Graeme

It falls on us to ensure that the number of posts made per day at GA doesn't drop. I'm therefore calling on everyone to make an extra post a day, just for CJ. To make it easier, you can make that extra post here in this thread, where almost anything goes. I'm starting -- this is my extra post for the day. Okay, who's up next?

I disagree -- if there is a hint of cliffhanger in the upcoming chapters, I would be voting for mobilising our European contingent to track him down and chain him to an internet connection until he's resolved it. After all, I do want the story to be finished.

It sounds like he agrees with you, Ieshwar Please notice CJ's way of abbreviating the name so he doesn't make a mistake again....

It was a big, prominent article in the Saturday newspaper. It definitely is in the news here , though it's competing against a federal election campaign, so I don't expect any follow-up on it.

I came across this article in The Age newspaper in Melbourne. I thought it was an interesting glimpse into a place I've never been to. Food for thought: India packs lunch for 150 million

Interesting, but ultimately meaningless, at least to me. It doesn't change the character as far as I'm concerned. It's still interesting, though, that she had that background information on Dumbledore and tried to make sure everything remained consistent with that background.

Safe trip and I hope you have a great time. Good luck!

I'd have to go back to check, but I think you're right. Helen thanked him, and the others acknowledged it, but none of them explicitly said thanks or even that they appreciated the gesture. I suspect that that is because $3K is not a lot of money to them and they keep forgetting how it is a lot of money to Brandon.

Thank you, Kevin! I think thanks are more appropriate than a congratulations. As others have said, you make a big contribution to GA being the friendly welcoming place it is, and that is something we can all be thankful for. Best wishes with everything you do and I hope you make many more posts to keep us all smiling.

Carl Douglas: "Google is my friend"

Could it be that he'll be using the nukes for blackmail? The other option I can see is that he'll sell them and use the proceeds to "buy" Paraguay -- or at least the soccer team. If he buys the soccer team (football team for any Paraguay members), and spends the money so that they win the next World Cup, then he'll be proclaim king of the country as a result. Could that be his devious plan? Convoluted, but it just might work....

Chapter 14: Buying Chase a birthday present Chapter 15: The Phoenix concert (at least)! At least that's my predictions, based on the titles.

Happy Birthday, Tony! I hope you have a great day -- party hard and enjoy yourself!

Happy 18th Birthday, Anna! I hope you have a great day and an even better year ahead. PS: Isn't about time for another pumpkin story?

A New Life is one of the classics. It is one of a number of stories that helped me accept myself, and ultimately led to me starting to write. Definitely recommended reading

THE EGGMAN RETURNS? Welcome back, Dave!

Since when did you ever say you couldn't write! Your stories are one of the things that helped me accept myself and then start on writing!

G'day, Dave61! Sorry, I wasn't around at GA then so I don't remember you but welcome back!

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest Characters develop themselves as well as being developed by the writers. I've had it happen enough to know exactly what you are talking about.

I've just had a thought about something mentioned in this chapter: Jon and Eric were terrified of Helen. How long ago did the boys have their split with their family and how long has Helen been their manager? Jon and Eric would never admit it, but has Helen become their "mother" and hence they are scared of her disapproval? If they look at it dispassionately, she's employed by them, not the other way around so it doesn't make sense that they should be scared of her. She's very competent at what she does and I suspect there is a sense of loyalty to her because they realise she's been a big part of Instinct becoming successful, but the way they were scared of her didn't ring true if the relationship was just a business one. If she terrifies them (and she's not controlling in the sense of not letting them make their own decisions), it makes sense for them to look for a different manager. They aren't, so that implies there's more to the relationship than just business. Which leads into the subject of maturity. It honestly doesn't surprise me that Jon and Eric haven't been acting in a mature way. Maturity often comes as a result of the environment you are in, and the band has been in a very artificial environment for some time. With their appearances and actions managed by Helen, they haven't learnt to become mature -- they haven't been pushed out of their childhood properly (going from teenager to rock 'star' isn't a typical progression). Chase comes over more mature and I think that is partially because of what he went through when he came out. He was forced to grow up, just like Brandon was. Jon and Eric had some stress at that time, but not to the same degree, and their success as a rock band has shielded them from the normal worries and concerns that help people mature. As a general note, I've met some very mature sixteen-year-olds and some very immature twenty-five-year-olds, so Jon and Eric are just par for the course....

The boys have said they won't be waiting for Chase's birthday -- though it'll only be a few days before that event. The bad news is... I don't think they're selling tickets for that particular event so you're going to have to work hard to get ringside. Actually, all we know is that Zeke's brother turned on Brandon. We don't know what sort of relationship Zeke has with his brother. It could be that Zeke hates his brother and will become friends with Brandon just to spite his brother (leaving aside the other music-related reasons for staying on Brandon's good side). Also, while Brandon knows enough about Zeke to know the name of the band he plays for (played for? Maybe he's no longer in that band. Band line-ups change, after all), it isn't stated how well Brandon and Zeke's brother know each other. Do they know each other by sight? CJ -- yes, the coincidence is a stretch, but it's not one that disrupts the story. These things do happen from time to time. It's the total sum of the number of coincidences that stretches credibility to the limit and I don't think you're there yet. I'm assuming, like you have, that the music industry at that level is sufficiently small that it's not unusual for people to know each other. If The Shadows are a good enough band to play at an Instinct concert, then it isn't unusual for Brandon to know about them, especially if one of the members is from his home town. Brandon knowing Zeke is more likely than Zeke knowing Brandon as a consequence, unless Zeke knows Brandon through his brother. Equally, musicians tend to congregate and so Brandon getting to know Zeke's brother (who I'm guessing also has a musical interest) isn't odd. This sort of thing often runs in families so it's not as big a stretch as it may first seem. I enjoyed the chapter. The way they got out of the situation was Charity was good -- the same way they addressed the problem of Lump. I have to wonder, though, exactly how many blackmail check tapes/recordings Helen has.... They've made two new ones in only a couple of weeks.

In his defence, I should point out that Dimitri stated that they don't intend to use the nukes "here". Of course,"here" could mean Toowoomba, not Australia, and Dimitri is not obligated to tell the truth, but for now I'll give the goat the benefit of the doubt and assume that he won't be blowing up parts of Australia -- at least with nuclear weapons.

Thanks, Ieshwar, for sharing so much over the last year. Besides getting to know a great guy, we've also learnt so much about Mauritius and your culture. I'm looking forward to another 1000 entertaining and educational posts -- and some more great stories

Happy Birthday!

What he said