MikeL

CJ, I recognized your reference to William Walker. He is included in Tennessee History courses taught in middle school here in Tennessee. I think the textbooks make him out to be more a hero than the actually was. One of his primary goals was to establish new slave states in Latin America out of the reach of the US Government. For more info, see William Walker (Soldier) or Walkers Expeditions. Here is an historical marker located in Nashville:

An interesting idea, but CJ is already trying to redirect our thinking away from vertical mine shafts: Perhaps there is a sloping shaft built for drainage - which the Shadows will spot at the bottom of the ravine - that connects to the shaft Dimitri and Chase are in. Even without climbing gear, Shadow could get behind Dimitri and overpower, or at least distract, him. The sacrifice could be anyone - hopefully, not a member of Instinct. Dimitri's demise, IMHO, wouldn't be a sacrifice. Is 24 ever going to return?

Great chapter, Dan! Kyle is coming along nicely (both as a mage and as a friend to Worthington). He is still struggling with some confusion, but is working to overcome that. So, what is this interruption in Worthington's plans? Are demons afoot in Disneyland? Let them stand in line for the Haunted Mansion.

I don't consider the small amount about Jerry/Scar unusual. (It could pass for what Fox News would call, "fair and balanced".) After all, next to the action in Telluride, what's another Latin American coup? I think it is clear from the story that Scar is in Paraguay.

I think that was C James, but the Anthology was released several days early. In any event, Chapter 24 has been released.

dkstories has released Chapter 24 of Rich Boy:Growing Pains.

Carl Holiday has released Chapter 8 of The Artists.

Also Eric's rock climbing injury in chapters 19-20 was necessary for Jerry to smuggle the kryton (sp?) switches into Australia.

As I remember hearing it some years ago, when I was in the Army, Soviet rifles had a slightly larger caliber than the NATO 7.62 mm weapons. They could use captured ammo, but the good guys could not use captured commie ammo.

C James (the old goat) has released Chapter 44 of Let the Music Play in its entirety. Will Instinct survive? Will Dimitri become swiss cheese? Will there be a cliffhanger? Read away, goat lover.

My previous post was fatiguing but I decided to establish a poll on the burning issue of one-sentence paragraphs. I went back to reread the first four paragraphs of Let the Music Play, Chapter 44. Surprise! Surprise! There is no one-sentence paragraph in the selection. How did we ever get into this discussion? CJ urged us to read the four paragraphs again. We all took that to be a disclaimer of a cliffhanger. Just shows how misleading the old goat can be. He can give you an honest, straight-forward response to one issue and make you believe it is a quibbling response to a different issue.

I think you are right. A paragraph can be one sentence if the subject or thought changes. What really bugs me is a paragraph that goes on and on. I think some breaks would be welcome by the reader even if the subject or thought does not change. I once reviewed a legal document in which one paragraph went on for a page and a half single-spaced. I know legal language is a special subset of English, but that paragraph contained just one sentence. I was tempted to ask an English teacher to diagram it.

I hereby challenge CJ to write a one-sentence cliffhanger.

CJ, you need to look at that definition again. The last paragraph of Chapter 43 does not resolve the cliffhanger. The chapter ends unresolved. Also, by your own admission, the first four paragraphs of Chapter 44 were originally the last four paragraphs of Chapter 43. There always was and remains a cliffhanger here.

Pez dispenser? Good one. I hadn't expected any humor to come from this wretched scene.

Huh? Dispel a rumor? What rumor? You get two cliffhangers out of one chapter by posting the last four paragraphs separately and then claim there are no cliffhangers? Definition of "cliffhanger" per Wiktionary: What have you resolved?

I'm sure there were, but we don't know any of then personally.

It has to be "to soon to say". It had better be that something is missing.

Awful! Horrible! This as a bigger cliffhanger than Chapter 43. We would be better off without these four paragraphs. I hope we find that Brandon or someone had a bad dream. Surely CJ wouldn't slaughter all the heroes...all the good guys. I liked the WildOne's ending better.

Roast Cabrito Recipe Place one kid goat with hams and shoulders on bottom of roasting rack top with the ribs and backstrap or tenderloin. Make a basting sauce of the following: * 1 stick of butter, we prefer unsalted butter for the sweet taste * 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced * 1 Teaspoon Salt Juice of one lime * 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce * 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tablespoon Celery Salt * 1/2 Teaspoon each, Rosemary, Basil, Savory and Oregano * 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper Melt butter in microwave and add the garlic, salt and lime juice. Heat thoroughly in microwave. Add the rest of the ingredients. Pour over cabrito and roast for about 3-4 hours covered with foil, basting often with the sauce in the roasting pan. After 4 hours, uncover and baste thoroughly and cook in oven an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour. This will cause the meat to crust over. Baste with the sauce as often as you can. This will keep the meat from drying out. Carve and serve with fresh pico de gallo and sliced avocado. Source: http://www.t4ranch.com/recipes.html Note: The tequila is best when consumed by the cook after roasting is completed.

I have read that many scientists believe we have already entered a period of global cooling. The glacial pace at which our elected representatives pass legislation may yet work to our advantage. While global cooling can be worse than global warming, as Ice Blink illustrates, it may be obvious that it has arrived before Congress moves to spend their our trillions. Foolhardy? Not at all! Brilliant is more like it. It certainly fits the anthology theme although escape eludes the hero. Bravo!

Spoiler alert! If you haven't read Chapter 23, don't read my comments. ******************************************************************************** Well...Gerald Norman is a jerk. Perhaps that is too harsh; he's just being a typical bureaucrat and a growing problem for Worthington. Michael Lowenthal seems like a true friend and Worthington appears to have accepted that they will not be sleeping together. Kyle has become even more interesting. He is being friendlier to Worthington and has a quick wit. I appreciate any Texan who says "y'all" (true to the Texas vernacular's roots in Tennessee) rather than"ya'll". (I may be confusing this with a discussion in C James' forum.) Now that Kyle has made the suggestion, I wonder where Worthington is taking him for their Thanksgiving getaway. Also, wondering what may transpire there; just because Kyle seems less homophobic doesn't mean he is easy. Dan, I had forgotten your predilection for boys in tight baseball uniforms. Just kidding...that was a great scene and a great chapter.

dkstories has released Chapter 23 of Rich Boy:Growing Pains. Enjoy the story and your weekend.