jwbullfrog

Just a touch early this week. Thanks for stopping in --JWB







Hiya Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here with my continuing report.


There's nothing more comforting than a good meal after a stressful situation. Actually, in the Caridad view of the world, there is at least one thing, but I know for a fact that she says things like that just to watch me blush.

When she's not beating me senseless in her 'training sessions' (once we picked up the pieces from the attack, she insisted we resume our morning workout) she's determined to 'bring me out of my shell.' Whatever that is supposed to mean. I like my shell the way it is, and she knows that. She's just one of those people who can't resist the urge to pull on a loose thread...

She's done it again, gotten me completely off track, sorry.

Once I had recovered enough to eat something more substantial than soup I casually mentioned that I would feel more comfortable if the crew ate with me. I'm way too much of a middle class kid to have someone bring me dinner on a silver tray (and, yes, before you ask, the ones on the Katana are silver) while everyone else grabs a bite in the kitchen. Not quite knowing then that my word was something akin to law, mealtimes became a lot more casual.

Our chef that night was Louis. He had put together something that involved roast beef, potatoes and vegetables and transcended mere pot roast. It probably would have commanded fifty dollars a plate and been served by a way too serious waiter if it had a fancy French name. As it was, he just called it 'that beef thing.'

The only person not at the table with us that night was Jean-Paul who was on wheel watch. Caridad had offered to take a plate up to him earlier, and none of us were going to say no. Watching the two of them was a chief source of amusement (and no small amount of betting) for the rest of us. She had come back after a little while (not a long enough while, just a little while) looking a bit... rumpled. As we were eating I managed to catch her eye and, with a raised eyebrow, actually made her blush. They were just so cute.

We'd made it through the main course and a dessert that I knew would earn me another twenty sit ups, when Jean-Paul's voice echoed out from the cabin speakers.

"Attention all hands, prepare for a storm. Repeat, prepare for storm."

The Captain was on his feet before the sound of the announcement stopped. It only took him moments to cross the room and start heading upward for the bridge. The other members of the crew were on their feet moments later heading for their stations. A storm at sea could mean trouble, and the Katana was not quite at her finest. I knew exactly what my job was in a situation like this. Stay out of the way.

"Come on Alexis, lets get to the bridge," said Caridad. "Something's not right."

"You mean something like that?" I said, pointing out of the window that made up our portside wall. Even though I had only been at sea for a few weeks I was pretty certain that storms, either on land or at sea, did not have neon green and blue lightning. I was very certain that the red light that backlit the clouds had no business at all being there.

Caridad stopped for a moment and stared out at the approaching Technicolor squall. She was very still for a moment before speaking.
"Ok... wasn't expecting anything like that," she said in the quietest tone of voice I'd ever heard her use.

"What? You didn't plan on UFO's?" I joked. She stared at me for a second before taking off at a run up the stairs to the bridge.

"I was just jok...oh, never mind," I called out before following her upstairs. I could hear the voices on the bridge before I stepped into the room. The Captain was already at the controls, turning the Katana away from the line of fire and opening the throttle on our remaining engine.

"How could it get so close Jean-Paul?"

"I don't know. It wasn't on radar a minute ago."

"It still isn't," I could hear Caridad's voice reply. "The electronics don't even see it."

"Someone get on the radio and start a mayday call. I don't think we've got enough speed to get away from it."

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayd..."



************



It's hard to say how much time passed before I got my wits about me again. My first sensations were the scratchyness of the wool in the rugs and the smell of warm wood and leather. When I opened my eyes I realized I was lying facedown on the floor of the bridge. I took that as a good sign.

I will admit that I was greatly relieved to be alive and even more relieved not to be strapped to an examination table staring up at some alien medical device, but that led to the more important question of where I actually was.

I climbed to my feet and, still to my relief, I was on the bridge of the Katana. Sunlight was coming through the window so some time had passed, even if I couldn't tell how much. The Captain was slumped in his chair, unconscious but breathing. Jean-Paul was sprawled a few feet away. He was moaning faintly but didn't look injured. Caridiad was more of a worry. I could see blood on her head as I made my way over to her. I rolled her over for a better look and saw that she had a cut on her cheek, probably from hitting the counter.

The Captain and Jean-Paul had regained consciousness by the time I found the first aid kit. They started checking on the condition of the Katana while I cleaned Caridad up.

"OW!"

Iodine wipes, readers. Perfect for cleaning up minor wounds and for acts of petty revenge against certain over-exuberant combat instructors.

"Big Baby," I said to Caridad as I placed a small bandage on her cheek. The cut wasn't bad, just messy. She glared at me in a "I'll get you for that" way as she stood up and crossed over to the Captain.

"So," she said, her usual confidence back in place, "how are we doing?"

"Just fine, I think," said the Captain. "The rest of the crew has checked in and nobody is badly hurt. We seem to have power but we're at a dead stop."

"That's not all, the instruments are dead," said Jean-Paul.

"Broken?"

"No sir. They're powered up but not telling us much. I can't find anything at all on the radio and the GPS is drawing a complete blank. Radar is working normally... I think. It's showing clear skies and seas out to ten miles."

"Well, that's something," said Caridad.

"Actually, it might not be," I said. "My Blackberry's not getting a signal."

"So? We're hundreds of miles from a cell tower."

It was my turn to give Caridad a Look. "You know perfectly well who I have on speed dial. If I can't reach HIM then I think we have a problem."

Just when I thought it was safe to stay out of the water...

Hiya Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here with my continuing report.


I wasn't quite sure I'd seen it happen. One minute we were just about to be in the middle of a gunfight; the next, burning and smouldering pieces of wood were raining down on the ocean behind us. I'll admit to being a bit shocked readers. I've never been the kind of person to believe in the legendary 'bolt out of the blue' but, judging by the faces of our crew, they were almost expecting it.

It took me a moment to realize why.

Caridad drifted down from the sky in a lazy spiral, seemingly unconcerned about the damage. Her meandering flight carried her out over the wreckage where she hovered for a moment before turning back toward the Katana. Just before her feet touched the deck, she folded into a deep, elaborate bow that ended with a slow tumbling backflip. Her grin was annoyingly bright as she acknowledged the applause of the crew.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, waving off the applause with obviously false humility.

"Tricky shot there Cari, " said Jean-Paul. "It was, what, 300 yards against a moving target?"

"Something like that, Ringo." She usually called Jean-Paul that. When she wasn't shamelessly flirting with him that is. Officially, workplace rules prevented them from dating and, as far as I knew, they were honoring that rule. The letter of it anyhow.

In spirit, they had locked themselves in a hotel room an put up the 'Do not disturb' sign.

Putting all that aside for the moment (and, for my own mental well being, a good long time) I was feeling more than a bit confused. I guess it must have showed on my face because Caridad stepped over to me and guided me to a nearby deck chair. Once I was seated, she flopped down on the deck in front of me and, oh so innocently, stared into my eyes.

"You want to know how that all happened?"

"It would be nice. Yes."

Caridad leaned in closer and pointed at the sky "They. Never. Look. UP!" I must have looked confused because she continued. "Alexis, we live in Paragon City. We're kind of jaded about the fact that people can fly. For us its normal but, for most of the rest of the world, its still kind of a magic trick. When that first bullet hit the deck and the Captain gunned the motor, I went straight up. While the boys got out the guns and got ready for a fight, I had time to look around and line up a shot."

" A shot? With what?" I know I didn't see her leave the deck with any kind of weapon.

"My fingers," she said, blowing across them like the barrel of a hot gun.

As it turns out, Caridad is something of a living ultraviolet laser. Through some unknown quirk in her genetics, she can amplify UV radiation and use it as a weapon. Which does go a long way toward explaining why the pirates' boat exploded. While our crew was getting ready for the OK corral, she waited until she could target their engine and then punched through it and the fuel supply with a single high energy shot.

"So," I said feeling on a bit more solid mental footing, "the guys were just pretending in order to hold the pirates' attention?"

"No." Caridad replied, sounding a bit annoyed by the question. "They were there to fight. If my little bit of grandstanding hadn't worked as well as it did, they would have done everything they could to keep the pirates from boarding. If the pirates had gotten on board, the crew would have fought them with hands and knives and whatever else they could. They've all had military combat and marksman training. There's a reason they are the crew of this yacht.

I had forgotten. The Katana was more than just a pleasure craft for a spoiled billionaire. It was, very often, a floating palace and embassy. Nobody who served on her crew would be less than competent. Quite often, as I was discovering, they could be brilliant.

Now, then," said Caridad in her overly chipper way, "lets go see the Captain and find out how bad things are."

The bridge of the Katana in an interesting mix of high tech and golden age of sail. The room is finished in rich dark woods and brass fittings. The chairs are all dark padded leather in a very French Renaissance style and the rugs on the floor are deep, lush, and probably cost more than I will earn in a lifetime.

At the same time, the control panels are filled with the latest and greatest electronics. In several trips to the bridge over the time I'd been on board I had figured out some of them. I could, with very little prompting, find the readouts for the GPS and the other navigation systems, the radio and (although I couldn't fully understand it yet) the radar.

The Captain had a handset to his ear when we walked in. He waved us over to two chairs off to the side of a small table and indicated that he would be able to speak with us in a moment.

"...let me know when you get it apart. Thanks Rick. Well," he said to us as he put the handset back on the hook," it's not as bad as it could be."

"How bad," asked Caridad.

"Number one turbine is fine. We'll have to take it a little slower for a few days but nothing we can't handle. Rick tells me that number two shouldn't be run at all until we know exactly how bad it is. He suspects some of the turbine blades have been damaged and, if thats the case, trying to use it could just make things worse. We also have three bullet holes in the ship but those are minor and I already have those being patched. So," he said as he sat down in his own chair and swiveled to face us," what I need right now is a decision from you Ms. Alexander."

"Me?" Readers, since when did I become the person in charge?

"You. I have several options available to me but I need you to tell me which one you prefer. I can turn back north to Nassau or Grand Bahama. Both have shipyards that will be able to make the repairs we need. We can continue on our original course southeast and make for Santo Domingo and make repairs there. That will take some time since we can't make quite as much speed as usual. Or, we could turn west and make for Cuba."

"But," it was a day for me being slow on the uptake. Comes from getting beaten up early in the day, I suppose. "I don't know. Shouldn't you be making that decision?"

"Ms. Alexander. I'm not sure you understand. I command this ship and her crew but, by Madam's orders, you decide where we're going. So, Ma'am, where to?"

It finally dawned on me that when Madam had said 'I'm giving you the Katana' she meant that more or less literally. Oh, I have no delusions who actually owns this 150 foot long luxury suite, but as far as the crew were concerned, until they heard differently I was the boss.

No pressure, Alexis. No pressure.

"Hm, Santo Domingo I think," I said trying to think this through. If the Council were somehow following us, going back would be a risk I wasn't sure I wanted to take. Cuba was appealing but, ignoring politics, it would be just about as easy to reach the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo was where we were heading for anyway so, it made the most sense to me.



In retrospect, Cuba might have been less complicated.

Hiya Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here with my continuing report.


I should have known better. I really should have. But things were just going too well. We were heading South after two days in Nassau where I did better than I expected in the casino (Well, at least I didn't lose as much as I could have, I really don't have the patience to be a good gambler.) The seas were as green as they appear in the pictures, the skies were a deep blue and the winds were calm. Shroud and Hawksbill Cay were somewhere off out Port side and the Katana was making good time as we aimed for Hispaniola and our next planned stop in the Dominican Republic.

It was mid morning and I was lying on the foredeck feeling vaguely sick. Not from motion sickness, but more from the fact that Drill Sergeant Caridad had just graciously permitted me thirty seconds to catch my breath before she started abusing me again.

"Come on Alexis, you have to get back on your feet faster. What will you do if you're attacked again?"

"Roll over and throw up on their shoes before making my attacker feel really, really guilty, " I said while slowly getting to my feet. "You do know I'm still technically in recovery. Right?"

Caridad waved her hands dismissively, "The doctors in Miami said you were fine they just said not to overdo it."

"And 100 sit ups isn't overdoing it?"

"Weenie. When I was your age, I did 200 sit ups a day. And did I complain? No."

"When I wa...?. Caridad, you're five years younger than me. Don't give me that!"

That's when she tried to hit me.

Fortunately, I was expecting something like that and I was already in motion when her first punch came in. I'll admit that I'm not the most enthusiastic fighter but I am skilled enough to have earned a Black Belt in Karate. I ducked down and right letting her fist pass over my head. Using the momentum from that, I swept my left leg around toward the back of her knees.

My kick almost landed but she jumped up and over at the last moment. I carried the kick through a full spin and had every intention of catching her when she came down but she never did. She was hovering about a foot off of the deck, grinning like the smug so and so that she is.

Did I mention that, in addition to being a bit of a cheat, Caridad can fly?

Yes, readers, not only is she a six foot Amazon who can (and has) made money modeling, but she's also superhuman. I was about to hit her with a scathing estimation of her sense of fair play when a bullet slammed into the deck between us. The shot did not go unnoticed by the crew as the Katana suddenly accelerated up to her top speed and a minute or two later, three of our five man crew stepped out onto the deck carrying automatic rifles.

"Ms. Alexander, perhaps you should get inside," said Michael our second engineer.

"Is it the Council?" I asked after ducking inside the doorway to the mid deck.

"Probably not. Even if they knew where to look, it's not easy to find a ship at sea."

"Besides," said Jean-Paul, our navigator, "knowing how they feel about you, they probably would have just tried to blow us up. I'm guessing pirates. They probably had someone shadowing us since Nassau and just waited until we got far enough away from easy help."

"I have them, " said Louis our Helmsman. "Astern and a bit to Starboard. The Captain caught them off guard by speeding up, but it looks like they're not giving up yet."

Now that I knew where to look, I could see the smaller boat in the distance. It wasn't much, maybe the size of a small fishing boat, but I could see what looked like several persons aboard. I knew that if they were given a chance, they would try to board the Katana and, most likely, kill everyone aboard. The yacht was more valuable for its parts than for the lives on board it.

The smaller boat swung directly into our wake and started closing the gap. The armed members of our crew had ducked down behind the railings and had already started taking aim. The pirate boat was still a bit too far away for effective fire from their rifles, so they were just waiting for a better shot.

The pirates must have been using something heavier since a second and then a third shot hit the back of the Katana. After the third shot, a dull clunk came from inside the yacht and I could feel our speed drop.

"Hm, sounds like they hit one of the engines.They're serious about this," said Michael.

Our speed dropped even more as the Captain decided not to risk straining the still functional engine. The crew took a moment to check their weapons. A fight looked unavoidable. I ducked back farther into the cover of the cabin, not out of any sense of cowardice, but more out of the knowledge that perhaps only Bruce Lee could use martial arts on a target over 600 yards away. If they got aboard, I'd kick their teeth in but for the moment, it would be all up to the men with rifles.

Somewhere in the back of my head, years of Hollywood action films flared to life and I could almost hear the music that would inevitably be underscoring a scene like this. It would be something with guitars and a dramatic string arrangement. There would be tense medium shots of the pirate boat cutting through the waves mixed in with close ups of our crew as they prepared for the fight of their lives. The shots would blend closer together and the music would build to a fever pitch until, finally, the first trigger would be pulled and it would be all noise and screaming...






Unless the pirate's boat exploded first.

I agree it can be overwhelming. What has always worked for me is simplicity.

Don't worry about builds or IO's or min/maxing or any of those things at first. Just put together a character that sounds fun and see where it takes you. Stick with the most basic features of character building until you get comfortable with it.

Go at your own pace. Once you feel ready, then start another character and experiment with some of the more complicated features with that one.

Keep repeating this until you hit the level of complexity that works for you.

Now, just as an example: I've been playing since 2006 and I've NEVER used MIDS or a build program, I rarely use full IO sets and I've never gone out of my way to try and get them. I stick to the commonly available SO (single origin) enhancements and whatever IO's that fall into my lap randomly.

Is this the right way for everybody? Perhaps not. But it works well for me and the game has continued to be fun and entertaining for a bit over 5 years now. And that is the real point. It's a game, it's supposed to be fun.

Sounds to me like one of the oldest rules in the RPG world has popped up again.

"You are ALMOST completely invincible."

There is always going to be the chance that no matter how good your armor is or how many spells you have stacked or how much Uber L33T gear you have, that an enemy will get past your defenses. Any game without this rule gets either very boring or very impossible very quickly.


Think of it as a challenge. You know they can beat you now. How are you going to deal with it?

Actually, he was part of one of my favorite movie scenes. I bring to you an 80's classic from the film 'Love at First Bite"

Interior: a funeral in Harlem...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B85qu1tuXdI

Thank you Sherman.

Signed on just after CoV went live. That was... when? 2007-ish? Been here ever since.

Wow, all that wasted time. And to think, I could have put that time to much better use like:

starting a Lizard ranch
Opening a line of cafe's serving goat's milk parfaits
Watching every single episode of MASH in chronological order... twice.
Catalogue my vinyl albums, then figure out if my old stereo still works.

On second thought, it might have been worth it. After all, I'm not sure I can find a lizard sized cowboy.

Hiya Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here with my latest report.


Now, as those of you that have been following my reports might remember, I'm not actually in Paragon City at the moment. I'd love to tell you where I am but, due to a few small misunderstandings, it might be better if I didn't. You see, even though its been a month or two since I left Galaxy City, there are still a few people who are ... upset... with me.
And, just to be clear about this readers, I'm using the word upset to mean "would kill me if they had the chance."

I seem to be on a lot of people's lists. Longbow is still not happy with me but, as I understand it, they're having problems of their own right now. Also, the Paragon City government is a bit miffed but they're politicians, they'll get over it. No, readers, I'm talking about the extreme displeasure that the Council has expressed in me. Now, I have been reassured that there are persons that are ... persuading... them to forget all about me, but that's going to take some time and that may be a story for someone else to tell. Until then, I'm on something of an extended vacation.

At the moment I am several hundred miles Southeast of Paragon City, sitting on the foredeck of the Katana, a private yacht that has been loaned to me by an associate of mine, Madam Masada.

Ok, before I get into trouble for that last sentence, I should say that Madam isn't exactly an associate. Our relationship is a bit more complicated that that. It would be better to say that she has accepted me as one of her own in the same way that Queen Victoria accepted every person in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and India as one of her own.

There's more going on there than I fully understand. That's not surprising since Madam is one of those persons who deals in secrets. I suppose, sooner or later, I'll figure it all out. But, what it basically means right now, is that I have been given one of her yachts along with it's crew, for the express purpose of getting me out of Paragon City while things cool down.

Also, at Madam's orders, I've been given ... my own personal demon.

Sitting next to me or, more precisely, lounging next to me like a smug cat in a sunbeam, is Caridad. Normally, she's Madam's personal secretary and, when necessary her bodyguard, but while I'm on board the Katana, she's become my watchdog. She's also (with way too much eagerness and glee) taken on the role of physical therapist and personal trainer. You see readers, although I sound like my usual, cheerful self, I still haven't fully recovered from the events of Galaxy City. My ribs have knit back together fairly well and my heart and lungs are recovering nicely but I'm still not quite back at 100 percent.

Caridad has decided, without any consideration for my feelings on the matter, that I will not only be perfectly healthy when we return to Paragon City, but I will be in perfect shape as well. Now readers, while I admire the dedication of those folks that work to maintain a healthy level of muscular and cardiac health, I fully and freely admit that I am much less dedicated to perfection. I do attend a gym regularly and, with much reluctance, put myself through a thorough workout program designed to offset the fact that as a reporter I spend a lot of time sitting down, eating fast food and not getting enough sleep.

That, in Caridad's own words is "nowhere near good enough".

She has made it her personal mission to see to it that next time I find myself facing off against a superpowered, psychotic Vampyre with a martyr complex (or something similar, we do live in Paragon City after all) I'll be able to face him down with a steely glare and deliver a well quipped one liner before beating his head into the floor with my mighty (yet still feminine) fists of frenzy. Then, after wiping his blood off my hands, walk away in stiletto heels to play hostess at an elegant social event where, dressed in the latest fashions, I'll be raising money for orphans and widows...

I'd like to say I made all that up, but that is almost exactly how she explained it to me. Perhaps with a bit more graphic detail on the fighting and a kind of feral look in her eyes, but that was the basic idea. Oh, don't get me wrong readers, she's a perfectly lovely person but she has a joie de vivre powerful enough for ten regular people... and more than enough to drive one slightly dented reporter to distraction.

Ah, it's so like Caridad to get me off topic even when she's not trying. I meant to tell you about some of the things that have been happening since I left Paragon city. I would love to have this be nothing more than a pleasant travelogue filled with colorful scenery and florid descriptions of exotic places but, as happens far too often to me, it's actually become something far more exciting. As Caridad puts it, "Alexis, only you could turn an all expenses paid trip around the world into the plot of an Indiana Jones movie."

When we left Paragon City my health was still a concern, so we proceeded at a leisurely pace down the East coast. Our first stop was at Mystic, Connecticut where we stopped to take on more fuel and supplies. I would have liked to take a bit more time there since I am a bit of a history buff and Mystic has some great museums but, honestly, I was still too doped up on pain medications to have really enjoyed myself.

We continued down the coast until we reached Manhattan where we actually went ashore for a day or two of shopping while the Katana's crew resupplied and did some basic maintenance. Now I know what some of you might be thinking, Why, if I was trying to stay out of sight would I stroll around New York City? Well readers, as odd as it may sound, New York is one of the safest cities in the world when it comes to superhuman threats. You see, due to the insane number of superhumans that make New York home (second only to our own Paragon), it takes a truly brave or crazed soul to try anything that would attract the attention of the superhuman population.

Imagine a swarm of angry hornets and you'll get the idea, readers.

It didn't hurt that our tour guide was a wonderful young woman who fought crime locally under the name Manhattan Express. She was a third generation super speedster who's family had lived in the city for the better part of 200 years. She knew everything and everyone and, between her and Caridad, the possibility that anyone could have gotten close enough to do me harm was practically zero.

We continued on this way for several days, making stops at ports along the Atlantic Seaboard. Norfolk, Ocracoke (a special request of mine since they're doing recovery of the Queen Anne's revenge around there), Myrtle Beach (a bit touristy I know), Charleston, St. Augustine (oldest city in America, could not pass that up), Cape Canaveral (the Space Center and the Orlando theme parks just a few miles inland.), Miami (for more shopping and a chance for Caridad to visit some cousins while I stopped in for another medical check up).

From Miami we changed course almost due east for the Caribbean Sea and the islands of the Bahamas. Somewhere along the way we came up with the idea of following the path of Columbus' fourth trip across the Atlantic.

It made sense. South and east through the Caribbean then across the Atlantic to the Cape Verde Islands and then Northward to Europe. I didn't think of it at the time but we were wandering into one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Given everything that happened, I should have paid better attention.






But honestly, who really believes the stories about the Bermuda Triangle these days?

As usual, I never know when Alexis is going to send me something that she wants posted. Oh well, I guess it comes with the job description of being her editor.

For her latest, just follow here
---JWB

PROLOGUE: Some time ago...


..."You're going to disappear for a while," she said. "I'll lend you the Katana and her crew. Take her...anywhere. I don't care where. Sail around the world once or twice. I'll have an anonymous account set up for you to take care of shopping and expenses and I'll send Caridad with you as a bodyguard. Don't come back until you hear from me. And for God's sake, don't tell anyone where you are."...


...


...

Hiya, Paragonners. Alexis Alexander... what!?

You're just not going to be happy unless you tell someone about all this, are you?

Well, Caridad, somebody has to and I happen to be a reporter.

Fine, just don't blame me if something bad comes out of this.

What could possibly go wrong?

...

...

...

You had to say it. Didn't you?


Coming this Saturday 7/21: What I did on my Summer Vacation. Episode 1.

Hiya, Paragonners. Alexi....



Alexis!

What?

Do I have to take away your Blackberry?

You wouldn't dare...



Coming Soon: How I spent My Summer Vacation

Hiya, Paragonners Alex...




Will you stop doing that, Alexis? You know you have a price on your head.

But nobody knows where we are, Caridad.

Good, let's keep it that way.

Besides, I can't tell anybody. I don't even know where we are...


　
Coming Soon: How I spent my Summer Vacation

Hiya, Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here with a brand new report from...



Alexis, you can't tell people where we are. You're supposed to be in hiding.

It's Ok Caridad, when I post this we'll have moved on to somewhere else so, by the time they see this, we won't be where I said we were.

Alexis, I think you're missing the point...

Cari, relax. You're such a worry wart.



　
Coming Soon: How I spent my Summer Vacation. Stay Tuned.

Just be sure to pop in from time to time and see what the new kids are up to.

Offer well earned advice to those who will listen, chuckle quietly (but kindly) at those who think they know everything there is to know about things you've long since learned, feel free to show them how wrong they are when, in your wisdom, you think they really deserve it.

As long as there's a City, you're welcome in it.

Very nice. Well done.

Witch's Zombies.

the ultimate in Death Metal. or perhaps something in the Alt- Power metal scene.

Thank you toast for the photo. It might help the younger members of the reading audience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Defeats_Truman