From Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ===== Based on actual events of the early twentieth century, the story concerns a grueling cross-country horse race in 1906, with a winner-take-all prize of $2,000 ($ today), and the way it affects the lives of its various participants. The fifteen colorful contestants include: two former Rough Riders named Clayton and Matthews who can't let friendship come between them if they intend to win; Miss Jones...a lady of little virtue; a punk kid, Carbo; an old cowhand in poor health, Mister; an English gentleman who's competing just for the sheer sport of it all; and a Mexican with a toothache who literally needs to bite the bullet. All must race against a thoroughbred of championship pedigree owned by Parker, a wealthy man who has no intention of seeing his entry lose. The film touches on the themes of sportsmanship, animal cruelty, the yellow press, racism, the end of the Old West and the bonds of marriage and friendship. As the race progresses, the conditions test not only the endurance of horses and riders but also their philosophies of life and the meaning of victory and defeat. When Miss Jones helps free her beau from a railway chain gang, they steal the contestants' horses and attempt to escape. The convicts are pursued and the riders get their mounts back, and the race is able to continue. Miss Jones, now free of her former boyfriend's malevolent influence, rides away into the countryside. In the end, with all but three of the contestants knocked out of the race, Clayton and Matthews cross the finish line together as co-champions, beating the championship thoroughbred by a matter of minutes to win the prize money, plus any side bets they had placed. ===== The plots focuses on the character Onion (Jen) who became blind and mute during his childhood. Onion works at a hospital transcribing documents into braille for blind patients. His work allows him to live in the hospital dorm and get health checks from Dr. Woo (So). We learn that Onion always gets his haircut by Autumn (Cheung) whose first impression was full of apologies for being late and she was very clumsy. One time, she accidentally cut Onion's ear, but Onion never got mad. Instead he tried to console her and joke with her. Gradually they became close and Autumn gave Onion his nickname "Onion" because after the haircut, she said he looks like an onion head. One day, Onion and Autumn were hanging out on the rooftop of the hospital and she told Onion excitedly about a meteor shower that is about to happen in a few days and how they should each make a wish. Onion later accompanied Autumn back to the dormitories for her to get ready for her night shift. Before parting, Onion asks Autumn out on a date and when she says yes, he becomes really happy. He trips over a rock running into the street and is hit by a car. The death of Onion made Autumn realize that she was really deeply in love with him. Because he was the 6 billionth human to die and depart to Polaris, Onion is granted a wish. He wishes to return to Earth. But there's a limit of five days. Unfortunately the rules stipulate that he cannot tell anyone who he really is and that, at the same time, his face will be different, so he will not be recognized as Onion by his former friends. Upon returning to Earth, Onion wakes up in the storage of the same hospital he use to work at. After changing into overalls, Onion sets out exploring the hospital grounds taking in the sights. Finally able to speak to his colleagues, Onion soon learns from a nurse that Autumn has left the grounds to attend the funeral of a dear friend. That dear friend turns out to be Onion himself. At the funeral, Onion sees an inconsolable Autumn with Dr. Woo by her side. After the funeral, Onion discovers an insurance broker's business card in his secret storage in his dorm. THe name on the card reads "Cheuk Ji Mun". Posing as Cheuk Ji Mun, a life insurance broker, Onion tries to get close to Autumn again by posing as a friend of Onion. But his approach is all wrong and only gets Autumn mad at him. When he finds her being courted by Dr. Woo, he wastes a few days trying to tell her who he really is, even writing a card and voice recording himself, but the rules keep stopping him with epileptic effects, a smudged out card, and an empty recording. Just when he was about to give up, he discovers that he can share his memories with Autumn indirectly by narrating Onion's life story via Onion's diary. But that ended up hurting Autumn more as her memories about Onion come flooding back overwhelming her. Onion then makes the most of the time he has remaining with her by being her guardian angel, secretly helping her with hospital duties, loading her grocery cart with her favourite candy, and serenading her with his saxophone outside her dorm window just like he has always done in the past. His action made Autumn feel like Onion has come back to her. But where is he? Towards the end of Onion's stay, Autumn slowly realizes that he is Onion. But by that time, there are only few minutes left until the meteor showers, flying him back to Polaris. ===== A rivalry between two volleyball teams (the Phantoms and the Madonnas) causes a big catastrophe when the two teams collide. Gabby Espinoza (Adrienne Bailon) is captain of the Cathedral High Phantoms volleyball team. Her mother died when she was little, and recently, a fire claimed the life of her firefighter father. Coincidentally, the fire was in the Madonna's school (the Phantoms' rival). Having to go to different schools and split up, the three Madonnas Lauren McDonald, Katilin, and Becca chose Cathedral High and joined the volleyball team. Tension forms between Gabby's group Lettie and Rada and the Madonnas, causing them to lose during a volleyball game because of lack of teamwork. This makes the coach furious and he makes a speech about working together as a team and feeling the love. Soon after, the girls begin to warm up to one another and at the same time, winning game after game. Lauren's friendship with the other girls, particularly with Gabby, makes Becca jealous and in a fit of jealousy, she tells Gabby about Lauren and Artie (Gabby's ex-boyfriend) and a rift between the two escalates. During the game, a fight between Gabby and Lauren occurs. The coach tells them to put their own issues aside and focus on the game. After winning, Gabby and Lauren are back on good terms, agreeing that both should concentrate on their games first and deciding afterwards who should get the boy. Before the game starts, Becca puts Melatonin in Gabby's water bottle. Gabby begins to lose focus, the coach suspects she's on drugs and orders her to sit on the bench, replacing her with Becca. Gabby breaks down and the Phantoms win. Becca confesses to Lauren about what she did, with reason that she wanted her father to get to watch her play. She gets kicked off the team and the Phantoms head on to finals. With determination, hard work and cooperation, the Phantoms win the championship. Becca makes up with Gabby. Gabby and Lauren didn't care about which one of them gets Artie and the girls set off to make their dreams come true. ===== The Goodies want to start a radio station, but Tim's and Bill's dreams of 'groupie girls', and also Graeme's only line in their jingle - "BOM!" - are soon put on hold; their application is delayed in the post which were slow and rotten - even the postman attempted to run away with the letter to The Goodies but failed when Tim and Bill tackled him. Having missed out on obtaining a licence to broadcast from the GPO, the trio decide to start a pirate radio station and, based on a disgruntled suggestion from Tim about the postal service, Graeme is inspired to start a pirate post office at the same time. 'Radio Goodies' is later launched from a huge submarine, with entry through a hatch which, working on the ice berg principle, has been disguised as a small rowing boat called "The Saucy Gibbon" with the words "Not a Pirate Radio Station" painted on the side. Unfortunately, things are not off to a great start when Tim discovers that they only have one record ("A Walk in the Black Forest"), because Bill has not had enough money to buy any other records for their radio station. An embarrassed Tim announces on the radio: "Yes, friends, that was number 1 in The Goodies Hit Parade, and now number 2 and, incidentally, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 ..... "A Walk in the Black Forest". The Goodies Postal Service however proves to be very successful -- too successful, in fact, and Tim and Bill are soon swamped with post to sort and deliver. Tim's efforts to close the post office down come to nothing, however, as Graeme (remodelling himself as a totalitarian despot, complete with eyepatch) has become obsessed with dreams of ruling the world and revolutionise the pirate business. Graeme wishes to start a pirate bank, a pirate bus service, and a pirate Church of England, all outside Britain's 5-mile (9.3 km) limit, as well as having also planned a fiendish scheme to tow the whole of Britain outside the 5-mile limit and become leader of a pirate state, but his plan is ruined when Tim and Bill - having finally had enough - leave him to it. Unfortunately, Graeme's efforts to tow the whole of Great Britain away single-handedly only cause "The Saucy Gibbon" to sink. Graeme, who is standing up, begins to 'go down with the boat', and Tim suggests that they leave Graeme to his fate, feeling that Graeme would have wanted it that way. Bill, however, disagrees, saying: "No he bloody wouldn't!", and he and Tim decide to rescue Graeme from the sea. Later, as the three are sitting, wet and shivering, in their office, with their feet soaking in hot water after the rescue, it seems that all is lost; although Graeme has recovered from his momentary bout of megalomania. The pirate radio station and post office have gone belly-up and has bankrupted the Goodies, and Tim and Bill are understandably annoyed with Graeme. However, the Post Office -- inspired by the Goodies' methods of delivering the post -- have mailed them a royalties cheque, and when the Statue of Liberty can be seen moving past the window behind them, it soon becomes apparent that Britain has been towed much further than Graeme had ever envisaged. ===== Ben Jordan (Bruce Willis) and his wife Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) have been married for fifteen years; they have two children, Erin (Colleen Rennison) and Josh (Jake Sandvig), a nice home and a comfortable life. Their happy marriage, however, turns into a sham—a performance they deliver daily for the benefit of their children, while behind the scenes they cannot stand each other anymore. Sending their kids off to summer camp, Ben and Katie commence a trial separation, during which both try to recall what it is about the other that led them to fall in love in the first place. ===== Maurice Pogue has retrograde amnesia, a form of amnesia that prevents him from remembering anything that happened to him the day before. He realizes from a recording he made for himself the previous night (Sunday) – to keep himself in the know – that he's a private investigator in Los Angeles, and acquired the condition after being injured during a case. Pogue tells himself not to reveal his condition to anyone, as he's the key witness in the case against the man responsible for his amnesia. Appearing on the recording is a strange woman, Sarah Novak, who informs him she has been living under the alias Beth Holly in San Francisco, and she has come to L.A. because she is being blackmailed. The police then come to Pogue's office, and take him to what turns out to be his birthday party. He tells his friend Dolby that he's seen Sarah, and learns from Dolby that Sarah is dead. While at the party, Pogue also meets Anthony Doover, his doctor – the only person who knows of Pogue's condition. Two henchmen take him from the party to meet Philip Cornell, the man Pogue is to testify against. Cornell offers Pogue a large sum of money to deny witnessing Cornell's involvement in the crime. On re-examining his files at the office, Pogue learns that Sarah was once Cornell's lover, who decided to testify against Cornell lest he kill her because of her knowledge of his illegal activities. Sarah hired Pogue to protect her but was killed by a car bomb, the same bomb that caused his amnesia. That night, Pogue meets Sarah at a fashion show she's modeling in. She tells him the girl that was killed in the explosion was a double, and that someone's threatening to tell Cornell she's still alive. Sarah also tells Pogue about a valuable coin Cornell stole from the L.A. County Museum, which she in turn stole from him. Sarah tells Pogue that she gave him the coin the morning before the explosion; Pogue cannot remember. The only clue the two have about the coin's location is one word Pogue said when Sarah gave it to him: "Baby". The next morning, Pogue has forgotten everything again. Cornell shows up to his office to get Pogue's sworn statement but Pogue, mistaking Cornell for his landlord, gives him a check for rent. Pogue tries throughout the day to figure out where the coin is but doesn't find any answers. Later on, he meets with Sarah; she stays at his place for the night and they make love. Pogue wakes up the following day remembering everything from the day before. Through learning his dog is Baby, he recalls that he hid the coin in its collar. He takes Sarah to a pay phone to call the people who are blackmailing her; Pogue notices that her handwriting is not the same as on the note the coin was wrapped in. Thus realizing she cannot really be Sarah Novak, he switches the coin without her knowledge. He then follows her and finds that Doover and she set up the scam to get the coin. When Doover says they'll have to start all over again after they failed to get the coin, the woman posing as Sarah refuses to go through with it again. That night, while sitting in Pogue's car outside his office, the woman reveals into one of Pogue's recorders that she's really Beth Holly, whom Doover had hired because of her resemblance to Novak. Cornell's men then kidnap Beth when they see her in the car. On Thursday morning, Cornell, who has figured out that Pogue has the coin, abducts Pogue and takes him to his home, where he attempts to torture him to give up the coin. Pogue and Holly escape, and rush to Cornell's trial. During the trial, Pogue falls back in his chair and hits his head, then suddenly regains his memory. He tells Beth that he put the coin in a parking meter and she speeds off to get it. Pogue then gives his testimony against Cornell, which prompts Cornell to change his plea in the case. Pogue finds Beth back at his apartment and the story ends when the two kiss and go inside. ===== ===== It is morning, and Graeme's intricate alarm system goes off. Graeme and Tim wake from sleep, but Bill is already awake, having been awake all night. Bill mentions that he never sleeps, commenting that he is afraid to go to sleep because he goes sleepwalking whenever he sleeps. A fast-talking man Rupert Windcheater (Roddy Maude-Roxby) arrives and asks the Goodies to help with his company's excellent bedtime drink called "Venom". For some reason, good though it is, it just isn't selling. The Goodies set to work on a new marketing plan, starting with changing the name to "Snooze". Graeme decides to upgrade the formula to New and Improved Snooze. The new mixture instantly knocks the drinker unconscious, as proven by its test subject Bill who goes into a three- day sleep. After Windcheater and the Board of Directors try the new formula, they too are instantly put into a long-term sleep for being a bit too hasty. Soon after, Bill starts sleepwalking and leaves the office. Tim must chase Bill as he sleepwalks, while Graeme sets to work on an antidote. Upon finishing it, Graeme plans to test it by drinking some of the new improved Snooze but falls asleep before being able to drink the antidote. Tim, who is still chasing Bill, catches up with him. However, when Tim gets Bill to sleepwalk back to the office, he notices Graeme is now sleepwalking. Tim manages to get them both back to the office, where he then gives them the antidote and they wake up. They check the news, but as a result of Snooze being shipped out to the entire country, the newsreader (Corbet Woodall) has fallen asleep on his desk. Graeme says that the effect will be lessened if they add the antidote to every reservoir in the country. The Goodies take a barrel of Graeme's antidote down to a creek, to put a teaspoon of formula into the creek (with the intention of taking the remainder to all other waterways in Britain). While Graeme is carefully filling his teaspoon with the antidote, the barrel suddenly rolls down the bank into the creek by Bill's sneeze and Tim's carelessness, spilling out all the contents. Tim demands to know what will happen because of the unintentional spillage, and Graeme tells him that the effect would be to speed up metabolism, as well as speeding up the people themselves. However, they realize that because of the mass amount of antidote that was spilled, the effect will be amplified up to a hundred times. Life takes on a surreal effect as the whole of Britain reacts to the effects of the spillage by talking and doing everything extremely fast -- a cricket Test Match between England and Australia takes only minutes to play, instead of days; a Royal car goes by very rapidly, carrying the Queen; and the British Prime Minister sounds like a cartoon chipmunk as he rushes through his speech in Parliament. The sleeping newsreader wakes up and takes a sip of water -- followed by more sips -- and, getting faster and faster with his speech, he finally jumps up and pounds his chest with his fists (like King Kong), before rushing off. Windcheater arrives in a furious mood. His company has been forced to part with the entire quantity of Snooze free-of-charge, to counteract Graeme's antidote. Windcheater intends to take out his anger on the Goodies by shooting them -- but, after drinking some of the antidote, the Goodies quickly run away. ===== Bernice Summerfield is grieving since the death of Guy de Carnac (as seen in the previous novel, Sanctuary). The Doctor takes her to a market on a planet called Crex in the Augon system. He quickly sets off, telling her he'll be back in an hour, and Benny finds a pub where she orders a beer and finds a group of female human drinking partners. After Benny's had several drinks with them, the Doctor arrives and places a patch on her cheek — a pad that disperses the alcohol in her system. He tells her that they need to leave immediately, and leads her back to the TARDIS. He hands her a scroll, tells her he'll see her in three months, and collapses. Meanwhile, the genesmith Laylock meets with his associates. They plan to follow the Doctor. In a long, dark room, a teenager named Tim awakens from a dream, having had a premonition that everyone will die. Unable to understand Benny's grief on a human level, the Doctor has purchased a device which alters his biodata, transforming him into a human named Dr John Smith. Smith lives as a history teacher at a public school in 1914 England, and falls in love with a fellow teacher named Joan. However, when alien Aubertides, hoping to acquire Time Lord abilities, attack the school, Smith sacrifices himself and becomes the Doctor once more; as the Time Lord, he is unable to love Joan in the way the human John Smith did. ===== The World Jones Made is set in the year 2002 AD. On a then-future post-apocalyptic Earth, there was a devastating conflict that involved the use of atomic weapons. Many American cities were targeted, and the People's Republic of China (and Soviet Union) also collapsed, leading to the imposition of a Federal World Government (Fedgov). In this particular dystopia, Relativism (a political theory having little to do with Albert Einstein) emerged as the governing political orthodoxy. Relativism is said to be a moral and ethical philosophy that states everyone is free to believe what they wish, as long as they don't make anyone else try to follow that principle. Relativism has become established law after the destructiveness of the war unleashed by clashing ideologies. (However, dissidents from that orthodoxy do end up in forced labor camps.) This sacrosanct principle is challenged by a man named Floyd Jones, whose assertions about the future prove correct. Relativism enables legal consumption of drugs like heroin and marijuana, as well as watching live sex shows with hermaphrodite human mutants. Due to the mutagenic effects of radiation from wartime nuclear exchanges, mutants earn their living within the entertainment industry, although one group has been subjected to deliberate genetic engineering, which later enables them to settle (an inhabitable) Venus. Doug Cussick is an agent of Fedgov, and his involvement with Jones encompasses this book. Jones has precognitive abilities that let him see a year into the future, which allows Dick to explore questions of predestination, free will and determinism. Fedgov encounters apparently unintelligent alien lifeforms named Drifters, which turn out to be one gamete of a spore-based migratory alien life form. Their apparently pointless destruction leads to a retaliatory alien quarantine of the human race to a few nearby star systems. The presence of the Drifters in the story is to give Jones an initial rallying-point for all of his xenophobic followers. The collapse of Fedgov and rise of Jones to become world dictator have some similarities to the historical fall of the Weimar Republic and rise of Hitler to power in Germany. Jones' ability to see the future a year in advance makes him a charismatic leader, whose followers see him as infallible - forgetting that seeing a year in advance leaves him just as blind as anyone to what might happen later than a year in the future. In the event, the plot demonstrates, in the context of ensuing events, that Jones is far more susceptible to error than he was previously willing to admit. His whole approach has been one of an all-or-nothing gamble on the infallibility of his precognitive powers. Jones foresees his own assassination one year before it actually happens. Not only does he not attempt to avoid his execution, but he actually facilitates it by leaping into the path of a bullet meant for a bodyguard. This does not occur, however, before he and his followers create a cult that overthrows Fedgov, leading to the resettlement of Doug, his wife Nina and their three-year-old son in an artificial habitat on Venus. The novel addresses questions of Jones's agenda and trustworthiness as well as the decidedly ambiguous benefits of individual precognition. ===== Act One (Germany). At the end of Earth Spirit, Lulu was imprisoned for the murder of her third husband, Dr Schön. Pandora's Box opens with her confederates awaiting her arrival after she has been sprung from prison in an elaborate plot. The lesbian Countess Geschwitz, who remains in love with Lulu, has swapped identities with her and takes Lulu's place in prison, hoping that Lulu will love her in return. Rodrigo Quast, the acrobat, plans to take Lulu away with him as a circus performer but when she arrives, emaciated from the prison regime, he declares her unfit for his purposes. Alwa Schön, the writer, succumbs to her charms, despite her having murdered his father. They leave together. Act Two (Paris). Lulu and Alwa, now married, are entertaining in their lavish home. All are profiting from investments in the Jungfrau cable-car company. Two characters attempt to blackmail her, since she is still wanted by the German police: Rodrigo the acrobat and Casti-Piani, a white slave-trader who offers to set her up in a brothel in Cairo. The sinister Schigolch, who was Lulu's first patron and may be her father, reappears, and by offering to lure Rodrigo and Geschwitz to his lodgings, promises to "take care of" the threatening Rodrigo. As the police arrive to arrest her, Lulu swaps clothes with a groom and escapes. The Jungfrau share price has meanwhile collapsed, leaving her penniless. Act Three (London). Lulu is now living in a garret with Alwa and Schigolch and working as a prostitute. Geschwitz arrives with the rolled-up portrait of Lulu as an innocent Pierrot which has accompanied Lulu throughout the action of this play and its predecessor. Lulu's first client is the pious mute Mr Hopkins. Alwa is killed by her next visitor, the African prince Kungu Poti. Another client, the bashful Dr Hilti, flees in horror and Geschwitz tries unsuccessfully to hang herself. 'Jack' (putatively Jack the Ripper), her final client, argues with her about her fee. Geschwitz vows to return to Germany to matriculate and fight for women's rights. Jack murders Lulu and Geschwitz; the latter dies declaring eternal love for Lulu. ===== Street tough Zamir has been in love with Kim ever since he rescued her from rapists, but the only way that he can express his affection is to attack any man who shows interest in her. Kim tolerates Zamir's infatuation, but keeps him at arm's length. When Max Kalba arrives in town to take vengeance on Kim's father, Zamir attempts to rescue her once again. Kalba overpowers Zamir and kidnaps Kim's father, who is the Master at the Korean martial arts school. Kim and Zamir flee and take refuge with a mystic dwarf named Nik Nak, who explains that Kalba will kill everyone linked to the "Sect" of martial artists to which Kim and Zamir's fathers belonged. A series of flashbacks reveal a love triangle between Kim's parents and Kalba, which resulted in her mother's suicide. While Zamir trains with a drunken Sect member named Jose Soto, Kalba's minions kidnap Kim. Zamir learns to fight in the "Zeta" style and is given a pair of bladed spurs for his feet. He arrives at Kalba's headquarters and easily cuts through Kalba's minions to fight the man himself. Kalba taunts Zamir with the fact that he has murdered Zamir's mother, and gains the upper hand. On the brink of defeat, Zamir takes strength from his love of Kim and kills Kalba. Later, Zamir checks up on Kim, and she grants him a second kiss in thanks. He departs to reunite with Jose Soto, whom he has learned is his father. ===== The film examines the mind of anthropologist Ethan Powell (Hopkins) who had been missing for a few years, living in the jungle of Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with mountain gorillas. He is convicted of killing and injuring several supposed Wilderness Park Rangers in East Africa, and is sent to prison. A bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder (Gooding), tries to find out why he killed them, but becomes entangled in a quest to learn the true history and nature of humankind, stating that civilization has steadily destroyed the natural world, advocating that humans abandon this. Eventually it is revealed that during the course of Powell's stay with the gorillas, they accepted him as part of their group; he was attempting to protect his great ape family when the poachers arrived and started shooting them. He gets a hearing to reveal the truth, but an attack by a vicious guard on another prisoner causes Powell to be reminded of the killed gorillas, at which point he violently attacks the guard to stop him, is restrained and stops talking again. At the end of the film, Powell escapes from prison using a pen to dig out the lock on a window, and heads back to Africa. ===== Victor is a teenager growing up in the Lower East Side of New York City. He is a cocky young man, very sure of himself in his love life. He lives in a small apartment with his strict grandmother, bratty sister Vicki, and his younger brother Nino, who is just coming into his own sexuality and looks up to his girl-crazy brother. At the beginning of the film, Victor is found in the bedroom of Fat Donna, a girl that many in the neighborhood consider overweight. Word quickly spreads throughout the community amongst his friends, although Victor continuously denies it happened. As this is a huge threat to his reputation, he sets his sights on the beautiful girl of the neighborhood, Judy. Judy is a good-looking young woman who is continuously hit on by men in her neighborhood, which makes her very cautious in who she chooses in terms of her love life. When Victor comes on to her, she lies, telling him she has a man. When Victor finds out this isn't true, he enlists the help of Judy's little brother Carlos, on the condition that Victor introduce him to Victor's sister Vicki, who Carlos is attracted to. Judy ultimately says yes to Victor's advances to keep her safe from the other boys that harass and follow her constantly. During this time, Carlos has a crush on Vicki. We also see Judy's friend Melonie and her romantic dealings with Harold, Victor's friend. Their romance ultimately results in their sleeping together, and Melonie reveals to Harold the real reasons why Judy agreed to go out with Victor. Harold tells Victor, who goes to confront Judy. When Victor invites her over to dinner at his house, she believes he's doing so to impress his family and better his reputation. Things go wrong when Victor's grandmother recognizes the lipstick on the glass from Judy's earlier visit to their apartment, and becomes irate. Judy leaves, the grandmother tells Victor if he goes after the girl that she will change the locks. He goes after her, of course. Ultimately, they decide to stay together, with Victor saying that he invited her to see his family to see who he really is. When Victor returns to his apartment, the grandmother has not kicked him out. He makes peace with her, and the family is able to come together with a greater understanding of each other as individuals, and as a family unit. ===== In the game's backstory, a fallen angel became the Demon King Angra, whose demonic army invaded the world. However, a man holding the power of God within his arms defeated Angra, sending him into exile once again. The man was then given the title of "God Hand" by the people he saved. A clan of humans was established to protect the God Hands as it is said that anyone who possesses it will be "capable of becoming either god or demon". The main protagonist is Gene, a 23-year-old fighter who has one of the God Hands, which is sought after by a group of demons. Though he is outspoken and macho, he has a keen sense of justice. Gene is accompanied by Olivia, a 19-year-old descendant of the clan who once protected the God Hands. After the demons kill her family, she fled with one of the God Hands, grafting it onto Gene upon meeting him when he saves her from bandits attempting to take the God Hand from her and gets his right arm hacked off in the process. The main villains are the Four Devas, a demonic society attempting to resurrect Angra for world domination. The members include the leader Belze, the cigar addicted officer Elvis, the circus ringmaster Shannon and Azel, also called the "Devil Hand", a human that also possesses one of the God Hands and earlier joined the Devas to achieve his own goals. The game features a number of recurring minor enemies whom Gene meets, including a pair of extremely flamboyant twins; the trio responsible for removing Gene's original arm; a gorilla wearing a lucha libre wrestling mask and outfit; an android warrior sent by Belze twice to stop Gene; an aspiring rock duo who were originally aspiring musicians that sold their souls to the demons in exchange for power; and a group of midgets dressed in Super Sentai-style clothing with playing card emblems on their costumes. Nearly all battles are revealed by comical gags and dialogue. Once Gene defeats Azel at the Tower of Angra, Angra awakens from inside Azel's body; Azel then rips off his God Hand and entrusts it to Gene, not wanting to be controlled. Now with both God Hands, Gene defeats Angra and rescues Olivia. ===== Sridhar (Tarun) is a final year degree student and gets selected in the campus selections for studies abroad. He goes to Mumbai for an interview and in his return finds Preeti (Trisha) and loses his heart to her. Sridhar comes to know that Preeti was about to join in degree and Preeti learns that he was a final year degree student. Sridhar is an ardent cricket fan, so is Preeti, while Sridhar is also a good football player. The principal of the college appoints a coach called Reshma (Shriya), who is also a student, for the football team led by Sridhar. Sridhar tries his best to trace Preeti by visiting several women's colleges, while Preeti also watches for Sridhar at the men's college. Accidentally, Preeti helps Sridhar's mother, when she had a heart attack. In order to find Preeti at any cost, Sridhar goes to the LB Stadium, where a cricket match is in progress and gets injuries in a bomb blast in the stadium. Just before the blast, both Preeti and Sridhar find each other but could not meet due to the blast. Later Preeti's parents convince her to agree for a marriage and tell her to forget about the boy she was searching. At the same time, Sridhar's mother also tells him to concentrate on studies and go abroad to complete his studies. At this juncture, Sridhar comes to know that Preeti was staying just behind his house, when her parents come to his house to inform that she is getting married. Sridhar's gang participates in an inter-college football match and wins the cup. Before his return, Sridhar's mother suffers yet another heart attack and Preeti's father admits her in the hospital. Then they come to know that Sridhar's brother-in- law was behind bars for no fault of his and Preeti helps him to come out of the case. Meanwhile, Sridhar's mother passes away. Later Sridhar's brother-in- law gets another job and the family leaves for Bangalore. Sridhar feels lonely so, he decides to go abroad. After three years, Sridhar returns from abroad to find Preeti in the same compartment. To his surprise, Preeti is still unmarried and they unite. ===== Llovizna is the name of a beautiful eighteen- year-old girl raised by Marhuanta Sánchez, a former prostitute and companion of Llovizna's grandfather, Caruachi del Río. Caruachi, an ex-convict and now a steel worker, gave baby Llovizna to Marhuanta, without revealing that she was his granddaughter. Llovizna's biological mother, Caruachi's daughter, Rosplandor, was murdered immediately following her birth in an effort to hide a relationship she had with Pio Heres, the owner of the steel mill. As Pio was hoping for a son, Llovizna's life was spared, and she was given to Marhuanta to raise as her own child. On his deathbed, Caruachi reveals to Llovizna that Pio robbed him of his investment in the steel mill 20 years prior, and that Pio is responsible for the death of her mother. As he breathes his last breath, he begs Llovizna, as his sole heir, to recover her share of the steel mill that was taken away from him years ago, before Pio had him unjustly imprisoned for the death of Llovizna's mother. Caruachi's tragic accident in one of the furnaces at the steel mill, compels Llovizna to seek his job, in order to keep the promise she made to her dying grandfather, to expose Pio Heres for all of his wrongdoing. Here, Llovizna will fall hopelessly in love with Orinoco Fuego, a handsome, young and rebellious steel worker. Jesus Ferrer, many years ago, left his humble family, and ambitiously studied under the tutelage of Pio Heres, who had many years awaited the birth of a son. Jesus changed his name from Caroni Fuego and left behind his mother and younger brother, Orinoco. Fate and circumstances will force Llovizna to set her feelings for Orinoco aside, when she leaves the furnaces and accepts a job with the new general manager of the steel empire, Mr. Jesus Ferrer. Here Llovizna begins to unravel the lies that the now seriously ill Pio has used to cover the death of her mother and the robbery of her grandfather's rights in the steel mill. When Pio is exposed for his crimes and threatens Orinoco's life, Llovizna, in an attempt to save her true love, marries Jesus. Llovizna is the name of the story of youth who want to better themselves and the struggle to achieve their goals and lives. It is a story where honest work, education, solidarity and friendship are the moving forces that frame all of the characters. It is the impulse of such a powerful love that makes their conquest possible. ===== In the future, the United States has converted to an "electronic democracy" where the computer Multivac selects a single person to answer a number of questions. Multivac will then use the answers and other data to determine what the results of an election would be, avoiding the need for an actual election to be held. The story centers around Norman Muller of Bloomington, Indiana, the man chosen as "Voter of the Year" in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Although the law requires him to accept the dubious honour, he is not sure that he wants the responsibility of representing the entire electorate, worrying that the result will be unfavorable and he will be blamed. However, after "voting", he is very proud that the citizens of the United States had, through him, "exercised once again their free, untrammeled franchise" – a statement that is somewhat ironic as the citizens did not actually get to vote; even he himself did not vote for any candidate, law, or issue. The idea of a computer predicting whom the electorate would vote for instead of actually holding an election was probably inspired by the UNIVAC I's correct prediction of the result of the U.S. presidential election in 1952. ===== Shelley Allen (Natasha Richardson) operates a hairdressing shop in Keighley with her domestic partner Sandra (Rachel Griffiths). Shelley has been battling cancer, a secret known only to Sandra and a few confidants. She receives a terminal prognosis from her oncologist and decides to hide the truth from Sandra. When Keighley is chosen to host the British hairdressing championship, Shelley wants to participate one last time. She asks her ex-husband Phil (Alan Rickman) and her son Brian (Josh Hartnett), who operate a barber shop, to join her and Sandra as a team to enter the competition. Phil rejects the proposition: ten years previously Shelley had been his partner in the competition, and she ran off with Sandra (their model) the night before the third event; Phil has never forgiven them. Meanwhile, defending champion Raymond Robertson (Bill Nighy) visits Phil to ensure that Phil is not competing. Brian is offput when Raymond belittles Phil's confidence and ability. When he is attracted to Raymond's beautiful daughter Christina (Rachael Leigh Cook), Brian offers to join Shelley's team. Christina aspires to be a hair colorist, but lacks experience. Brian brings her to a funeral parlor where he works, where she can practice on one of the corpses after hours while Brian cuts its hair. Christina is startled when the corpse "groans" (expels trapped gas in the lungs) and flees into the street. Brian follows to console her and inadvertently allows the doors to lock behind them. The next morning the family of the deceased is displeased to find shocking pink spiky hair on their 95-year-old uncle. During the first round of the competition, Brian is cornered by the relatives of the deceased and is physically beaten. Shelley reveals to Phil and Brian that she has terminal cancer. Phil reconsiders and agrees to coach but not to cut. After Raymond's team successfully cheats in the first round, Phil sabotages a second attempt in the second round, allowing the other top teams to narrow the gap to Raymond. Christina gains coloring experience using the sheep of the family that assaulted Brian. Brian however disowns her when he realizes she is helping Raymond cheat. The night before the third round, Sandra learns that Shelley's cancer is terminal. Angry that Shelley lied to her, she quits the team. Shelley recruits one of her clients as the model for the third round and wins, moving the team into second place overall. Phil is congratulatory, but Shelley reveals that her motivation was not to win – she wanted the team effort to bond the four of them into a family before she dies. Phil agrees to participate in the final round; he also talks Sandra into rejoining the team. Christina cuts off most of her hair so that she cannot participate in her father's scheme for the final round, and she and Brian reconcile. In the last round, Phil's novel design includes shaving Sandra's head to reveal an old scalp tattoo and applying body paint to her naked, winged body. The result snatches them the overall victory by one point. Shelley, Sandra, Phil, Brian and Christina leave the competition arm-in-arm as Keighley celebrates a hometown winner. ===== We Can Build You is set in the then-future year of 1982. It centers on Louis Rosen, a small businessman whose company produces spinets and electronic organs. Rosen's partner wants to begin production of simulacra, or androids, based on famous Civil War figures. The firm completes two prototypes, one of Edwin M. Stanton and one of Abraham Lincoln. Rosen then attempts to sell the robot patents to Sam K. Barrows, an influential businessman who is opening up lunar real estate for purchase and colonization. Unfortunately, while the Stanton simulacrum proves able to adapt to contemporary U.S. society, the Lincoln simulacrum proves unable to do so, possibly because the original experienced schizophrenia. At the same time, Louis begins a relationship with Pris Frauenzimmer, the schizophrenic daughter of his business partner, who has designed both simulacra. This becomes an obsession and Louis himself begins to hallucinate about Pris. At the same time, Pris defects to Barrows but then loses faith in the benevolence of their partnership when his objectives are disclosed as more prosaic than hers, with his plans to use simulacra colonists to entice human settlement on the Moon and other human interplanetary colonies within the solar system. After Pris's destruction of a John Wilkes Booth prototype simulacrum, the Stanton/Lincoln simulacra strand of the plot abruptly terminates. The remainder of the book deals with Louis Rosen's admission of schizophrenia and his Jungian therapeutic treatment at the Kasanin Centre in Kansas from where Pris was originally released. Under the influence of his therapist Rosen creates a virtual hallucinatory reality of his own where he resumes his relationship with Pris, marries her, has children and grows old together with her, finally culminating with him hitting her hallucinatory doppelgänger in a fit of pique. This concludes his final therapy session and he is released from the Kasanin clinic after his doctor accuses him of malingering. The end of the novel posits the query of whether he was actually batty to begin with. The real- world Pris, however, has become unwell again, and she is returned to Kasanin following her short-lived career as a simulacra designer. ===== The Tree of Hands tells the story of an affluent young woman, Benet, who has a two-year-old son named James. She is estranged from James' father. They live in North London. Benet's mother comes to visit them. She and Benet's father now live in Spain. Benet's mother has a history of mental illness, possibly schizophrenia, and Benet is rather fearful of her mother and what she may be capable of doing. Unfortunately James becomes extremely ill and dies, Benet is distraught and spends a lot of time in a state of prostrated grief. Her mother tries to look after her. A sub-plot involves a young man on a council estate who is deeply in love with a woman, Carol, who has several children from previous partners. It becomes apparent to the reader that she is unfaithful to this young man, and she is abusing her children, in particular her little boy, Jason. A turn in events leads to Benet's mother kidnapping little Jason and "replacing" the dead James. Benet, at first horrified at what her mother has done, begins to realise that little Jason has been abused (she finds cigarette burns on his body) and grows to love him. As he refers to himself as Jay, this is what she calls him. However, she realises that she cannot continue to see the Doctor from the hospital because he knows that James has died, and he has been very kind to her. He may start to question Jason's appearance. Also Benet's ex begins to realise what may have happened and puts pressure on her. She realises that she and Jay must leave the country in order to start their new life. The sub plot (Carol and her friends and family) evolves into murder and betrayal, and a very clever twist involving the sale of a house in Hampstead. The title "Tree of Hands" refers to a piece of artwork displayed on the wall in the ward that James was admitted to when first taken ill. ===== Noel Meyerhof is a "Grand Master", one of a small cadre of Earth's recognised geniuses, who has the insight to know what questions to ask Multivac. But a computer scientist is concerned that Meyerhof is acting erratically. As a known joke-teller, he has been discovered feeding jokes and riddles into Multivac. By computer analysis, the characters in the story investigate the origin of humour, particularly why there seems to be no such thing as an original joke, except for puns. Every normal joke is something that was originally heard from someone else. The computer eventually tells them that humour is actually a psychological study tool imposed from without by extraterrestrials studying mankind, similarly to how humans study mice. They needed to isolate the responses to their jokes from original ones, so they "programmed" us to react differently to puns. The characters of the story conjecture that figuring this fact out makes it useless as a tool, so the aliens will turn off humour. And suddenly nothing is ever funny again. ===== Three influential leaders of the human race meet in the aftermath of a successful war against the Denebians. Discussing how the vast and powerful Multivac computer was a decisive factor in the war, each of the men admits that in fact, he falsified his part of the decision process because he felt that the situation was too complex to follow normal procedures. John Henderson, Multivac's Chief Programmer, admits that he altered the data being fed to Multivac, since the populace could not be trusted to report accurate information in the current situation. Max Jablonski then admits that he altered the data that Multivac produced, since he knew that Multivac was not in good working order due to manpower and spare parts shortage. Finally, Lamar Swift, Executive Director of the Solar Federation, reveals that he had not trusted the reports produced by Multivac, and had made the final decisions purely on the toss of a coin. ===== When humanity begins to chafe under Multivac’s benevolent tyranny, one man takes matters into his own hands to destroy the great computer. By appearing to betray his fellow humans, he places himself in a position to permanently destroy Multivac. It is implied that it is not until completion of the act that he and his peers suddenly realize the enormity of their actions and the consequences it will have on humanity. ===== In the 22nd century, the Earth is ruled by the "New Men", who have superhuman mental abilities, and the "Unusuals", who possess psionic abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis and precognition. (In its use of psionic abilities as a major plot element, this work is similar to Dick's novel Ubik.) Thors Provoni, who has gone deep into space to find help for his resistance to the ruling groups, is returning with a sentient protoplasmic alien being, a "Friend from Frolix 8" known as Morgo Rahn Wilc, to fight for the "Old Men", human beings who have none of the rulers' powers. Nick Appleton is a tire regroover - a lowly, if skilled, job; his son Bobby fails a Civil Service examination that is deliberately geared toward failing "Old Man" applicants. At the same time, Terran authorities are holding the "Under Man" activist Cordon in prison and preparing for his execution. Appleton becomes politicised, and falls for Charlotte ("Charley") Boyer, a sixteen-year-old subversive. She is involved with alcoholic Denny (in this future, alcohol prohibition has returned as a social policy). After the authorities discover that Appleton has become "subversive," they attempt to apprehend him and Charley, whom Willis Gram is also obsessed with. Meanwhile, Thors Provoni's craft has eluded Terran fleet defences and is rapidly nearing Earth, leading to paranoid fears among the ruling elite about the possibility of violent alien invasion. In the event, Provoni does land, but Morgo Rahn Wilc protects him from an assassination attempt. Provoni is actually a "New Man" and an "Unusual" at the same time, and, with the assistance of his alien companion, he strips all Unusuals of their psionic abilities, and all New Men of their advanced cognitive abilities, rendering the New Men intellectually disabled and capable only of childlike cognition. ===== Roger's father works with a supercomputer called a Multivac, which has been malfunctioning lately as it comes up with different solutions each time to problems it is asked to solve. After coworkers tell him to take a break, he takes Roger out to lunch. His father tells him what he thinks is wrong with the Multivac, and then from this Roger decides that it is like a child, and like one needs a break from work, saying that if you made a kid do work all day than it would get stuff wrong on purpose. His father reassure this inference with Roger, who confirms it saying, "Dad, a kid's got to play too." ===== "What Kind of Day Has it Been" begins with the president attending a town hall meeting at the Newseum in Rosslyn, Virginia. As the entourage exits the building, Secret Service Agent Gina Toscano seems to sense danger from the window of an overlooking building. The story is then told in retrospect starting with the day of President Bartlet preparing for the town hall question and answer session that evening. Meanwhile, the Secret Service are becoming increasingly concerned about threats on the life of the President's youngest daughter, Zoey, and her black boyfriend, the President's personal aide, Charlie, from White Supremacist groups. In addition to this, the military are performing a delicate rescue mission of an American pilot, stranded in Iraq, with Iraqi security forces trying to find him. Toby is worried, because his brother is in a space shuttle orbiting Earth but unable to land due to some technical problems. Josh has to put some pressure on Vice President Hoynes, on the subject of campaign finance reform. C.J. has to lie to the press to keep the Iraqi rescue mission covert, but doing so she incurs the anger of reporter Danny Concannon. Returning to the town hall meeting, the evening is turning into a great success for the whole Bartlet administration. The pilot was saved without any bloodshed and while Bartlet is answering questions, the news comes through that the shuttle carrying Toby's brother is safe. As the senior staff come out of the building laughing and joking, Gina tells Zoey to get in the car, made nervous by the sight of a young man who doesn't seem to fit with the crowd. Suddenly, the man looks up to a window and removes his hat, before disappearing. As Gina turns around, she spots two more men aiming guns out of said window, and yells a warning, screaming "GUN!". Suddenly shots ring out. Scenes show each member of the senior staff being thrown to the ground by agents and chaos erupting. As the scene pans out to show the carnage, a Secret Service agent can be heard on the radio, asking "Who's been hit?! Who's been hit?!" ===== His reputation brought into disrepute by Captain Bagshaw, a competitor for the affections of Lady Jane Ponsonby, Bertram Oliphant "Bo" West decides to leave England and join the French Foreign Legion, followed by his faithful manservant Simpson. Originally mistaken for enemy combatants at Sidi Bel Abbès, the pair eventually enlist and are helped in surviving Legion life by Sergeant Nocker, although only after they discover that when he is "on patrol" he is actually enjoying himself at the local cafe with the female owner, Zig- Zig. Meanwhile, Lady Jane, having learnt that Bo was really innocent, heads out to the Sahara to bring him back to England. Along the way she has several encounters with men who exploit the fact that she is naive and travelling alone. After several such run-ins, including with the Legion fort's Commandant Burger (who coincidentally had once been her fencing instructor, and joined the Legion in self-imposed shame after he had inadvertently cut her finger during a lesson), she meets Sheikh Abdul Abulbul and ends up becoming a part of his harem and planned 13th wife. Nocker and Bo are kidnapped by Abulbul after being lured to the home of Corktip, a belly dancer at the Café ZigZig. Simpson follows them to the Oasis El Nooki but is also captured. After entering Abulbul's harem and discovering Lady Jane, Bo and Simpson give themselves up while Nocker escapes (or rather is allowed to by Abulbul) back to Sidi Bel Abbes to warn Commandant Burger of Abulbul's plans to attack Fort Soixante-Neuf (i.e. 69, the sexual position). However, during this time Zig- Zig has told the Commandant about Nocker's true destination when on patrol, and therefore upon his return his story is not believed. It is only when Nocker mentions Lady Jane that they realise he was telling the truth and the Commandant organises a force to reinforce the fort. Along the way they discover Bo and Simpson staked to the ground at the now abandoned oasis. The relief column marches on towards the fort but heat, lack of water and a sand castle building competition gone wrong decimates the force to a handful. The remaining members reach the fort to find that they are too late; the attack has already occurred and the garrison wiped out. After learning that Abulbul's celebration of the successful attack includes marrying Lady Jane, Bo, Burger, Nocker and Simpson rescue her from his tent, leaving Simpson behind dressed as a decoy. When Abulbul discovers the deception, he chases Simpson back to the fort where, through the imaginative use of a gramophone and a German marching song, gum arabic, coconuts, gunpowder and a cricket bat, the group holds off Abulbul's army until a relief force arrives. However, Commandant Burger ends up as a (and the sole) casualty among the protagonists. Back in England the group reunites for a game of cricket, with Nocker having been promoted to Commandant and Lady Jane having conceived a son by the late Burger. Bo is batting, but when he hits the ball, it explodes. The bowler is then shown to be Abulbul having gained his revenge, to which Bo, with a broken bat and burnt clothes, good-naturedly responds "Not out!" ===== Voschev, a machine factory worker, is berated by management for sitting around on the job. When asked why he stands idly for hours when he should be working, Voschev responds that he is trying to find the true meaning of life and that, if he succeeds, his happiness will raise productivity. They don't buy the excuse. Management asks rhetorically, "What if we all get lost in thought — who'll be left to act?" Voschev is subsequently fired. He leaves the factory in search of new work. Along the way, Voschev comes across a couple fighting in front of their children. He yells at them for not respecting the ideals of youth, but they tell him to go away. He then sees a cripple named Zhachev, who Voschev thinks is about to harass a group of Pioneer girls. Zhachev responds, "I look at children for memory." He claims that Voschev is "soft in the head" due to never having been at war. Eventually Voschev joins a group of workers, all of whom are much stronger than him, a fact that Voschev attributes to his exhausting quest for truth. He learns that the group will be digging an enormous foundation pit in which they will later construct a housing complex for the country's proletarians. Voschev also works at a slower pace than everyone else except for one man, Kozlov, whom the others make fun of for masturbating so often. Safronov, the most politically active worker at the foundation pit, complains when managements tells them to stop working for the day. The group’s supervisor quietly climbs out of bed in order to take a walk outside. His name is Prushevsky and, like Voschev, he feels that something is missing in his life. "People make use of me," he says to himself, "but no one is glad of me." He contemplates suicide but determines he will first write a letter to his sister. Chiklin, a typical worker at the site, discovers a gully that he feels the group can use for the foundation pit without having to dig so far into the earth. However, Safronov condemns him for thinking outside of the box and asks whether he received "a special kiss in infancy" that allows him to make better decisions than the government's experts back in Moscow. Prushevsky orders the men to take soil samples, but, after they are returned to him, he sadly admits that he doesn’t know anything about soil analysis because no one ever taught him how to look at the inside of things. Prushevsky and Chiklin have a conversation about the days before the Russian Revolution. He tells Chiklin about a girl who spontaneously kissed him. She was the factory owner's daughter, and, while he regrets not stopping to talk to her, he's sure that she has grown old by now. Safronov and Kozlov begin to fight. Both claim that the other is trying to undermine the workers' goals, but Safronov leaves when Kozlov recalls the time he "incited a certain poor peasant to slaughter a cock and eat it." Voschev continues to spend his days picking up leaves and other pieces of nature as proof that the world was created without purpose. He then recycles an old excuse, telling Safronov that he would like to take some paid time off in order to search for the meaning of life, which will increase productivity. Safronov counters that proletarians live for the enthusiasm to work. Chiklin walks through an old tile factory and finds Julia, the boss's daughter whom Prushevsky — and he, too, it is realized — kissed so many years earlier. She is about to die and is being taken care of by her daughter, Nastya. Julia tells her daughter to never reveal her family's wealthy origins, lest she be punished by class enemies. Chiklin kisses Julia one more time before she dies and then brings Nastya back to the barracks. He returns to the factor with Prushevsky, who does not recognize the dead woman. "I've always not recognized people I love," he explains, "though in the distance I’ve yearned for them." They leave her body in the room. Chiklin blocks the doorway with heavy bricks and tells Prushevsky that her death has given his life a new meaning. All of the workers meet Nastya. Zhachev, the cripple at whom Voschev yelled during one of the opening scenes, decides that he will kill of the local adults once Nastya has grown up. Safronov asks Nastya about her family, and, remembering her mother’s warning, she tells him that she waited a long time to be born in fear that her mother may belong to the bourgeoisie class. "But now that Stalin's become," she adds, "I've become too!" Safronov is pleased at this answer. When Nastya goes to sleep, the men resolve to start working early in the morning so that the housing complex will be completed for any other underage visitors in the future. The next morning, the workers find 100 empty coffins buried in the ground. Chiklin gives two of them to Nastya, who sleeps in one and keeps her toys in the other. Yet a peasant named Yelisey tells the group that the coffins belong to his village. Yelisey carries away the coffins, which are tied together by a long strand of rope. Voschev follows the peasant's trail. Kozlov unexpectedly shows up at the worksite wearing an expensive suit, the result of having been appointed chairman of the labor union council. Pashkin, who is now Kozlov's driver, tells the group that the peasants in a nearby village are looking to collectivize their farms. The workers decide that Kozlov and Safronov, even though they hate each other, will lead the collectivization process. The workers complete the foundation pit and are happy about the success. Pashkin tells them that it will have to be at least four times bigger in order to make room for pregnant women, though, and he convinces management to give the order. Voschev, who followed the peasant claiming ownership of the empty coffins, returns to the worksite to announce that Kozlov and Safronov are dead. The workers steal Nastya's empty coffins and bury the men in them. She doesn’t understand why someone who is not alive is given preference. "It's the way things are done," Chiklin explains to her. "The dead are all special — they're important people." Chiklin and Voschev travel to the village in order to retrieve the bodies but discover that Kozlov and Safronov have been brutally murdered. The peasants say that they do not know who murdered the men. Chiklin kills one of them out of anger, and a second peasant turns up dead under suspicious circumstances. A union organizer known only as “the activist” tells everyone that the latter peasant was the murderer. They bury Kozlov and Safronov before receiving a letter from Prushevsky, who says that Nastya has begun attending nursing school. Nastya's working class rhetoric, which she first used in order to fit in, is now violent in nature. She writes, "Liquidate the kulaks as a class. … Greetings to the collective farm, but not the kulaks." The activist rounds up all of the peasants but is terrified to make a mistake. He has not received any mandates from management and is worried about both underachieving and overachieving, fearing that the peasants will use smaller animals like goats in order to prop up capitalism. Chiklin and Voschev find an old man laying on the ground. He is trying to will himself to death, claiming that his soul disappeared when his horse was taken into collectivization. They leave for a literacy class taught by the activist, who teaches women and young girls how to write socialist words and slogans. Chiklin finds out that the local priest has been providing the activist with a list of names of the people who enter the church to pray. He punches the priest on principle. A few days later, the activist announces that the kulaks will be exterminated as a class, and then their bodies will be sent down the river on a makeshift raft. Many peasants were expecting this to happen and stopped taking care of themselves long ago. One woman, for instance, is alive only to the pain she feels when stray dogs chew on her feet. Others rip their plants out of the ground by the roots, refusing to let their property be taken into collectivization. The rest of the peasants spend the night involuntarily vomiting. Zhachev and Nastya visit the village, and Yelisey introduces them to the local blacksmith: an anthropomorphic bear who touts a keen ability to sniff out and kill kulaks. The bear takes Nastya and Chiklin hunting for the kulaks whom were not liquidated. Before dying, one of their victims shouts out, "The only person who’ll ever reach socialism is that one important man of yours." They send the last of the corpses down the river and set up speakers for music and dancing. Zhachev isn't having a good time and keeps knocking peasants onto the ground for fun. He tells Chiklin, who begins feeling sorry for the people they've killed, that Marxism, along with scientific advancements, will resurrect Lenin one day. In the early morning, the bear inexplicably begins to hammer away at iron. He's roaring loudly, almost as if in song, and no one understands why. However, the men join him and, in essence, lose themselves in the hard work. Prushevsky does not follow suit. A girl asks him to teach her knowledge, and he leaves the worksite with her. The activist receives a letter from the Soviet government stating that any peasants who seem too willing to have their property collectivized should be treated with suspicion as undercover agents. Nastya wakes up with a cold. She mutters about spiritual complexities similar to those of Voschev. Chiklin drapes three coats over her body for warm, but the activist, still upset about the intelligence letter from management, steals one of them from her. Zhachev tells Chiklin about the aforementioned letter, and Chiklin becomes suspicious of the activist's optimism and energy. Chiklin kills him with a sledgehammer. The activist's body is sent down the river like the kulaks were. The bear begins to weep, feeling isolated from the group. Voschev explains the bear feels that way because he has no purpose in life except to work. Nastya's condition is also worsening. "Bring me Mama's bones," she continues to say. "I want them." The workers decide to bring her back to the worksite. Prushevsky, however, stays in the village in order to teach the children. Nastya dies the next morning. Voschev returns to the worksite with all of the collectivize property, including its previous owners. He doesn't know how to react to Nastya's death but tells Chiklin that the peasants would like to enroll as regular workers. They realize this means that the foundation pit will have to be built even larger. Zhachev, who at the beginning of the novel vowed to kill all of the adults at Nastya's coming of age, refuses to help reconstruct the foundation pit. "Communism's something for the kids," Zhachev says. He leaves the worksite and never returns. Chiklin spends 15 hours digging a grave for Nastya in order to ensure she will be disturbed by neither worms nor human beings. The bear reaches out and touches Nastya one last time. ===== Jamie Douglas is a beautiful, successful news writer and anchor in Los Angeles, in a stable relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Brandon. Jamie begins receiving anonymous phone calls and flowers from a man named Derek, a psychotic photographer who is obsessed with her. Initially, Jamie dismisses them as harmless flattery from an "admirer," until Derek retrieves her phone number and begins calling her house in the Hollywood Hills, as well as that of her neighbor, a fashion model named Robin. Derek manages to access Jamie's dressing room at the office, and gives her a box of candy, apologizing for his pestering calls. Jamie is sympathetic toward him, and thanks him for the gift. Derek continues to obsessively stalk Jamie, who is unaware that his home is adjacent to her property. One afternoon he accosts her in her living room, maniacally photographing her as she fends him off. Brandon arrives and stops the attack, beating Derek significantly. Bloodied, Derek thanks Jamie, and leaves. Jamie visits Maxwell, a police officer friend, seeking advice. Maxwell explains that Jamie has few options, as Derek has technically not committed any crimes. Meanwhile, Derek follows Robin to one of her modeling jobs. He introduces himself as a friend of Jamie's, but Robin realizes he is the man who has been calling her and Jamie's homes. Derek pleads for Robin to convince Jamie to go on a date with him, but Robin forces him out. Later, Derek confronts Jamie and Robin at the mall, where Jamie sternly tells him she despises him, and to leave her alone. Brandon consults a doctor about Jamie's situation, and the doctor advises him that Derek likely suffers from erotomania, a delusional disorder in which he believes his affections for Jamie, a stranger, are reciprocated. One night, Derek breaks into Jamie's house and watches her from her bedroom closet, fondling himself while she takes a bath. After realizing Derek is in the house, she retrieves Brandon, but Derek flees through a window and escapes. Later, one of Derek's coworkers at the photo studio, Julie, attempts to ask him on a date. He politely declines, telling her he is engaged to be married. As part of a news story, Jamie attends a funeral for a female victim of an unknown serial killer, dubbed the "Sweetheart Killer." While reviewing the footage, Jamie notices Derek standing behind her in the cemetery. Derek breaches the news station posing as a newsrunner, and brings a "last-minute addition" for Jamie's broadcast. During the live taping, a message from Derek runs on Jamie's teleprompter. Distraught, Jamie pleads on air for help, telling her viewers that she has a stalker who is going to kill her. That night, Brandon comforts Jamie, and the two relax in her hot tub. The two begin to have sex, but Derek emerges from the shadows and stabs Brandon to death. Jamie flees into the house to phone police, but is put on hold. Meanwhile, Derek buries Brandon's body in his yard. Dejected and at a loss for what to do, Jamie phones Derek at his home, begging him to come back. When he returns to the house, she begins firing at him with a rifle, and he crashes through a window to escape. Jamie phones Derek again, and tauntingly offers herself to him. Meanwhile, Julie arrives at Derek's to warn him that the police questioned her about him; during their conversation, Maxwell arrives at Derek's home and warns him to leave Jamie alone, stating that in exchange he will keep him from going to jail for harassment. After Maxwell leaves, Julie professes her love to Derek, but he grows enraged when she tells him Jamie does not love him. Julie storms out to her car, and notices Derek sneaking into Jamie's backyard moments later. Derek enters the house and threatens Jamie with knife. She manages to force him off her, and the two fight in her bedroom. Derek wrests her to the bed, and begins attempting to rape her. In response, Jamie begins to aggressively offer herself to him, unbuttoning his shirt and pants, but he admits he is impotent. Derek again begins attacking her, but is shot dead by Julie, who stumbles in on the scene. ===== A 2003 paperback edition of The Hollowing with cover art by Larry Rostant The Hollowing shares the third person narrative viewpoint as does its predecessor, Lavondyss. The narrative begins in the 1950s, merely one year after the events that take place in Lavondyss, but the majority of the story takes place in 1968. Inside Ryhope wood, Tallis Keeton's young friend, Alex Bradley, remains an adolescent when he would otherwise be twenty years old. This is possible because the rate of time inside the wood is not synchronized with the rate of time outside the wood. The story's protagonist is Alex's father, Richard Bradley. Richard is on a quest to locate his lost son in the wood, a very dangerous task because Alex’s overactive imagination generates mythagos dangerous to both himself and others. The day Tallis Keeton disappears into Ryhope wood in Lavondyss, her father, James Keeton, disappears into the wood to locate her. While he spends only four days in Ryhope wood, over one year of time passes in the outside world. When he turns up, he is clutching Moondream, one of Tallis’ masks, and is placed in a mental hospital. He is kept close company by Alex Bradley, a young playmate of Tallis’, who alone can calm James. James Keeton has a number of episodes in which he appears to communicate with Tallis through the mask. In a dramatic scene, Richard Bradley sees James Keeton collapse and die. At the same time, his son Alex is physically traumatized by a mythic force. This compromises Alex’s mental faculties and he is confined to the same mental hospital. Alex escapes the mental hospital and his highly decayed remains are subsequently found, so he is presumed dead. After six years Alex’s father, Richard Bradley, receives evidence that Alex may yet be alive in Ryhope wood. Richard joins a scientific expedition to locate his son in the wood, rendered all the more dangerous by the mythagos feeding off Alex’s imagination. During his quest in the wood, Richard Bradley develops a romantic relationship with Helen Silverlock, a Native American. In addition to introducing Native American culture into Ryhope wood, mythagos about Jack (as in Jack and the Beanstalk), the Tower of Babel and Jason and the Argonauts appear, the last two of which involve variations on myths that are uncharacteristically non-English in origin.Newman, Kim St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, ed. David Pringle (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1996), pages 285-286.Larson, Eugene Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, ed. Fiona Kelleghan (Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2002), pages 381-384.The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, eds. John Clute and John Grant (New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1997), pages 474-475, 674. ===== Steve Walker (Dean Jones) arrives in a New England seacoast fictional town, called Godolphin, North Carolina, to take the position of track coach at Godolphin College. The night of his arrival coincides with a charity bazaar at the hotel where he will be boarding — Blackbeard's Inn, named after the notorious English pirate Captain Edward Teach and now run by the Daughters of the Buccaneers, elderly descendants of the pirate's crew. The inn had been built from timbers of ships that had run aground in the bay. The owners are attempting to pay off their mortgage to keep the inn from being bought by the local crime boss, Silky Seymour (Joby Baker), who wants to build a casino on the land. Steve quickly discovers his track team's shortcomings and runs afoul of the dean of Godolphin College, its football coach, and Seymour. He also makes the acquaintance of attractive Godolphin professor Jo Anne Baker (Suzanne Pleshette), who is anxious to help the elderly ladies save Blackbeard's Inn. After a bidding war with the football coach at the charity auction, Steve wins an antique bed warmer once owned by Blackbeard's 10th wife, Aldetha Teach, who had a reputation of being a witch. Inside the hollow wooden handle of this bed warmer is hidden a book of magic spells that had once been the property of Aldetha. Steve recites, on a lark, a spell "to bring to your eyes and ears one who is bound in Limbo", unintentionally conjuring up the ghost of Blackbeard (Peter Ustinov), who appears as a socially- inappropriate drunkard, cursed by his wife to an existence in limbo unless he can perform a good deed. Steve and Blackbeard are bound to one another by the power of the spell, and only the very reluctant Steve can see or hear the ghost. As a result, Steve must deal with the antics of the wayward pirate while attempting to revive Godolphin's track team and form a relationship with Jo Anne. Steve is falsely arrested for drunk driving when Blackbeard attempts to drive Steve's automobile, steering it like a pirate ship. Because the arresting officer can't see Blackbeard (and because Blackbeard riding the cop's motorcycle crashed it into a tree), Steve spends a night in jail. While in jail, Steve reminds Blackbeard that if he does a good deed, his curse will be broken. Steve asks Blackbeard for his treasure to help the Daughters of the Buccaneers save the inn, but Blackbeard admits that he spent all of the money. Steve decides not to trust Blackbeard. Steve is released from jail the next morning due to lack of evidence but is put on probation with the college, forced to win the big track meet or be fired from his position. The problem is that Steve's team is sorrowfully weak and ordinarily do not stand a chance at winning. Blackbeard is firmly told by Steve, more than once, not to interfere with the boys on his team or the opposing team either. But Blackbeard creates further complications by stealing one of the Inn's mortgage payments and betting it on Steve's track team. Blackbeard's intention is to use his ghostly powers to help Godolphin win the track meet, and then use the winnings to pay the mortgage in full. Steve is at first outraged by the pirate's interference, but he decides the greater good is to win the money for the sake of the Inn. He also accepts the pirate's help in shaking down Silky Seymour and his thugs after Seymour refuses to pay out the winnings from the bet. With the mortgage paid, Blackbeard has performed his good deed and is released from the curse. After Steve asks the ladies and Jo Anne to recite the spell, thereby rendering Blackbeard visible to them, Blackbeard bids them all a cordial goodbye and departs to join his former crew, leaving Steve and Jo Anne to pursue their future together. ===== Bloody Bones continues the adventures of Anita Blake. This time, Anita travels to Branson, Missouri and is quickly enmeshed in a series of supernatural murders and disappearances that she and her vampire would-be lover, Jean-Claude must resolve. As with its predecessors, Bloody Bones blends elements of supernatural, hardboiled and police procedural fiction. ===== Bloody Bones begins on Saint Patrick's Day, shortly after the events of the previous Anita Blake novel, The Lunatic Cafe. Like the previous novels, the novel opens with Anita considering a possible job. This time, her manager, Bert, is calculating a possible bid for a mass zombie raising in Branson, Missouri. Bert explains that a law firm is soliciting bids to raise an entire graveyard in order to determine who owns a piece of land needed for a resort complex. The graves are unmarked and may contain corpses at least 100 years old, Anita finds out later there are some that are much older than that, which will make the raising very difficult. In Anita's opinion, she is the only person in the world who might be able to raise that many ancient unmarked graves without a human sacrifice. She agrees to take the job, and takes Larry along to boost her powers, and as a training experience. (She and Bert agree that although John Burke also has the power to make a good second, his pride is such that it's best that he not even learn that Anita took a job that he was not strong enough to take on his own). Arriving in Branson, Anita meets Raymond Stirling, the lawyer in charge of the development project and his assistants, Lionel Bayard, Ms Harrison and Beau, and learns that Stirling is in a dispute with Magnus and Dorcas Bouvier, two siblings who claim to own the land at issue and refuse to sell. If the corpses on the land confirm that it belongs to the Bouviers, Stirling's project will be unable to continue. After reviewing the site and making plans to explore the site further that evening, Anita receives a call from Dolph. Dolph asks Anita for advice on a crime scene back in St. Louis and also asks her to assist the local police with a nearby crime scene. Anita and Larry drive to the scene and meet Sergeant Freemont, who appears to want to crack the case herself and resents their intrusion. Anita inspects the murder victims—three teen-aged or younger boys cut apart with a blade. Each of the boys' faces have been disfigured or removed, and Freemont reveals that a teenaged boy and girl were murdered earlier, with similar wounds. Anita warns Freemont that in her opinion, the boys were cut apart by a sword wielded by something as fast and strong as a vampire, with enough mental power to hold two of the boys motionless while killing the third. Larry is seriously shaken by viewing his first murder scene. Anita and Larry then go to the Bouviers' restaurant, named "Bloody Bones," to investigate the land dispute and to get dinner. There, they meet Magnus and Dorrie, each of whom is part-fey. Magnus is using glamour to host a date night. By touching the restaurant patrons, he makes them irresistibly attractive for one night, in return for drawing some power for himself. After trying unsuccessfully to seduce Anita, Magnus is coy about why the Bouviers refuse to sell their land. Magnus also admits to destroying several trees outside the restaurant while in a drunken rage, causing Anita to consider him as a suspect for the recent killings. During dinner, Dolph pages Anita again, and asks her to assist on another possible local vampire crime. Anita tells Dolph that Magnus is part-fey and a potential suspect, then Anita and Larry drive to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Quinlan. There, they meet Sheriff David St. John, his wife Beth, Deputy Zack Coltraine, Mr. and Mrs. Quinlan, and their son Jeff. Jeff's older sister, Ellie is lying in her bed, dead of a vampire bite. Anita and Larry eventually deduce that her death was probably voluntary, and learn that Ellie's boyfriend Andy recently disappeared. They guess that Ellie's boyfriend has recently been raised as a vampire and turned her as well, but Mr. Quinlan refuses to believe them and demands that Anita stake Ellie to prevent her from rising. Anita asks him to wait twenty-four hours to "cool off" and promises to stake Ellie if her father demands it after that time. After instructing the Quinlans to place the Host at each doorway to prevent any vampires from reentering the home, Anita explains that the vampire that turned Ellie probably has a resting place nearby, and that they may catch it if they attempt a nighttime hunt. She heads out into the woods after it, together with Larry, Sheriff St. John, Deputy Coltraine, and two other police officers, Wallace and Granger. During the hunt, Anita learns that Wallace was a survivor of a vampire attack and shows him her own scars in an effort to put him at ease. During the hunt, Anita and the others are ambushed by a pack of vampires. In the fight, Anita kills two vampires, but Granger is bitten, Wallace's arm is broken, and Xavier kills Coltrain with a sword. While the hunters regroup, Granger, now under vampire control, attempts to shoot Larry, and Anita is forced to kill him. The group then hears screams from the Quinlan home, and St. John and Anita run for the house, leaving Larry and Wallace to bring up the rear. When Anita gets to the house, Beth St. John is dead and Jeff has been taken. (Apparently, Xavier was able to shapeshift and fit through a pet door). Sheriff St. John kills a brown haired, female vampire. Anita shoots at Xavier, but he's too fast to hit. Later, Sergeant Freemont arrives at the scene. She explains that after Dolph told her that Magnus was part fey, she went to arrest him. Mangus used glamour to escape, and is now wanted for using magic on police officers during the course of his escape. FBI agents Elwood and Bradford arrive and speak to Anita, who agrees to attempt to identify and contact the Master of the City. Anita calls Jean-Claude for information. Jean-Claude explains that he thinks he knows the vampire Anita saw, and that it is an "exotic" vampire of a sort concealed from humans. Among other things, it is a pedophile. Jean-Claude offers to come to Branson to set up a meeting with the Master of the City. With Jeff Quinlan in the hands of a monster, Anita is forced to accept Jean-Claude's help. With no way to pursue the Quinlan case, Anita and Larry return to the graveyard to "walk the graveyard" and attempt to sense the location and identities of the corpses in preparation for a later attempt to raise the dead. Anita and Larry experiment with combining powers, and are surprised at the degree to which they are able to magnify each other's abilities. However, their powers attract Magnus, who appears and insists that they not raise the dead in that graveyard. Stirling orders Beau to shoot Magnus for trespassing, but Anita, realizing that Stirling intended the evening as a trap for Magnus, draws her own gun and buys Magnus time to escape. Anita and Larry return to their hotel suite to find Jean-Claude and Jason. Jean-Claude has flown in on his private jet, but it is now too late in the night to track down the Master before dawn. Jean-Claude informs Anita of Xavier's name, then retires for the morning in her bed. Jason visits with Anita and Larry, and challenges Anita for dominance. Anita wins, of course, and figures out that Jean-Claude has ordered Jason to show his lycanthrope side in an effort to dissuade Anita from marrying Richard. Jason acknowledges Anita as dominant and goes to bed. Later that morning, Dorcas Bouvier bursts into Anita's hotel suite and demands to see Magnus. After Dorcas bursts into the bedroom and sees Jean-Claude and Jason, she accepts that Anita has not fallen victim to Magnus's charms and explains why the Bouviers refuse to sell their land. Centuries ago their ancestor, a member of the fey, emigrated to colonial North America with a more powerful fey, Rawhead and Bloody Bones trapped in a magic box. While Rawhead was trapped, Bouvier was able to create a potion from its blood and increase his own powers, but eventually, Rawhead escaped and went on a murderous rampage. After a pitched battle, Rawhead was sealed beneath the ground, and the Bouvier family has remained in Branson in order to prevent Rawhead from escaping. Anita convinces Dorcas to take her to see the mound where Rawhead is trapped, and they agree to go to the mound the following day. That evening, Jean-Claude prepares the group to meet Seraphina, the master of Branson. He explains that his visit raises issues of vampire politics. Although vampires' interactions with one another are somewhat constrained by the laws of the Vampire Council, conflicts are still possible, and he has negotiated a delicate truce with Seraphina. Although the group must be prepared to fight, they may not strike the first blow. Jean-Claude and Anita, accompanied by Larry and Jason, visit an apparently ruined and abandoned home, cloaked in magical shadow, and meet Ivy, Bruce, Kissa, Janos, Pallas and Bettina. The Branson vampires engage in a calculated plan to force Jean-Claude's party to break the truce. Without offering violence to his group, they threaten to torture two young women, then sexually harass Jason. Jean-Claude is forced to challenge Janos to a contest of power, which he begins to lose. Ultimately, Anita escapes the trap by baiting Ivy into attacking her, allowing the group to use violence in their own defense. In the ensuing battle, Larry kills Bruce, and Pallas and Bettina are first shot, then torn apart. (However, because they are rotting vampires, they are almost impossible to kill.) Anita is forced to give blood to save Jean-Claude's life. Once Jean-Claude is stabilized, Magnus appears and offers to convey the group to see Seraphina under a flag of truce. Seraphina toys with the group, but ultimately agrees that a murderous pedophile master vampire in her territory is a threat, and agrees to track down Xavier. Jean- Claude is astounded that Seraphina has somehow become powerful enough to assert mastery over vampires as formidable as Janos. The group returns to the hotel to clean up. Anita learns more about Jean-Claude's history and momentarily surrenders to her lust and kisses Jean-Claude, but stops when he draws blood (though he claims it was by accident). She stays with Jean-Claude as dawn comes and he "dies" for the day and is surprised at her growing sympathy towards him. Anita then falls asleep herself and is visited in her dream by Seraphina, who promises to reunite Anita with her deceased mother if Anita agrees to serve Seraphina. Anita wakes, and begins planning to kill Seraphina. Anita and Larry meet up with Dorcas Bouvier, who takes them to the mound where Bloody Bones is imprisoned. When they arrive, they surprise Magnus in the act of drinking Bloody Bones's blood, and Dorcas realizes that Magnus has been using Bloody Bones to boost his power for years. Anita proposes that instead of raising the entire Bouvier graveyard, she raise just enough zombies to confirm the Bouviers' claim to the land and prevent Stirling from digging up the graveyard and freeing Bloody Bones. That evening, accompanied by Stirling, Bayard, and Harrison, Anita and Larry combine their powers to animate a few of the ancient corpses in the Bouvier graveyard. Just before Anita completes the circle of blood needed to activate their power, she feels Bloody Bones stir and realizes that raising even a few zombies will free the monster. She stops, but Ivy flies from the darkness and attacks. Anita kills Ivy in self-defense, but Ivy's blood falls on the remaining span of the circle, closing the loop and activating her power. Similar to Anita's inadvertent human sacrifices in The Laughing Corpse, Ivy's death supercharges Anita's power, forcing her to animate every corpse in the graveyard. At that point, Stirling and Harrison draw guns, and Stirling shoots Bayard. Apparently, Seraphina and Bloody Bones promised Stirling the land in return for Bloody Bones's freedom, and Stirling had planned on killing Anita once she raised the Bouviers and freed the fey. Anita orders the zombies to attack Stirling and Harrison and incapacitates them both. While she considers whether to kill them, Janos arrives with a newly risen Ellie, accompanied by Bettina, Pallas, Kissa, Xavier and their hostage, Jeff Quinlan. The vampires feed on and kill Stirling and Harrison, and inform Anita that Xavier has been serving Seraphina since her arrival in Branson. Seraphina's vampires fly away, and Anita goes to confront them and attempt rescue Jeff, with the help of Jean- Claude, Larry, and Jason. Bloody Bones arrives and demands its freedom, but Seraphina breaks her word to the fey and announces her intent to continue drinking its power forever. With her oath broken, Larry and Anita are able to break her spell over Bloody Bones, and it draws a sword and impales Seraphina. Bloody Bones admits to Anita that it has been able to manifest its form as a result of Magnus's interference, and that it killed the teenagers for being bad children. Realizing that Bloody Bones is mortal as long as it continues to share power with Magnus, Anita shoots the boggle, slowing it down long enough for Xavier to kill it with a greatsword forged of cold iron. Anita infers that Xavier is a fey raised as a vampire, although Xavier denies it. Seraphina regains control, and decides that Anita's blood might make an acceptable second choice for Bloody Bones's. In return for Anita surrendering herself, Seraphina agrees to let the others go. The next morning, Anita wakes up next to Seraphina in her coffin. She forces her way out and learns that the coffins of Seraphina's vampires have been moved to the Bloody Bones bar and grill. (Ellie does not have a coffin and is sleeping on the floor.) Anita tries to escape, but Magnus stops her. In the course of the fight, Anita drips some of her blood on Ellie and realizes that she can raise Ellie as if she were a zombie. She does so and orders Ellie to hold Magnus while she makes her escape. With Ellie clinging to his waist, Magnus chases Anita outside and is burned to death when Ellie burns in the sunlight. Anita contacts Agent Bradford and tells him where the vampires are resting. With Anita, Larry and the local authorities, Bradford douses the Bloody Bones restaurant with gasoline and prepares to set it on fire. Anita feels Seraphina in her mind and forces the agents to handcuff her and lock her in a car so that Seraphina cannot use her control over Anita to interfere. As the fire consumes all of the vampires inside, including the now-dead Jeff Quinlan, Seraphina forces Anita to relive the death of her own mother, renewing her earlier trauma. In the epilogue, Anita explains that Dorcas, now free of the family curse, sold the Bouvier land and left Branson with her children, that the Quinlans are suing Animators, Inc. because of Anita's refusal to stake Ellie when asked, and that Anita herself is continuing her life in St. Louis, notwithstanding the fresh emotional wounds. ===== As the episode begins, Toby gets called by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to identify a dead homeless man. It turns out the man (a Korean War veteran from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines who received the Purple Heart) was wearing a coat that Toby donated to Goodwill, and Toby had left his business card in it. The event stays with him, and he tracks down the man's next of kin. The only relative he can find is a brother, also homeless. Using the influence of the president's office, he arranges a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. President Bartlet is informed about Toby’s transgression, but can only muster limited indignation and jocularly asks if the country is still in NATO. To the president's concern that this could create precedent for other veterans to come forward, Toby replies "I can only hope, sir." Mrs. Landingham, who has just told Charlie Young about losing her twin sons in the Vietnam War, joins Toby and the veteran's brother at the funeral. Meanwhile, Josh Lyman – who is worried that Rep. Peter Lillienfield (R) may disclose information the Congressman has about Leo McGarry's past treatment for alcohol and Valium abuse – approaches Sam Seaborn and proposes using Sam's prostitute friend to dig up dirt as leverage against Lillienfield's allies when the time comes. Leo objects strongly to the plan, calling it unethical. C. J. Cregg gets emotionally involved in a story about the deadly assault on a homosexual youth. She sees this as an opportunity to push hate crime legislation, but the suggestion finds little support among the others. Reporter Danny Concannon also disagrees, but this encourages her to finally accept his offer of a date, to have him convince her. Bartlet sneaks out to go shopping at a rare book store and refuses to take photographers along, much to Mandy Hampton's chagrin. Donna Moss has at this point been pestering Josh about her Christmas gift all day. While he doesn't follow the list submitted, he picks up a book for her at the shop and writes a message in it that leaves her tearful but happy. ===== In the 1990s, World War III has at last ended. The people are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild their civilizations. However, vicious gangs that prey on these defenseless citizens are obstructing the reconstruction. The main protagonists are Boris, Wade and Kyle, vigilantes who protect the fearful and helpless. Their largest problem is the corrupt, incorrigible, ruthless and lethal gang known as The Geld Gang. They have commissioned every type of person imaginable: purple-haired, leather-clad, chain-wielding, lead- pipe swinging, masked, martial artists, orange-mohawked, and men who use manhole covers as shields. One day, when the trio is patrolling the streets, alert, ready and able to help those in need, they see a woman named Sheena (a friend of theirs) waving at them as she walks across the street from a supermarket with groceries. A moment later, Lord Geld's right-hand man, Red Freddy, snatches her away on his motorcycle. Now, the three braves must save Sheena from the grips of Lord Geld. ===== The movie begins with B.V. Pradhan (Anupam Kher) waking up early in the morning to write a letter to his son, Ajay, who lives in New York. Midway through the letter, Pradhan remembers the tragic reality: Pradhan received a call from a friend of Ajay's that Ajay has been killed in a mugging in New York. Pradhan's best friend, Vishwanath, and Pradhan's wife, Parvati (Rohini Hattangadi) are both worried that even though it's been 3 months, Pradhan has yet to fully come to terms with the loss of his only son. Pradhan confesses to Vishwanath that after the loss of his son, he no longer has any will left to live. Due to the death of their son, Pradhan has no source of income, so they rent out a room of their Shivaji Park (Mumbai) apartment to a budding Bollywood actress, Sujata Suman (Soni Razdan). Sujata is romantically involved with Vilas (Madan Jain), the only son of an influential politician Gajanan Chitre (Nilu Phule). Vilas wishes to marry Sujata, but he does not tell his father about Sujata out of cowardice and keeps on postponing their marriage plans. Meanwhile, Pradhan receives a registered letter that his son's ashes and a few other belongings (a TV, VCR, a refrigerator etc.) have arrived from USA to India. When Pradhan goes to the customs office to collect them, he is disrespected and gets no help from the Public Relations Officer. An emotionally disturbed and enraged Pradhan forcibly enters the office of the main head of the customs department and explains that he has come only to pick up his son's ashes and not any other material possessions. Pradhan demands that his son's ashes be handed to him immediately and breaks down to tears, upon which the officer consoles Pradhan and relents to his request. The officer apologises for the inconvenience and assures Pradhan that the remaining items will be transferred to Pradhan as soon as possible. Pradhan, an atheist, gives his son's ashes to Parvati, who takes his ashes to a Pandit (Alok Nath). The Pandit tells Pradhan and Parvati that Ajay will soon be reincarnated, in the form of a baby, near them. Disillusioned, Pradhan takes some of Ajay's ashes and spreads them near a park bench in the nearby kids park. Realising the futility of his painful life, Pradhan tries to commit suicide by diving under a speeding car, albeit unsuccessfully. Parvati implores him to change his mind, but Pradhan does not relent. Finally, they both decide to end their lives by consuming poison together. Just as Pradhan and Parvati are about to commit suicide, Sujata informs Vilas that she's pregnant. When Vilas still shows indecisiveness in marrying Sujata, she calls him a coward and throws him out. When Pradhan finds out, he offers to take Sujata to meet Gajanan with the hope that he will permit Sujata and Vilas to get married. When Vilas refuses to accept that Sujata is carrying his baby, Gajanan, despite knowing that Vilas is lying, refuses their proposal and threatens Pradhan and Sujata of dire consequences if Sujata does not abort the child and moves away to another town. However, Pradhan, out of principle, refuses to let a helpless Sujata leave and provides her a safe haven in his house. Parvati, upon hearing that Sujata is with a baby, starts believing that the baby in Sujata's womb is, in fact, going to be the reincarnation of Ajay. She starts caring for Sujata and her beliefs about Ajay being reincarnated get even more firmly entrenched in her mind. Gajanan tries all the tricks of the trade to dissuade Sujata from having the baby: his goons to try to bribe Pradhan, they harass Pradhan by cutting off the electricity of his house and beat up Vishwanath (thereby preventing him from supplying milk to Pradhan's house) and his goons even throw ignited crackers into Pradhan's house. Gajanan himself persuades a local doctor to illegally carry out the abortion of Sujata's baby in his clinic (where Sujata is scheduled for a checkup). When all else fails, Gajanan, through Vilas (who is unaware of his father's intentions) traps Pradhan in a fake scam of aiding and abetting a prostitution ring (involving illegal marked bills). Pradhan tries to call the Commissioner of Police for help, but is prevented due to red- tapism. Exasperated, Pradhan storms into the Mantralaya, the office of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The C.M. turns out to be one of Pradhan's former students, Shashikant. The C.M. immediately calls up the Commissioner of Police, the Remand Home where Sujata is being held in custody and demands Gajanan Chitre be produced to ensure that justice is rightfully served. Pradhan realises that Parvati's adamant belief that Ajay will be reincarnated as Sujata's baby will cause problems to them and Sujata and Vilas, so he asks them both to leave the city in the wee hours of the night and go live their lives happily elsewhere. He gifts them Ajay's belongings that have finally been handed over to Pradhan by the customs office. Sujata, however, requests to see Parvati one last time. When Parvati refuses to let Vilas and Sujata leave, Pradhan controls her and makes them leave. Parvati is shocked and heartbroken, but Pradhan helps her realise that Ajay has died and will never come back. When Parvati says that they should both consume poison together, Pradhan refuses, saying that he has realised that the Saaransh of his life is in her beautiful wrinkles, and they have both done a good deed in helping Sujata's baby survive despite the problems she faced. The movie ends with Pradhan taking Parvati for an early morning walk to the nearby kids park. There, they see that beautiful flowers have sprouted where Pradhan once scattered some of Ajay's ashes. Pradhan then tells Parvati that the real beauty of life is that we all are mortal, but life goes on. ===== A largely autobiographical film about director Phil Joanou, covering his early film career, his relationships, including a very short-lived marriage. ===== Ollie's house is a mess after a wild party from the previous night. Ollie receives a telegram from his wife (who is on vacation in Chicago), which tells him that she is returning home in the afternoon. Fearing his wife's wrath, he calls Stan over to help him clean up. Things go downhill and they make more mess not less. Ollie becomes frustrated and lights the oven the wrong way, turning on the gas first instead of lighting the oven. The result is an explosion that trashes the living room and kitchen, as well as Ollie's hat. Ollie's suits get stained with soot, soaked with dirty water, and covered in flour, until he has no choice but to go meet his wife at the station in his lodge uniform (a comic version of an Odd Fellows Lodge uniform). Stan miraculously manages to restore the house's interior to its proper look and decides to light a fire in the fireplace for Ollie and his wife to come home to. When the logs fail to ignite he soaks the fireplace with gasoline, lights a match, and moves it towards the logs. Ollie returns from the train station with a black eye, a bent sword, and without his wife. The house is a smouldering ruin, Stan has burnt it down. Stan leaves Ollie seated on the only remaining chair looking bemused, then to cap it all, a huge rain storm pours down on him. ===== John Glames (James Bond in the U.S.), a CIA secret agent, has been assigned a mission to locate a newly designed high-tech F-19 type stealth plane in Latin America, which was stolen from NAS Miramar. The protagonist visits the banana republic of Santa Paragua to investigate; upon meeting his contact, the agent is apparently assassinated and hands Glames the key to a bank slot where the case documents are kept. Once he retrieves an envelope, it turns out that the man he met was Colonel Karpov of the KGB; he explains that they captured the CIA contact and manipulated Glames to open his briefcase as he'd know the combination. Karpov and Ostrovitch apprehend the documents and take Glames to a cave where he is left to die. However he escapes and swims back to town in one of the game's arcade sequences. Wandering in an hotel, Glames is mistaken and welcomed as someone who happens to resemble him; a woman even attempts to assassinate Glames, but she is stopped when that person, Otto, shows up. Glames and the woman are captured by Otto's guards and thrown into the sea but Glames's actions save both of them. The two are rescued and taken to a military base in a jungle. Glames learns that the woman is Julia Manigua, the niece of President Manigua; her uncle was replaced by Otto with an impostor figurehead, and a Liberation movement attempts to overthrow the puppet government. They enter the presidential palace during a festival posing as entertainers. There, they are discovered and Julia is arrested, but Glames passes a series of mazes, while avoiding guards, and reaches Otto's office. He reclaims the documents from a safe (which Otto had recovered from the KGB agents), and once more he is apprehended by the two agents; that moment Otto emerges. Karpov escapes with the envelope and Glames pursues him on a water scooter chase, and then evades Otto's henchmen. He is rescued by an American submarine. Inside, the chief debriefs him and explains that the Stealth fighter was stolen by the global criminal/terrorist organization Spyder led by Dr. Why and threatens to attack major cities around the world. The recovered documents indicate that the Stealth landed in a subterranean base, and Glames dives in a scuba gear to discover its underwater entrance. Inside, Glames is arrested but escapes using some of his gadgets and reaches the base's headquarters where Dr. Why and Otto expect him, holding Julia as a hostage. The base surfaces as an artificial volcanic island and the Stealth is launched. Glames creates a diversion and destroys the base's computers, causing it to collapse, and the Stealth to become vulnerable. Dr. Why escapes with Julia on a helicopter which is hijacked by Glames. He causes the helicopter to explode, but not before saving himself and Julia on an inflatable boat. In the end, he is honored as a national hero by General Manigua, with Julia on his side. ===== When a damaging memo which is critical of the President is discovered, the White House press cover it with zest, much to CJ's dismay. Later it is revealed that Mandy wrote it when she was working for Lloyd Russell. Sam, Toby and Josh are involved in a series of meetings which go nowhere and result in nothing; Sam knows no progress is possible on getting a policy in place so that gays and lesbians can openly serve in the military; Josh confronts a group of Republican Congressional staffers who threaten him with poison-pill legislation if he even thinks about pushing for campaign finance reformers on two newly opened Federal Election Commission seats; and Toby screams to Leo that they've had only one victory in office and that was putting Judge Mendoza on the Supreme Court. The staffers and the President feel listless and ineffectual in their jobs, and worry that they will be unable to achieve anything meaningful due to the constraints of the political system. The memo and news coverage of how Bartlet too often compromised his positions to placate his opponents and avoid controversy resulted in Bartlet's popularity going down in the polls. On seeing his job approval rating dropping five points in a week to 42 percent, the staff comes to realize that the Bartlet administration has been ineffective because it has been too timid to make bold decisions, focusing instead on the exigencies of politics. Finally, Leo confronts President Bartlet about his timidity, challenging him to be himself and to take the staff "off the leash." – in other words, he seeks to "Let Bartlet be Bartlet". The President and his staff resolve to act boldly and "raise the level of public debate" in America by moving forward with a more liberal agenda. ===== As the last days of the lame-duck Congress roll forward, Sam Seaborn outlines a long list of Senate committee reassignments that are going to take place under the incoming GOP-led body of law, finishing with the news that a Republican opponent of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is going to head up the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has made it clear he will not allow the Treaty to come up for voting. Sam's idea that they should try to call a lame-duck session of Congress to pass the Treaty before this happens gets the OK. Communications Director Toby Ziegler leads the effort but is stunned when he learns that recently defeated Senator Marino (D-PA) will not vote for the Treaty, because he was its primary sponsor during his Senate days. Senator Marino meets with Toby and explains that he will respect the views of the voters who sent him home, and the White House simply gives up on the Treaty for now. Chief of Staff Leo McGarry and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg have to do some fancy diplomatic footwork when a very pro-Western but equally pro-alcohol Ukrainian politician shows up at the White House demanding to meet with the President. Leo's tip about how the Dalai Lama was able to "accidentally" have a meeting with a former President sets up a quick discussion between the President and the Ukrainian, who leaves the White House happy to know that they look forward to working with him if/when he becomes his country's leader, and leaves the President and Leo happy that they have avoided a major international incident. Sam responds to Leo's new guideline for shorter policy summaries by working with Ainsley Hayes on a plan to prevent small-business fraud, but she impresses Sam so much he adopts all of her ideas and sends the plan forward to Leo and the President. ===== Due to his colleagues' growing concern over his behavior Josh spends the day with Stanley Keyworth, a psychotherapist from the American Trauma Victims Association (ATVA). Stanley notices Josh's bandaged hand and asks about it. Even though Stanley makes it clear that he doesn't believe him, Josh insists that he cut his hand on a glass. Josh recounts the last few weeks: His behavior began to change on the day that he was assigned to review the personal and military history of an Air Force pilot who had broken away from his fighter jet's training formation. Josh had discovered that the two shared the same birthday, and that the pilot had been shot down and injured over Bosnia. Before Josh had a chance to report on this, the pilot radioed in to say, "It wasn't the plane," and killed himself by crashing into a mountain in New Mexico. Days later, while discussing a political situation, Josh raised his voice to the President in the Oval Office, at which point Leo called in ATVA to talk to him. During the congressional Christmas party, Yo-Yo Ma performed Bach's Suite No. 1 in G major and Josh was overcome with panic. When he went home, he slammed his hand into his window and cut himself on the broken glass. Stanley asks Josh if, given what he had in common with the pilot – their common birthday and injuries – he wondered if he himself might have been suicidal. Josh initially denies this, but eventually admits that during the party he found himself reliving the attack at Rosslyn and that he felt out of control. Stanley tells him that his increasing stress and the episode at the party were triggered by the presence of a brass quintet at the White House, which subconsciously reminded Josh of police and ambulance sirens, thereby transporting him back to his own shooting and near-death in Rosslyn. He is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is concerned that it will endanger his job ("That doesn't sound like something they let you have if you work for the President") but Leo promises him "as long as I got a job, you got a job" in a moving speech which aligns Josh's trauma with Leo's own difficult past. In another story, C.J. is told by a reporter that a woman saw a painting on the White House Tour and began screaming. C.J. does some research and finds out with the help of Bernard Thatch, the White House's snobbish but competent Protocol Chief, that the painting was owned by a Jewish family in Europe, seized by the Nazi collaborationist French Vichy Regime, and eventually given as a gift to the White House by the French government. The woman's father owned the painting, and C.J. returns it to the grateful woman and her son. Sam is interested in a measure to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce high gas prices, and the staff decides to review the issue when the new year begins. Finally, the President wants to sign all of his holiday cards by hand, until he is told the total number of cards is 1,110,000. ===== In the film, Arenas is born in Oriente in 1943 and raised by his single mother and her parents, who soon move the entire family to Holguín. After moving to Havana in the 1960s to continue his studies, Reinaldo begins to explore his ambitions, as well as his sexuality. After receiving an honorary mention in a writing contest, Arenas is offered the chance to publish his first work. Through his work and friendships with other openly gay men (such as Pepe Malas and Tomas Diego), Arenas manages to find himself. The political climate in Cuba becomes increasingly dangerous, and in the early 1970s Arenas is arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting minors, and for publishing abroad without official consent. In the next decade, he is in and out of prison, attempting and failing to leave the country several times. In 1980, Arenas finally leaves Cuba for the United States, starting a new life with his close friend Lazaro Gomez Carriles. A few years later, Arenas is diagnosed with AIDS, and after spending several years suffering he dies in 1990. ===== Stan Minton (Rob Schneider) is a rich real estate con artist who is married to Mindy (Jennifer Morrison). One day, Stan is arrested for conning elderly people out of their savings which he tries to do to Mrs. Darby (Barbara Dodd). His lawyer Mal (Richard Kind) does all he can to defend him at the trial. Upon being found guilty by the jury and sentenced to 3 years in prison while being given 6 months by Judge Perry (Richard Riehle) to get his affairs in order, Stan panics and fear of jail-house rape leads him to hire the mysterious guru known as "The Master" (David Carradine) who helps transform him into a creative martial-arts expert. During his incarceration, Stan uses his new-found skills to intimidate his fellow prisoners and prevents the prisoners from hitting or raping each other. He gains the prisoners' respect, and eventually becomes their leader, bringing peace and harmony to the prison yard. But the corrupt warden Gasque (Scott Wilson) has a plan to profit by turning the prison into a war zone, forcing its closure, and selling off the property as valuable real estate. Stan helps him with the real estate aspects in exchange for early parole, however his peacemaking efforts threaten the warden's plan for a riot and he is persuaded to bring back violence. In a last minute attack of conscience, he deliberately blows the parole hearing to rush back and prevent the deaths of his fellow inmates, only to discover that his message of peace has sunk in and the prisoners are dancing instead of fighting. Warden Gasque orders the guards to open fire on the dancing men. When they refuse, he grabs a gun and shoots wildly. Warden Gasque attempts to shoot Minton, but he is stopped by Mindy and the Master, who had snuck in. Three years later Minton leaves the prison, which is now run by one of the more sympathetic guards as Gasque is now an inmate after he was arrested for his illegal activities. Stan is met by his wife, his young daughter Mindy Jr., and the Master outside the prison. ===== Church bells begin to ring and the parish priest (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) knows it means only one thing. The 'green glove,' a miraculous gem studded gauntlet, the churches' holy relic, has returned to St. Elizar. The town folk pour into the abbey to rejoice. Mike Blake (Glenn Ford) is an American paratrooper who travels to France after the end of World War II to try to recover the jewel- encrusted glove that had been stolen from a country church during the war. His quest leads him to a beautiful young tour guide in Paris named Chris (Geraldine Brooks). A man who has been mysteriously following Mike is found dead in Mike's hotel room. The man has a sketch drawing of Mike in his pocket. Blake tells the police he does not know the man and he is innocent. Chris has fallen for Mike and joins him when he did not ask for her help. Count Paul Rona (George Macready) is a Nazi collaborator and art dealer and is searching for the glove to sell it. Michael and the Count had a run in near the end of the war. A French underground Countess helped Mike escape and as a thank you he left her his valise. Despite being followed by the police and Rona's henchmen, Mike and Chris retrieve the glove in Monte Carlo. It was in the valise. The countess kisses the glove and her madness is lifted. Mike takes the jeweled gauntlet back to the church as he is pursued by Paul. The mountain chase was dark and dangerous. Chris diverts the police inspector. Mike Blake shoots and kills Count Rona in the bell tower, he rings the bells, and lastly he returns the glove to its rightful place on the altar. The French police clear Mike. Mike and Chris embrace and kiss. ===== Based on true events that occurred 1—12 July 1916 in Central and Southern New Jersey, as recounted in the book of the same name by Richard Fernicola, the film recounts the 12 days during which people along the Jersey coast were subject to attacks by a shark (in the film it is a juvenile great white shark). Initially, the authorities hesitated to take action, and the issue of sacrificing the safety of human beings for the sake of business was raised. After the second attack, modest precautions were taken, and scientific experts and civil authorities published assurances that area beaches had been made safe again. On 12 July a shark was sighted swimming into the freshwater canal of Matawan Creek—one expert who had come to capture the animal speculated that this indicated a bull shark. Children and young adults swimming upstream in the creek were attacked. After the shark was finally captured offshore, an autopsy was performed, and it is said that 15 pounds of human flesh with bones were found in its stomach. In the end, four people had been killed and a fifth badly injured. The remains of one young boy were never recovered. Because a propensity for human flesh is unnatural in sharks, scientists are still investigating why this shark did what it did. ===== The narrator introduces the audience to the happy and content locals at the local poultry farm: Cocky Locky, Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Poosie and the titular Chicken Little (a yo-yo wielding simpleton)-all well protected. But little do they know, outside the yard Foxy Loxy has happened along and is intent on catching himself a chicken dinner. However, he cannot hop in and help himself due to the high fence, locked gates and a well-armed farmer. But Foxy Loxy is nothing if not cunning for there are other ways to swipe a chicken. So taking advice from his psychology book, he states "Why should I just get one, when I could get 'em all." He reads aloud a passage telling him that the best way to manipulate the whole flock is to begin with "the least intelligent" (identifying Chicken Little after searching the yard). Loxy then breaks off a piece of wood from a fortune teller's sign, and then disorients Little with the suggestion of a thunderstorm before dropping it on his head pretending to be "the voice of doom". Loxy tells Little that the sky is falling, and a piece of it hit him on the head and then goes on to tell him that he should run for his life. Little panics spreading the word to everyone thus bringing a crowd to where he believes the sky piece hit him, but the leader of the flock Cocky Locky inquires about the ordeal he immediately proves the story to be false and afterwards, the crowd disperses leaving Chicken Little humiliated. Miffed that his plan did not work, Loxy refers to his book again to find something to deal with Locky finding a passage that tells him to "undermine the faith of the masses in their leaders". He heads over to Henny Penny's, Turkey Lurkey's, Ducky Lucky's and Goosey Poosie's circles of friends to plant rumors about Locky's intelligence and leadership. This starts another rush of panic among the avians as they spread the rumor. With Locky's leadership in question, Loxy uses it to flatter Little convincing him to stand up and challenge Locky's right of leadership as (filled with confidence) Little announces to a crowd that he is their new leader and states that he will save all their lives. Locky argues against him stating the sky is not falling. The two argue about it until Locky states, "if the sky is falling, why doesn't it hit me on the head?" From his hiding place, Loxy uses a slingshot to shoot a star shaped piece of wood at him in the head, knocking him out. This shocks everyone and are convinced that Little was right about the sky all along. When they ask him what they should do, Foxy Loxy whispers to Little to lead them to "the cave" believing this is the right thing to do. Little leads the panicked masses out of the farm, through the woods and into the cave (which is actually Loxy's den) and once everyone is inside, Loxy goes in after them and seals up the entrance. The narrator reassures the audience that everything will be alright, but the cartoon closes with a stuffed Loxy picking his teeth and arranging the wishbones of the devoured birds in a row resembling a war cemetery. The narrator is shocked and insists that this is not how the story was supposed to end. Foxy Loxy smirks evilly and reminds the narrator not to believe everything he reads.FilmAffinity ===== Two years ago, the angel apprentice Flonne was sent to the Netherworld to assassinate King Krichevskoy. However, when she arrived at the overlord's castle, it was covered in flames. For the next two years, Flonne searched for her target, narrowing her search to a local dump. She found a coffin with Krichevskoy's emblem on it and tried to carry out the assassination. However, it turned out that it was not Krichevskoy, but his son Laharl. Learning that his father has died, Laharl set out to claim the title of overlord for himself. Flonne and another demon by the name of Etna followed after him. ===== Set the same future (the "Boutique Economy") as Marusek's We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy, the story is about Zoranna – an affluent, attractive journalist who visits her elderly sister Nancy, who is the only other surviving member of her family. Unlicensed procreation has been outlawed to prevent overpopulation; biotechnology has advanced to the point where immortality is possible, but only granted to people who have the means and are considered useful to society. Nancy is one of the people who are considered obsolete, as she was forced out of her teaching career after the Procreation Ban; she now works as a hospice caretaker from her apartment, where she tends to holographic projections of dying patients. A subplot of the story involves Zoranna's "belt valet", an artificially intelligent accessory that can mentally communicate with its wearer and perform a wide variety of tasks. A representative of the company that gave her the belt valet (which she names "Bug") to field test urges that she return it, due to an unspecified defect; she refuses in spite of her annoyance with it, as she needs it for progressively more tasks. When she finally visits Nancy, Zoranna finds out that she is living with a man who is using her as a fall guy for a fraud. She forces the man to leave under threat of turning him in, a loss which causes Nancy's condition to deteriorate. Zoranna's attempts to get Nancy to go to a rejuvenation clinic on her dime are rebuffed, until Bug – having unexpectedly changed into a suave, powerful entity named Nicholas that knows every aspect of her life and personality – tricks Nancy into taking Zoranna to the clinic by making it appear as if she were gravely ill. Angered at first, Zoranna at last comes to terms with the machine. Zoranna and Nicholas are also minor characters in Marusek's first novel, Counting Heads, while Zoranna herself is mentioned in obliquely in "We Were Out of Our Minds With Joy". ===== The novel features the continued adventure of the heroine Alias and her companion Dragonbait from the novel Azure Bonds and takes place after the events in the Finder's Stone trilogy. The novel takes place in the city of Westgate and follows the struggle against the Night Masks and their mysterious leader known only as The Faceless. The story of the newly ascended god Finder continues in Finder's Bane and Tymora's Luck. ===== The subpoenas are handed out in the hearing over Bartlet's concealment of his multiple sclerosis. The special prosecutor, Clement Rollins (Pryor), appears to be both fair and responsible, but C.J. believes the White House will be better served in the public eye if investigated by a partisan agent. She therefore decides—against the strong objections of White House counsel Oliver Babish—to present Rollins as an ally of the administration, thereby forcing Congress to take control over the investigation. Meanwhile Donna, unwittingly, becomes entangled in potential problems over the hearings. Ainsley Hayes sets her up on a date with the Republican House Government Oversight Committee counsel Clifford Calley, but even though the date seems to go well, Calley then leaves her quite abruptly in the middle of the street. Donna later realizes the reason: his congressional committee is the one that will be in charge of the investigation, and a relationship between the two could constitute a conflict of interest. While Sam and Bruno are concerned about the loyalty of a powerful California union official (Sandoval), Toby and Josh are preparing for a meeting with the congressional opposition to re-negotiate the estate tax—or the "death tax" as the Republicans have labeled it—but are then surprised by a last-minute cancellation. It soon becomes clear that the Republicans are planning to repeal the estate tax altogether, and might have the votes to do so. An attempt to win over the black caucus, led by Congressman Mark Richardson (Barry), fails. At a loss over what to do, an initiative comes from unexpected quarters. The previously over-cautious political strategist, Doug Wegland, suggests the president responds by doing something he has never done before: veto the bill. President Bartlet himself is confronted with a forest fire in Wyoming, and decides to follow the counter-intuitive advice of his experts, and let the fire burn. Meanwhile he is still struggling to deal with the death of his perennial personal secretary, Mrs. Landingham. Charlie insists that it is necessary to appoint a new person to fill the position, but the president is reluctant to take the step. As the episode ends, Bartlet is searching for a good pen, and realizes the full depth of his dependence on Mrs. Landingham. ===== The White House is hosting a dinner for Nobel laureates but the staff keep getting interrupted by various domestic and international crises. As President Bartlet vetoes the bill to repeal the estate tax, it appears that the Republican Party might have the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. A representative of the dissenting Democrats is brought in to negotiate a deal with Toby and Sam. Meanwhile, Josh is meeting with Indiana Governor Jack Buckland (Tighe) to talk him out of a potential primary challenge against Bartlet. Leo is at this point getting exasperated by their own partisans taking advantage of the administration's weakness due to the impending hearings over the president's concealment of his MS. He tells Josh to "throw an elbow" and threaten to leak the fact that Buckland tried to blackmail the president. In the end, Josh ends up striking a compromise, while it is Toby and Sam who "throw an elbow" by turning down Democratic Congressman Kimble and offering the same deal to moderate Republican Congressman Robert Royce instead. A Palestinian suicide bomber in Jerusalem causes the death of several Israelis, as well as two American nationals. National Security Advisor Nancy McNally and Leo consider the potential implications of possible retributions and are relieved when the Palestinians respond to American pressure by arresting a leader of a militant group. As Leo points out, however, the solution is likely to be only temporary. Other staff members have their own problems to deal with. Charlie has been offered immunity from the special prosecutors and Leo, among others, suggests he take it. Charlie, however, insists that he will "stay with [his] team". Donna, who in the previous episode ("Ways and Means") went on a date with a Republican congressional aide involved in the investigation, comes clean with Josh. It turns out she met him not only once, but also on another occasion after she had found out what position he held, and Josh is not pleased. C.J. is provoked by an inexperienced lifestyle reporter, Sherri Wexler (Mara), trying to put her in a bad light and responds by embarrassing her in front of a full press room. ===== The Goodies are asked to help with the public image of the police, because nobody likes them. The police have no idea why they are so unpopular because of their rotten behaviour. Deputy Commissioner Butcher of the City Police, and the sergeant accompanying him, rough the Goodies up, demanding that they help. The Goodies are terrified, but they agree to help anyway. The Goodies, dressed as policemen, turn an Identikit into an Identikit Game (for all the family), and open "The Coppe Shoppe" (where they sell handcuffs as a 'charm bracelet', and also sell police helmets). Riding their trandem, they give flowers to people, take away restrictive traffic signs and traffic meters, paint LOVE on the road, block off some streets so that children can use the streets to play in, and go swimming in a "no swimming" area at a park. Everyone begins to love the police, including small children (who run to the Goodies and mob them, whenever they see them). The Goodies are eventually arrested for 'breaking the law' and appear in Court on trial for their misdeeds. They discover that the Judge is actually the Deputy Commissioner who hired them, and that a policeman is acting as both the Prosecutor and Defence Counsel. The jury, likewise, is completely composed of policemen (who also double as witnesses in the trial) and they all declare the Goodies guilty immediately -- even before the trial begins. All seems hopeless, until Tim makes an impassioned plea to the Judge, commenting that it was the Judge, himself, who asked them to make the police more popular. ===== The Goodies are asked to take care of 12-year-old Cecily and her house while her Uncle and Aunt (with whom she lives) are away for a day and night. It seems to be easy money for the Goodies, so they agree. Tim is to be Cecily's nanny, Bill is to be the cook, and Graeme is to be the gardener (a play on his surname). The Goodies ride their trandem to the house and meet Cecily's rather grave, spooky-voiced uncle and nervous, giggly aunt. They tell the Goodies cryptically that Cecily will likely not be living with them for very much longer, and then leave. The pair seem to give the Goodies the shivers, but the trio agree to go through with the job, starting on the to-do list left for them. Graeme struggles with the garden, which is a practical jungle that seems to have a mind of its own, while Bill and Tim have the same issues in the kitchen with equipment and objects that bizarrely refuse to work. Eventually some of the garden plants come to life and steal the oven out of the kitchen, prompting Bill to give up the hopeless task of cooking an egg and cheese savoury pie and just make an urn out of the clay-like dough instead. Tim goes to wake Cecily, who was taking a nap, only to be attacked by her as soon as he wakes her. She apologizes and says that she thought he was going to hurt her, and explains that her Uncle and Aunt mistreat her and kill any nannies that come to the house whom she likes. Tim dismisses this, until Cecily shows him the skeleton of one of said nannies in the cellar. This sends Tim into a state of shock, and Graeme and Bill ask Cecily to explain what's going on. Cecily claims they kill all her nannies and leave the skeletons for her to find, attempting to frighten her to death. She shows them a will which states that she is the primary heir of a fortune, which reverts to her Aunt and Uncle if they outlive her. She also explains the whole house and garden are booby trapped in hopes of killing her or scaring her to death and making it look like an accident, and furthermore they have put a magic curse on her to haunt the house and grounds in further hopes of killing her. Tim, trying to be brave, says that this must all be a misunderstanding and takes her out to play. However, he finds himself bearing the brunt of many strange happenings and booby traps, including the famous kite and river scene that was used in the opening credits of the Goodies for many seasons. At night, the three Goodies send Cecily to bed and promise to stay up keep watch, starting a game of Happy Families. However, the house comes to life with monsters, ghouls, and goblins, prompting the trio to spend the night outdoors. In the morning, they whisper to Cecily at the breakfast table that they are going to help free her of her Aunt and Uncle. Said Aunt and Uncle arrive unexpectedly early, but the Goodies refuse to accept payment for their services (fearing it may well be a trap) and hurry out to the summer house, where they have packed some of Cecily's things. She meets them there and they give her what they've packed and send her away in secret. Almost immediately, they are confronted by her panicked Aunt and Uncle, who reprimand them for letting Cecily loose. It turns out SHE is the psychopath and author of all the strange happenings, not them, and this statement is proved a moment later when Cecily blows up both the summer house and the main house with dynamite, leaving the Aunt and Uncle and the Goodies to flee the scene in smoking rags. ===== The story begins as a scientist, known as the Professor, flees through space from a mysterious enemy known only as the "CosmoNOTs" (Cosmic Nihilist Organization for Terror). He crash lands on a strange planet, losing the "cells" that power his ship. Without power, he is stranded. He enlists the help of Terry, a young boy. Terry agrees to help the Professor by exploring the planet and locating the cells. Helping the Professor is the only way that Terry will be able to get home, but the Klaxon Army are tracking them down, the cells are hidden in some dangerous areas and, as the game progresses, the Professor's intentions are slowly thrown deeper and deeper into question. The player is included in the story-line as a separate character from Terry, and the game's characters recognize the player as "controlling" Terry using the DS, breaking the fourth wall, and assisting him through the use of 'decals' - sticker-like items that apply specific, often powerful effects. Throughout the game, the Professor will talk directly to the player to give hints on how to use the controls and to voice his concerns about Terry. The Professor is eager to keep the player's existence and their role in Terry's life a secret from the boy. ===== The protagonist, Mercer, who lives within the Empire, has been convicted of "a crime that has no name". He is condemned by the Empire to the planet Shayol, in which he lives in a penal colony whose inhabitants must undergo grotesque physical mutations caused by tiny symbiotes called dromozoans. Most grow extra organs, which the Empire harvests for medical purposes. The bull-man B'dikkat administer the prisoners drugs to alleviate the pain of their punishment and from their surgeries. Decades pass. Mercer has found a lover, named Lady Da. B'dikkat shows the couple a sight that horrifies him. Children have been sent to Shayol, alive, though with their brains removed. Lady Da knows how to contact the Lords of the Instrumentality, in order to intervene. The Loards arrive on Shayol. They are shocked by what they find. The children are the heirs to the throne. Apparently, the Imperium has become so bureaucratic and corrupt that it condemned them to prevent them committing treason when they matured. The Instrumentality voids their permission to allow the Empire to exist and to maintain Shayol. They will free the still sentient prisoners and to cure their suffering with a substitute for the drugs, namely an electronic "cap" which actives the pleasure center. The mindless prisoners are decapitated, leaving their bodies to be handled by the dromozoa while their heads are destroyed. Lady Da claims Mercer as her consort. ===== Ross (David Schwimmer) and Carol (Jane Sibbett) inform the others that their son Ben (Jack and Charlie Allen) has an audition for a soup commercial, which Joey (Matt LeBlanc) finds hard to accept. When he learns that the TV commercial also has a part for the father, he volunteers himself for the audition. Both Joey and Ben are chosen for the callback but a lack of similarity in looks among the remaining actors makes the director cast them with different individuals, therefore ensuring only one of them can be chosen for the commercial. Joey is paired up with a famous child actor. He talks to Ross about the callback in an attempt to make Ben back out of the audition which Ross finds unreasonable as it was Ben's audition in the first place, and Joey just invited himself along. Both end up fighting over it, which drags on until the callback is held. Joey messes up his two-word line: "mmm soup", ultimately losing him the part. Later, Ross consoles him, and then hypothesizes that subconsciously, Joey sabotaged his own audition because he cares about Ben, to which Joey agrees. Ross then informs him that Ben also did not get the part. On her first day working at Ralph Lauren, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) tries to get along with her new colleague and boss, Nancy and Kim. The latter two are smokers, and go on a cigarette break, which Rachel cannot join as she does not smoke and she is angered to find that Nancy and Kim are busy making company decisions without her during the smoking break. Rachel fears for her position, as Kim and Nancy spend more time together during smoking breaks and have a better chance to bond, and thus Nancy is most probably going to get promotions. To make an effort and bond with her co-workers, Rachel goes with them and smokes a cigarette. She is not enthusiastic to fall into the bad habit and tries to talk Kim and Nancy into quitting which comes to no avail, later catching them smoking behind her back. Kim warns Rachel that she would fire her if she catches her with a cigarette as she does not want to "drag her down with them". She forces Rachel to leave, just as she invites Nancy to go on a business trip to Paris with her. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Monica (Courteney Cox) organize a surprise party for Rachel one month ahead of her birthday, but Monica's insistence to take responsibility over everything leaves Phoebe with only cup and ice duties. However Phoebe vows to get back at Monica. At the party, the apartment is overflowing with decorations and made of cups, and everyone is enjoying the snow cones Phoebe has made with the ice, meaning all of Monica's food is ignored. Rachel arrives home and is very surprised to find the party, given that Chandler's (Matthew Perry) birthday is before hers. In the tag scene, Chandler arrives up on the Ralph Lauren rooftop to take Rachel to lunch, only to be informed by Nancy and Kim that she is in her office. However, Chandler, distracted by all the smoke, quickly puffs at Kim's cigarette before leaving. ===== Mike Raglan, a middle-aged man who specializes in paranormal investigations (and normally debunking the phenomena) has received urgent phone calls and mail from an old friend of his, Erik Hokart. Hokart was an independently wealthy scientist, inventor, and businessman who made his fortune in electronics. He was investigating a mysterious mountainous area in the Southwest, intending to build a secluded home on top of one particular mesa around which rumors had long swirled. His messages to Mike intimated that he was in deep trouble and desperately needed someone of his talents. Hokart doesn't show up at the designated meeting spot, but the next day Mike receives a package from him, delivered by an exotic female beauty. A man breaks into his room to try to steal the package, and is chased off with an Eric Ambler book and a threat from a .357 Magnum. The package contains Erik Hokart's journal of his quasi-archaeological expedition. The first night on the chosen mesa, glowing lines appear on the blueprint, of a kiva (a room used for religious rituals) attached to the ruins of the house Hokart was using as a makeshift shelter. Hokart is a little perturbed when the glowing lines turn out to be correct, and he begins to excavate the underground kiva even though it looks to have been deliberately buried. It creeps out both him and his large guard dog, "Chief". Fully excavated, the kiva reveals itself as anomalous in having no sipapu but rather a blind window made out of a curious gray substance. After he finishes, Hokart discovers that a pencil of his had been stolen and replaced with a jar. Afraid, Hokart begins to leave; Chief mistakes his abrupt movements for an intention to attack the kiva and plunges through the window and into a far invisible distance through to an alternate dimension. Erik begins to consider the legends and beliefs of the Hopi: they say their people originally came from the Third World, which was evil, and so they climbed up into a kiva in this, the Fourth World, to escape it; the obvious speculation is that a malign power of the Third World was sealed by the burial of the kiva and that it wants the window to this world opened back up. Erik rests. His pencil is returned the next day, worn down to a nub. He resharpens it and sets out again. They too vanish, as well as one of his cardigan sweaters. The sweater returns with a newly made twin. Two days later, Chief returns, apparently none the worse for wear. Having read thus far in Hokart's journal, Mike prepares to travel to the mesa, to personally investigate. He pauses to read further. As Hokart resolved to leave now that his dog had been returned, he is confronted by a striking raven-haired ivory- skinned woman who imperiously orders him to accompany her back through the portal in the kiva. He refuses, struck by a sense of menace and evil radiating from her, and leaves immediately. On the way down, he meets a young girl named Kawasi, who explains that she is a renegade from the Third World and that the woman was a "Poison Woman" who intended to imprison or kill him. They escape, and stop at a restaurant for dinner. He instructs Kawasi to get his journal to Mike, when the restaurant is surrounded by hired thugs. The journal ends with Erik making a break for the jeep and ordering Kawasi out the back. Mike discovers that the restaurant concerned had been destroyed that night in an abrupt and inexplicable fire. He finds Kawasi waiting for him in another nearby restaurant. She tells him, that night ended in Hokart's kidnapping. They are approached by the local constable, Gallagher. They forthrightly answer his questions and tell him the tale up to that point. Gallagher doesn't quite believe them, but he maintains an open mind. Raglan determines to go into the Third World (named Shibalba by its inhabitants, who suffer under the decaying and decadent totalitarian regime of "The Hand" and his Lords of Shibalba) to rescue Hokart; the kiva entrance is surely guarded now, so he intends to use a map to Shibalba he was given by an old cowboy who had stolen gold from, and barely escaped alive, the Third World. On his way, he meets "Tazzoc", a historian/archivist of Shibalba's forgotten archives, who tells Raglan much about Shibalba and its rulers; he wants to dissuade Raglan from his quest because it is hopeless and could only lead to trouble. At the designated place, Raglan is frightened off by the presence of a squad of investigating Shibalban soldiers, "the Varanel, the Night Guards of Shibalba". Raglan confers with Gallagher and Tazzoc again, who promises to leave some native clothes at the kiva entrance so Raglan can better blend in; Raglan promises to do what he could to save Tazzoc's archives and get them into wider circulation. A confrontation with a local agent of the Hand, Eden Foster, only ends up as a brawl which Raglan wins. He enters the Third World, enlisting the aid of Johnny (an old cowboy who had been trapped in the Third World for decades) as backup. Raglan rendezvouses with Tazzoc in his archives, located within the mazy trap-filled citadel the Hand lives in and where Hokart is presumably being held, the Forbidden. The archives hold an ancient map from when the Forbidden was first built, and with its aid he finds Hokart's cell - although he is hunted through the Forbidden by the ambitious and arrogant agent Zipacna and his Varanel goons. Raglan's pistols win through the Varanel and rescue the starving Hokart. They break out and Johnny discourages pursuit with his big rifle laying down covering fire on the pursuing Varanel. A day later, as the portal back to the Fourth World quavers and begins to collapse, they meet Volkmeer, an old friend Raglan had left to guard the kiva who has entered the employ of the Hand, and attempt to escape the Third World. Raglan, Hokart, and the others escape, but Volkmeer is caught in the portal as it becomes quiescent, and is killed. ===== ===== The film concerns a middle-aged railway pointsman, Maloin (Miroslav Krobot), who lives in a decrepit apartment in a port town with his highly- strung wife Camélia (Tilda Swinton) and his daughter Henriette (Erika Bók). One night while in his viewing tower at the port's rail terminus, Maloin witnesses a fight on the dockside. One of the shady combatants is knocked into the water along with the briefcase he carries; when the other flees the dark quayside, Maloin makes a clandestine descent from the tower and retrieves the briefcase, which he finds full of sodden English banknotes. Maloin conceals the money and tells no-one of what he has seen. The next morning, he visits a tavern where he plays chess with the barkeep (Gyula Pauer). On his way home, he stops by the butcher's where his daughter works, and finds to his indignation that they have her washing the floor. Later, from the window of his apartment, he notices Brown (János Derzsi) watching him from below. At dinner, Maloin is increasingly irascible, addressing Henriette brusquely and arguing with Camélia. Meanwhile, Brown searches the water at the dock's edge without success before noticing the watchtower overlooking the quayside, and Maloin within. Later at the tavern, a police inspector from London named Morrison (István Lénárt) discusses with Brown the matter of the stolen money. Morrison claims to be working on behalf of a theater owner named Mitchell, a theatre owner from whose office safe the £55,000 was stolen. Morrison proposes that Brown, being intimately familiar with Mitchell's office, is the only man he knows who was capable of making away with the money without raising alarm. Morrison indicates that Mitchell cares only that the money is returned swiftly, and is even prepared to offer a two nights' theater takings in exchange. When Morrison mentions having visited Brown's wife and asks what he should tell Mitchell, Brown leaves the room under a pretense and slips out a side door. Nearby playing chess with the barkeep, Maloin has overheard the conversation. Maloin calls to the butcher's and drags Henriette from the store against her will and over the protestations of the butcher's wife (Kati Lázár). He brings her to the tavern for a drink, where he overhears the barkeep telling another patron the story of Brown's meeting with the inspector, revealing that Morrison had called the local police when Brown absconded. Though Henriette refuses her drink, Maloin buys her an expensive mink stole. They return home to the consternation of Camélia, who cannot comprehend why Maloin has ruined Henriette's chances of a job and spent what little savings the family had on the extravagant stole. During Maloin's shift the next night he is visited by Morrison, who questions him as to the previous night's events as the body of the drowned man is retrieved from the quayside below. The next day at the tavern, Morrison meets Brown's wife (Agi Szirtes), and tells her that Brown is under suspicion for the theft and for the murder at the quayside. He asks for her help in finding him and repeats to her Mitchell's offer to Brown, but she remains silent. At home, Henriette tells Maloin she found a man in their hut at the seaside, and in fear locked the door and ran home. An agitated Maloin tells her not to tell anyone, and leaves for the hut. He unlocks the door, and receiving no response to his calling Brown's name, steps inside, closing the door behind. Minutes later he re- emerges, breathing heavily. After pausing to compose himself, he locks the door and leaves. In the next scene, Maloin presents the briefcase to Morrison in the tavern, and asks him to arrest him, confessing to having killed Brown an hour ago. Morrison leaves with Maloin for the hut, dismissing the frenzied inquiries of Brown's wife about her husband and handing the briefcase to the barkeep on the way out. Brown's wife follows the men to the hut, and emerges weeping with Morrison moments later. Back at the tavern, Morrison prepares two envelopes with a small portion of the recovered money in each. One he leaves with the grieving widow to whom he apologizes and wishes well, while the other he gives to Maloin, telling him that his case was one of self-defense. As he is preparing to leave, Morrison advises Maloin to go home and forget the whole affair. The camera focuses on the expressionless face of Brown's wife momentarily before fading to white. ===== Jeremy is an émigré from Manchester who owns a small New York City café. The café becomes a haven for Elizabeth, a young woman, as Jeremy tells her that he saw her boyfriend cheating on her. Devastated, she stays in his café the entire night, eating a blueberry pie he made, and also telling stories about each other. Jeremy, having an eidetic memory, explains to her the bowl of keys he is keeping, knowing the story of every person who left the key in his café and keeping it in the bowl in case someone comes back for them. Elizabeth leaves her key of her apartment and leaves Jeremy's café. Elizabeth, now calling herself Lizzie, eventually drifts to Memphis, Tennessee, where she takes two jobs, waitress by day and barmaid by night, to earn enough money to finance the purchase of a car. She regularly sends postcards to Jeremy, taking a liking to him, without revealing where she lives or works and, although he tries to locate her by calling all the restaurants in the area, he fails to find her. Later on, he decides to send out postcards to any restaurants she may be to try to find her. One of Lizzie's regulars at both jobs is local police officer Arnie Copeland, an alcoholic who cannot accept the fact his wife Sue Lynne has left him and is flaunting her debauchery by openly socializing with a younger man named Randy. He confesses to Lizzie his many attempts at achieving sobriety have ended in failure, taking many AA meetings but failing. One night off duty in the bar where Lizzie works, he drunkenly threatens Sue Lynne with his gun if she leaves. Later on, Arnie drives drunk and dies after crashing into a pole. Lizzie comforts Sue Lynne at the crash site, before leaving town, and is given the money towards Arnie's tab at the bar, revealing to Lizzie that she made a mistake and that she misses him. The place where he died is also the place where they met, suggesting that he may have committed suicide. Heading west, Elizabeth – now calling herself Beth – gets another waitress job at a casino in a small town in Nevada. Here she meets Leslie, an inveterate poker player who has lost all her money. Beth agrees to lend her $2200 she has in exchange for a third of her winnings or her car, a Jaguar XK, if she loses. When she does lose, she fulfills her promise by giving Beth her Jaguar, but asks her to drive her to Las Vegas so she can borrow money from her father, whom she has not seen in a long time. While en route Leslie receives a call from a Vegas hospital, where her father has been admitted and is dying. She believes the call is simply a ruse to lure her home, but upon arrival in Vegas she discovers her father died the previous night. Leslie announces she wants to keep the car, which she had stolen from her father, who had sent her the title and registration despite their estrangement. She confesses she really won the card game and gives Beth her promised share of the winnings, which she uses to finally purchase the car she always wanted. Elizabeth returns to Manhattan and, discovering her ex-boyfriend has vacated his apartment and moved on with his life, returns to the café, where Jeremy has had a stool at the counter reserved for her ever since she left. As she eats a slice of blueberry pie, Elizabeth realizes her feelings for him are reciprocated. She passes out on the counter after spending the night, and Jeremy kisses her while she is asleep, and she returns the kiss as the film ends. ===== ===== The novel is about schoolboys in Józsefváros neighbourhood of Budapest and set in 1889. The Paul Street Boys spend their free time at the grund, an empty lot that they regard as their "Fatherland". The story has two main protagonists, János Boka (the honourable leader of the Paul Street Boys) and Ernő Nemecsek (the smallest member of the group). When the "Redshirts"—another gang of boys, led by Feri Áts, who gather at the nearby botanical gardens—attempt to take over the grund, the Paul Street Boys are forced to defend themselves in military fashion. Although the Paul Street Boys win the war, and little Nemecsek repeatedly demonstrates that his bravery and loyalty surpasses his size, the book ends in tragedy. ===== ===== The scene is set sometime in the near future, after some type of apocalypse or war, and Thailand has been taken over by the United States. Just released from prison, aging assassin Bae Buffgun is offered a job – killing Bangkok's police chief. Buffgun forms a team of killers, comprising his old partner, Ghost Rifle and two newcomers, Dog Badbomb, a short-tempered explosives expert and Elvis M-16, who's suffered some of trauma that makes him think he's Elvis Presley. Meanwhile, Thailand's most deadly assassin, Kit Silencer has also been hired to kill the top cop. Confusion ensues, and even though the chief is killed, the crime lord who hired the killers wants them all dead anyway. All the hitmen have issues: * Buffgun is guilt-ridden over abandoning his daughter years earlier. * Ghost Rifle is haunted by the accidental shooting of his beautiful wife. * Dog harbours a secret reason for his allegiance to Elvis. * Elvis really believes he is Elvis Presley (and not an Elvis impersonator), and because the real Elvis didn't speak Thai, Elvis M-16 is incapable of understanding the language and can only respond to English commands. But none of the other hitmen speak English. * Kit Silencer is driven by avenging the deaths of his parents, who were killed by a man with a trident tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. He checks everyone he kills or comes into contact with for that tattoo. Buffgun happens to be wearing a bandage over the exact spot on his wrist where a tattoo might be, so Kit suspects the older gunman. ===== Pete Garden, the protagonist, is one of several residents who own large swathes of property in a depopulated, post- apocalyptic future world. These residents are organized in groups of regular competitors who play a board game called "Bluff". These contestants (or "Bindmen") stake their property, marriages, and future status as eligible game players on its outcomes. Pete also experiences bipolar disorder, which may adversely affect his competence as a Game participant. The Game is administered by amorphous, silicon-based aliens from Titan, Saturn's largest satellite. These creatures, known as the vugs, are obsessed with gambling. In addition, the Game's exogamy/outcrossing helps to promote human fertility after the devastation of global warfare, after satellite-borne "Henkel Radiation" weaponry from Red China sterilized much of the Earth's population. The vugs exert hegemony over Earth but do not occupy it as such. Instead, it is visualized as a paternalistic relationship. Moreover, while the vugs are telepaths, they do not allow the use of human telepathy or precognition within the context of the Game. The vugs are also involved within human society, using induced hallucination to maintain the semblance of human form. They also perpetuate the charade through the use of physical human shells or simulacra. At the beginning, Pete has lost his favorite property, Berkeley, and his wife, Freya. Moreover, Berkeley's new owner has sold it to a notoriously corrupt Bindman from the East Coast, Jerome Luckman. Pete misses Freya, and worries about the compatibility of his new wife. He is also attracted to Pat McClain, a mysteriously fertile woman living within his remaining property, as well as Mary Anne, her eighteen-year-old daughter. Pat is a telepath, while her husband Allen is precognitive, and their daughter manifests telekinesis. These telepaths resent the fact that they are not allowed to participate in the Game, due to possible abuse of their abilities during the contest. Pete breaks off his tentative relationship with Pat when he discovers that his new wife, Carol, is pregnant - a rare occurrence in this largely infertile, depopulated world. Luckman, the new owner of Berkeley, is murdered, and Pete is implicated, along with six other members of his group, Pretty Blue Fox. Pete and the other group members are suffering from induced amnesia, and this only makes them look even more suspicious in the eyes of both vug and human law enforcement officials. Pete discovers that vugs are abusing their own psionic abilities to appear human. However, the vugs also have their own political factions, which further complicates matters. "Extremists" favor subversion and conquest of Earth, while "moderates" favor the status quo of paternalistic collaboration. Fertile humans begin an underground resistance against the vugs, but in the ultimate ironic twist, they are replaced by vugs posing as humans. Pretty Blue Fox syndicate members are teleported to Titan where they play a decisive end-Game with Titanian vug counterparts for the geopolitical future of the United States. Terms used in the book to refer to sci-fi technology and psychic powers ("psionic abilities") include "Rushmore effect", "Henkel Radiation", and "Pauli effect"/"synchronicity". ===== In the small fishing town of Nightmute, Alaska, 17-year-old Kay Connell is found murdered. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart are sent to assist the local police with their investigation, at the request of police chief Nyback, an old colleague of Dormer's. Ellie Burr, a young local detective who is also a fan of Dormer's investigative work, picks them up when they arrive. Back in Los Angeles, Internal Affairs is investigating one of Dormer's past cases. Flying to Alaska, Eckhart reveals that he is going to testify against Dormer in exchange for immunity, to which Dormer responds that many criminals whom he helped to convict using questionable evidence could go free if their cases are reopened. Dormer attracts the murderer to the scene of the crime, but the suspect flees into the fog, shooting one of the police officers through the leg. Dormer spots a figure in the fog and fires with his backup weapon. Rushing to the fallen figure, Dormer picks up a .38 pistol the suspect has dropped. He then discovers that he has shot and killed Eckhart. Because of Eckhart's pending testimony, Dormer knows that Internal Affairs will never believe the shooting was an accident, so he claims that Eckhart was shot by the suspect. He does not mention he has the .38 pistol. Burr is put in charge of the shooting investigation, and her team finds the .38 caliber bullet that hit the officer. That night, Dormer walks to an alley and fires the .38 pistol into an animal carcass, then retrieves and cleans the bullet. At the morgue, the staffer hands him the bagged bullet retrieved from Eckhart's body, but she is unfamiliar with its type. Dormer leaves and switches the .38 bullet for the 9 mm slug from Eckhart's body. Over the next few days, Dormer is plagued by insomnia, brought on by his guilt over killing Eckhart and exacerbated by the perpetual daylight. Dormer starts receiving anonymous phone calls from the killer, who claims to have witnessed Dormer kill his partner. When the police learn that Kay was a fan of local crime writer Walter Finch, Dormer breaks into Finch's apartment in the nearby village of Umkumiut. Finch arrives home, realizes the police are present, and evades Dormer after a chase. Dormer returns to Finch's apartment and plants the .38 to frame Finch. Finch contacts Dormer and arranges a meeting on a ferry. Finch wants help in shifting suspicion to Kay's abusive boyfriend Randy Stetz and will stay silent about the Eckhart shooting in return. Dormer gives advice on handling police questioning. After Finch leaves Dormer on the ferry, he shows the detective a tape recorder he used to record the conversation. Finch calls Dormer and tells him that Kay's death was "an accident" – he beat her to death in a fit of rage after she rejected his sexual advances. The next day, Finch gives false testimony at the police station. When Finch claims Randy has a gun, Dormer realizes Finch has discovered his plant, and has hidden it at Randy's home. Randy is arrested when the gun is found at his house. Finch asks Burr to come to his lake house the next day, to collect letters indicating that Randy abused Kay. Burr returns to the scene of Eckhart's death and finds a 9 mm shell casing, which conflicts with the bullet type from Eckhart's body. She reads her own case study from an investigation Dormer was involved in and learns he has carried a 9 mm, leading her to suspect that he shot Eckhart. Meanwhile, on his last night staying in the hotel; Dormer confides in the hotel owner, Rachel Clement, about the Internal Affairs investigation: he fabricated evidence to help convict a pedophile he was certain was guilty of murdering a child, and who would have walked if Eckhart had testified. Dormer learns that Burr has gone to Finch's. He finds Kay's letters in Finch's apartment and realizes that Finch intends to kill Burr. He learns of Finch's lake house and rushes there. At the house, Finch knocks Burr unconscious just as Dormer arrives, and takes Burr's gun. Dormer is too disoriented from lack of sleep to fight off Finch. Burr revives and saves Dormer, while Finch escapes. Burr reveals she knows Dormer shot Eckhart, and he admits that he is no longer certain if it was an accident. From his shed, Finch shoots at them with a shotgun, and Burr returns fire with Dormer's gun while Dormer sneaks around to Finch's location. After a scuffle in which Dormer grabs Finch's shotgun, Finch shoots Dormer with Burr's gun, and Dormer shoots and kills Finch with the shotgun. Burr rushes to the fatally wounded Dormer and comforts him by affirming that Eckhart's shooting was accidental, then moves to throw away the 9 mm shell casing to preserve Dormer's reputation. Dormer stops her, however, advising her not to lose her integrity before he dies. ===== When 17-year-old Tanja is found murdered in the city of Tromsø, far up in the Norwegian Arctic, Kripos police officers Jonas Engström (Stellan Skarsgård) and Erik Vik (Sverre Anker Ousdal) are called in to investigate. Engström is a police inspector formerly with the Swedish police who moved to Norway after being caught having sex with the main witness in one of his cases. Vik is nearing retirement age, and his memory is failing. Engström devises a plan to lure the murderer back to the scene of the crime, but the stakeout is blown and the murder suspect flees into the fog. Events take a turn for the worse when the fugitive shoots one of the pursuing unarmed Norwegian police officers. Without telling his colleagues, however, Engström carries a gun from his days in the Swedish police, who routinely carry firearms. While shooting at what he believes to be the suspect, Engstrom accidentally kills Vik, who had mistakenly run right instead of left as ordered. Engström initially tells the truth about the shooting, but realises that everyone assumes that the fugitive shot Vik. He decides to conceal his culpability. When one of his colleagues, Hilde Hagen (Gisken Armand), is assigned to investigate Vik's death, Engström becomes worried about ballistic fingerprinting and tampers with evidence to support his story. Haunted by guilt and unable to sleep with the midnight sun of the Arctic, Engström becomes increasingly unhinged and starts hallucinating about Vik. Things become even worse when he learns that Tanja's murderer saw him shoot Vik. Engström learns from one of Tanja's friends that she had been seeing Jon Holt (Bjørn Floberg), a crime novelist. He correctly deduces that Holt killed Tanja, but Holt blackmails Engström with his knowledge of the Vik shooting. The two meet and decide to frame Tanja's boyfriend Eilert for her murder, with Engström later planting Holt's gun under Eilert's bed. However, Hagen is not convinced of Eilert's involvement, and when new evidence emerges, Engström knows that it's only a matter of time until Holt is arrested. Engström tracks down Holt in some rotting wooden buildings at the waterfront and tries to talk with him. Holt suspects that Engström has come to kill him and holds him at gunpoint. He explains how he killed Tanja in a fit of rage when she rejected his advances. Holt tries to flee across a pier, but the rotten floorboards give way and he falls into the water below, striking his head on the way. He drowns as Engström watches. When he rummages through Holt's nearby house, Engström finds Tanja's dress, which Holt had removed before dumping the body. With Holt dead, and this definitive proof that he was the murderer, the case is closed. Just before he leaves town, Engström is visited by Hagen, who shows him a cartridge case found at the site where Vik was shot. She notes that it is a Norma case, which Engström confirms is a brand used by the Swedish police. Engström expects Hagen to arrest him, but instead she simply places the cartridge case on a table and leaves. Engström drives out of town, his face and eyes showing great weariness; he seems not to have recovered from his insomnia. ===== ===== Psycho Soldier takes place many years after Athena. In Athena, the title character is a mystical figure loosely based on the goddess of Greek myth who fights her way through several otherworldly lands in order to destroy various monsters and evil beings who threaten the peace of the land. After her journey is complete, she returns to heaven, only to fade completely from the minds of the mortals who live below. In the modern times of Psycho Soldier, a young girl named Athena Asamiya, who is the descendant of the original Athena, displays special psychic abilities that allow her to unlock a number of hidden powers within herself, and hopes to one day use these skills not only to help others, but to advance her stage career as a future pop idol. Several evil beings appear in her hometown in Japan, and along with her friend and fellow gifted psychic Sie Kensou, she uses her talents to protect her friends and home from this new menace. ===== Grady Tucker and his family have moved to Florida into a house next to Fever Swamp because his father, a scientist, wants to determine if swamp deer from South America can survive in Florida. Grady’s father keeps the deer in a pen but plans on releasing them in the swamp. Grady and his sister Emily get lost while exploring the swamp and meet a swamp hermit who lives in a shack. As the hermit chases after them, they run away ultimately making their way back home. A few days later, as Grady is going outside to meet Will Blake, one of his new friends, a big stray dog jumps onto Grady. Grady thinks the dog resembles more a wolf than a dog and decides to call the dog Wolf. One morning, Will tells him that a neighbor, Ed Warner, went missing after hunting in the swamp. Cassie O'Rourke, a girl who lives in the neighborhood, suggests that a werewolf is the reason for Mr. Warner's disappearance. After going out to investigate some howling, Grady finds a hole that had been ripped from the deer pen and a murdered deer laying on one side. Grady's father sees paw prints around the pen and blames Wolf for the murder. He plans on taking Wolf to the pound, but Grady is convinced that a werewolf killed the deer and other animals in town, and he helps the dog flee before his dad can capture Wolf. That night, Grady hears howling and observes Wolf slowly moving towards the swamp shortly afterward. As Grady follows the dog he runs into Will, who says he heard the howls and decided to investigate them. While they are following Wolf, Grady gets separated from both Will and the dog. Eventually, Grady comes across the swamp hermit's shack and begins to hear loud howling coming from nearby. Worried that the swamp hermit is a werewolf, he starts to flee before he is attacked by Will, who is revealed to be a werewolf. During the struggle, Will sinks his fangs into Grady’s shoulder, causing Grady to become a werewolf. Wolf reappears and fights off Will before Grady passes out. When Grady regains consciousness, he learns from his mother that the swamp hermit found him and carried him home. His parents also let Grady keep Wolf after discovering that the dog saved his life. During the next full moon, Grady (now a werewolf) and his dog go out to hunt. ===== A new teleportation technology ("telpor") makes travel by spaceship obsolete. A new colony in the Fomalhaut star system, Whale's Mouth, has been the destination for forty million emigrants, but it is a one-way trip - teleportation back to Earth is supposedly impossible. The only way to return is by spaceship, an eighteen-year journey for passengers who are subjected to a limited form of suspended animation. Rachmael ben Applebaum, whose spaceship business has been ruined by teleportation, decides to make the journey to Whale's Mouth in his own craft, the Omphalos. Driven by a powerful hunch that the utopian claims may be false, he chooses to make the trip the old-fashioned way in case some of the colonists wish to return. Powerful figures oppose his journey. Lies, Inc., the expanded version of The Unteleported Man, includes a new first chapter and about one hundred pages of additional exposition. This previously unpublished material begins in Chapter 8 with the phrase, "Acrid smoke billowed about him, stinging his nostrils." What then ensues is a truly horrific drug trip, described in excruciating detail, that Rachmael endures after arriving at his destination and being hit by an LSD-tipped dart. The expansion material finally terminates in Chapter 15 just before the repeated phrase, "Acrid smoke billowed about him, stinging his nostrils." Confusion may arise in the reader, however, over Dick's attributing at least part of the perceptual chaos to a deliberately incorporated effect of the teleportation process. Circumstances had forced Rachmael to abandon his original plans and to journey to Newcolonizedland via energy transfer instead. Sinister modifications to the "Telpor" technology apparently cause its victims to experience a variety of so-called "paraworlds" which are thought to actually exist, somehow, as viable alternate realities. Participants are fearful that consensus or agreement amongst themselves as to the paraworlds' descriptions could somehow cause one or the other paraworld to manifest itself ever more aggressively until eventually displacing the current reality-paradigm altogether. And Rachmael's own paraworld experience is said to be the worst one of all. ===== The movie is based on the first two books of the Book of Mormon: First Nephi and Second Nephi. The source material contains a lot of theological discussion, and parables, some of which have been cut from the adaptation due to their unsuitability as narrative material. Some of the visionary material is retained. The film starts in Jerusalem around 600 BC, where we meet patriarch Lehi, his wife Sariah, and their four sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. Lehi and his wife are devout believers in God, as are their sons, Nephi and Sam. Laman and Lemuel are more wayward and do not tend to agree with the commands of God or their father and brother Nephi. While in Jerusalem, Lehi prophesies that the city will be destroyed. This elicits a negative reaction from many people, to the point of their wanting to kill him. The family flees into the desert at this point and becomes nomadic. While in the wilderness, Lehi sends Nephi and his brothers back to Jerusalem to try and get hold of the Brass Plates, as commanded by God. The Brass Plates are inscribed with ancient scriptures and records, that they need to take with them on their journey and which will form part of the basis of the Book of Mormon. However, these plates are within the compound of a powerful and violent man called Laban, who has many men under his command. They first try and persuade Laban to hand over the plates, but eventually a fight ensues and they are forced to flee. One of Laban's servants, Ishmael ends up defecting to Lehi's side and joins his family in the desert. Ishmael and Lehi's families intermarry, but Ishmael dies in the Arabian wilderness. The group is ordered to build a boat to take them to the new Promised Land, which they do with limited resources. Laman and Lemuel once more start complaining about this idea, but they all end up boarding this ship and leaving the Old World for the New. They arrive in the New World after this voyage, but the quarrel within the family continues. After Lehi dies in the promised land, Laman and Lemuel, and their families, rebel again, and turn to evil things. The Lamanites separate from the Nephites.MormonInfo.org Because of this, Nephi and his allies have to escape them, and once more go into the wilderness. ===== Set in 1940,warai-no-daigaku a young playwright, Tsubaki Hajime (Inagaki / Kondo) comes up against a government censor, Sakisaka Mutsuo (Yakusho / Nishimura). The censor's job is to prevent anything political or taboo from getting into the pre-war media, but this censor has a thing against comedy, too. Tsubaki comes to have his script checked by the censors before rehearsals begin. But the censor, who is looking for an excuse to shut down the comedy troupe at which Tsubaki works, tells him that his whole play is rubbish and Tsubaki would have to rewrite it completely before Sakisaka would let it be performed. But what starts as cruel teasing makes the once poor-quality play better and better as Tsubaki returns day after day to have it torn to shreds and criticized over and over again. Finally the play is perfected and Sakisaka's dislike of Tsubaki turns into respect for his talent. ===== ===== Cassidy Merteuil (Kristina Anapau) is a beautiful, manipulative student at an exclusive Santa Barbara college. Jason Argyle (Kerr Smith) and Patrick Bates (Nathan Wetherington) are roommates there. They pull off a devious plan where Patrick beds Cassidy and disrupts a potential relationship she had been pursuing with a British prince. This then helps Jason win a bet he made with Cassidy (which turns out to have been Patrick's bet all along). When Patrick (who also reveals his awkwardness and social ineptitude to be an act) and Jason reveal their deception to her, she is devastated. She later encourages them to compete against each other. Jason has to seduce Sheila (Natalie Ramsey), who is in a steady relationship with Michael (Tom Parker), and Patrick has to seduce Alison (Melissa Yvonne Lewis), who is already engaged. Jason succeeds in his part, but Patrick is rejected by Alison, who says she does not want to cheat, and does not find him sexually attractive. When classmate Brent Patterson (Charlie Weber) shows an interest in Allison after being rejected by Cassidy, she succumbs to temptation and sleeps with him, not knowing Patrick is taking photos. Patrick blackmails Alison, using the photos of her cheating on her fiancé. He tells her how he succeeded before he throws her on her bed, pulls down her white thong and rapes her in order to fulfill his part of the bet. Meanwhile, Jason and Cassidy strike up a relationship, as Patrick is left unsatisfied and angry by the rape. He attempts to seduce Cassidy, but she rejects him. So, he convinces Cassidy that the man she loves, Jason, is only staying with her because he wants to win the bet he and Patrick had set up, which was to see who could sleep with Cassidy first. Seemingly angry with Jason, she succumbs to Patrick, and Jason walks in on them. Patrick snidely remarks that both Jason and Cassidy have been victims of his cruel game to show them that they underestimated the evil in themselves. They ask him if he has ever been a victim, and he tells them no. Cassidy reveals that this had been her plan all along. She began the little charade so Patrick and Jason would seduce Alison and Sheila; before sleeping with Patrick, she took one of his sleeping pills, planning to tell the policemen that he had drugged and raped her. As Patrick is led away by the police, bewildered and protesting his innocence, he is warned that another victim has come forward, and he will get the punishment he deserves for raping Alison. In the end, Jason and Cassidy are shown together and making another bet with each other. ===== The book describes the Wopuld family, who made a fortune on a board game called Empire!, now a successful computer game. A US firm, the Spraint Corporation, wants to buy them out. ===== Frank (Simm), a librarian in the United Kingdom, falls in love with a mysterious American dancer named Miranda (Ricci). Frank appears naive, but his character is as complex as Miranda's. Graphic scenes of sex and seduction illustrate Frank's fantasy and unrealistic love for Miranda. She suddenly disappears, and he tracks her down in London, discovering she is actually a con artist. He leaves her, returning to Northern England. Miranda and her boss (Hurt), who not so secretly "loves" her, are in business selling buildings that they don't own to unwitting customers. These buildings are really being prepared for demolition. In one scene in which Miranda is negotiating the sale of a warehouse with Nailor (MacLachlan), Nailor sees men putting down cable around the building. He asked Miranda what were they doing and she replies that they are putting in cable TV when, in fact, they are preparing the warehouse for demolition. After making a big score, by successfully conning Nailor to buy the warehouse, her boss leaves her, and Nailor seeks revenge against Miranda. Frank realizes that he should not have left her, and returns to London, with a very quirky friend who is instrumental in saving Miranda from a knife-wielding Nailor. While Frank's friend distracts Nailor with fancy jiu-jitsu moves, Frank slams a table over Nailor's head. The film ends in comic relief with Frank and Miranda living the good life off Miranda's ill-gotten gains. ===== Twelve-year-old Luke Garner is brought to Hendricks School for Boys by Mr. Talbot, the father of his dead best friend Jen. Luke is his parents’ third child and so is illegal under the country's Population Law; if he were to be caught, both he and his parents would be executed by the Population Police. After Jen is killed leading a rally to protest the Population Law at the end of the first book in the series it is no longer safe for Luke to remain in hiding on his parents’ farm. Mr. Talbot arranges for Luke to take the name and identity of Lee Grant – a boy who died just before the novel opens – and arranges for him to attend Hendricks, an exclusive boarding school. Mr. Talbot shakes Luke's hand as he leaves and slips him a note, which Luke hides in his pocket. Having only ever met six other people – his parents and brothers, Jen, and Mr. Talbot – in his entire life, Luke is overwhelmed by the size of Hendricks, and the hundreds of boys who are always around him. He ducks into one class after another simply to avoid the teachers and monitors who patrol the hallways, and finds that no one will tell him what classes he belongs in, or what he should be doing. He is never alone and so can't read Mr. Talbot's note, and the first night in his dorm room one of his roommates (who he thinks of as ‘jackal boy’) bullies him until well after lights-out. For the next week Luke is miserable; he is frightened that he will give away the fact that he is an illegal child and be caught, he goes to classes he doesn't belong in to just to avoid drawing attention to himself, and he is bullied by jackal boy every night. One morning Luke sees an open door that leads to the outside. When he is sure no one is looking he slips through it, and runs into the woods a short distance away. Luke looks back towards the school to make sure he hasn't been followed, and notices that the school building has no windows. He remembers the note from Mr. Talbot and reads it. During the last week he has convinced himself that the note will answer all his questions about how to survive at Hendricks, but Luke finds that it only says: “blend in.” Luke becomes angry and considers running back to his parents’ house, but in the end goes back to the school. Luke begins to pay attention to everything and everyone at Hendricks so that he can devise a way to get to the woods every day without being caught. He learns how to navigate the school's many hallways and staircases, and after poking his head in every room in the school realizes that there are no windows anywhere. He also notices that many of the students behave strangely. Some sit and rock back and forth for hours, while others sleep all the time; the teachers pay no attention to any of it. Although he can't understand much of what he learns, after a week Luke feels confident enough to start going to the woods for a few hours each day. After he notices a raspberry plant growing in a clearing one day Luke decides to plant a garden, and spends the next few days cultivating it. He returns to the garden one afternoon and finds that it has been destroyed, and believes that other boys from the school are responsible. That night he hides near the door to the outside and when he hears some boys go through it, he follows them. Luke follows the boys deep into the woods, where they are joined by a group of girls. Luke sees that the leader of the group from Hendricks is jackal boy, and as he listens to their conversation he realizes that they are all illegal shadow children, just like him. Luke announces himself to the group and after he is told that his garden was destroyed by accident jackal boy – whose real name is Jason – asks Luke to become a part of his group. Luke agrees, and learns that many of the shadow children in Jason's group are hall monitors at school, and that most of them – including a boy named Trey – are afraid of the outdoors. Jason gets Luke a list of the classes he should be attending, and Luke immediately throws himself into his studies. Jason says that since it is only a week until finals he will never catch up, but that Luke needn’t worry because Jason can fix his grades for him. Although joining the group has made things easier for him, Luke finds that he does not fully trust Jason, and spends every free hour studying anyway. The night before final exams Luke is unable to sleep. He hears Jason leave the dorm room a few hours after lights-out and follows him. Luke overhears Jason talking on a phone, saying that no one knows he works for the Population Police. Realizing that Jason is a traitor and planning to betray members of the group, Luke knocks him unconscious and leaves him with the school nurse. Luke then calls Mr. Talbot, who works for the Population Police, but sabotages them whenever he can, and tries to tell him what is happening but Mr. Talbot seems not to understand and hangs up on him. The next morning at breakfast, a Population Police officer comes into the dining hall and announces that he has a warrant for the arrest of illegal third children, but before he can read the names on his list Mr. Talbot arrives with Jason following behind him, in chains. Jason says that he can identify a number of illegal children, but Mr. Talbot convinces the officer that he is lying and Jason is taken away to Population Police headquarters. That evening Luke is taken to the Headmaster's cottage where he talks with Josiah Hendricks, the founder of the Hendricks and Harlow schools, and Mr. Talbot. Luke learns that the schools have been set up as a first stop for shadow children after they come out of hiding and start living with fake IDs, and have been designed as a place where they can overcome the emotional disorders that have resulted from their having spent their entire lives in hiding. Once they have dealt with their fears and can fit in with others, they are sent on to the next school. Both Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Talbot believe that Luke is ready to move on, but Luke asks to stay so that he can help those boys like Trey who are afraid of the outdoors overcome their fear by teaching them how to tend a garden. Mr. Hendricks agrees and Luke starts helping other shadow children. ===== The sequence of events for the plot is broken up in the work and is at times difficult to discern. Each plot event is stated and then defined in more detail. * Fulgor Sedano arrives at Media Luna: His old patrón, Lucas, told him that Pedro is totally useless and that he should go and get a new job when he dies. * Pedro's grandfather dies: His family prays for him after his death to help shorten his time in Purgatory. Pedro himself does not feel like doing this and instead thinks about Susana. * Susana San Juan and Pedro Páramo play during their childhood: Pedro thinks about this often. They would fly kites near the village, and Pedro would help Susana fly hers. He is scolded for taking so long in the outhouse by his mother while he recalls this event. * Señora San Juan dies. This event is assumed since Dorotea cannot remember seeing Susana with her mother ever. Susana also talks about how her mother died. She recounts that she was sickly and never visited anyone and how no one came to her funeral. Susana laments about having to pay for Gregorian masses for her mother and the heartless transaction of money required to be able to do that. *The San Juan family moves to the mining region. Not much is known about this other than they lived there for many years and later returned to Comala. * Susana and her Father explore the Andromeda mine. Señor San Juan drops Susana, at the end of a rope, down into the old mine shaft and tells her to look for gold coins. She is unable to find any, only a skeleton. *Lucas Páramo was killed: He was shot at a wedding by a bullet that was meant for the bridegroom. Pedro later killed most of the people at that wedding. He also permanently crippled a man, which Juan hears about in the grave. * Florencio dies (exact time unknown). Susana's husband dies, and she tragically becomes mad. She still thinks that he is living. She stayed up late that night waiting for him, but he never arrived at home, and in the morning she found out that he was dead. * Fulgor Sedano tells Pedro about his father's debts: Sedano had avoided Pedro in the past because of the warnings of Lucas but stayed on the hacienda because he loved the land. He has to tell Pedro about the debts. Pedro answers, “I’m not interested in how much, just to whom.” They concoct a plan to get Dolores Preciado to marry him to eliminate the debt to her family. * Sedano and Dolores Preciado talk: Sedano tells her a lie about how much Pedro had wanted her and that he is really a very shy man. To this, she replies that she is having her period and cannot be married so soon. Sedano is scornful of this reason. * Osorio warns Dolores Preciado not to sleep with Pedro on her wedding night. She begs Eduviges Dyada to go and sleep with Pedro in her place. Eduviges does this, but Pedro is too drunk to have sex. * Miguel Páramo is killed by his horse: He is going to Contla to visit his girlfriend and to have sex with her when he attempts to save time on his journey by jumping his horse over a fence that his father had built. His horse's name is El Colorado, and it was said that this horse would be the death of him one day. His ghost came back to tell Eduviges about this. * Miguel Páramo is absolved by the Church: Father Rentería absolves him after Pedro Páramo gives him some gold coins. The priest realizes that he cannot afford to anger the leader of the town, Pedro, by not doing so. The priest is upset that he absolved his brother's killer and niece's rapist. * Father Rentería talks to his confessor: He is not forgiven of his sins as he did not give absolution to the dying. The other priest chastises him for not doing his job and saying that the people of Comala believe in God more out of superstition rather than actual adoration. They talk about how the land is bitter in Mexico. * Dorotea confesses: Dorotea goes to Father Rentería and tells him that she was the one who was procuring girls for Miguel Páramo. She is drunk at Miguel's wake. She tells the priest that she had brought girls for Miguel for years and years and that she had lost count of how many she had gotten. The priest said that there is nothing that he is able to do about it. He cannot forgive her and says that she will not “go to Heaven now.” * Toribio Aldrete is hanged: He was plotted against by Fulgor Sedano and Pedro Páramo, who accused him of “falsifying boundaries”. Toribio owned some land that Páramo wanted to add to his hacienda. Pedro orders Sedano to write charges for Aldrete's conviction. One night Aldrete is drunk and goes into Eduviges Dyada's house (the corner room) and is hanged. He is left to “turn to leather” and to never have salvation. The key to the room is thrown out. Ironically, Eduviges gives Juan Preciado this room in her house in which to stay the night. He then hears an echo of the past while sleeping and awakens suddenly. * Dolores Preciado (Juan's mother) leaves Pedro Páramo and the Media Luna hacienda: She is looking at a crow in the sky and says that she wishes that she was this bird and could fly to her sister's house in the city. Pedro becomes angry enough to finally dismiss her. She leaves and never returns. She and Pedro are never divorced. * Eduviges Dyada kills herself: Her sister, Maria Dyada, tells Father Rentería that it was out of despair. “She died of her sorrows.” But the priest laments that all her good work has gone by the wayside and that she will be unable to get into heaven. The priest says that only with prayers will she be able to get into heaven, and even then nothing is certain. * Start of the Mexican Revolution * Return of the San Juans: Señor Bartolomé San Juan refuses to read the letters from Pedro asking him to come and be his administrator. He is finally found and comes back to Comala only because the Revolution makes the countryside dangerous. He finds out the Pedro wants only his daughter. * Señor San Juan dies: Before, while working, he had realized that he would die and that he must die. Additionally, Sedano and Pedro conspire to have him killed. He dies and goes to heaven. His “spirit” comes to say goodbye to Susana. Susana laughs that he came to say goodbye to her while Justina cries. He must have been killed since his ghost does not haunt the town. * Fulgor Sedano is killed: A scared man comes to Pedro's house with the news. He says that the revolutionaries stopped him and Sedano and told Sedano to run and tell Pedro that they were coming for him and then shot him as he ran. * Pedro joins Revolution: He calls the local revolutionaries to his house for supper. He promises to give them much money and support, even more than they had asked for. By doing this he managed to remain safe and prevent the soldiers from attacking his lands. * El Tilcuate, the revolutionary leader, and Pedro talk: Pedro tells Damasio that he has no more money to give to him to fight and that he should go and raid a larger town to get supplies. * Susana San Juan dies: She refuses absolution by the priest. She is simply waiting for death to come and take her. Father Rentería gives her communion, but she is semi-delirious and is talking to Florencio. Susana says that she “wants to be left in peace”. She dies without receiving the last sacraments. * The party: The people of Comala have a large fiesta, which is full of drinking and wild revelry. This greatly annoyed Pedro, who wanted people to mourn his loss of Susana. He says, “I will cross my arms and Comala will die of hunger.” And that is what happened * Refugia Martínez dies: She was the wife of Abundio. He had stayed up all night with her, and she died in the morning. He is out to get drunk to forget his troubles. He goes to the Villalpando's store to do so. * Damiana Cisneros's slaying: Abundio Martínez frightens Cisneros, and she begins to scream. In his drunken state he becomes confused and begins to stab her. While doing so, he thinks about his wife and that he only wanted money for her burial. He is then captured and dragged back into town. * Pedro Páramo dies: He is stabbed by his illegitimate son, Abundio. Pedro dies after thinking about Susana. It can be discerned that with her death, he died, too. He realizes that he cannot move his arms and the ghost (apparently) of Cisneros comes to him, and then he dies. * Dolores Preciado dies: Her death wish is for Juan to find his father and get what he deserves from him after all of these years. * Juan Preciado comes to Comala: He meets the ghosts of: ** Abundio ** Eduviges ** Damiana * He is taken in by Donis and his sister/wife: He is scared to death. * Dorotea dies. * Juan dies. * Juan and Dorotea are buried in the same grave. ===== A Judge (Finlayson) sentences a murderer (Young) to death. The murderer (of course) vows revenge on the judge. Following his escape, the judge engages a detective agency which sends its two least skilled detectives Laurel and Hardy to protect him. The sleuths, after many mishaps, manage to capture the murderer. ===== Fleeing a group of forest rangers, who are rounding up tramps to serve as firefighters, Laurel and Hardy take refuge in a mansion. The owner has gone on vacation and the servants are away, so Hardy pretends to be the owner and offers to rent the house to an English couple. Hardy gets Laurel to pose as the maid. Unfortunately, the owner returns and tells the would-be renters that he owns the house. Laurel and Hardy then flee again and are caught by the rangers and forced to fight wildfires. ===== Alicia is a poor girl living in the city with her family. When her father receives an inheritance, he is able to follow his dream of becoming an artist and moves his family near an artist's colony in the country. There he falls prey to a scheming widow, and he and his wife separate. Alicia, meanwhile, has become involved with a young man who is the widow's accomplice, and she throws over her former suitor, Dr. John Osborne. The young man is a proponent of free love, but he gets a little too free with Alicia and she beans him with a small statuette. She goes running back to her doctor sweetheart, and her parents decide to reconcile, since their separation obviously isn't doing their children any good. ===== Ollie brings Stan home for dinner and promises a big juicy steak, mushroom sauce, strawberries, whipped cream, cup of coffee and a big black cigar. Despite the offer of such a delicious temptation, Stan still feels the need to ask if the meal includes any nuts? When Oliver introduces Stan to Mrs. Hardy (Mae Busch), she does not welcome the surprise and storms out in a huff. Mrs. Kennedy (Thelma Todd), a neighbor from across the hall, offers to help the boys cook dinner; they, in turn, help to set her dress on fire. Mr. Kennedy (Edgar Kennedy), a cop and Mrs. Hardy, return home and the boys hide the slip-clad Mrs. K. in a trunk. Mrs. Hardy apologizes to Oliver for earlier and even brings some nuts for Stanley. However Oliver doesn't entertain her and announces that he's packed his trunk and is leaving for South America. This leads a quarrel between Oliver and his wife loud enough for Mr. Kennedy to interrupt. Mrs. Hardy explains the situation to Kennedy and runs off crying into the bedroom. Mr. Kennedy warns them that if any man would interfere in his marriage, he would cut his throat. Oliver tries to leave the room with the trunk, but Mr. Kennedy stops him and slams the trunk. This causes Mrs. Kennedy to scream. Mr. Kennedy understands who the boys are upto, so he calls Mrs. Hardy and tells her to prepare a nice dinner for the boys while he instructs them to take the trunk over to his apartment. Stan and Ollie do as they are told and when Kennedy gets them behind his closed door, he applauds their efforts in a round-about way. Unaware that his wife is within earshot, Mr. Kennedy starts bragging to the boys about his "technique" in extramarital liaisons. His furious wife then confronts him about it before giving him a bit of her own technique: throwing everything within range at him. Next door, Stan, Ollie and Mrs Hardy continue eating while trying to ignore the crashing, banging and shouting coming from the Kennedy's apartment. When it eventually stops, Mr Kennedy shows up, battered, bruised and in a terrible state. He leads Ollie out with a whistle and beats him up. He then prepares to do the same to Stan, but his wife has evidently not finished with him yet. She comes out of their apartment wielding a gigantic vase and, despite Mr. Kennedy's efforts to protect himself, crashes it over his head, putting him out for the count. Having evaded a beating, Stan then leaves as though nothing has happened, but falls down the stairs (offscreen) as Ollie watches and flinches with every thump and loud crash as he reaches the bottom. ===== Alegrijes y Rebujos follows the story of the ghost of an eccentric millionaire, Don Darvelio, who is said to haunt the mansion. With a jealous stepmother, an inattentive father and a mean brother, Sofia has many problems. Nonetheless, she wants to find out if there really are ghosts in the mansion, inhabited now by a strange former servant named Chon. Sofia secretly enters the mansion to recover a picture of her mother, who died when she was a baby. There, she meets Alfonso, Chon's grandnephew. To their amazement, the children discover Don Darvelio is not dead, and he is the one who has been "haunting" the mansion for the last few years. The old man finds the happiness he had been yearning for in Sofia and Alfonso and he names them "Alegrijes" (or Happies) who enjoy life, never lose hope, share good and bad times, and keep the wonderful gift of amazement. Sofia, Alfonso and Don Darvelio have incredible adventures that they share with other neighborhood children: Allison, Ricardo, Ernestina, Pablo and even Esteban, Sofia's disagreeable brother. Don Darvelio decides to transform his mansion into a place where all the children and their families can live together. However, he becomes seriously ill with the arrival of Helga, his wicked ex-wife, who wants to take over the mansion and destroy the dreams and love the old man has created. In order to overcome Helga and her mean allies, the "Rebujos" (or Grumpies), the children must employ their best values: friendship, truthfulness, fair competition, love, and happiness. ===== Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor and The Pie in National Velvet Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet National Velvet is the story of a 12-year-old, horse-crazy girl, Velvet Brown, who lives in the small town of Sewels in Sussex, England. She wins a spirited gelding in a raffle and decides to train him for the Grand National steeplechase. Velvet is aided by a penniless young drifter named Mi Taylor, who discovered Mrs. Brown's name and address among his late father's effects, though he is unaware of why it was there. Hoping to profit from the association, Mi accepts an invitation to dinner and a night's lodging at the Browns' home, but Mrs. Brown is unwilling to allow Mi to trade on his father's good name and remains vague about their connection. Nevertheless, she convinces her husband to hire Mi over his better judgment, and Mi is brought into the home as a hired hand. It is revealed that Mi's career as a jockey ended in a collision which resulted in another jockey's death. Mi has not held a job since, and now hates horses. Velvet names the horse she won "The Pie" because his previous owner, Mr. Ede, called the troublesome gelding a pirate. Seeing Pie's natural talent, Velvet pleads with Mi to train him for the Grand National. Mi believes it a fool's errand, not because the horse lacks ability, but because they have no way to finance the effort. He makes his case to Mrs. Brown, but she consents to Velvet's desire to train the horse. To cover the entrance fee and other costs, Mrs. Brown gives Velvet her prize money for swimming the English Channel. Velvet and Mi train the horse and enter him into the race. Mi and Velvet travel to the Grand National. Mi hires a professional jockey, but the night before the race, Velvet senses he lacks faith in the Pie and will lose. Velvet dismisses the jockey, leaving them without a rider. That night, Mi overcomes his fear of riding and intends to race Pie himself. He discovers that Velvet has donned the jockey silks and intends to ride. Knowing the dangers, Mi attempts to dissuade Velvet, who is determined to ride. As the race unfolds, Velvet and Pie clear all hurdles and win the race. Elated but exhausted, Velvet falls off her mount at the finish. After the track doctor discovers that Velvet is a girl, Velvet and Pie are disqualified. Velvet, who expected to be disqualified, only wanted to prove that Pie is a champion. Velvet becomes a media sensation and is offered large amounts of money to travel to Hollywood and be filmed with Pie. To her father's disappointment, Velvet tearfully refuses the offers, claiming that Pie would dislike being stared at. Velvet says that she raced Pie at the Grand National because he deserved a chance for greatness. Velvet chooses a normal life for her and her horse. At the close of the film, Mi, ready to resume his old life, takes his leave without bidding Velvet goodbye. Before he gets too far, Mrs. Brown gives Velvet permission to reveal her relationship with his father. Velvet gallops off on Pie and finds Mi on the road. She tells him that his father was Mrs. Brown's coach as the first woman to swim the English Channel. ===== Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wurtzel is a 19-year-old accepted into Harvard with a scholarship in journalism. She has been raised by her divorced mother since she was two years old and hasn't seen her father at all in the last four years. Despite his lack of interest and involvement, Lizzie still misses her father, a contributing factor to her depression. Through a series of flashbacks, it is clear that there was a total communication breakdown between Lizzie's parents, which is soon reflected in Lizzie's own relationship with her mother. Soon after arriving at Harvard, Lizzie decides to lose her virginity to an older student, Noah. Lizzie proceeds to alienate Noah by throwing a loss-of-virginity party immediately afterwards with the help of her roommate Ruby. Although she and Lizzie begin as best friends, Ruby soon becomes another casualty of Lizzie's instability. Although Lizzie's article for the local music column in The Harvard Crimson is presented an award by Rolling Stone early into the semester, Lizzie soon finds herself unable to write, stuck in a vicious cycle with substance abuse. She begins a relationship with another student, Rafe, but after travelling to his home in Texas and discovering that his sister has an intellectual disability, Lizzie accuses Rafe of being 'a creepy voyeur' who gets off on witnessing the pain of others. Rafe breaks up with her. Lizzie's promising literary career is at risk, as is her mental and physical health. Her mother sends her to expensive psychiatric sessions towards which her father, pleading poverty, implacably refuses to contribute anything at all. After a long period of treatment under medication and a suicidal gesture, Lizzie stabilizes and begins to adjust to her life. ===== In a remote fishing island in the 1950s, Pepito (Jomari Yllana) grows up learning the trade of his mother, Rosa (Elizabeth Oropesa), the only midwife capable of delivering the newborn babies of their community. At first, the young son doesn't mind the unusual arrangement, but as he grows older, he begins to resist the role traditionally meant only for women. In time, Pepito's coming of age intersects with the lives of other islanders whose beliefs and struggles become critical impetus to his maturity. Eventually, embarrassment and prejudices are overcome by acceptance and love between mother and son. ===== José Rizal was imprisoned in Fort Santiago under the abusive Spanish colonization. Meanwhile, in Balintawak, Andrés Bonifacio and his fellow secret organization, the Katipunan, commenced the uprising against the tyranny created by the Spaniards by tearing their cédula as a sign of freedom from the Spanish slavery. Soon, a first lieutenant of the Artillery, Luis Taviel de Andrade, visits Rizal. Taviel de Andrade did not waste time to study carefully Rizal's case. In just a short period of time, Rizal and Taviel captured each other's sympathy and eventually became friends as they had usual meetings in Rizal's cell in Fort Santiago. Taviel was even able to celebrate Christmas with Rizal in the cell where they drank pan get and sang together. After Christmas, Rizal was sent to the Real Audiencia, the colonial court of appeal, to hear the trial against him. Soon after, the magistrates decided to condemn him under firing squad on the 30th of the morning in Luneta. At the night before the execution, Rizal hallucinates, seeing his alter ego—protagonist, Crisostomo "Simoun" Ibarra, from his second book, El Filibusterismo, tempting him to change the climax of the novel. On the morning of his execution, his kin receives a small alcohol stove (not a gas lamp as commonly portrayed) from his cell containing the last poem "Mi último adiós". Stopping at the place of execution facing the rising sun, Rizal requested the authorities for him to face the firing squad, but the request was denied. Calm and without haste, he requested to have his head spared instead and the captain agrees. At the moment the shooting squad points at his back, he readily uttered his final words: Consummatum est ("It is done"). In the events following Rizal's execution, members of the Katipunan begin their armed uprising, completely catching the Spanish forces off guard, seizing their mounts, munitions and rifles. After that, the organization captures a church and the members execute the friars in an act of vengeance. Later that night, Bonifacio and his top generals meet in their headquarters to plan a new offensive seeking to capture ten towns in a duration of one week from the Spaniards. As Bonifacio continues speaking, the camera pans to Rizal's picture at the wall of his headquarters before revealing Rizal's hat which sat by the shores of Manila Bay, concluding with the text of events that transpired after his death. ===== Though widowed, ex-cop, Homer, (Ricky Davao) is a kindly father to his ten-year-old son, Rex (Lester Llansang). He is considered to be something of a bully in the poor Manila neighborhood where he lives. After mistaking a child retrieving a snarled kite for a burglar, Homer kills the boy and then hurriedly tries to cover up his error. Unbeknownst to his dad, Rex witnessed the event, too. As the two separately wrestle with their consciences, the neighbors find out and chaos soon ensues. ===== 16-year-old Sonny Corpus (Cogie Domingo), born and raised in the slums of Manila, frequently hangs out with his friends Celso, Jimmy, and Rodel, who also pressure Sonny to spend more time with them. Unbeknownst to Sonny, his friends plan to rob a house one night. During the robbery, Celso accidentally fires at the owner of the house (Anita Linda), killing her. Police arrive at the scene and Jimmy and Rodel are killed, prompting Sonny to freeze and Celso to run. The police find Sonny at the scene and arrest him. Sonny is detained and cross-examined, and his lawyer points out that his client is still a minor. However, he fails to show ample evidence. Although Sonny didn't kill anyone during the robbery, he is found guilty of murder and subsequently sentenced to death row. After a harsh introduction to prison life during his struggle to come to terms with the court's verdict, he finds his place among the convicts. 'Mayor' Mio, a fellow inmate who holds a position of power in the prison hierarchy, attempts to recruit Sonny as a dealer for his cocaine smuggling business. Sonny hesitantly accepts. The cocaine business is known to the jail warden Fajardo (Spanky Manikan) who is also an accomplice in the illegal business. Gabino (Pen Medina), Mio's second-in-command, attempts to win Sonny's support as part of his secretive preparations for a coup against Mio. Fellow inmate Lolo Sinat (Eddie Garcia), a 77-year-old gangster who appears to be the most powerful and senior inmate on death row, eventually takes Sonny under his wings. He advises Sonny to stop his involvement in the drug business. When a high-ranking official visits the prison, Sonny confesses to him about the drug business. Gabino exacts revenge by giving Sonny a severe beating; he is also raped and tortured. Sonny seeks the help of Gina (Jaclyn Jose), a public attorney who also handles the case of Lolo Sinat, to appeal his case. Lolo Sinat does not trust Gina, often calling her a stupid lawyer; she responds by telling him he does not know how to love. Lolo Sinat tells Sonny about his past and how he was brought to jail. The two become closer, and Lolo Sinat promises Sonny that he will help the boy so that when Lolo Sinat faces God, he could say that for once in his life, he has done something right. With the help of Lukas (Mon Confiado), Lolo Sinat and Sonny manage to escape, but are caught the next day. Gina then tells Lolo Sinat that his death penalty will be served the next week. With his death drawing near, the old man encourages Gina to help Sonny appeal his case. Gabino tries to rape Sonny again, but the boy fights back with a bread knife and stabs Gabino several times, killing him. Lolo Sinat covers up for Sonny. Before being brought to the lethal injection chamber, Lolo Sinat gives his old walkman to Sonny. After several weeks, Gina's appeal for Sonny's case becomes successful. Celso is found and brought to justice and Sonny is released from jail. ===== In late December 1999, the TARDIS materializes in the offices of Condef, a British defense contractor, and the Doctor interrupts a break-in. One of Condef's employees, George Gardner, discovers that the intruders were not stealing anything, but were instead installing chips from the company Silver Bullet Systems. The Doctor realizes that the gas used to anaesthetise the security guards surpasses Earth's current level of technology, and advises George to go to Harry Sullivan at MI5 if he learns anything further. George soon contacts Harry with devastating news; he has tested an SB chip for Y2K compliance, and it has failed. Earlier in the century, computer programmers decided to drop the number of the century from date calculations in order to save memory space; thus, when the date changes from '99 to '00, computers all over the world will assume that the year has decreased by 99 instead of increasing by 1, and chaos will ensue. Silver Bullet has made its name by promising solutions to the Millennium Bug, and thousands of companies have bought SB chips and now assume themselves to be Y2K-compliant... but on 1 January 2000, the chips will fail spectacularly. And now it appears that someone is deliberately installing these chips even in companies which did not originally purchase them. George tries to run further tests on the chip at home, but the chip detects illicit tampering and sends a pulsed signal through his electrical wires. The staff of Silver Bullet use the embedded chips in his ordinary household appliances to strike out at him, sending a cripplingly high-pitched whine through his phone line and causing his toaster to overheat and set his house on fire. George barely escapes with his life, and retreats to a bunker in the country which he had already furnished to sit out the millennial chaos. Harry, meanwhile, is contacted by Silver Bullet's PR official, Andi Cave, who claims to have similar suspicions about SB's Y2K-readiness; she asks him to investigate rumours of suspicious meetings between Condef employees, a Russian colonel, and General Randall, Britain's NATO liaison. The Doctor investigates at Condef and learns that Randall has been meeting with Colonel Krimkov, who is in charge of Russia's nuclear deterrence and early warning systems. His attempts to speak with Randall get him nowhere, but Andi Cave then contacts him and takes him to meet James Bryant, a spin doctor for the current government. Bryant suggests that Randall is up to something sinister, and advises the Doctor to back off so Bryant can deal with Randall without attracting attention. Meanwhile, Harry investigates an attempt to break into Ashley Chapel Logistics, and discovers that the only possible target for the raid was a collection of software and hardware which ACL had purchased from the defunct company I2. The Doctor and Harry realize that, once again, the Voracians—hybrids of alien reptiles and malevolent office equipment—are attempting to conquer the Earth. The Voracians have already converted a number of government and military officials to the cause, and are attempting to track down and reassemble the scattered code fragments of the AI software Voractyll. They have allowed one of their programmers, Dave Hodges, to remain fully human in order to use his intuition and emotional judgement; however, when the curious Hodges takes a peek at the software code he's assembling, they decide he's gone too far and convert him into a cyborg to ensure his obedience. This decreases his productivity, however, and the Voracians are forced to concentrate their efforts on recovering the pen which Sarah Jane Smith had acquired during her encounter with the Voracians. Unaware that it contained a tracking device, she had kept it as a souvenir and later given to Harry, and the chip within may contain enough Voractyll code to complete the programme. The Doctor breaks into Silver Bullet and overhears its CEO, Byron Cutter, discussing the recovery of the pen. When he mentions this to Harry, Harry realizes what pen they mean too late; SB employees have already broken into his home and taken the pen, and in the process have nearly killed Sylvia Webb, the young woman who cleans house for him. Harry arranges for Sylvia to receive hospital care, blaming himself for her condition, and he and the Doctor then concentrate their efforts on Randall. Harry has learned that Randall is in charge of the military forces which will be called into play to see the public through the worst of the Y2K disaster, and the Doctor has realized that he's been followed by soldiers from Randall's squad ever since trying to speak with him. They conclude that Randall is involved in Silver Bullet's plan to exacerbate the Y2K disaster in order to create an excuse to stage a military coup and take over Britain. The Doctor visits George Gardner, who has run further tests on an SB chip—without connecting it to an external power line—and has found a way to shut down individual SB chips. Meanwhile, Harry is contacted by Mike Foley, a CIA agent who advises him to speak with the Deputy Prime Minister, Philip Cotton; the current PM, Terry Brooks, got his seat by making promises about social programmes and education which he simply doesn't have the budget to back up, and has recently been holding secret meetings to which the openly critical Cotton has not been invited. Harry meets with Andi Cave to tell her his suspicions about Randall, but discovers that she is a Voracian and is forced to flee. Meanwhile, the Voracians find that the security software on the chip inside the pen has become corrupt, and decide not to install it until the last moment; that way, if it interprets their attempt to access it as an attack and shuts itself down, they will at least be able to snapshot the data and reconstruct it. Defense Secretary Jennifer Hamilton has second thoughts and tries to back out of the PM's potentially devastating plan, but she is shot and killed and Harry is framed for her murder. When Harry and the Doctor visit Sylvia in the hospital, she calls in the police and they are forced to flee. Foley rescues them and takes them to meet Randall, and upon learning that they have escaped, Cutter and Bryant arrange for Sylvia to be taken hostage to ensure their good behaviour. The Doctor and Harry, meanwhile, learn that Randall has no intention of staging a coup, although someone is trying to make it appear as though he does. Randall explains that he met with Krimkov to discuss the Russian response to Y2K; if the obsolete Russian defense system suffers catastrophic shutdown and the commanders of its nuclear bases are rendered blind, the result may be an accidental nuclear exchange. The Western military, after some consideration, has agreed to supply Russia with up-to-date defensive equipment to avoid any such difficulties, but thanks to Silver Bullet, the equipment which the West has supplied to Russia has been deliberately engineered to fail... Cotton and Foley reveal that Randall's organisation has a traitor in its midst, which is why Cotton went to the CIA for help when he came to suspect Brooks was plotting against his own government. Thanks to the proliferation of defunct SB chips, Randall will be forced to fill the streets with his soldiers, and once the crisis has passed, he will be accused of attempting to stage a coup. Brooks intends to take advantage of the ensuing public outcry to cut funds to the military and put them into the social programmes he had promised. What he doesn't realize is that the SB chips will then be used to create a virtual network through which Voractyll will be released into the world once again, enabling the Voracians to seize control. The Doctor determines that the traitor is Lieutenant-Colonel Attwood, but Randall decides not to reveal his knowledge to Attwood just yet. Harry and Foley contact Krimkov to inform him of the SB situation, and Krimkov informs them that rebels in Krejikstan have stolen a nuclear warhead and are now attempting to seize control of the nuclear base at Nevchenka in order to launch it at Moscow. Foley agrees to send American troops to help defeat the rebels, in exchange for help exposing Brooks' machinations. Foley then arranges for an assault team to break into Silver Bullet Systems to rescue Sylvia, who has been sent to the operating theatre to be transformed into a Voracian after being caught trying to escape; Foley's troops break her out almost literally from under the operating knives. It is now New Year's Eve, and as midnight approaches, Sylvia recovers from her ordeal, Randall's troops search their equipment for embedded SB chips and the Doctor converts George Gardner's programme into one he can download from his sonic screwdriver. At midnight GMT, 1 January 2000, London is crippled by power failures, bank machines refuse to distribute cash, and the traffic system goes haywire. Air traffic controllers lose radar, runway lights, transponder codes and satellite navigation. The troops heading for Nevchenka are forced down by autopilot and GPS failure, stranding them over an hour's flight away while Lieutenant Ivigan and his men try to hold off the rebels from a facility which has just lost power to the electric fences. Randall's men are suddenly required everywhere in London to help emergency forces and supply food and medical equipment, and he can barely afford to spare the men the Doctor needs to stop the Voracians. The Doctor finally realizes that the I2 pen was given to Sarah as a tracker, which means it must be transmitting a signal which he can use to locate it. He discovers that it has been moved out of the Silver Bullet offices, but before he can narrow down its location Sylvia unexpectedly attacks him and smashes the tracing equipment. Harry is forced to shoot her, realizing that she was rescued too late and had already been transformed into a Voracian. Emotionally drained, Harry continues on to Downing Street, where the Doctor joins him after completing his work on George's programme. Not only can he shut down any such chips, he can emulate the Millennium Bug in systems which don't suffer from it. Randall's men fight their way past Attwood's Voracian troops and take over 10 Downing Street, and both Attwood and Cave are killed in the fighting. Foley, Randall and the Doctor then inform Brooks about the deal with Krimkov and allow him to contact the Russian Premier, who tells the horrified Brooks that a missile has been launched from Nevchenka due to the British having supplied faulty detection equipment. As the Premier prepares to launch a retaliatory strike Brooks breaks down and admits the truth, and realizes too late that he has been tricked and that his confession has been broadcast to his own Parliament. His career is now magnificently over, and as he has nothing left to lose, the Doctor insists that he reveal where Cutter has gone. Bryant attacks Brooks, trying to shut him up, and when Bryant is shot and revealed to be an alien cyborg, Brooks admits that Cutter has set up in Chequers, the PM's private country residence. Realizing that a show of force will provoke the Voracians into activating Voractyll ahead of schedule, the Doctor and Harry go to Chequers alone, and Harry creates a distraction while the Doctor breaks in. The Doctor finds Dave Hodges about to install the missing code sequences and activate the programme, and tries to reawaken his buried humanity. He is captured, as is Harry, and when Hodges refuses to activate Voractyll, one of the Voracians kills him and activates it. Thanks to the Doctor's continued attempts to distract them, however, the Voracians have neglected to check the programme for faults—and they realize too late that the Doctor has programmed it to emulate the Millennium Bug. The Voracians shut down or explode as the bug hits them, and Voractyll is destroyed, ending the invasion. ===== Described as "essentially an interactive movie" by its director Shuji Ishikawa and associate producer Yuya Takayama, the narrative of Rule of Rose centers on the traumatic childhood memories of Jennifer, "an ordinary, vulnerable girl"; these memories sometimes manifest in exaggerated ways. Set in England, the game opens in 1930, as 19-year-old Jennifer is led to an abandoned orphanage by a boy. She follows him to a grave in the courtyard, where she digs up a coffin with a bloody sack inside it. Four children sneak up on her and pour water on her, before shoving her into the coffin. She awakens in a largely abandoned airship in flight to an unknown destination, ruled by a cruel group of young girls known as the Red Crayon Aristocrats, despite the presence of adults on board. Under the threat of death, Jennifer must appease the Aristocrats by bringing an offering for them each month. Assisting her is Brown, a dog she frees from confinement in the airship, and the chronically sickly Wendy, who is the only child to be friendly to her. Jennifer eventually regains her memories of being cared for by the farmer Gregory Wilson, after she was orphaned in an unrelated airship crash. There, he was kind to her, though he confused her with his dead son Joshua, kept her prisoner, and periodically slid into melancholy alcoholism. Discovering her one day, Wendy began to exchange letters with Jennifer and eventually convinced her to escape, but not before Wendy stole his gun. The two then renewed their oath of "everlasting, true love," with Jennifer's stuffed bear exchanged for Wendy's brooch. Back on the airship, Jennifer ascends to becoming part of the Red Crayon Aristocrats, after retrieving the stuffed bear for the Princess of the Red Rose, the co-leader of the Aristocrats. The game's setting then transitions to the now-inhabited orphanage. Bullied by the children, Jennifer is horrified to find that she has become the offering of the month; meeting up with Wendy in the courtyard, she loses Brown and later finds his corpse in the Aristocrats' meeting room, where he had been killed in her place. Wendy then reveals herself as the Princess of the Red Rose. Jennifer, now a child, slaps her and casts aside her brooch, hating the Aristocrats and herself for being too cowardly to oppose them. Afterward, the Aristocrats approach Jennifer, now an adult, in the hopes that she will replace Wendy as their leader, whom they have deposed. Wendy, however, retaliates against the children by mentally conditioning Gregory into assuming the persona of "Stray Dog," a dangerous creature she had invented to assume power over the other children. She then brings Gregory, as Stray Dog, to kill everyone in the orphanage. Only Jennifer escapes the onslaught. Before being killed off-screen, Wendy, now remorseful, confesses her role in it, which had been sparked by her jealousy over Brown. She then gives Jennifer Gregory's gun. Gregory then returns to kill Jennifer, and in a moment of lucidity, he asks "Joshua" to give him back the gun, which Jennifer does. He then kills himself. Rule of Rose concludes with Jennifer, as a child, waking in the large empty orphanage and reflecting on the events and characters. Jennifer vows to remember the other children, especially because the media coverage of the children's deaths had diminished after it came to light that Jennifer had been the survivor of two horrific events, and meets with Wendy and Gregory. In the final scene, Jennifer visits Brown, now a puppy, in the shed and puts a collar on him. She completes a Bucket Knight nearby, symbolizing that she can always remember and return to her memories of Brown. Promising to protect him for eternity, she then closes the door on him. ===== The only child of Goa's China Town multimillionaire Sonia Chang (Isha Koppikar) has been kidnapped. To get her son back, she puts out a reward of over 25 lakh Rupees. She lives in her huge mansion named "36 China Town", with a servant couple Mr. Lobo (Dinyar Contractor) and Mrs. Lobo (Roshan Tirandas) in Goa. Sonia is consoled by Rocky (Upen Patel), a local flirt. The story then focuses upon Raj (Shahid Kapoor), a struggling actor and Priya (Kareena Kapoor), who ran away from home. They both meet each other after both of their dreams have been shattered. They find a child who appears to be all alone in Mumbai. They take pity on him, but after seeing a missing persons ad, they realise that the child is the son of Sonia Chang. Tempted by the reward money, they team up and decide to bring the child back home to his mom in Goa and cash in. Before leaving, they call Chang and tell her that they have her child. She was discussing the change in her will with her lawyer, Mr Dixit (Vivek Vaswani), when the duo inform her about her baby. Meanwhile, Raj falls in love with Priya. But she is irritated by his presence. Sonia is overjoyed and calls them to Goa. At midnight, her casino is hosting some interesting people. One of them is Mr. Natwar (Paresh Rawal), a notorious gambler who has come along with his wife Gracy (Payal Rohatgi). Natwar has pawned his four hotels to Sonia and has only one hotel left in his possession. When he loses money, he is forced to pawn the last hotel too. He keeps this a secret, but Gracy knows the fact. Another person is KK (Johnny Lever), who has come along with his wife Ruby (Tannaz Irani). There is also playboy Rocky among them, who is a big hit with ladies, especially Sonia. Rocky flirts with Ruby. Ruby wins a lot of money in casino. But when she doesn't get the money even after claiming it, she enters 36 China town to meet Sonia in a very angry mood. Even Natwar goes inside the mansion to meet Sonia and pawn the last hotel. Upset by this, Gracy goes to 36 China Town in an angry mood. Then, she goes her bedroom with Rocky. Meanwhile, KK and Natwar decide to play together and they lose all of their money. They fight and get out of the casino by the bouncers. Meanwhile, Raj and Priya come to Goa, where they run into a drunkard (Raj Zutshi) loitering near the mansion. The drunkard runs away on seeing them. The duo are surprised to see the mansion to be in dark, since they expected Sonia to be waiting for them. They enter the mansion and call for Sonia. When she doesn't answer, they realise that something is wrong. On seeing the state of the house, they realise that Sonia has been robbed, but are later horrified to see Sonia dead. The duo run, but find that the child is left inside the mansion. Raj enters the mansion again to take him. He sees two eyes and legs of the killer behind a cupboard. Terrified, he gets out of the mansion with the child. Raj and Priya then inform Goa police about the murder. They keep the child inside a police van and run away. But Priya finds that she has left her suitcase inside the mansion inside which her passport is kept. Meanwhile, audience watch that Sonia's body is kept inside Priya's suitcase by somebody and kept outside the mansion. KK reaches the mansion and finds the suitcase. Thinking that it is containing lot of money, he takes it and reaches his room in hotel where Ruby is waiting for him. Meanwhile, Raj and Priya go back to the mansion to take her suitcase. Raj enters the mansion, but is arrested by Inspector Karan (Akshaye Khanna), the investigating officer and Ravi (Vivek Shauq). Meanwhile, KK and Ruby find out that the suitcase contains a dead body, not money. They decide to dispose of the suitcase. Meanwhile, Priya, who wants to help Raj, gets arrested and sent to jail. Priya and Raj become the prime suspects of the murder. Inside the jail, both fall for each other. Meanwhile, KK and Ruby unable to dispose of the suitcase, are arrested by police. KK tells the truth to Karan about Natwar. Karan goes to meet Natwar. Natwar lies to him that he was in his room with his wife, Gracy. Karan goes away. Natwar then finds out that Gracy was with Rocky in the room. Next day, Karan comes to meet Natwar and Gracy. Natwar tells him that it was he who was in the room and he got out from a pipe directly to the neighbouring house's bedroom (Which actually Rocky did). But to his shock, the room turns to be Sonia Chang's mansion's bedroom where she was murdered. Natwar is arrested. Natwar then tells the truth to Karan about Rocky. Karan calls Rocky to the police station. But seeing Rocky's eyes, Raj recollects that it was Rocky's eyes and shoes which he had seen behind the cupboard. Rocky then tells that he was in Gracy's room that night. He had got out from the pipe to Sonia's bedroom only to find her already murdered. When he was about to get out from the house, Raj and Priya had entered with the child and started searching for Sonia. Then, when Raj had entered the mansion again to take the child, he had seen his (Rocky's) eyes and legs. Karan is able to reconstruct what actually happened that night. Based on Mr. Dixit's statement about the will and everybody's statement, Karan is able to find out the truth. First, he procures the drunkard, whom Raj and Priya believe to be the murderer. But, Karan goes on to explain that he is in fact, the kidnapper. Karan goes on to explain that the kidnapper was hired by the killer but the kidnapper lost the baby, who was then found by Raj and Priya in Mumbai. After Sonia is informed by Raj and Priya about the baby's discovery, the mastermind found that his/her plan was failing. Hence, he/she murdered Sonia, while other people incriminated themselves by fooling others to believe that it was a robbery gone wrong. The actual killer was Mr. and Mrs. Lobo, Sonia's servants. According to Sonia Chang's initial will, after her death, the person who was most close to her son (which were her servants) would inherit everything but then one day she found out about their evil intentions and decided to change her will, which led to them murdering her. Priya, Raj and others are released from jail. The movie ends with the character laughing at a pub. Natwar says, "Close the door of the casino, otherwise I will become Yudhistir." When the others ask him reason for saying so, he says "Since i have lost my money, I will have to pawn my wife", to which the characters start smiling and the movie ends. ===== On holiday in France, the Goodies are riding leisurely through the countryside on their trandem when they suddenly become aware of a large number of cyclists riding very rapidly behind them. The Goodies speed up to escape the onslaught, and as a result of this, cross the finishing line of the Tour de France before the competitors. The Goodies are awarded the prize, as the winners of the Tour de France, because of crossing the line in first place. As a result of their success in winning the Tour de France so easily, Graeme becomes obsessed with them winning the Le Mans 24-hour race. However, there is a problem--they do not have a car, and none of the Goodies are able to drive a car. Tim volunteers to drive the car in the race, despite not being able to drive, and Graeme instructs him how to drive (by reading from a book)--doing so in a substitute 'car' consisting of two living room chairs (for driver and passenger), as well as a large plate as a steering wheel, a wooden spoon for the gear shift, and Bill's feet as the brake and accelerator. Tim passes his driving test, and all is ready to go. Graeme designs a sleek-looking racing car, using a photograph of a racing car on which to model his design. He then sets about building a car based on the blue-print of his design. The end result is not anything like the car on the drawing board--it is a chunky strange-looking vehicle, with no windscreen, and special "hand signal" traffic indicators for "turning right", "turning left" and "turning nasty". There is a villain in their midst--Baron de Boeuf, who is determined to win the race at all costs, and who will stop at nothing to achieve this end. The Baron sabotages the cars of all the entrants, with the result that most of the drivers are forced to withdraw from the race. The Goodies, likewise, are left with no car. However, Graeme is determined not to give in, and he modifies their office into a special type of car, with a window becoming the car's windscreen. Baron de Boeuf immediately tries to destroy the Goodies new "car" so that he will have no rival to worry about. Eventually, the Baron is eliminated from the race, but the adventure for the Goodies continues, with a nail-biting conclusion. When all seems lost, Graeme reveals yet another surprising feature of his remarkable car. ===== The plot is quite straightforward: a middle-aged man takes the train in Paris to visit his lover, Cécile, whom he has not informed of his arrival, in Rome. They have met in secret once a month for the past two years: each time that his business trips have taken him to the Italian capital. He now intends to tell her that he has finally decided to leave his wife, found a job for her (Cécile) in Paris and is ready to take her back there and live with her. The novel describes his gradual change of mind. His initial enthusiasm and hopes of a rejuvenating new start slowly give way to doubt, fear and cowardice. He eventually decides to spend the week-end in Rome alone, go back to Paris the following Monday without telling anything to Cécile and leave the situation as it was until their relationship eventually ends. He will write about this failure in a book which happens to be "La Modification" itself. ===== Janardhanan lives in a village in Tamil Nadu, leading life incognito, taking up the cause of the villagers, and making enemies around. Then comes the twist in the tale, the caption in the interval reading '...Interval...Wait just see other face'. When the film reopens, we do get to see Jana's other face. Jana is a terror to the Mumbai dons, corrupt politicians, and their ilk, killing, and maiming. He wants to teach a lesson to them. Both the faces of Jana merge finally when his bete noire Bhandari comes out of jail to have his final round with him. ===== An artifact has been forged which enables time-travelling spells while it remains in Sunnydale. A group of vampire-assassins are travelling into the past in an attempt to kill previous Slayers, and disrupt the Slayer lineage. They are led by the spellcaster Lucien, whose aim is to ensure that Buffy does not interfere with the ascension of the Master. When they discover that killing Buffy in the past merely changes the way in which the Master is killed, they become frustrated and decide to go further back. When Buffy becomes aware of their plans, the vampires have already left and she is forced to follow them into the past. With Giles, Willow and Xander, she travels to first-century Anglesey in Wales where a Druidic stronghold is being invaded by Romans. Next they travel to Uruk in ancient Sumer where they encounter Gilgamesh. Xander inadvertently arouses a plague god, and Willow accidentally summons a snake- demon while trying to banish the god. Then they return to the American Civil War period, where they find themselves in the middle of the Battle of Shiloh. They destroy many vampires feeding on the soldiers. Finally they head for Paris during the French Revolution where they witness executions on the guillotine and meet Angelus and Darla. ===== The film deals with the social stigma associated with a handicapped girl in a rural milieu. Murali is a potter by profession. He has a sister, who is born dumb. Murali has to struggle a lot as the handicraft industry is a dying industry and a good amount of money is taken away by his father (Manivannan), who is a drunkard and a gambler. But, he tries to hide his sorrows by having fun with his sister and servant (Vadivelu), who is also his trusted friend. He is in love with his neighbour (Meena), a weaver. He wants to get his sister married to a noble man. But many reject her as she is dumb. Finally, one man agrees to marry his sister but on condition that Murali must offer dowry. Murali then sells many things dearer to him to get money for the dowry. But, that money is taken away by his father and the marriage falls through. Yet Vadivelu offers to marry his sister without asking dowry and Murali goes home along with Vadivelu to convey this happy news to his sister. But it was too late as the sister commits suicide. Murali as a penance decides to marry a handicapped girl. ===== When the United States Army asks the Goodies to get rid of a large container, with the words Tomato soup on its side, they take it out to sea in an attempt to ditch it -- but without success. They then take the container to their office, where they open it and find a strange-looking mixture inside. In an effort to make the mixture look more like Tomato soup, and more palatable, Tim pours red paint into the mixture in their soup bowls, and the trio attempt to eat the mixture. The 'soup' tastes horrible and makes them feel ill. The Goodies sell the remainder of the mixture to Thirtes (who intend to serve the mixture as soup at Motorway service areas), and to service stations (which intend to use the mixture as petrol). Back at the Goodies' domain, something strange is taking effect -- Tim's nose has turned red. Bill comments that he had never noticed that Tim had a small red nose before. Tim states that he does not have a 'small red nose', to which Graeme replies: "No, you don't have a small red nose - you have a BIG red nose!". Tim is turning into a clown -- closely followed by Bill and Graeme also turning into clowns. The Goodies discover that people, everywhere, are turning into clowns, and come to the conclusion that the 'soup' was not soup after all, but something else. Arriving back at the base the Goodies find a sheet confirming the 'Soup' was in fact a prototype liquiadised nerve gas that caused people and certain objects to behave in a clown-ish manner. The Goodies confront Major Cheeseburger about what is happening, and he exclaims: "Well, I'll be horn- swoggled!" to which Graeme comments: "Your private life is no concern of ours." After the confrontation with the Major, who claims he was "Just obeying orders", a screen appears showing the Major's superior in the Pentagon, who then reveals the nerve gas was a key factor in their planned invasion of the United Kingdom and making it part of the USA. A small US platoon of troops land on a beach with little expectation of resistance. To their surprise, the Goodies, still in clown form, overwhelm them in various clown methods. Despite getting blown, blasted and pied, the US troops are about to launch their final attack when out from nowhere, a US plantation owner comes out from nowhere and orders the troops to get back to his farm. The Goodies watch silently as the farmer whips the troops back to America, knowing Britain is saved. ===== Fifteen disparate African American men board a bus in Los Angeles bound for Washington, D.C., where they plan on attending the Million Man March. Other than their race, destination, and gender, the men have nothing in common: George is the trip organizer; Xavier is an aspiring filmmaker hoping to make a documentary of the March; Flip is the vain but charismatic and openly homophobic and sexist actor; Kyle and Randall are a homosexual couple; Gary, a biracial police officer; Jamal is a former gang banger turned devout Muslim who has evaded prosecution for the murders he committed; Evan Jr., is a petty criminal who has been permitted to break probation to attend the march on the condition that he remain handcuffed to his father, Evan Sr. As the bus travels across country, Xavier conducts interviews with the various attendees, allowing them to express their views on race, religion, and politics. The interviews often provoke outbursts from other men on the bus, invariably leading to many political confrontations. Jeremiah, the eldest member of the group, is an 80-year-old former alcoholic who lost his job and family, has found new meaning in life and is energized by the Million Man March, and embraces his African heritage; his philosophies on the black experience and stories of precolonial Africa serve to unite the men and ease tensions and the infighting among them. En route the bus breaks down and the men are forced to board another bus, driven by an ethnically Jewish white man named Rick. A couple of the passengers harass Rick as a white man, and Rick ultimately refuses to drive any further, citing the group's prejudice and his opposition to antisemitic remarks made by the leader of the march, Louis Farrakhan. George, himself a bus driver, accuses Rick of cultural racism, but begrudgingly agrees to cover for Rick who leaves. George takes over driving for the remainder of the trip, with help from Evan Sr. As the bus passes through the American south, the men are greeted hospitably by several white southerners at various restaurants and rest stops. At one stop, the men pick up Wendell, a wealthy African American Lexus salesman who sees attending the march as a way to make business connections. After Wendell, a self- proclaimed conservative Republican makes disparaging remarks about who he sees as lazy and stupid African Americans—while getting some agreement from Kyle, ultimately is too insulting and just wants to make money off the march, and the rest of the men forcibly toss him out of the bus. In Knoxville, Tennessee, the bus is pulled over by a pair of racist state troopers, who accuse the men of using the bus to smuggle drugs. The bus and its passengers are checked by a drug-sniffing police dog, turning up no evidence of drugs; the troopers then condescendingly allow the bus to resume its journey. As the bus nears Washington, Jeremiah passes out and is rushed to a hospital. The doctors there discover that Jeremiah is suffering from advanced coronary artery disease, which made the stress of the trip potentially deadly for him. Evan Sr. and Jr., Gary, Jamal, and Xavier opt to stay with Jeremiah at the hospital and watch the march on television while the rest of the men leave in the bus to attend. Shortly after they leave, Jeremiah dies. The rest of the group returns to the hospital, saying that, to stay true to the spirit of the March, they chose not to attend the march but to return and be with Jeremiah. As the bus prepares to return to Los Angeles, the men find a prayer that Jeremiah wrote with the intention of praying it when the bus arrived at Washington, D.C. The men drive to the Lincoln Memorial, where George leads the men in Jeremiah's prayer, and the film ends with Evan Jr. and Senior's handcuffs left at the Lincoln memorial. ===== A serial killer is terrorizing the senior citizens of Denton, and the local police are succumbing to a flu epidemic. Tired and demoralized, the force has to contend with a seemingly perfect young couple suffering arson attacks and death threats, a suspicious suicide, burglaries, pornographic videos, poison-pen letters... In uncertain charge of the investigations is Detective Inspector Jack Frost, crumpled, slapdash and foul-mouthed as ever. He tries to cope despite inadequate back-up, but there is never enough time; the unsolved crimes pile up and the vicious killings go on. So Frost has to cut corners and take risks, knowing that his divisional commander will throw him to the wolves if anything goes wrong. And for Frost, things always go wrong... ===== Car thief Dick Kanipsia gets out on parole from a penitentiary. He intends to go straight, but first he goes directly to see an old friend Harry Moss, only to be shocked to see Harry get shot. Harry's dying words tell Dick to find Barry Fenaka, a guy who supposedly knows where to find a stash of stolen cash that Harry has hidden, and mention the name Vincent Palmer to Fenaka. Then, instead of dying slowly, Harry blows himself up with dynamite. As Dick flees the scene, a black van lurks in the trees. Dick hitches a ride with Kitty Kopetzky, who starts out as a friendly free spirit, then turns into a nut case who robs a diner where she and Dick go to eat. Dick flees during her robbery and catches a passing bus. Fenaka turns out to be a small-time bandleader. He explains to Dick that he and Harry embezzled $320,000, and paid Palmer to stash it for them. He and his wife take Dick to go get the money. They travel by car, with an Air Stream Land Yacht in tow. At Palmer's office, they find a man named Hollenbeck who tells them that Palmer moved to Pismo Beach. As they follow Palmer's trail, the trio worry about the black camper van that seems to follow them. It is labelled Willow Camp for Boys and Girls. At the beach, Barry finds out that Palmer is now in Susanville. Somehow, Kitty tracks Dick down and joins the crew. An identical black van joins the first, and when Barry disappears, Dick and the women become convinced that he is in one of the vans. They track the vans to a trailer camp. Upon approaching the black vans in the dark, four men jump Dick and beat him. He returns to the Airstream in pain with what Kitty believes to be a collapsed lung. Dick realizes this attackers are people he has encountered throughout the entire trip. Fearing he will be beaten again at the trailer park, Dick ducks into a bingo game and begins to play, then feigns leaving. He stops at the exit and turns around to see the four men that beat him standing up from their places at the bingo tables. Kitty then arrives and sits next to Dick, who points out the four men. Kitty goes over to one of the men (played by Alex Rocco) and sweeps the bingo markers off the card of a large man playing next to him. The large bingo player then punches Rocco's character, starting a brawl that involves all of Dick's attackers, and allowing Dick and Kitty to escape. One of the black vans leaves the camp in a hurry, and Dick pursues them. In the ensuing chase, the other black van eventually catches up and drives Dick and the Airstream off the road. Dick creates a roadblock and forces the black van to crash into a waste pit. In a shootout with one of the men from the van, Dick wounds his attacker and tracks him to a roadside vegetable stand. The wounded man is Hollenbeck, who confesses that he is really Palmer. He put all the money into the camp, but the location wasn't suitable, and the business failed. Barry arrives in a tow truck, revealing that he had simply gone for a tuna sandwich when Dick and the women thought he was abducted. He is thrilled to learn that the money was used to buy land. Dick walks away in disgust at the whole mess while Barry plots with his wife about how to make money off the land. ===== A portable television and comic books are props on the floor of a set from This Is Our Youth at Sydney Opera House The play takes place in Dennis Ziegler's apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in March 1982. Dennis's friend Warren Straub, a dejected 19-year-old, has just been kicked out of his house and stolen $15,000 from his abusive lingerie-tycoon father. Dennis, the more wily and domineering of the two, spends some of the money on cocaine, hoping to sell it to a friend for much more. Jessica Goldman, an "anxiously insightful" fashion student, comes over and Warren hopes that he can use the money to entice her into bed. The play explores timeless issues of adolescence and maturity, as well as the Reagan Era in which it is set: the characters feel adrift in 1980s-style materialism. ===== War between Earth and insectoid-dominated Alpha III ended over a decade ago. (According to the novel, "Alphane" refers to the nearest star to our own system, Alpha Centauri). Some years after the end of hostilities, Earth intends to secure its now independent colony in the Alphane system, Alpha III M2. As a former satellite-based global psychiatric institution for colonists on other Alphane system worlds unable to cope with the stresses of colonisation, the inhabitants of Alpha III M2 have lived peacefully for years. But, under the pretence of a medical mission, Earth intends to take their colony back. Against this background, Chuck Rittersdorf and his wife Mary are separating. Although they think they are going their separate ways, they soon find themselves together again on Alpha III M2. Mary travels there through government work, Chuck sees it as a chance to kill Mary using his remote control simulacrum. Along the way he is guided by his Ganymedean slime mould neighbour Lord Running Clam and Mary finds herself manipulated by the Alphane sympathiser, comedian Bunny Hentman. ===== Sivaji (Prabhas) and Ashok (Shafi) are the sons of Parvati (Bhanupriya). Sivaji is her stepson, but Parvati shows equal affection on both of them. This is not liked by Ashok, her biological son. They are one of the families living on the coast of Sri Lanka. One day, these villagers are forced to evacuate the coast. By Ashok's dislike on Sivaji, he lies to his mother that Sivaji died in the fire that was burning everything. Then, he is separated from his family. He ends up in a different boat and lands in Vizag port. He is brought up in the port itself, but his search for his mother never ceases. In that process, he comes across Neelu (Shriya). Here, the port is dominated by Baji Rao (Narendra Jha) and some goons using refugee labor for their own gain. Sivaji is an aggressive guy but is controlled by his well-wishers. One day, he reacts aggressively in defense of himself and the other refugees. People start calling him Chhatrapati. Meanwhile, Ras Bihari (Pradeep Rawat) comes down to Vizag in the hunt for Sivaji since he killed his brother Baji Rao. Ashok too lands in the same place. Realizing that Sivaji is his brother, he joins hands with the bad guys. The story is then of Chhatrapati, who is searching for his mother, and has a bunch of bad guys, including his brother, on his back while the entire port looks up to him. ===== The inhabitants of a planet called Iszm, a species known as the Iszic, have evolved the native giant trees into living homes, with all needs and various luxuries supplied by the trees' own natural growth. The Iszic maintain a jealously guarded monopoly, exporting only enough trees to keep prices high and make a great profit. Ailie Farr is a human botanist who goes to Iszm (like many others before him, of many species) to try to steal a female tree, which might allow the propagation of the species off world and break the monopoly. ===== The episode opens with President Bartlet giving a speech in Indiana, while Toby and Josh converse in a field with Cathy (Amy Adams), a farmer who is also a Democrat despite her concerns that neither party is adequately invested in improving the plight of farmers. They realize that the motorcade has gone without them, leaving them, along with Donna who was sent to fetch them, stranded. Much of the episode deals with the trio's attempts to get home; however, their journey is delayed by several mishaps (Cathy's truck runs out of biodiesel, they miss their plane due to confusion over Indiana's time zones, they board the wrong train, etc.) As their journey continues and Josh and Toby debate campaign strategy (eventually concluding that the election should be about the voters' everyday concerns, and not about Bartlet vs. Ritchie), the three of them are exposed to the culture of rural Indiana. Josh and Toby remain largely oblivious to the problems of the people around them, until they meet Matt Kelley, an affable man in a bar who is concerned about how he's going to pay for his daughter's college tuition. This sets into motion a storyline that continues across later episodes, as Josh and Toby, inspired by their conversation with Matt, later spearhead an attempt to make tuition tax deductible. Meanwhile, an exhausted and overworked Sam Seaborn is supposed to be taking the day off for some much-needed sleep, but Josh instead enlists him to staff the President until they return from their escapade in Indiana. Sam is eventually left with a new appreciation for the intelligence Josh must use on a daily basis. At the White House, the President deals with minor crises both home and abroad: A dip in the stock market makes the President superstitious about meeting a man who met with President Hoover just before the stock market crash of '29, and the President later receives news that the Qumar Government is to reopen an inquiry into the disappearance of the Defense Minister's plane. Increasingly disturbed, he is nonetheless reassured by Admiral Fitzwallace that they have successfully covered their tracks. Qumar, however, falsely claims that it has found an Israeli Air Force parachute, in an attempt to provoke a military confrontation with Israel through a false flag operation. Fitzwallace and McGarry agree that they cannot exonerate Israel and denounce the false evidence without admitting their own culpability. Meanwhile, C.J. approaches Charlie about taking over Simon's role as a big brother to a young black man, Anthony, who has started to act up as a way to cope with Simon's death. Charlie is at first unwilling to lend his new- found free time to volunteer, but when Anthony lashes out at C.J., Charlie has a dramatic change of heart. Later in the episode, a report comes in that two pipe bombs have exploded during a college swim meet, killing 44 people and injuring over 100. Leo McGarry is discussing a cooking show he hoped to have watched with Margaret (she refers to it as soft porn) when he hears the news. Everyone is disturbed by this event, but it inspires Sam to write a powerfully up-lifting speech, which the President delivers to great effect. Part of the content of this speech is actually spoken by Bartlet earlier in the first episode. Bruno Gianelli refers to Sam as a 'freak' for being able to write the most moving portion of the speech during the ride to the event. ===== A US E-2 Hawkeye AEW aircraft goes down over North Korea, and five crew members are lost in enemy territory. President Bartlet, faced with the choice between negotiations with the North Korean government and attempting a rescue operation, chooses the latter. The operation is successful in retrieving the crewmembers, but one of the SEALs dies due to complications from the jump-in. The event brings back memories for Leo about his own time serving in the Vietnam War, when his life was saved by his good friend Kenneth Sean "Ken" O'Neal (DeMunn). Ken, now the CEO of Mueller-Wright Aeronautics, a major defense contractor (and a company Leo also used to work for) is currently having difficulties with the Senate Armed Services committee over a $10 billion (originally just $6 billion) helicopter contract. Leo, in Chicago to present Ken with a humanitarian award, says he will look into it. When Leo confronts the committee's chairman, Arizona senator Matt Hunt (Hall) about the issue, the senator suggests there might be legitimate cause for scrutiny. Infuriated, Leo says that if Hunt calls for a hearing on the issue and has Ken subpoenaed, he will testify himself. Josh realizes the potential scandal if the White House Chief of Staff were to testify in a case concerning a company where he used to be a senior executive (easily susceptible to accusations of a conflict of interest). Josh tries to explain this, but Leo (in a rather knee- jerk manner) immediately dismisses him without hesitation, saying, "Thanks. I'll take it from here." Unnerved, Josh goes to Toby, and they both come to the conclusion that since Leo cannot be convinced by logic to come around to their position (as Josh says to Toby, "Leo knows he can't testify on behalf of a major defense contractor. What's he thinking?", to which Toby responds, "He's not thinking"), they bypass him and go straight to the Oval Office. The president immediately goes next door to see Leo, upholding his deputy's judgment, and reiterating Josh's reasoning why Leo cannot voluntarily testify, but Leo refuses to back down. At this point Senator Hunt personally shows up at Josh's office unannounced to get Josh to prevent Leo from taking the stand, revealing that O'Neal circumvented a compulsory AoA (Analysis of Alternatives) and hired the Defense Department procurement officer who was overseeing the bidding process at nearly four times his government salary as incentive to secure the contract for Mueller Wright. Josh tries to contact Leo, but Leo has already gone to meet with Ken privately. Ken now comes clean on his transgressions, and says he will take the Fifth Amendment. Leo, devastated, returns to the White House, where he expresses to the president his terrible disappointment with the man he looked up to, and to whom he owes his life. Leo says that many men died saving their lives in Vietnam and they owed it to them to live good and decent lives. Bartlet commiserates, adding that the corruption of the best is always the hardest to take, and that Leo's own life honors the men who died saving him many times over. In parallel storylines, C.J. finally gives in to the on-air taunts of news show-host Taylor Reid (Mohr), and agrees to do an appearance on his show. After a poor start, she comes back stronger after the commercial break. Reid claims the First Lady violated the terms of the presidential censure by volunteering at an inner- city medical clinic, but C.J. turns the tables by accusing Reid himself of being in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry. Returning to her office, she learns that she has just missed her college boyfriend Ben Dryer (Brian Kerwin), who came to call on her. Meanwhile, Josh lets intern Ryan Pierce (Jesse Bradford) prepare a presidential briefing on a congressional proposal of a tax cut for stay-at-home moms, but comes off looking bad when he lies about the material and Pierce corrects and contradicts him in front of the president. Also, in a short scene at the very beginning, it becomes clear that the president is less than enthusiastic about the notion of a presidential portrait. ===== Anna has been rejected by her college, her girlfriend broke up with her, and her big sister is getting married. She meets Sadie, who invites her to join Clits In Action, or C(i)A, a radical Third-wave feminist group. Anna soon gets in touch with her political side.Review of "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" by Danielle Riendeau She takes part in illegal activism with the group and becomes more aggressive in her daily life. Anna starts falling for Sadie, who has been involved for years with an older woman named Courtney. Courtney works with a more mainstream feminist organization and disagrees with the C(i)A's method of creating awareness through public art, which usually involves vandalism. The group travels to take part in a gay marriage protest – instead of being for or against it, they argue that marriage is the wrong goal, as it is an institution rooted in sexism. Despite being warned by another member of the C(i)A, Meat, that Sadie uses people, Anna shares a night of passion with her while they stay in a hotel. At the rally the next day, the outspoken Shulamith ends up nearly coming to blows with a protester. The fight is caught by a local news crew and the group's message is misconstrued as violent and homophobic. Meat also reveals that their website – which they considered the center of their activism – has not received hits from anyone besides themselves. C(i)A attempts to have a meeting at Courtney's home, but personal conflicts come to a head. Anna believes Sadie is going to leave Courtney to be with her, but Sadie remains dependent on her partner. Meat and Shulamith announce that they're giving up on the group, Sadie stays behind with Courtney, and Aggie (a transgender man who's part of the C(i)A) comforts Anna, who is heartbroken over Sadie's rejection and the loss of the C(i)A. They end up partying together and having a one-night stand. In the morning, Aggie has prepared breakfast and procured a flower for Anna, who only considers him a friend. Sadie arrives to talk about what happened the night before. Anna tries to explain that her night with Aggie meant nothing. He overhears and is deeply hurt. Sadie leaves and Anna finds herself truly alone. In an attempt to fix things, Anna formulates a master plan to get C(i)A national attention. Meat and Shulamith like her idea, but insist she must make things right with Aggie. Anna apologizes, Aggie forgives her, and the four carry out the plan, without Sadie. Anna attends her sister's wedding, bringing joy to her family, but leaves early to execute her part of the plan – sneaking into the studio of a popular talk show with Aggie and Meat. Courtney is appearing on the show to argue about the appropriateness of a celebration over the (arbitrary) anniversary of the construction of the Washington Monument, which she feels is a distraction from real issues. When the host requests a live shot of the monument, the C(i)A feeds their footage in. With the expert help of one of Shulamith's lovers, Calvin (who was discharged from the military for being a lesbian under Don't Ask Don't Tell), and Meat's prowess with sculpture, a giant phallus has been erected atop the Washington Monument and is blown off with explosives. Back at the studio, Aggie pulls the fire alarm and the group escapes. In the getaway car waiting for Anna, she is surprised to see Sadie, who has finally broken it off with Courtney. Sadie apologizes for her behavior, and the two agree to just be friends, but then kiss. Through text in the epilogue, it is revealed that Shulamith and Calvin volunteered to take the fall for the explosion, and received a reduced sentence because no one was hurt. Aggie started hormone therapy, started a new feminist group for men and got a girlfriend. Meat's sculpture appearing on TV launched her art career. Courtney took the talk show host, Marcy, out to dinner after fleeing the building together. Marcy subsequently left her husband to move in with Courtney. Anna and Sadie remain together, and Anna now attends college, where she has created a group focused on positive body image called the Itty Bitty Titty Committee. ===== Three years after his release from Camp Green Lake, Theodore AKA Armpit is living in Austin, Texas trying to build a stable lifestyle by working for a landscaping company and caring for his neighbor Ginny McDonald, a ten year old girl with cerebral palsy. He meets Rex "X-Ray" Washburn, a friend from Camp Green Lake, who asks for his help in a ticket scalping scheme for teen pop star Kaira DeLeon's upcoming concert. Armpit tries to use two tickets to impress a crush, who cannot go ; instead, he takes Ginny, but when they present the tickets, they are forged, and Armpit is beaten and handcuffed by police officers. Ginny has a seizure, which the officers misinterpret as a reaction to drugs. When singer Kaira finds out, she invites them backstage, and she later forms a friendship with Armpit. X-ray later reveals that he sold the original tickets and returns the profit to Armpit. Later, Armpit is questioned by Detective Debbie Newberg of the Austin Police Department, and he invents a fake culprit to avoid suspicion. After Kaira invites Armpit to San Francisco, he is attacked by members of the scalping ring, who threaten to expose Armpit, unless he gives them a letter from Kaira. Armpit asks for a new letter to sell, but Kaira feels used, and the two fight. Kaira's manager and stepfather, Jerome "El Genius" Paisley, hits Kaira with a metal bat, and the fight continues, until Armpit intervenes. After Kaira is safe, he is interviewed again by Detective Newberg, who admits she knows about the scalping ring but will not be pressing charges. Jerome goes to jail, and Kaira discovers her mother's best friend has stolen her savings. She decides to continue touring to recoup some of her finances. The story ends when Armpit hears Kaira sing a song she wrote about him and accepts his life cannot revolve around her; instead, he decides to continue with his plan of taking small steps towards making a better life for himself. ===== The Animorphs meet survivors of Elfangor's Dome Ship, the GalaxyTree. One Andalite called Gafinilan-Estrif-Valad suffers from a genetic disease called Soola's Disease while the other, Mertil-Iscar-Elmand, is crippled, or a "vecol", as Ax puts it, missing half of his tail. Gafinilan attacks Marco when he gets too close to the human home he owns, while Ax comes to his defense. Both enter his home and Gafinilan asks to meet Ax's prince, not realizing his "prince" is human, as Visser Three had captured Mertil and had offered his release only if Gafinilan brought him a healthy adult Andalite (as Mertil was a vecol, and Visser Three discovered through Mertil that Gafinilan had a fatal disease, rendering them both as useless, in the Visser's perspective). The Animorphs assume that since Soola's Disease is genetic, and the only 'cure' is for Gafinilan to acquire and morph another Andalite, this is the reason why Gafinilan wanted to meet Ax's "prince", not wanting to acquire Ax himself because he would prefer to morph the adult Andalite he believes Jake is, as Ax's body would take too long to reach physical maturity. Jake agrees to meet with him, with the intention of laying a trap for Gafinilan, and they overpower him by force of numbers. When they tell Gafinilan what they assumed his plan was, he is shocked at the mere thought, as Andalites consider using morphing to escape an illness as an act of cowardice. He confesses his real intentions, justifying his attempt at betraying one of his own kind by saying he cares deeply about his friend Mertil, and he did what he was told to do by the Visser in order to ensure Mertil's safety. Although still skeptical of Gafinilan's motives, they join forces with him and help rescue Mertil from Visser Three. Ax, who is so far in the series seen as an honourable character, shows his open disapproval of Mertil and the thought that he should be treated with as much respect as other Andalites, on the grounds that he is disabled, which may have been a trait he picked up from his Andalite upbringing, as Andalites as a whole are shown in this book to not take their handicapped kind seriously. However, when Marco accuses his kind of being unfeeling, Ax points out that humans are similarly flawed, as people with handicaps are often pushed away from the limelight and kept hidden away in hospitals and institutions, instead of being allowed to live the kind of life they would have had, were they not disabled. The softer side of Marco's personality is also shown in this book, as he shows concern about how Mertil, a morph- incapable Andalite, would survive in a human world once his friend Gafinilan succumbs to his illness and passes away. He visits Mertil at the end of the book and offers his support and company, should Mertil ever feel he needed it. Although he fears that Mertil might regard his offer as impertinent, as Andalites are a proud race that do not like to be seen as vulnerable, Mertil thanks him, and appears to consider his offer.The Other - K. A. Applegate ===== The main characters of Lucky Star as they appear in the anime adaptation: (from left to right) Tsukasa Hiiragi, Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. Lucky Stars story mainly portrays the lives of four girls attending a Japanese high school. The setting is mainly based on the city of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture. The main character is Konata Izumi, a lazy girl who constantly shirks her schoolwork and instead uses most of her time to watch anime, play video games, and read manga. Although she is lazy, she has also proven to be very intelligent and athletic. The serialization began with the four main characters in their first year of high school: Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. As the story progresses, they move on to their second and third years. However, the anime starts the story with them beginning their second year, and the other high school girls that are seen in the opening are only introduced halfway through the series. The storyline usually includes numerous references to popular past and present manga, anime, and tokusatsu series. The spin-off manga, Miyakawa-ke no Kūfuku, focuses on the daily lives of two sisters, Hinata and Hikage Miyakawa, who live an impoverished life due to Hinata's wasteful habits. ===== Beginning with the woodcarver Joseph Becker, the novel's timeline shifts back and forth between his life in 19th century Ontario, and the pre- and post-war lives of the grandchildren Klara and Tilman. Told in three parts, The Stone Carvers starts within Canada, moving to France as the characters negotiate their grief, and explore the human need to live, remember and memorialize. ===== Having lost a job because he was high, Towelie decides to write his memoirs, but a publisher turns him down as uninteresting and irrelevant to the public because Towelie is a towel. He then submits the manuscript again, under the guise of a human author called Steven McTowelie, and he is accepted. Having been invited to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah Winfrey loves and promotes his book. Meanwhile, Oprah's vagina, Minge, is depressed that the overworked Oprah never pays attention to him any more. Gary, her anus, conspires with Minge to get Oprah fired. As Minge realizes that Towelie is not a person, they call Geraldo Rivera and give him the information. Subsequently, Towelie is interviewed on Larry King Live, during which Rivera reveals that the author of the book is a towel. Mobs congregate to protest wildly; Oprah invites Towelie back on the show, saying that he can explain that he wanted to make the book more relevant and easily understandable. However, she erupts in anger and calls on the audience to lynch Towelie. As she brought the audience onto her side, Minge and Gary's plan is foiled. Just as Oprah and the crowd prepare to lynch Towelie, Minge tears through Oprah's pants with a revolver. Taking hostages, he guns down a police officer and begins making demands. Towelie, using his inherent flatness, manages to free the hostages, as police open fire on Oprah, leading to the death of Gary. Distraught at his death, Minge blames Oprah for not spending time with them before turning the gun on himself and commits suicide. Oprah survives, but is still taken away to the hospital to be treated. Towelie is forgiven by everyone else and is hailed as a hero. Towelie apologizes for lying and learns that he should not get high to come up with ideas - he should come up with ideas first, and then get high as a reward. ===== In the year 2071, humanity sees the appearance of mechanical cell clusters, known as WORMs. The technology begins sweeping away the human race on a massive scale, destroying one-third of the human population in just under two years. This leads humanity to overcome their national differences, and unite as a single force. Not being able to turn the situation in their favor, humanity decided to permit the use of weapons of mass destruction. Finally, they succeeded in the annihilation of the WORMs, but after paying an enormous price, and wreaking havoc on the planet. All the major continents were broken apart. Antarctica disappeared, and half of the remaining land mass was submerged. The largest damage this war caused was the loss of 90% of all military-age personnel, namely men in their twenties and thirties. Over a decade later, the WORMs re-appear, to the surprise of those who thought they were eliminated. ===== The novel tells the story of Pat, a student during her second gap year and a source of some worry to her parents, who is accepted as a new tenant at 44 Scotland Street (a real street) in Edinburgh's very wealthy New Town (coordinates: ), and her various roommates and neighbours. She falls in love with her narcissistic flatmate Bruce, meets the intriguing and opinionated anthropologist Domenica MacDonald and her friend Angus, and works at an art gallery for Matthew, who was given the gallery as a sinecure position by his wealthy father. While working at the gallery Pat points out to Matthew (who knows almost nothing about art) that one of their paintings looks as if it could be a work of Samuel Peploe. After the gallery is broken into Matthew asks Pat to store the painting at their flat until they can check whether it's a genuine Peploe, however, Bruce gives the painting to a raffle run by the South Edinburgh Conservative Association. Matthew and Pat eventually track it down to the (real-life) novelist Ian Rankin who gives it back to them. The other major storyline is that of five- year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he has Grade Six on the saxophone, speaks fluent Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about various subjects. After he is expelled from his nursery school, Irene sends him to psychotherapy with Dr Fairbairn, who constantly misinterprets Bertie's simple wish to be a normal five-year-old boy. ===== Created by Keith Leonard and John Kane, the show was made by London Weekend Television for ITV from 1984 to 1988. It starred Richard O'Sullivan as Simon Harrap and Joanne Ridley as Samantha. Simon runs an advertising agency called Eyecatchers and the series centres on his relationship with his daughter, his business partner Derek Yates played by Tim Brooke-Taylor and a string of romantic liaisons. Simon's mother-in-law Nell would frequently interfere in his attempts to raise Samantha alone, but usually had her granddaughter's best interests at heart. Other writers included; Bernard McKenna who also served as script editor, Colin Bostock-Smith, Mike Walling and Ian Whitham. The theme song was written and performed by Peter Skellern. ===== The six-part serial is a sequel to the Second World War drama series Secret Army, set in contemporary times. The story begins when a self-serving Belgian journalist, Hugo van Eyck, broadcasts a documentary about Nazi war criminals, and investigates the whereabouts of the former Chief of Gestapo and SS of Belgium, Standartenfuhrer Ludwig Kessler (Clifford Rose) with the help of West German intelligence officer Richard Bauer. Kessler has changed his name to Manfred Dorf and is now a rich industrialist, with factories manufacturing plastics, explosives, and pharmaceutical products. His wartime Belgian mistress Madeleine Duclos (Hazel McBride) is now deceased, but after the War the pair married and had a daughter, Ingrid (Alison Glennie). Kessler is part of an organisation called the Kameradenwerk, made up of Nazis on the run, trying to evade trial for their war crimes, led by Kessler’s close friend Colonel Hans Ruckert (Ralph Michael, a character based on Luftwaffe ace Colonel Hans Rudel. Ingrid is sleeping with her father's manservant, Franz Hoss (Nicholas Young), and the pair are part of a group of young Neo-Nazis who dream of leading Germany back to Nazism. Van Eyck invites three other Secret Army characters to his studios: Albert Foiret (Bernard Hepton), Monique Durnford (née Duchamps), (Angela Richards) and Natalie Chantrens (Juliet Hammond-Hill). Some of the serial's first scenes take place outside the Restaurant Candide in the Grand Place in Brussels. The trio reminisce about their wartime activities running the resistance organisation Lifeline. Monique and Natalie are certain that Dorf is Kessler, but Albert claims to be less sure. Van Eyck and Bauer meet a young Israeli woman soldier called Mical Rak (Nitza Saul). Mical's mother's family was sent to Dachau to be killed, on Kessler's orders. Mical breaks into Kessler's home to see him, but is discovered and forced to flee. Her companion Ruth Lieberman (Ishia Bennison) is murdered by the Kameradenwerk, and Van Eyck becomes their next victim. Mical is kidnapped and beaten by Franz, before being thrown into the River Thames. Fortunately, she survives and is rescued. Mical and Bauer team up to get Kessler. Bauer's agents break into Kessler's home and find a photo album which proves he is Kessler. When it is discovered, Kessler, Ruckert, Franz, and Ingrid travel to Paraguay, and Bauer and Mical set off in pursuit. After a brief detour in Buenos Aires, the pair arrive in Ascunsion. Kessler and Ruckert stay with a Nazi-sympathizing Paraguayan aristocrat, Don Julian Yqueras (played by Guy Rolfe, who previously appeared in the Secret Army episode, Russian Roulette as Oberst von Elmendorf). Yqueras is partly based on the former President of Argentina Juan Peron, a famous Nazi sympathizer who welcomed war criminals into his country and prevented their extradition, and partly on Paraguayan President Alfredo Stroessner - still in power in 1981 - who also allowed his country to become a safe haven for Nazi war criminals. Mical and Bauer stay with pigeon-fancier Jose Garriga (John Moreno), who quickly charms them and wins their friendship. Ingrid and Franz meet fellow Nazis and discuss a plan to convince Kessler to take over their group and to bring with him a fund of 48 billion Deutschmarks, to be used to support the exiled Nazis. Kessler and Ruckert also meet their comrades, under the command of Martin Bormann, who does not appear on screen, apart from one arm. At the same meeting, Kessler is repulsed to be introduced to Josef Mengele (Oscar Quitak), Auschwitz's "Angel of Death". (In real life, Bormann had died in 1945, but this was not revealed until 1998. Similarly, Mengele had died in 1979, but this did not come to light until 1985.) Kessler realizes that the Kameradenwerk are just too old and too tired to lead Germany back to Nazism. They care much about their own safety, little about building a new Nazi regime in Germany. After much soul-searching, Kessler decides to turn his back on them and turns instead to the young Nazis, agreeing to give them the Nazi fortune. Deciding that Mical has become too much of a threat, Ruckert orders his followers to kill her. Ingrid and Franz go after her for the same reason. After killing Garriga, the assassins mistake Ingrid for Mical and shoot her and Franz dead, thereby killing the only people who could have resurrected Nazism. Mical and Bauer find their bodies and proceed to blow up the Nazi convoys, but Ruckert escapes. Bauer and Mical corner Kessler. After a discussion about the Holocaust and Communism, Bauer informs him of Ingrid's death. Realizing his dream of a new Nazi dawn is over, and having lost the one thing he has left of Madeleine, Kessler shoots himself. Mical and Bauer leave, knowing the Nazis will never now get their hands on the billions and will never be able to return to power. ===== A young English woman named Nikky Ferris takes a trip with her folk musicologist aunt Frances to the village of Elounda, on the island of Crete. They rent a room at the Moon-Spinners Inn, the innkeeper Sophia initially refusing them until her teenage son Alexis and Aunt Frances persuade her. Sophia's older brother Stratos, having told her not to welcome anyone into the inn, questions Aunt Frances over why she chose the Moon-Spinners, then reluctantly allows her and Nikky to spend a night. During a wedding party at the inn later that evening, Nikky meets an Englishman named Mark Camford, who invites her and Aunt Frances to have dinner with him, as he hints Stratos is more than he appears. At the end of the evening, Nikky promises to meet up with Mark in the morning to go for a swim in the Bay of Dolphins. Mark then follows Stratos when he goes out night fishing along the Bay of Dolphins, only to be attacked while spying on the man. The following morning, Nikky learns that Mark abruptly checked out of the inn; she does not buy the story Sophia tells her. While taking a walk, Nikky follows a trail of blood to a church basement where Mark is hiding. Mark refuses to explain the details of his gunshot wound to Nikky, asking her to fetch some supplies for him. Nikky returns with her aunt's first aid kit, a bottle of brandy, and a travel rug. Mark still refuses to explain his injuries while urging her to go to the nearby town of Agios Nikolaos with her aunt for safety. On her way back to the inn, Nikky runs into Stratos, who is looking for her after learning of the missing items from Aunt Frances. Nikky tries to lie to cover up for Mark, but Stratos sees through her and searches the church; Mark is nowhere to be seen. Stratos assumes Nikky is a liability and ties her up in a windmill while enlisting his associate Lambis to search for Mark, who later rescues Nikky with Alexis's help. Nikky and Mark take refuge in an abandoned temple inhabited by numerous cats, and Mark reveals he was a bank employee who handled the jewellery of the Countess of Fleet; he lost his job when he was attacked en route, and the jewels were stolen. Mark assumes Stratos to be his attacker who hid the jewels somewhere in the Bay of Dolphins. The duo spend the night in the temple. Stratos attempts to track them down, only to be scared away by the resident cats. The next morning, Nikky and Mark are discovered by a British gentleman named Anthony Gamble and are taken to his summer villa in Agios Nikolaos where his wife, Cynthia, looks after them. But Anthony, who is partners with Stratos, assures Stratos that he will handle the interlopers. Nikky learns from the Gambles that a rich woman named Madam Habib is travelling to Greece on her yacht. Mark realizes that Stratos intends to sell the jewels to her. But Mark is drugged by Cynthia, with the couple making preparations to send him to Athens to receive medical care. On the way to the hospital, Mark wakes up and tells Nikky he has to stop Stratos before it is too late. Nikky attempts to stop Mark before he kisses her and leaves, deciding to reach Madame Habib's yacht as Mark fails to prevent Stratos from escaping with the jewels. Nikky tells Madam Habib that Stratos is a thief and that the jewels she intends to buy from him were stolen from the Countess of Fleet, who happens to be an old friend of Habib's. Stratos shows up, to sell the jewels, but so do Mark, Frances, and Alexis. A fight ensues. In the end, Madam Habib has police take Stratos off the yacht, and returns the jewels to Mark. The final scene shows Alexis leaving by boat, waving at Mark and Nikky, and implying that they will soon get married by the time they return to Crete. ===== Joey and Turkey are members of the Wanderers, an all-Italian-American street gang. In the Bronx, New York, Joey tries to dissuade Turkey from joining a rival gang, the Fordham Baldies. Before Turkey can ask, Terror's girlfriend Peewee overhears Joey insulting the Baldies, calling them a "bunch of pricks with ears". Joey and Turkey flee and the Baldies chase them. Richie—the leader of the Wanderers—and Buddy come to help but they also flee from the Baldies. After being cornered, the Wanderers are helped by a tough stranger named Perry, who has recently moved to the Bronx from New Jersey. After much persuasion, Perry joins the Wanderers. In school, the Wanderers get into a racial dispute with another gang, the Del Bombers who are all African-American. Both gangs agree to settle their dispute, seemingly a street fight, but the Wanderers struggle to find a gang willing to back them. With no other options, Richie asks his girlfriend's father, local mafia boss Chubby Galasso, who agrees to help solve the gangs' dispute. During a game of "elbow-tit", Richie gropes a woman called Nina. He feels ashamed of himself, apologizes for his actions and persuades Nina to accept Joey's telephone number. The Wanderers then decide to follow Nina in Perry's car. After Perry becomes lost, the Wanderers are attacked by an all- Irish-American street gang called the Ducky Boys. They escape after Perry's arm is broken. While drunk, the Baldies are tricked into joining the Marines. Before reporting for training, they decide to crash Despie's party, where Turkey—who has recently joined the Baldies—is told to draw the Wanderers outside. After drawing them out, Turkey realizes the Baldies have abandoned him. He tries to chase them but fails. Upset, Turkey visits a nearby Catholic church. After being spotted by a member of the Ducky Boys attending Mass, Turkey is chased down the street. After climbing a fire escape ladder in an attempt to escape, he falls to his death. In school, while the Wanderers are mourning Turkey's death, the rest of the gang oust Richie for sleeping with Joey's date Nina. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Richie rekindles his relationship with Despie. When Chubby discovers his daughter is pregnant, he forces Richie into marrying her. In the climax, we discover the Wanderers and the Del Bombers are settling their dispute not with a street fight but with a football game organized by Chubby. Richie uses the opportunity to make amends with Joey. A member of the Ducky Boys interrupts the game, as the Wanderers momentarily turn their heads, hundreds of Ducky Boys invade the field. Many of the Wanderers and the Del Bombers flee, but some stand their ground. The remaining players join forces with spectator gangs in the stands, including one called the Wongs and even Emilio. After a long and bloody battle, the Ducky Boys flee. After being physically abused by his father Emilio, Joey decides to spend the night at Perry's apartment. Perry tells Joey he is planning to leave the Bronx and move back to New Jersey. Joey asks Perry if he can go with him; after an initially skeptical response, Perry agrees. Emilio, drunk, enters Perry's apartment and fights with him; Joey knocks Emilio unconscious with a glass bottle. Joey and Perry quickly leave the apartment and head to Richie's engagement party. At the party Richie notices Nina walking by and quickly follows. Before he catches up to her, she walks into a bar where Bob Dylan is performing "The Times They Are a-Changin'". Accepting that their relationship is over, he makes his way back to the party. Upon his return, Joey and Perry say an emotional goodbye to Richie, and when they leave, Richie realizes things will not be the same. At Richie's party, members of the Wanderers, the Del Bombers and the Wongs embrace one another while singing "The Wanderer". The movie ends with Joey and Perry traveling to California. ===== Set in a near-future version of Japan, the games tell the story of a martial arts tournament created to determine the country's strongest woman. The tournaments are sponsored by a number of family restaurants, who in exchange for their sponsorship, are given promotion in the form of having a tournament entry work as a waitress. As a result of the popularity of the tournaments, the restaurants experience a boom in patronage. The winner of the tournament is awarded the title "Virgin Goddess", as well as a large cash prize of ten billion yen, and a house erected anywhere on the planet they should choose. However, when a given waitress is defeated, they are required to publicly strip themselves of their clothing (self-fondling and public masturbation may be forced upon the loser, and in the most extreme cases, the loser is raped/gang-raped, either in private or in front of an audience), in order to teach the so-called "true" shame of defeat. In spite of such humiliation, the tournaments often draw many competitors, each placing their pride and their dreams on the line as they battle for the top. ===== Brett Eisenberg is an ambitious yet unconfident New York City assistant book editor living in the literary hotbed of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Struggling to become a full-fledged editor, a task made harder after her mentor and boss is fired and replaced by Faye Falkner, Brett meets the notorious and much older publishing playboy Archie Knox. After spending time with him she realises how unhappy she is with her immature boyfriend Jed and breaks off their relationship in order to pursue one with Archie. Archie is revealed to have several issues such as being an alcoholic, although he is almost three years sober; suffering from diabetes; and having an estranged daughter. The age gap between Brett and him is made clear through their different lifestyles, such as his lack of understanding how to use a Blackberry and Brett taking him to a candy shop. Although this does not affect their relationship in the beginning—Brett appreciates the advice and confidence he gives her to stand up to her boss—she soon begins to resent his patronizing attitude. He eventually begins drinking again and sleeps with another woman in order to break off their relationship. At the same time, Brett is shown to be incredibly close to her father; she is seen constantly explaining her situation and asking for his advice. While visiting her family home she is shocked to discover that he has cancer and that she was the last to know behind her brother Ethan, because her father felt she could not handle the news. Feeling depressed and unwell, Brett makes an awful impression on a celebrity client until Archie appears and rescues the situation. They decide to give their relationship another try and Brett introduces him to her family, who are uneasy with the age difference; her father especially after learning that Archie is an alcoholic when he is admitted to hospital. Brett's father tells her that she shouldn't have to spend her life taking care of Archie. Later, it is revealed that her father has died and Brett realizes she must finally deal with her problems without his support. Following this, Archie proposes using the Blackberry Brett bought him but she turns him down, telling him that they see each other as teacher and student and not as equals. She says she needs time to be happy and grow up on her own. The end of the film finds Brett finally confident in herself as she finally wears a pair of leather pants she was previously too scared to wear, and editing her work in a decisive way by using a pen instead of a pencil, as is seen throughout the film. ===== Nicholas Seafort is a seventeen-year-old midshipman who boards the UNS Hibernia on his first space assignment, a three-year interstellar voyage to the colonies of Hope Nation and Detour. He beats back a challenge to his authority as senior midshipman by Vax Holser, the next most senior. During the trip, he strikes up friendships with Third Lieutenant Harv Malstrom and an attractive passenger, Amanda Frowel. A disastrous rescue of a passenger injured while sightseeing on the wreck of another ship results in the deaths of Captain Haag and his two senior lieutenants, elevating Malstrom to the captaincy and Seafort to second-in-command of Hibernia. When Maelstrom falls ill with a quick-acting cancer, Seafort, believing himself to be unqualified to command, begs him to promote Holser to lieutenant, but Maelstrom dies without doing so. The other surviving officers (outside the chain of command) share Seafort's opinion of his leadership abilities and try to get him to relieve himself, but he cannot find any regulations that permit it. They back down when Seafort points out the penalty for mutiny. Seafort is immediately faced with a difficult decision. Malstrom had condemned three crewmen to death for assaulting the sergeant-at-arms in an attempt to conceal their drug-making operation. Their punishment was extremely unpopular with the rest of the crew. However, despite the danger of a revolt, Seafort has two of the men hanged; the third's sentence is commuted to several months' confinement. His resolute handling of the situation quells the unruly crewmen. This action estranges him from Amanda, who feels the executions to be barbaric. Other dangers follow. By thoroughness and sheer stubbornness, Seafort discovers that the ship's sentient computer, Darla, has been corrupted by careless naval programmers and would have sent the ship hopelessly off-course on the next leg of their journey. Darla was also responsible for the explosion that killed Captain Haag. To fix the problem, Seafort has a backup restored. When the ship arrives at its next stop, Miningcamp, a small mining colony in an otherwise uninhabitable system, mutineers from the space station try to take over the ship. Seafort single-handedly holds them off until the crew can regroup and deal with the intruders. Eventually, Seafort ends the rebellion and finds out the cause. An ore barge and the starship Telstar are long overdue, which resulted in the panic that led to the trouble. When the Hibernia reaches Hope Nation, Seafort expects to be relieved, but discovers that not only has the admiral in command of the naval garrison died in a strange viral epidemic, but a captain has deserted, leaving a Hope Nation commanding officer who is junior to Seafort. Seafort finds himself in charge of all naval forces in the system. During a tour of the planet, Seafort, Amanda (with whom he has reconciled) and one of his officers run into the officer who had deserted. He is hiding in the mountains with his wife because he believes he saw meteors spraying something in the sky shortly before the epidemic broke out. Believing the man to be mad, Seafort dismisses his story as fantasy, but does not force the couple to return to civilization. Seafort recruits several officers from the local personnel, then continues on to the next stop, Detour. He finds that two of the new men are poor officers, dumped on him by their former commanders. However, he manages to deal with the situation. Then Hibernias sensors detect the Telstar, adrift in space with massive rents in her hull. Seafort leads a boarding party to investigate and, to his horror, encounters a strange alien life form resembling an amoeba in the ship's corridor. When it attacks, it becomes clear that it was responsible for the disabling of the Telstar and the death of its crew. Fortunately, Seafort is able to escape unharmed. After a stop at Hope Nation to warn the residents, Seafort takes Hibernia back to Earth to report the news. ===== Nicholas Seafort, newly assigned commander of UNS. Challenger and part of Admiral Geoffrey Tremaine's task force, has his ship taken from him when the Admiral decides to make Challenger his flagship, under the command of Captain Hasselbrad. Seafort is given command of the Admiral's far smaller original flagship, UNS Portia. Tremaine's task force has the task of reaching Hope Nation, and eliminating any aliens (called Fish) found on the way. Portia is given the task of transporting a group of Lower New York 'transpops'—uneducated and often violent street children—to the colony of Detour beyond Hope Nation. Seafort initially sees the transpops as simply a danger to his ship (drugging or imprisoning them were considered as solutions). The squadron is attacked by Fish that board Portia, releasing their lethal virus into the ship and killing dozens of her crew and passengers, including Seafort's baby son. Shortly afterwards. Amanda Seafort, driven insane by grief, commits suicide, and Nicholas suffers a temporary breakdown as a result. After his recovery, Portia encounters Challenger, crippled by a Fish attack. Seafort is transferred to the ship and is left alone, save for passengers and crew that Tremaine hates, including the transpops, and abandoned in space. After overcoming a mutiny, Seafort sets about preparing Challenger for an eighty-year voyage back to Earth, conscripting passengers into the Naval Service and scavenging from the wrecked sections of the ship. Barely weeks into the trip, radiation from the ship's damaged propulsion systems attracts the aliens, leading to a series of desperate battles in which Challenger is further damaged, and more of her already tiny crew killed. Ultimately, Seafort uses his dying ship to ram an alien, only for it to Fuse (accelerate to faster-than-light speed), taking Challenger with it. For sixty days, Challenger remains lodged in the alien, her crew dying of malnutrition until, almost miraculously the Fish Defuses in Earth's solar system. In the aftermath of the voyage, Seafort meets his father in a naval base on the moon, and is given command of his old ship, Hibernia, to return to Hope Nation. ===== Captain Nicholas Seafort is made liaison to the plantation owners of the lush colony planet, Hope Nation while recuperating from injuries sustained earlier. However, the UN space fleet retreats Earthward after tangling with the space threat discovered by Seafort in his first voyage on the Hibernia. The colonists mount a rebellion. Seafort must avert the rebellion and lead the colonists against the space invaders. To do so, he must turn his back on his oath to the UN Navy and commit high treason. ===== The play takes place in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. It is in four acts. Years ago, Justice Gilead Merton deserted his mistress Goody Rickby after she gave birth to a son. The child later died because Goody was unable to obtain medical help for him. In the years following, Goody has learned witchcraft from Dickon, the Devil himself. To avenge herself on Merton, she and Dickon manufacture a scarecrow, bring it to life so that it resembles a human, and take him to Merton's house, with the intention of having the Scarecrow seduce Merton's niece, Rachel, away from her fiancé just before their wedding. The Scarecrow is introduced into society as Lord Ravensbane, with Dickon as his tutor. Ravensbane seems to enjoy smoking a corncob pipe, but the truth is that the pipe actually keeps him alive. Unfortunately for Goody and Dickon's sinister plan, the Scarecrow soon develops kind-hearted feelings of his own. His true identity is revealed at a party, when his reflection in the Mirror of Truth, which Rachel has bought from Goody, reveals a scarecrow, rather than a man. The other guests panic and flee, all except Rachel and her fiancé Richard Talbot, who are the only ones that return. The Scarecrow, horrified, and finally realizing the true meaning of his "mission", breaks his corncob pipe and collapses, only to momentarily revive and see in the mirror that his sacrifice for Rachel has transformed him into a real human being. With a look of wonder and happiness on his face, he falls back dead. When Talbot examines him and says, "He's dead", Rachel triumphantly, yet sadly, answers, "But - a man!" The curtain falls. The play's language is a sort of cross between seventeenth-century and what was considered modern English in 1908. ===== In 1914, German spies are everywhere in London. After a spate of assassinations of important British politicians, a retired British intelligence officer, Colonel Scudder, realises his life and his mysterious black notebook are in danger. He turns to Richard Hannay, a mining engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, who happens to be staying in a flat in the same building. Scudder tells Hannay of a plot by Prussian (German) 'sleeper' agents, who are planning to precipitate a war against the Triple Entente powers by assassinating the Greek prime minister visiting the UK. Hannay reluctantly gives Scudder shelter in his flat, despite his initial distrust of him. In the morning, Hannay leaves to purchase a train ticket to his family hometown, the village of Strathallan in Scotland, while Scudder remains at work on his notes in the flat. When the Prussian agents attempt to enter the flat, Scudder flees down the fire escape but he is spotted. Posting a package containing his secret notebook in a pillar box, Scudder flees to the St Pancras railway station, where he knows Hannay will be, to give him a second black book. At the railway station, just seconds before he can reach Hannay, Scudder is murdered by the agents. With his dying breath he gives Hannay a message he doesn't understand. Hannay is mistaken by witnesses at the railway station as being the assailant and is arrested but is soon captured by the Prussians while being transferred to jail. During their interrogation of Hannay, they ask what he knows of the "Thirty Nine Steps". The Prussians allow him to escape in the hope he will lead them to the secret notebook. At St Pancras, Hannay manages to find Scudder's second notebook, but this turns out to be a dummy, with only a three-word riddle in it. Only Hannay can understand the riddle, which sends him to Scotland to find the real notebook. Hannay flees to Scotland on a train, but he is forced to make a daredevil escape on a bridge when the police board. Hannay attempts to solve the mystery whilst on the run from the police, led by Chief Supt Lomas (Eric Porter), and the Prussian agents, led by Sir Edmund Appleton, a Prussian sympathiser highly placed in the British government. On the Scottish moors Hannay, claiming to be on the run as part of a wager, meets Alex Mackenzie and her fiance, David Hamilton. On the run again, Hannay has to pose as a Liberal Party orator and ad lib a speech at an election husting. He indicates the identity of the Prussian agents to Alex Mackenzie and David Hamilton and with their help Scudder's book is found, but Hamilton is killed by the Prussians. The coded information is partly deciphered and the true plans of the Prussian agents are revealed. The agents intend to murder the visiting Greek Prime Minister by planting a bomb in parliament, thus leading to unrest in the Balkans and causing a world war. The "Thirty Nine Steps" refers to the number of stairs in the clock tower of Big Ben (from "Lauderdale Door to the clock itself"). When the police and Hannay reach the top of the clock tower, the agents have already planted the bomb and have locked the clock room. Hannay realises that the bomb is to be set off by the clock at 11.45am. To give the police more time, Hannay breaks the glass of the clock-face, climbs out onto the face of the clock and physically stops the minute hand as it moves towards the figure IX. By hanging from the end of the minute hand, Hannay manages to jam the clock at 11.44am long enough for the police to break into the clock room where they kill the remaining spies and deactivate the bomb. The clock mechanism stops working and the clock's minute hand falls into a vertical position, but Hannay hangs on and one of the officers saves him with a looped rope. Lomas recognises a River Police uniform and at the docks Hannay and other officers capture Appleton, who had also stolen details of the deployment of all Royal Navy ships. Sir Edmund Appleton is convicted of treason and Richard Hannay is declared a hero for helping Britain gain valuable time to prepare for the Great War. In the closing shot, Hannay is shown walking arm in arm with Alex Mackenzie. ===== In this lobby card scene, Stan Laurel (left), is attacked by Oliver Hardy (above) as Jack Lloyd spots that Stan's faithful dog has retrieved Oliver's lighted stick of dynamite. A hapless hero (Laurel), who after being thrown out onto the street for not paying his rent, is befriended by a stray dog. The dog and young man then (literally) bumps into a robber (Hardy) who is holding someone up. The bandit, who in the process has accidentally placed his victim’s money into the young man's back pocket, turns from his first victim, who runs off, to rob Stan. The robber then steals the money he had already stolen, from the bemused young man who had thought he was broke. The young man and the dog escape and the dog makes friends with a poodle. The poodle’s lady owner (Florence Gilbert) persuades the young man to enter his dog into the local dog show. When his entry is refused, the young man sneaks in anyway, but is quickly thrown out, followed by all the dogs in the show. The young man spots the poodle’s owner outside looking for her dog and offers his dog in its place. She accepts and in turn offers him a lift to her home. This scene is witnessed by her jealous boyfriend, who happens to bump into the bandit and together the two plot their revenge on the young man. At the lady's house, the young man is introduced to the boyfriend and the bandit, in disguise as the Count de Chease of Switzerland. The boyfriend proposes and is refused while the bandit attempts to shoot the young man only to have the gun jam. The boyfriend chases the lady around the house while the bandit tries to blow up the young man with a stick of dynamite. The dog comes to the rescue, chasing the bandit and the boyfriend into the garden with the dynamite and leaving them to be blown up. ===== Hilary Laurens, young Episcopal priest, about 1939, has recently returned to his hometown, somewhere in the American heartland (it isn't known quite where), upon receiving sudden word that his grandfather, the Bishop of that diocese, and the only father he's known, has suddenly taken ill and is dying, and after pressuring the taxi driver to make haste, Hilary arrives just in time to talk briefly with "Grandy" just before the Bishop's death. But Hilary is able to give the Bishop some good news on his deathbed: Hilary has just been "called" (appointed vicar of) St. Matthews, a large church in a "great eastern city", and thus can perpetuate the Bishop's calling. In course of the book, Hilary, at a time when the United States was, for the time being, neutral in the World War II raging in Europe, needs first to cope with the multiple challenges of becoming a vicar of a major church himself just at the moment his grandfather dies (the Bishop's Mantle has fallen to him), dealing with the twin callings of a priest to keep his church financially viable, up to date, and yet in keeping of his duty to serve the poor, falling in love with the daughter of a wealthy church patron, and yet provide pastoral service to women in his flock, not all of whom want a priest so much as male company, and then finally deal with the odious consequences of the events of December 1941. The book was clearly written during the war but not published until shortly afterwards. The book offers a sublime combination of religious piety combined with realism of the church's place in modern society rarely found in American literature, and which perhaps only the recent books by Jan Karon about an Episcopal priest's life in modern-day North Carolina can match. At the same time, one or two things about the book show just how much the world has changed in the relatively short time since the book was written; for instance parishioners at that time needed to rent pews, and that was a major source of income for the church, and a bit of intrigue over that in the book is very puzzling until that point is grasped. ===== Wassup Rockers is about a group of Guatemalan American and Salvadoran American teenagers in South Los Angeles who, instead of conforming to the hip hop culture of their gang-infested neighborhood, wear tight pants, listen to punk rock, and ride skateboards. Avoiding the violence of their dangerous home turf is an everyday challenge. The climax of the film occurs out on a skate-ride around Beverly Hills, California. Racial tension fumes the air of Beverly Hills as the pack of skaters effortlessly manages to coincidentally run into trouble. Janice Dickinson makes an appearance in the film as a rich alcoholic divorcee whose Spanish-speaking maid help Los Rockers & fashion designer Jeremy Scott appears as a photographer. ===== It is the Florida Everglades in 1863. Four deserters of the Confederate Army—Sergeant Todd, Plunkett, Cockney and the Kid—are hiding out. The Colonel, a fellow deserter, appears from the brush with a note from an Indian who has arranged to take him to the ocean so he may be taken to Cuba. When the Indian guide is found dead by Seminoles, the foursome reluctantly join forces with the Colonel in order to reach the coast and ride out the rest of the Civil War. As the group treks through the dangerous Florida everglades, it's revealed that Plunkett has stolen a large amount of gold from the Confederate army, which Cockney wants to steal from him. The group continues its trek, and it is revealed Cockney is drop-dead afraid of snakes, and being in close contact with them sends him into a paralyzed state. Cockney also reveals that the Colonel deserted after giving drunk orders during the Battle of Murfreesboro, leading to a slaughter. A drought ensues, and when the group reaches water, they also find two dead fellow deserters, killed by Seminoles. The Colonel wishes to bury them, but the foursome disagrees, citing the danger of nearby Seminoles. However, the Kid changes their minds. Soon after, the Colonel begins experiencing troubles, getting a fever, and hallucinating. The group sees smoke, and the Sergeant (the leader of the group) goes to investigate and is attacked by a panther. The rest of the group follows and encounters a seemingly abandoned Seminole settlement. The Colonel, in his deranged state, charges head first into the encampment and is shot by an arrow. The Sergeant rejoins the group and they are attacked by Seminoles. Though they escape, the Colonel dies that evening. After the Colonel's death, the Sergeant declares that it's every man for himself. The rest of the group soldiers on, heading towards the ocean. Cockney is killed when the group accidentally stumbles upon a nest of rattlesnakes, and he trips and falls into them. Plunkett becomes increasingly strained and paranoid out of fatigue. The remaining trio is forced to cross a river filled with alligators, which they successfully do. Upon getting to the other side, Plunkett offers the Sergeant his gold (as he has provided his safety for the duration of the trip) and finds only rocks in his satchel. Concluding that Cockney stole his gold, he dives back into the river and is eaten by the alligators. Only the Kid and the Sergeant remain. They venture further and further, but after a heartfelt conversation where the Sergeant regrets running from all his problems, he steps into quicksand. Though the Kid attempts to save him, he is consumed by the sand. The Kid freaks out, running madly through the forest while hearing the voices of his dead comrades. The heartfelt talk about running away returns to him, however, and in the final sequence, the Kid finally reaches the ocean. ===== Hornblower has just finished his tour blockading Brest in command of the Royal Navy sloop Hotspur. As he travels back to England for his next assignment, he is asked to participate in the court martial of Hotspur's new captain and officers. Hotspur ran aground and was lost the day after Hornblower turned over command. Following the court martial, the officers travel back to England with Hornblower. On their way, they are pursued by a French brig, which they engage and disable. During the battle, Hornblower boards the brig and finds important papers in the French captain's quarters. Back in England, he travels to the Admiralty with the documents. He arrives at the same time as the disappointing news that the French fleet under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve has escaped into Ferrol, Spain after an indecisive engagement. Hornblower presents a daring plan to the Admiralty secretary, to send false orders to Villeneuve, made possible because the papers brought by Hornblower include an example of Napoleon Bonaparte's new signature. The orders are to draw Villeneuve out of a safe harbour and into a decisive engagement with Admiral Nelson. The unfinished book stops at the point where Hornblower is persuaded to attempt the mission himself. Notes left by Forester indicate that Hornblower would carry out the mission accompanied by South American revolutionary Francisco de Miranda, with Hornblower posing as his servant. They deliver the false orders to Villeneuve without arousing suspicion, prompting him to take his fleet to sea; this ultimately leads the destruction of the Franco–Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. This book also includes two short-stories, "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" (a.k.a. "Hornblower’s Temptation"), set early in Hornblower's career, and "The Last Encounter", set in 1848 when he is living on his country estate in old age and retirement. ===== A merchant loses all his money when his ships are lost at sea, and is forced to move his three daughters to a lonely countryside house called Rose Cottage which was left to his youngest, Beauty, in a will, and thus is not subject to his creditors. The garden of the house is full of strange thorny bushes and vines, which neither of the merchant nor his three daughters can identify. Beauty asks in the town and discovers that they are the roses the cottage are called after and begins to tend them, because she loves gardening and she remembers the smell of her mother's rose perfume. Roses are very rare because only great magic or great love can grow them. The roses bloom under Beauty's care, and the sisters sells wreaths of them in the town. After some time, the merchant hears word that one of his ships might have made it back and journeys to find out if it's true. He asks his daughters what presents they would like him to bring back, and Beauty requests a rose, as her bush has not blossomed that year because it has been so cold and rainy and miserable. The ship had come in, but the creditors had remembered the merchant's old debts and seized upon the goods before he could reach them. A man who had once worked as his clerk and was now employed by a rival had let the merchant stay with him, but his employer found out and demanded that he be turned out. Finding that he was nothing but bad luck in that city, the merchant refused another offer of aid and set out to make his way home on a stout pony allowed to be lent to him, in spite of the fierce winter weather. On the way he gets lost in a snow storm, and ends up at a magnificent castle where he is given food and shelter. As he is leaving he notices a beautiful rose on a table and decides to take it back for Beauty. This enrages the castle's owner - a terrifying beast. When the merchant explains his actions, the Beast agrees to let him go on the condition that Beauty comes to live with him in the castle. The main part of the book follows the basic plot of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast but with a few alterations: Beauty stays at the house for what seems to be seven days, during which she revives the roses in the Beast's greenhouse and calls small creatures (bats, birds, frogs/toads, hedgehogs) back to the palace, and the Beast has filled the roof of his mansion with beautiful paintings. During her time in the castle, Beauty dreams every night of her family, and when she speaks to the Beast of how real her dreams seem and how strange they are, with the amount of time passing in them, he admits to her that they are true reflections of reality, and Beauty is distressed to have missed so much of her sisters' lives. She begs to be allowed to return home to visit, which he allows, but warns her that if she does not return to him by placing a petal on her tongue before the last petal falls from the rose he gives her, he will die. When Beauty returns to the Beast and declares her love for him, she is given a choice. Either the Beast returns to his human form and regains his wealth and power, thereby also returning her family to their former status, or he stays as is and they live a peaceful peasant life in the village. Told that their names would be spoken throughout the land if she chooses the former, she asks how they will be spoken, and on hearing that it would be in fear and dread her choice is easily made. The pair return home to Rose Cottage, to Jeweltongue and Lionheart and the merchant, and all three girls are married to their respective beaus. ===== Catherine Cassilis, known as Coquette, born in France and orphaned by the recent death of her father, comes to Airlie near Saltcoats in Southern Scotland, to live with her uncle, the Minister. Her Catholic upbringing brings her into immediate conflict with the sternly Presbyterian household, and she quickly seeks sympathy and friendship with the more free-spirited nobleman, Lord Earlshope. During a yachting trip around western Scotland Earlshope makes a half-hearted confession of his love to Coquette (which she reciprocates), although he is already married, but estranged from his wife. But when this wife is seen in Glasgow, and his secret is exposed, Earlshope abandons Coquette and disappears. In due course Coquette accepts the marriage proposal of her devoted cousin Tom "the Whaup", although she does not truly love him. Their wedding is to be delayed until Tom has completed his medical studies. The crisis comes suddenly. Earlshope returns unexpectedly and meets Coquette: he begs her to run off to America with him and she agrees. But on the night of the planned elopement Earlshope's boat is run down in a storm and he is drowned. Coquette believes he has left for America without her. It is only after her marriage to Tom that Coquette finally learns the truth. She persuades her husband to drive her to Saltcoats to look at her lover's grave—the sea. Shortly after she collapses and within a few short weeks, she too is dead. Category:1871 British novels Category:Novels set in North Ayrshire ===== In McKinley's version of the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, a wicked fairy named Pernicia appears on the princess' name-day and places a curse on the baby, claiming that the child will, on her 21st birthday, prick her finger on a spindle and fall into deathly sleep. The cursed princess is rescued on her name-day and secretly taken away by a young fairy, Katriona, to her village, a town called Foggy Bottom, located in the damp and swampy section of the country known as The Gig. There Katriona and her aunt (affectionately known as Aunt) raise the princess as an ordinary village maiden, naming her Rosie after the last of the princess' twenty-one names. Throughout the book, Rosie grows from a headstrong, stubborn child into an intelligent and courageous young woman. With the help of a rare talent—beast-speech, a small bit of magic unknowingly passed on from Katriona—and the silent encouragement of the town's taciturn blacksmith, Narl, Rosie becomes a talented and well-known horse leech, more inclined to wear breeches and whittle spindle ends than wear dresses and practice embroidery, as her more ladylike friend Peony does. However, when Rosie is 20 years old, Ikor, a mysterious powerful fairy, appears and reveals to Rosie that she is actually the country's hidden princess, and announces a plan to defeat Pernicia: a spell will be cast over Peony and Rosie which switches their identities, but only until Rosie turns 21 and Pernicia's spell is broken. In addition to the magic that infuses almost every aspect of the book, Spindle's End deals with the importance of family love, especially that between Rosie, Katriona, and Aunt, (and, later, the love between these people and Katriona's husband and children, as the family grows) but also of Rosie's mother, the Queen, who longs for her lost daughter. Peony, Rosie's best friend, has a deep need to be loved and accepted by a family, because her adoptive parents don't care for her in the same way Rosie's adoptive family cares for her. Animals also play a central role in the book. Animals of various kinds help Katriona get Rosie to The Gig, a journey of about three months, and animals assist in the final defeat of Pernicia. ===== The trio lives on a stage constructed in Hideki's daikon patch in the Nerima ward of Tokyo. They dream of building a concert dome on the site and performing their musical act to sold-out crowds. They must avoid both an overzealous policewoman who has caught on to their money-making schemes and the desires of powerful people who want to take over the daikon field. The characters are aided in their adventures by the show's director, Shinichi Watanabe, who injects himself (in the form of his Nabeshin character from Excel Saga) into the story as a rental shop owner. The show parodies many famous people and institutions in Japan including Junichiro Koizumi and his political followers; Michael Jackson; the fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki, Star Wars, Host club entertainers among many others. Until recently, anime television series did not make overt jokes about the current news topics like homosexual love, consumer credit, or the success of Korean artists in Japan such as Bae Yong- joon. Nerima Daikon Brothers features overt sexual gags such as in the first episode where a male casting director fondles Ichiro's crotch as he sits there and moans. ===== Rebecca, a young girl, is always picked on by her older brother, David, who "has the worst case of bedhead you've ever seen". David is a generally unruly sort. At breakfast, he eats a cockroach and makes a big mess with his cereal. After breakfast, Rebecca goes to play with one of her dolls and discovers it has been defaced by David. Enraged, she attacks David, but then falls and hits her head. When she comes to, she discovers that she has telekinetic powers. At first she thinks of how her newfound powers could benefit humankind (including making herself the first Mexican-American as well as the first female president of the United States). But she first decides that she will take revenge on her brother and tame his bedhead. Overwhelmed by her powers, but still unable to smooth David's unruly hair, she drags the boy behind her bicycle, and in the process hits her head again. She wakes up in a hospital and decides that she will never abuse her powers again, but as far as David knows, she will continue to be a threat. ===== In 1862, Mr. March, an abolitionist and chaplain in the Union Army, is driven by his conscience to leave his home and family in Concord, Massachusetts, to participate in the war. During this time, March writes letters to his family, but he withholds the true extent of the brutality and injustices he witnesses on and off the battlefields. He suffers from a prolonged illness stemming from poor conditions on a cotton farm in Virginia. While in hospital, he has an unexpected meeting with Grace, an intelligent and literate black nurse whom he first met as a young woman staying in a large house where she was a slave. The recovering March, despite his guilt and grief over his survival when others have perished, returns home to his wife and Little Women, but he has been scarred by the events he has gone through. The novel accurately reflects Bronson Alcott's principles, notably his belief that boys and girls of all races had a right to education and his wish to follow a vegetarian diet. It presents the young Mrs March as a fiery character with strong verbal and physical expressions of anger. ===== A severely deformed man stumbles through the Arizona desert, falls, and dies. Dr. Matt Hastings, a doctor from the nearby town of Desert Rock, Arizona, is called in by the sheriff to examine the body. Asked the cause of death, he finds himself perplexed; the deceased, biological research scientist Eric Jacobs, was someone he knew and had recently seen. He appears to have acromegaly, a distortion that takes years to reach its current state. Puzzled, Dr. Hastings asks to perform an autopsy. The sheriff judges it unnecessary, since no indication of foul play was found. Hastings approaches Jacobs' colleague, Dr. Gerald Deemer, who bluntly refuses permission. He signs Jacobs' death certificate, with "heart disease" listed as the cause of death. Still bothered, Hastings drives to Deemer's home and research laboratory in an isolated desert mansion. Deemer apologizes for his earlier hostility, blaming it on grief, and insists that Jacobs developed acromegaly rapidly, over just four days. He cannot offer an explanation, but attempts to convince Hastings this was an anomaly, not a result of anything sinister. Hastings appears to accept his apology. Deemer goes to his closed lab, which contains huge cages with white rabbits and rats of enormous size. Deemer examines each, noting when each last received an "injection", and how many each has had. He turns to a glass-front inset in a back wall, as a different specimen crawls into view: a tarantula with a body the size of a large dog, plus its legs. As Deemer finishes his observations, a second deformed man appears, attacks Deemer and begins destroying the lab. During the rampage, the lab catches fire and the glass covering the tarantula's cage is shattered. The man grabs the hypodermic needle that Deemer was preparing, knocks him out, and injects him with the contents. As flames engulf the lab, the arachnid escapes and the deformed man collapses and dies. Deemer regains consciousness, grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire. That night, Deemer calmly buries the body of his other assistant, Paul Lund, in the desert. The intercity bus brings a newcomer to town, a young, beautiful woman, who is expecting to be met by Dr. Deemer. Told by the hotel clerk that she will have to wait until the only taxi returns, she accepts a ride from Dr. Hastings, who is going back to Deemer's lab. She introduces herself as Stephanie Clayton, nicknamed "Steve", who has signed on to assist in the lab. At the mansion, Dr. Deemer tells them that the fire was caused by an equipment malfunction. He indicates that all the test animals were killed and explains that Lund has already left his employment. Since Steve's contract stipulates that she live at the residence, Hastings leaves her and her suitcases there. Days later, the sheriff calls and asks Dr. Hastings for help. Hastings finds a mystery involving picked-clean cattle carcasses and large pools of a thick, white liquid. The tarantula, now grown to huge proportions, is the cause. The next night, a horse rancher and two men inside a pickup truck are also killed. Hastings pays a call on Steve at the lab. Dr. Deemer has been acting strangely and looking ill, and has gone to bed, so she shows Hastings what they are working on - the use of radioactive elements to produce an artificial super-nutrient which, once perfected, could provide an unlimited food supply for humanity. She shows Hastings some of the giant lab animals created as an unintended side effect. Dr. Deemer suddenly appears and is angry with Steve for revealing "secret" work and orders Hastings to leave. At the destroyed horse ranch, Hastings looks round at the request of the sheriff, and once again finds pools of the strange, thick liquid. He decides an analysis could solve the mystery, so he takes samples and flies them to the university in Phoenix. The substance is determined to be tarantula venom, but in such a quantity that only a monster arachnid could produce. After being shown a film demonstrating the predatory ferocity of a normal tarantula, he calls Dr. Deemer, but is told by Steve that he is sick in bed. Deemer suddenly appears behind her and the phone call is cut dead. Hastings immediately flies back to Desert Rock. Upon arriving, he drives to the mansion, where he finds Dr. Deemer near death, suffering from severe acromegalic deformities. Deemer divulges all that he knows about the nutrient's effects on humans and animals and tells of Lund's death. Hastings returns to town to brief the sheriff on what he has learned. As night falls, the giant tarantula comes to the mansion and attacks it. Deemer is killed by falling debris, but Steve is able to escape when Hastings returns for her in his car. The tarantula pursues them down the highway toward the town. The sheriff and his men intercept, but their guns have no effect. Dynamite is gathered from town, but a blast large enough to blow up the highway does not faze the monster arachnid. As they complete a hasty evacuation of the town, an Air Force fighter jet squadron, summoned by the sheriff, arrives and launches a napalm attack, successfully incinerating the tarantula at the town's edge. ===== Saul Naumann (Richard Gere) is a somewhat controlling Jewish husband and father. A Religious Studies professor at UC Berkeley, Saul wrote his graduate thesis on the Kabbalah. Because he was a devout Jew, his wife Miriam (Juliette Binoche) converted to Judaism when they married, and he nurtured his son Aaron (Max Minghella) as a traditional studious Jew like himself. When daughter Eliza (Flora Cross) wins her class spelling bee, they embark on a course of Kabbalah study to help her win. The film follows the family and the spiritual quests upon which they journey, in large part because of Saul: Miriam's attempt to make herself whole, Aaron's religious uncertainty, and Eliza's desire to be closer to her father. Miriam lives a secret life throughout her entire marriage to Saul, trying to fulfill the religious idea she learned from him, tikkun olam, or "repairing the world" and "reuniting its shards." In momentary flashbacks by Miriam, we glimpse a scene of a crashed car with shattered glass, apparently the basis of an underlying hurt she has been suffering since childhood, perhaps the death of her parents. The beautiful life she had before the accident, symbolized by the kaleidoscope she always carried as a child, through which she was presented with its beautiful view of the world, is suddenly shattered when the accident occurred. Thereafter, seeking to restore the broken shards, Miriam compulsively creates beautiful light gathering objects (sometimes stealing them) and storing them in a secret warehouse. Saul's son, Aaron, grows unsure of the Judaism foisted on him by his father, and in trying to find a faith he personally believes in, he becomes a Hare Krishna after meeting a woman named Chali (Kate Bosworth) in the park. For Eliza, her experience begins with a desire to be as close to her father as Aaron is; the two would often have discussions about Judaism and play music together. Saul's graduate thesis on Kabbalah writer Abraham Abulafia (who believed that careful analysis of words could lead to contact with God) brings Saul and Eliza closer together when Saul learns Eliza has won the district spelling bee. Upon learning of her success, Saul takes control of Eliza's life, coaching her in the Kabbalistic teachings he knows so well. Eliza enjoys the renewed attention of her father and pursues the competition for her father's involvement. This comes at the expense of Aaron, who receives less time with Saul, even as he falls deeper into religious questioning. At the center of the film, Eliza becomes Saul's newest religious project. Eliza continues to do well at spelling bees, utilizing her spiritual gift, as Abraham Abulafia described: visions appear to her and help her spell words no matter how difficult. Saul's obsession with his daughter's gift and the opportunities it presents to him consume him to the point that he is callously ignorant of the collapse of his family around him — his son's interest in Hinduism, which soon comes between him and his father, and his wife's psychological problems suddenly thrust upon him — it seems that the entire family is now "broken," like a microcosm of the world; but can it be fixed, can the broken shards be restored? This is where Eliza enters the picture, a child with a mystical gift. The night before the final round of the spelling bee, Eliza uses her father's notes on Abulafia's system to obtain "the ear of God," allowing God to flow through her. Her body convulsing epileptically on the floor, Eliza apparently makes that mystical connection, providing her the healing power of God. In the final scene, Eliza, on the verge of winning the national spelling bee, and now empowered with the ability to heal her family, deliberately misspells the word origami, thereby losing the competition. Immediately upon her sacrifice, healing apparently takes place between Saul and Aaron as they embrace and openly express loving emotion; and Miriam, watching the competition on television from a sanitarium (where she has been following her arrest and the subsequent discovery of her secret), is apparently in the process of being healed as well. ===== The year is 1883. Clay, a gunfighter with health problems, is interned in Drunner Labor Camp. He's determined to prove his innocence since he was framed by Fox, the current Sheriff of Clay's former home of Mesa Encantada. Fox has subsequently been hired by the townspeople to protect them from Ortiz and his bandits. Instead, Fox now runs a protection racket, extorting and terrorizing the complacent citizens, threatening them with violence if they do not pay exorbitant taxes to him. Clay rides out to meet Ortiz, who tries to hire him to kill Fox. Ortiz's mistress Estella, whom Clay saved earlier from an attack by Fox's men, lets Clay escape the Ortiz encampment. She tells him Clay stole gold from him, prompting Ortiz and his gang to seek out Clay. This enables Fox to ambush both of them. Fox kills Ortiz and captures Clay. She helps Clay escape and, despite losing his sight, manages to decimate Fox's gang one by one. Realizing he is unable to see clearly, Fox seeks him out in one of the town's stables and tries to lure him into shooting his own daughter, Nancy during the final showdown. In an epilogue in only European prints of the film, the military guards from Drunner Labor Camp pay Jonathan a large sum of money for getting rid of Fox and Oritz. As they ride away, Clay emerges and speaks with Jonathan then rides away, removes his glasses tosses them into the air and fires a single bullet through the lenses. In the English version, the film ends shortly after Clay fires on Fox and falls to the ground. He confesses to them about their relationship and instructs her to collect the $10,000 reward for his capture, then dies. ===== In 1949, guilt-ridden Holocaust survivor Herman Broder lives in New York with his wife, Yadwiga. During the war, Yadwiga -- the Broders' gentile servant -- saved Herman's life by hiding him in a hayloft. Believing his wife, Tamara, to have perished in a concentration camp, Herman took Yadiga with him as his wife when he emigrated to the United States. He tells her that he works as a traveling book-salesman; however, in reality, he is a ghost writer for the avaricious Rabbi Lembeck. He also is having an affair with Masha, whose own experiences in a concentration camp have left her embittered about God and Judaism; she emigrated to New York with her mother and married Leon, an older man from whom she is estranged. Masha wants them to divorce their respective spouses and get married, but he continually puts her off. After answering an ad in the newspaper, Herman is shocked to learn that Tamara not only survived the Holocaust, but has come to New York to be with him. Herman confesses to her both his current marriage and affair. Accepting that he has moved on from her emotionally, Tamara agrees not to pursue her claim as his wife and befriends him. In short order, both Masha and Yadiwga announce each is pregnant. Masha procures a divorce from Leon, who warns Herman that Masha is manipulative. After she swears on her own life that Leon is lying about her, Masha and Herman find a Rabbi to perform the ceremony without asking questions. Herman now has three wives. Masha experiences internal bleeding, and the attending physician tells Herman that she was never pregnant. Rabbi Lembeck, having met Masha, invites the couple to a party. There, the wealthy Nathan Pescheles - who happened to meet all three wives by chance - reveals Herman's polygamy to the assembled crowd. Feeling angry and betrayed, Masha leaves Herman. He becomes more religious to help Yadwiga convert to Judaism. Tamara helps him by getting him a job with a rabbi. A few weeks time Masha calls Herman, hoping to convince him to bolt to Florida or California with her. Admitting to Tamara that Masha's pull on him is too great but promising to support his unborn child, Herman leaves Yadwiga for good. But before they can leave, Masha's mother dies. Unable to pay for the funeral but realizing she can't bear the thought of not being buried next to her mother, Masha asks Herman to commit suicide with her. Herman agrees, but when they realize neither has ever been completely truthful with the other, he leaves. Masha takes a lethal overdose of sleeping pills. Rabbi Lembeck pays for Masha and her mother's funeral and takes care of the hospital fees for Yadwiga. Tamara and Yadwiga raise the child, named Masha, together. Letters occasionally arrive containing only money to help care for the child. ===== Advertisement (1918) John and Alice Clayton, Lord and Lady Greystoke (True Boardman and Kathleen Kirkham), are passengers on the Fuwalda, a ship bound for Africa. When the vessel is taken over by mutineers the sailor Binns (George B. French) saves them from being murdered, but they are marooned on the tropical coast. After their deaths their infant son is adopted by Kala, an ape, who raises him as her own. The young Tarzan (Gordon Griffith) grows to maturity among the apes, becoming their king. Binns, returning to find the Claytons after ten years’ captivity among the Arabs, discovers the ape man and travels to England to report his survival to his family. An expedition led by scientist Professor Porter (Thomas Jefferson) is launched to investigate. Meanwhile, Kala has been killed by a native, who is killed in turn by the now-adult Tarzan (Elmo Lincoln). The villagers kidnap Porter’s daughter Jane (Enid Markey); Tarzan rescues and romances her, and she comes to accept his love. ===== At a Paris railway terminus, Gabriel greets his sister Jeanne, who leaves her ten-year-old daughter Zazie with him and goes off with her latest lover. Gabriel takes the child out to the taxi of his friend Charles, to Zazie's dismay because she wants to go on the Métro but it is on strike. They arrive at Turandot's café, above which Gabriel lodges, and he hands the child over to his wife Albertine, who puts her to bed. Gabriel gets himself ready to go to work, on the way out getting into a dispute with Turandot, who is appalled by Zazie's precocity and filthy language. In the morning, Zazie sneaks out alone but Turandot spots her and follows her. When he tries to take her home, she accuses him of pedophilia and a crowd gathers. Turandot is obliged to slink away and, when Gabriel returns from work, over several glasses tells him what has happened. After talking to Gridoux, the cobbler next door, instead of searching, Gabriel decides to go to bed. Zazie meanwhile is happily exploring Paris, trying every Métro station but all are shut. An elegant man picks her up and takes her to the flea market, where he buys her a pair of jeans and treats her to a dish of mussels. To reward his curiosity about her, she tells him how her mother killed her father gruesomely with an axe but was acquitted. She then describes life with her mother's lover, who got too interested in her, so she has been passed on to her uncle. Sensing that the stranger also is getting too interested in her, she picks up her jeans and leaves. He accuses her of theft and a crowd gathers. He pretends to be a plain-clothes policemen and escorts Zazie back to her uncle's apartment, where a surprised Gabriel submits to the fake cop's interrogation. After a suggestion that Gabriel is prostituting the forward little girl, he is forced to reveal what his night job is: a drag act in a club. After the alleged cop then accuses Gabriel of homosexuality, he is thrown out of the flat and retreats to the bar below. Meanwhile the café waitress, Mado, takes lunch to Gridoux next door, who is concerned over the nosy stranger. She however wants to talk about the cabbie Charles, who she hopes will marry her. When she goes back to her work, the stranger tries to pump the intractable Gridoux. Gabriel and Charles now set off to show Zazie the sights of Paris. Various adventures and misunderstandings follow, particularly at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Zazie keeps annoying both men by trying to find out if her uncle is really homosexual. He however is a hit with a group of good-looking German girls, who think he is cute. As he walks along with Zazie, still pestering him over his sexuality, the two attract the attention of the overdressed widow Moaque. When the German girls descend on Gabriel and drag him onto their tour bus as their mascot, she finds a policeman to report this kidnapping. The cop, called Trouscaillon and identical to the man who earlier accused Gabriel of pimping and illegal sex, immediately becomes the object of Mouaque's desire. After various adventures and misunderstandings, the three eventually find Gabriel, who has invited the German girls to see his show that night. He then invites Moaque and Trouscaillon to eat with him and Zazie at a restaurant. Seeking attention, Zazie does not behave well. Ringing the bar below his flat, Gabriel asks the waitress Mado to ask his wife Albertine to bring his costume to the club, as he is busy entertaining his friends. Mado tells him that the cabbie Charles has at last proposed, so Gabriel asks the two to join his swelling party. At the club, Gabriel orders champagne for his friends and waits anxiously for his costume. Albertine has however fallen asleep, to be woken by the fake cop from the morning who starts another of his bizarre interrogations. When he moves from words to attempted rape, she jumps out of the window. After his drag act, for which Albertine brought him a dress just in time, he takes everybody off to a bar. What starts with a couple slapping each other turns into a massive saloon brawl, which wrecks the place and brings on an army of cops. The group are rescued by a man who shows them a way into the Métro tunnels, through which they can walk in safety as the system is still on strike. In the morning, Albertine carries the sleeping child to the railway station, where her mother Jeanne regrets that she will have to find a better-performing lover. Waking up, Zazie says her experiences have made her a bit more grown- up. Outside, all the escalators of the Métro start up because the strike is over. ===== Princess Daisy tells the story of a young girl who is sent to England to live with her father, Prince Valensky, after her mother's death in a car crash. Unfortunately, Daisy is immediately separated from her twin sister Dani, who is a special needs child not accepted by their father. When Daisy turns 16, their father dies in a plane accident. The girl is forced to take care of her life herself, especially when her half-brother starts seeing in her more than just a sister. ===== Plateau, a colony in the Tau Ceti system, was settled by humans some 300 years before the plot begins. The colony world itself is a Venusian type planet with a dense, hot, poisonous atmosphere. It would be otherwise uninhabitable, except for a tall monolithic mesa that rises up into a breathable layer in the upper atmosphere. This gives the planet a habitable area about half the size of California. The Captain of the first colony vessel named the feature Mount Lookitthat (from his interjection at first sight of it), and the colony became known as Plateau. After landing the slower-than-light ships, the Crew sign an agreement, called the Covenant of Planetfall, with their former passengers (who had just emerged from suspended animation and were in a weak bargaining position). This agreement gives the Crew (and their descendants in perpetuity) all control over the new colony. A system of medical care evolves, in which organ transplantation is the only method of treatment, even for cosmetic defects (such as baldness); a justice system evolves, based on the Hospitals in the two immense "slowboat" spacecraft which had brought their ancestors to the planet; all crimes are punishable by death, followed by involuntary donation of the perpetrator's transplantable organs (including skin, scalp, and teeth). Not surprisingly, only Colonists are ever arrested for crimes; and only Crew are eligible to receive transplants, except as a rarely granted privilege in return for service to the Crew. Some Colonists become dissatisfied with the system and form a dissident group called the "Sons of Earth". The prologue of the story begins with a dissident Colonist escaping Implementation, the local police force, by jumping to his death over the "void edge", the high cliff that forms the sides of the mesa. On Mount Lookitthat, all crimes are punished by being dissected for spare parts. Thus, this is considered to be the greatest of all possible crimes, as it leaves nothing to harvest. An automated Bussard ramjet arrives from Earth, carrying an unknown cargo of great importance, which the government immediately finds and conceals, but not before the cargo has been observed and photographed by Polly, an agent of the Sons of Earth. Meanwhile, Matthew Keller, an ordinary miner, gets casually invited to a party and is drawn into a conversation about psi powers. Matt strikes up a flirtatious conversation with Polly, but she suddenly loses interest. Angered, Matt hooks up with a woman named Laney and is in the middle of having sex with her (his first time) when Implementation agents raid the house, which turns out to be full of Sons of Earth members. Matt manages to escape in a stolen car. The Implementation chase him to the edge of the Plateau, where he dives into the poisonous gas. Implementation leaves him for dead, but he manages to survive and resurface. Feeling guilty, he makes an attempt to enter the Hospital where the captured Sons of Earth have been taken and rescue Laney. He has several strange encounters with the Implementation where they suddenly fail to be able to see him. He makes his way to the Vivarium, where those of the Sons of Earth who are still living are being kept, and sets them free. He, along with two of the leaders and Laney, steal another car and flee to the home of Millard Parlette, a prominent political figure and direct descendant of the captain of the original colony vessel. Matt explains to them how he rescued them and they conclude that he has a psionic power: the ability to influence the optic nerves of anyone whose attention is focused on him. When he is excited or frightened, people focused on him are compelled to contract the pupils of their eyes, and thereby lose that focus to the point of short-term memory loss – even if he has just threatened them with a weapon. When Millard Parlette returns home, he allows himself to be captured by Matt with little difficulty. However, the others overreact upon seeing him enter the house and knock him out with a stun gun. Matt and Laney leave to go back to the hospital. Matt intends to rescue Polly, having realized that her rejection of him was an outcome of his nervousness and psionic power. Laney intends to rescue the rest of the Sons of Earth who were recaptured. In the house, Millard Parlette reveals what the cargoes of the ramship were. They consist of four medical breakthroughs: a symbiote that regenerates skin, technology to culture a human liver, another to culture a human heart, and a second symbiote that lives in the bloodstream and grants many benefits: it fights disease, dissolves blood clots, repairs and cleans fatty deposits from the circulatory system, and maintains hormone levels at those of an adult. These advancements are amazingly beneficial, but that is the precise problem. Colonists, once they learn of them, would assume that the organ banks had become obsolete, and expect Implementation to disband. However, these advancements only reduce the need for transplants; they do not remove it entirely. But when Implementation continues to take colonists to the banks, they would assume that necessity had given way to malevolence. Every colonist on Plateau would revolt. At least half the population would perish in the conflict, and technological civilization might come to an end. Thus, the political figure Parlette wants to negotiate a replacement for the Covenant of Planetfall with the rebels in advance, and thereby prevent such a conflict. Though the rebels are perfectly willing to deal, there is still one significant problem: Implementation. Any settlement with the Colonists would involve reducing the power of the Crew's police force. As such, Implementation would be on the side of the conservative Crew faction: those who would die before accepting a compromise with those they currently hold the power of life and death over. Implementation controls the best weapons on Plateau, and they have already made a decision as to the impact of the ramscoop's cargo. At the hospital, Implementation leader Jesus Pietro Castro has been interrogating Polly. Specifically, he has been enraging her by explaining the situation; first, he reveals that Implementation permitted the Sons of Earth to exist solely as a constant source of organ donors - thinning it periodically as if it was a herd of husbanded animals. Second, his "father" was over seventy when he was conceived, and required supplementary testosterone; instead of periodic injections, he chose to be transplanted with the testicles of an executed Colonist - the class schism between Colonist and Crew means that the two have effectively become distinct races, both of which consider miscegenation a greater taboo than incest - and the revelation that Jesus is half-Colonist disgusts her even more than the revelation that she and her fellow Colonists are nothing but cattle to the Crew; cattle that have just been completely culled. As the ramship cargo has sharply banked the need for organ transplants, the decision was made to eliminate the resistance entirely, knowing that they would revolt violently once the cargo was revealed. Every other Son of Earth has been broken up for organ stock. Polly and the four who escaped in the car hidden under the residence are the only surviving rebels on Plateau. Meanwhile, Matt and Laney are able to enter the facility with no real problem. Matt tricks Castro into leading him to where they are keeping Polly, and Matt sets her free. However, this turns out to be a mistake: Implementation moved from psychological interrogation to sensory deprivation, and she is now insane. He makes love to her and in so doing restores her ability to function. But when she learns of their location, she becomes determined to avenge the genocide of the Sons of Earth. She flees Matt, intending to detonate the nuclear reactor on one of the slowboats, to destroy the Hospital and kill as many Crew as she possibly can. She is unable to reach the reactor and instead settles for the ship's long-defunct control room. She then ignites the ship's landing motors; this severely damages the Hospital, kills many of the crew, and thrusts the ship off the "void edge" to its destruction. Matt manages to jump from the ship before she does so. Millard Parlette assumes control of the Crew in the aftermath. However, the Colonists have won the war, as the Sons of Earth - though only numbering four - have claimed control of the most powerful weapon on Plateau: Matt Keller. If the Crew does not restructure Plateau's laws along cosmopolitan lines, Keller will use his psychic power to act as an unstoppable assassin. Keller accepts this, but demands a position of power among the rebels. And he's just discovered a new wrinkle in his power. Not only can he compel someone to lose focus on him, he can compel someone to intensify that focus, putting them in a hypnotic trance, which by implication makes him the true master of Plateau. As the story began with a robot ramship in flight, it ends with another ramship headed from Earth to the human colony known as 'We Made It' (in the Procyon system) with the same discovery. This ship is observed by alien Outsiders, who follow it in hopes of selling faster than light technology to the locals. This sale will lead to the advanced multi-species society portrayed in "Neutron Star" and Ringworld. ===== A British actor attempts to impress visiting American relatives by having the cast of his drawing-room comedy pose as his aristocratic family. The American mother persuades the butler (Hope), really a struggling American actor playing a British butler, to come to the United States with them. She sends a telegram home, referring to him as a "gentleman's gentleman," which the rural western townfolk misunderstand as being an aristocrat and presumably the future husband of the family's tomboyish daughter (Ball). Hope must now pretend to the family that he is a British butler while pretending to the rest of the town, and the visiting President Theodore Roosevelt that he is a politically savvy Englishman. The deception is eventually uncovered, and the actor and the family's daughter eventually fall in love. ===== The novel is based in a future where the majority of the human population live underground. Alan Powys works at the transport department. His grandfather, Simon Powys, is the minister for space transport and is the presumptive nominee for his party to succeed the current president. Alan's cousin Helen Curtis is leader of the Radical Liberal Movement, the government's opposition. The arrival of the Fireclown in the lower levels of the underground city and his performances featuring fire captivate those who see it. He is thought by Simon Powys to be a dangerous rebel, his niece thinks conversely that the Fireclown is there to reignite people's passion for democracy. A fire breaks out in the lower levels forcing the Government to shut them off, people revolt and the Fireclown flees. Unconvinced by his grandfather's, and the Government's, assertion that the Fireclown is a terrorist, Alan sets off to find the Fireclown for an explanation. Helen accompanies him providing a ship and desperate to believe the Fireclown is a great healer. After arriving at an orbiting monasteryGary Westfahl, "Islands in the Sky: The Space Station Theme in Science Fiction Literature" (2 ed), Wildside Press, 2009, , pages 71-72,94,205,213 they do, eventually, find the Fireclown. He takes them out in his specially designed starship The Pi-Meson and shows them at incredibly close quarters, the sun's Corona. It transpires that the Fireclown is neither a terrorist nor a saviour. After a private conversation with Alan, the Fireclown allows both him and Helen to return to Earth. Upon returning they decide to try to find evidence that the Fireclown really was innocent in the matter of the fire in the lower levels. After travelling to London and attending a shadowy basement meeting, Alan discovers a plot to manipulate the public, acquire weapons of mass destruction and a very personal vendetta against the Fireclown stretching back many decades. ===== A tribe of primitive humans lives in a barren, rocky wasteland and struggle for survival, despite a lush, plant-filled land on the other side of a nearby river. They refuse to cross the river because of a law that evolved from an ancient tale warning of a god lurking there who brings death with a single touch. A young man of the tribe challenges the law and is eventually followed by other male members of his tribe, who fearfully cross the river in order to bring him back. They soon encounter the terrible god, a large, horribly burned but strangely human-like creature. Despite the young man's peace overture to the god, another tribal member, out of fear, lays a trap and stones the creature to death with a large rock; the young man then shoots and kills that tribesman with one of his arrows. The others gather around the now dead god and discover that the creature is actually a much older man with long white hair. He is wearing some kind of strange, unknown outer garment with a fearful hood. They find another strange thing in the old man's possession; they are puzzled by this flat, thick object that opens and contains mysterious markings and vivid black, white, and gray images that show an even stranger human world unknown to them. In a surprising denouement provided by the ancient man after his death, the truth is revealed in voice-over as the tribesmen page through his book: He was actually a survivor of a long-ago nuclear holocaust, forced to live for decades inside his now ragged, discolored, and bulky radiation suit (which is implied to have once been covered with deadly radioactive fallout). The ancient man has wandered the land for decades while the primitive remnants of a devastated human race have slowly increased their numbers; his frightening outer appearance caused them to fear and shun him. A final, cautionary question is asked in voice-over by the old man: Will humanity someday repeat its nuclear folly after civilization has once again risen to its former heights? ===== An American (Charles Bronson) living in France must face his past when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by former fellow convicts turned narco-dealers he once double-crossed. ===== Suicide Squad leader Amanda Waller began to send her agents on missions in the apparent pursuit of her own private agenda, the so-called "Janus Directive", one that brought the Squad into conflict with other metahuman villains and government agencies. All-out mayhem broke loose among these groups, involving various metahumans associated with the United States military and civilian agencies. Eventually, it is revealed that Waller had not gone rogue, but had been nearly assassinated by the cult leader Kobra. Kobra had tried to murder Waller and replace her with a subservient doppelgänger in order to manipulate and mislead the various government agencies to keep them from stopping his own plan: to activate a massive space-based microwave pulse cannon that would fry all electronic systems (not to mention human nervous systems) in the eastern United States, unleashing the Kali Yuga, the age of chaos he thought it was his destiny to commence. Waller had murdered her double instead, but decided to play the role of the double in order to ferret out the true mastermind behind the Janus Directive. Eventually, the truth was revealed and the groups united and stormed Kobra's space ark, capturing him and destroying his weapon. The fallout of the Janus Directive resulted in an irate President Bush reorganizing the various agencies to bring them under executive control; he dissolved Task Force X, the umbrella organization under which both Checkmate and the Squad operated (the component agencies becoming autonomous), and made Sarge Steel a Cabinet-level official with overall control of all governmental metahuman activity on the civilian side. General Wade Eiling was made his equivalent in the Department of Defense. Waller was put on probation by Bush because of her "lone wolf" tactics, much to her displeasure. Waller would soon thereafter be imprisoned for taking matters into her own hands one time too many, after she led an assassination team to personally liquidate the Vodou- oriented drug ring called the Loa. This led to the shut-down of all Suicide Squad operations for one year. ===== Yolanda, a cabaret singer, brings heroin to her lover who drops dead of an overdose. To escape from the police, the singer looks for refuge in a local convent. The Mother Superior, a fan of Yolanda, rapturously greets her. The mission of the order, called the Humiliated Redeemers (Redentoras humilladas), is to offer shelter and redemption to fallen women. The convent once was a bustling haven for prostitutes, drug addicts and murderers, but it is now in disrepair. The order is facing serious financial hardships as their prime financial supporter, the vain and greedy Marchioness (La Marquesa) has decided to discontinue the convent's annuity under the pretense of economizing. The convent had taken in their wayward daughter, Virginia, who subsequently became a nun and ran off to Africa, only to be eaten by cannibals. Six religious members of the community live at the convent: the mother Superior, four other nuns and the chaplain. To reinforce their vows of humility, the Mother Superior has given the other nuns repulsive new names: Sister Manure, Sister Damned, Sister Snake and Sister Sewer Rat. With few opportunities for spiritual ministry, the nuns have begun to indulge in their own idiosyncratic pursuits in order to pass the time. The nurturing Sister Damned compulsively cleans the convent and coddles all the animals under her care, including an overgrown pet tiger that she treats like a son, playing the bongos for him. The ascetic Sister Manure is consumed by thoughts of penitence and corporal self-sacrifice and cooks between LSD hallucinations. She murdered somebody and as the mother superior lied under oath to save her from jail, she is very devoted to her. The over-curious Sister Sewer Rat gardens and secretly, under the pen name Concha Torres, writes lurid novels about the wayward souls who visit the convent. She smuggles the novels out of the convent through her sister's periodic visits. The unassuming Sister Snake, with the help of the priest, tailors seasonal fashion collections for dressing the statues of the Virgin Mary. Her piety is a cover up for her romantic love for the chain-smoking chaplain. The mother Superior is a heavy drug user and a lesbian, whose charitable work is a means of meeting needy young women. She admits, 'From admiring them so much I have become one of them.' At the convent, Yolanda mingles with the nuns. The Mother Superior soon falls passionately in love with her. Together, they consume coke and heroin until Yolanda decides both should come off the drugs. Withdrawal for Yolanda is like a painful catharsis, but for the Mother Superior it confirms her very sinful nature. Yolanda keeps the Mother Superior at arm's length and strikes a friendship with Sister Rat. The Mother Superior has to face both Yolanda's rejection and the threats of closure. She fails to blackmail the Marquise with a letter revealing information about Virginia. Undiscouraged, she then prepares to resort to drug trafficking to maintain the independence of her convent. In spite of these trials, the Sisters decide to celebrate the Mother Superior's birthday. The Marquise and nuns from other convents come to the party. During the celebrations, Yolanda, accompanied by the sisters, sings in honor of the Mother Superior. The Marquise manages to get a letter that coming from Africa has informed her about a long lost grandson that has been raised by the Apes. Because Yolanda and Sister Rat helped her to obtain the letter, she is very grateful to them. At the end of the party, the new Mother General, the highest authority in their order, announces the dissolution of the convent. Sister Damned decides to return to her native village and leaves her tiger to Sister Snake and the Priest. They are in love and want to start a family with the tiger as their son. Sister Rat and Yolanda go to live with the Marquise. Only Sister Manure is left to console the Mother Superior from the terrible heartbreak that Yolanda's desertion has caused. ===== The following is a description of the novel as it appears on the cover: "[T]he fourteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of woman and her efforts to avoid being married off. An afterword discusses the mindset of medieval people and concludes with a list of books to consult for further information about the period." The story begins in September 1290, when Catherine describes her world: her father's manor, her father and mother themselves (her father is bawdy, loud and disagreeable; her mother, kind and sweet), and the different people she comes in contact with on a daily basis. The novel is marked by the Catholic Saints' Days. Catherine is referred to as "Birdy" because she keeps many birds as pets. Catherine has three older brothers. Her eldest brother Robert, is a knight. He weds his betrothed though she is only twelve, and she dies from complications while giving birth to their child. Her second brother is Thomas, and he is in the king's service. Edward, to whom she is closest to and corresponds with, is a monk who lives in an abbey nearby. Catherine's relationship with her parents is a longstanding plot of the book. Her mother wishes her to be an accomplished and docile lady, while her father wishes to make advantageous social connections through her marriage. Several suitors approach Stonebridge Manor with the intention of wooing the Lady Catherine, but all fall short of Birdy's expectations and devices. Eventually, Catherine's father demands her to marry an old, repulsive man whom she calls "Shaggy Beard" in her diary. She spends the year described in her diary fighting the marriage. She refuses to marry him. She comes up with many different plots to escape, and alternate versions of her life where she will run away and be a monk, or escape overseas and go on the Crusades. One of the largest subplots of the book occurs when her favorite Uncle, George, comes home from the Crusades and falls in love with Catherine's best friend, Lady Aelis. However, because George does not have a high position in society, they cannot marry, and both end up marrying others (George, a crazy older woman named Ethelfritha, who was struck by lightning, Aelis first to a seven-year-old duke, and later to Catherine's brother, Robert). She begins to wonder about fate, love, and responsibility. As the day approaches for Catherine's official betrothal, she runs away to her Uncle and Aunt. She realizes that she herself will be the same no matter who she marries; thus, she allows her uncle to take her home. However, when she arrives home, she is confronted with the happy news that Shaggy Beard has died in a tavern brawl and she is now engaged to his son, Stephen, who is clean and young and educated. This match pleases her greatly, and she starts to dream about being married to him, counting down the days to when she can see him. Catherine, Called Birdy discusses everything from the mundane events of her life (killing fleas, spinning and embroidery) to festivals and holidays (such as Easter or May Day, many of which are celebrated by the entire village) to her travels in England, which are limited (she goes, for example, to Lincoln with her father, or to spend a few days at Lady Aelis' manor). ===== The frame story has Martinus Harinxma, a senior tugboat captain home after a long voyage, catching up on correspondence. He opens a letter from a young man who is the son of a Canadian naval officer killed aboard Harinxma's ship during escort duty during Second World War. In the letter, the son asks the Captain, "How was my father killed, and what was he really like?" As he begins to write the boy, Harinxma is forced to remember, and re-live the events surrounding the Canadian officer's time aboard his ship, and his eventual death. In 1940 Harinxma, then a young tugboat officer, escapes to Britain. The Kwel company has managed to get away much of its fleet and personnel, one jump ahead of the advancing Germans, and sets up to continue operations from London. Harinxma gets his first command, at an earlier age and under much more difficult conditions than he would otherwise have had. A central element of the book are the complex relationships between the crew members, in whose depiction de Hartog's personal nautical experience is manifest. Among other things the young and inexperienced captain must face the dilemma of whether to cover up for a severe mishap by the ship's engineer, who is his personal friend, or report him for the sake of the ship's safety and risk his getting fired. While still being merchant seamen not formally inducted into any navy, Harinxma and his fellow Dutch exile sailors are inexorably sucked into the fighting, their ships given (often inadequate) armaments and sent into some of the hottest arenas of the World War II naval war. Again clearly based on De Hartog's own experience, the book vividly conveys the feeling of suspicion and cordial dislike between the exiled Dutch and their British hosts and allies. The Dutch sailors feel (and not entirely without reason) that they are being set up as cannon fodder (or rather, U-Boat fodder). Many of Harinxma's fellow Dutch end up on the "South-Western Approaches" to the British Isles, acting as "stretcher-bearers of the sea" in submarine-infested waters – which turns out to be a task involving an extremely high casualty rate. (That experience had formed the background to a previous (1951) de Hartog novel, published variously under the names Stella and The Key and made into a film starring Sophia Loren). Harinxma himself eventually ends up in an even more horrendous environment: the convoys to Murmansk, carrying the military matériel which the Soviet Union desperately needed to repulse the Nazi invasion of its territory. Wending their long way in frigid Arctic waters, the convoys were for most of their course extremely vulnerable to constant German submarine, warship and aerial attacks emanating from occupied Norway, making them among the war's most dangerous postings. The same background, with the combination of extreme belligerent action and inhospitable nature pushing protagonists to the edge of endurance and beyond, was already the scene of HMS Ulysses, the first novel (1946) by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. While the two books have very different writing styles, characterization and underlying philosophy, they do share some plot elements. Harinxma and his crew go again and again into that hell, with only short rest periods before they have to go there yet again. While under this constant danger, Harinxma gets into a personality conflict with a diminutive and touchy Royal Navy captain hailing from the Isle of Man, who first appears arrogant and ridiculous but ultimately sacrifices himself and goes to the bottom in a touching and heroic – yet believable – way. In what would turn out to have a profound influence on his later life, Harinxma works with a sensitive young Canadian liaison officer posted to his ship, who quixotically dies in a futile attempt to shield an injured kitten from an attacking German plane. Later, Harinxma has a brief and guilt-ridden affair with the Canadian's widow. Things come to a head in a particularly disastrous convoy of which few of the participating ships survive to reach their destination. (Both De Hartog's book and MacLean's seem to be inspired by – though not be following in every detail – the case of the historical ill-fated Convoy PQ 17 of July 1942). Harinxma loses his ship, and very nearly his life, but purely by chance a depth charge falling from the ship sinks a German U-Boat as well. He pulls from the oily water and into the lifeboat a German boy who was a cook's mate on the submarine and is its only survivor (and who would become a prosperous businessman in post-war Germany and send each year a big box of cakes to his Dutch saviour). Sick and tired of war, Harinxma returns to London and confronts the formidable aging patriarch of the Kwel Company. He declares his firm decision to become a conscientious objector and quit the sea – and gets told "God has sown you on the bridge of a tugboat, and there you will grow". Eventually, a deep-seated feeling of loyalty to all the Dutch and British who sailed with him and went to the bottom impels Harinxma to indeed take up again command of a ship – but a completely unarmed one, where he would be exposed to the full risk of German attacks but not be in a position to kill anybody even inadvertently. This message reflects the position of de Hartog himself, who became more and more of a pacifist towards the end of the war years and eventually joined the outspokenly pacifist Quakers. What saves the book from becoming an ideological tract is the wry sense of humour evident even in manifestly non-humorous situations, and the first-person narrator's ability to laugh at himself. Harinxma returned in several later de Hartog books, such as The Commodore and The Centurion. ===== In the novel's first section, the protagonist loses his teaching job due to a false accusation of seducing a 10th-grade student. He then seduces the student, and having done so, departs on a trip to France. In France he assumes the name of a friend, 'Herbert', and pretends to be a curator looking for lost drawings of Allan Stein. The protagonist uses his new identity to become close to the son of his hosts, a moody 15-year-old named Stéphane. The narrator projects onto Stéphane an idealized memory of his own childhood, when he visited France with his mother at age 16. Enchanted by Stéphane's mother as well as her son. After two weeks, the narrator succeeds in making Stéphane his lover, and the two run off together to the South of France. But Stéphane returns to his parents when he discovers that the narrator has lied about his name. It is only at this point that the reader discovers the real name of the narrator: Matthew. ===== Twelve- year-old Robin Garr witnessed her friend Amelia's death at summer camp. Robin cannot cope with the death and blames herself. Further, her parents are always fighting. Mrs. Garr has just changed her job and moves to another city, but visits on the weekends; it's a big chance for her and she thinks the change will be good for the family. Robin is frustrated with this turn of events. One day Robin meets a pleasant woman named Dorothy, who turns out to be a new neighbor. They soon become friends, but the closer they get, the more uncomfortable Robin feels. Dorothy begins to become obsessed with Robin; it is eventually revealed that she is really the mother of Amelia, the girl who died at summer camp. Dorothy cannot cope with the loss of her daughter and is trying to replace her by getting close to Robin. One day Dorothy helps Robin clean up and clandestinely places a walkie-talkie in her room. Each night, when her parents are putting her to bed, Dorothy listens in on their conversations. Mrs. Garr notices how weirdly close Dorothy has become to Robin, and is not comfortable with it; she realizes that Robin is also uncomfortable. One night, Mr. Garr asks Dorothy to stay with Robin while he is gone. When Robin is disobedient to Dorothy, Dorothy hits her. Mr. Garr comes home to find both Dorothy and his daughter gone, and he sees a bit of blood on the doorframe. He calls his wife, and she comes home. They call the police and set out to find their little girl. Meanwhile, Dorothy is trying to brainwash Robin. She has taken Robin to her home and begun to call her Amelia. When Robin refuses to obey the woman, Dorothy locks her in Amelia's old room. Robin's parents come across Amelia's file at camp and track down her address, despite being told to wait at home. When Robin tries to escape from Dorothy (whose real name is Gretchen), she tries to hurt Robin by burning her arm. Finally, when Robin's parents arrive, Mr. Garr breaks down the window and the door to the bedroom. Gretchen insists that Robin is really her daughter Amelia. The detectives and police arrive shortly thereafter, removing Robin from Gretchen's care and giving her back to her parents. While being arrested, the clearly mentally ill Gretchen says things like, "Amelia... want to play hide and seek? Yes, yes, I'll find you..." She continues to act this way as they take her away and place her in the police car. Robin and her parents then return home. Mrs. Garr decides to quit her job, deciding that she doesn't need it as much as she needs her family. ===== Anna Montgomery (Olivia d'Abo), a teacher who is on an exchange program from Surrey, England, is placed into a school in the fictional small town of Elma, Texas. She initially struggles to connect with her students, as they believe they are underachievers doomed to dead end lives. One day, instead of teaching geography to the inattentive class, Anna breaks the globe in an attempt to pique the kids' interest. After some confusion, the children start learning the game of soccer. After the first practice, Anna tells them she has entered them into a league in Austin, Texas, but their first game is the following day. The town Sheriff's Deputy Tom Palmer (Steve Guttenberg) becomes co-coach while at the same time begins falling for Anna. The team travels to Austin to play the Knights, who are the top team in the league. However, none of the kids fully understand know how to play, and lose 18–0. They decide not to play anymore, until they discover the talent of new classmate Juan Morales (Anthony Esquivel), but have to persuade his reluctant mother to let him play. The team, now known as the Big Green, steadily improves with Juan, and they go on a remarkable run with a record of eight wins, two losses, and one tie, which earns them a re-match against the Knights in the championship. As the town goes crazy for the final, hometown boy and current Knights coach Jay Huffer (Jay O. Sanders) returns to Elma, and finds in the bar the drunken and prejudiced father of Kate Douglas (Jessica Robertson), one of the players. He tells Jay, who works as an auditor for the IRS, via bribery that Juan's mother is an illegal immigrant. Later, Tom is forced to investigate the matter, forcing Juan and his mother to flee Elma. Kate is left furious with both her father and Tom over the situation, but Anna convinces her to stay on the team. On the day of the championship, Tom searches for Juan, but is unable to find him before the start of the match, and by halftime the team is down 2–0. With 10 minutes left in the game, Juan arrives with Tom and his mother, where Tom announces he is now the sponsor for Juan's mother, meaning they can stay in the country. Juan enters the game and sets up Elma's first goal, and with the last kick of the match, scores the equalizer to tie the game, 2-2, forcing the championship to be decided in a penalty shootout. In the final round with the score still tied, the Knights captain and son of the coach, Jay Huffer Jr., steps onto the field. The Big Green goalie Larry Musgrove (Patrick Renna), who suffers from visions of the opposition players becoming "monsters," manages to turn himself into a monster in his own fantasy, in order to psych out the opponent and save the kick. The final kick for the championship is taken by the Big Green's smallest and youngest player, Newt Shaw (Bug Hall). He scores on his kick, giving the Big Green the championship. Huffer, having made a bet with Anna if his Knights were to lose, kisses the Big Green's goat mascot, much to his disgust. The final scene shows a new billboard in Elma, featuring the team and highlighting their success on the field and in the classroom. ===== ===== Richard, a young American seeking adventure in Bangkok, stays in a drab travelers' hotel in Khao San Road where he meets a young French couple, Françoise and Étienne, and he immediately becomes attracted to Françoise. He also meets Daffy, who tells him of a pristine, uninhabited and restricted island in the Gulf of Thailand with a beautiful hidden beach and lagoon. Daffy explains that he and other travelers settled there in secret several years earlier, but difficulties arose and he chose to leave. Daffy commits suicide, leaving Richard a map to the island. Richard convinces Françoise and Étienne to accompany him to the island, and the three travel to Ko Samui. After getting locked out of his bungalow during a thunderstorm, Richard meets two American surfers who have heard rumors of the island, including huge amounts of cannabis supposedly growing there. Before departing, Richard leaves them a copy of the map. En route to the island, Richard becomes infatuated with Françoise. After swimming to the island from a neighboring one, they find a large cannabis plantation guarded by armed Thai farmers. Avoiding detection, they make their way across the island and meet English cricket fan Keatey, who brings them to a fully functioning community of travelers living on the island, totally in secret. Sal, the community's English leader, explains that the farmers allow them to stay so long as they keep to themselves and do not allow any more travelers to come to the island. Richard lies that they have not shown the map to anyone else, which satisfies Sal. The trio become integrated into the largely self-sufficient and leisurely community. One night, Françoise privately invites Richard to the beach where she tells him that she is falling in love with him and they make love. Despite hoping to keep it secret, the community finds out. While angry, Étienne says he will not stand in their way if Françoise is happier with Richard. Tensions rise between Richard and Sal's South African boyfriend Bugs; when Richard gains popularity by killing a shark, Bugs mocks him over the shark's small size but Richard mocks him back for his jealousy. When Sal selects Richard to accompany her on a supply run to Ko Pha Ngan, Bugs warns him to keep his hands off her. While there they encounter the American surfers Richard met in Ko Samui, who are preparing to search for the island and mention Richard's map. Richard lies to Sal that he did not give them a copy, and she coaxes him into having sex with her in exchange for her secrecy despite the two having their respective partners. On their return to the island, Richard lies to Françoise about having sex with Sal and continues his relationship with her. Things return to normal until a shark attack kills one of the community's fishermen, Sten, and leaves another, Christo, severely injured. Sal refuses to compromise the community by bringing medical help, and Christo is too traumatized to travel to the mainland by sea. His worsening condition affects the group's morale, so they isolate him in a tent despite Étienne's objections. When the surfers from Ko Pha Ngan turn up on the neighboring island, Sal furiously orders Richard to observe them until they cross over, then send them away and destroy their map. She also tells everyone that she and Richard had sex, which leaves Françoise angry and heartbroken causing her to return to Étienne. Isolated from the group, Richard begins to lose his sanity, stalking the cannabis farmers, stealing some of their personal items while they sleep, and imagining that he is conversing with the deceased Daffy. The surfers reach the island but are discovered and killed by the farmers. Shocked at witnessing their deaths, Richard tries to gather Françoise and Étienne to leave the island. Étienne refuses to leave Christo, whose leg has become gangrenous, so Richard euthanizes Christo by suffocation. Richard is captured by the farmers and brought before the community, along with Françoise and Étienne. The farmers are furious with the community for breaking their deal to not allow any more newcomers. The lead farmer gives Sal a gun loaded with a single bullet and orders her to make a choice: kill Richard and the group will be allowed to stay, or else they must all leave immediately. Sal pulls the trigger, but the chamber is empty. Shocked by her willingness to commit murder, the other members of the community abandon Sal, leave the island, and go their separate ways. Later, back in the United States, Richard receives an email at an Internet cafe from Françoise with a group photograph of the beach community in happier times. The purpose of the email does not suggest Françoise is trying to resurrect her relationship with Richard but rather to suggest nostalgia. ===== New Orleans narcotics detective Anthony Stowe (Jean-Claude van Damme) is a heroin addict who is teetering on the edge of oblivion, and he could not care less. At the moment, he is trying to bring down his former partner Gabriel Callahan (Stephen Rea), who has become a drug kingpin. Callahan is trying to, and slowly succeeding at, taking over the New Orleans underworld. Stowe botches a sting operation against Callahan, resulting in the death of fellow cop Maria Ronson (Rachel Grant), whose fiancée, fellow cop Van Huffel (Adam Leese), nearly comes to blows with him over it. Chief Mac Baylor (Gary Beadle) has a very blunt chat with Stowe, who is dismissive. Stowe is approached by fellow cop Walter Curry (Trevor Cooper) to help his nephew beat a drug-dealing charge; he instead turns Curry over to Baylor, who fires him. After barricading himself in the station bathroom, Walter confronts an unrepentant Stowe and condemns him for betraying his fellow officers. That night Stowe meets with his estranged wife, Valerie (Selina Giles), who tells him that she's pregnant, but that he's not the father. Valerie, whose marriage with Stowe is close to collapse, has been seeing a man named Mark Rossini (Mark Dymond), the gym teacher at the school she is principal of. But he may not be the father either. Stowe brashly accuses Valerie of being impregnated by Callahan, and she tells him she never wants to see him again. The only thing keeping Stowe from total collapse is his dogged pursuit of Callahan. But he drunkenly stumbles into an ambush masterminded by Callahan, and is shot in the head by Callahan's right-hand man Jimmy (Stephen Lord). Stowe undergoes emergency surgery, and ends up in a coma. Months later, he recovers to the point that he opens his eyes, and is transported to his and Valerie's house to recover properly. Seven months later, Stowe is slowly learning to walk and speak again. He manages to survive an attempt on his life by someone who appears to be a police officer. He attempts to get his job back, but Chief Baylor refuses, in light of discovering his heroin addiction. The coma has led to his decision to become a better man, and to right some wrongs. He reconciles with his wife, although awkwardly, and gives Walter a significant portion of insurance money that compensated his time in a coma. Finally, he visits the grave of fellow police officer Serge (William Ash), who once saved Stowe's life but has been killed by an unknown attacker following another failed sting operation. Valerie packs up to move out of the house so she can live with Mark, but after realizing the change that Stowe has undergone, she later decides to leave Mark and come home. Stowe is convinced by his friend Chad Mansen (Wes Robinson) not to let his wife go, and goes after her. They miss each other by a few minutes. Just after Valerie returns and meets Chad, some of Callahan's men show up. Jimmy kills Chad, and kidnaps Valerie. Stowe returns to the house, and finds Chad's body, along with Jimmy waiting for him. Jimmy takes Stowe to a warehouse where Callahan is waiting. Along the way, Stowe manages to overpower Jimmy and take his gun, but he finds that the odds against him are impossible and Callahan has Valerie hostage. Van Huffel is revealed to be Callahan's mole in the police force, and the sting operation at the beginning of the film was a set-up. Walter suddenly arrives and saves Stowe. Together they kill all of Callahan's men, including Jimmy and Van Huffel, as Callahan tries to escape with Valerie to his helicopter. Just as they are about to reach it, Stowe fires multiple shots at the helicopter which makes the pilot lift off, in fear. Callahan, seeing his means of escape is gone, shoots Stowe, undeterred he keeps coming towards Callahan and Valerie. Callahan fires several more shots at Stowe, gravely wounding him. Stowe reaches Callahan, grabs his gun hand and helps aim it at his head, simultaneously pointing his own weapon at Callahan. Two shots ring out in quick succession, and two bullet casings are shown falling. The screen goes dark. Chief Baylor decides to give Stowe his job back. Three years later, Stowe and Valerie have a 3-year-old daughter -- the baby that Valerie was pregnant with. In a mid-credits scene, a found footage of Callahan executing a couple, with Van Huffel present, is played. Although Stowe survives the U.S. version of the movie, some European releases of it have a different ending in which Stowe is killed in the shoot-out with Callahan. ===== ===== Conrad and Sally Walden live in the city of Anville with their single mother Joan, who works for neat-freak Hank Humberfloob as a real estate agent. One day, Joan leaves her children at home with babysitter Mrs. Kwan while she goes to the office, forbidding them to enter the living room which is being kept pristine for an office party she is hosting that night. After Mrs. Kwan falls asleep, Sally and Conrad meet The Cat in the Hat, an anthropomorphic talking cat with a red-and-white striped top hat and a large red bow tie who wants to teach them how to have fun. In the process, the Cat leaves a trail of destruction throughout the house and releases two troublemakers, named Thing 1 and Thing 2, from a crate which he locks and forbids the children to tamper with, explaining that it is a portal to his world. Despite the Cat's warning, Conrad picks the lock on the crate, which grabs on to the collar of the family dog Nevins, who runs off. The trio drive the Cat's super-powered car to search for Nevins and get the lock back. The Waldens' next-door neighbor Larry Quinn, who Joan has been dating, is revealed to be an unemployed slob in debt, pretending to be a successful businessman in order to marry Joan for her money. He wants to get Conrad out of the way by sending him to military school. Larry sees Nevins and kidnaps him, but the Cat tricks Larry into returning the dog. Larry goes and tells Joan about the Cat, but they are stalled by the Things' posing as police officers. Larry tells Joan to meet him at the house. When the kids and the Cat return to the house with the lock, Larry cuts them off and orders them inside the house, where he sneezes uncontrollably due to his allergy to the Cat, who takes the advantage and scares him away, only for them to find out that the house has been transformed into "The Mother of All Messes", with Larry falling into a gooey abyss. The Cat, Sally and Conrad ride on Mrs. Kwan and navigate through the surreal house to find the crate and lock it, whereupon the house returns to its normal proportions but immediately collapses. In a heated argument, the kids discover that the Cat planned the whole day and order him to leave. Conrad and Sally resign themselves to facing the consequences when Joan comes home, but the Cat returns with a cleaning invention and fixes the house. Conrad and Sally reconcile with the Cat and thank him for everything, and he departs just as Joan arrives. Larry, covered in goo, returns thinking he has busted the kids, but when Joan sees the clean house she doesn't believe his story and dumps him. After the successful party, Joan spends quality time with her kids by jumping on the couch with them, while the Cat and Things 1 and 2 walk off into the sunset. ===== A group of space explorers from Earth return from an expedition to a remote star system, where they discovered the remnants of an advanced civilization destroyed when its star went supernova. The group's chief astrophysicist, a Jesuit priest, is suffering from a deep crisis of faith, triggered by some undisclosed event during the journey. The destroyed planet's culture was very similar to Earth's. Recognizing several generations in advance that their star would soon explode, and with no means of interstellar travel to save themselves, the doomed people spent their final years building a vault on the outermost planet in their solar system, whose Pluto-like orbit was distant enough to survive the supernova. In the vault, they placed a complete record of their history, culture, achievements, and philosophy, hoping that it would someday be found so that their existence would not have been in vain. The Earth explorers, particularly the astrophysicist-priest, were deeply moved by these artifacts, and they found themselves identifying closely with the dead race's peaceful, human-like culture and the profound grace they exhibited in the face of their cruel fate. The final paragraph of "The Star" reveals the deepest root of the priest's pain. Determining the exact year of the long-ago supernova and the star system's distance from Earth, he calculated the date the emitted light from the explosion reached Earth, showing that the cataclysm that destroyed the peaceful planet was the same star that heralded the birth of Jesus. The scientist's faith is shaken because of the apparent capriciousness of God: ===== Martin is a young hobo with a fondness for trains. One night, as he is considering whether to abandon crime, a large unmarked black train pulls up beside him. The train conductor offers Martin anything he wants, in return for which he will "ride that Hell-Bound Train" when he dies. Martin requests the power to stop time, which he plans to use at the happiest time of his life. The conductor accedes to this request; however, over the years that follow, Martin discovers that he cannot choose which moment is his happiest. In the end, he dies, never having stopped time, and indeed boards the train. However, he likes the sinful look of the passengers and chooses to stop time then and there. The train never reaches the depot and Martin, now the brakeman, finally finds happiness. ===== Aerial view of Astraea Hill. Locations include: Strawberry Dorms (top), Lulim (left), Miator (bottom), church and library (center), and Spica (right). ===== Lone Wolf, Kai Grand Master of Sommerlund, has just completed a successful quest when he learns that the Dark God Naar is about to send a large group of fire- breathing dragons against the Kai Monastery. Lone Wolf has to deal with assassins sent to intercept him before he can reach the monastery and lead the new Kai Lords into battle. ===== This is the second half of Lone Wolf's apprentice’s voyage to the Isle of Lorn to return the Moonstone to its proper place among the Shianti. The book is notable for retracing, in a sense, the steps of the protagonist Grey Star in The World of Lone Wolf series. Major characters and events from that series, such as Grey Star, Agarash the Damned, Shasarak the Wytch-King and Mother Magri, are referenced in passing, and a number of important locations such as the city of Shadaki and the Inn of the Laughing Moon in Suhn make cameo appearances. ===== Raj Kumar Gupta (Sanjeev Kumar) gives up his first love Shanti (Waheeda Rehman) to marry a wealthy heiress Kamini (Gita Siddharth), who is the daughter of Seth Dindayal. Shanti comes by to wish him success on his marriage with the news that she is carrying his child and moving away. She gives birth to a boy and names him Vijay. She raises him to adulthood. After she dies, Vijay comes to Delhi to take revenge by destroying his father's business and family connections. Shekhar (Shashi Kapoor) and Kusum (Poonam Dhillon) are Vijay's half-siblings who are caught in the crossfire of Vijay's revenge. Vijay also crosses paths with Geeta (Raakhee), the devoted secretary of Gupta and another company's general manager Sheetal (Hema Malini) who is also the daughter of the owner of the company. When Geeta is fired Vijay hires her. He tries to create differences between Shekhar and Sheetal. Vijay also takes all the good deals which resulted in losses for Raj. He even encourages Kusum to marry Ravi (Sachin) against her father's wishes which enrages Shekhar and he ends up fighting with Vijay. But Geeta comes and tells the truth. Shekhar and Kusum leave Raj. Raj in anger tells Balwant (Prem Chopra) to kill Vijay. Later Vijay comes down and tells him that he is Raj's son and leaves. Raj tries to stop Balwant but he had already left and kidnapped Ravi in order to get to Vijay. Vijay, with the assistance of Shekhar and Raj, rescues Ravi. Balwant aims at Vijay but Raj comes in between and thus Raj is shot in the process by Balwant. Before dying Raj asks for forgiveness. Vijay forgives him and unites with the family. In addition, Vijay changes the name of his company from Shanti Constructions to Shanti-Raj Constructions. ===== In the wake of a school massacre conducted by Kevin Khatchadourian, the 15-year-old son of Franklin Plaskett and Eva Khatchadourian, Eva writes letters to Franklin. In these letters, she relates the history of her relationship with her husband, and the events of Kevin's life up to the killings, and her thoughts concerning their relationship. She also reveals events that she tried to keep secret, such as when she lashed out and broke Kevin's arm in a sudden fit of rage. She is also shown visiting Kevin in prison, where they appear to have an adversarial relationship. Kevin displays little to no affection or moral responsibility towards his family or community, seemingly regarding everyone with contempt and hatred, especially his mother, whom he antagonizes. He engages in many acts of petty sabotage from an early age, from seemingly innocent actions like spraying ink with a squirt gun on a room his mother has painstakingly wallpapered in rare maps, to possibly encouraging a girl to gouge her eczema-affected skin. The one activity he takes any pleasure in is archery, having read Robin Hood as a child. As Kevin's behaviour worsens, Franklin defends him, convinced that his son is a healthy, normal boy and that there is a reasonable explanation for everything he does. Kevin plays the part of a loving, respectful son whenever Franklin is around, an act that Eva sees through. This creates a rift between Eva and Franklin that never heals. Shortly before the massacre, Franklin asks for a divorce. When Kevin's sister Celia is six years old, she loses an eye when Eva uses a caustic drain cleaner to clear a blockage in a sink; either Eva left the cleaner sitting within Celia's reach, or Kevin somehow attacked Celia with it, destroying her eye and scarring her face. Eva strongly believes that Kevin, who was babysitting at the time, poured the cleaner onto his sister's face, telling her he was cleaning her eye after she got something in it. The event is also linked to an earlier incident involving the disappearance of Celia's pet rodents. When relating the story of the massacre itself, it is finally revealed that Franklin and Celia are in fact dead. Kevin killed them both with his crossbow before traveling to his school, attacking seven classmates, a cafeteria worker and a teacher. Eva speculates that he did this because he overheard her and Franklin discussing a divorce, and that he believed Franklin would get custody of him, thus denying him final victory over his mother. The novel ends on the second anniversary of the massacre, three days before Kevin will turn eighteen and be transferred to Sing Sing. Subdued and frightened, he makes a peace offering of sorts to Eva by giving her Celia's prosthetic eye to bury, and telling her that he's sorry. Eva asks Kevin for the first time why he committed the murders, and Kevin replies that he is no longer sure. They embrace, and Eva concludes that, despite what he did, she loves her son. ===== Natalie is an academically-focused student, with the intent of going to Duke University on a tennis scholarship. Natalie, with several other of her classmates, frequents an outdoors party place called The Brick. There, she bonds with Rafael, a new transfer student. Meanwhile, in chemistry, Natalie is paired with Keith, a carefree boy with a rebellious view of life. When Natalie asks Keith to help her with a lab report, he drives her out of school to trespass into an office building, bringing her into his easygoing lifestyle. Even though Rafael becomes Natalie's boyfriend, Keith persistently asks Natalie to go out with him, though insisting as friends and calling his offers "non-dates". Gradually, Keith and Natalie come closer, and Natalie goes on non-dates with Keith. Her continued interaction with Keith starts to make Rafael jealous. One night, Keith and Natalie have an argument just as Al and a boy named Billy turn up. The relationship between Al and Billy is not made clear. Keith's kindness towards Billy causes Natalie to think that Keith is "a softy". After driving for a while, Natalie tells Keith to turn into a dirt road, a cliff overlooking The Brick, which happens to be Keith's favorite spot. They talk and eventually share a kiss. The next day, Natalie and Keith go to the cliff and discuss their future dreams. While lying down and talking in the back of the truck, Natalie notices that the truck is moving. She panics and gets out of it, screaming at Keith to jump to safety. Keith, however, remains lying down, relaxed and rambling on. Just before rolling off, Keith swiftly moves into the driver's seat and hits the brakes. Natalie is furious at Keith and asks him if he wanted to kill himself. When Natalie gets home, she is still wearing Keith's jacket and finds antidepressants in his pocket. Worried, Natalie wants to speak to Keith about the medication, but he does not come to school for several days. When Natalie fails to get his address from the school's office, she remembers Keith saying that he lived at the old white house with a big porch, and decides to go visit. When she arrives, she realizes Keith lied to her about his residence. Two weeks later, Keith appears, and Natalie is irritated with his lies. She decides to find out his real address by breaking into his locker, and is suspended from school as a result. When Natalie visits his house, Keith refuses to see her, so Natalie hides in the back of his yellow truck. Later that night, Keith comes out of the house and drives off to the clifftop. There, Natalie expresses her love for him, and they end up having sex in the back of Keith's truck, (but this is not shown) where Natalie finally loses her virginity to Keith. As Keith drives Natalie home, Natalie is excited to begin a relationship with Keith, but he says that they should forget about what happened, leaving Natalie heartbroken. Natalie's tennis rankings drop, and she is on the verge of losing her scholarship. She also dumps Rafael. On the road, Natalie sees Al, who is revealed to be Keith's counselor. Natalie is informed that Billy died of cancer and that Billy and Keith received chemotherapy treatment together. Natalie finally realizes that Keith is dying of cancer. One night, Keith appears at her house, and Natalie leads Keith to the airport so that he can follow his dreams for the short time he has left. Keith finally expresses his true feelings for Natalie, and Natalie tells Keith that she wants to be with him despite what the future holds for him. They kiss and the camera pans out. The film then cuts to when Natalie graduates; Keith has presumably died, and Natalie has adopted many of Keith's old habits. She has become a grease monkey and drives Keith's yellow truck. She decides since Keith did not get to live out his dream, she will do it for him. She drives to London, Ontario to put Keith's yellow truck in the annual truck show. ===== The Brooklyn Ice Palace shuts down after the Ice Frolics pack up to go to another show somewhere else. But during their departure, the Ice Frolics crew forget their star performer, Playboy Penguin. Playboy is found by Bugs Bunny, who vows to take him home. But upon discovering penguins come from the South Pole, exclaims "Ooh, I'm dyin'!" To go down south, Bugs and Playboy hitch a ride on a freight train to New Orleans. Once in New Orleans, Bugs puts Playboy aboard a ship named the Admiral Byrd, which he believes is going to the South Pole. Afterwards, Bugs orders a carrot martini at La Bouche Cafe and stays for Mardi Gras. After hearing that the ship is actually headed for Brooklyn, Bugs swims out to it to rescue Playboy and finds him hanging upside down in the ship's kitchen among uncooked chickens, but rather than swimming back to New Orleans, they end up on a tropical island. While Bugs strums a guitar and composes a calypso ballad (six years before the style was popularized by "The Banana Boat Song"), Playboy is forced to build a dugout boat. As Bugs is playing, Humphrey Bogart, straight out of the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, appears and asks him if he can "help out a fellow American who's down on his luck". Bugs reaches into his pocket, digs around, pulls out a coin, and flips it at him and tells him to "hit the road". After 10 days at sea, Bugs is beginning to feel hungry, having not taken any food with them. Upon looking at Playboy, Bugs remembers a hobo on the train saying that penguins are practically chickens and decides to eat Playboy, but immediately snaps out of his daze and apologizes to Playboy, just as he spots land. The land, however, is the Panama Canal and when the guard at the first lock demands a quarter for passage through, Bugs refuses to pay it and decides he and Playboy will continue the journey on foot. While trekking rough South America, Bugs and Playboy end up in a cauldron of cannibals around Bolivia, Brazil, or Peru and are about to be eaten by the chanting natives when one comes running shouting "El Bwana," which scares the other natives away. Bugs Bunny intrepidly awaits "El Bwana," which turns out to be Humphrey asking again, "Pardon me but could you help out a fellow American who's down on his luck?" Rather than berate him again, Bugs just gives him a coin for saving his and Playboy's life. Then he and Playboy resume their journey. Bugs and Playboy's route continues down through the rest of South America nearly straight to the South Pole, with Bugs having to swing through trees, outswim a hungry crocodile, scale a mountain in the Andes, and sail a boat through the South Pacific to the Antarctic. Bugs brings Playboy to the exact South Pole and says that he [Bugs] has brought him home like he promised and is leaving, causing Playboy to cry. Bugs asks what the problem is now, to which Playboy shows Bugs a flyer for his performance which reads "The Ice Frolics PRESENTS The Only Hoboken Born Penguin In Captivity Skating", and Bugs (realizing that he would still have to travel more than half the Earth to get Playboy to his true destination) yells that "Ooh, I'm dying again!" Humphrey Bogart appears yet again and starts to ask for Bugs' help. This time, Bugs interrupts and asks Bogart if "he can help out a fellow American who's down on his luck." With that, he thrusts Playboy into Bogart's hands and runs off into the distance while laughing hysterically. ===== The story begins in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1838. Jeanie MacDowell is a cheerful and beautiful girl with light brown hair (although this could be perceived as being blonde hair). Jeanie enjoys playing the piano and loves taking piano lessons from her mother. Steven, a good harmonica player, and Bill, a boy who is very good at playing the banjo, are great friends of Jeanie's. They enjoy playing music together like a small band. However, Jeanie's happy life changes dramatically after her mother suddenly passes away. Experiencing many difficulties and learning the importance of life, she decides to devote her life to helping many people suffering from illness. The series is a love story about the relationship between Steven and Jeanie - clearly a reference to Stephen Foster and his wife Jeanie. ===== Elizabeth Bayley Seton (1774-1821) is a happily married New York Episcopalian socialite and mother of five whose life gets turned around after her husband, William Seton, dies of consumption in Italy after his shipping business went bankrupt. As a widow with five children, she opens a small school in an effort to support herself and family. She decides to convert to Catholicism, much to the protest and distaste of her friends and family. As a social outcast, she is left with nothing so she and her daughters took refuge in Baltimore. Under the wing of John Carroll, the first American Catholic bishop, she opens a school, establishes a religious routine and takes religious vows, thus becoming `Mother Seton.' Eventually she, her daughter, and a band of young women who have joined her rattle west in a covered wagon into the countryside, to Emmitsburg, Maryland., where, on an initial diet of salt pork and carrot coffee, she sets up a school and a convent for her growing sisterhood, Sisters of Charity. She dies from consumption at 46. Though not meeting the four miracle requirement to become a saint, Mother Seton was canonized in 1975. ===== Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) returns from a ride-along with her cop boyfriend, Gary (Michael Rapaport), which prompts the guys to follow suit and share the experience. Joey buys a delicious sandwich but is not allowed to eat it in Gary's car, so he keeps talking about it, much to the annoyance of Ross and Chandler. Ross accidentally turns on the beacon, prompting Gary to move him from the front seat. During the ride, a car backfire scares them all, leading to Joey diving over Ross in an attempt to save him. This causes problems between Chandler and Joey because Joey apparently wanted to save Ross instead of Chandler, his best friend. However, it turns out that Joey was not trying to save Ross, but only his sandwich. To show Chandler how much he values their friendship, he allows him to have one bite of the sandwich. Ross' ex-wife Emily is getting married again, so the group does its best to distract him. Monica decides to organize photos, but Rachel accidentally drops a box of other pictures on it, ruining all Monica's work. Due to being upset, the two decide to make margaritas, but they do not have the ingredients, so they decide to steal them from Ross' apartment, where Rachel intercepts a message from Emily, who has second thoughts about her upcoming wedding and the divorce with Ross. Monica thinks they should erase the message, but Rachel thinks Ross deserves to know the truth. During the discussion, she accidentally erases the message. After being "saved", Ross is filled with a new-found respect for life, which he reports to his own answering machine, resulting in the message being heard by the girls, who are still at his apartment. Rachel tells Ross about the message from Emily, but Ross wants to call her back, because he wants to seize every new opportunity. Rachel talks this idea out of Ross' mind by convincing him that it is not the day of seizing stuff, but escaping from stuff, such as "death" and from Emily. ===== The book begins at the funeral of its protagonist. The remainder of the book, which ends with his death, looks mournfully back on episodes from his life, including his childhood, where he and his older brother, Howie, worked in his father's shop, Everyman's Jewelry Store. He has been married three times, with two sons from his first marriage who resent him for leaving their mother, and one daughter from his second marriage who treats him with kindness and compassion, though he divorced her mother after beginning an affair with a 24-year-old Danish model, who subsequently became his third wife. Having divorced her as well, he has moved in his old age to a retirement community at the New Jersey shore, where he lives alone and attempts to paint, having passed up a career as an artist early in his life to work in advertising in order to support himself and his family. The book traces the protagonist's feelings as he gets increasingly old and sick, and his reflections of his own past, which has included his share of misdeeds and mistakes, as he ponders his impending death. The unnamed everyman, while an ordinary man and not a famous novelist, has much in common with Philip Roth; he is born, like Roth, in 1933; he grows up in Elizabeth, six miles away from Roth's native Newark; and he recounts a series of medical problems and a history of frequent hospitalization similar to that of the author's. ===== The film centers around Paul Tracy (Sheen), aide to the influential United States Senator Kitteridge (Raymond J. Barry). Paul has political aspirations of his own, and hopes to win the Senator's favor to advance his ambitions. He is asked to transport Robin (Green), the Senator's delinquent daughter, to an institution for girls. He asks his aspiring writer roommate T.S. (Ruck) to come along for the trip. Robin is initially drugged by her father and put nearly unconscious into the back of their car, but as soon as she wakes up she tries everything and anything to escape. Eventually a romance develops between Robin and Paul, and he begins to take her claims of her father's abuse more seriously. Along the way they pick up Missy Butler (Tefkin), a southern belle who has her eye on T.S. After Robin escapes, almost for good, they manage to find her. Rather than take her unwillingly, they offer to make a detour to locate Robin's estranged mother Blanche (Kellerman), hoping that Robin can live with her. Robin agrees to go with them, but Blanche refuses, clearly out of fear of the repercussions of her powerful ex-husband. With no other options left, a devastated Robin is taken to the institution, but when Paul sees firsthand the rough treatment of Robin by the institution's workers, he becomes more determined than ever to break her free, and develops a ruse. Blanche also arrives, demanding to see her daughter, but is turned away at the gate. However, Paul uses his initial visit to regain entry, which is granted by security. Paul tells Robin he's come to rescue her, but a now despondent Robin has accepted her fate and doesn't want to make matters worse. Paul takes her to a window, where she sees Blanche looking gloomily towards a window. Realizing her mother does want her, Robin agrees to allow Paul to help her escape. This is quelched by the unexpected arrival of the Senator, admitting that he questioned Paul's loyalty. Paul rejects the Senator, effectively putting himself out of a job. Blanche drives up to the gate this time with the intent of taking her daughter with her at all costs. When the Senator threatens to have her arrested, she in turn threatens to expose his dastardly deeds (likely with information provided by Paul and Robin), including the rape of a babysitter. The Senator tries to reason with Blanche, but is interrupted by her sucker punch to his jaw. Thus Robin goes to live with her mother, free to explore the romantic possibilities with Paul. ===== Gobbolino is a little black kitten born in a witch's cave, high up on Hurricane Mountain. He has sparkling blue eyes and one white paw. This sets him apart from other witch's cats like his twin sister Sootica, who have pure black fur and green eyes. While his sister is eager to begin her training as a witch's cat, Gobbolino longs to be a humble kitchen cat and to have a loving human family of his own. Gobbolino tries to adjust to his life in the cave but fails to complete a single task set by his mistress. After being rejected as an assistant by every witch in the area, he is left abandoned. Initially distraught, he soon realises that he can now pursue his own dreams, and embarks on a great adventure to seek out his heart's desire. He tries to be a normal kitchen cat, first at a farm, then an orphanage, then the mayor's house, but his magic always gets him into trouble. He becomes a show cat, but the other cats are jealous and reveal him as a witch's cat. He becomes a ship's cat for a brief period but returns to shore after using his magic to save the ship from a witch, making the sailors suspicious. He is adopted by a sick princess, but when she is well again she leaves for boarding school without him, so he joins a Punch and Judy show as 'Toby the Dog', but a witch in the audience reveals him as a witch's cat. A knight finds him and gives him to a lady as a gift, but when Gobbolino tries to help the knight win over the Lady, he only causes more trouble. He leaves and is adopted by a woodcutter, but the woodcutter's great-granddaughter sells him to a pedlar-woman for a dress. Finally accepting his magic, Gobbolino becomes the pedlar-woman's assistant, but his good heart and unwillingness to cause pain mean he fails at every task he is set. The pedlar-woman leaves him in the care of his sister, Sootica, and her mistress, but once again he is unable to complete his tasks. The witch puts a spell on him, removing his magical powers, and he finds his way back to the farm where he began his journey, his coat having faded to an unrecognisable tabby. Here, he finds his old friends welcome him back happily, and he becomes the farm's kitchen cat. The name 'Gobbolino' is from the Italian word for "little hunchback". The story of Gobbolino was adapted as a children's song by G. C. Westcott, and has been very popular in primary school music classes in Australia and New Zealand since appearing as song 9 on page 12 of the 1978 edition of Sing, a music curriculum programme of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that included a radio programme, cassettes (now CDs) and an annual compilation of songs. The song consists of three verses and a chorus. ===== Prince Horace can be annoying and craving attention from his father, he frequently misbehaves—to the point he is nicknamed "Prince Brat." Since he is a prince, no one may raise a hand against him. Therefore, his family provides him with a whipping boy, Jemmy, an orphaned boy who will be punished in the prince's stead. Though he has learned to read, write and do mathematics while living in the castle, Jemmy is beaten several times a day and longs for the freedom he had on the streets. When the prince decides to run away on a whim, he demands that Jemmy act as his servant during his journey. While on the run, the boys are picked up by two notorious highwaymen, Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater, who hatch a scheme to ransom the prince. Jemmy talks them into believing that he is the prince, and sets into motion a plan of escape. The prince misunderstands Jemmy's intentions and betrays him. Nonetheless, the boys escape. They come across a girl named Betsy searching for her lost dancing bear, Petunia, and she directs them to the river where they find a kind man with a wagon full of potatoes. The boys help the man - whose name is Captain Nips - get his wagon out from the mud, and in return, the potato man gives the boys, the girl, and the bear a lift to the fair, but they are soon intercepted by the highwaymen. Still believing Jemmy is the prince, and believing it to be a crime worse than murder to beat the prince, they beat Horace instead. Petunia scares the highwaymen away, and everyone arrives at the fair. Betsy earns a few coins with her bear, Captain Nips boils the potatoes and sells them, and Horace and Jemmy head down to the sewer to catch some rats. On their way, they hear some people talking about the missing prince - one woman makes a remark about how much worse things will be when the prince becomes king. Horace's feelings are hurt very deeply, but he does not show his emotions. When the boys learn that the king has posted a reward for the whipping boy, who has been accused of kidnapping the prince, they go into the sewers where they see the highwaymen. They trick the highwaymen into the most dangerous sewer, where rats attack them. Afterward, the prince decides that he wants to finally go home. When they return to Captain Nips, Horace reveals himself as a prince and suggests that the potato man collect the reward for capturing the whipping boy. Although Horace tries to explain the entire escapade to the king, Jemmy is ultimately pardoned, and the prince and Jemmy live happily ever after as the best of friends in the castle. Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater eventually escape the sewers, but mistakenly board a ship that goes to a prison island. ===== The story begins with the story of a young couple. Mary is engaged to Joe Davidson ("David's Son" referring to the lineage of Christ coming through the line of David). Even though she is a virgin, she is found to be with child before they are married. This child is conceived of the Holy Spirit. Joe considers not going through with the marriage, but is visited by an angel who tells him that it is the will of God that is occurring and not foul play, so he marries his girl. Due to an income tax audit, they must then travel to Gainesville; on the way, Mary suddenly goes into labor. There's no room for them at the Dixie Delight Motor Lodge, but the manager helps Joe break into an abandoned trailer out back, where the baby, Jesus, is born: "They wrapped him in a comforter and laid him in an apple crate". Jesus grows up like no other child in Georgia with his neighbors befuddled and his parents often at a loss as to what to do. Jesus then is baptized by a wild preacher named John the Baptizer, and begins to teach the people and convince the disciples. He shares with them the love and peace he offers, and miraculously heals and feeds many. During this time Jesus gathers a band of constant followers (known as the Apostles in the Bible.) This group eventually heads off to Atlanta with a mixed air of excitement and foreboding. ===== In suburban Ontario, Cliff is a young gay man who lives with his mother, Madge, an unconventional woman who owns her own chocolate delivery company, and his savvy adolescent sister, Cookie. On his 18th birthday, Cookie encourages Cliff to take a trip into Toronto, celebrate, and lose his virginity. Cookie gives him a skateboard and a spliff. In the city, he encounters a gay ghetto where he meets Butch, a hustler in his 20s. Cliff is immediately infatuated with Butch, and manages to strike a conversation with him. After a while, the two begin kissing passionately in an abandoned flat, but Butch stops the encounter and leaves, declining Cliff's suggestion that they get coffee together. Cliff follows him to an alley where Butch spends his time with a group of street kids and punks. Cliff manages to ingratiate himself with the group, and spends the evening with them at Paradise, a local club. Cliff is pursued by a young pregnant woman there, but he explains to her that he is not attracted to women. In the early morning, Cliff goes back with Butch to Butch's apartment, where they share a bed. Later, shortly after they wake up, Cliff expresses romantic interest in Butch, but Butch is evasive about becoming too invested in him. During breakfast, Butch tells Cliff he feels aroused, and the two engage in mutual masturbation. Butch and Cliff quickly grow close, and Cliff brings him to meet his mother and little sister. Butch and Cliff lie to Madge about the origins of their relationship, claiming to have met at Kmart, where Butch says he works as a shelf stocker. Madge takes a liking to Butch, but warns him not to hurt her son. After dinner, Cliff admits to her that Butch is in fact a hustler. Cliff and Butch's relationship progresses, and Cliff grows more comfortable with Butch's regular clients. Among them are Stanley, a middle-aged gay man who likes to engage in non-sexual sadomasochism. One day Butch suggests Cliff participate in a sexual transaction involving one of his clients. In order to muster courage, Cliff gets drunk, and he and Butch arrive at the apartment of the man, who says he only wants to vicariously observe the two men have sex. Butch has anal sex with Cliff for the first time in front of the man. The encounter leaves Cliff humiliated, and he shoves Butch to the ground as the two leave, telling him he never wants to see him again. Cliff becomes profoundly depressed. Some time later, Cliff and Butch meet to talk, and Cliff finds that he has been abusing prescription medication and other drugs. Later, while alone, Butch goes to meet Cookie, who is eager to see him, outside her school. Shortly into the conversation, Butch asks if her if he could buy the Ritalin she is prescribed for her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but she tells him she does not have access to it, and that it is dispensed by the school nurse. Butch leaves, dejected. Later, Butch calls Cliff and asks him to meet him at Paradise. Cliff reluctantly agrees, and arrives to find Butch kissing an older man, Greg, whom he says he now lives with. Butch's behavior is erratic, and he appears to be experiencing a noticeable drug high. The two go to Greg's apartment alone, where Butch suggests the two flee to Hawaii and live together. Cliff leaves, unable to console him. Butch subsequently dies of an overdose. Cliff, Madge, and Cookie attend Butch's funeral. During the wake, Cliff hallucinates Butch sitting up in his casket, and reminiscing about how much fun the two had together. Later, Cliff and Cookie go to a diner, where Cliff catches the attention of a young man. Adopting a newfound confidence, Cliff proceeds to cruise him in the bathroom. Following the encounter, Cliff gives Cookie a hug before the two part separate ways. Cookie watches as Cliff throws his skateboard into the street-side garbage, and walks away. ===== Long ago, Vashna, the greatest of all Darklords, was defeated in battle by King Ulnar of Sommerlund. But the victory was not complete, for while his body was destroyed, his spirit, as well as the spirits of his troops, remain trapped deep within the Maakengorge. Now, Lone Wolf learns of strange sightings in the area near the Maakengorge, suggesting that there may be a plot afoot to resurrect Vashna. Lone Wolf and the reader set out to uncover the nature of the threat, and to see if, indeed, Vashna will return. ===== At the 2nd book Kou's new mission is to protect Shingo Tachibana. Shingo's best friend was a photographer and accidentally took a picture of a sniper shooting someone from the top of a building. His best friend was murdered, but never revealed where the picture was hidden. Lonton (the sniper working for the Chinese Triads who'd killed Shingo's best friend) is now after Shingo, thinking he knows where the picture is located. In the end Shingo and Kou take out Lonton and he is sent to prison. Kou stays with Shingo for the next few books, and not soon after Shingo begins to fall in love with Kou. Kou tries to remain emotionless and focus on the mission at hand, to protect Shingo), but she too is falling for him. Shingo goes through a lot trying to tell Kou he loves her; the first time her told her was when a car had just hit him and he was dazed. She heard him, but instead pretended that it was her double and that in his daze he couldn't recognize the difference between 19 (her male double) and her. She pretend she never heard, and Shingo remains quiet about it, thinking of a better way to tell her. ===== left Ben Quick is on trial for barn-burning, but when no solid evidence is found, the judge expels him from town. Ben hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, with two young women in a convertible, Clara Varner and her sister-in-law Eula (Lee Remick). Clara's father, Will Varner, is the domineering owner of most of the town. Ben goes to the Varner plantation. Will is away, but his only son, Jody, agrees to let Ben become a sharecropper on a vacant farm. When Will returns from a stay in the hospital, he is furious at Jody for hiring a notorious "barn burner", but soon begins to see in Ben a younger version of himself and comes to admire his ruthlessness and ambition, qualities that Jody lacks. Will is also disappointed with the man that his 23-year-old daughter, Clara, has been seeing for five or six years: Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson), a genteel Southern "blue blood" and a mama's boy. Will therefore schemes to push his daughter and Ben together, to try to bring fresh, virile blood into the family. However, she is openly hostile to the crude, if magnetic, upstart. Will is determined to have his bloodline go on, so he offers to make Ben wealthy if he marries Clara. Meanwhile, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury), Will's long-time mistress, is dissatisfied with their arrangement and wants to marry him. Eula and Jody Jody becomes increasingly frustrated, seeing his position in the family being undermined. After Ben sells some wild horses for Will, he is rewarded with the position of clerk in the general store, alongside Jody. Will even invites him to live in the family mansion. This is the final straw for Jody. He pulls a gun on Ben and threatens to kill him. Ben talks his way out by telling Jody about buried Civil War-era treasure he has supposedly found on a property that Will gave him, a down payment to seal their bargain over Clara. Jody starts digging and finds a bag of coins. He is elated, thinking he might finally free himself of his father's domination; he buys the land from Ben. Late that night, Will finds his son, still digging. After examining one of the coins, Will notices that it was minted in 1910. Jody is shattered. Ben aggressively pursues Clara. She finally asks Alan what his intentions are, and does not like what she hears. A defeated Jody finds his father alone in their barn. Jody bolts the entrance and sets the barn on fire, but he cannot go through with it and releases Will. The incident leads to a reconciliation between father and son. Men from town assume Ben is the culprit and start toward him, but Clara persuades him to get into her car and they drive away. Then Will claims he accidentally started the fire by dropping his cigar. The smell of fire brings back bad memories for Ben, who confesses to Clara that his father was a real barn-burner. He tells her how, at age ten, he warned a farmer that his father was about to set another fire. Ben's father got away, never to be seen again. Ben tells her he is leaving town, but Clara makes it clear she has fallen in love with him. An elated Will confides to Minnie that life is so good, he may have to live forever. ===== The game begins with Silas (voiced by Phil LaMarr) sitting in his chamber, tightening a spiked metal cilice around his leg. He then picks up a handgun and leaves. The game cuts to Robert Langdon (Robert Clotworthy), a Harvard professor of symbology in Paris for a lecture, arriving at the Louvre, where he has been asked to view a crime scene by Cpt. Bezu Fache (Enn Reitel). Jacques Saunière (Neil Ross), Langdon's friend and curator of the museum, has been murdered. In flashback, Silas is shown asking Saunière where something is. Saunière tells him, and Silas responds, "I believe you. The others told me the same," before shooting him. In the museum, Fache shows Langdon that before he died, Saunière wrote a numeric cipher and a message, "O Draconian Devil! Oh Lame Saint!" in blacklight ink. At this point, Sophie Neveu (Jennifer Hale), a member of the cryptography department arrives, explaining the cipher is part of the Fibonacci sequence, although the numbers are out of order. She then secretly tells Langdon he is in danger, as Fache thinks he is the murderer. In the toilets, she reveals the police have planted a GPS tracking device on Langdon. Neveu tells him that also written in black light ink were the words "PS. Find Robert Langdon." She explains that Saunière was her grandfather and "PS" was his nickname for her; "Princess Sophie." She believes that Saunière included the numerical cipher in the message to insure her involvement in the case. Langdon throws the GPS device onto a passing car, and most of the police leave the museum to follow. He and Neveu return to the body, and Langdon realizes the numbers are out of sequence to tell them that the letters are also out of sequence; the words are anagrams. He deciphers "Draconian Devil" as "Leonardo da Vinci" and "Oh Lame Saint" as "The Mona Lisa". As they head to the painting, Langdon speculates "PS" could also refer to the Priory of Sion. His theory is strengthened when Neveu remembers seeing the letters together with a fleur-de-lis when she was a child; "PS" combined with a fleur-de-lis is the coat of arms of the Priory. At the Mona Lisa, they find a substitution cipher written in black light ink on the glass around the painting. The clues lead them to Saunière's office, where they listen to a message in which Sister Sandrine of Saint-Sulpice tells Saunière "the floor is broken and the other three are dead." A window is heard smashing and a man says, "Your fate was sealed the moment you stood against Manus Dei." As they continue to follow clues left by Saunière, eventually Neveu concludes they must head to his chateau. She and Robert split up as she heads to the chateau and he heads to Saint-Sulpice. Once there, he finds a monk attacking a young nun. He knocks the monk out, and the nun, Sister Marguerite (Jane Carr), tells him that Sandrine is dead, killed by Silas, who was looking for something that Sandrine refused to give him. He left moments before the monks arrived, who seemed to be trying to erase evidence of his actions. Langdon concludes the monks are members of Sanctus Umbra, a militant subgroup of Manus Dei. Langdon examines the broken floor at the base of the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice and finds a stone tablet with Job 38:11 inscribed on it; "Hitherto shalt thou come but no further." He deduces that Silas was misled by Saunière and the others. He heads into the crypt, where he finds a list of Priory Grand Masters, discovering Saunière was the current Master. Meanwhile, at the chateau, Neveu heads for Saunière's underground grotto. She evades both Silas and the police, and follows a series of clues to find a key with the address of the Depository Bank of Zurich. Meeting up with Langdon, they head to the bank, where they open Saunière's deposit box, finding a cryptex. They then head to Château Villette, the residence of Sir Leigh Teabing (Greg Ellis), Langdon's friend and one of the world's foremost experts on the Holy Grail. Teabing and Langdon explain to Neveu that the Grail is not a cup, but a reference to a woman. Looking at da Vinci's The Last Supper, Teabing explains the image of John is actually Mary Magdalene, to whom the historical Jesus was married. This marriage was suppressed by the early Church, who needed its followers to believe Jesus was divine. Teabing explains that the chalice that held the blood of Christ, the Holy Grail of legend, was Mary herself, as she was pregnant with Jesus' child. At this point, Silas arrives, revealing he murdered Saunière under the orders of "The Teacher." Langdon and Neveu incapacitate him, and with Teabing and his servant Remy (Andres Aguilar), they head to London, taking the unconscious Silas with them. Landing at Biggin Hill, they head to Temple Church. Langdon and Teabing go inside, but in the courtyard, Neveu sees Remy betray them and send a gang of thugs in after them. Langdon wakes up in a dungeon, but manages to escape, and meets up with Neveu. He tells her Remy is holding Teabing hostage to use him as a bargaining chip for the cryptex. Inside the church, Remy and Silas confront Langdon and Neveu, who flee and head to Westminster Abbey, where Teabing is being held. Once there, they decide they must solve the cryptex to bargain for Teabing's life. Following a series of clues left by Saunière, they do so, but before they can open it, they are captured by Remy. He takes them to Teabing, who reveals himself to be The Teacher. He shoots Remy as he no longer needs him, and reveals Silas has just been arrested for the recent murders. He tells Langdon and Neveu the Priory was supposed to make public the contents of the cryptex on the eve of the New Millennium, but Saunière decided against it. As such, Teabing determined to reveal the documents himself. He asks Langdon and Neveu to join him in revealing the truth about Mary Magdalene, but they refuse and Langdon destroys the cryptex. Teabing is arrested as he laments the truth being lost forever. However, Langdon had removed the document before destroying the device. Following the clue contained within, he and Neveu head to Rosslyn Chapel. There, they find a family tree for the Saint-Clair family, running back to the Merovingian dynasty. In a series of documents, they learn that when Sophie's family were killed in a car accident, newspaper reports said that all of the family were killed; mother, father, and two children. The reports also state the family's name was Saint-Clair. Langdon realizes the truth; Neveu survived the accident, and the Priory put out the story she was dead to protect her, as she is a living blood relative of Jesus. Neveu's grandmother then arrives, explaining the family changed its name for protection. She introduces Neveu to her brother, who also survived the crash; he came to Scotland whilst Neveu went to France with Saunière. Neveu's grandmother then tells Langdon that the grail is not in Rosslyn, it is in France. He realizes the clue in the cryptex didn't point to Rosslyn but to the Rose Line in Paris. He says goodbye to Neveu and heads to France, finally understanding the grail lies beneath the Louvre Pyramid. ===== The film is a pseudo-documentary about a filmmaker who throws a Valentine's Day party at an old theater that is about to be demolished. The filmmaker invites numerous single friends, including his brother, the real estate agent who sold the theater to a developer who is going to build a modern shopping mall, to the party and then quizzes them on camera about their lives, failed relationships, intimacy issues, and loneliness. =====