The padlock was the kind of large, top of the range, stainless steel, combination Master Lock that made opportunist thieves cry. That was the bad news. The good news was that the shackle was roomy and completely unrestrictive. However, as roomy as the shackle was, there was absolutely no chance of squeezing an Isaac through it. [Tony's cock is "Sir Newton", his balls are "Isaacs". Of course they are. *g*]

Ugh! Why did he have to go think of that? Just the very idea made his eyes sting and his Isaacs draw up for safety and now the padlock suddenly felt very restrictive.

What on earth were those girls thinking? Didn’t they know you never put anything on a person the person couldn’t take off again? They were evil, evil women. What did they do? Carry around a variety of padlocks in their purses to make sure they had one to fit every hapless victim? Evil triplets. He’d gone to bed with the triplets of evil.

Killing the Cat by Maygra (maygra)
http://wordsmiths.net/Maygra/killing.html

The Good Doctor by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)
http://mediafans.org/rachael/highlander/doctor.htm

Light in Your Eyes by Arachne (stealingpennies)
http://www.angelfire.com/home/pandoemonium/arachne/richie.htm

*NEW* One Night Stand by Shrift (shrift)
http://bifictionalbedlam.slashcity.net/shrift/onenightstand.html

*NEW* Meanwhile, at the Dojo by Tray (elistaire)
http://community.livejournal.com/hlh_shortcuts/12689.html

AD 1997 (Coda to Waters of Life and Death) by Basingstoke (basingstoke)
http://www.ravenswing.com/~bas/slash/1997AD.html

Plat du Jour by Arachne (stealingpennies)
http://www.angelfire.com/home/pandoemonium/arachne/platdujour.htm

Hadrian's Wall by Sandra McDonald
http://homepage.mac.com/samcdonald/fanfic/hadrian.htm

Your supervisor tells you to come into his/her office and close the door. Your instinctive (not necessarily reasonable) first thought is:

Legislators vote to defeat same-sex marriage ban

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. The measure needed at least 50 votes to advance.

The vote came after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal. Cheers echoed in the State House when the vote was tallied.

More here.

One of the high points of the entire series occurred in the pilot: the reunion of Kwai Chang Caine and Peter Caine. This story looks at the events of the pilot in a little more detail. The first part is narrated by Peter, the second by Caine, and the voices are perfect.

When I'm undercover, I focus all my thoughts on the job, even when I'm "off duty" as I am now. But tonight I can't seem to do that...which isn't a big surprise, considering that I found my father yesterday.

It's nearly two in the morning, and I'm still wide awake, lying here atop a scratchy nylon bedspread in a downtown hotel where I'm registered as Peter McCabe. I get off the bed for the dozenth time tonight and go to the window. I draw open the curtains about a foot, then settle again in the uncomfortable chair that faces outward.

From the nineteenth floor, I can see a lot of lights, but the only ones that concern me are the ones I can't see, the ones in Chinatown. I know my dad must be there -- where else would he go? I was scared shitless tonight when I drove with Chan to the hospital. My mind was racing: did my father get the flowers, did he read the note, did he understand, was he still there, did he leave, how could I shoot him? -- I couldn't shoot him, I'd turn the gun on Chan instead-- Yeah, I had it all planned out. It would have blown my cover with Tan, but that didn't matter. Nothing is more important than my father.

cesario

1880-1918

In Europe again, Albus meets the Knights of Walpurgis and their leader, an Austrian wizard whose friendly, unpretentious charm, and utter lack of blood prejudice, disarms him at first. Grindelwald is Muggleborn himself, and treats pureblood snobbery with the same merry contempt Albus had once attempted to cultivate in himself, and that is how he recognizes it for what it is—a mask for a deep and powerful rage. Grindelwald's attempts to introduce Albus to the Dark Arts are no less a disappointment to the younger man than to the elder: there is nothing new there, no wisdom at all, nothing but the oldest lie, the worship of power, the strong abusing the weak for their own pleasure. In the end Albus leaves quietly, in the dead of night, because there is no point in open battle. Such contests are fought, not with magic, but in the hearts and minds of men and women.

Killing the Cat by Maygra (maygra)
http://wordsmiths.net/Maygra/killing.html

The Good Doctor by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)
http://mediafans.org/rachael/highlander/doctor.htm

Light in Your Eyes by Arachne (stealingpennies)
http://www.angelfire.com/home/pandoemonium/arachne/richie.htm

AD 1997 (Coda to Waters of Life and Death) by Basingstoke (basingstoke)
http://www.ravenswing.com/~bas/slash/1997AD.html

Plat du Jour by Arachne (stealingpennies)
http://www.angelfire.com/home/pandoemonium/arachne/platdujour.htm

Hadrian's Wall by Sandra McDonald
http://homepage.mac.com/samcdonald/fanfic/hadrian.htm

thisisbone

"Dude, I can't reach my dick," Dean said as he strained his little furry forearms down toward his lap. "No, no, no."

rokeon

It's told totally in dialog, and the voices are perfect. Go, read, enjoy.

What can I say, except that Mark Evanier is very, very convincing?

( click here )

Plane twice dropped fast enough to feel like freefall. Some passengers (children, I think) screamed a bit at that. That's new.

R and I clutched hands a bit. That's new.

Plane landed. Passengers applauded. That's new.

Okay, so I'm kind of glad that I don't have to get on another plane for at least two months.

First name on the ballot was Edward M. Kennedy, Democratic candidate for re-election for Senator in Congress.

Kennedy was running for re-election? There was a Senatorial race going on this year? I saw absolutely no news coverage of it, nor advertising on behalf of the candidates. (Neither did R.)

According to the fine print in today's Boston Globe,

Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, 74, has served 44 years in the US Senate and has championed minimum wage and healthcare legislation. Republican challenger Kenneth G. Chase, 45, runs a language school and has made stricter immigration controls a focus of his run to unseat Kennedy.

That's it. That's the only news coverage I've seen of the race, and I had to go looking for it.

In a year when the governor's race set a record on spending, the Senatorial race probably cost the candidates no more than filing fees.

( Spoiler warning )

Meaning: When you drive home tonight, be careful that you don't run over any young trick-or-treaters on the dark streets.¹

Variation: Watch out for squishies.

1. But if you do run over any, they're still two points apiece.²


2. I'm a Boston driver. We have a points system. Two points per pedestrian, three if there's a bicycle or stroller. I'm not making this up.

Image generated by http://atom.smasher.org/construction.

I've got my membership and reservations for Eclecticon . I hope to see some of you there.

::does the happy dance of fandom joy::

• Kilts.
  
• Lots and lots of older characters. It's a mother lode.
  
• The fandom doesn't have any portmanteau pairing names.
  
• Period clothes and settings.
  
• Dancing on the Eiffel Tower.
  
• The goat is canon. Repeat: The. Goat. Is. Canon.
  

::speechless::

Currently, Montero said, about 75 percent of people living in Chelsea are renters, while 25 percent are actual owners. But those numbers are increasing as more developments like Spencer Lofts, the Burke School, and Chelsea Creek are completed, he said. (emphasis mine)

Did the numbers increase to 85 percent renting and 35 percent owning?

My Unitarian
Jihad Name is: Sister Katana of Reasoned Discussion.

Get yours.

N: I was watching an interview of [celebrity], and she said that she was undecided. She was evaluating Bush and Kerry on the issues, and both men had positions that she liked.

D: What position of Bush's did she like?

R: He walks upright.