wildone

Ohhh!! Calling the goat out are we?? So, maybe he got drunk on tequila the other night so he could get the first chapter done

Congrats to the Penguins I just got off work, so didn't see the game or hear about it . It's nice to see that the underdog won, and that the favourite lost....at home. Wonder how much Vegas was paying on a Pittsburgh win?

ACK!!! I had to dig this forum off of page 3 of the lounge. Does this mean that nobody really cares what is going to happen on Friday night??? Actually I kind of liked watching the finals this year, just when you think Detroit has severed the jugular of Pittsburgh, they come back. Now with a game seven, it will be really interesting what will happen. Will the Pens finally get a win in Detroit? Or will the Stanley cup be destined to be placed upside down once again like mentioned in the first post of the forum. Not to be biased or anything, but Go Pens Go!!!

Happy Birthday Vic Hope you have a geat day and enjoy yourself, you deserve it.

Didn't you write another anthology whilst drunk and the devil's nectar? Man, do you drink that stuff like water

Me too , No Drama here. Wanna hang out Eric?

Sounds like his day could be going better , hopefully it does.

Not sure if I like the idea of you telling me I'm getting warm especially when we're talking about an active volcano

Happy Birthday Old Bob 80 years, Wow!!! Hope you have a great day with many following throughout the next year. I always enjoy your posts. Keep them coming

Well thanks for the chapter CJ . I see you decided to make up for all the chapters that may not have had cliffhangers by giving us many this one. So I have some ideas, and I'll put them out, but be forewarned, spoilers below, without the spoiler blackout. First, Helen and the General are on the way down the road to the resort where the one henchman is waiting in the parking lot. I imagine the two are going to have an interesting arrival when the henchman realizes the only car in the area suddenly pulls up. I would think that his primary focus will be on liberating the car for The Scar and his cohorts. Second, I'm really worried about Yuri searching the bodies. What will they find and especially on Jim? I looked over Chapter 37 multiple times and can't see the major clue that CJ eludes to. The most I can come up with is that Yuri might recognize the truck as being the one that nearly hit him on that dark night. Then, if they were hiding near the storage unit place, he might notice the rubber marks on the pavement showing him which unit the bombs are in. The only thing I can't figure out is how they can open the unit. Jim gave the padlock key to Helen, which he could possibly have a second copy of on himself. But the electronic scan card he put into his wallet and then with the look that Helen gave him, he surrendered it over to her, so I can't see Yuri finding the key card on Jim. I imagine though if Yuri and The Scar find the unit, a few gun rounds will release the locks anyways. One other point, with the General and Helen making their way back to the resort, is it really going to help anyone? What is a Jetta and 30 some people going to do? It is not like they can race to the north side of the island and come back for the next group. Not with the gridlock on the roads and all. Okay, here is my final guess. CJ has said that their will be no sequel. Would it be totally implausible for CJ to have The Scar, Yuri, and everyone else with the bombs when the slide happens and the all slide into the ocean with the bombs? It would be hard to write a sequel with everyone dead . So keep your fingers crossed Conner, there might be a giant pool party with everyone all together......in the ocean . Steve PS Did anyone else like the way The Scar used his friendly persuasion?

Ah, how sweet it is . It looks like we have a hockey series going on here . I guess I'm really cheering for the Pens cause they are the underdogs. The short handed goal to tie the game tonight gave the Penguins the emotional lift they needed to make this into a seven game series. Even if your a Red Wings fan (or just hate the Penguins or certain players ), you have to admit that this is getting exciting.

I guess I wasn't too clear on what I meant about the 3 not really being able to go to any other nation than the US. I heard a article written by a Canadian, for a Canadian paper about 20 years ago that summed up how any nation that stereotypes Americans is usually uninformed. I don't want to stir a hornets nest, but essentially what it says is how the world seems to judge the US by their mistakes, but they are the first to call the Americans when they need help or aid. It eluded to how the US basically funded the entire rebuilding of Europe after WWII, how the Americans are usually the first to arrive when their is a massive natural disaster anywhere in the world, how they will go in and do the dirty work that most countries are not willing to do it, and they do it all without thanks. I can be critical of the US and some of their decisions, but I am also thankful that they are willing to extend themselves into harms way to help and aid others that need aid, without thinking about their image or how anti American sediment will arise no matter what they do. I meant that really, in this frictional story, would any country other than the US be willing to 'help' Helen, Bradson, and Felicia? I don't think so. The US is still the only major superpower (China is biting at their heels though), and the only one that would be willing to commit to helping considering the circumstances. Hopefully that explains that comment a bit better . BTW, you might want to say you are currently not disfigured, not sure how much disfiguring will come from your expected castration though

Happy Birthday Luc!!! Hope you have a great bday, and many more to come.

I never thought of TalonRider as being one to sit on a fencepost

Just who are you referring to as an unpredictable volcano? Hillary or Cumbre Vieja? Okay, I'll make a stab at the political content here. Not being an American, but definitely knowing enough about US Politics from the multiple US TV and Cable stations we receive up here in the Great White North, I have to say that at no time, do I get a feeling that Changing Lanes is about the current US government, or any more than generalizations about the recent history of the US government. Some points that I will make are about the US governments foreign affairs with the world. It is not far fetched that the General, Helen, and Felicia would hold the view that the US is the only ones that can safely take care of the nukes. Unfortunately, in our current free world, the US is the only superpower that could take care of a situation that has been outlined in the story. I don't think the characters made any mistakes in choosing the US to give/sell the bombs to. I know that France, Britain, India, Pakistan, China and possibly Israel would want anything to do with it. I say that because they would rather let the Americans deal with any problems than to try to do it themselves. As far as speaking to the US inaction to rogue states nuclear ambitions such as North Korea and Iran, I take a less conspiratorial stand and say, really, what can the US do. They do try to abide by what the UN deems is appropriate action toward these countries, but as long as their is a China standing beside them willing to undercut their decisions, it is a balancing act. It would be foolhardy to assume the US can go into Iran and N.Korea and just shut them down. Without getting into a whole debate about Iraq, I hope the US has learned their lessons about invading without UN and world public opinion on their side. Like any country with a large economy and population, there will always be a military industrial complex that dictates how certain decisions are made. Is it fair that General Bradson was asked to leave? Probably not, but he did take his own actions without higher approval in the government. It did work to the government's advantage, but he did break the chain of command. Then, once again, he did do it again with the raid into Iran. The interesting thing is that really we only have the opinion of General Bradson, Brian's dad, about if the military was planning on rescuing Brian or not. Let's face it, The General was only trying to get his son out. The Scar piggybacking on him to get nuclear bombs was something that the General did not foresee and could only react after he learned of what was going on. I have some other ideas, but my point is, I do not feel that CJ through the fictional work of LTMP and CLiff is trying to make a political statement about the US government. I believe he has used the government's actions in the past to create a framework of what most likely could happen if the fictional situation arose in real life. There, did I make any sense at all? Steve

Ugh, I have a horrible feeling of doom coming upon our friends . If I recall right, CJ will put out a chapter like this right before a chapter that will shock the hell out of us . I'm going have to re read it later, as I'm sure it is full of clues that I missed on the first reading. So it looks like Helen is broke and destitute . I'm beginning to wonder if General Bradson's job offer is still on the table when this is all over. I guess if I pulled something good out of the chapter is that The Scar is getting drunk on Brandy before noon and hopefully his decision to not join the others might mean that if the volcano colapses he may go down with the nukes on the Western slope. Now that Yuri has the hotel shuttle van, I am curious how everyone else is going to get to the Eastern side of the island. Thanks for the chapter CJ , it has given me a lot to think about. Steve

Based on that little bit of information, I'm guessing that the first part of the nickname would be 'Crazy'. Now for the second part, all I can come up with is Jackass . Except, would you call a goat a Jackass? But then again, I forgot about how you did your training as a kidd

Hmm, Zeus was the god of the sky and thunder. He is often shown holding a thunderbolt in his hand above his head. He was also known for his sexual exploits. I guess the reference won't be about the author as his 'boys' are about to be stewed for tenderness . I also know CJ sometimes does, and sometimes doesn't have a reference to the chapter in his titles. So any guesses? My wild guess would be that Zeus calls upon thunder storms over the island and it washes away the ash and makes flights once again possible to get in. The other possibility is that The Scar gets all 3 of the nukes loaded onto his Herc, uses the JATO packs to take off the island and once out over the ocean a freak of nature lightning bolt hits the plane, blowing up the nukes and everyone on board. Hey, at least I have an imagination .

I'm not sure if I want to kill off and roast the goat quite yet . We should give him the benefit of the doubt to redeem himself and avenge the deaths of Jim, Linda, and Pvt. Johnson. Unfortunately the deed is done with their deaths, so some punishment is obviously deserved. Something that will still enable him to still hoof out the chapters....WAIT, I remember an old christmas song that would work Goat nuts roasting on an open fire..... Edit to add: not sure if there would be enough for all of us , so maybe we can try this lovely receipe that I just found GOAT TESTICLE STEW Serves 10-12 8 - 10 pairs of goat testicles salted water 1 large chopped onion 2 cups celery, chopped several chili peppers, seeded and chopped Boil the testicles in natural saltwater. Throw onions, chili peppers and celery in the in the pot. Let it boil for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

OMG, Eric gets shot again???? This is a great story but there is one line that just doesn't go with the whole story ... I just don't realistically see Helen squatting and waddling If I were you Linxe, I'd go into hiding before she sees that line

Well I guess I should thank you for posting that chapter CJ I am a little disappointed that you decided to kill off 3 of the good guys all in one chapter . I think I am feeling the same rage from you killing off Jim and Linda as I did when you killed Gunter. Private Johnson must have felt one hell of a dilemma lying in the back of the truck. I mean, he was willing to shoot the RPG at the centre of the nuke to ensure nobody got it, but he didn

Holy Crap!!!! Sorry CJ, no spoiler tags required for that post

I wouldn't necessarily write off the 'Hawks just yet. I'm guessing this might go on for a couple of more games. Chicago is po'd now, and who knows what they may accomplish in the next few games. So in other news, Edmonton signed Pat Quinn yesterday. I personally don't like the man and that is because of a personal interaction I had with him a several years back. He is an egotistical jerk and a bully in my opinion. Remember, this isn't a casual comment, it is from his actions in a situation with myself . Anyways, I guess it just gives me more reason to hate Edmonton that much more . Meanwhile two and half hours south, Sutter made a clearing of the coaches in Calgary. His comments for a replacement were that their are 3 coaches that he thinks could coach the team, and all 3 are under contract, so if he is number 4 in his opinion, then he may be behind the bench next year. Another comment he made was when he was defending the Antichrist (Mike Keenan). He said that the team was a difficult group to coach and needed a special person who could control them. I wonder where that came from? Not too often you have a GM making a blanket comment about his team negatively, in order to defend the former coach. But then again, I guess we don't know what goes on in the dressing room and on the practice ice times either. Well, join me in a chant...Go Hawks Go!!!