#1 - What if....

What if Chris Benoit did not die? Benoit commited suicide on the 25th of June 2007, which was the same date as Night of Champions 2007, that night a CM Punk vs Chris Benoit match was planned for the ECW Championship, it was planned for Benoit to win but when he didn't show up to the arena and John Morrison (Johnny Nitro at that time) ended up replacing Benoit. Morrison won the title and went on to have the title for a few months and had some great matches with CM Punk on ECW. If Benoit never died Morrison may have never won the title or had his name changed from Johnny Nitro to John Morrison. WWE were impressed with Morrison from this and this may be one of the reasons Morrison is as good as he is now. Morrison went on to team with The Miz which did wonders for both their careers, as they were considered the top team in 2008, if it wasn't for this team The Miz would probably not be in WWE today, now he is one of the top stars of Raw. If Benoit didn't die Morrison would not have been rushed into the ECW title picture he probably be similar to how Cody Rhodes is now, as Morrison was teaming with people like Kenny earlier that month. Possibly WWE didn't have to do much re writing to the storyline they possibly just replaced Morrison with Benoit, so we may have seen what WWE had planned but with Morrison not Benoit. This storyline was good for CM Punks career but I think he would have been as impressive if he wrestled with Benoit. Even though what Benoit did to his family was wrong, he was talented in the ring one of the best technical wrestlers in WWE history.

WDS

Undertaker Retiring Before 2011?

WWE are possibly going to have a Buried Alive Match between Kane & Undertaker at Survivor Series this will be exactly 20 years since Takers debut. There is a chance this could be Takers last match but its probably not likely. Paul Bearer is going to be apart of Takers last storyline and it could be now?


WDS

Most Downloaded eBooks from the Library

Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" took the top spot again on the adult fiction eBook, while his blockbuster follow-ups remained close behind in the No. 2 and 3 positions. "Dead Until Dark" by Chalaine Harris, and James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's "Private" were also among the most downloaded digital books from the library in August 2010. You can check out these eBooks today by visting our virtual branch online Library to Go.

Most Downloaded eBooks from the Library - Adult Fiction (August 2010)

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson,
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Private by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro, Little
6. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
7. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
8. 61 Hours Lee Child
9. The Search by Nora Roberts
10. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Pass the Comics: Stay, Galaxus! Stay!

The Moon Monster



[Atomic Surgery]

Galaxus: The Thing from Outer Space



[I.T.C.H.]

Mighty Samson at the Battle of N'Yark Bay



[Gold Key Comics!]

Art Show: Coffee and Monsters

Coffee Homeground



By Jason Copland.

The Fantastic Vacations of the Sons of Casseboufigue



By Guy Sabran. [Agence Eureka by way of Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - new trailer...

WOW!

And did you hear - J.K. Rowling is going to be on Oprah this Friday! :)

NXT - 28th Sept 2010

Well NXT was horrible , no matches. You could tell they were wasting time, they even showed the final smackdown segment, half way through the show. Hornswoggle was entertaining, but no CM Punk! im not shocked. He was a good commentator last week. I read a report saying WWE edited blood out of NXT, i thought it was last week when Michelle kicked Kaitlyn in the head, turns out it was at the end of this weeks show. Im not sure but did AJ have a thong slip? there was an upskirt shot of her from last week i only seen at the beginning of this weeks episode (she was wearing white panties!), AJ reminds me of Mickie James.

My current rankings

1. Kaitlyn
2. A.J
3. Jamie
4. Naoimi
5. Aksana
6. Maxine

This is the same as last week i think, not much changed in my opinion. Well anyway NXT can only get better next week when a diva gets eliminated.

WDS

Art Show: Halloween is Coming

Tree



By Renia Metallinou. [Art Jumble]

Young Mary Shelley



By Esao Andrews. [Frankensteinia]

The Sword of the Golem



By Fred Pfeiffer. [Curt Purcell's Flickr]

SCBWI Carolinas Fall Conference - wrap-up!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with the SCBWI Carolinas region, and wow, was I impressed! For covering only two states, they have some amazing talent in their region - and a TON of illustrators who eagerly participate. The portfolio show was one of the best I've seen, and the 3 minute read-alouds left me wanting to hear more. (At Jo's prodding, I shared LULA'S BREW on my iPad!)
     I conducted nine picture book critiques (in a row!), and felt they all went well. I've since received several thank-you emails, so am heartened that I offered good advice.
     I also spoke twice: "The Nuts and Bolts of Creating Picture Books," which was basically an uber-condensed version of the weekend-long workshop I teach at the John C. Campbell Folk School; and "Picture Book Dummies," for both writers and illustrators. Again, lots of great comments from folks about both. And my first workshop was standing room only! Woosie.
     Jo Hackl and Teresa Fannin, Carolina's Regional Advisors, were our hosts and those ladies run one tight ship.
     I had the great pleasure of hanging out with: Laurent Linn (Art Director at S&S), who I just adore; Alvina Ling of Little Brown; Liz Waniewski of Dial; Lionel Bender of Bender Richardson White; Chris Richman, agent with Upstart Crow Literary Agency; author Alan Gratz; marketing guru Shelli-Johannes Wells; awesome Assistant RA to our Southern Breeze region, Heather Montgomery; and more! Dang. We had lots of 'sit and chat moments' and I had a fantastic time. (They all gave wonderful talks as well.)
     I'll post photos as I find 'em - as usual I am just not the photo bug. But needless to say, if you are a member of SCBWI in the Carolinas - you are one lucky, lucky creator! Thanks to all for such a great time!

Land of the Lost: Season Three (Episode Five: Medusa)

Season One: Part One, Two, and Three.
Season Two: Part One and Two.
Season Three: Part One, Two, Three, and Four.

Episode 5: “Medusa”

This episode provides more evidence for the Alternate Reality Theory, while also letting us know that some things are still the same between the two versions of the Land of the Lost. Holly and Will have built an outrigger to take them and Cha-Ka down the river, hoping it will help them find a way home. Obviously, the first season episode “Downstream” never occurred for them. At least, not in the way it happened for the other Marshalls, but more on that later. On the other hand, Will plans to do some fishing on the trip and recalls his unpleasant experience fishing with Cha-Ka in Season Two’s “Nice Day."

While Will and Cha-Ka cut fishing poles, Holly sits in the boat and is accidentally carried downstream by a sudden increase in the current. The reason for the change is that a green-skinned, snake-haired Gorgon in a toga has opened a hole in a small dam downriver. We don’t yet know why, but we do get a demonstration of her powers when she turns a praying mantis to stone for “daring to offend Medusa” by crawling over her foot.

Will and Cha-Ka hear Holly’s distress cries, but choose to run and get Jack instead of immediately helping her. It's a stupid, disappointing choice meant simply to keep the plot moving.

After the break: Holly meets Medusa and sees an old friend from Season One.

Downriver, Medusa – in harmless, human form now – rescues Holly. She gently instructs Holly to be more careful in the future, saying that King Neptune is very strict with those who use his waters. She introduces herself as Meddie and insists that Holly come home with her. It’s going to be dark soon and she refuses to let Holly wander alone through the jungle at night. She’s very nice about it and explains that if they leave the boat on the bank, then Holly’s family can track her to Meddie’s home from there when they come looking for her. That makes sense to Holly and she agrees.

Meddie’s place is a fenced garden in the middle of the jungle. It's filled with statues and sentient plants. Meddie tells Holly that she can explore all she likes, but should stay on the paths to avoid being attacked by the vegetation. She then excuses herself to freshen up, which she does in a weird way. She has a little vanity table in another part of the garden and talks to herself in the mirror as she puts on perfume and has a glass of wine. We learn that her motivation for destroying the dam was to bring Holly downstream for the specific purpose of turning her to stone and adding her to the garden. She’s delighted though that she’ll also get to add Jack, Will, and Cha-Ka when they arrive.

Which raises the question of who Medusa really is and what she’s doing here. Is her reference to Neptune a religious belief or does he really exist? Medusa was Neptune’s lover in Greek mythology, so it seems more than coincidental that she brings him up. He’s never mentioned again in the episode though, so we can’t know for sure. The most reasonable explanation is that she and the other Greek gods exist, but that she was pulled alone into the Land of the Lost. That leaves a big question about what really happened between her and Perseus in our world, but figuring that out is an exercise for another day.

More interesting is the matter of all those statues, most of which are human-shaped. With all the random time portals opening in the Valley, you’d think that there’d be more captives here. Some of them, like the Revolutionary War soldier from Season One’s “Follow That Dinosaur,” probably died through lack of survival skills, but Medusa’s a good explanation for the rest. Especially since she actively seeks out people to trap. It’s curious why she’s just now attacking the Marshalls, but maybe she’s had her eye on them for a while and finally saw her chance when they built the outrigger.

Holly enjoys Meddie’s hospitality at first, but starts to suspect something’s wrong when she sees the stone form of a triceratops in the same spot where she was frightened by a live one earlier. She explores some more and finds a statue of a Civil War soldier with a cannon.

When Meddie finds her looking at it, Holly explains that it reminds her of another soldier she used to know who was always making noise, “shooting off cannons and shouting orders.” That sounds like Jefferson Davis Collie from “Downstream,” but that’s impossible because if “Downstream” happened in this reality, why don’t the Marshalls already know that the river loops around on itself? The only explanation is that Collie did exist in this reality, but the Marshalls met him in a different way. And obviously, Medusa eventually met him as well.

After the Collie statue, Holly suspects enough to know that she needs to leave. She tries to excuse herself just as Jack, Will, and Cha-Ka show up, having tracked her there as Medusa planned. Before they can announce themselves to Holly though, Medusa’s plants attack them. They escape, but not before Meddie spots them and ushers Holly to another part of the garden, saying that her family is likely already on its way to come get her. Free of the attack plants, Cha-Ka scouts ahead of Jack and Will to find out where Meddie and Holly went.

Meddie leaves Holly alone long enough for her and Cha-Ka to have a conversation when he finds her. Holly tells him her suspicion about Meddie’s powers and Cha-Ka returns to warn Jack and Will. Holly, Cha-Ka later explains to the others, is afraid to move or Meddie will turn her to stone.

Jack puts Meddie’s name with the description of her powers to figure out who she really is. He also realizes that they have to destroy her or risk her coming after them later. He volunteers to distract Medusa while Will and Cha-Ka rescue Holly, but Will and Cha-Ka jump the gun and Medusa traps them and Holly before Jack can get into place. While she’s threatening them, Jack discovers the vanity table and steals the mirror. He knocks over a glass jar in the process and reveals himself, so while Medusa goes to investigate, the kids escape.

Unfortunately, Jack doesn’t do the full Perseus and cut off Medusa’s head. Instead – probably to avoid scarring Holly for life – he uses the mirror to reflect Medusa’s power back at her, turning her to stone. On their way home, Holly pauses to make a lame, non sequitur observation about the perils of vanity.

Undertaker Retiring Within Next Year?

According to reports and sources backstage Undertaker.... IS retiring within the next year as people are saying he will at Wrestlemania 27 against Sheamus or Kane, i expect it to be Kane. This is the reason Paul Bearer is back as he is going to be apart of Takers final few months. This could mean Taker will lose at WM? if he does i expect it to be Kane that beats him, this would make Kane huge! I could see it being Cena and this could turn him heel, i have wanted to see that match for a while. I hope Taker decides to stay but he is 45 and has been in the WWE for 19 years and 10 months so it may be time.

WDS

Raw - 28th September 2010

Thank you Edge!!! Finally the laptop is gone, i enjoyed the cutting edge show but i wish Edge won that match against Cena. I expect the GM to be announced next week on Raw, i hope Edge has a match at HIAC, i think he will, as the GM will punish him for what he did last night. WWE came up with a smart way to get rid of Jericho, i think this sets up a Jericho vs Orton match at Wrestlemania 27, i hope so. Interesting that Jericho started his 2nd run in WWE by interupting Randy Orton, he ended his 2nd run by being punted by Orton. What else... the commentary was interesting as it was taped last week. I hope the Hart Dynasty does not break up, the best team WWE has had in a while, some may argue DX, Jeri-show, Legacy, Miz and Morrison but they were all better as single wrestlers this is why it would be a bad move, one of them would be joining Shad on FCW and the other will join JTG on Superstars or where-ever he is now. It would do better for Natayla though, she is talented but i don't really want to see her compete with the likes of Michelle and Melina... speaking of the battle royal I think Maryse had a thong slip (not 100% clear) ive never seen a Maryse thong slip on TV if there is one send me a message please, Eves thong from last week (2 hours after her last match) appeared again small and black, a bella had a white thong slip and i think thats it from this weeks Raw. Also I think those messages DiBiase is getting are for Maryse, it would give Ted a chance to get away from Maryse which would help his career. A last point why did Michael Cole call Hell in a Cell one of the most important PPV's? in his mind what would be the least important, if its so important why is there only 2 weeks to build it up? I can think of 6 PPVs that are more important and thats half the PPVs in a year. Hell in a Cell is not important, i expect the PPV to be disapointing. Anyway i hope the first ever live Smackdown is good, it will be interesting to see how it goes, no Kane promo's with dramatic sounds which I like, the matches will be shorter which i also like, i don't like seeing Kofi wrestle 15-20 mins matches every 2 weeks. Anyway i hope you enjoyed Raw (and this report).

WDS

Coloring Page Tuesday - Folk Tale lovin' Possum

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages!

     Hang out with a good book!
     I love folk tales - Southern Appalachian folk tales especially. It's why I illustrated Paco and the Giant Chile Plant and wrote and illustrated Soap, soap, soap - both are adaptations of Jack Tales. What's your favorite?
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send your colored image (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog! Click here to find more coloring pages.

     Check out Soap, soap, soap ~ Jabón, jabón, jabón and Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante.

Please follow my copyright policy when you use my images! And share your creation on the Coloring Page Tuesday facebook page!

Art Show: Terror Chills in High Seas!

Popeye



By Francesco Francavilla. [Comic Twart]

Usagi Hates Cephalopods



By Stan Sakai. [Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!]

Fishermen from the Sea!



By Nick Cardy. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

The Life Aquatic: Mermaid



By George O'Connor.

(Non-Spoiler) Raw Match Card Tonight - 27th Sept 2010

Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho
John Cena vs Edge
Sheamus vs Great Khali
Morrison & Daniel Byran vs The Miz & Alex Riley
Divas Battle Royal (#1 contender spot)
Nexus (Slater&Gabriel) vs Mark Henry and Evan Bourne.

I only know the winner of the Divas match. Raw is not live tonight because the production crew are getting ready for this fridays live Smackdown

WDS

GAG - Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

The Graphic Artists Guild has released the latest Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. Every freelancer should have at least one copy of this book in their library. It is the definitive resource on how to price out projects - one of the trickiest parts of working on your own.
Thanks to Escape from Illustration Island for the heads up.

Current Undertaker Wrestlemania 27 plans.

As of right now WWE are thinking of having either Sheamus or current World Heavyweight Champion Kane wrestle Undertaker at Wrestlemania 27. Undertaker has always said backstage that when he is on his final run with the company he wants Paul Bearer to be apart of it. So its more likely Kane will be his opponent, the current storyline is due to continue but WWE plans on getting them apart of two different fueds till the Royal Rumble. WM27 will most likely be Takers 2nd last Wrestlemania.

WDS

My Favorite Board Game: Fury of Dracula

This week's item from Calvin's list comes with a caveat: My favorite board game is always the last one I got. That said, I'm a huge fan of strategy games and my previous favorites are Betrayal at House on the Hill, Pirate's Cove, and Mwahahaha (though that's more of a complicated card game than a true board game). Right now though, it's all about Fury of Dracula.

I understand that it plays similarly to Scotland Yard, though I've never played that game. One player is Dracula and the others are vampire-hunters from the novel: Lord Godalming, Doctor Seward, Van Helsing, and Mina Harker.

The object for the Dracula character is to collect points while eluding the hunters, moving in secret around a map of Europe. He gets points for creating new vampires, defeating the hunters in combat, and just surviving the day. Once he reaches a certain number, he wins. The players work as a team to find Dracula and destroy him before he gets all his points. If they succeed, they win as a team.

I've only played a few times, but it's a much more balanced game than it first appears. Every time I play with a new group of people there's some distrust that things are easier for Dracula than for the players. That only lasts for a while though and the hunters are usually able to locate him after several turns. Once that happens, it's much more difficult - but not impossible - for Dracula to disappear again. It takes a lot of skill and strategy to play either side.

One of the things I love most about it is that it doesn't matter how many people play or who plays which hunter. All four hunters are used regardless of if there's one person playing them all or several people working as a team. The game tells you that you can't have more than five players (one for Dracula and each hunter), but that's not true. You can have an unlimited number of folks on the hunters' side, putting their heads together to come up with the best strategy. And if someone has to leave the game - it does take a few hours to play - it's not a disruption to either bring in a replacement player or just have one of the other, current players take over that character in addition to her own. That flexibility is unique among strategy games. It's also a good training game for kids who are attracted to strategy games, but not that good at them yet (so long as the adult members of the team are patient and willing to teach).

Elsewhere... adventure never looked so good

Fanta



Last weekend's Five for Friday assignment was to Name Five Favorite Projects/Books From Fantagraphics Not By Charles Schulz, Los Bros, Chris Ware, Dan Clowes Or Peter Bagge. I'm always glad to poke holes in the perception that Fantagraphics publishes nothing but impenetrably artsy comics for snobs. It's just not true. Here's my pick of five great adventure comics they've put out (after forgetting that they also used to publish Usagi Yojimbo).

1. Delphine, Richard Sala
2. Interiorae, Gabriella Giandelli
3. Black Hole, Charles Burns
4. Almost Silent, Jason
5. Castle Waiting, Linda Medley

Death-Day



And speaking of artful adventure comics, this week's Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs was about Sam Hiti's latest graphic novel, Death-Day, Part One.

Quote of the Week: You Listening, Nolan?

...you know what I’d like to see Christopher Nolan name the third Batman movie? The Caped Crusader. That’d be pretty awesome, right? Yeah, I knew you’d agree.
--Mike Sterling

Tiffany Update

"WWE performer Taryn Terrell (a/k/a Tiffany) has been cleared of domestic assault charges stemming from an incident that took place with husband Drew Galloway (a/k/a Drew McIntyre) at the couple’s Los Angeles hotel room last month."

The spokes person would also go on to say that Tiffany is free to return to WWE.

The Trailie Awards

School Library Journal has created a new award for best book trailer! It's called the Trailie Awards and voting on the finalists will be open to the public tomorrow (September 27). I'm hoping my trailer for SOAP, SOAP, SOAP will be part of it - cross your fingers!
     I wonder what the award looks like? A sticker maybe? Gotta love the stickers...

Smackdown - 24th Sept 2010

Smackdown wasn't the best this week, the only highlight was Paul Bearers return which gave The Undertaker his powers back somehow, i ruined that for myself by accidently reading a spoiler during the week. A question : Was the Intercontinental Title on the line in that MVP vs Dolph match? cause Matt Striker said he doesn't lose the title by countout and the announcer said "and still Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler" at the end, but it wasn't mentioned before the match or on wwe.com Also i thought that Tag Team title match was happening next week on Raw (which has been taped). Looks like Christian is out like I reported and Rey is returning next week (which is a live Smackdown) to face Alberto Del Rio. Why can WWE not have a Divas match on NXT and SD? I know they are taped on the same night, but i remember seeing Zack Ryder wrestle on Raw,NXT and Superstars in the same week, i want to see WWE do this more, im starting to think NXT all Divas is a bad thing as its letting us see less of the Divas on Smackdown and Raw who are more talented, entertaining and hotter. Hopefully next weeks live Smackdown is good.

WDS

Banned Book Week

Begins September 25th - Learn more about it at Bannedbooksweek.org or at the National Coalition Against Censorship.
     Join the latest censorship battle over Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK via twitter: #SpeakLoudly.

Randy Orton Hates Being a Face

According to sources backstage, Randy Orton currently is not happy about his babyface character as he feels he is a much better heel. So don't be surprised if he does turn heel within the next  year, which i predicted a while back.

WDS

Breaking News: Top Smackdown Superstar Out For 6 Months!!

Smackdown Superstar Christian will be out of action for 6 months, with a February return likely. Alberto Del Rio will most likely be the storyline reason why Christian is out with injury. Speaking of Alberto, Rey Mysterio is returning next week on Smackdown to face Alberto one on one. Smackdown next week is live I think, someone correct me if im wrong about that or if you have news on it.

WDS

Most Downloaded Audiobooks from the Library

For a third consecutive month, Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" took the top spot on the adult fiction audiobook charts, while his blockbuster follow-ups remained close behind in the No. 2 and 3 positions. These titles are available for checkout now from Library to Go. Check them out today!

Most Downloaded Audiobooks from the Library - Adult Fiction (August 2010)

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
6. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
7. 61 Hours by Lee Child
8. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
9. Private by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
10. 1st to Die by James Patterson

The National Book Festival

The National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. is this Saturday. It's put on by the Library of Congress and has become the creme de la creme of book festivals. If you're there, you should definitely stop by. But if you can't make it, they do a great job recording the festivities which you can view afterwards on the Library of Congress website.

The Story of Nexus!

Nexus became a group on "The Viewers Choice" edition of Monday Night Raw, since then they have became one of the most talked wrestling topics in the past decade. These members of Nexus came to WWE through a show called WWE NXT.

and heres how it all started
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebLaaJppMc
in this video Mr McMahon appears on ECW to annouce that NXT is replacing ECW, this gave us a chance to see all the members of Nexus compete for a WWE Contract.

3 weeks later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZiyW5nk4s
this is the intro to the very first NXT episode, this competiton went on from February-May.

The first two eliminations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3YZWrKwMWY
Michael Tarver and Daniel Byran getting eliminated from NXT, Byrans elimination recieved a negative reaction as most expected Byran to win the competition. Nexus claims that WWE management is one of the reasons they are upset, this video is a time in which WWE management made a harsh decision.

The Season 1 Finale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3gonZPWYRU
Wade Barrett winning NXT gave him the right to compete for the WWE Championship at a PPV.  Winning NXT also is the reason Barrett is the leader of Nexus.

The season 1 rookies invade Raw (Viewers Choice Raw)
(Skip to 0:28)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqZ76Kd5xyw
The night the NXT season 1 rookies invaded the Raw main event between NXT pro CM punk vs WWE Champion John Cena, the rookies would destroy everything and everyone at ringside including commentators, camara men, announcers, ring crew, luke gallows, CM Punk and John Cena who got the worst beating, the rookies would destroy the ring and the setting outside the ring. This was also what led to Daniel Byran getting fired and leaving Nexus due to spitting on Cena and Choking Justin Roberts with his own tie, this was the night the NXT rookies came a group, earlier in the night Wade promised to do something never done before that would change history and he did.

One week later the start of Raw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psbJW3n3v-c
Wade Barrett demands contracts for the rest of the NXT season 1 rookies which led to him getting fired by Bret Hart. He explains his problems with WWE management and says he doesn't have a problem with any of the superstars. This is the first time they appear with 7 men as Daniel Byran was "released" a few days before this.

Later on that night the NXT Rookies try to attack Cena again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbabvFKoHbA
The Raw locker room came out to save Cena including Orton, Sheamus and Edge, the rookies got chased out of the arena by the Raw locker room. Notice no Jericho or Miz.

Later on that night the Rookies take Bret for a ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd5XxFJUkFE
The rookies injured Bret so badly he had to quit as GM, this limo attack was there way of demanding a contract at the Fatal 4 Way PPV.

The NXT rookies invade the WWE Title Fatal 4 Way match (in spanish sorry)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8gJcPUA3M
Nexus cost Cena the WWE Championship thus creating a bigger rivalry between Cena and the NXT rookies.

The next night on Raw, Nexus are born.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZZToF3Mhg
Earlier on in the night Barrett announced that the group would be called Nexus, later on they interupted John Cenas rematch at the WWE championship against Sheamus. Vince McMahon would claim he is the reason Nexus are on Raw, as he tried to take credit for Nexus, it would appear it wasn't his idea, this led Nexus to attacking Vince, we haven't seen the boss since then this happened 3 months ago.

Nexus are banned from attacking superstars, but not legends...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbyWBKIvzV0
This was hard to watch for most people, Nexus would claim one week later they did this attack for fun there was no point behind it.

A Truce demanded between Cena and Nexus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKVWDX1QOgM
Cena refused to shake Barretts hand, which led to nexus attacking Cena, the Raw locker roomcame for the save and left Cena alone with Darren Young who Cena went on to destroy. This set up a 6 on 1 handicap match for the next week.

Nexus attacks backstage before the 6vs1 match.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIBpWZCHoMU
The next week Nexus would attack superstars who would help Cena in someway before the 6 vs 1 match. This sent a message to Sheamus that the Nexus could be after him next.

6 vs 1 Match - Nexus vs John Cena. (Nexus' first match as a group)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSHr8ZsGrI
Cena couldn't overcome Nexus in a handicap match, but he was able to get the better of them with the help of the WWE Champion and his Money in the Bank opponent Sheamus who he faced 6 days later at the PPV in a match that will keep Nexus out.... a steel cage match.

Money in the Bank - WWE Championship - Steel Cage - Sheamus vs John Cena.
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV5CT4BUxk8
(Part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrPh-U-e3Io
(Part 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDJfLlvr8c
So Nexus found a way to cost John Cena the WWE Championship again, this match was Cena's last shot at Sheamus' title.

We cross two people off the possible Nexus leader list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWIXiWkkp2M
This attack shocked the WWE Universe as many thought Barretts NXT pro Chris Jericho could have been the leader as he wasn't involved with any Nexus attacks till then and Nexus is a plan Edge would form as he is always thinking and shocks the crowd whenever he wants but its clear after this attack its not Edge or Jericho that is the leader of Nexus. However Sheamus was able to get a truce between himself and Nexus.

Will John Cena join the Nexus?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt-B1xAwz_A
After defeating Mark Henry Wade Barrett offered John Cena the chance to join the Nexus, Cena had been hinting earlier in the night that he could join the Nexus. But John Cena turned Nexus down and announced that his team (Jericho, Edge, Morrison, R-Truth,Khali and Bret Hart) will face Nexus in a 7v7 match at Summerslam.

One week later a Summerslam Preview Match - Nexus vs Team Raw.
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDBzuqDDn4
(Part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee6RY94BEYY
Is this a sign of things to come?

Team WWE falling apart?
(Skip to 5:50 if you want) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8T26dMMoJc
This happened after Nexus defeated 7 other Raw superstars, this made the WWE Universe wonder Will the superstars in team WWE ego's be a factor in the summerslam match.

Edge quits Team WWE?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeCeiwGv-7s
After Edge quit, Jericho set up a Loser Leaves Team WWE Match with John Cena.

John Cena vs Chris Jericho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiRk98byHck
Cena won, Jericho lost so Jericho had to leave Team WWE. With Team WWE down to 5 superstars which two superstars would go on to replace them?

Bret Hart and John Cena vs Jericho and Edge - Nexus as lumberjacks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQBltiADo4g
With Nexus chopping Team WWE from 5 members to 4, things did not look good for Team WWE until Jericho & Edge did the right thing for Raw and rejoin Team WWE to make the match 7vs6, who will be the 7th member of Team WWE?

Summerslam - Team WWE vs Nexus
(Highlights) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9egf1-mfY1Y
John Cena was able to overcome The Nexus at Summerslam, the 7th pick for Team WWE was Daniel Byran who was "released" from WWE after the Nexus invasion, this was the first time we had seen him since then. Cena was able to defeat the Nexus but it didn't stop the Nexus.

7 now 6.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zPK65UAMsw
Earlier on in the night Wade Barrett anounced that Nexus will only get stronger and to do this they need to get rid of the weak links in the team, so all members of Nexus were involved in matches that night, only Darren Young failed to win and his opponent was John Cena. After the match Nexus removed Young with a beatdown.

more to come...







WDS

Coming Soon: Countdown to Halloween

I'm behind on my Internetting, so I don't have a lot to blog about today. Instead, I'm taking the day to get caught up and work ahead too. October's coming and I need a head start on this year's Countdown to Halloween. See you tomorrow!

SCBWI Carolinas Fall Conference!

Tomorrow I'm off to speak at the SCBWI Carolinas Fall conference in North Carolina: Inventing Story: Oh, the Places We'll Go!
     For the first time, I'm doing manuscript critiques (picture books) and I'll speak about "Picture Book Dummies" - How creating dummies helps both writers and illustrators make picture books shine. I also get to hang out with folks in the industry who have become friends, and who I only get to see at conferences. It's a party!
     It would seem this is the busiest weekend of the year in this biz as it coincides with SIBA trade show in Daytona, Florida and the National Book Festival in Washington, DC. I wish I could clone myself so I could have done them all!
     Whatever you do this weekend - it's going to be hard to avoid the world of books! (And who would want to?)

Bahaya Korek Kuping

Menggunakan cotton bud atau lidi kapas untuk membersihkan atau menggaruk telinga bagian dalam yang gatal memang nikmat. Tak heran jika banyak orang merasa kecanduan menggunakan korek kuping ini. Tapi, tahukah Anda bahwa aktivitas ini sangat berbaya.



Telinga manusia sebenarnya telah memiliki cairan alami yang dapat menghalau kotoran masuk ke dalam telinga. Cairan yang dalam istilah medis

How's Nikita working for you?

I wanted to give it a couple of weeks, but I still haven't made up my mind about Nikita yet.  I've dug Maggie Q since her appearance in the first season of Alias (and again in Mission: Impossible 3 and - oh yeah - Balls of Fury), so she's a plus. And my only experience with the source material is Point of No Return, so I don't have to wrestle with how faithful or not it is to that.

SPOILERS below

I've enjoyed watching Nikita try to take down Division and I like the way she's going about it: interfering with one mission at a time until Division gets a reputation for failure. That's a good story engine. It can drive the show for a long time without pretending each week like Division could fall any second now. There's also a nice balance so far between Nikita's orchestrating events Oracle-style from her hideout and showing up in the field at just the right time to kick some bootie.

I'm undecided about this whole Alex thing though. I think my unease about her is that I like her and I don't like seeing her in danger of getting found out every week. They did a nice job of presenting her as someone who needs protection in the pilot; maybe too good a job, though she seems better able to take care of herself in the second episode. Hopefully she'll reveal more toughness in the next couple of episodes and I can stop worrying about her. Though I suspect that I'll have a new reason to worry by then because they'll confirm that Nikita's the one who killed Alex's parents and there'll be the fall out from that to be concerned with. Which could be all good; I just haven't decided yet if I'm enjoying Alex's putting me on edge. I'll figure it out.

I also don't know about this Michael guy. Is it cool or lame that he thinks he can protect Division's agents from the inside? Is that a realistic goal? We're going to have to see some serious success in that area - and soon - or Michael will become a joke really fast.

I'm a little less confused about Percy. He knows a lot of secrets and that keeps him in power, but he comes off as a slimy weasel instead of menacing. I want to see Nikita take him down, but for the wrong reasons I think. If I'm going to stay interested, Percy's going to have to dial the threat level up a bunch.

What about you guys? Anyone watching it? Have you made up your mind yet?

Current Hell in a Cell card (SPOILERS!)

Hell in a Cell Match for the World HeavyWeight Championship
Kane vs Undertaker w/Paul Bearer

Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs Sheamus

John Cena vs Wade Barrett
*If Cena lose's he must join Nexus, if Barrett lose's Nexus splits up.

Submissions Count Anywhere Match for the United States Championship
Daniel Byran vs The Miz

Divas Championship
Michelle McCool w/Layla vs Natayla

*This is from this weeks Smackdown and next weeks Raw.

WDS

Breaking News: TNA have signed...

Mickie James, she has agreed a contract with TNA and is due to appear at their next PPV, i might watch her matches on youtube. But i refuse to watch TNA. Check out www.lordsofpain.net

Why Mickie, Why?

WDS

Chris Jericho's Future Plans.

Apparently Jericho had his last match under WWE contract two nights ago on Raw, he plans on having a break to focus on non wrestling projects and rest a bit. WWE want to bring him back for Wrestlemania 27, so the third coming of Y2J is Wrestlemania 27.

NXT - 21st Sept 2010

CM Punk is great! In the ring, on the mic and now doing commentary. No one expected Punk to replace Cole and i think he did a great job i enjoyed listening to him. Michael Cole returning was also good, the commentary on NXT is great! Nothing else really impressed me this week on NXT, AJ is reminding me of Mickie James, she looked a bit like Mickie when she was wearing that dress at the start. The main event was horrible, KK may have had a white thong slip,  not sure. Kaitlyn botched that ending by forgetting the tag, but i like Kaitlyn i think she will turn face now after that attack, that boot at the end looked painful. Heres my updated rankings

1. Kaitlyn
2. AJ Lee
3. Jamie
4. Naiomi
5. Aksana
6. Maxine

I liked Aksana's bit on the mic, "Whats a lama?" and "Can you show me a lama?" haha. Anyway i hope CM Punk stays on NXT he's great

WDS

Art Show: Come with me to the Casbah

The Swords of Shahrazar



By Michael W Kaluta. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Steam Queen



By Ted Naifeh.

Dame White



By Craig Wilson. [Art Jumble]

Black Canary



By John Bolton. [Stormantic]



By Evan "Doc" Shaner. This one's from my own collection. I bought it from him at SpringCon this year.



All I know about the cosplayer is that her name is Molly, that she's apparently a cat lady who's not afraid to talk about the effects of nail care on certain bodily functions, and that she gets quadruple points for the awesome, blue leggings.

Teaching at the University of Georgia

I have big news. Monday I started teaching two classes, Drawing and Advanced Illustration in the Graphic Design program at the University of Georgia in Athens. I'm filling in for a professor taking medical leave for the rest of the semester.
     The irony is I received my BFA from the University of Georgia (a while ago) under the Professor who is now head of the department and who contacted me to fill this position. What an incredible honor!
     And I'm amazed how my life is full of circles. Along with writing and illustrating, I have always had the teaching bug. I have wanted to teach at the college level since the day after I graduated. But I needed an MFA to do it - something I haven't been able to pull off yet. So I've taught everywhere I could where an advanced degree wasn't required. Like at the John C. Campbell Folk School, speaking at conferences (four over the next few months), and doing school visits (three over the next two months).
     Apparently at some point in life, your experience becomes just as valuable as an advanced degree, and I seem to have reached that lovely tipping point. Woohoo!
     Of course, I always say beware what you wish for. When dreams are answered they don't always come in the prettiest package or at the most convenient time in life. Athens is a 1 1/2 hour commute (3 times a week), and teaching will be in addition to my writing and freelance (and other speaking engagements). In other words, I'm going to be a bit busy until Christmas.
     So please forgive me if I miss a few blog days or don't return your emails as quickly as usual. I'm going to try to keep up with everything, but I'm sure at some point a few things are going to have to slide as I embark on this exciting new adventure. It's going to be a wild ride, but I couldn't be more thrilled!

Land of the Lost: Season Three (Episode Four: Repairman)

Season One: Part One, Two, and Three.
Season Two: Part One and Two.
Season Three: Part One, Two, and Three. 

Episode 4: “Repairman”

The Sleestaks are still trying to figure out how to get rid of the Marshalls and come up with another plan, thanks again to the Library of Skulls. The Skulls tell them how to manipulate the Sun Pylon so that it creates solar flares and threatens to wipe out all life in the Valley.

Not realizing that the flares aren’t natural, the Marshalls hole up inside the temple and hope that they’ll soon pass. But when they run out of water, Jack has to go find some and discovers an odd, bow-tied English gentleman sitting in the jungle. He introduces himself as William Blandings and says that he’s been waiting for Jack. He evades Jack’s questions about where he comes from, but he’s able to find water in the ground with a crude divining rod he pulls from his valise.

Back at the temple, Blandings explains that he only has six hours to help fix the sun. He continues ignoring the Marshalls’ questions, explaining that “everyone has to answer to someone” and that he’s only permitted to reveal so much. He promises them however to be truthful, trustworthy, and as forthcoming as he’s allowed. As a show of good faith, he offers to get more refreshment for them and when Holly fantasizes about a chocolate malt, Blandings produces some from his bag.

Next, Blandings announces that he has to visit the Sleestaks as part of whatever protocol he’s supposed to follow. Jack refuses to let Blandings go alone and Blandings says that he’s grateful for the company. Blandings is able to protect them both from the flares with an air-conditioned umbrella and he’s also got an amulet that creates a protective force field and keeps them safe from Big Alice and the Sleestaks.

In the Lost City, Blandings goes straight to the Library of Skulls and finds the crystal the Sleestaks removed from the Sun Pylon to create the flares. Unfortunately, he accidentally drops and smashes his protective amulet and the Sleestaks capture him and throw him into the Pit. Jack’s able to escape, but he soon returns with Will and some homemade bombs made from swamp gas and water bags.

They rescue Blandings – who’s no worse for wear from spending time with the God of the Pit – and the three of them get away, repair the Sun Pylon, and close it off so that the Sleestaks can’t get in again. Then, exactly six hours after he first appeared, Blandings disappears.

It’s hard to know what to make of this episode. Does the reality of the first two seasons also have a repairman? If so, why didn’t he appear when Will and Holly screwed up the weather or when the Sun Pylon broke before and stopped the sun? He seems to serve a similar function to the Skylons, so is he just this reality’s version of them? If so, that’s a huge difference in the way this reality’s Valley operates. What else is different? Is there a Builder in this reality? Is that who Blandings answers to? Lots of questions; I don't expect we'll ever get answers to any of them.

Paperbacks By Mail

The Brooks Public Library, in cooperation with the Shortgrass Library System, is pleased to offer 'Paperbacks by Mail'.

PBM is a service that sends library books out by mail. This service is generally used by people who are unable to use a public library or who live far from a public library.

Three times a year, a print catalouge is mailed out to program participants. You can choose up to six books at a time from the catalogue. These books are then mailed to you in a returnable mail bag, complete with a postage paid return label. This means that you never have to pay postage for returning your books recieved through the PBM program.

Interested in joining, or know someone who would like to? There are 3 easy ways to sign up for PBM:

1) If you already have a membership at a Shortgrass library
Call Larry Dye at 403-529-0550 and tell him that you want to join PBM.

2) If you don't have a current library card from a Shortgrass library, but you want one
Go to your local public library (for example, the Brooks Public Library) and register for a library card. Once you have a current membership, call Larry Dye at 403-529-0550 to join the PBM program.

3) I only want to join the PBM program and not get a library card
If you just want to join the PBM program, you must be a resident of one of the municipalities that supports the Shortgrass Library System (Bassano, Bow Island, Brooks, County of Forty Mile, County of Newell, Cypress County, Foremost, Medicine Hat, Rainier, Ralston, Redcliff, Rolling Hills, Rosemary, and Tilley)

If you live in one of the supporting municipalities, you may request an application form to join the program. Fill out the form and return it, along with a cheque payable to "Shortgrass Library System" for $10.00. Forms may be picked up from the Brooks Public Library, or may be mailed to you by calling Larry Dye at 403-529-0550.

Raw - 20th September 2010

Raw was ok.. tonight, not the best but not the worst. Why were there so many people on  guest commentary? No one really stood out or no match in my opinion. Theres not a lot talking points other than Why did WWE retire a 56 year old title last night and have Layla as the last champion? The oldest title in WWE, they should have just gotten rid of the Divas Title, no one wanted that title to stay out of the two. A reason why they kept it in my opinion is they didn't want to make it look as if WWE made a mistake by having a 2 year title, keep everyone happy and keep two belts, or give one to the NXT season 3 winner? Daniel Byrans theme is horrible! The theme is the complete opposite to the theme he had before Raw. During NOC i was thinking when will he change the theme, i expected in a few months time, i was wrong. Ted DiBiases theme is also horrible, he should have kept the legacy theme song and R-Truths theme is better than his old one but its still bad, i can't understand a word he said. Speaking of them two, Eve had a small clear thong slip during the match and Maryse tights got even smaller this week, panty like. Im not sure but did Melina have a black thong slip? im not sure it may have been a design on her tights, i doubt it but as you can tell she wears nothing under her tights, (is this a bad thing or not?). Layla is improving, the move at the end was nice. John Cena vs Wade Barrett is not a Hell in a Cell match!!! Also Michelle McCool vs Natayla is also happening at Hell in a Cell for the title (sorry for the spoiler if you didn't want to know, i haven't looked at the Raw results so no other spoilers will be posted on my blogs) Natayla is talented but i don't want to see her in the title picture. I expect Jericho to leave next week on Raw (taped last night) or go on a break as Fozzy are on tour in October in Europe. I don't know if he does or not it will have to wait till this time next week when i blog about Raw. In other news Matt Hardy looks as if he is about to be Fired, im not saying leaving WWE, i wish Matt would just tell us already instead of giving us stupid hints on twitter, i have lost a lot of respect for Hardy since this news story started 2 weeks ago. Matt Hardy will not die! because your fired!

I will be posting more video's on my youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/WDSDivaSlips

Enjoy the new Trish Stratus video's i have posted, i have 5 more video's of her planned and made, they are coming out in the few days this week.

I hope you enjoyed Raw

Art Show: Too Many Dinosaurs!

The Great Fury



By Ken Kelly. [Illustrateurs]

Space Jungle Girl



By Gene Gonzales.

Jungle Girl



By J Scott Campbell. [Comic Art Community]

Man-Thing



By Tom Fowler. [Comic Twart]

King of the Dinosaurs



By Michael Berenstain. Michael is the son of The Berenstain Bears' Stan and Jan, which is where I sort of got the title of this post. When David was younger, we read a lot of those books to him and noticed that Too Many... or Too Much... was a recurring title formula. It was usually followed by something awesome like TV, junk food, or action figures. I have a feeling that Mama would have found something to disapprove of about T-Rex too. (I'm mostly kidding. While Mama was sort of a buzzkill, we obviously liked those books or wouldn't have read so many of them. And there's evidence that perhaps Mama was tolerant of Brother's dinosaur obsession.) [Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs]