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September 13, 2007

Thursday

Now, did you remember all the steps?

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Jim: Tutu Err Is Human

From backstage, Mira heard the immediate hush when the curtain rose. Then, the soft tremolo of violins from the orchestra pit filled sound’s sudden vacuum. The dance began.

She stepped away from the barre, extended her leg into a graceful arabesque, then jetéd with admiral elevation into a pirouette and spun gyroscopically, her pointe shoe not moving an inch from its place on the polished wooden floor.

She performed a few more limbering plies while the music climbed toward her cue.

“Five more seconds, Mira,” whispered a helpful stagehand.

Mira froze, eyes wide. She had forgotten which ballet this was.

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Dave: Terms and Conditions

"You sprinkled the basilisk blood in a circle."

"Yeah.  If that's the yellow goop, yeah."

"Widdershins?"

"Gesundheit?"

"Anti-clockwise?"

"Yeah."

"You said the words I gave you."

"Jazhmazol, Frelli--"

"Not! Here!  Hmmmm.  You lit each of the candles in order?"

"Zippo Black Crackle -- never fails."

"The chickens?"

Roger glared.  "Yeah.  Never again."

"Squeamish?"

"I killed plenty of chickens for supper, growing up,.  For magic's different."

"Not even to save your --? That's it!  Your wife!"

"What about her?"

"You're not a virgin.  Of course it didn't work."

Roger decked him.  It was either that or shoot him, and he still needed the wizard to find Chrys.

Read more from ***Dave's .

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David: It's Always Something

Lao Feng lay on his death bed, performing step 999 of the Thousand Steps to Enlightenment, the review and recitation of his previous 998 acts to his fellow monks. Only step 1000, abandonment of the flesh, would come after.

“Step 475: I stood humble in the face of my greatest achievement, the completion of the meditation wall.

“Step 476: I accepted that all matter is transient with the destruction of the meditation wall.

“Step 477: I… I…”

The brother prompted him. “You took neither food nor drink for a month to purify your body and soul.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s it.”

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