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Good News, Bad News
In its short history, the economic stimulus program has been critiqued by Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and various watchdog groups. Now, an independent team of researchers from Harvard University has produced an assessment of the Recovery Act's impact on government transparency. The lengthy report, done for the IBM Center for the Business of Government, contains both good and bad news for those involved in overseeing the Recovery program, including the Recovery Board.
The study is the work of Francisca M. Rojas, the research director at Harvard University's Transparency Policy Project. The Recovery program requires recipients of $276 billion in contracts, grants, and loans to submit spending reports that are posted publicly on Recovery.gov. Rojas and her team examined that transparency effort "to understand what the disclosure of spending data accomplished, who used the available information, and how it was used.'' The team focused on the Recovery Act's transparency requirements at the state level, specifically Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, Mississippi, Texas, and Washington.
"Overall, the most significant effect of Recovery Act spending transparency,'' the Rojas team wrote, "was an improved capacity by state officials to manage the disbursement of federal funds.'' The team found, among other conclusions:
- State compliance with federal spending disclosures requirements was very high. States exceeded the law's transparency requirements in building comprehensive websites to post data.
- Transparency requirements served as a deterrent, contributing to low rates of fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer funds.
- The quality and timeliness of transparency data improved over time.
- Spending transparency became institutionalized in some states and at the federal level. Congress and the White House both have proposed Recovery-style transparency to track spending for all federal contracts, grants, and loans.
Rojas' team, however, pointed to one big problem—identifying how many jobs have been actually created or saved under the Recovery program. "…The rate of spending turned out to be more straightforward than tracking the number of jobs created or saved,'' the report says. "Job metrics attributable to Recovery Act funds had to be created without the benefit of precedent—always problematic in new transparency systems.''
The report said the initial methods used by the Office of Management and Budget to estimate jobs "made it difficult to accurately capture employment impact…'' Early in the program, the report says, OMB changed those procedures so that jobs were estimated only on a quarterly basis, meaning that "Recovery Act-funded jobs could not be aggregated across quarters due to the risk of double counting.''
The conclusion: "Even though employment outcomes were critical to gauging the ongoing impacts of the Recovery Act, doing so through the disclosure system was almost doomed to fail because of the complexity of measuring these effects.''
The Recovery Board did not escape criticism. The reports notes that the issue of data quality became "a significant controversy'' during the first reporting period after some recipients entered non-existent or otherwise wrong congressional districts in their reports. The "phantom'' congressional district controversy became a big headache for the Board, which had posted the incorrect information from recipients on Recovery.gov. We later corrected the situation, but the Rojas team's report says the damage was done: "This early experience with reporting errors compromised the credibility of the data,'' the report concludes. "Unreliable data initially frustrated journalists and advocates trying to understand the impacts of Recovery Act spending.''
Still, the report leaves no doubt that transparency in government spending was greatly improved by the Recovery program. Bottom line: "Federal transparency requirements created a ripple effect of voluntary transparency efforts….All states and many state agencies created their own websites for spending disclosure. Journalists and advocacy groups built multiple online outlets to make it easier for the public to access spending information. Further, rates of fraud, waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds were reported to be lower than expected for federal programs.''
– Michael Wood, Executive Director, Recovery Board
Assessing the Government's Recovery Implementation
What was the government's experience in implementing the Recovery Act?
That's the underlying question of a study being undertaken by the federal Inspector General community on behalf of the Recovery Board over the next several months involving the $840 billion Recovery program. What mechanisms did agencies use to disburse funds? Were they effective? What obstacles did they face in implementing and administering the programs receiving Recovery money?
And what about the Inspectors General — how did they perform their oversight role? Did they develop new oversight mechanisms to counter fraud? Did they work well with the agencies they oversee?
The IGs are calling the study a "lessons learned'' report and expect to issue their findings later this year.
The Recovery Board, consisting of 12 IGs, has been developing this idea for some time along with others in the IG community. Mary Kendall, the Acting Inspector General at the Department of the Interior, has been at the forefront in pushing this idea and is serving as the chair of the review. Along with the Interior IG's office, we have 15 other IGs who will help gather information from their respective agencies.
Last month, I sent out letters to the agencies whose IGs are conducting the review. Here is what I told them:
"The objective of the Lessons Learned Review is to identify which actions, processes, and mechanisms have been either beneficial or posed challenges to agencies, departments, and their respective Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) in meeting the requirements of the Recovery Act …. Each OIG will review and assess agency/departmental implementation efforts as well as the OIG's own oversight efforts.''
The study is designed to determine, among other things, how federal agencies communicated with recipients of Recovery funds and how they communicated instructions and new policies. We also want to know whether agencies required recipients to submit formal plans on how they might use Recovery funds. Another area of interest: How well did the agencies oversee spending by recipients?
The study also seeks to elicit feedback from agencies and Inspectors General on how well the Recovery Board and its staff did in overseeing Recovery spending.
For example: "What feedback do OIGs have regarding how the [Recovery Board] conducted oversight of Recovery Act funds? Which particular practices or examples of [Recovery Board] oversight did the OIGs find most useful? Which practices did the OIGs consider to be the least helpful to them in their own oversight of Recovery Act funds?"
Please stay tuned. You'll hear from me again on this subject.
– Kathleen S. Tighe, Chair, Recovery Board
Back to Basics
What federal agencies distribute Recovery money? What agencies review Recovery spending to ensure that funds aren't misused? Every day, it seems, the Recovery Board's communications department receives calls from news reporters and members of the public asking those fundamental questions and others.
Despite our best efforts to keep all informed, a brief tutorial about agency responsibilities under the Recovery Act, known formally as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, might help.
The essentials of the three-year-old program are these:
- The White House Office of Management and Budget writes the guidelines for the program, including issues relating to spending and jobs data reported by recipients of Recovery funds.
- Federal agencies, 28 of them, distribute funds for contracts, grants and loans to recipients. Some agencies also provide tax credits and entitlements.
- The Recovery Board, consisting of Inspectors General from 12 federal agencies, collects spending and jobs data from recipients of Recovery contracts, grants and loans. The information is posted each quarter on Recovery.gov. The Board also combines a sophisticated analysis center and the work of analysts to assist the IG community in preventing and detecting waste, fraud and abuse.
That's pretty much it — and, no, the Board is not TARP, otherwise known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program. We are frequently confused with TARP, another government program established to address the economic crisis.
- Michael Wood, Executive Director, Recovery Board
New Recovery Chair Describes Her Dedication To Transparency and Accountability in Government
The following post was written by Kathleen S. Tighe, the Chair of the Recovery Board and the Inspector General for the Department of Education
Challenges keep you on your toes. In two decades in government, I've had plenty of them, serving in law enforcement-related positions at the Department of Justice, the General Services Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education.
Last month, President Obama handed me a new—and exciting—challenge: He selected me to serve as Chair of the Recovery Board, the independent agency that oversees the $840 billion economic stimulus program approved by Congress nearly three years ago. It's a big job, something I know from personal experience as a member of the Recovery Board since April 2010.
The Recovery Act requires the Board to post detailed spending information on Recovery.gov and to provide oversight so that the funds aren't wasted or stolen. In a nutshell, that means we need to be transparent and accountable to taxpayers.
I can assure you of my long commitment to government openness and accountability. I work for the taxpayers—not the other way around—and I wake up every morning feeling that I can make a difference. I felt that way the first day I walked into the Department of Justice in 1988 to begin serving as a trial attorney in the Fraud Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch. And I did make a difference, settling multi-million dollar cases that benefitted taxpayers.
My work as the Education IG should also give you a good idea of the way I think. From the time I first took that job 22 months ago, I have made it clear that no one—no individual, no company—is above scrutiny. Under my watch, the IG's office has saved taxpayers millions of dollars by pursuing settlements and other actions against those who sought to defraud taxpayers.
The Recovery Board has a different oversight function. It does not conduct investigations. However, our analysts use sophisticated IT tools, housed in a facility known as the Recovery Operations Center, to pinpoint irregularities in Recovery Act contracts, grants and loans issued by federal agencies. The findings are sent to the IGs who oversee the 28 agencies that issue awards and serve as the basis for audits and investigations.
In its short history, the Board has been hailed for its commitment to accountability and transparency. Rest assured that those good government practices will be continued during my time as Chair.
Getting 50 Tons of Toxic Chemicals Out of the Ground
Cleaning up contaminated groundwater at the Lowell, Massachusetts site of a former chemical plant has been accelerated as a result of $20 million in Recovery Act funds from the Environmental Protection Agency.
When Silresim Corporation went out of business in 1977, it left behind 30,000 decaying drums and large storage tanks filled with toxic chemicals, which leaked into the groundwater. The drums and tanks have since been removed, but state and federal officials have been working to clean up the contamination for almost 30 years.
Using advanced technology, which Recovery funds helped to buy, officials expect to remove more than 50 tons of chemicals from soil and water within nine months – a process that would normally take much longer.
Nobis Engineering, Inc., a local firm, is prime contractor for the work.
On the Job
While Recovery.gov's main mission is to display information about Recovery spending and projects, the Recovery Act requires that the site provide "to the extent practical" leads on potential jobs.
To meet this mandate, Recovery.gov has enhanced the site's job-search capability to include three sources for possible jobs:
- Recovery award recipient websites – This search focuses specifically on jobs listed on websites of prime recipients of Recovery awards.
- State websites – Use the links to connect to your state's website for job opportunities close to home.
- The Internet – Powered by Indeed.com, this search provides results of job listings from multiple job databases.
Keep in mind, however, that these sites are private and independent from Recovery.gov.
We also suggest looking regularly at the list of Recovery contracts because winners of federal contract awards might be hiring. In addition, take a look at USAJobs.gov for federal employment opportunities across the country, and Careeronestop.org for advice and tools, such as resume templates from the Department of Labor.
We're always looking for more ways to provide information on job opportunities. If you have suggestions or maybe you've heard of Recovery projects hiring in your area, let us know.
What Recovery Funds Cannot Pay For
We've received a substantial number of e-mails asking if there are Recovery funds available to help with mortgages, car payments, general living costs, and other personal expenses.
Unfortunately, the Recovery Act makes no provision for direct payments to individuals to cover these costs.
We suggest that you contact local government and non-government social service organizations for information on resources where help might be available.
Meet the Board – Gordon S. Heddell
Gordon S. Heddell was sworn in as the Inspector General for the Department of Defense on July 14, 2009, one year after being appointed as Acting Inspector General. Prior to joining the DoD IG, Mr. Heddell had served as the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Labor since January 2001.
Mr. Heddell began his Government service in 1966 as an Army Chief Warrant Officer, Helicopter Pilot, serving in both Korea and Taiwan during the Vietnam-era conflict.
Following his military tours of duty, Mr. Heddell served for 29 years in the U.S. Secret Service, where he held various law enforcement, management, and leadership positions. He began his career with the Secret Service as a Special Agent, progressing to Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge in 1982. Between 1982 and 1985, he served as Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge in the Office of Administration, where he managed the day-to-day administrative operations of the Secret Service, nationwide.
Mr. Heddell then served for two years as Assistant to the Special Agent-in-Charge in the Washington field office where he directed investigations of threats made against the President, Vice President, and other high-ranking government officials in Washington, D.C. Between 1987 and 1989, he served as Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge in the Philadelphia field office, where he supervised complex criminal investigations relating to counterfeiting and various types of financial fraud.
From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Heddell served as Deputy Assistant Director, where he managed inspections of offices, as well as internal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by employees, worldwide. He also served, in this capacity, for two years in the Office of Training, where he was the executive responsible for the development and execution of training programs provided to the Secret Service's 4,800 employees.
Mr. Heddell assumed an executive position in the Vice Presidential Protective Division in 1993, as Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge. In 1995, he was promoted to Special Agent-in-Charge and served in that position until 1998. During his tenure in this division, he directed the physical protection of the Vice President and the security of the Vice President's residence.
From 1998 until December 2000, Mr. Heddell served as Assistant Director. In this executive position, he led the Secret Service's Inspection and Internal Affairs programs, worldwide.
In addition to dozens of outstanding performance ratings and numerous letters of commendation, Mr. Heddell was the recipient in 1997 of the prestigious Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for outstanding government service.
Mr. Heddell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri, a Master of Arts degree in Legal Studies from the University of Illinois [formerly Sangamon State University], and was a Woodrow Wilson Public Service Fellow while at the Secret Service. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and was the creator of the Secret Service's mentoring program at two D.C. public schools.
Recovery Act vs. TARP
The following statements are true:
The Recovery Act is not the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and is not connected to TARP.
The Recovery Board and Recovery.gov were created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The chart below indicates the differences between the Recovery Act and TARP.
|Signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009
|Signed into law by President George Bush on Oct. 3, 2008
|Congress allocated $787 Billion for the Recovery Act
|Congress allocated up to $700 Billion for TARP
|Enacted in response to Severe Economic Downturn
|Enacted in response to Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis
|Commonly Known as ARRA
|Commonly Known as TARP
|Public Understanding of Reason for Recovery Act: To Create jobs
|Public's Understanding of Reason of TARP: Bank bailout
|Stated Purposes in the Recovery Act: Spur the economy and invest in long-term growth, and Foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending
|Stated Purpose in TARP: Purchase toxic mortgage-related assets from financial institutions to provide stability to the banking system
For more information on ARRA, read the Recovery Act.
For more information on TARP, visit www.financialstability.gov.
Meet the Members of the Board – The Chairman
Earl E. Devaney is a veteran public official dedicated to accountability and transparency in government.
On February 23, 2009, six days after signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, President Obama named Devaney to head the Recovery Board, which is charged with overseeing spending under the $787 billion program. In announcing Devaney's appointment, the President said: "Earl has doggedly pursued waste, fraud and mismanagement. He has the reputation of being one of the best [Inspectors General] that we have in this town…. I can't think of a more tenacious and efficient guardian of the hard-earned tax dollars the American people have entrusted us to wisely invest."
President Bill Clinton appointed Devaney as the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior in 1999. During his tenure, he oversaw the public corruption investigations that led to the convictions of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Interior Deputy Secretary Steven Griles. He also presided over the oil and gas investigations that engulfed the Minerals Management Service from 2007 to 2009.
Before becoming the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior, Devaney spent eight years as the Director of the Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training for the Environmental Protection Agency. In that job, he supervised all of EPA's criminal investigators, the agency's forensics laboratory, and its enforcement training institute. In 1998, he received the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for outstanding government service.
Devaney began his federal law enforcement career with the Secret Service in 1970, following his graduation from Franklin and Marshall College. At the time of his retirement from the Secret Service in 1991, Devaney was Special Agent-in-Charge of the Fraud Division and was recognized as an international expert in white collar crime.
We'll be posting bios for the 12 other Board members on an occasional basis.


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Emmett Moten owns the Hotel Fort Shelby in Detroit.
He owes $170,000 in back property taxes.
His company received a $3.5 million, HUD-backed loan to renovate the hotel. Almost four years later, the loan has not been paid back.
Moten is the head of a Detroit Mayor Dave Bing political action committee.
He has until Monday at 5 p.m. to pay at least $65,000 of the back property tax or the Wayne County Treasurer's Office will foreclose on the hotel.
Play the video to get the full report from Fox 2's Charlie LeDuff in his first installment of "Deadbeat of the Week."
FOX 13 / WTVT-TV3213 West Kennedy Blvd.Tampa, Florida 33609Main: (813) 876-1313Newsroom: (813) 870-9630Fax: (813) 871-3135

subset: commoncrawl


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Categories > Anime/Manga > Yu Yu Hakusho
The Labyrinth: A Parody0 Reviews
Yusuke makes a mistake after arguing with Keiko and summons the Goblin King. Now he must fight through the labyrinth, overcoming foes, obstacles, and his own inhibitions, to rescue her.
"Give me the woman. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the woman that you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great. ...Damn. I can never remember that line. What is it, Kurama?"
"'You have no power over me.'"
"You have no power over—this is stupid," Yusuke yelled, grabbing the playbook from Kurama's hand and throwing it over his shoulder. It landed in the grass near some ducks which took flight. Kuwabara grinned.
"If it's so stupid, why'd you sign up for it, Urameshi?"
Yusuke glowered. "Old man Takanaka said if I didn't participate in the school play this semester I'd be thrown out of school. I got the lead part, thanks to Keiko."
The four fighters were hanging out in a park near Yusuke's house. It was a cloudy day, but the first one they'd had off in weeks. Kuwabara and Kurama were sitting on the grass, feeding Yusuke his lines for the play, while he paced on the grass. Hiei was standing at the edge of the pond a few feet away.
Just as Yusuke bent to pick up the book with the play's script in it, nearby a clock chimed seven times. "Damn it...I forgot, I have to go on a date with Keiko now," he moaned, and Kurama and Kuwabara stood up while Hiei turned back to them.
"Wait, wasn't your date at 6:30pm?" Asked Kuwabara. Yusuke thought about it, and then cursed again.
"You're right! She's gonna kill me! Here, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Yusuke thrust the playbook into Kurama's baffled hands and ran out of the park. The others stared after him, confused.
"She sure has got him on a tight leash."
Yusuke bolted back to Keiko's house where he was supposed to meet her. While he ran, it started to rain, getting him soaked. Muttering angry words under his breath, he knocked on Keiko's door.
She opened it, looked out, and then slammed it in his face. Growling, Yusuke knocked again, this time speaking as soon as she opened the door. "Keiko, I'm sorry I'm late, I was—"
The door slammed again. Furious, Yusuke pounded on the wood of the door. "KEIKO! DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT OR NOT!?" He yelled, and shoved past her into the house. She folded her arms.
"I guess since you're here we might as well go. I still can't believe you're half an hour late, Yusuke Urameshi." He glared at her.
"I said I was sorry, okay? I was practicing for this stupid play." Keiko, getting an umbrella from the front closet, glared at him again.
"You show up late and wet, break into my house and then insult one of the most important things in my life right now? How dare you!" She glared at him, and he said nothing, so she handed him the umbrella.
"The least you could do is hold this for us," she muttered, and he did so, not opening it until they were outside. No sense in giving himself even more bad luck.
Keiko was frigid most of the evening, through the movie and dinner, so when he dropped her off at her house that night, Yusuke was happy to be going home. Of course first she wanted him to come inside so they could talk.
Keiko sat down on the couch and Yusuke lounged in an armchair, faintly wondering whether her parents were home. "Look, Yusuke, I know you're busy but I don't know if I can keep seeing you if you're going to be a jerk about it. There are lots of other guys I could waste my time on." She continued to ramble on while Yusuke continued to ignore her. Outside, thunder and lightning continued ferociously.
"I know you didn't want the lead in the play, but I think it will be good for you. At least you don't have to play the person the Goblin King takes away, I mean poor Misa-chan..."
"I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away right now," Yusuke muttered. Suddenly, the room went dark and Keiko stopped speaking. Yusuke jumped and stood, assuming the storm had knocked out the power.
"Keiko? You okay? It's just the storm, I bet." He walked slowly over to the couch to see if Keiko was freaking out or not. His hand reached toward where she had been sitting, but he felt nothing. Squinting at the couch, he realized that Keiko was not there.
Then the living room window opened, the panes sliding back, and a very tall, pale man floated into the room through the window. He had strange facial makeup, a crazy blonde hair-do and black clothes wrapped in a complicated manner around his thin frame.
His arms were folded, his mouth twisted in a smirk. Yusuke was clueless until he remembered what he had said right before the lights went out.
"What, you're supposed to be the Goblin King? That's bullshit, he's not real." The Goblin King grinned.
"Aren't I?" He asked, and Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the man before realizing that he didn't have a demonic aura. It seemed unbelievable, but...
"I didn't mean it. Bring Keiko back," Yusuke growled. The Goblin King looked amused.
"Oh, you didn't mean it? It's too late now." Yusuke took a fighting stance.
"Bring her back! Where is she?!"
"You know very well where she is," the Goblin King's smile was beginning to wane. He looked impatient, but then again, so was Yusuke. "Yusuke. Go home. Play video games and spar with your friends. Forget about the girl."
"You know I can't do that," Yusuke glared at the man. Why was he so impossible?
The Goblin King, continuing to float, smiled warmly at Yusuke. "I've a gift for you." From the depths of his clothes he brought a shining, clear, silver orb that was perfectly round. He spun it quickly and deftly around his fingers, making it look effortless. Curious, Yusuke said, "What is it?"
"It's a crystal, nothing more. But if you turn it the right way, it'll show you your dreams. However, this isn't a gift for an ordinary boy who takes orders from a controlling girlfriend. If you want it, you'll forget the girl." Yusuke's stance became defensive again.
"I can't do that. I just want her back. If you don't bring her back, I'll kill you." Yusuke meant it, too. Keiko was a pain in his ass most of the time, but he did care for her. The Goblin King glared at him, his eyes turning to slits. He brought a snake from his sleeve. It was large, and from the look of it, dangerous.
"Yusuke. Don't defy me," the Goblin King said coldly, and threw the snake at Yusuke. He dodged, and as the snake hit the ground it turned into a rope of knotted handkerchiefs. "You're no match for me," said the Goblin King. Yusuke doubted that this was so.
"I need Keiko back," he maintained. Perhaps he could annoy the Goblin King into surrender.
The King turned and behind him through the window, Yusuke saw a sun-coated land usurped mostly by a large and complicated maze. At the center was a large castle.
"She's there, in my castle. Still want to look for her? Turn back. Turn back before it's too late." Yusuke grimaced, clenching his jaw.
"I can't. Besides, it doesn't look that far."
"It's further than you think," the Goblin King pressed. Yusuke looked around and saw that he was now completely in this other world where the sun was just beginning to rise. Everything was coated in a gold-orange sheen.
The King stepped back from him and conjured a clock, the hands of which were both pointed at 12. "You have thirteen hours to solve this labyrinth. If you don't, the girl becomes a goblin forever."
The Goblin King smiled at Yusuke, making him want to punch out the cocky son of a gun, and began to vanish. Before Yusuke could step forward, the man was gone. Yusuke sighed, and then began walking.
He walked down an expanse of grass before making it to the beginning, which really didn't look like a beginning at all. It was just a stone wall, no entrance of any sort. As he looked, he saw tiny fairies flying around him. They didn't have a demonic aura either.
But then, he looked a little past the fairies and saw Hiei catching the fairies and smashing them between his hands or stomping on them. Yusuke ran up to the smaller demon, outraged.
"Hiei! What are you doing? They're just fairies." A small blue-skinned fairy landed on his finger, and Hiei smirked at him as the fairy sank razor-sharp teeth into Yusuke's palm. He shook his hand, cursing, and the fairy took off.
"They're nasty creatures who enjoy the taste of blood. I suggest you do the same and destroy them." As he spoke, Hiei smashed another fairy into the stone of the labyrinth's wall. The poor fairy slid to the ground and withered up.
"How can I get in?" Asked Yusuke. Hiei gave him a curious look, but didn't answer. "Well, do you know?" Yusuke asked, impatient. Keiko was on her way to becoming a goblin now. Hiei shrugged.
"Maybe." He squashed another fairy under his foot and started walking up to another group of them.
"Well, where is it?" Yusuke demanded.
Hiei didn't look back at him as he asked, "Where is what?"
"The door!"
"What door?"
"You're hopeless," Yusuke spat, and Hiei killed another three fairies by sweeping them into a pile and kicking them against the wall.
"Not if you ask the right questions," he said in a nonchalant manner. Yusuke sighed.
"How do I get into the labyrinth?" He asked. Hiei pointed to an expanse of wall behind Yusuke.
"You get in there." Yusuke walked over to the wall, which he realized had a gap in it large enough for him to fit through. Surprised he hadn't seen it before, he poked his head through to get a look of the maze.
The path stretched left and right, but the way ahead was blocked by another stone wall. He reached his hand forward and felt that this one was solid. Hiei came up behind him, peering into the labyrinth.
"You're going in?" He asked swiftly. Yusuke nodded, stepping into the narrow passage. Hiei smirked. "Left or right?" Asked the fire demon. Yusuke looked both ways. They seemed to stretch on for miles.
"They both look the same," he answered, unsure. Hiei smirked again. "You won't get far that way."
"Well, what do you suggest?" Raged Yusuke. Perhaps half an hour had gone by already. Hiei shrugged. "I wouldn't go either way." Yusuke growled.
"You take too much for granted. Even if you do make it to the center, you won't get out alive," Hiei folded his arms. Yusuke sighed.
"Thanks for nothing, Hiei." He turned and walked to his left a few feet. When he glanced back, the gap in the wall where he had entered was solid wall again.
Rolling his eyes, Yusuke began to walk on. He walked for at least a mile to the left, before he began to get frustrated. "What kind of labyrinth doesn't have any turns or corners?" He asked, kicking the stone wall behind him.
Then, he looked a little closer at the space of wall next to his foot. "Maybe I'm taking it for granted," he said, and poked the wall. His finger went through.
"All right! Now I'm getting somewhere!" He yelled, and went through the false wall to another passage.
Keiko was sitting in a dirty stone room with a bunch of monsters. They're goblins, she thought distantly. Just like in the play. The goblins were stinky, disgusting creatures who, for the most part, just sat around fighting with each other and staring at her.
She was wearing the same dress she had worn on her date with Yusuke, but it was getting dirty from all the filth in the castle. There was a rusty, old chain around her right wrist that was attached to the wall so she couldn't run away.
A man entered the room. He was tall, in dark clothing with pale skin and crazy hair. She grimaced at him, thinking he wasn't looking at her, but his head whipped around and caught the expression. He grinned at her, his teeth white and perfect, his eyes sparkling.
She thought he might be somewhat handsome if he wasn't holding her hostage. The man—Goblin King, she thought—chuckled.
"In eleven hours, you'll be mine!" His chuckle turned to a laugh and all the goblins chimed in. Keiko clenched her fists. Not if I have something to say about it, you pig.
Yusuke had been glad to see that after coming through the false wall, many more turns and paths were open to him. That glee had lasted about a minute. Now he was running around, trying to avoid making the same turns and probably getting nowhere. Suddenly sure he was just retracing his steps, he stopped running and sighed loudly, once again kicking the wall.
"That won't get you where you want to go," said a voice that sounded suspiciously like his mother's, and he whirled to see a door behind him that either hadn't been there before or he'd never noticed before. In front of it were two people...sort of. Yukina was in front of the left door and Yusuke's mom, Atsuko, was in front of the door on the right.
Only their heads were upside-down. In front of where their bodies would be were shields, blue on the left door and red on the right, and their feet, at the top of the shields, weren't visible. They were smiling at him.
"What do I do?" Yusuke asked warily. Seeing his mom upside-down was weird.
"Try one of these doors," Yukina suggested.
"One of them leads to the castle," said Atsuko, "and the other leads to certain death!" finished Yukina. Both women laughed.
"Well, which one is which?" Asked Yusuke. Atsuko opened her mouth to answer, and then paused.
"We can't tell you," she mumbled.
"Why not?"
"Because we don't know. You'll have to ask them," said Yukina, and her and Atsuko's heads disappeared while Botan's and Shizuru's heads appeared on the top of the shields. Yusuke jumped.
"You're two two-headed freaks!" He yelled. Botan grinned at him.
"Okay, which door leads to death?" He asked. Botan giggled and Shizuru smirked.
"You can only ask one of us."
Botan nodded. "It's in the rules. One of us always tells the truth, and one of us always lies." Yusuke rubbed his chin in thought, wishing Kurama was there to help him.
"Okay." He turned to Botan. "Would she tell me that this door leads to the castle?" He asked, pointing first at Shizuru and then at the door behind Botan. Botan pondered for a minute.
"Yes," she answered. Yusuke squinted, thinking, as the women watched carefully.
"Then, this door leads to death and the one behind Shizuru leads to the castle," Yusuke grinned.
"But how do you know I'm not the liar?" Botan asked, still grinning.
"Well, if you were the liar, Shizuru would be telling the truth. So if that door really did lead to the castle, Shizuru would have said yes, and your answer would have to be no, because you're the liar. It's the same thing if you were the one telling the truth."[1]
Confident, Yusuke stepped toward the door with Shizuru on it. As he walked, a trap door opened under him and he began falling down a black chute. Suddenly, hands grabbed onto him, around his wrists, ankles, legs and arms. They held him in place, stopping his fall.
"Hey, let go of me! Help!" He yelled up the chute, but only heard the women laughing.
"What do you mean, help?" Asked a voice, coming from inside the chute itself. Hands that weren't holding onto him made faces out of themselves to give a mouth to the voice. Yusuke found it eerie.
"Yes, we're helping hands!" Cried another voice.
"You're groping hands," Yusuke grimaced. Some of the hands were holding him rather tightly.
"Do you want us to let you go?" Asked another voice, and he shouted, "No!"
"Well, then, which way?" Asked yet another voice. He thought about it.
"I guess I'll have to go down, since I know I chose the right door," he said, and the hands began handing him downward, passing him off while the numerous voices laughed.
Yusuke squirmed, wondering whether he'd made the right choice. At length, the hands deposited him on cold, hard, dirty ground, and he sat around wondering what he'd landed himself in.
The Goblin King was contemplating Yusuke's progress, watching him with the crystal he'd offered the Detective earlier. Goblins crowded around to see the human failing. "He's in the oubliette," said the Goblin King, and the other goblins cheered.
"He'll never escape!" They laughed. The Goblin King glared at them.
"He should have given up by now!" Another goblin pitched in.
"He'll never give up. He wubs the wittle girly," the goblin grinned, staring at Keiko, who was trying to ignore everyone in the room.
"The fire demon will lead him back to the beginning. He'll give up when he realizes he has to start all over again!" Roared the Goblin King, and began laughing loudly. The goblins joined him, shrieking and glaring at Keiko, who looked at the ceiling, hoping they were wrong.
It was pitch-black in the place that Yusuke was in, and by the smell, he guessed that it was underground. As he was standing up, he heard footsteps coming toward him and paused, holding his breath. "Who's there?" He asked, wary. He half expected some gigantic man-eating monster.
"It's me," Hiei answered, coming into the small room. He held a torch, so Yusuke could see that it was, in fact, him, but not where he had come from.
"I knew you'd fail, so I came to help," Hiei scoffed. "I suppose you've realized there aren't any doors or windows. This is an oubliette. Without help you'd starve to death here." Yusuke, who was used to Hiei's bravado, raised an eyebrow at the demon.
"You know what an oubliette is?" Hiei nodded slowly.
"A place you put others when you want to forget them. I know a way to exit the labyrinth." Yusuke sighed.
"Hiei, I can't just leave Keiko to become a goblin. I have to find my way to the castle. I'm close, I know it!" He answered hotly.
The smell of the oubliette was beginning to annoy him. He realized that Hiei would never help him through the labyrinth, or even out of the oubliette...unless he had something to offer.
"You remember the smell of Demon World, don't you?" Yusuke said suddenly. Warily, Hiei raised an eyebrow.
"If you help me get through this labyrinth, I'll get Koenma to clear you completely and give you a ticket back to Demon World." Hiei was tempted, but didn't answer right away.
"Or take me as far as you can through it, not all the way if you don't know how. You'll be a free man once again," Yusuke grinned. Hiei paused for what seemed like a long time, and then nodded, the gesture only slightly visible in the torch's glow.
"Fine. As far as I can for a free ride to Demon World. This way." He turned, pulling a door handle out of his pocket. He stuck it into the wall and pulled back on it, creating a stone door. Hiei crouched slightly and went through, holding the torch over his head.
Yusuke practically had to crawl through, but finally made it. They were standing in a much larger hall, filled with stone pillars that had faces carved into them. Hiei walked forward, and Yusuke paused to look at the face in one of the pillars.
"DON'T GO ON!" The rock pillar yelled. Its stone mouth formed the words as Yusuke watched. Another one chimed in down the hall.
"THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY!" As he caught up to Hiei, even another yelled.
Hiei growled. "Ignore them, they're just false alarms. They are abundant in the labyrinth, especially when you are getting close."
"OH NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Yelled the nearest pillar, and Hiei glared at it. "Shut up." The rock's face pouted.
"I'm just doing my job," it moaned. They walked forward and another spoke. "BEWARE, FOR THE—!"
"Forget it," Hiei hissed at it.
"Please, I haven't got to say it in such a long time," the rock's face whined. Hiei rolled his eyes.
"FOR THE PATH YOU TAKE WILL LEAD TO CERTAIN DESTRUCTION!" Yusuke grinned at the pillar as they passed. The path got narrower from here and there were no more pillars. They walked into a hall made of stone that turned a corner to the left.
At the corner was a strange creature that was hunched over with an ugly beak. They went to move past it, but the figure stood up and threw off its skin. It was the Goblin King, who had been in disguise. Hiei jumped.
"What have we here?" The King asked, glaring at Hiei, who, for the first time since Yusuke had known him, looked intimidated. He wasn't frightened, just humbled.
"Nothing," the demon spat, glaring back at the King.
"Are you helping this human?" the Goblin King demanded.
Hiei shrugged. "If I thought for one second that you would betray me, Hiei, I'd be forced to throw your sister into the Pit of Despair."[2] Hiei held his tongue, glaring angrily at the Goblin King.
"And you, Yusuke. How are you enjoying my labyrinth?" He asked, sauntering up to the Detective, who gave him a fixed glare.
"It's a piece of cake," Yusuke spat.
"Is that so? Then you won't mind me upping the stakes a bit," grinned the King, and conjured the clock again.
His hand spun in a circle, and so did the hands of the clock, taking away around four hours of Yusuke's remaining time, leaving him with just over four hours before Keiko was a monster. "That's not fair!" Yusuke yelled, getting ready to attack the King.
The clock disappeared and the Goblin King glanced at Yusuke, unamused. "So the labyrinth's a piece of cake, is it?" The Goblin King pulled the crystal ball out of his sleeve again, and Yusuke didn't like the look of it this time.
"Then I wonder how you'll like this little slice," hissed the Goblin King, and he turned and flung the crystal at the wall opposite Yusuke and Hiei. It smashed, and in its place grew a giant machine with a rotating wheel of spikes which began to barrel down the hall toward Yusuke and Hiei. The Goblin King disappeared.
"What the hell is that thing?" Yusuke asked Hiei as they began to run down the hall that led left. Hiei threw the flaming torch on the ground so he could run faster. "Cleaners," Hiei answered, his legs flying swiftly beneath him. Looking back, Yusuke saw that the cleaners took up the entire hall, destroying anything in their path with the spiked wheel. Yusuke followed Hiei, unable to see ahead without the torch.
Hiei suddenly stopped running and examined a piece of wall that Yusuke realized was wood, not stone. The cleaners were around five feet away. The two of them stepped back, and then kicked down the wooden wall, falling into a small haven just as the cleaners passed them.
Panting, they stood again and Hiei looked up to see a ladder. He grabbed the bottom rung and began to climb up, Yusuke following close after. As they climbed, Yusuke couldn't help but ask, "So what's this Pit of Despair?" Hiei grimaced.
"It's a torture chamber where the King sends his enemies. He's the lead master of it but there are others, ruthless and hungry for pain. I myself have experienced it twice. I would brave it again if necessary, but I won't allow..." He drifted off, and Yusuke understood. Hiei would brave the Pit of Despair if it meant that Yukina would be safe from it. The idea of Hiei being tortured made Yusuke sick.
They finally got to the top of the ladder and found themselves outside, in the bright light. They were back in the maze, though Yusuke could tell that they were closer to the castle than before he had fallen in the oubliette. He looked around and began walking with Hiei close behind.
They walked through a zigzag piece of the maze and came upon an enclosed area where a boy was hanging upside-down from a tree. There was a rope tied to his ankle, suspending him, and around him were goblins with spears, poking the poor boy.
Looking closer, Yusuke realized that it was Kuwabara. He was shrieking and the goblins were jabbing him with the spears. "Hey!" Yusuke yelled, running into the fray. He kicked the nearest goblin far away, the thing's head hitting a stone wall.
"Thanks!" Yelled Kuwabara, as Hiei cut him down from the tree with his sword. The three men began to fight, punching and mostly kicking the goblins into the walls, stunning them. When they were all knocked out, Yusuke turned to Kuwabara. "Want to help us get through the labyrinth?"
Before Kuwabara could answer, Hiei jumped in. "Not us, you. This is where I take my leave. I cannot help you further." With that, he ran down one of the pathways and disappeared. Yusuke glared after him, and then turned back to Kuwabara, who grinned.
"Sounds great! Let's go this way." They took a path leading to the right and after following it some way, came to another double-door. Each one had a knocker on it made with two strange faces; one of Koenma's face, whose knocker hung from his ears, and one from George the ogre's face, whose knocker hung from his mouth.
"Which door should we take?" Yusuke asked. Kuwabara shrugged and they stared at the doors.
"It's very rude to stare, you know!" Koenma's face yelled. Yusuke's eyes widened.
"Sorry, we're just trying to decide which way to go," said Kuwabara.
"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Yelled Koenma's face. The boys looked at each other in confusion.
"Mff phff dmmr," said George's knocker. He was having trouble speak around the ring in his mouth, so Yusuke reached over and removed it.
George stretched his mouth, and then grinned. "Thank you! It feels so good to get that out," he said loudly.
"WHAT?" Yelled Koenma.
"What were you trying to say?" Asked Kuwabara. Koenma glared at them for ignoring him.
"It's no good talking to Koenma sir; he's deaf as a post with that ring in his ears."
"Okay, where do these doors lead?" Asked Yusuke, getting tired of the fact that everyone here was so slow to catch up.
"WHAT?" Yelled Koenma.
"I don't know, we're just the knockers," George answered.
"How do we get through?" Asked Kuwabara, after trying to push on the doors, to no avail.
"Huh?" Koenma shouted.
"Just knock on the knocker and it'll open," said George. Yusuke grinned.
"Thanks. Now open your mouth," he said, trying to put the ring back into George's mouth.
"No! I don't want—" but Yusuke forced the ring in. George had to hold onto it.
"Sorry," said Kuwabara as they knocked on the door. It swung open and the two friends went inside.
The Goblin King and his minions were feasting around Keiko. They'd offered her some food, but moldy bread and rotten meat didn't quite whet her appetite. She refused, looking defiantly at the blank wall. The King, who was sitting near her, grinned.
"Pretty eyes, you've got. Maybe I'll keep you from turning into a goblin so you can be my wife." Keiko stuck her tongue out at the man, and he laughed along with his goblins.
Kuwabara and Yusuke came into a forest, and were surrounded by crazy salmon-colored birds that were flapping their wings and singing. Only Jim Henson could think of this, Yusuke thought, and began punching out the birds one by one.[3] Kuwabara helped, but the more they punched, the more birds appeared. "HELP ME KUWABARA!" Yusuke yelled.
Some distance away, Hiei heard Yusuke calling and sighed, turning to help the Detective. As he did so, the Goblin King appeared next to him, grinning down at him. "And where are you going?" He asked. Hiei glared at him.
"It's none of your concern."
"You're not going to help Yusuke, are you? You haven't forgotten what I've said will happen to your sister if you betray me?" Hiei's eyes moved from the King's face to the horizon, where Yusuke was still calling.
"I've got to go."
"Wait!" Said the Goblin King, producing a plump and golden peach from a pocket. "Give this to the Detective."
"What is it?" Asked Hiei, eyeing the peach.
"It's just a present," grinned the King.
"I won't kill him," answered Hiei, not taking the peach yet. He didn't care if he went into the Pit for this.
"You'll give him that, Hiei, or I'll make your sister suffer for one hundred years on your behalf," the King hissed. Hiei hesitated once more, and then took the peach in his hand.
The crazy birds kept coming, so Yusuke and Kuwabara abandoned fighting and began to run. As they reached a clearing in the forest, Hiei appeared suddenly, stabbing three of the birds with his sword at one time. The other birds stared, and then ran away, their feathers flying out from behind them.
Hiei looked at Yusuke and Kuwabara, who grinned, and the three of them walked on. They walked to the edge of the forest, Yusuke beginning to feel desperate. As the forest ended, they saw that they had come to a giant crevasse, the bottom of which wasn't visible.
The gap was too far to jump, and extended for miles in both directions. The only way to cross, they saw, was a small wooden bridge. In front of the bridge stood Kurama, his arms folded and a small, mysterious smile on his face.
"I'm glad you've made it this far," greeted the fox. Yusuke stepped up next to him, attempting to cross the bridge. Kurama stepped in his path.
"Unfortunately, I guard this bridge and you may only pass once you've answered my question. You can only give one answer and it must be right, otherwise you may not cross this bridge."
Yusuke stepped back and glanced at Kuwabara and Hiei, then turned back and nodded. "What's your question?"
"I come in darkness, but fill the mind with light. I bring enlightenment to some, while gripping others in the hand of fear. With me it can be a journey of inexplicable joy and sorrow. What I will show you will often be unreachable. Journey with me and what you will see may haunt you. Journey with me and you may never want to return home. Journey with me and you will never know when it will end. What am I?"
Kuwabara shrugged. Hiei remained silent, though he had an idea of what the answer could be. Kurama smiled gently, waiting to see what Yusuke would say. The Detective rubbed his chin, thinking and repeating parts of the riddle out loud, though only in a low mutter.
After some time, he looked up at Kurama and smiled. "You're a dream," he said, and Kurama smiled wider and stepped aside. Yusuke shook his hand.
"Thanks. Want to come with us?" Kurama nodded, so the four of them crossed the bridge. On the other side of the crevasse was more forest. They began walking, tromping through the undergrowth. Kuwabara's stomach groaned loudly.
"I'm starving," moaned Yusuke. Hiei, who had been walking behind, tapped him on the shoulder. Yusuke turned, and Hiei offered him the peach.
"Hey, thanks Hiei! We'll pass it around." Yusuke took the first bite, the peach tasting strange in his mouth.
The others watched as he stumbled backward, head swimming. "Hiei...what'd you do?" He asked weakly, falling backward. He landed against a tree, slumped over, and passed out. Hiei ran off into the forest, disappearing, and Kurama and Kuwabara knelt beside Yusuke, trying to shake him awake.
Yusuke found himself in a strange place. The walls, ceiling and floor were all white, and around him people danced wearing masks. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing a fancy tux. He didn't have a mask, but he felt strange. Looking around, he saw a woman moving through the crowd also without a mask.
From behind, he could tell that it was Keiko. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and singing to the music that was playing in the room. She looked over her shoulder, eyelids fluttering, and smiled at him, disappearing behind a crowd of gossiping dancers. Yusuke followed her through the crowd, desperately trying to reach her, to know that she was okay and not a goblin.
Finally, he found her hiding meekly, and when she walked up to him, he found himself unable to move. She pulled his arms into a dance and they went round and around the floor. Suddenly, he realized that he was being jostled by the crowd. Looking around, he found all of the masked people laughing at him, their mouths stretched wide. They were bumping into him, pushing him, irritating him.
He looked down at Keiko and saw that her face was that of the Goblin King's, and she was growing in size. Her dress fell off and revealed his dark clothing underneath, and she grew taller, taller than even Kuwabara, until she was the Goblin King. Yusuke gasped, shocked, terrified, and felt the floor sink beneath him. He realized that he was falling, falling through the air and everyone that had been dancing with him was remaining in the white room, laughing down at him.
He landed in Keiko's living room, in the armchair he'd been in when the Goblin King had first appeared. But the image of the Goblin King was fast fading from his mind. He looked around, confused, unsure of what had gone on in the last few hours. He stood, and realized that there was a person in the room with him. It was a small, shriveled old woman with garbage piled all over her as if she was homeless.
She glanced at him and grinned a toothless grin. "What are you looking for, Yusuke?" Asked the lady. Though he might have been able to answer the question moments ago, Yusuke found he couldn't remember, so he told the truth.
"I don't know...I was searching for something, but I don't remember what...it was..."
He looked around, as if the thing might be there with him. "Is this it?" She asked, pointing to a game console on the floor. It was a new one that Yusuke hadn't even bought yet.
"Hey! I want to play that," he said, then stopped. Was that what he was looking for? He thought so.
"I guess it was just a dream..." He said, and then went for the door. "I had better go home."
"No, you should stay here, dear. There's nothing good out there, trust me," said the old woman, and she continued to bustle about the room. Yusuke went and sat by the game station.
"And here, look at all these games!" She handed Yusuke at least a dozen games for the new platform. He frowned at them. "And a wireless controller! And a battlepack! Ooh, look at all this neat stuff!" She pressed more and more stuff into Yusuke's hands. He looked down at it, his brow wrinkled.
"There was something I was looking for..." Yusuke said, now certain that it wasn't in his hands or anywhere near him.
"Nonsense, nonsense, everything in the world you've ever cared about is right here," she said, and kept pressing stuff to him.
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back the woman that you have stolen..." Yusuke said quietly, unsure of what the words meant.
"What's the matter, sonny? You don't like all these new toys?" Yusuke stood up, dropping everything to the floor as he remembered the face of a young girl that he cared for very much.
"It's all junk! It means nothing without Keiko!" Yusuke yelled, and the illusion disappeared. Keiko's living room melted around him, along with the lady, who was screaming. He looked around and was in a pile of trash. He stood and walked off of it, to the dirt, where Kurama and Kuwabara stood.
"You're awake!" Yelled Kuwabara, and Yusuke grinned.
"We're almost there," said Kurama, and the three of them turned. Behind them was a large gate, and just beyond that stood the castle, enormous.
"Those are the gates to Goblin City," Kurama informed them.
They walked toward the door, and then all three pushed on it, throwing it open. They walked into the Goblin City and the door slammed behind them. Yusuke glanced back at it, and then turned to face the front as a giant monster stood. It was easily fifteen feet tall and looked menacing. Looking closer, Yusuke thought it was a robot.
"WHO GOES?" Yelled the robot. No one spoke.
"WHO GOES?" It yelled again, and Yusuke thought they maybe could sneak past it. He tried to push Kuwabara to his left, to get the guy moving, when the robot called again, "WHO GOES?" and struck.
One of its arms swung toward the ground, creating a hole mere feet from where Kurama stood. They split up, moving around the robot whose arms swung around crazily. Just as they were beginning to think that they couldn't dodge the robot much longer, Hiei appeared from nowhere, slashing up the robot's head.
The robot fell on its front, slamming into the ground and causing minor tremors. Inside the head were two goblins operating the giant robot. They were swiftly killed by Hiei. The three boys stood near Hiei, looking at him expectantly.
"I'm not asking to be forgiven. I'm not ashamed of myself and I don't care what you think. The Goblin King made me give that peach to you." Hiei looked Yusuke in the eye warily, and Yusuke surveyed him back, and then nodded, grinning.
"I know why you did it. I would have done the same thing. It's okay," he chuckled, patting Hiei on the back. The fire demon's jaw clenched.
"We forgive you, Hiei," smiled Kurama, and Kuwabara nodded.
"I want the Goblin King's head on a platter," spat Hiei, and the others cheered.
The Goblin King was humorously attempting (and failing) to seduce Keiko when a goblin burst into the room. The King turned away from Keiko, who rolled her eyes, as the goblin screeched, "Your majesty! The boy who ate the peach and forgot everything!"
"What about him?" Asked the King, annoyed at having been interrupted and even more annoyed at Keiko's ignoring him.
"He, the bridge's guard, the orange-haired hostage, and the fire demon are going through the Goblin City now!" The Goblin King stood, furious.
"Stop him! Send out the guards and hide the girl!" The King exited swiftly, and the goblin stared, frightened, at Keiko, who looked ready to kill him if he came within reach.
The boys swiftly swept through the Goblin City, walking down side streets and avoiding the goblin residents, who were plentiful but foolish. Suddenly, a soldier goblin came upon them and began yelling for the other guards. Then, all hell broke loose. Goblins began to attack them, throwing rocks at them, attacking them with spears.
Cannons on the castle's outer walls were fired, shooting goblins and cannon balls alike. The boys spread out, killing the goblins that got in their way but not making much progress. Soon after, they decided to abandon the fight and just ran past all the goblins, who were putting up a good fight.
The four boys reached the walls of the castle and ran through, slamming the wooden doors behind them. Multiple goblins ran into the doors and began pounding on them. The boys were at the foot of the castle, which had no door at the bottom but a staircase leading up.
They ran to the staircase, and Yusuke took a few steps up it before realizing that the others weren't following. He turned back and saw their faces and understood.
"I have to face him alone," he said aloud. They nodded.
"But, should you need us..." Kuwabara began.
"Yes, should you need us..." Kurama continued.
"I'll call," Yusuke grinned, and nodded to them all. They nodded back, and Yusuke ran up the stairs, yelling "THANK YOU!" as he ran.
Yusuke reached the top of the staircase and suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. The stairs, from there, broke off and were stuck in parts all along the walls all the way up to the top. They were sometimes upside-down or backward, and he couldn't see how he was going to get to the top. Plus, he could hear Keiko singing somewhere.
He looked over to a staircase near him and saw Keiko walking up them, her eyes glazed over, her mouth moving as she sung some obscure song. "Keiko!" He yelled, and ran up the staircase nearest him, hoping to get to her. But then, as he ran, the stairs changed, turning Keiko upside-down.
He ran down some more stairs and up another set, trying to reach her. The Goblin King appeared, standing sideways on a set of stairs and smirking at him. Yusuke run back up another flight of stairs toward Keiko who was walking off the edge of another staircase.
Yusuke ran up yet another, following her, and found himself finally standing on the top of the castle. The roof was flat, rectangular, but too small for his liking. The Goblin King moved forward to stand in front of him.
"Give me the girl," Yusuke spat. The Goblin King lifted a finger.
"Be careful, Yusuke. I have been generous up until now. I can be cruel."
"Generous! What have you done that's generous?" Yusuke yelled.
"Everything. Everything you have asked, I have done. You asked that I take the girl, and I took her. I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside-down, and I have done it all for you. I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"
Yusuke ignored him and did only what he thought might work to let him beat this stupid King. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city, for my will is as strong as yours, and my—"
"Wait! Look, Yusuke, look what I'm offering you. Your dreams."
"And my kingdom is as great."
"I ask for so little. Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want."
"My kingdom is as great...Damn! Why can't I ever remember that line?"
"Just fear me, let the girl love me, let her obey me, and I will be your slave."
"My kingdom is as great. My kingdom is as great...You have no power over me!"
Yusuke heard his words echo once, twice, again, and the clock chimed, and the Goblin King threw the crystal ball into the air with a resigned and pained look on his face. Yusuke found himself, once again, in Keiko's living room. Looking over, he saw that she too was there, rubbing her head and looking confused.
"Keiko!" He yelled, scrambling up to meet her. She hugged him, still looking dizzy. Yusuke held her for a few minutes, making sure she was okay. Then he went to the mirror.
"Was it real?" He wondered aloud, rubbing his face. He thought so, but wasn't sure.
Suddenly, Kuwabara's face appeared in the mirror. "Goodbye, Yusuke," he grinned.
"And remember, should you need us..." Hiei's face spoke.
"Yes, should you need us for any reason at all..." Kurama continued, smiling.
"I need you guys. I need all of you..." Yusuke said into the mirror, feeling desperate and a fool at the same time. He couldn't have saved Keiko without them; his friends were his reason for fighting.
"Well, you should have said so!" Said Kuwabara, but the voice didn't come from the mirror. It came from Keiko's front door, which was opened by Kuwabara, and he and Kurama and Hiei burst in, followed by Koenma and Botan, Yukina, and Shizuru.
"Party time!" Yelled Kuwabara, and Yusuke grinned.
SARAH: Yusuke
TOBY: Keiko
HOGGLE: Hiei
JIM: Yukina
TIM: Atsuko
ALPH: Botan
RALPH: Shizuru
LUDO: Kuwabara
KNOCKER 1: Koenma
KNOCKER 2: George the Ogre
DIDYMUS: Kurama
[1] I have slaved over this riddle for hours in my time. Trust me, Yusuke's theory is right.
[2] The Pit of Despair is my substitute for the Bog of Stench, 'cause that's just silly. The new name comes from The Princess Bride.
[3] Of course, Jim Henson did the puppetry in The Labyrinth. Yusuke enjoyed smashing the fourth wall to bits, I'm sure.


text:
A blog devoted to all things Weimar Republic.
Serving double duty as inspiration & research for a novel, so don't be alarmed by the occasional character-based post. It won't happen a lot, but you can Tumblr Saviour the tag "characters" and you shouldn't even see them.
Posts tagged: Köln
More from the Kölner Lumpenbälle, photographed by August Sander in the late 1920s.


text:
Danielle Skinner
It's The Journey: KXXV's Danielle Skinner shares tips from the TV industry
By Shelby Tidwell, Public Relations major
You have to start somewhere. Channel 25 night news reporter Danielle Skinner can attest to this. Skinner spoke to a Reporting and Writing class at 9:30 Tuesday, Oct. 16 in Castellaw Communications Center.
"You have to pay your dues in this industry," Skinner said. When she graduated from Langston University in 2011 with a degree in broadcast journalism, Skinner had already interned three times for two news stations.
"You have to intern your behind off," Skinner said. "It's a way to get your foot in the door."
Skinner's internships helped her develop mentor relationships. "It's someone who's inside the business who you can talk to, get advice from," Skinner said.
When Skinner was close to graduating, she asked her mentor at the Oklahoma Eyewitness News 5 station to look over her resume tape.
"She tore it to pieces. But I'm so grateful that she did because I probably wouldn't have this job if she hadn't," Skinner said.
Houston sophomore Emily Baker said, "I know what it's like to have my work ripped to shreds, but Skinner encouraged me to see it as constructive criticism that can only help me."
In September of last year, Skinner received a call from her current boss. She also got several offers from other stations, including stations in Savannah, Ga., and Portsmith, Ark.
"I thought I wouldn't have to be a one-man band," Skinner said. "So I chose this station. Little did I know, that was wrong."
Skinner said the brand of her current station is hard news, but reporting hard news in Waco is not always easy.
"Waco doesn't have much hard news, compared to bigger markets," Skinner said. "I had to network and expand my contacts, pass out business cards to people, buckle down and put my face out there."
But Skinner said she is more appreciative of her work because she has had to collect her own stories and make "wine out of water every day."
Skinner said sometimes she thinks other reporters and anchors are spoiled.
"But I can pitch a story. I can go live at a hard news source. This station has set me up to do that," she said.
Skinner said she wants to keep moving up. "I want to anchor. In order to do that, I'm going to need experience."
To be a good anchor, you have to be a good reporter, Skinner said. "I may have to go through two more jobs before I get to that anchoring gig."
When Skinner's contract was coming close to an end, her mentor told her about a job in Grand Rapids, Mich.
"If you have at least three or four mentors you can go to, they can point you to your next job," Skinner said.
Denver, Colo., junior Kaitlin Dougherty said she admires how Skinner "acknowledges the competitiveness of her field but continues to pursue her goal."
Skinner knows the importance of networking, contacts and "keeping in touch with the people who helped you in college."
"This business is big, but it's so small," Skinner said.


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Cranberry Parfaits
Oxmoor House
Yield: 6 servings
More From Oxmoor House
Recipe Time
Prep Time:
- 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Garnish: cranberries cut in half
- Process 1 1/4 cups cranberries and corn syrup in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl, and stir in orange rind.
- Beat whipping cream until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
- Stir together sour cream and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Fold in half of whipped cream. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon cranberry syrup into each of 6 parfait glasses; top with about 1/3 cup sour cream mixture. Repeat layers once. Garnish, if desired.
My Notes
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Cranberry Parfaits Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Desserts
- CONVENIENCE: Entertaining, Quick/Easy
- MAIN INGREDIENT: Dairy, Fruits
- PUBLICATION: Oxmoor House
More Recipes Like This
Cranberry ParfaitsOxmoor House
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June 11, 2014
Who they are: A Reagan-era ode to baby boomers, with Michael J. Fox as the nerdy Republican Alex P. Keaton. Comedy ensues when Alex interacts with his hippie parents Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter-Birney). Alex's sister Mallory (Justine Bateman) shares her brother's conservative outlook, if not his brains, and younger sister Jennifer (Tina Yothers) takes after her parents.
What the kids like: Alex and Mallory are the conservative kids of '60s idealists.
What the parents can't get enough of: Letting their kids know that there's more to life than wealth and material objects.
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Sean Longley
Sean Longley is a one guinea brief who lives in South London with his family. He talks to Law and More about working on the Damilola Taylor case and writing his first novel, "The Hartlepool Monkey".
On the law and Damilola Taylor……
"I didn't decide on a career in the law so much as slip into one. I was unemployed after a serious motorcycle accident and started in the lowest rung of the legal ladder by working as an outdoor clerk.
My less than meteoric rise in the legal profession took me to paralegal, then managing clerk, and finally to qualification via the distance learning route.
"It was very hard work, particularly working full time, studying and having a young family.
"I was briefly a partner at my current firm but I resigned this partly because I wanted to write and partly because partnership and management require a totally separate set of skills.
"I wanted to work in legal aid criminal defence out of a sense of idealism. I got into trouble when I was at University and was defended by Vera Baird in her pre QC and pre MP days. She was really inspirational, and cut the witnesses to pieces. I had no real ambition at the time but I thought that if I had to work at all, then I wanted to do what she did.
"My highest point as a solicitor was my 15 minutes of fame defending one of the four boys who were accused of murdering Damilola Taylor. This was at the first trial, and it had everything – high profile, incompetent/corrupt police, political importance and, best of all, a genuinely innocent client.
"As for the lowest point, that would have to be everything that has happened to Legal Aid and criminal justice since 1994. The "reforms" to Legal Aid which have effectively disenfranchised all but the very poor and the very rich. The undermining of the presumption of innocence, and the gradual creep towards the coercive state summon the ghost of an angry young man from the burned out hack I have become. The irony of Vera Baird being both my inspiration and the engine of my professional destruction is priceless. Eat your heart out Alanis Morissette.
"Working in Criminal Defence is an enormously varied job. Most of the clients are engaging people, and the job is a constant and humbling reminder that anyone is a few bad decisions away from active engagement with a criminal justice system that encroaches upon many areas of everyday life. It is always satisfying when you get a result for a client. It's becoming more corporate though: the "Newspeak" of the Legal Services Commission and the encroachment of McValues into what should be public service keep me (and I suspect anyone else working in the same field) in a constant state of low level fury."
On writing and "The Hartlepool Monkey"…..
"I always wanted to be a writer. The only thing that stood in my ways for years was having nothing to write about.
"A man I met at a party told me about the monkey that was washed up after a shipwreck, tried and ultimately hanged as a spy. It seemed to crystallise everything that was vainglorious and ridiculous about the law, and the consequences to those caught up in its process.
"Some time later I read one of my children "Barber". The idea that the civilising force of French culture is so strong that an elephant would wear a bottle green suit and spats he if lived in Paris complete the picture: Jacques LeSinge – monkey, revolutionary and lieutenant in French Naval Intelligence - was born.
"The characters are a mixed bag of composites of people I have met over the years. "Mr Warren", the monkey's lawyer, is physically based upon a former colleague of mine, whose name I "stole" as well. His cynicism is someone else though. My colleague was a committed and idealistic man.
"Writing is surprisingly hard work, but I have a track record in taking up jobs I erroneously believed would be a soft option.
"Writing is also great fun, particularly as what I write tends to be on the ludicrous side. Plus, I have enjoyed researching the history of the French Revolution, and locations like the Paris Catacombs and chateaux in Brittany. It is great to be paid for what is, essentially, a hobby."
On the future…..
"I am working on a second book at the moment. I do not see myself being able to give up law and become a full time writer unless I am incredibly lucky.
"A far more likely scenario is that the Carter Reforms mean that the job gives me up in favour of a partially qualified callow paralegal, that could be me fifteen years ago and who will work for food. If this does happen, the modest income I may earn from writing may sugar the pill of my future career as a mini cab driver."
Read more about The Hartlepool Monkey here
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Two teams are set to battle it out for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final after Nigeria and Burkina Faso beat off semi-final opponents to reach the coveted showdown in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Nigeria are clear favourites to win the trophy for the first time in 19 years after a dominant display over Mali saw the Super Eagles cruse to a 4-1 victory. At 1.92 to win with Betfair Football, few fans betting online will be going against Nigeria on Sunday evening, but against Burkina Faso there could be a serious upset on the cards.
For Burkina Faso, although 4.80 to win the tournament, have turned heads throughout and cannot be taken lightly. Paul Put's men bypassed a strong Togo side in the quarterfinals thanks to an extra-time goal from Jonathan Pitroipa, before scalping Ghana 3-2 on penalties in the semis.
It is quite remarkable that Burkina Faso, who started the tournament around 85.00 to
win, have reached this final and there is no reason they cannot go on to claim the trophy. They have had all odds against them after finishing top of a tough group with Nigeria and 2012 winners, Zambia, and have played all five of their games at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit.
As everyone who has watched the Afcon this year will know, Nelspruit's pitch is absolutely dreadful and looks more like a sandpit than a sporting field. Burkina Faso have played 510 minutes on sand this tournament (including two bouts of extra time) and still made the final.
They may be exhausted when they enter the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg but they will not be downhearted. Granted, Nigeria are in form but so are Burkina Faso, making the final odds of both teams to score at 2.20 (betting.betfair) very favourable.


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When this happens the government allows you to deduct the costs of your property from your gross income. So say your income is $60,000 a year but your property costs you $15,000 a year, you'll only need to pay income tax on $45,000.
This way you'll pay less tax, but don't be mistaken, it is still a loss -just a smaller one – that hopefully will be more than made up for by the property's increasing value. You probably won't see a return on your investment until you sell the property, and only if it's for a much better price than you originally bought it for.
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The above is not a full list of what you can claim. Get proper advice from a tax expert before putting in your return.
What the Government gives with one hand, it takes with the other. Capital gains tax is a tax on the profit you've made on the property. So it's based on the difference between what you sell it for and what it cost you (the purchase price plus anything you have spent on capital improvements or renovations).
Definitely get advice on what you might be up for when considering selling your investment property.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
There was so much that I really liked about it, I just didn't feel like I had enough time with it at all, especially the Scourge invasion part. I was only able to complete one of the quests -- demand for those crystals was very high on my server. I never did get to see Tenris.


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Performer: Alstom Power Inc
Project No: FE0009484
Program Background and Project Benefits
Advanced combustion power generation from fossil fuels involves combustion in a high-oxygen (O2) concentration environment rather than air. This type of system eliminates introduction of most, if not all, of the nitrogen (N2) found in air into the combustion process, generating flue gas composed of CO2, water (H2O), trace contaminants from the fuel, and other gas constituents that infiltrated the combustion system. The high concentration of CO2 (≈60 percent) and absence of nitrogen in the flue gas simplify separation of CO2 from the flue gas for storage or beneficial use. Thus, oxygen-fired combustion is an alternative approach to post-combustion capture for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for coal-fired systems. However, the appeal of oxygen-fired combustion is tempered by a number of challenges, namely capital cost, energy consumption, and operational challenges associated with supplying O2 to the combustion system, air infiltration into the combustion system that dilutes the flue gas with N2, and excess O2 contained in the concentrated CO2 stream. These factors mean oxygen-fired combustion systems are not cost-effective at their current level of development. Advanced combustion system performance can be improved either by lowering the cost of oxygen supplied to the system or by increasing the overall system efficiency. The Advanced Combustion Systems Program targets both of these possible improvements through sponsored cost-shared research into two key technologies: (1) Oxy-combustion, and (2) Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC).
In chemical looping systems, oxygen is introduced to the system via oxidation-reduction cycling of an oxygen carrier. The oxygen carrier is usually a solid, metal-based compound. It may be in the form of a single metal oxide, such as an oxide of copper, nickel, or iron, or a metal oxide supported on a high-surface-area substrate (e.g., alumina or silica) that does not take part in the reactions. For a typical CLC process, combustion is split into separate oxidation and reduction reactions that take place in multiple reactors. The metal oxide supplies oxygen for combustion in the fuel reactor, operated at elevated temperature, and is reduced by the fuel. The reaction in the fuel reactor can be exothermic or endo¬thermic, depending on the fuel and the oxygen carrier. The combustion product from the fuel reactor is a highly concentrated CO2 and H2O stream that can be purified, compressed, and sent to storage or for beneficial use. The reduced metal carrier is then sent to the air reactor, which also operates at elevated temperatures, where it is regenerated to its oxidized state. The air reactor produces hot flue gas, which is used to create steam that drives a turbine, generating power.
Current CLC R&D efforts are focused on development and refinement of oxygen carriers with sufficient oxygen capacity that can withstand the harsh environment associated with CLC operation, development of effective and sustainable solids circulation and separation techniques, reactor design to support fuel and oxygen carrier choices, effective heat recovery and integration, and overall system design and optimization.
Alstom is continuing development of a limestone chemical looping combustion (LCL-C™) system. The LCL-C™ power production system has the potential to use smaller, less-expensive, more efficient reactors than conventional systems with carbon capture, producing a nearly pure CO2 stream without the need for an oxygen-production plant. These factors have the ability to drive down the cost of electricity and the cost of CO2 capture relative to conventional coal-fired power plants with CCS. This project will focus on addressing technology gaps identified for the 1-MWe prototype system, with emphasis on solids handling and carrier capacity. Successful prototype testing of this CLC system including validation of projected full-scale cost and performance will provide a basis for design, development, and testing of a larger pilot-scale prototype, furthering progress toward full-scale demonstration.
This project is a continuation of an ongoing effort that has been performed by Alstom under "Alstom's Chemical Looping Combustion Prototype for CO2 Capture from Existing Pulverized Coal Fired Power Plants" (Contract No.: DE-NT0005286.) A Fact Sheet for the original project provides more detailed discussion of the work.


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Publication: The Day
Early returns in online voting for the state's favorite town show southeastern Connecticut locales are garnering strong support, as might be expected.
After all, tourism officials are always saying they consider the region the state's tourism hub.
As of early Friday afternoon, Niantic topped the "Fan-Favorite: Town" voting on the state tourism office's Facebook page. Mystic was No. 2, New London No. 9.
The balloting, part of the latest phase of the "still revolutionary" marketing campaign launched a year ago, began April 9 and will conclude May 15. The winning town will be announced May 21 at the annual Connecticut Conference on Tourism at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
State tourism officials intent on stoking the campaign's momentum believe the online voting and social media in general are key ingredients of the promotional effort.
"From our standpoint, they're a great way to market what's great about our towns," Randy Fiveash, director of the tourism office, said Friday in a phone interview.
"Last year, we did our first fan-favorite campaign to pick a destination and we got a lot of people talking about it on Twitter and Facebook," Fiveash said. "What we found is that there was so much pride within the towns and boroughs. ... There's a town-centricness to Connecticut. We decided we ought to do a town campaign to play up on that pride."
The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford was the top vote-getter in last year's balloting for favorite tourist destination.
Visitors to the Visit Connecticut Facebook page can vote once a day for the town that "most embodies the spirit of the state's brand ... by being a home for original ideas, inspiration and innovation." Voters can also register a click for a business, destination or attraction within their favorite town. Each vote counts as an entry in a drawing for a Connecticut getaway package.
The winning locale will be the subject of a two-minute promotional video that will air on the state's tourism website, www.CTvisit.com, and social media sites. The top 10 vote-getters will get promotional support from the state, including prominent mentions in the tourism office's 2014 guide.
"That's a pretty big deal," Fiveash said.
As of Friday, the other New London County locales in the top 50 were: Old Mystic (16), Groton (17), East Lyme (30), Old Lyme (33), Ledyard (38), Baltic (39), Stonington (42), Stonington Village (45) and Colchester (48).
Tri-Town iPad mini ContestEnter for a chance to win an iPad mini
Flat StanleySubmit your Flat Stanley photos for a chance to win!
40 Under Forty 2014Nominate a deserving professional in our region for recognition in our special section.
Connecticut Family Magazine Fall 2014Tell us your favorite children's books, board games, and more. You might be featured in an upcoming issue.
Pro FootballPredict pro football winners each week for a chance at local and national prizes, including a trip to Hawaii.
Photo Calendar ContestSubmit your photos for Southeastern Connecticut for our very popular annual calendar.
Freaky FridaysEnter now! We're giving out 13 trick-or-treat bags full of goodies every Friday from Sept. 26 through Oct. 17.
Will you reconsider being in crowds following the Boston Marathon bombings?
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Mi Casa Verde VeraLite Home Controller
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Posted September 9, 2014
Amazon offers the Mi Casa Verde VeraLite Home Controller in Green/White for $139.95 with free shipping. That's $9 under our December mention and the lowest total price we could find by $39. Compatible with all Z-Wave technology home automation networks (including X10/Domia 10, Insteon, and ZigBee), this device lets you remotely control your home lighting, security, appliances, and more.


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A Wild Walk in the Park
Lenore Moritz: The following paragraph should be read in your best Rod Sterling voice (he's the guy who introduced each episode of "The Twilight Zone"):
A quiet playground. A gorgeous spring day. A few kids under age 5 frolicking in the sun. Over the hill, a low rumbling sound wafts toward the baby swings. Parents look to the sky to see if it's thunder; a blue sky indicates that impossibility. The first sight of one of them is sweet: a face with a big smile from the euphoria of being free for a few minutes. Then, like a stampede, the rumble gets louder as the next 30 kids follow quickly on the heels of the first one, kicking up dry dirt as their running feet hit the play area. Suddenly, the recently mellow swings are being tugged and used in ways not intended, and taunts replace the calm. You have entered the Twilight Zone ... otherwise known as the world according to second graders.
That's how it was a few weeks ago at the playground across from the elementary school. The school has its own playground, but on this day the kids spilled over to the public park. I was there. It gave me some fascinating insight into what really happens when a pack of second-grade schoolmates do recess.
We parents don't often get the chance to see our kids in action during the school day, and now I know why: It's scary. It's "Lord of the Flies" meets "Mean Girls."
To my left were a group of girls and one boy playing house. The "parents" and "kids" were being ordered around by one very bossy 8-year-old. She demanded that the boy play the girl of the family, despite his pleas to play the boy. After a few more minutes of his begging, she caved. Then she flitted around, barking more commands to her "family" about what they could or couldn't say and do. She'll either grow up to be one hellacious boss, or move to a small, unorganized nation and take over as dictator.
In front of me, the dynamic of four boys went like this: unfriendly to each other, then nice, then wrestling, then three ganging up on one ... all in less than two minutes. When the teasing and headlocking of one boy seemed to be too much (for me, at least), I told him that didn't seem to be the right way to treat someone. The headlocker stopped and released. The headlockee took off, only to come back again a minute later for more. I really wanted to tell headlockee that there are better ways to get and keep friends, but at this point the teacher finally noticed what was going on and broke up the mayhem.
Towards the end of recess, one girl shoved her index finger in the face of a classmate and screamed, kind of accusingly, "Why do you wear glasses?!" The startled but unflappable eyeglasses-wearer replied frankly, "Because I need them." I wanted to coach her to add, "And because they make me look smarter than you," but I was too caught up in wondering why, with only four days left of the school year, the finger-pointing girl was just now noticing that her classmate wore glasses.
The most amazing thing happened when the teacher called them to line up to go back into the school: They did. These 8-year-olds went from being lawless to orderly in the blink of an eye. There was the mirror: the juxtaposition of our feral side (which we tend to suppress as adults) and our well-behaved side. Perhaps we'd all be better off if we had a little recess in our day ... and the resilience of a second grader.
This article is just sad to me. We shouldn't be locking up our young. I don't know of any other time in the world that you are STUCK in a room with all the same aged kids.
As a second grade teacher I have to say that recess is always semi-torturous for me. I see scenes like that (and more)on a regular basis. I'm constantly reinforcing proper recess behavior but it often falls on deaf ears. I could do without recess but it is what they look forward to the most. Go figure. So the torture continues.
I carry on listening to the news bulletin talk about getting boundless online grant applications so I have been looking around for the top site to get one. Could you advise me please, where could i get some?
Awsome post and straight to the point. I don't know if this is truly the best place to ask but do you guys have any ideea where to get some professional writers? Thanks :)
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Wow, this was a really quality post. In theory I'd like to write like this too – taking time and actual effort to make a good post… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never appear to get something done.


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Chauny here,
I'm always looking for new followers, and happy to meet new people online. If you need help promoting anything, just let me know, I'm always willing to lend a hand or a tweet. We are a community and that is what we should be doing. Follow me and I will follow back immediately.
Welcome ....I hope you enjoy it here!
My name is Amber and I run Dazzling Daily Deals a wonderful place to find great daily deals and freebies on everything from food, activities, health and beauty and everything inbetween. I'm a SAHM of 6 and I am alway looking for a way to make the income stretch a little further and find fun things for the family to do. Please come take a look and follow me on FB if you would like to keep up on all of the latest deals.
Welcome and have a great day!!!
Hi there and welcome from The Girlz Korner in upstate New York where you'll find light, witty and rather entertaining articles on every topic imaginable from The Little Black Dress to Making Whoopie. We'd like to invite you to come over and showcase your products, services and blog for free to our thousands of visitors. So if you get a chance to kick back and exhale, if only for a brief moment, we'd love to have you. Don't be too overwhelmed by MBC. The ladies are awesome here and sooo embracing. Hope you enjoy your stay :)http://www.thegirlzkorner.com
Hi! I wanted to welcome you to MBC! I am a new member myself and I'm looking to network with other mommy bloggers. I wish you tons of success. If you have a moment I'd love for you to stop by and check out my blog (www.carolinacouponer.com). I'd love for you to follow my blog. If you decide to follow, leave me a message so I can follow you back! Thanks! :)
You can also find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolinacouponerand on twitter: www.twitter.com/carolinacoupon
My name is Missy and I am also a member of the Mom Bloggers Club. I have a blog,www.luxurybeautyproducts.blogspot.com and I also run the blog hop network.
I wanted to let you know that I am following you, and hoping when you get a chance you can follow me back. I also want to invite you to join my groups, The Blog Hop Network, Beauty Bloggers, and Children's businesses. Also, I would love to place a link to your site on my blog if you want to do the same with my blog on yours. Please let me know by sending me an email regarding this and it has been nice meeting you via the web.


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You might have both regular taxable accounts and also retirement accounts, such as a 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts. But which invest...
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The loopholes which allow such corporate excess were not exactly handed down to Moses on tablets -- each and every loophole was approved by Congress.
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