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I tell you?? ?A cimitero?? interrupted... 828 [Mar. 4th, 2010|02:29 am] I tell you?? ?A cimitero?? interrupted Louis?What the hell for?? ?Because your two acquaintances drove here from the airport, you ignorante! At the moment there is a burial in progress?a night burial with a candlelight procession which will soon be drowned out by rain?and if your two acquaintances flew over here to attend this barbaric ceremony, then the air in America is filled with brain-damaging pollutants! We did not bargain for this sciocchezze, New YorkWe have our own work to do ?They went there to meet the big cannoli,? said DeFazio quietly, as if to himself?As to work, gumball, if you ever want to work with us, or Philadelphia, or Chicago, or Los Angeles again, you?ll do what I tell youYou?ll also be terrifically paid for it, capisce?? ?That makes more sense, I admit ?Stay out of sight, but stay with themFind out where they go and who they seeI?ll get over there as soon as I can, but link post comment

I'm sure you're tired of running ?Yes, I am,? I... 890 [Mar. 3rd, 2010|03:13 am] I'm sure you're tired of running ?Yes, I am,? I agreeI take a deep breath to make me brave?I'll admit, I prefer it that wayThe thought of being separated from you?? He laughs quietly?Does it sound crazy to say that I'd rather die? Too melodramatic?? ?No, I know what you mean Hemust feel the same way I doWould he say these things if he thought of me as just another human, and not as a woman? I realize that this is the first time we've ever been really alone since the night we met?the first time there's been a door to close between a sleeping Jamie and the two of usSo many nights we've stayed awake, talking in whispers, link post comment

?And from the books we both know that he... 890 [Feb. 12th, 2010|02:52 am] ?And from the books we both know that he was well read, probably well educated, if his speech was indicativeWhere did he come from and why did he work for the Jackal?? ?They say he was Cuban and fought in Fidel?s revolution, that he was a deep thinker, as well as a law student with Castro, and once a great athleteThen, of course, as in all revolutions, the internal strife sours the victories?at least that?s what my old friends from the May Day barricades tell me ?Translation, please?? ?Fidel was jealous of the leaders of certain cadres, especially Che Guevara and the man you knew as SantosWhere Castro was larger than life, those two were larger than he was, and Fidel could not tolerate the competitionChe was sent on a mission that ended his life, and trumped up counterrevolutionary charges link post comment

I tended to hug the walls and keep my eyes... 625 [Feb. 11th, 2010|02:42 am] I tended to hug the walls and keep my eyes down Occasionally, I would stop conversation the way I used to, but mostly I was ignoredThe only time I felt in immediate danger of death was when I interrupted Sharon's class to get JamieThe look Sharon gave me seemed designed to be followed by hostile actionBut she let Jamie go with a nod after I choked out my whispered request, and when we were alone, he held my shaking hand and told me Sharon looked the same way at anyone who interrupted her class The very worst was the time I had to find Doc, because Ian insisted on showing me the wayI could have refused, I suppose, but Jeb didn't have a problem with the arrangement, and that meant Jeb trusted Ian not to kill meI was far from comfortable link post comment

Then he drove it to where I stood, and as I saw... 875 [Feb. 10th, 2010|03:13 am] Then he drove it to where I stood, and as I saw the heavy tarps wipe the tire tracks from the dirt, I comprehended their purpose Jared leaned across the seat to open the passenger doorThere was a backpack on the seat I crouched to look at myself in the side mirrorI flipped my chin-length hair over my cheek, but it wasn't enoughI touched my cheek and bit my lipI can't go in with my face like this I pointed to the long, jagged scar across my skin ?No soul would have a scar like link post comment

Who shall I say?? ? ?Alex? is good enough ?Just... 578 [Feb. 6th, 2010|03:09 am] Who shall I say?? ? ?Alex? is good enough ?Just ?Alex??? ?Hurry, please!? Twenty seconds later the voice of John StJacques filled the line ?Conklin? Is that you?? ?Listen to meThey know Marie and the children flew into Montserrat ?We heard that someone was asking questions over at the airport about a woman and two kids? ? ?Then that?s why you moved them from the house to the inn ?Who was asking questions?? ?We don?t knowIt was done by telephoneI didn?t want to leave them, even for a few hours, but I had a command appearance at Government House, and by the time that son-of-a-bitch Crown governor showed up, the storm hitI talked to the desk and got this number ?That?s one consolation link post comment

I crawled backward a few feet toward the door,... 593 [Feb. 3rd, 2010|03:16 am] I crawled backward a few feet toward the door, ready to make a grab for Ian if he started slipping Ian hauled his inert brother around one side of the pillar, dragging him in jerks, a foot at a time More of the floor crumbled, but the foundation of the pillar remained intactA new shelf formed about two feet out from the column of rock Ian crawled backward the way I had, dragging his brother along in short surges of muscle and willWithin a minute, we were all three in the mouth of the corridor, Ian and I breathing link post comment

?Not by name, of course, but he told me you... 500 [Feb. 2nd, 2010|03:22 am] ?Not by name, of course, but he told me you might bring up his sainthoodIt was how I?d know you were?his colleague ?How is he? We hear stories, of course?Banal gossip, by and large Wounded in the futile Vietnam, alcohol, dismissed, disgraced, brought back a hero of the Agency, so many contradictory things ?Most of them true link post comment

?He?d never harm you?? ?Of course not, I know... 578 [Feb. 1st, 2010|03:06 am] ?He?d never harm you?? ?Of course not, I know that ?Then provide him with that link to David WebbIt has to be there, Marie ?Oh, God, I love him so!? cried the wife, rushing to her feet and racing after her husband?yet not her husband ?Was that the right advice, Mo?? asked ConklinI just don?t think he should be alone with his nightmares, none of us shouldThat?s not psychiatry, it?s just common sense ?Sometimes you sound like a real doctor, you know that?? The Algerian section of Paris lies between the tenth and eleventh arrondissements, barely three blocks, where the low buildings are Parisian but the sounds and the smells are ArabicThe insignia of the high church small but emblazoned in gold on its doors, a long black limousine entered this ethnic enclaveIt stopped in front of a wood-framed, three-story house, where an old priest got out and walked to the doorHe selected a name on the mail plate and pressed the button that rang a bell on link post comment

May I make the only atonement in my power? Take... 234 [Jan. 31st, 2010|02:45 am] May I make the only atonement in my power? Take the cylinders and hear themThe first half-dozen of them are personal to me, and they will not horrify youThen you will know me betterDinner will by then be readyIn the meantime I shall read over some of these documents, and shall be better able to understand certain things He carried the phonograph himself up to my sitting room and adjusted it for meNow I shall learn something pleasant, I am sureFor it will tell me the other side of a true love episode of which I know one side alreadySEWARD'S DIARY 29 September-I was so absorbed in that wonderful diary of Jonathan Harker and that other of his wife that I let the time run on without thinkingHarker was not down when the maid came to announce dinner, so I said, "She is possibly tiredLet dinner wait an hour," and I went on with my workI had just finished MrsHarker's diary, when she came inShe looked sweetly pretty, but very sad, and her eyes were flushed with cryingThis somehow moved me muchOf late I have had cause for tears, God knows! But the relief of them was denied me, and now the sight of those sweet eyes, brightened by recent tears, went straight to my heartSo I said as gently as I could, "I greatly fear I have distressed you "Oh, no, not distressed me," she replied"But I have been more touched than I can say by your griefThat is a wonderful machine, but it is cruelly trueIt told me, in its very tones, the anguish of your heartIt was like a soul crying out to Almighty GodNo one must hear them spoken ever again! See, I have tried to be usefulI have copied out the words on my typewriter, and none other need now hear your heart beat, as I did "No one need ever know, shall ever know," I said in a low voiceShe laid her hand on mine and said very gravely, "Ah, but they must!" "Must! But why?" I asked "Because it is a part of the terrible story, a part of poor Lucy's death and all that led to itBecause in the struggle which we have before us to rid the earth of this terrible monster we must have all the knowledge and all the help which we can getI think that the cylinders which you gave me contained more than you intended me to knowBut I can see that there are in your record many lights to this dark mysteryYou will let me help, will you not? I know all up to a certain point, and I see already, though your diary only took me to 7 September, how poor Lucy was beset, and how her terrible doom was being wrought outJonathan and I have been working day and night since Professor Van Helsing saw usHe is gone to Whitby to get more information, and he will be here tomorrow to help usWe need have no secrets amongst usWorking together and with absolute trust, we can surely be stronger than if some of us were in the dark She looked at me so appealingly, and at the same time manifested such courage and resolution in her bearing, that I gave in at once to her wishes"You shall," I said, "do as you like in the matterGod forgive me if I do wrong! There are terrible things yet to learn of, but if you have so far traveled on the road to poor Lucy's death, you will not be content, I know, to remain in the darkNay, the end, the very end, may give you a gleam of link post comment

But what would he be, if left in a strange place... 234 [Jan. 30th, 2010|02:34 am] But what would he be, if left in a strange place with no refuge that he could fly to? This is not what he intends, and he does not mean to risk it-Here is the safest way, in one respect, but with most danger in anotherOn the water he is powerless except at nightEven then he can only summon fog and storm and snow and his wolvesBut were he wrecked, the living water would engulf him, helpless, and he would indeed be lostHe could have the vessel drive to land, but if it were unfriendly land, wherein he was not free to move, his position would still be desperate We know from the record that he was on the water, so what we have to do is to ascertain what water The first thing is to realize exactly what he has done as yetWe may, then, get a light on what his task is to be-We must differentiate between what he did in London as part of his general plan of action, when he was pressed for moments and had to arrange as best he could-We must see, as well as we can surmise it from the facts we know of, what he has done here As to the first, he evidently intended to arrive at Galatz, and sent invoice to Varna to deceive us lest we should ascertain his means of exit from EnglandHis immediate and sole purpose then was to escapeThe proof of this, is the letter of instructions sent to Immanuel Hildesheim to clear and take away the box before sunriseThere is also the instruction to Petrof SkinskyThese we must only guess at, but there must have been some letter or message, since Skinsky came to Hildesheim That, so far, his plans were successful we knowThe Czarina Catherine made a phenomenally quick journeySo much so that Captain Donelson's suspicions were arousedBut his superstition united with his canniness played the Count's game for him, and he ran with his favouring wind through fogs and all till he brought up blindfold at GalatzThat the Count's arrangements were well made, has been provedHildesheim cleared the box, took it off, and gave it to SkinskySkinsky took it, and here we lose the trailWe only know that the box is somewhere on the water, moving alongThe customs and the octroi, if there be any, have been avoided Now we come to what the Count must have done after his arrival, on land, at Galatz The box was given to Skinsky before sunriseAt sunrise the Count could appear in his own formHere, we ask why Skinsky was chosen at all to aid in the work? In my husband's diary, Skinsky is mentioned as dealing with the Slovaks who trade down the river to the portAnd the man's remark, that the murder was the work of a Slovak, showed the general feeling against his classThe Count wanted isolation My surmise is this, that in London the Count decided to get back to his castle by water, as the most safe and secret wayHe was brought from the castle by Szgany, and probably they delivered their cargo to Slovaks who took the boxes to Varna, for there they were shipped to LondonThus the Count had knowledge of the persons who could arrange this serviceWhen the box was on land, before sunrise or after sunset, he came out from his box, met Skinsky and instructed him what to do as to arranging the carriage of the box up some riverWhen this was done, and he knew that all was in train, he blotted out his traces, as he thought, by murdering his agent I have examined the map and find that the river most suitable for the Slovaks to have ascended is either the Pruth or the SerethI read in the typescript that in my trance I heard cows low and water swirling level with my ears and the creaking of woodThe Count in his box, then, was on a river in an open boat, propelled probably either by oars or poles, for the banks are near and it is working against streamThere would be no such if floating down link post comment

I explained all these things to him to the best... 361 [Jan. 27th, 2010|02:14 am] I explained all these things to him to the best of my ability, and he certainly left me under the impression that he would have made a wonderful solicitor, for there was nothing that he did not think of or foreseeFor a man who was never in the country, and who did not evidently do much in the way of business, his knowledge and acumen were wonderfulWhen he had satisfied himself on these points of which he had spoken, and I had verified all as well as I could by the books available, he suddenly stood up and said, "Have you written since your first letter to our friend MrPeter Hawkins, or to any other?" It was with some bitterness in my heart that I answered that I had not, that as yet I had not seen any opportunity of sending letters to anybody "Then write now, my young friend," he said, laying a heavy hand on my shoulder, "write to our friend and to any other, and say, if it will please you, that you shall stay with me until a month from now "Do you wish me to stay so long?" I asked, for my heart grew cold at the thought "I desire it much, nay I will take no refusalWhen your master, employer, what you will, engaged that someone should come on his behalf, it was understood that my needs only were to be consultedIs it not so?" What could I do but bow acceptance? It was MrHawkins' interest, not mine, and I had to think of him, not myself, and besides, while Count Dracula was speaking, there was that in his eyes and in his bearing which made me remember that I was a prisoner, and that if I wished it I could have no choiceThe Count saw his victory in my bow, and his mastery in the trouble of my face, for he began at once to use them, but in his own smooth, resistless way "I pray you, my good young friend, that you will not discourse of things other than business in your lettersIt will doubtless please your friends to know that you are well, and that you look forward to getting home to themIs it not so?" As he spoke he handed me three sheets of note paper and three envelopesThey were all of the thinnest foreign post, and looking at them, then at him, and noticing his quiet smile, with the sharp, canine teeth lying over the red underlip, I understood as well as if he had spoken that I should be more careful what I wrote, for he would be able to read itSo I determined to write only formal notes now, but to write fully to MrHawkins in secret, and also to Mina, for to her I could write shorthand, which would puzzle the Count, if he did see itWhen I had written my two letters I sat quiet, reading a book whilst the Count wrote several notes, referring as he wrote them to some books on his tableThen he took up my two and placed them with his own, and put by his writing materials, after which, the instant the door had closed behind him, I leaned over and looked at the letters, which were face down on the tableI felt no compunction in doing so for under the circumstances I felt that I should protect myself in every way I could One of the letters was directed to Samuel F7, The Crescent, Whitby, another to Herr Leutner, VarnaThe third was to Coutts link post comment

Hello, my account friends 892 [Jan. 26th, 2010|11:52 am] Welcome to my first blog link post comment

But then we may have to want Arthur, and how... 64 [Jan. 26th, 2010|11:52 am] But then we may have to want Arthur, and how shall we tell him of this? If you, who saw the wounds on Lucy's throat, and saw the wounds so similar on the child's at the hospital, if you, who saw the coffin empty last night and full today with a woman who have not change only to be more rose and more beautiful in a whole week, after she die, if you know of this and know of the white figure last night that brought the child to the churchyard, and yet of your own senses you did not believe, how then, can I expect Arthur, who know none of those things, to believe? "He doubted me when I took him from her kiss when she was dyingI know he has forgiven me because in some mistaken idea I have done things that prevent him say goodbye as he ought, and he may think that in some more mistaken idea this woman was buried alive, and that in most mistake of all we have killed herHe will then argue back that it is we, mistaken ones, that have killed her by our ideas, and so he will be much unhappy alwaysYet he never can be sure, and that is the worst of allAnd he will sometimes think that she he loved was buried alive, and that will paint his dreams with horrors of what she must have suffered, and again, he will think that we may be right, and that his so beloved was, after all, an UnDeadNo! I told him once, and since then I learn muchNow, since I know it is all true, a hundred thousand times more do I know that he must pass through the bitter waters to reach the sweetHe, poor fellow, must have one hour that will make the very face of heaven grow black to him, then we can act for good all round and send him peaceYou return home for tonight to your asylum, and see that all be wellAs for me, I shall spend the night here in this churchyard in my own wayTomorrow night you will come to me to the Berkeley Hotel at ten of the clockI shall send for Arthur to come too, and also that so fine young man of America that gave his bloodLater we shall all have work to doI come with you so far as Piccadilly and there dine, for I must be back here before the sun set So we locked the tomb and came away, and got over the wall of the churchyard, which was not much of a task, and drove back to Piccadilly NOTE LEFT BY VAN HELSING IN HIS PORTMANTEAU, BERKELEY HOTEL DIRECTED TO JOHN SEWARD, M(Not Delivered) 27 September "Friend John, "I write this in case anything should happenI go alone to watch in that churchyardIt pleases me that the UnDead, Miss Lucy, shall not leave tonight, that so on the morrow night she may be more eagerTherefore I shall fix some things she like not, garlic and a crucifix, and so seal up the door of the tombShe is young as UnDead, and will heedMoreover, these are only to prevent her coming outThey may not prevail on her wanting to get in, for then the UnDead is desperate, and must find the line of least resistance, whatsoever it may beI shall be at hand all the night from sunset till after sunrise, and if there be aught that may be learned I shall learn itFor Miss Lucy or from her, I have no fear, but that other to whom is there that she is UnDead, he have not the power to seek her tomb and find shelterHe is cunning, as I know from MrJonathan and from the way that all along he have fooled us when he played with us for Miss Lucy's life, and we lost, and in many ways the UnDead are strongHe have always the strength in his hand of twenty men, even we four who gave our strength to Miss Lucy it also is all to himBesides, he can summon his wolf and I know not whatSo if it be that he came thither on this night he shall find meBut none other shall, until it be too lateBut it may be that he will not attempt the placeThere is no reason why he shouldHis hunting ground is more full of game than the churchyard where the UnDead woman sleeps, and the one old man watch "Therefore I write this in case? Take the papers that are with this, the diaries of Harker and the rest, and read them, and then find this great UnDead, and cut off his head and burn his heart or drive a stake through it, so that the world may rest from him "If it be so, farewellSEWARD'S DIARY 28 September-It is wonderful what a good night's sleep will do for oneYesterday I was almost willing to accept Van Helsing's monstrous ideas, but now they seem to start out lurid before me as outrages on common senseI have no doubt that he believes it link post comment

"Swedish EU Presidency Achieves Most of Its Goals [Jan. 25th, 2010|05:51 pm] "Sweden has fulfilled most of its goals before it ends its six-month-long rotating Presidency of the European Union on Friday. Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt summarized that the Swedish Presidency has achieved what it set out to achieve. ""My impression is that we have partly lived up to those expectations,"" he said. LISBON TREATY The Lisbon Treaty, the so-called EU constitution, came into force on Dec. 1. To realize such a result has not been easy. First Ireland went through a second referendum to pass the treaty, then the EU faced the Czech Republic's hesitation. After the European Council gave the Czech Republic clarification regarding the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the treaty. Without a Swedish style of leadership of being persistent and trying to find the problem and solve it through discussion, the process might have been delayed. With the Lisbon Treaty, Herman van Rompuy was elected the full- time Permanent President of the European Council with a term of two and a half years. FINANCIAL SUPERVISION Amid the global economic crisis, the Swedish Presidency has set up the goal of putting a financial supervision structure in place. The presidency indeed made EU members agree to have better and increased financial supervision. A joint European Systemic Risk Board is being set up to monitor the stability of the financial system as a whole. Three new supervisory bodies on the micro level are being created at the same time: the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority. Inappropriate bonus culture has been brought to an end during the Swedish Presidency. A finance policy exit strategy and financial market exit strategy are in place. There are now clear principles for the phasing-out of support measures for the financial markets. Through these strategies, healthy banks will have the right incentive for a return to a competitive market and other banks will have an incentive to come to grips with their shortcomings. The Swedish Presidency also pointed out a new growth strategy for the EU in 2020. The focus of future growth efforts shall be an eco-efficient economy, stronger competitiveness, increased investment in research and education, full employment and high level of labor supply, and long-term sustainable public finances. COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE Taking climate change as a top priority for its EU Presidency, Sweden's objective was to ensure that the EU continues to take responsibility for combating climate change and to act in unison at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December. The presidency had hoped to reach a legally binding agreement on climate issues. The Swedish Presidency did make the EU act in unison in Copenhagen. But its goal for the reduction of emissions is not high enough. The EU set up its short and medium-term emissions target to reduce emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and by 30 percent if other parties make sufficient reductions of their own. This was rejected by developing countries because they think the EU should reduce at least 40 percent by 2020. About financial mitigation support, the good thing is that there is an offer, but still the offer is too little and even with conditions. Overall, the Swedish EU Presidency has made the EU walk toward a new era to begin to act as a unified political player and try to lead in climate change in order to come out of the economic crisis and create more jobs. Now it is for the forthcoming Presidency Spain and the new EU President to continue to realize the vision. " link post comment

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