Rating:

But this dragon hoards shoes, not gold, and Creel is given a beautiful pair of blue slippers, which she soon discovers have special powers. Finding herself victim of an evil princess and in the middle of a war that threatens to destroy everything including her dragon friends, it is up to Creel to outwit the enemy and save the innocents (from bn.com).

Commentary: I ran a search on Jessica Day George after I read and reviewed Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, which I really liked. I checked this one out from the library, and while Dragon Slippers didn't really get me as much as Sun and Moon did, it was still a fun, adventure novel with a spunky heroine and cool dragon friends. The plot was interesting and kept me guessing, and there was a little bit of a romantic-comedy feel in Creel's tension with the prince!

Reminded me a little bit of Shannon Hale's work; good read.

What if the Bible's chronology is simply this:

Israel miraculously returns after 2000 years

Antichrist rises "behind the scenes"

Antichrist makes the 7-year "covenant of death" with Israel

Israel rebuilds temple during a time of false peace

Antichrist comes against God's Holy people

Antichrist sets up the Abomination of Desolation

Antichrist demands the world's worship (with help of false prophet)

Antichrist makes WAR against the Saints

Antichrist surrounds Jerusalem with his armies (on all the mountains of Israel)

Jesus sends fire from heaven to devour these armies

THE GREAT SIGNS OF THE DAY OF THE LORD! (Trumpet, Sun, Moon, Stars, Sky)

Jesus COMES BACK to defend Israel and redeem his Beloved Bride!

We meet Him in the AIR!!!!!

So if you find yourself still here when the Antichrist is demanding the world's worship and instating the Mark of Beast...DON'T CRY

Simply know that Tim Lahaye and others were a little off on their chronology.

Take heart HAVE TREMENDOUS HOPE!!! The Day of Our Lord's Appearing is in sight EVEN AT THE DOOR!!!!!

Pre-Wrath Rapture Study Here

Diwali SMS Jokes

Is diwali pe humari dua hai ki apka har sapnna pura ho,
duniya ke unche mukam apke ho,
shoharat ki bulandiyon par naam apka ho!
Wish u a very Happy Diwali!

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Sri ram ji aapke ghar sukh ki barsat karen, Dukhon ka naas karen. Prem ki phuljhari wa anar aapke ghar ko roshan kare. Roshni ke diye aapki jingagi me khusiya layen. Happy deepawali

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Is diwali pe humari dua hai ki apka har sapnna pura ho,
duniya ke unche mukam apke hon,
shoharat ki bulandiyon par naam apka ho!
Wish u a very Happy Diwali 2008!

Diwali SMS
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With my
1 heart
2 eyes
7 liter blood
206 bones
4.5 million red cells
60 trillion D N A"S...
All wishing you a very very
HAPPY DIWALI!

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Andhera hua dur raat ke saath
Nayi subha aayi diwali leke sath
Ab ankhne kholo dekho ek msg aayi hai
Diwali ki subh kamna sath layi hai.
” Happy Diwali”

Diwali SMS Jokes
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May the festival of lights be the harbinger of joy and prosperity. As the holy occasion of Diwali is here and the atmosphere is filled with the spirit of mirth and love, here's hoping this festival of beauty brings your way, bright sparkles of contentment, that stay with you through the days ahead.
Best wishes on Diwali and New year.

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May This Diwali be as bright as ever.
May this Diwali bring joy, health and wealth to you.
May the festival of lights brighten up you and your near and dear ones lives.
May this Diwali bring in u the most brightest and choicest happiness and love you have ever Wished for.
May this Diwali bring you the utmost in peace and prosperity.
May lights triumph over darkness.
May peace transcend the earth.
May the spirit of light illuminate the world.
May the light that we celebrate at Diwali show us the way and lead us together on the path of peace and social harmony
"WISH U A VERY HAPPY DIWALI"

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Hi All,
Wishing each one of you a very happy and prosperous deepawali. May this year brings you lots and lots of happiness in life and fulfill all your dreams.

As the candlelight flame,
Ur life may always be happiness' claim;
As the mountain high,
U move without sigh;
like the white linen flair,
Purity is always an affair;
As sunshine creates morning glory,
fragrance fills years as flory;
with the immaculate eternal smile,
attached to u mile after mile;
All darkness is far away,
As light is on its way;
Wish all of u a very happy diwali.

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This Diwali, may you be blessed with good fortune as long as Ganeshji's trunk, wealth and prosperity as big as his stomach, happiness as sweet as his ladoos and may your trouble be as small as his mouse.
Happy Diwali

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For this, is a special time when family
And friends get together,for fun.
Wishing laughter and fun to cheer your days,
In this festive season of diwali and always!!!!!!!!
“Happy Deepavali”

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_l''l________
--/ l__l  Delivery
|     |     ________
L(o)__l___(o)__|
This van is loaded with
LOVE n CARE,
Wishing U and your family
A HAPPY DIWALI

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

With gleam of Diyas
And the Echo of the Chants
May Happiness and Contentment Fill Your life
Wishing you a very happy and prosperous Diwali!!

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Diwali Parva hai Khushio ka,
Ujalo ka, Laxmi ka.... Is Diwali Aapki Jindagi khushio se bhari ho,
Duniya ujalo se roshan ho, ghar par Maa Laxmi ka Aagman ho...
Happy Diwali

            “How’s it going?” Eric asked Ben. Ben was hammering away at the wood above his head when Eric approached him. Eric handed him one of the two bottles of water he was holding. Ben smiled at his friend.

            “I’m just about done,” he answered taking the bottle and putting down his hammer.

            “I’m sure the girls will like it,” Eric commented as he looked around at the simple but sturdy booth class boys had made for the fair. Eric was their classmate and one of Ben’s closest guys buds. He was tall, slim and had bushy dark hair. He was the class clown and an all around sweet guy.

            “They’re going to go crazy decorating,” Ben chuckled as he wiped his sweat. He opened his bottled water and took a large refreshing gulp. “Where have you been?” he asked Eric after he had quenched his thirst.

            “I’ve been spying on the other stalls for the fair and so far there’s just some regular stuff planned out,” he shrugged. He winked devilishly at Ben, “I’m sure that we’re going to win again this year.”

            Ben smirked. “It’s usually because Jiya always thinks of a few interesting twists.”

            “Yup, and it is usually controversial too. I wonder why we never get caught,” Eric chuckled.

            “You can thank Nina and Kit for that. They front as the heads of our activities and since they’re active in the student council and other activities, the school doesn’t question them,” Ben explained with a grin.

            “Don’t forget that you and Stacey have relatives in the faculty too and that you were both dubbed ‘academically promising role models of their generation’,” Eric said imitating their principal. They both laughed. Eric grabbed his drink and raised it in a salute towards Ben. Grinning wickedly he said before he took a swig, “Senior year rocks.”

            “Hear, hear!” Ben said returning the grin. They were silent for a while until Ben broke the silence. He fidgeted with his water bottle as he spoke. “Dude, uhm…” he started. “You had a thing for Cassie, didn’t you?”

            “Yeah, well it’s no secret that I failed miserably. Why the sudden interest in my failed love life?” Eric laughed. Ben didn’t look at Eric as he spoke.

            “What do you do in a situation like that? You know…when you’re not even sure if you have a chance with her or not. When you don’t even know what the right thing to do is.”

            “Dude, are you gay!?” Eric accused.

            “What?! No, man!! Oh come on!”

            “Then why are you acting like such a wuss?” he asked. Ben didn’t answer. Eric smiled at his friend. “Dude, you’re over analyzing everything. I know that as far as us guys go you’re the one who really thinks deeply about things. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t lessen you’re manliness to us other guys. It actually just proves how sincere of a person you are.”

            “Thanks, man,” he said with a little smirk but then his smile grew teasing. “Are you sure you’re not the one who’s gay?”

            “Dude, I’m trying to give you solid advice here!” Eric said throwing his hands in the air.

            “Alright, alright please go on.” Ben grinned then added, “Sexual preferences aside.”

            “Whatever, man,” Eric said but he continued anyway. “As I was saying, It’s in a guy’s nature to just charge in with everything he’s got and damned be the consequences.”

            “Yeah, I know but how about the people who could get hurt?”

            “You see! You’re acting like a total girl again!”

            Ben rolled his eyes. “And your point is?”

            “My point is that if you keep worrying about what others might feel then you’ll only end up hurting yourself and what’s worse is that you’ll be hurting alone.”

            “It’s better that letting her get hurt,” Ben said stubbornly.

            “Oh come on, Ben! Martyrs got extinct and out of style ages ago. Besides, how do you know that she won’t get hurt if you go all holy on her?”

            “It would be for the best.”

            “Again, who’s best are we talking about and how do you know that it is indeed the best?” Eric wouldn’t give up the debate.

            “Well, you gave up on Cassie,” Ben countered.

            “I didn’t give up on Cassie, man. I gave her what she wanted and it wasn’t me.” There was a hint of sadness and longing in his voice. Ben knew that Eric really did love Cassie.

            “When did you know that it was time to stop?”

            “It’s when you see and know for sure that she’s happy with someone else,” Eric murmured. He smiled then. Ben smiled too. Ben was surprised but glad that there was no bitterness in Eric even if he did get his heart broken.

            “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to let her go when the time comes that I have to,” Ben admitted.

            “Giselle?” Eric guessed.

            “How do you know?”

            “I have my ways, bro.” He winked.

            “Yeah, I hear girls like you love to gossip.”

            “Whatever, chicken little.”

              It is very difficult to have a relationship, even more so to keep one. Take it from Vince and Nina. They have been together for 5 years now and everyone was a witness to how turbulent a relationship could be. Sure they were strong, they have after all lasted half a decade, but how strong can you make yourself before you get exhausted.

            Stacey was leaning over the corridor and enjoying the cool breeze blowing her hair about while the others were sprawled on the floor busily making decorations for the school fair. Stacey smiled and turned to her friends.

            “Have you guys seen Nina? She asked.

            “She’s probably with Vince,” Kit answered. She was trying to shake off the glitters that were stuck on her. She shook her head and glitters flew all around. She pouted. “I hate glitters,” she grunted. Everybody laughed except her.

            “You kind of look like Tinkerbell!” Cassie teased.

            “Not helping,” Kit glared at all of them. It only made them laugh harder.

            “Let’s see how you like it.” Kit grabbed a large paper flower and slapped it on to Cassie’s forehead.

            “Hey! That has glue on it!” she protested. Laughter grew louder and more festive, pretty soon there was a decor fight. Stacey turned her attention back out to the view. Her attention was caught by a lone girl sitting on the cemented plant boxes on the school grounds. She was wearing a lime green headband with a pink trim. Stacey recognized it at once.

            “Guys…?” she called but her voice was lost in the laughter. “Guys!” she called louder this time. The giggling and throwing stopped as they all looked at Stacey who was still looking out over the corridor.

            “What’s wrong Stacey?” Jiya asked her hair dangling with different colored ribbons.

            “Nina…” Stacey’s voice trailed off.

            They bolted upright and went to see what Stacey was looking at. They followed her gaze and saw Nina.

            “What is Nina doing all alone?” Giselle asked worriedly.

            “I don’t know. Isn’t she supposed to be with Vince?” Stacey asked.

            “That’s what I she told me before she left,” Giselle confirmed.

            “Come on. Let’s go find out what’s going on,” Jenny suggested. They nodded and followed her downstairs. Soon they were where Nina was. The first thing they saw was Nina’s bowed head; she stared at the gravel with her hair partially covering her face. But they could see her eyes and they were definitely sad. They didn’t think twice to approach her.

            “Nina?” Stacey whispered.

            There was now a shadow blocking the sunlight in front of Nina. She had been so absorbed in her quiet pondering that when a familiar voice merely mumbled her name she practically jumped.

            “Sorry! We didn’t mean to startle you,” Stacey apologized. Nina raised her head to see who had interrupted her. She had a ready glare on but her expression quickly softened when she recognized who it was. It was Stacey, Kit, Cassie, Jenny, Giselle and Jiya all circling her with worried faces. It was all her favorite girls in the world.

            “No, its okay,” Nina smiled slightly. “What are you doing here?”

            “Well, we kind of caught in our radar that our best friend is a little down today,” Jiya explained.

            “So what happened?” Giselle asked softly. Thay sat down next to her on the plant box’s edge. Nina took a deep breath and smiled at all of them. If it were anyone else who had asked, she would be annoyed that they were being so nosy but these were her best friends.

            “Vince isn’t here,” Nina started.

            “Yeah, hon, we kind of figured that out by ourselves,” Jiya smiled. Giselle elbowed her to shut her mouth. Nina just laughed.

            “He’s not here because he went to play with the boys,” she continued.

            “Weren’t you supposed to have a date today?” Kit asked.

            “Yeah, it’s the 24^th. It’s your monthsary, right?” Stacey added.

            Nina nodded silently. “That’s what I thought too.”

            “That jerk,” Cassie breathed angrily.

            “Cassie! Don’t call him names!” Kit scolded her. “Did he at least tell you where he’s going and what time he’s coming back?”

            “No,” Nina shook her head. “I only found out that he went off somewhere from his classmate. He hasn’t returned my calls yet.”

            “That ASSHOLE!” Kit yelled angrily. Cassie lifted her eyebrow at Kit.

            “What was that about name calling, Kit?” Cassie said smiling smugly.

            “Well he is one!” Kit said. “No offense, Nina.”

            Nina smiled at her. “None taken. I happen to think the same thing and I can think of a few more names to call him too. I am really pissed but I’m sadder than I’m angry.”

            “Come here friend,” Giselle stood up and went in front of Nina with her arms wide open. Nina smiled and accepted the hug.

            “Why don’t you come with us and take you’re mind off Vince for a while? We’re still preparing for the school fair,” Jiya offered.

            “I’d love that!” Nina beamed at them all. She was suddenly quiet as she looked from one to the other. She bit her bottom lip as she snickered.

            “What?” Kit asked sharing the confused look the others had. This time Nina doubled over in laughter.

            “You…all…look like…!” Nina could barely talk through her laughter.

            “LIKE WHAT?!” they said in unison.

            “LIKE FAIRY CARE BEARS!!!!” Nina laughed hysterically. She had tears in her eyes now as she continued to laugh and point at them. The others looked at each other. Kit as still raining glitters; Jiya looked like a Christmas present with all the ribbons hanging off her; Cassie looked like a walking flower patch; Giselle seemed like an advocate for recycling paper; Jenny and Stacey were covered with paper crafts and yarn. Yeah, they did look really silly. They stopped assessing each other to stare thoughtfully at Nina; clean, normal looking Nina.

            “Let’s see what you’ll look like,” Jiya said with an evil grin. Nina stopped laughing at once.

Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan

Per capire la base di questo anime basta la traduzione del titolo: Beat-to-Death Angel Dokuro-chan . Sakura è un giovane liceale, che a quanto pare nel futuro inventerà un sistema per far sì che la crescita delle donne si fermi all'età di 12 anni in eterno, di modo da poter soddisfare la sua voglia di loli: il Signore ha deciso he ciò non può essere permesso, ed ha inviato Dokuro indietro nel tempo per ucciderlo quando è ancora un ragazzo. Dokuro, tuttavia, decide di non portare a termine la sua missione e vivere con Sakura in qualità di suo angelo.
Peccato che, come angelo, sia vagamente violento... con la sua fedele mazza Excalibor, massacra/decapita/sventra/distrugge più e più volte il malcapitato "protetto", per poi riportarlo in vita con la sua magia. In questo ambiente totalmente delirante, come se la caverà il povero Sakura?

Questo anim del 2007 è decisamente singolare, per i suoi estremismi: è estremamente ecchi, estremamente nonsense e soprattutto ESTREMAMENTE violento. Il massacro a cui sono sottoposti i vari personaggi è davvero intenso, anche se sempre in chiave totalmente ridanciana. Inoltre, l'aggiunta di battute stupidissime e riferimenti molto poco velati alla sessualità rende l'idea dell'umorismo di bassa lega a cui si assiste in questo spettacolo. Non che ciò sia un punto negativo in sé: deve però piacere tale tipo di comicità (che, personalmente, adoro).

Il disegno è nella norma, anche se purtroppo va fatta una precisazione: le scene "gore" sono fatte in maniera molto raffazzonata e approssimativa, e farle meglio avrebbe portato un sostanziale miglioramento alla serie. Non dico che dovesse essere realistico, assolutamente, ma avrebbero potuto sprecarsi un po' di più.
Il sonoro è gradevole, con una opening simpatica e in tono con la serie: particolare attenzione è stata data agli effetti sonori in giro per la serie, particolarmente ben piazzati.

Insomma, questa miniserie di puntatine da 10 minuti può essere guardata come pausa nonsense tra lavori più impegnativi, e risulterà sicuramente gradevole: resistete i primi cinque minuti della prima puntata (che son fatti male e fan passare la voglia), e poi vi ritroverete a ridere su angeli che soffrono di diarrea esplosiva se vengono privati dell'aureola, ragazzi che vengono tramutati in scimmie (con la faccia che sembra malamente ritagliata da una rivista), scolari che diventano cani e si ingroppano le gambe dei passanti, letture di corpi cavernosi e quanto di più trash vi possa venire in mente.

Voto: 7. Buono per un'oretta di risate piene di stupidità.

Consigliato a: chi vuole spegnere il cervello; chi adora le cose nonsense; chi vuole canticchiare pipirupiru-piru-pirupi di continuo.

€ 2,50

sommario
(salva l’immagine per vederla ingrandita)

            It was a lazy Monday morning and like normal students, they didn’t feel up to another week of hectic schoolwork after a relaxing weekend.

            “It’s my least favorite day again. Crap!” Jiya complained in her seat.

            “I know what you mean,” Giselle agreed.

            “I don’t know what you’re all complaining about,” a smiling Stacey said. They looked suspiciously at her as if she was an alien or something.

            “What??” Stacey asked.

            “There’s something wrong with you…” Jenny began.

            “You’re so perky,” Giselle noted.

            “And yet you didn’t drink a gallon of coffee today,” Kit added.

            “You’re all smiley too!” said Cassie.

            “And it’s still early in the morning. You are not a morning person!” Ben exclaimed.

            “There’s only one explanation for this,” Nina said thoughtfully.

            “And what would that be?” Stacey asked unimpressed.

            “She’s been brainwashed!!!” Jiya screamed. They all laughed hard. It was ridiculous to think she was brainwashed or maybe she was but with a different kind of brainwash, the kind of brainwash that you would love to be in.  

            “No, that’s not it,” Nina said trying to stop her laughter.

            “Then what is it?” Ben asked. They fell silent as they waited for the answer.

            “Stacey is in love.”

            The silence became thicker and they stared at Stacey who blushed in response and wouldn’t meet their eyes. They all hooted and laughed at her reaction. It was obviously true!

            “It’s Alex, isn’t it?” Cassie guessed. Stacey nodded.

            “Oooooh! Mr. Killer Smile! Hahaha!” Giselle approved.

            “Congratulations! He’s totally awesome, friend. I know you’re going to be happy with him,” Kit said hugging her tight.

            “I think you’re all over reacting. I got myself a boyfriend not a husband! You’re all acting like I’m getting married!” Stacey laughed. They laughed with her.

            “We’re just happy for you that you got a great guy who will definitely take care of you,” Nina said.

            “That’s true. Besides there aren’t many good guys out there these days,” Kit added.

            “Oh come on Kit. I know you’ve got somebody on the sidelines,” Jiya teased.

            “And so what if I do?” Kit laughed.

            “And who would this be?” Ben asked.

            “It’s Matt!” Cassie answered for her.

            “The skater Matt? The one at the party?”

            “Yup. You know him, don’t you Ben?” Kit answered.

            “Yeah. I know him but we’re not exactly close.”

            “Don’t worry. I know him well and I can vouch that he’s a good catch. He’s good looking, sweet and thoughtful,” Giselle added.

            “What about Andrew?” Jenny asked.

            “I just keep on ignoring him,” Kit answered.

            “Just as well and maybe if he catches wind that you and Matt have something going on then he’ll lay off. He can’t do anything anymore if he knows you’re someone else’s girl,” Jiya reasoned.

            “I certainly hope that he’ll lay off me.”

*[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

            “Hey hon,” Marcus greeted his girlfriend as she approached him at their usual hang out.

            “Hi,” Jenny answered and smiled as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

            “How was your day?” he asked as he pulled out a chair beside him for her. Jenny smiled as she sighed. She grabbed his hand and looked him sweetly in the eyes.

            “I had a happy day, hon. You do know how happy I am that I’m with you, don’t you?”

            “Yeah. Of course I do.”

            “Well, it looks like my friends are going to be as happy as I am now with you.”

            “That sounds great,” Marcus said. He took her hand that he held in his and pressed it to his lips. He smiled into her eyes and said, “But I don’t think that they can really be as happy as we are.”

            “Aww. That’s so sweet.” Jenny smiled and hugged Marcus.

            “Aren’t you two cute?”

            Jenny looked up from Marcus’s shoulder to see who spoke. It was Jane, their batch mate. Marcus looked up too and smiled at Jane but didn’t let go of Jenny.

            “Hi, Jane. What are you doing here?” he asked.

            “I’m just hanging out. Surely, there’s no problem if I hang out here,” she answered with a sly smile.

            “No, there’s no problem,” Marcus shook his head. “It’s just that you don’t normally hang out here.”

            “It’s just for today. By the way Jenny, are the auditions for the choir still open?”

            “No, you just missed them. The last auditions were today.”

            “That’s such a shame,” Jane groaned. “I really wanted to join the choir this year. It would be such a shame if I didn’t share my voice. Don’t you think so, Marcus?”

            “Yeah,” Marcus smiled in agreement. Jenny looked at one to the other. They seemed to be looking meaningfully at each other. If not for his arm tightly around her waist then Jenny would feel seriously threatened.

            “What was that about?” Jenny later snapped when she and Marcus were walking alone. He looked at her in wonder.

            “What?” he asked.

            “That!” Jenny said angrily.

            “Are you talking about Jane?”

            “Yes I am talking about her.”

            “So what’s the problem?”

            “It’s so obvious that she likes you. She was practically pawing you in front of me!” Jenny was so angry that she was huffing but despite this Marcus laughed at her. His laughing only made her angrier.

            “What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.

            “You’re jealous,” he pointed out.

            “Yeah, and? Am I not allowed to feel jealous? Especially after her little stunt?”

            Marcus just smiled and reached for her. He kissed her forehead to calm her down then looked down sincerely into her eyes.

            “There’s no need to be jealous. She means nothing to me while you mean everything to me. So relax, okay.”

            “Whatever,” she groaned. Marcus lifted her chin to look at her closer.

            “I said that there’s nothing to worry about. Do you believe me?”

            “Yes, I do,” she answered at once. She trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

            “Good.”

*[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

            Every girl knows that the only people who can really understand her are her girlfriends. She may love and trust her boyfriend but there’s something different when you’re talking to your true friends. And that was what Jenny did, she consulted her true friends.

            “She did what?!” an outraged Cassie asked.

            “So she basically flirted with your boyfriend right in front of you?” Jiya said. Jenny nodded.

            “And Marcus didn’t even notice that she was flirting?” Giselle added. Jenny nodded again.

            “Well, guys are basically stupid,” Kit mumbled.

            The seven girls were all gathered in Jenny’s room for an overnight movie marathon and talk session. It was their ritual to do this at least once a month at each other’s houses. This month it was Jenny’s turn to host the sleep over.

            “Marcus could be right that you don’t have to be jealous. Jane might just be naturally flirty,” Stacey suggested. She reached over to grab the bowl of chips and started to munch.

            “Give it some time. Don’t get paranoid just yet,” Stacey said while waving the hair brush she was using.

            “I guess you’re right,” Jenny sighed. “Maybe I am just being paranoid.”

            “And you’re way better than Jane is so don’t fret but if the time comes that something horrible really does happen then leave him,” Jiya said simply.

            “I don’t think I’ll be able to leave him even if he does cheat on me,” jenny admitted.

            “Why not?” Stacey asked.

            “I love him too much and we’ve been together for so long now.”

            “I know how you feel,” Nina agreed.

            “If he cheats then he’s not worth sticking around for. There are plenty other guys out there,” Cassie said.

            “You have a point Cassie but you know how hard it is to move on especially if you were in too deep,” Kit argued. She took a sip of her iced tea and looked comfortingly at Jenny. “Don’t worry. As long as you can still hold on then keep holding on but when you can’t anymore use your last strength to let go.”

            “Thanks friend. That was beautiful,” Jenny said.

            “Very poetic too,” Nina added.

            “She is a writer after all,” Jiya put in.

            They laughed, talked, ate and watched movies all through the night. During that time they each forgot about their own worries, especially Jenny.

*[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

Vía: Apartmente Therapy, Lisa Jones

El símbolo del dólar, $, es una S dividida por dos líneas verticales: 11-S. Los atentados del 11 de Septiembre se produjeron en Nueva York, donde se usa el dólar.

El símbolo del euro, €, podría traducirse como una M horizontal, si volteamos también las otras dos líneas nos aparece 11M. En españa, dónde se usa el euro, se produjo el atentado terrorista del 11-M.

El símbolo de la libra, £, si le damos la vuelta, podría sugerirnos un 7 sobre una J. Un ataque terrorista hizo explotar unos autobuses, el 7 de julio de 2005 en Londres, dónde también se usa la libra, se le llamó 7-J.

Próximamente añadiré más información sobre el villete de un dólar, pueden investigar en diversas páginas.

Moncton - what a bilingual rush man. Tracy and I are developing complexes regarding our shameful unilingualism (refamiliarizing myself with the French language is a new priority post-campaign). Personal inadequacies aside, Moncton has been great to us! It was really easy to find diverse volunteering opportunities here. For starters, we dressed up as pirates to promote the Canadian Liver Foundation's Pirates of the Crystal Palace event (which conveniently took place at our sponsor hotel: Ramada Plaza Crystal Palace in Dieppe). Costumes and scary pirate makeup in full effect, we spent a few hours handing out info about the upcoming event to people going in/out of Walmart. Was affronted by a hostile anti-pirate child who said to me, 'No, I don't like pirates. I think they're lame and anyone that dresses up as a pirate is lame too'. Tracy and I took that as our cue to leave the lovely Walmart area and decided to relocate downtown where people were much more excited to see two pirates walking down the sidewalk. It was fun to help out Shayla and Blair, the extremely nice CLF co-ordinators for the event. (Not so) fun fact - did you know that 1 in 10 people will have a liver disease in their lifetime? Crazy.

Tracy and I also spent a day volunteering for the Moncton SPCA - the largest animal shelter east of Montreal. I had never actually been to an SPCA before and was personally, well, shook up by our experience there. There were SO MANY animals in need and knowing that 50% of the 5,000 animals received on average each year have to be put down because there are simply not enough people adopting was a hard reality to accept. But volunteering there was such a rewarding experience! It's really an easy way to give your .7%... you get to feel like some little guy's hero for taking him out of his cage for a 30 minute walk, you're getting exercise and you can show up anytime during their operating hours. A dog named Sebastian broke my heart with his earnest sweetness. He actually stops every couple of minutes on walks, turns around and hugs you. I mean he buries his face in you and waits for you to sit down and hold him. If you live in Moncton and are looking for a WONDERFUL dog, please go rescue him and then email me so I know he's found a home.

Tracy will write more about all the publicity P7S received later this week and the other good stuff we got to be part of. Oh, quick shout out to The Creek restaurant in Moncton for comforting us with a delicious dinner (and the most succulent, that's right succulent) home-made coconut cream pie while hurricane-esque wind/rain beat down on Moncton. We appreciate your support!

Who isn't ready for Windows 7? That wiser, stabler, more streamlined OS with Vista's good looks but an even prettier Start button and an alleged 15-second boot time? Heck, even Bill Gates is excited to get on to the next version. You can get your hands on a "pre-beta" version of Windows 7 by attending the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) in LA October 27 to 30, or the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), also in LA shortly after, from November 5 to 7. Go get them, and then report back to us with some new info. [Vista Blog;]

So if you're available, and have the connections, you can get your Windows Fix. Although what sort of fix it is I can't say, cool or retro, I am really hoping that there's a light at the end of this tunnel.

Whether this be an alpha or beta, it's going to be a coup for Microsoft, but will the OS live up to the hype? With the advent of the "netbook" and a move by Apple to run one OS on all of it's devices, will Windows 7 be the Windows Lite that has been rumoured. A Microsoft OS with a much more efficient and compact core. I suppose we'll find out next month, but if you had the next big thing, how would you present it. I hope this is an example of how not to do it!

Will a corny video be the herald of the newest Windows OS?click the image above to go to the you tube page. Microsoft's not really calling us all Kevin Bacon wannabe's!

Via Gizmodo

            It was an early Saturday morning and Cassie was geared up for her usual run. She had made a promise to herself that she would go jogging every weekend so that she had some form of exercise. She attached her iPod to her belt and plugged in her earphones. She grabbed her bag and was off to the park where most joggers went.

            At the park, Cassie couldn’t help but smile as she breathed in the fresh morning air. She looked around at the other joggers who looked like they have already been here a while. She put down her bag on the grass under a tree and began to do her stretching. After a few minutes of preparation she began her usual jogging course.

            She was half way through her course when a motorcycle cut her way. She stopped abruptly and glared at the driver.

            “You already make me want to die with just your existence. You don’t need to speed up the process,” she scowled. The driver merely grinned at her comment.

            “I miss you. Is that such a bad thing?”

            “Get lost, David!” she yelled. She turned around and continued to jog away from David. Why the hell is he here? She was fuming with anger but David didn’t seem to notice or he really didn’t care because he was now following her on his motorcycle. She huffed and jogged faster which was useless considering she couldn’t possibly outrun a motorcycle. She stopped to catch her breathe. David stopped too just a bit ahead of her.  Cassie was now very much sweating and probably smelled like the sun while David sat there looking so fresh and smug she wanted to slap him.

            “How can I get rid of you?”

            David grinned and shut the engine of his wheels. Cassie had to admit that it was a wicked set of wheels. It was identifiable as his alone.

            “You don’t get rid of me,” he said.

            “I’m busy right now.”

            “Jogging? It’s hardly rocket science.”

            “Well I don’t like seeing you.”

            “I like seeing,” he said then gave her a long once over. He ran his eyes lazily from her slightly messy pony tailed hair to her flushed cheeks and sweat drenched neck. He lingered on her short shorts and her seemingly endless legs. She shook her head.

            “You are such a perv.”

            “Is it perverted to ask you to have a snack with me? Surely you can do with a break right about now.” he suggested.

            “I don’t want to have a snack with you,” she said stubbornly.

            “Please? Don’t be mean.” He even pouted for effect.

            “Fine. I’ll give you 5 minutes,” she grunted. He smiled broadly and patted the seat behind him on his motorcycle. She sighed and approached him.

            “I need to get my bag first,” she suddenly remembered. David shook his head.

            “I already got it for you,” he said. He popped the seat and showed her the bag she was referring to safely stored inside the compartment. Cassie’s mouth fell open.

            “How come you have that?”

            “I got it from under the tree where you left it. I was going to use it for blackmail in case you can’t be won over with a decent conversation and my overwhelming charm. You really shouldn’t be leaving your stuff like that though,” he said bluntly and shrugged.

            “But… but…?”

            “No more whining. I already saved you the trouble of going back there to get it. Now let’s go get something to eat. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

            David grabbed her wrist and pulled her to get on. He quickly started the engine and they were off. Cassie grabbed hold on his waist to keep from falling off. She couldn’t see it but David was smiling happily from the feel of her arms around his waist. She held on tighter when he sped up to overtake a car and it was all David could take to suppress the laughter on his lips.

            “What if I went even faster?” he asked himself. Cassie couldn’t hear it because of the wind and the sound of the motor. He shook his head. Nah, I don’t want to kill her before she becomes my girlfriend. But first, he had to woo her and make her stop hating him. This was going to be a challenge. He sighed.

*[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

            Kit had just sat down at the coffee shop when Matt arrived on his skateboard. It was late in the afternoon and Matt had been out skateboarding again. He was drenched in sweat after a couple of hours of skating when he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to see Kit. He called her and asked if they could meet up in a nearby café. Though it was out of the blue, Kit was happy to accept.

            “Did you wait long?” he asked taking a seat next to her and tucking his skateboard underneath the table. He smiled at her.

            “Don’t worry, I just got here.”

            “I’m sorry if I smell,” he mentioned with a grin. “I just came from skating you see.”

            “You don’t smell. Don’t fuss about it,” she laughed. “Why didn’t you just ask me another time then if you’re so worried about your stench?”

            “I needed to see you really badly.”

            He swung his long bangs to one side and smiled at her. He stared at her for a while then asked. “Why don’t you go order anything you like? I’ll have what you’ll have.” Kit nodded then stood up to go to the counter and order their food.

            Matt sighed. She was exactly what he was craving for. He didn’t know what was up with him but he just suddenly wanted to see her and be with her. It was as if he couldn’t take another breath if he didn’t see her. He thought she looked so cute too with her hair in a high ponytail with all the loose strands falling off. He was immensely thankful that he noticed her one time and his falling for her started.

            His slight daydreaming was interrupted by the beeping of Kit’s cell phone. He picked it up and saw that there was a message. “Andrew?” he read the sender’s name. Kit sat down again and saw him looking at her phone seriously with his brows furrowed.

            “What’s up? Did I get hate mail?” she asked smiling. He shook his head and handed her phone back, his expression still grim.

            “You’re still keeping connection with Andrew?” he asked. Kit’s smile faded with the suddenness of his question but she quickly put it back on again.

            “I haven’t changed my number so he still knows how to reach me. I try to be friends with him because after all we did have something but most of the time I can’t talk civil with him. He gets so mad about trivial things and he picks a fight with me then says sorry afterwards. I think he’s psychotic now. I just ignore him most of the time,” she explained. Matt opened his mouth to say something when the waiter arrived with their food. After the waiter left he continued their conversation.

            “So why don’t you just change your number then so he can’t bother you anymore?”

            “I can’t,” she sighed. “It’s not that easy to change numbers. All my friends know me with this number and it would be really hard to tell them all again my new one.”

            “Are you sure it’s not because you still can’t completely disconnect yourself from Andrew?” he prompted unconvinced with her previous answer.

            “Maybe…,” she murmured. He smiled and raised her lowered head with his finger under her chin.

            “I just don’t want to see you getting pushed around like at the party.”

            “Then close your eyes,” she answered. They laughed while eating their sandwiches and drinking their smoothies. They stayed away from the topic of Andrew and focused on happier topics. They got to know each other and soon they were really having fun. They ignored the annoying beeping from Kit’s phone meaning that more messages from Andrew had arrived. They focused their whole attention on each other.

*[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

            It was nearing dusk when Cassie had finally realized the time. The 5 minute snack had turned into an all day outing with David but that wasn’t the surprising part. What really surprised her was the simple fact that she had actually enjoyed the time with David.

            When she first hopped onto his motor this morning she was appalled by him but gradually as the day went by and she got to know him more, she found out that he wasn’t much of the obnoxious jerk he portrayed himself to be. They first went for breakfast at a pancake house. She ordered the strawberry pancakes and he got the blue berry waffles. She was quite happy with her choice until she saw his waffles arrive with her pancakes. She eyed his waffles as he prepared to dig in. He laughed when he saw the look on her face.

            “You look like you want to ambush me or should I say my waffles.”

            “They do look interesting,” she admitted with a greedy smile. He chuckled and pushed his plate of waffles in between them. After that he pulled her plate of pancakes to put beside the waffles.

            “How about we share both?” he proposed.

            “Deal!” she happily accepted. She quickly grabbed her fork and dug into the waffles first. She gave a satisfied sigh as she chewed thoughtfully. “That’s really good. Try it.”

            “Go on ahead. I’m fine just watching you eat,” he replied. She shook her head and forked another bite of blueberry waffles then held it up to his mouth.

            “You’re the one treating so you should enjoy the food too. Besides didn’t you tell me that you were hungry and that you haven’t had any breakfast yet?”

            “Okay, okay.”

            He held her hand to steady the fork then took the bite. It happened for only a split second but it was like a long eternity to Cassie that they stared into each other’s eyes as he put the food into his mouth. His hand on hers tingled too. Realizing that she was the one staring, she snatched her hand away and cleared her throat. She busied herself with eating the rest of the food but somehow her appetite had already deteriorated. What the hell?? She tried to think of a rational explanation for the fast beating of her heart but everything seemed to be hazy to her. On the other hand David looked not in the least bothered.

            “You’re right. The food is awesome,” he commented then noticed that she was staring into space. “Is there something wrong with the pancakes? We can order something else if you like.”

            Cassie shook her head and smiled at him. “Everything’s delicious. I was just thinking about something.”

            “What were you thinking about?” he asked.

            “Nothing special,” she dismissed the subject.

            “You were thinking intensely. It must have been something important.”

            “Really, it wasn’t,” she insisted.

            “Were you thinking about me by any chance?”

            Her head snapped up to look at him only to see him smiling devilishly. She blushed and she knew it was a big mistake when she saw his smile broaden,

            “So you were thinking about me,” he concluded. She didn’t say anything because she knew it would be pointless to tell him otherwise. He chuckled.

            “What the hell is so funny?” she glared.

            “Nothing,” he mumbled still chuckling. She grunted and mumbled under her breathe which only made David laugh even more.

            She’s even more interesting than I thought.

            It was dismissal time and that meant that it was time for the friends to temporarily part ways. Jenny and Nina waved goodbye and went on ahead like they usually do at dismissal time.

            “They’re going to go see their boyfriends I’m sure,” Cassie stated.

            “They go home together as couples. It’s quite normal,” Giselle said as she packed up her bag.

            “Don’t you have a boyfriend too, Gigi?” Jiya teased. Giselle often wondered where the hell Jiya got all the information. She seemed to always know what the newest gossip was. Everyone turned to look in wonder at Giselle.

            “Well…Kind of,” she answered.

            “When? You were at the single’s party yesterday,” Kit asked.

            Ben chuckled and muttered under his breathe. “That was fast.”

            “It’s not that fast and besides there are tons of guys clamoring for Gigi. Why waste any time?” Jiya put in. Only Giselle really understood why Ben said something like that but she pretended not to understand.

            “Who is it?” Stacey asked while she brushed her hair and pulled it into a neat ponytail.

            “It’s Charles,” Giselle uttered.

            “Good luck to you both,” Ben shrugged and picked up his bag. He waved goodbye and was out of there.

            “Aren’t you going to go home with Charles?” Jiya inquired.

            “Yeah, later. I still have some things I have to take care of. Would you mind if you accompany me, Jiya?”

            “Not at all,” she shook her head. “Take care, girls.” Jiya and Giselle said goodbye to Stacey, Cassie and Kit then went out of the room.

            “We should get going now too,” Stacey suggested. Kit and Cassie nodded.

            The campus was still full of students walking about. It was still a bit early anyway. Stacey, Kit and Cassie walked while laughing and chatting about whatever they could think of. They were already at the gate when they heard Stacey’s name being called out. They turned around and saw a tall guy approaching them.

            “You have been holding out on us,” Cassie whispered to Stacey.

            “Isn’t he your closet buddy?” Kit asked under her breathe.

            Stacey couldn’t answer her two friends because Alex had already reached them. He was smiling his toe-curling smile and gazing at Stacey.

            “I’m glad I caught up with you,” he said.

            “Me too,” Stacey admitted. She heard a light clearing of throat and suddenly remembered her two best friends who were there. She quickly made the introductions.

            “Alex, this is Cassie and Kit. Girls, this is Alex.”

            “Great to meet you,” he said flashing them a smile too. Kit and Cassie smiled back taking note of how incredible he smiled.

            “Is it okay if I borrow Stacey? I promise to bring her home safely,” he asked.

            “You go on right ahead!” Cassie said immediately. Kit laughed.

            “What she means is that it would be okay with us. Take care of her now,” she said then gave Stacey a hug and whispered to her. “Enjoy yourself, Stacey.” She dragged away Cassie with her and left Alex and Stacey together.

            “You have fun friends,” Alex commented.

            “I have weird friends,” Stacey corrected then she laughed.

            “It’s hot, isn’t it?” he observed. She nodded. “How about some ice cream?”

            “Your treat?”

            “Of course,” he said with a confident grin.

            At the ice cream parlor, Alex was the one who chose for her. She looked skeptical. How could he possibly guess which flavor she liked when there were dozens of flavors on display for them to choose from?

            “Butterscotch for me and Coffee Crumble for her,” he told the girl at the counter. Stacey’s mouth opened in shock. Alex took the ice cream and was about to hand it to her when he noticed that she was staring open mouthed at him.

            “What? Are you okay?” He looked at her worriedly.

            “H-how did you…know my favorite flavor?” she stammered.

            “Lucky guess,” he shrugged. He handed Stacey her ice cream with a smug grin. She took it but she wasn’t convinced.

            “You can’t have possibly guessed which one is my favorite. There are probably about 50 different flavors here!”

            He pulled a chair for her before he sat down on the chair opposite her. He smiled and ate his ice cream without a word.

            “Oh…So you’re not going to talk now, huh?” she grumbled. She licked her ice cream angrily but then smiled as the familiar taste of her favored flavor met her taste buds. He laughed. She scowled.

            “Didn’t I already tell you that I’ve been stalking you? You’ll be surprised at how much I already know about you,” he said then gave his ice cream another lick.

            “Have I ever told you that you are really very creepy?” she pointed her cone at him. He laughed.

            “Many times.”

            Stacey laughed too. They spent a long time talking and making jokes. Stacey discovered that she was beginning to really like Alex.

            “You know, you’re not so bad for a stalker,” she giggled. “And I love your smile.”

            “I love you,” he said out of the blue before flashing the smile that she liked so much. She fell silent and her mouth fell open. A while passed with her just staring silently at her. He raised a worried brow and waved a hand in front of her eyes.

            “Hello? Earth to Stacey?” he laughed. Stacey shook her head.

            “Did I hear you right?” she asked and rubbed her ears for effect. He looked at her with apparent amusement in his eyes.

            “What do you think you heard me say?” he teased.

            “I don’t know, something about you liking me a lot.”

            Alex smiled and shook his head. He popped into his mouth his last bit of cone then dusted his fingers. He reached for Stacey’s hand and pulled her to stand up. Stacey’s eyes were wide with confusion as she gazed at his hand clutching hers. His hand was warm against hers. They exited the shop and stopped just outside the door where the cool evening breeze greeted them.

            Stacey looked up when she heard Alex sigh, only to realize that she made a mistake. She found his black eyes staring down at her own hazelnut eyes. She felt herself grow warm under his gaze and became frustrated when the cool breeze ceased. She wanted to tear away her gaze from his but somehow she couldn’t. She wasn’t even sure if she really wanted this to stop. It was as if she was caught under a spell she didn’t have the will to break.

            Alex still didn’t let go of her hand and with his free hand he touched her cheek. He noticed that she was warm under his palm. He smiled as he realized that he had made her blush. He kept eye contact with her and God knew he didn’t want to end it any time soon. Finally, he spoke but in a soothing voice that only gave goose bumps to Stacey.

            “I said that I love you, Stacey.”

            Stacey tried to make her spellbound brain process his words but all conscious thought was lost to her when she saw his head lower to hers and his lips touch hers. An intelligent reply was way beyond her capabilities now as Alex’s kiss washed through each of her senses. She was well and truly lost but she was never happier.

            *[k]*[i]*[s]*[y]*[a]*[n]*[g]*

            Kit was online on her laptop chatting with her friends. She saw Giselle come online and buzzed her.

Kit_53: Hey friend.

Gigibebs: Hi girl.

Kit_53: You have a lot of explaining to do.

Gigibebs: Huh?

Kit_53: Charles!

Gigibebs: Oh. Sorry I didn’t tell    sooner.

Kit_53: Why didn’t you?

Gigibebs: Well I’m still a little    confused about it right now.

Kit_53: What’s confusing about it?   You’re not usually like this.   There’s something else that’s      bothering you.

Gigibebs: J You know me too well.

Kit_53: What are friends for? LOL. So      spill already.

Gigibebs: Well…

Kit_53: Hold that thought. I just saw      everyone else come online. I’ll      patch them in a conference so we     can all talk.

Gigibebs: OK

Kit_53: Hey girls!

JengJeng: Good evening everyone! J

Nina89Peachie: How’s everyone doing?

Cassielicious: I’m hungry!

Stacey_Gurlie987: I just got home.

Gigibebs: I and Kit have been waiting      for you guys.

Stacey_Gurlie987: Where’s Jiya?

Cassielicious: Stacey it’s a weekend night. Do you think Jiya would be at home getting bored?

Stacey_Gurlie987: Good point. :P

JengJeng: What did we miss?

Kit_53: I and Giselle were just      talking about Charles.

Stacey_Gurlie987: Speaking of Charles,     how come I’ve only heard about him today??

JengJeng: Me too!

Kit_53: That’s exactly my point.

Gigibebs: I’m sorry I didn’t tell you      guys earlier but I didn’t have the chance.