Fun Fun Fun

Well, we've been enjoying our Memorial day weekend. Watching movies, hiking, going out to eat. Ooh, Prince Caspian was just as good the second time round. Anyway, just thought i'd put in my third post for the week and head for bed. I finally started the round two opener for Paul the Critic. Hopefully i can finish it in time. Well, 'night.

Poor Molly

Molly's been moping around lately because of the new puppy. So i guess they got her some carrot cake doggy biscuits because her favorite snack is carrots. They smell really good. Hopefully they'll cheer her up.

Monday Review

Well, Prince Caspian was good. It's hard to say whether the first one was better or not. As far as keeping to the Narnia story, the first one did better, but just as a movie, the second was more mature, entertaining, and action packed. It was darker, which is always better. The darker the film is the more the heroes shine. It somehow managed to be more sad and and more funny at the same time. They hammered all the characters perfectly, kept it exciting from beginning to end, followed enough of the book to keep it true, and it was overall just a great, kid friendly(depending), exciting, action film. There were a few things here and there they could have left out, but all the great things out way those. They kept good continuity with the first one. Even the great soundtrack kinda had the same pattern as the first movie's. As for people complaining that the "christian allegory" was not very clear, well i don't think it was all that clear in the books themselves. It breaks down pretty fast, but just as a fantasy, adventure flick, they're great. It's the first time we've come out of the theaters saying "When are we gonna see it again?"

Blog Descriptions

I think i'm going to use this Saturday night post clarify the reason for my unique blog description. After all, i must remind my self from time to time that there is a rather large amount of thick headed people in the world that might not understand everything i type out. So, from time to time, i must explain myself.
A blog description is what one puts underneath the title of one's blog to kind of give the reader a hint of what kind of blog he is about to read. It can be upfront and clear, explaining exactly what the purpose of the blog is. Or it can give some sort of inspirational saying, or witty phrase. In a way summing up the whole attitude and nature of that particular blog.
When i started RotB(i'm tired of typing that out) i intended (and still do intend) it to be, in a way, almost an antidote to all the other blogs out there. I think you know mostly what i mean. The blogs run by girls, or girly boys, with the flowers and hearts plastered everywhere and the cheese factor on overtime. You know, when you bring up a blog, and the mere colors them self are the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. They usually have a little blog description that pretty much will make your mouse arrow speed for the X in the top right corner.

Some examples? For instance:
Let's share some moments. Together.
It's never to late to smile.
Happy. It just sounds right.
When you've all ready tried everything else, just smile.
Taking time. Alot. I mean, like, alot.
Taking time to enjoy the time i'm taking, to enjoy.
Life's to short to frown.
Love the life your living. Today!
Living life, just for fun.
Come, join me. Let's share some memories.
Welcome, I hope your ready for fun.
Come on in, be encouraged.
Follow me, down a path of thoughtfulness, fun, and warm memories.
I don't know, this is just the way I feel about it. What do you think?

Wait a minute. Stop right there. That last one. What was that? It wasn't cheesy like the rest, it was in fact (imho) a spontaneous burst of inspirational intelligence. Wow, I don't know where that came from. Well' actually i do, but that's neither here or there the point is (lol) that i think i just found my new blog description. Maybe i'll change it in the near future.

Back on subject.
Even typing out the diatribe of flaky phrases above was painful for me. Maybe now my current blog description will make some since. And if you have no idea what i'm talking about, my advise would be to forget about blog descriptions all together on your blog. It's just to risky. Blog description like this aren't just cheesy. I mean, read some of the ones above. They borderline on creepy. Anyway, i guess you could call it a pet peeve of mine.
'Night

Friday Movie Night

Guess what were doing tonight. :o)

Spring/Summer reading list

Wow, it was a really nice day today; it didn't seem right to be working in a dark building with little windows when it was so nice outside. Anyway, it seems my blog is going through a drought of boringness. I doubt this post will be any different.
I've decided to determine to read read a few serious books this summer, not too many though. There are five books i've been thinking about that i want to read and finish this summer; I didn't want to make it too hard so i only picked five and two of them are light reading.


1. Pilgrim's Progress
I know everyone's always raved about this book, and i pretty much know the story, but i've never actually read this book and thought about what it says. I want to see if it's as great as everyone claims.






2. Tintin: Complete Companion
I've already read through quite a bit of the book because Bekah got me it for Christmas. I'm really enjoying it. The series itself has so much depth, and it's just fun to hear all the little facts and how it was made. The most interesting thing though is the parallels the comic draws to real life when it was written. It just fascinates me that this little series, written such a long time ago, by a Belgium author is perfectly relatable and understandable. All the superhero comics that were written years later then Tintin i can barely relate to. Tintin can actually be considered as legitimate literature when you compare it to your average stupid comic book.

3. Do Hard Things
I heard an interview with the writers of this book on Way of the Master Radio and it sounded good so i checked it out at B&N. It's a bit lame and is basically a huge lecture in disguise. But i think i kinda need this lecture. (But don't tell my mom.)

4. Fly By Night
I bought this book on sight a long time ago at B&N because it has the best looking cover i've ever seen and because i judge books by their cover. Really, whoever published this did an awesome job; the whole thing looks great. I've started it a few times and actually got through a lot of it once, but i get interrupted by other books that come out. It really is a very interesting novel, and i enjoyed what i read. I'll have to start from the beginning and not put it down until i've read the last page.

5. University of Destruction
I'm not sure how much i really need to read this book, but i love David Wheaton and his PodCast so i think i'll just get the AudioBook and see what it's like. I've heard a lot about it.

New Puppy

Here's the pics. And i guess Bekah named her Jane for some reason. Anyway.

Oops

Wow, looks like i'm falling behind in posting. Anyway, i'm too tired to post right now but i thought i'd let you know that i heard someone say that Bekah's supposed to be getting her new puppy tomorrow, so if that's true then i'll be sure to get pictures up before my little sisters get their grimy hands on their blogs. So anyway, goodnight.

Monday Review

You can skip this one cause you'll probably find it boring, but if you've been looking for a good pair of ear phones like i was a while back, then this might be some information worth hearing. I bought a new pair a while back because the cheap kind kept going out on me after a few months of using. So the first lesson is, don't ever get a cheap pair. In the long run they're more expensive. They have to be at LEAST $20 and even then it's not a good bet they'll last. Unless your the type of person that just wraps up your earphones nicely, slips them into your purse, and maybe pulls them out once or twice a week. Well of course if you don't use your earphones they'll last forever. Anyway, I've had this pair for a long time now so i think it's safe to say they're pretty hardy. I like to shove them down my pockets in a little wad, and then yank them out whenever i need them, so they get this abuse every day and still survive. They sound alright; i've never had a problem with fuzzing or anything. They're super comfy, and have good noise canceling. They're almost like a pair of earplugs and when your wearing them no one around you can hear them. As far as looks, they look kinda cheap, but on the other hand they're so small that by the time you squeeze the down your ear, you only have a little black wire coming down the side instead of some big bulky thing. So they seem to be perfect. My only big complaint is that sometimes the rubber ear pieces will fall of, so i'm afraid they might get lost one day. They're kinda pricey at around $50 depending on what colour you want, but I've seen some companies selling them for around $20 so just look around. They're called Sennheiser CX300-B Earbuds

Cop out

Well, i try to keep my quota of 3 posts a week, but i just remembered that i forgot to post today. I think i'd rather go to bed instead of thinking up something to post; so this post is just here so i can say i reached my quota. And just to be nice, all you that are going to complain that i'm cheating and that this is not a legitimate post, i'll publish your comments. Even if i do find them annoying. So go ahead, bash away, tell me i'm lame, tell me i'm a cheater. I just know one thing. It all starts with a little compromise. You say "Oh, i don't feel like posting today." and so you don't. After all, what can one less post this week hurt. And before you know it, that compromise will turn your blog into a ghost blog. You'll end up posting once a month like some wannabe bloggers do and you'll have one of those, those eery blogs that are dry and desolate. And the only livly thing on your blog will be the 24 comments on your recent post that say things like. "When are you gonna post again?" and "I wish you'd post." and "You really should post." and "Are you still alive?" and "Hey! Love you. Your blog was like totally fab when you used to post. I like, checked it out like every day. I even used to check it at work when my boss wasn't looking. It used to have all those delish recipes, and it was like totally fabu. I miss you. You should post. I know it's totaly rad that you're going this long without posting, but it's also just like so not cool. Anywho, it was like so sweet that i got to hang out with you at the mall on Thursday. That dress you bought was like totally rad. You'll be like a total knockout. Oh wow. Didn't mean to write a novel. I should probably go. Thanks for being like such a great friend. You like totaly inspire me in my life. Like that new rad haircut. Totally cute. Anywho. Love you girlfriend. Signed: Friend for life xoxooxox xoxo ox ooo xxx xx x oo See you tomorrow girlfriend. Love you. Bye" and believe me, you do not want comments like these to be the monument that stands out in your last post. So, just remember, this post may be a cop out, but it's people like you who are killing the blogworld slowly. It's people like you.

Friday Movie Night

I know, i know. Major dorks.

But still, you have to admit, talented dorks. Anyway, you should probably find this entertaining if you're a StarWars fan.

Oh, it gets a little rough at the end of the last one, so now you can't complain about it cause i told you.

I love the kick. Ha!

About time for a change.

So what do you think of the new look? Spare yourself the comment and just vote on the poll. I decided to go with the dark sci-fi look just for Nathan. :) Anyway, i kinda like how it turned out. There's a few things that irk me here and there, but that's the price you pay to have a cool lookin' blog. Moving on...
It stopped snowing. Hopefully permanently.
Oh, and the tag story. If someone wants to start the next round they can, or i can kick it of with another part that would hopefully be shorter than the last, and would sort of start the ball rolling for everyone. I'm dieing to introduce agent Brice, but at the same time, i really don't want to hog the whole thing. So if anyone wants to start round two, just let me know in a comment. And please please please if you've been keeping up with the story, join in. It's never to late to join. Even if you don't have a blog, i'll just post it on mine for you. Let me know in a comment if you want to.
Oh oh oh, I reloaded the MiniPod, so enjoy the new tunes. Actually i updated a lot. Scroll down and check it all out.
'Night. ;o)

Paul the Critic

Part 7: Trapped!

So there Paul was trapped on the top of a building with a big guy holding a taser coming after him. Little did he know that he wasn’t the only one with problems and that down in the basement an even bigger problem was about to go off in a few minutes if it wasn’t stopped!

Darius snatched the phone from Laura’s sweaty hand. She had called him back the second the phone had begun beeping.
“What’s wrong with that stupid thing?” She asked.
“They probably programmed it for self destruct if the wrong passcode was entered.” Replied Daruis, as he pushed multiple buttons, trying to override the self destruct configuration.
“PAUL!” She screamed, her voice shattering the air, not to mention Darius’s eardrums. “You gave us the wrong password you lying little snake!”
“Ow?” Daruis exclaimed in pain. “As if he could hear you. Oh, and thanks for deafening me.” But that was a slight exaggeration. Darius could still hear, at least well enough to notice that the sound of the beeping had escalated to an extreme speed.
“Okay, forget that.” He said, tossing the phone into a dark corner.
“But Darius,” He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her into the other room before she could say anything else.
“Help me brace the door.” He said, reaching for a clock stand. They pushed a desk, computer equipment, chairs, even a duffle bag up against the door.
“Oh Darius, your shoe.” Said Laura, pointing towards his foot. He followed a slim pant leg down and realized he was missing a sneaker.
“Well maybe if you hadn’t stolen my shoelace to tie him up.” She muffled a giggle. He shushed her, leaning his ear toward the door. The beeping was faster and louder than ever.
“Oh Darius,” She repeated, nibbling nervously on the nub of her finger. He ran his hand over his thick blond hair; who knew what it could be. It could just be an explosion big enough to defect the phone, the cell phone itself could be a mini bomb, or it could be the trigger to an altogether larger weapon. One thing he did know, it wasn’t good. Then it happened. They heard a small pop, like the putt of an engine misfiring. Darius raised an eyebrow. Then he pulled some of the junk back and creaked open the door. In the corner there was a small ring of black soot blasted into the ground and Darius could see small pieces of the cell phone scattered around. Other then that, the room was unaffected.
“That was a bit of an anti-climax.” He stated bluntly. Laura sighed in relief; then the wall of the outer room blasted into pieces with a more expected kind of noise. They stared out of the thin gap in the door. Chunks of the wall were lying in clumps on the ground and the dust was thick. Then, the lasers sliced through the smoky air.
“Quick Laura, the escape door.”
“What about Lucy?”
“There’s no time.” He said. The figures decked in combat equipment were already maneuvering into the room.

Paul ran to a pile of crates a few yards away on the roof and crouched low, sitting there, waiting for his heart to stop pounding. He could hear the heavy tramping of feet across the roof; they were nearing him. He moved as quietly as possible around the pile; a little more, and again a few steps. The room with the door back to the stairs was now visible to him again, just standing there, all alone, in the middle of the roof waiting for him to fly back down it. He squatted where he was, too afraid to move. His heart was beating far too fast, but other than that, he heard no noise. He almost wished for a sound, anything; he realized he was chewing on his upper lip. Suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore; he sprinted for the door running faster than he ever thought he could manage. Just as he got near the door he heard the tramping behind him again and felt something strong grip his leg.
“Hey!” he screamed twisting his body around. Paul stumbled, bashing the back of his head into the roof floor. The man had dived for him in mid-run.
“AH! Ow, ow.” Paul laid there on the ground, writhing on his back. The man got up slowly, still griping the tazer in his left hand. He lifted Paul by his collar and slammed him up against the wall of the stair room.
“Ow?” Paul repeated. They were eye to eye now. The man was dressed in a nice suit and had eyes dark enough to send a shiver through Paul.
“Okay, I’ll give you my milk money and we can all go happy.” Paul said. It’s crazy how your mind can resort to humor in a life or death moment. The man jammed the taser up underneath Paul’s jaw.
“Okay, ow. That hurts, that hurts, that really hurts.” Yes, Paul was aware of how pathetic this sounded, but he really couldn’t help it.
“You try somethin’ funny one more time, and you’ll wish you’d never been born my little friend.”
The voice, the voice; it was overdone, too dramatic. There was really no reason for it; after all, the man was quite scary enough already with a great big body and his thumb dangerously close to the trigger button and all that. There was no need to fake the voice on top of it. Paul rolled his eyes at himself; why was he criticizing at a time like this? This wasn’t a scene from one of his precious operas, it was real life. For the first time that crazy day, Paul actually realized something that he had never even considered before in his life. He could die. Everything he knew, everything that meant anything to him might be resting between a small round object about the size of a tack and the thumb of some huge crazed individual that (as far as Paul could tell) would have no qualms with dropping Paul off the side of the roof. In reality, chances are Paul would’ve survived a taser to the neck at point blank range, but in Paul’s mind, he was certain it would be lethal.
Everything seemed so little now. Suddenly it didn’t seem to matter what the person on the subway was wearing the day before, or whether Stephon Gavet could hit the final note in "Cadmus et Hermione". Every thought that went thru his mind on a day-to-day basis didn’t mean a thing when it came to this. And for some reason, that critical mind of his had no idea how to react or what to think; it had drawn a blank.
Paul would never know for sure whether the man would have pushed the button or not. Of course common since tells us that he had no reason to hurt Paul when he had already caught him, but common since and reality or not always the same. And before the rather large man could even blink his eye, his body was shoved sideways to the ground by some invisible force. Paul coughed a little and rubbed his neck. The man laid there on the ground; the taser, still loosely in the fingers of his left hand. After scanning the body over, Paul guessed it was sniper fire that had done the deed. He could hear something behind him; it was getting louder every second, so he turned to see a helicopter in the distance, drawing closer. The way his day was going, who knew what the flying vehicle would hold, but he had better have been prepared. He leaned down, his back towards the helicopter, as if he were going to see if the man was alright, but instead he swiped the rather large taser and sunk it into his inside suit pocket.
“Hello?” He said to himself, cocking his head to the side. He had seen this man before. Of course, at the opera with the blond lady. How much of what he had seen throughout the day could be tied to this whole mess? The noise was getting furiously loud.
“Oh ow.” He groaned, holding the back of his head. A bump was already forming, and he could already feel the steady pounding, synchronizing with his pulse. A burst of wind began blasting him from behind; the helicopter was landing. Ok Paul, time to turn around and face whatever’s in store for you next. He didn’t even bother guessing; he just turned and stood there, letting the wind from the chopper blades send the sides of his suit blazer flapping behind.
A man jumped out first. The huge rifle he was hefting around in his right hand had a long silencer screwed into the front, a scope, and various other gadgets Paul would have never been able to indentify. The man himself was dressed in fancy designer suit with pinstripes; he had short cut hair, grey around the temples; the top went where it pleased. Five other men in combat equipment followed closely behind him, motioning directions and orders as they went. No one seemed interested in Paul; they acted like he wasn’t even there, attending to their own business, approaching the large man on the ground. Then the last person climbed out of the helicopter, Sarah. One would think Paul would have let out a sigh having seen a familiar face, but for some reason a small spark of anger flared in the back of his mind.
“Oh, Paul I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said, approaching him.
“Well I’m not okay; my head’s throbbing and-“
“Did this man have a weapon?” The grey templed man interrupted his whining tirade.
“No. I mean not as far as I knew.” Paul fired off the lie with more skill then he knew he had. He refused to trust anyone for the rest of the day if not his life.
“It looked like he was threatening you with something before I hit him.” The man said suspiciously.
“Yeah, he was actually. His hands.”
The man stood from where he had been crouching; a lazy eye stared Paul down.
“Well he’s done for anyway. Bradly, see if you can find anything useful on him.”
“He’s dead?” Paul asked. He wasn’t sure why he had asked it. He knew the wound was fatal, but the thought of someone’s life being ended was one he’d never felt he wanted to dwell on before today.
“No, he should be fine. I only perforated probably his left lung and his heart, but it’ll heal in no time. Just give him a few seconds to get his life regeneration juices flowing and he’ll be good as new in seconds.”
If you’ve learned anything about Paul, you would know that this last sarcastic diatribe fueled his insides with anger.
“Team 2,” The man said into his radio. “What’s your status?”
“We just made it in sir. There are signs that people were here recently, but we haven’t found any- Wait a second.” There was a pause on the radio for few moments. “Sir, we just found someone. I think you’ll want to be down here sir.”
“Alright, I’ll be down there soon. Leave everything as is.”
Paul was rushed with the crowd back down through the stair room. He knew that it wasn’t a good time to ask questions; doubtless he would get no answers at the moment anyway. Though on their way down the stairs something other than questions occupied his mind; he couldn’t get over the large man they left behind on the roof. For some reason it seemed wrong, not that he was sorry the man had died. It was a good bet the thug had it coming, but still, it didn’t seem natural. Of course everyone knows that life and death is as natural as anything, but seeing the man’s body laying there on the ground, he was having trouble accepting it. The fact that a tiny piece of metal, like a bullet, can snuff out everything one knows and loves was something Paul couldn’t shake from his mind.
The grey templed man moved down the stairs three steps at a time, his rifle up and ready.
“Bradly, clear these other floors. Let me know if you find anything. The angel and the thick head stay with me.”
Where does this guy get off calling me a thick head? Paul wondered. Finally they reached the basement floor. Something caught the grey templed man’s eye; he knelt down and picked up a sneaker off the floor holding it up into his vision, his brow creased in extreme concentration.
“Oh, she’s in that room over there sir.” Said one of the nearby men.
“Thank you Henderson.” He replied, throwing the shoe casually aside.
They walked through the door and their eyes were met by a blond haired woman sitting on the ground, handcuffed to a pipe in the corner. She was dressed in a suit also; it seems to be quit the fad doesn’t it? She was done up all nice with the face paint and all that stuff, and she sort of smirked, cocked her head, and lifted an eyebrow at them as if to say What? You guys think you’re gonna pin me down? Judging by first impression, Paul figured she had great potential to be a smart aleck.
“Hello boys,” She said, stretching a fake smile across her face. Then she glared at Sarah, adding “and company.”
“Get me a chair.” The grey templed man blurted out of the side of his mouth. “And get her out of the cuffs.”
“We don’t have the key sir. They’re not ours; we found her like this.”
“Hmm” He replied thoughtfully. “Well find something to get her out of these.”
Just then another equipped man entered the room. “I found the cutters.”
The grey templed man snatched the tool from him and cut the handcuffs at the chain. He grabbed a chair from another man and sat it in the middle of the room.
“Sit.”
She stayed there looking at him, lip curled.
“Sit here now please?” He repeated, loudly and obviously annoyed. She obeyed, moving very slowly. He pulled a notepad and pen out of his pocket.
“What’s your name?”
“You can call me Lucy babe.”
“Give me your full name.”
“Lucille Ball.” She was overly sarcastic if such a thing exists. The scary thing was that her annoying voice sort of reminded Paul of the famous actress. For some reason he’d never been a big fan.
“Okay smarty pants, have it your way.” This statement caught Paul’s tension. Why? Well, if Paul were to stereotype this woman, she would have most defiantly ended up as a smarty pants, and it was then that Paul realized something about this grey templed man. He had called his sister angel, and called him a thick head. Those could have been coincidences, but this last one, smarty pants, made it undeniable. This man was a fellow stereotyper. This may not be a very big deal to you or me; you probably don’t have shivers running down your spine or feel as though you’ve just been hit across the head with a baseball bat. But to Paul it was mind shattering. You might think this would cheer him up, finding a fellow soul that could understand the way he thinks. It had the opposite effect. Paul felt that something had just been stolen from his very person. This man, whoever he was, was clearly bad news. If only our friend Paul had known that this man would turn out to be allot more than just trouble. Years later he would think back on this first encounter; the first time he had met his arch enemy.
On a side note, Paul also realized he hadn’t even stereotyped one person since this whole mess started. Clearly the day’s events were taking a toll on his mind.
“So what made them throw you in here and cuff you to the pipe?”
The woman shrugged. “I guess the spark of friendship we shared was short lived.”
“And why would that be?”
“Well wouldn’t you like ta know.”
He cleared his throat. “Okay, we can either bag this up and take you somewhere where I’ll have the resources I need to pry the answers out of you, or you could tell me what I need to know and we could have this all wrapped up in five minutes. Your choice.”
“Okay, I’ll talk. But could someone get me my purse; I haven’t had a stick of gum for hours.”
“Purse?” He asked, quite interested.
“Yeah, it’s in the other room with all that junk.”
“Henderson, see if you can find it.” He ordered.
“It’s in the cubby hole of the desk.” She yelled after Henderson as he walked out of the room.
“Okay, in the mean time Lucy, how about some answers?”
“Wait, Lucy…” Interrupted Paul, laying aside his resentment momentarily. “Laura mentioned a Lucy on the elevator.”
“Elevator?” Asked the grey templed man, wrinkleing his forehead. “And who’s Laura?”
Smarty pants piped in. “Laura’s the one headin’ it up. She started taggin’ along with Paul on the elevator ta see if she could find out if our intel was correct.”
“Okay,” said the grey templed man, raising his hands in the air. “Start from the beginning.”
“Apparently they got some intel that the sis planned on slippen’ Paul here some sort’a special information. So first we decided to search his apartment while Laura got friendly with him. We had ta lock up the elevators to keep the floor clear so we could have a chance to search it right. Security was onto Darius so he had to hide in the elevator shaft for a while. We couldn’t find nothin’ so they followed Paul until he met his sister at the café. They thought if they gave them some time alone she’d pass it over. Turns out she did, so we nabbed him.”
Paul jumped back in. “You were at the Opera with the other guy.” He said, pointing at her.
“Yeah, what of it?”
Just then Henderson walked in with the purse tucked under his arm; Paul noticed a small piece of paper slip out of the purse and float to the ground behind him. The gray templed man took the purse and began digging through it.
“Hey, what’s the idea?” Asked the woman. He pulled out the pack of gum and stuffed three pieces into his mouth. Shock spread across the woman’s face. Paul knelt down to tie his shoe, but instead he swiped the paper card off the ground. No one had noticed it.
“Sorry, I ate my last piece a while back.” said the grey templed man, between chews. “Now there’s still a piece left in here, but you don’t get it until you tell me why they cuffed you to the pipe.” He waved the piece in the air. “It’s known as the infamous bubblicious torture.”
She leaned back in her chair relaxing herself. “They found out I was workin’ for someone else.”
“Who?”
“I’d be good as dead if I told ya.”
He flipped the piece of gum to her. “Don’t worry about that; we won’t let anything happen to you.”
“If you can get me to a more secure facility, then we can strike up a deal.”
“Right. Until then, give me all you know about this Laura and what’s his face.”
This was all very tiring; Paul turned and walked out of the room.
“Hey, thick head, don’t go too far.” He heard his new friend call after him.
So the noise we heard above the elevator must have been Darius. Paul thought to himself. It all seems to make since, in a crazy, twisted, oh this should not be happening to me sort of way. At least he had got some answers, but there were still some he wanted. He flipped over the paper card.
“Caliente Cab Service” It read. “Driver Jimmy Pietsch” It proceeded to give the phone number and other relevant information; it even had a fancy little graphic of a taxi cab on the bottom right hand corner. Paul stuffed it into his left pant pocket when he felt a fragile grip on his arm. Then, he pulled his arm away sharply as he realized who it was.
“Paul,”
“No.” He said shaking his head seriously. She leaned her head slightly; her face was filled with some kind of emotion, Paul was sure, be he couldn’t tell which emotion exactly.
“Oh,” she said, fishing in a pocket. She pulled out his mobile phone and dropped it into his hand.
“Sorry,” she said. “I traded it with ours in the cafe.”
“Why?” He replied shortly, slipping his phone back into his suit pocket where it belonged.
“We had to, to be able to track you.” She stated defensively.
“Okay then, next question. Why did you need to track me in the first place?”
“Paul, what did they tell you about me?”
“That you’re working for the government or something stupid like that.”
“It’s true.”
“It’s still stupid.”
“Paul.”
“No. Why were you tracking me?” Paul was getting noticeably worked up, but he still had refrained from shouting.
“Okay Paul, it’s like this.” She began. “My work is extremely important; it could save lives. You can’t even tell anyone, anyone about any of this. These people who were after that information, that caught you, they were dangerous. They were causing trouble; we needed them out of the picture, okay. We leaked some false intelligence that I was planning on pawning off some info on you. We knew they’d jump at that; we knew they would capture you. We slipped you our cell phone replica so that we could track you, and we were all ready for this. Our men were just waiting for the signal to come in and rescue you. We were hoping to get them all.”
Paul, stood there, shaking his head, trying to take it all in. “Wait, wait. Who do you think you are?”
“I’m your sister Paul.”
“No, don’t even, just don’t. You used me.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Yes, yes I did. I used you for something that might save lives; I used you for our country, and I’d do it again in a second if the circumstances were the same”
“I don’t care if it would have saved all of New York City; never, ever involve me in anything without letting me know every detail about it. Understand?”
Now of course Paul cared if something could be done to save all the people of New York City from danger, but if you’ve been reading this story faithfully thus far, you might have noticed something. Our little friend here, Paul, has what you might call a few character flaws. For one, he’s petty, and he could be described as a bit selfish, but from time to time he also seems to exadurate situations.
“Listen, they could of killed me. It would have been that easy for them to eject me out of the picture. Did you think about that?”
“Yes, of course, it was a chance I was willing to take.”
“Well I’m not, frankly, but apparently I don’t have a say in the matter when it comes to risking my life. And think about what you started. Did you hear what that Lucy said? She was working for someone else. You think perhaps she might have given your little leaked intel to them? You know what that means? Who knows who’s after me now.”
“Paul, I can have someone keep an eye on you, make sure nothing happens.”
“No! I want you and your creepy little government friends to stay away from me.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“Now take me home. I’m done here.”
“Almost, but not quite.” The grey templed man said, jumping into the conversation. “I finished up with the smarty pants but I still want to talk with you.”
“Forget about it. I’m going home.”
“Really?” The man said, stepping up closer. It sounded very much like a challenge.
“Richard.”
“Yes Sarah?” He said, without moving his eyes away from Paul.
“Can we talk?”
He stood there glaring. Then he turned and walked toward the room, grabbing Sarah by the arm.
“Don’t you go anywhere.” He called back. The door shut. Paul stood there, fuming inside. To think, the worst nightmare of his life was condoned by his sister. It was all he could do to keep himself from screaming in rage at her. He bit on his lip. He didn’t know what to do. There was no need for tears; releasing his anger wouldn’t change anything. He just wanted to walk into his apartment, take a shower, and sink into his soft bed. His head ached. He wondered what time it was; it felt late. He was going to need a long vacation after this.
Perhaps there was something he could do; he reached for the taxi card with his left hand and flipped open his mobile phone with his right. The dial pad lit up as he entered the number. He waited; one ring, two rings-
“Hello, you’ve reached Caliente Cab Service How may I help you?”
“Uh yes, will Jimmy Pietsch be driving tomorrow?”
“One moment sir.” Paul sighed deeply, rubbing the bump on the back of his head.
“Sir?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, he’ll be driving tomorrow morning.”
“Could he pick me up at about 10:30 am, at 4th and Harrison?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem sir.” He heard the door to the room opening.
“Okay, thank you very much. Uhuh, good evening.” He slipped his phone back in his pocket and turned to see his sister kiss Richard gently on the cheek. At this point, he really didn’t even care. “Thanks Rich.” She said, and then turned and came towards Paul. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”
Richard, that grey templed man in a pinstripe suit, the one who had stolen Paul's super power of stereotyping. He just stood there, looking at Paul, as if to say in a most cliched way: This is far from over.

I could describe the ride home in detail, but I think you would find that slightly boring. So I’ll describe it in three words.
Cold. Long. Quiet.
When Paul arrived at his apartment he pretty much did what he had planned. He took a nice little shower and sunk into his soft bed which seemed softer then usual on that particular night.

The sun was shining through smog, down onto the busy 4th and Harrison, New York City street. A taxi cab pulled over to the curb. The driver checked his watch and then glanced towards the apartment building. Nothing yet, he wiped some sweat of his forehead. Then, he noticed a man approaching from the building. The man was dressed in a nice suit, his hair nicely done, and had a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He opened the back door and climbed in.
“Where you need to go pal?” asked the driver.
“To be perfectly honest, I haven’t decided yet.” Said Paul removing his glasses. “Hm, I think I recognize you, from last night. Mr. Pietsch, I believe?” He raised the large taser into sight. The driver gulped. Paul knew he was the same man. He had the same curly hair and heavy set body; apparently Mr. Pietsch had recognized him to.
“Tell me, why did you do it.” Paul asked, creasing his brow.
“Listen, I don’t have much money; sometimes I get lucky and can earn an extra buck doing something on the side, no questions asked. I’m sorry.” More sweat began to bead on his forehead. “What do you want from me?”
“Like I said, I haven’t decided yet.”
“Listen, I don’t have the money anymore. I don’t have anything.”
Paul stared the man down. “Let’s just say one day I might need a favor. I’ll know who to call.” He put away the taser and slipped the shades back on. “Good day.”
Paul climbed out of the taxi; the figure of the driver was still fresh in his mind. The blue eyes, wide with fear. Paul thought he would have felt tough, like he’d made a point, like he was able to take care of himself. For some reason he didn’t feel any of these things. He felt a bit like a child after doing something foolish. He just kept walking. It hadn’t made him feel any better; it wasn’t a good idea; he would have taken it back if he could.
Then the cab exploded, the air force shoving Paul down onto the pavement below.

A man sat there, staring through his geeky glasses, the white glow of a computer screen lighting up his features.
“What’s this all about Corrin?” Said an older man, entering the room.
“Oh, hi sir. Uh, here take a look at this footage.” He pulled up a window on the monitor played the footage. It was a bird’s eye view of the top of some old building. Two small figures were interacting with each other; whether they were scuffling or just conversing you couldn’t tell. One of the figures dropped and a helicopter approached from the northeast and landed. From what they could tell, it looked like some sort of S.W.A.T. team jumped out with a few other figures and they all disappeared into a small room on the roof.
“Are they ours?” Asked the older man.
“No that’s just the thing. It was last night; we don’t know who they are. We checked in with NYPD and pretty much everybody else, no one’s claiming them.”
“It could be a coincidence.” Said the older man, playing with his moustache.
“I don’t think we can take that risk. You think we should contact agent Brice?”
“He’s still busy following up on that chemical company lead.”
“Uh, with respect sir,” said Corrin, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. “I think we all know that’s a dead end. We’re finding more connections to this roof incident as we speak. ”
The older man sighed heavily. “Okay, call him in.”

Friday Movie Night

I know this is a bit of a let down. Nothing exiting, just some piano; it was this, or trying to think up something to post.

Anyway, this is the latest song i made up. I kinda messed it up at the end, but oh well. See what you think.

I should have Trapped! up tomarrow night. At least i hope.

Monday Review

A comic book, a picture book, children’s novel, and kid’s movie.
It seems I’ve found some rather good books lately, so I thought I’d share them with everyone. Btw. If you haven’t watched Expelled yet, you still have a chance to see it. Missing it is not an option. And about the tag story, I think I can say with certainty that it’ll be ready by Saturday. I’m really afraid it will be extremely long, I’m nearing the end though and just taking my time.

Mouse Guard
There seems to be a major shortage of good comic books today, and an abundance of sick, gory, dark, perverted ones. Which is why I personally am not a big fan of comic books. I mean I love the idea; they’re basically picture books with witty banter and interesting storylines, and comic books sort of have their own little flavor if you know what I mean. But now days I pick up one and then slam it shut five seconds later feeling about ready to hurl, which is why I was pleasantly relieved to find mouse guard. It’s clever, clean, has beautiful art, and an intelligent storyline. Somehow it manages to be perfectly clean but at the same time has enough action and darkness to entertain boys.
It’s a bit like Redwall but at the same time is very original and unique, which is nice because Redwall (imho) lost it’s originality a while back when the author began basically writing the same story over and over again with just different characters and a bit of a plot twist. But that’s another discussion. Anywho, Mouse Guard is good. Good good good. Perfect for reading to little boys. Of course it’s not as good as Tintin, but you really can’t compare anything to Tintin because it won the all time best comic series prize hands down a long time ago. Btw. If you haven’t read Tintin I sincerely say you are missing out. It’s not like most comic books; it’s like authentic literature. Oh, Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are making movies out of it. That’s exiting but let’s jump back on topic.

The Arrival
It would take me to long to explain this, but it’s a picture book (no words whatsoever) so you can figure out why it’s so brilliant by asking for “The Arrival by Shaun Tan(I think)” at B&N and check it out for yourself. It’s excellent; believe me.

Alex and the Ironic Gentlemen by Adrienne Kress
I haven’t finished this yet, but I have no doubt that the ending will be as good as what I’ve read so far. Now I am a firm believer of judging a book by its cover, but in this case you really can’t. I didn’t like the cover until I got half way through the book. You can, however judge it by the nice little piffy review on the back by another very talented author. Very clever. It’s kind of like Lemony Snicket meets the Robinsons if you know what I mean. Just gets better and better. It’s a better version of Lemony Snicket because it actually has happy endings, and I noticed it had a lot in common with Meet the Robinsons. (Which is the best cartoon ever.) First of all, you have to shut part of your brain off before reading (which is always fun), and other parallels included, a big talking octopus, main character is an orphan, zombies, and twisted baddies. I’m sure there were others, but that’s all I can think of at the moment. Anyways, I liked it. I’d say it was for teens and not kiddies. It had some parts that scared me even and some gross stuff.

Lastly Water Horse
After watching the previews I had my doubts. It looked like it had potential to be free willy cheesy if you know what I mean. But the cheese factor was actually quite low, and it had a lot of spirit. It was kind of sad in a touching sort of way, and was scary which was good. I think kids need a little bit of scary to keep them in order.
Ok, I’ve said enough. If your looking for something to thumb through, a book to read, or a weekend movie, check these out. That’s all.