smile spread across my face as the pee spread across my diaper. I pointed at my crotch, "See? No getting up. I had to pee so I went pee in my diaper. Jess put her hand on the warm, soggy bulk of my diaper and rubbed. "That's it baby, don't hold it, just pee. Soak your diaper for Auntie Jess." I didn't need the words of encouragement but they did make me feel good. I smiled at Jess, "I go wee-wee!" "You sure are baby, just like a good baby should." Jess beamed as she continued massaging the growing bulge in my soggy diaper. She asked, almost impatiently, "Are you finished?"
I gazed up at her and nodded. Jess immediately started ripping at my diaper tapes. She continued rubbing the wet diaper against my growing erection. Suddenly Jess pulled back the front of my diaper and took my penis in her mouth. It only took a couple of minutes before she brought me to a blinding orgasm. Jess continued to kiss my genitals, whispering, "I can't believe how arousing watching you wet yourself is, that and the combination of baby powder and pee. I think its time to get you into a dry diaper." After I was changed Jess asked what I wanted to do. In response I began unbuttoning her blouse. "Is baby hungry?" Jess asked, offering me one of her breasts. I started suckling and rubbing her hot crotch. She repositioned herself to allow easier access to her crotch. I eased my hand into her damp panties. Jess moaned deeply as my fingers penetrated her wet pussy. I fingered her clit and feverishly licked her nipples. She suddenly climaxed and went limp. Her breath was short and raspy as she breathed, "What a good baby you are." while patting my diapered groin. She slid down and kissed my diaper (making my penis stir from its slumber) saying, "I think I'll enjoy babysitting you." Jess shifted again and cursed, "I need to pee, there are times when I envy you." I tidied up the living room while she was gone and was about to take the diapers up to my room when Tara pulled in...
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Forts, Tents & Other Indoor Playspaces
With the coldest time of year quickly approaching, parents begin to worry about how to entertain their children indoors. What better way than a good old-fashioned fort? And if you don't want to give up your entire living space to sheets and clothespins, take it one step further and go for a 'fort bed'. Whether it's a tent, teepee, or just a big cardboard box, it's sure to be a hit with the little ones. Here are fifteen creative beds that are sure to entertain your little one during the winter season:
1. Hide and Seek Bed: Weekday Carnival
2. Mikis Design via Apartment Therapy
3. Lisa's Closet via Babyology
4. Living Etc. via Apartment Therapy
5. Hideaway Bed via Country Living
6. The Handmade Home via The Boo and the Boy
7. Hus & Hem via The Boo and the Boy
8. No Girls Allowed Fort: Beach Brights
9. Land of Nod Sneak Peek via Lil Sugar
10. DESIGNEAST and AKSL arhitekti via Apartment Therapy
11. Treehouse Retreat via iVillage
12. DIY Cozy Reading Fort: Small & Friendly
13. Toddler Bed Tent: Drop Dead Cute
14. Pillow Bed: Southern Disposition
15. Emilie sans chichi via Handmade Charlotte
(Images: As Linked)


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I bought this skirt in, like, January (?) of this year and I'm only just putting it on my blog. I mean, okay, I've been shit with my blog in 2016 and posted f all, but here it is, in all its glory, and I linked above to the general denim skirts page on ASOS 'cos they have many similar ones. This bodysuit, thankfully, is new-ish and still available (for a FIVER)! I bought it for a night out last month and just to warn, it's quite tight on the arms and will leave anyone without huge boobs looking flat chested, but I still love it. All finished off with my old skools that - excuse the pun - never ever ever get old.
x G


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Anya Stroud (Gears of War Series) – Cosplay of the Day
Anya Stroud is lookin' mighty different in this Cosplay of the Day. You know what? We can dig it.
Anya is one of our favorite COGs and is one of gaming's most badass women. She wields both a lancer, and a fierceness that is almost immeasurable. She's been a mainstay in the series, and even shows up in some form or another in a few of the peripheral materials, like some issues of the Gears of War comic books. This is one hardcore lady we'd love to have at our side in a firefight.
Here is Masubi, a cosplayer extraordinaire who ironically has a partner that goes by the name "Locust." She looks absolutely stunning in her version of Anya's outfit, although it may be a bit stripped down (literally). Her cosplay gives us another reason to take up arms against the Locust. Err, we mean the bad, bug dudes -- not her cosplay partner.
Check out more of her work on her Facebook page and let us know if she's gained a new fan in you.
Want your Cosplay to be seen? Send your info to firstname.lastname@example.com and we may feature you in our Cosplay of the Day!


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For older job seekers who couldn't catch a break in recent years, there's new research that may not come as much of a surprise.
During tough economic times, age discrimination laws aren't likely to help if you didn't get a job because of mistaken beliefs about older employees, a new study finds.
Researchers examined how older employees fared during and after the recession in states that had the toughest age discrimination laws – stronger, even, than federal law. It turns out that those tougher state laws only seemed to work in a normal economy, not in a downturn.
Here's why: There are fewer jobs available in a downturn and, naturally, more people vying for them. So hiring patterns that may in fact violate age discrimination laws are harder to discern or prove, according to the study, which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
"We find very little evidence that stronger age discrimination protections helped older workers weather the Great Recession, relative to younger workers," the researchers said. "The evidence sometimes points in the opposite direction, with stronger state age discrimination protections associated with more adverse effects of the Great Recession on older workers."
In fact, the study goes on to say there is "clear evidence" that jobless rates for older workers were higher in states with stronger age discrimination protections, especially in the first 18 months or so after the recession ended. The situation was even worse for older women.
In 29 states and the District of Columbia, age discrimination laws were stronger than federal laws and provided for compensatory or punitive damages if claims were proven. Researchers zeroed in on those states when they evaluated jobless rates and hiring patterns for older workers. They didn't examine details of age discrimination claims or their outcomes, according to a review of the study by Huffington Post.
Laurie McCann, a senior attorney and expert in age discrimination for AARP, says it's challenging to prove age discrimination in hiring these days because so much of the application process is done online and without face-to-face contact. Hiring managers may dismiss your application based on graduation or other dates that reveal your age. And you're almost never told why you weren't hired.
In many instances, employers are even requiring job seekers to list their date of birth on online applications, and if they fail to put in that information, they can't move to the next screen and finish the application process. AARP has asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to see if such online hiring practices have a disparate and adverse impact on older workers.
The number of complaints filed with the EEOC surged during the recession in 2008 and remains much higher than a decade ago.
"Every time the economy takes a downturn, [age discrimination] charges take an upturn," McCann says. "Older workers are very vulnerable in a down economy" because of perceptions that they cost more or false beliefs that they're not as productive.
An AARP survey this year found that nearly one in five workers ages 45 to 74 believed that they hadn't gotten hired as a result of their age.
Meanwhile, winning an age discrimination suit has become much more difficult because the standard of proof is higher. Before the U.S. Supreme Court case, Gross vs. FBL Financial Services in 2009, employees had to show that age was a factor in contributing to the layoff. Now the employee has to demonstrate that age was the determining factor for the layoff, a tougher standard, reports The New York Times.
Federal age discrimination laws prohibit employers from treating job applicants or employees who are over age 40 differently and less favorably because of age. (The law applies to employers with 20 or more workers.)
To learn more:
- Read AARP's fact sheet on age discrimination.
- If you think you've been discriminated against, file a complaint or learn about the process from the EEOC or call 800-669-4000.
- Not sure if you have a valid claim? Go to the online assessment tool to get an initial evaluation.
Want to be part of the fight against age discrimination? Learn more about the Gross decision and the Protecting Older Workers Act,, then contact your U.S. senators and representatives and urge them to help fight age discrimination by supporting the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.
Photo: Liam Norris/Getty Images
Also of Interest
- Workplace Age Bias Hits Home for Boomers
- Older Workers More Productive (As If You Didn't Know)
- Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more


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Find the perfect size! Click here!
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Dense polyester fiber fill provides long lasting wear and comfort. Circular tufting creates an elegant upholstered look while ensuring fiber does not clump or shift when washed. Tufted cushions can also be ordered as replacements for Donut Bed cushion inserts. The available sizes are the exact dimensions of the inner cushion of our signature product, the Donut Bed.


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Casey Summits
2015 Casey Research Summit
October 16 – 17, 2015 | Loews Ventana Canyon Resort | Tucson, Arizona
The global financial system is under a staggering amount of debt. And this time, it's much bigger than just the housing market.
Today we have ballooning emerging market debt, subprime auto debt, shaky corporate debt, and student loans.
Did you know students have borrowed over $1 trillion for college?
While student debt mounts, wages stagnate and jobs disappear. The average 40-year old head of household in the U.S. today spends more on servicing student debt than on food each month.
We predict this debt will never be repaid.
Likewise, the high-yield debt market is turning over. High-yield bonds (aka "junk") are sold by the riskiest corporate credits. And investors, hungry for any extra yield, have happily loaned these sub-par credits over $1 trillion… an all-time record.
Also, the two fastest-growing sectors of the high-yield market have been oil and gas companies and bonds tied to subprime auto loans. Energy companies have been crushed with the plunge in oil prices. And subprime auto loan defaults are ticking up.
What's more, many individual investors have loaded up on junk bonds through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). But the supposed liquidity of these ETFs don't match that of their underlying assets.
And when we see the market turn down, it could take months to liquidate these risky bonds… The ETFs, meanwhile, promise daily redemptions. In other words, individual investors will get crushed.
It's a ticking time bomb that will blow up in the next recession (which we expect very soon).
Given this situation, we pose one, simple question…
Are you prepared for the repercussions of this massive default?
James Altucher * Marc Faber * Gerald Celente * Richard Maybury * Scott Taylor * Frank Trotter * Louis James * Bud Conrad * Terry Coxon * Nick Giambruno * E.B. Tucker and others . . .
Global markets are bloated with unprecedented levels of government-created liquidity and manipulated for political ends, the true condition of the crisis economy cloaked in a fog of media hype. For most people, the crisis economy is going to end very, very badly.
We've brought together an unprecedented group of over 31 all-star experts in the fields of economics, geopolitics, investments, investigative journalism, real estate, and international law to help you survive and thrive in this Crisis Economy.
Currency Wars author and senior managing director of Tangent Capital Partners, James Rickards, says the so-called "economic recovery" is hogwash: "If you want to know what a depression feels like, this is it."
Alex Jones * Justin Raimondo * Charles Biderman * Mish Shedlock * Nick Giambruno * Doug Casey * Paul Rosenberg * Stephen Moore * Pete Kofod… and that's just for starters!
3 Days with Casey
October 4 – 6, 2013 | Tucson, Arizona
The Casey Research 2013 Summit brought together an unprecedented group of experts in the fields of economics, geopolitics, investments, health, real estate, and international law.
37 speakers – addressed the very real threats facing Western economies and markets… as well as every independent-minded individual seeking to safeguard his liberty, his wealth, and his health.
Currency Wars author and senior managing director of Tangent Capital Partners, James Rickards, says the so-called "economic recovery" is hogwash: "If you want to know what a depression feels like, this is it."
Dr. Ron Paul, Catherine Austin Fitts, Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet M.D., David R. Webb, Andy Miller, Doug Casey, Donald Coxe, Dr. Lacy Hunt, Dominick Graziano , James Rickards, Chris Martenson, John Hathaway, Paul Brodsky, Van Simmons, Marc J. Victor
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Navigating the Politicized Economy
September 7 – 9, 2012 | Carlsbad, California
Most of us still remember the times when you could have invested in just about anything – even a market index fund – and gotten respectable annual returns. Alas, those days are gone, and maybe for a long time to come.
In today's politicized economy, only the most astute and aware investors still have a chance to make consistent, inflation-beating gains. And the expert presentations by our blue-ribbon faculty will go a long way to help you accomplish that goal.
Your financial well-being is nothing to gamble with. And there's no better way to protect and grow your wealth than to get your copy of the Summit audio collection Navigating the Politicized Economy.
David Walker, G. Edward Griffin, Donald Coxe, Peter Schweizer, Thomas Barnett, David Webb, Lacy Hunt, Eric Sprott, Bob Hoye, Karl Denninger, Mark Leibovit
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Recovery Reality Check
April 27 – 29, 2012 | Weston, Florida
How 31 Financial Luminaries Plan to Profit in the Coming Months and Years
Listen in as a master – class of serious investors reveal their visions for the world economy – and specific strategies any investor can use to protect and grow wealth… no matter which way the economic winds blow.
Your financial well-being is nothing to gamble with. And there's no better way to protect and grow your wealth than to get your copy of the Summit audio collection Navigating the Politicized Economy.
David Stockman, Harry Dent, Lacy Hunt, Jim Rickards, Gordon Chang, John Mauldin, Andy Miller, Greg Weldon, Michael Lewitt, Adrian Day, Lars Stouge, Frank Suess, Caesar Bryan, Greg McNally, Chuck Butler, Porter Stansberry
Audio Collection No Longer Available
When Money Dies
October 1 – 3, 2011 | Phoenix, Arizona
With the world's currencies looking shakier by the day, investors are left to wonder… what's next? What impact will the sinking global economy have on the markets? And how do you protect your financial future in the face of all the economic uncertainty?
These questions and many more were answered at the Casey Summit – When Money Dies.
Adam Fergusson, Lew Rockwell, Chris Martenson, Eric Sprott, James Turk, Richard Hanley, Mike Maloney, Richard Maybury, Paul Brodsky, Ross Beaty, Jeff Berwick
Audio Collection No Longer Available
The Next Few Years
April 29 – May 1, 2011 | Boca Raton, Florida
What's coming next in the global economy and investment markets? Is The Greater Depression imminent… Or is it here already?
How do you protect your wealth and wellbeing regardless of what happens? What are the best opportunities to profit in an uncertain – even turbulent – market? Is gold the best investment today, or are better opportunities developing?
We asked these and other pressing questions… Now you can listen as the best and brightest share their answers.
John Williams, Chris Whalen, Jim Rickards, Steve Hanke, John Robb, Andre Gaumond, Bob Quartermain, Edwin Vieira, Pamela Aden, Mary Anne Aden, Andy Wallace, Mike Maloney, Ron Netolitzky, Steve Yuzpe
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Casey's Gold & Resource Summit
October 1 – 3, 2010 | Carlsbad, California
With the gold bull market already having lasted over a decade, how much further can it run? How high can gold go? And how will you know when the gold bull market is coming to an end? Taking value, volatility, risk, and liquidity into consideration, what are the best ways to invest in gold at this point in time? Which of the junior resource companies are now your best bets for the big speculative upside?
Those topics and much, much more, including where the economy is headed next and the outlook for other investment classes, were covered at Casey's Gold & Resource Summit.
Neil Howe, Robert Prechter, Ian McAvity, Richard, Russell, Jim Puplava, Vitaliy Katsenelson, Richard Hanley, Bob Bishop, Brent Cook, Ben Johnson, Ross Beaty, Larry Grossman, Bob Martin
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Out of the Eye of the Storm
April 30 – May 1, 2010 | Las Vegas, Nevada
The period of relative calm in the global economy is coming to an end. The next phase in the global debt crisis is beginning to unfold.
Thoroughly understanding the powerful economic forces now at work has never been more important.
Likewise, stepping away from the daily grind to undertake a comprehensive review of your personal portfolio, and of the opportunities inherent in every crisis, is not just important but imperative.
Doug Casey has often said that in a crash, no one comes out unscathed. With foresight and advanced preparations, however, you can do far, far better than most. And given the scale of the challenges that lay just ahead in 2010 and beyond, the time to prepare is running short.
Judge Andrew Napolitano, David Brin, John Embry, Marc Bustin, Axel Merk, Bill Bonner, Michael Chatzky, Simon Black, Clint Cox, Arnold Armstrong, Rui Feng, Roman Shklanka, Duane Poliquin, Ron Netolitzky, Ron Parratt, Simon Ridgway, Jim O'Rourke
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Fuel for Profit
September 18 – 20, 2009 | Denver, Colorado
Make no mistake, energy makes the world go round; it is a massive component of the global economy, offering an equally massive array of serious profit opportunities.
Those opportunities can be found in everything from the green energy that's the current darling of politicians everywhere, to the opposite end of the spectrum, coal, which actually provides the bulk of the world's power. The energy spectrum includes petroleum, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric (including run-of-river), biofuels, wind, solar… plus, all of the many technology and service companies that provide the support necessary to bring the energy to consumers in an efficient and economic manner.
Reviewing that list – and it is an incomplete list – two things become clear. First, there are a lot of opportunities for informed investors. But, second, sorting through the energy sector to identify the very best-of-the-best opportunities requires serious expertise and a lot of hard work and analysis.
The mandate of our first-ever Casey Research Energy & Special Situations Summit is to bring you face to face with the experts, and to allow you to "download" their best intelligence and investment recommendations.
Marc Faber, Clint Cox, Paul Matysek, Keith Hill, Lukas Lundin, Dave Hightower, Frank Holmes, Harry Fleming, Miles Thompson, Ron Hochstein, Amir Adnani, Andy Miller
Audio Collection No Longer Available
Casey Crisis & Opportunity Summit
March 20 – 22, 2009 | Las Vegas, Nevada
The world as we know it has changed.
Amid a widespread clamor for ever more government intervention in the economy, the free market is on the run.
In fact, it is now estimated that the U.S. government will account for $1 out of every $4 spent in the economy in 2009.
Greatly exacerbating the situation is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a crisis that looks to extend well into 2010, and maybe beyond.
For investors, the situation is dire and yet at the same time ripe with potential.
This Crisis & Opportunity summit is designed to provide you with the comprehensive understanding of the U.S. and global economy you'll need to persevere and even prosper in the challenging months and years just ahead.
Thomas Rustici, John Mauldin, Peter Schiff, John Woolway, Frank Trotter, Porter Stansberry, Arnold Armstrong, Ron Netolitzky, Ron Parratt, Duane Poliquin, Simon Ridgway, Rui Feng, David Hightower, Ben Johnson, Fitzroy Mclean, Simon Black, Marc Bustin, Frank Holmes, David Bond
Audio Collection Not Available


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Genes determine what you inherit from your parents, from blood type and hair color to certain diseases. Changes in genes or chromosomes may cause health problems. We have hundreds of topics to answer your questions about genetic conditions. Maybe you're wondering about your baby's risk for disease or how to care for a child who has a genetic condition. Perhaps you're concerned about your own risk for a specific health problem. We can help.
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