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Visit us at shapedbydog.com Trick or Treat! It's almost Halloween and although not every country celebrates it, I want to suggest a dog training plan-a-palooza to prep for holidays and celebrations no matter where you live. Halloween and similar events can be scary and dangerous for dogs! I'm sharing common but deadly candy ingredients your dog must avoid, why you shouldn't take most dogs trick-or-treating and how to prevent reactivity and anxiety when spooky, costumed strangers knock and ding at your door.
If you ever have something you want to throw on to the savage scale, reach out to us like this listener did... "Hey guys! Let me start by saying I LOVE Halloween. It's my favorite time of the year and my favorite holiday. Needless to say, when it comes to decorating for Halloween, I go big. My Halloween decorations are always the most elaborate in the neighborhood. Normally the neighbors love it, but this year there's a new family that lives across the street from us and they're not fans. The day after I put up our decorations I found a letter from them in our mailbox asking if we could tone things down a little. Apparently having fake dismembered bodies in the front yard was a little too much for them? I ended up not changing anything because it's my freakin' yard. Well over the weekend things escalated when they came over and knocked on my door. In person their request for me to tone down the decorations sounded more like a demand. Some words were exchanged and lets just say I won't be knocking on their door to borrow sugar any time soon. I don't feel the bad about it though because it's savage to demand your neighbors change THEIR decorations!" What do you think? Are you voting savage or sensible? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
My Halloween fete experience where I tested my alcohol limits and the kickback --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cssb/support
My Halloween horror "Black Pumpkin" arriving December 8 on VOD and DVD, Yachtley Crew behind the scenes at Nov 25th Del Mar drive-in show, an Uber driver interview, Micky Dolenz from the Monkees says hello, some ideas about being "that guy" and more! Plus, Man Behind the Machine and Maria Humphreys stop by and the Mad Shelley Production team calls in!
My Halloween was nothing like I thought it would be. Which makes sense, because nothing is ever like I thought it would be. From: On (or Close to) Schedule - Right. Our home. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
My Halloween special for you. Recorded on this day in 1938! Cut from the original 78's! Old school radio play at it's finest right here. Please share and retweet! Good Family Fun!
My Halloween will be spent talking about the decorations and other stuff soon.
The session videos begin here…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxPgln_wxyo&list=PLOoBVYVhNXA3kURpoOeFzpf1JlBWT311l&index=100&t=0s…and are divided into the following chapters…14.1 – Deep Bow, Recaps and Rethinks14.2 – The Battle With The Bouncers Begins14.3 – The Battle With The Bouncers Continues14.4 – The Battle With The Bouncers Concludes14.5 – Finally Arriving at The Notchhttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2014%20-%20Battling%20The%20Bouncers,%20Arrival%20at%20The%20Notch.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jul 12, 2014 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Nov 1, 2014 Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The session videos begin here…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxPgln_wxyo&list=PLOoBVYVhNXA3kURpoOeFzpf1JlBWT311l&index=100&t=0s…and are divided into the following chapters…14.1 – Deep Bow, Recaps and Rethinks14.2 – The Battle With The Bouncers Begins14.3 – The Battle With The Bouncers Continues14.4 – The Battle With The Bouncers Concludes14.5 – Finally Arriving at The Notchhttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2014%20-%20Battling%20The%20Bouncers,%20Arrival%20at%20The%20Notch.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jul 12, 2014 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Nov 1, 2014 Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin at…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HccWRdEXoU&list=PLOoBVYVhNXA3kURpoOeFzpf1JlBWT311l&index=88&t=0s…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Recaps and Retcons2 – Starting Down The Fuse3 – Battling Unseen Shooters4 – Mink’s Homecoming5 – Further Down The Fuse6 – Battling a Scav Ganghttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2012%20-%20Starting%20Down%20The%20Fuse.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jul 30, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Sep 10, 2018 Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin at…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HccWRdEXoU&list=PLOoBVYVhNXA3kURpoOeFzpf1JlBWT311l&index=88&t=0s…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Recaps and Retcons2 – Starting Down The Fuse3 – Battling Unseen Shooters4 – Mink’s Homecoming5 – Further Down The Fuse6 – Battling a Scav Ganghttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2012%20-%20Starting%20Down%20The%20Fuse.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jul 30, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Sep 10, 2018 Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin here…https://youtu.be/WjsH3aDy4A0…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Poxo’s House2 – The Next Morning3 – Ship Repairs4 – Incognito Clothes5 – Ship Prognosis, Dinner, Vril’s Devicehttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%208%20-%20Cavma,%20part%201.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jan 28, 2019 Recent tweets as of Aug 13, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session start here…https://youtu.be/O4CKqWyEM8Q…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – The Crazy Guy, Searching Jex’sOffice2 – The Black Box3 – The Crew Chooses Side Jobs4 – Attacked by Thugs! (Highlights)5 – Murder, Book Store, InfoMatrixhttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%203%20-%20Dalla.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Aug 27, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) April 2013 media Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
This recaps all of the relevant plot information that has been given in the first six sessions and was viewed by the players at the beginning of Session 7.The video version is here…https://youtu.be/XQwcX3zWMaEhttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Campaign%20Recap%201%20-%20Facts,%20Rumors,%20Conspiracies.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Custard’s Last Stand – The Icebox Radio Podcast The Fourth Tower of Inverness Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin here…https://youtu.be/hlREcPgCXGo…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Cavma Recap and Car Chase Begins2 – Car Chase Shootout!3 – Car Chase Shootout! continued4 – Racing to finish ship repairs before attack arrives5 – Only five minutes left!6 – Perilous Escape!7 – Leaving Cavma, Jump to Brindle8 – Character Developmenthttps://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2010%20-%20Cavma,%20part%203.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Jan 7, 2019 And That’s the Truth Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin at…https://youtu.be/8Vo8ReEpxe8…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Skill Marks Rules Changes and Recaps2 – Poxo’s Story3 – Vril’s Questions4 – The crew considers their situation5 – Planning a Stealthy Infiltration6 – Infiltrating The XSI Facility7 – Sneaking Through The Building8 – Searching for Parts9 – Let’s Get Out Of Here!!https://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%209%20-%20Cavma,%20part%202.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Custard’s Last Stand – The Icebox Radio Podcast The Fourth Tower of Inverness Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session start here…https://youtu.be/O4CKqWyEM8Q…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – The Crazy Guy, Searching Jex’sOffice2 – The Black Box3 – The Crew Chooses Side Jobs4 – Attacked by Thugs! (Highlights)5 – Murder, Book Store, InfoMatrixhttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%203%20-%20Dalla.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Aug 27, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) April 2013 media Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
This recaps all of the relevant plot information that has been given in the first six sessions and was viewed by the players at the beginning of Session 7.The video version is here…https://youtu.be/XQwcX3zWMaEhttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Campaign%20Recap%201%20-%20Facts,%20Rumors,%20Conspiracies.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Custard’s Last Stand – The Icebox Radio Podcast The Fourth Tower of Inverness Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin here…https://youtu.be/WjsH3aDy4A0…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Poxo’s House2 – The Next Morning3 – Ship Repairs4 – Incognito Clothes5 – Ship Prognosis, Dinner, Vril’s Devicehttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%208%20-%20Cavma,%20part%201.mp3 Possibly related posts: Recent tweets as of Jan 28, 2019 Recent tweets as of Aug 13, 2018 My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin at…https://youtu.be/8Vo8ReEpxe8…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Skill Marks Rules Changes and Recaps2 – Poxo’s Story3 – Vril’s Questions4 – The crew considers their situation5 – Planning a Stealthy Infiltration6 – Infiltrating The XSI Facility7 – Sneaking Through The Building8 – Searching for Parts9 – Let’s Get Out Of Here!!http://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%209%20-%20Cavma,%20part%202.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Custard’s Last Stand – The Icebox Radio Podcast The Fourth Tower of Inverness Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
The videos of this session begin here…https://youtu.be/hlREcPgCXGo…and are divided into the following chapters…1 – Cavma Recap and Car Chase Begins2 – Car Chase Shootout!3 – Car Chase Shootout! continued4 – Racing to finish ship repairs before attack arrives5 – Only five minutes left!6 – Perilous Escape!7 – Leaving Cavma, Jump to Brindle8 – Character Developmenthttp://christophercornelius.com/DoulosCorp/Doulos%20Corp%20-%20Session%2010%20-%20Cavma,%20part%203.mp3 Possibly related posts: My Halloween ringtone – a classic blood-curdling scream :) Recent tweets as of Jan 7, 2019 And That’s the Truth Related posts brought to you by YARPP.
Behind the Porn Scenes with Lelu Love - Sex, Dating and My Real Life
In “Behind The Porn Scenes” Podcast Episode 34 you will hear: My Halloween night plans Why I dyed my hair and color I chose What made me feel so old at the Halloween party Which of my friends wore crotchless panties Why I turn into Ludacris in crowds A great gift idea for YOUR birthday … Continue reading "Dealing With Haters And Trolls Online – Ep34" The post Dealing With Haters And Trolls Online – Ep34 appeared first on LeluLove - Internet's Most Interactive Sex Star.
My Halloween celebration has a soundtrack. And, along with all the standards, I collect “non-traditional” horror songs; ones that induce dread, or shock, maybe even fear. In this episode I share some of the songs that are mainstays in my October playlist. Maybe some of these songs will inspire you, and become part of your own celebration of Halloween. Happy Listening. If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play. It really helps. Thanks a lot for listening. You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play, PlayerFM, and Stitcher. You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link:https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ibsk2i4bbprrplyvs37c6aqv2ny Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. To download your free audiobook today, go to: http://www.audibletrial.com/HellbentForHorror Songs covered: “Pretty Polly” by Dock Boggs “Country Death Song” by the Violent Femmes “O’Malley’s Bar” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Do You Love Me? (Part 1 and 2)” by Nick Cave “The Devil’s Own” by David Sylvian “We Die Young” by Alice in Chains “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains “Twist of Cain” by Danzig “Intruder” by Peter Gabriel “I Want You” by Elvis Costello “Black Angels, Movement 1: Departure” by Kronos Quartet “Viginti Tres” by Tool “Drift” by Fear of God “Disturbing the Priest” by Black Sabbath “Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer “Victim” by the Golden Palominos “Subway Song” by The Cure “Delia’s Gone” by Johnny Cash “Car Chase Terror” by M83 “Frankie Teardrop” by Suicide “Sun Arise” by Alice Cooper
Here are the core reasons why Russell is finally getting involved in social media. ---Transcript--- Hey everyone! This is Russell Brunson, and I want to welcome you to a very special Halloween Marketing In Your Car. Everyone, so this Russell and today is… It just happens to be my favorite holiday, which is Halloween, and a lot of people think, “Halloween is your favorite holiday, Russell?” But yes, I don't know why. I just have so many fond memories of getting candy, and smashing pumpkins and everything else fun I did as a kid, and now it's fun to take my kids out — not smashing pumpkins, I try to teach them respect. We're definitely going out and getting candy, making some witches brew, a bunch of other fun stuff, so it's going to be a fun day today. Anyway, I'm really excited. So today I want to talk about just the kind of stuff that's been happening in our business. What's been interesting is, as we've been trying to kind of shift up our business model and change a whole bunch of things, you guys will start seeing a bunch of changes happening over the next two months in our business. We've been, you know, about six months worth of back-work, and doing stuff that no one can really see yet, but you will all be able to see it very, very soon, a whole new re-brand of all of our sites, all of our brands, things like that. And one of the big pieces that we're doing is focusing a lot more now on social media, things like that, and it's interesting because I've always fought social media. I've never wanted to do… I didn't want to tweet. I didn't want to do Facebook. I didn't want to do all that kind of stuff, but it's getting to the point now where I just can't ignore it anymore, and we're getting more and more involved. And it's been interesting like, for any of you guys who are SEO type people or curious about SEO, it's really interesting how much SEO has been changing. We used to have full-time teams of people who did SEO, and now we've pretty much canceled and let go of all of them. What we're finding, and it's interesting — and I think that this will be the trend, moving forward with SEO — is like it's having a lot less to do with like backlinking and things like that. It's having a lot more to do with like the actual social interactions that people are having. I've heard stories and read things that talk about how the new future of SEO is, basically, social media. Where instead of someone going to Google and typing in, you know, “work at home,” instead of finding whoever has gotten the most backlinks, it will look at you and look at your social profile. See the people who you care about, and then see if any of the people you care about, if they've liked something. Or they've commented on something, they asked who's making work at home make money. And if they have, then boom! That will show up on top, and it's just interesting that that's the direction that things are going, where search and social are now becoming one. So I think that's why we're now focusing on that and trying to learn the game and trying to be engaging, and trying to build a Fan Page, and trying to tweet and all these nerdy things that I never wanted to do. But we're doing them now, and I think that right now they're important but soon they're going to be essential. I mean, look at like back in the day we're used to go spend a ton of money for a backlink, right? You get the perfect backlink and almost instantly you can get ranked very, very quickly. Where I think now it's going to be a lot more like networking, and finding the social influencers in a space. For example, lets say I'm in… like let's say I'm in the diabetes market, right? Which we are… and so, you know, and now I want people searching for diabetes to show up. So what I've got to do is I've got to go out there and network and find people who are big, prominent names in diabetes, whatever, and get them to comment about me on their social media, on their Facebook or Twitter or Google Plus or LinkedIn or whatever. But if I get that person to do it, now all those people's followers, in the future when they start searching for stuff, I'm going to pop up, and so I really think it's interesting. It's moving away from like the technical SEO, you know, to get rankings where it's X amount of links, and the link quality and the link density and latent SIMATIC index and all these things we used to focus on to try to beat the search engines, right? And now it's not. Now it's being social. It's getting people to talk about you. It's networking. It's gone back to like organic business. It's really interesting, and so again despite the fact that I've been fighting it for years, we're now jumping in and trying to focus on that because I think that's going to be the future for all of us. And I also look at like when I first got into this business, the way that I grew my business was networking. Like I was out there on the forums, meeting everybody in my industry. I was getting to know them. I was going to events and meeting them, and I became very, very social, and then somewhere along the line I had kids and a wife and a company and we just stopped being as social, and so… Oop, I'm pausing because I just drove past a cop in the Ferrari, and he's looking at me now. Anyway, we basically, as I said I stopped being as social, and luckily I built a lot of deep connections and relationships, and I had a lot of really good partners. But if I look at my business now, and I think that nothing is stagnating at all. We're still growing, but it hasn't grown as it should because I haven't been out there networking, and the new place to network is not the events, it's not the forums — it's social media. It's Facebook, and I hadn't been putting in my time there. And so, just for you guys, you know, think about the same types of things. This networking stuff that we're talking about, it's good from so many standpoints. It's now good for the social traffic, obviously. It's good for future SEO rankings and things like that, and it's also really good just for finding partners and friends and networking and things like that, and so I just want to stress to you guys that now is the time to get social, if you haven't yet. Jump on the bandwagon with me. You know, I fought it for years, but now we're jumping in and I think that all you guys should, as well. So, anyway that's what's happening for our Halloween today. I'm really excited. I just got to the office. I've got my fake biceps. My Halloween costume is these fake biceps, and then a blonde mullet wig. [Laughter] Which is kind of fun. I had it the other day, and my daughter said that I looked like a muscle woman because my mullet was long and blonde. So anyway, I'm dressing up like a muscleman, with a long mullet, and going to have a fun day today. So I'm excited. I hope you guys are as well, and we'll talk to you again soon.
Here are the core reasons why Russell is finally getting involved in social media. ---Transcript--- Hey everyone! This is Russell Brunson, and I want to welcome you to a very special Halloween Marketing In Your Car. Everyone, so this Russell and today is… It just happens to be my favorite holiday, which is Halloween, and a lot of people think, “Halloween is your favorite holiday, Russell?” But yes, I don’t know why. I just have so many fond memories of getting candy, and smashing pumpkins and everything else fun I did as a kid, and now it’s fun to take my kids out — not smashing pumpkins, I try to teach them respect. We’re definitely going out and getting candy, making some witches brew, a bunch of other fun stuff, so it’s going to be a fun day today. Anyway, I’m really excited. So today I want to talk about just the kind of stuff that’s been happening in our business. What’s been interesting is, as we’ve been trying to kind of shift up our business model and change a whole bunch of things, you guys will start seeing a bunch of changes happening over the next two months in our business. We’ve been, you know, about six months worth of back-work, and doing stuff that no one can really see yet, but you will all be able to see it very, very soon, a whole new re-brand of all of our sites, all of our brands, things like that. And one of the big pieces that we’re doing is focusing a lot more now on social media, things like that, and it’s interesting because I’ve always fought social media. I’ve never wanted to do… I didn’t want to tweet. I didn’t want to do Facebook. I didn’t want to do all that kind of stuff, but it’s getting to the point now where I just can’t ignore it anymore, and we’re getting more and more involved. And it’s been interesting like, for any of you guys who are SEO type people or curious about SEO, it’s really interesting how much SEO has been changing. We used to have full-time teams of people who did SEO, and now we’ve pretty much canceled and let go of all of them. What we’re finding, and it’s interesting — and I think that this will be the trend, moving forward with SEO — is like it’s having a lot less to do with like backlinking and things like that. It’s having a lot more to do with like the actual social interactions that people are having. I’ve heard stories and read things that talk about how the new future of SEO is, basically, social media. Where instead of someone going to Google and typing in, you know, “work at home,” instead of finding whoever has gotten the most backlinks, it will look at you and look at your social profile. See the people who you care about, and then see if any of the people you care about, if they’ve liked something. Or they’ve commented on something, they asked who’s making work at home make money. And if they have, then boom! That will show up on top, and it’s just interesting that that’s the direction that things are going, where search and social are now becoming one. So I think that’s why we’re now focusing on that and trying to learn the game and trying to be engaging, and trying to build a Fan Page, and trying to tweet and all these nerdy things that I never wanted to do. But we’re doing them now, and I think that right now they’re important but soon they’re going to be essential. I mean, look at like back in the day we’re used to go spend a ton of money for a backlink, right? You get the perfect backlink and almost instantly you can get ranked very, very quickly. Where I think now it’s going to be a lot more like networking, and finding the social influencers in a space. For example, lets say I’m in… like let’s say I’m in the diabetes market, right? Which we are… and so, you know, and now I want people searching for diabetes to show up. So what I’ve got to do is I’ve got to go out there and network and find people who are big, prominent names in diabetes, whatever, and get them to comment about me on their social media, on their Facebook or Twitter or Google Plus or LinkedIn or whatever. But if I get that person to do it, now all those people’s followers, in the future when they start searching for stuff, I’m going to pop up, and so I really think it’s interesting. It’s moving away from like the technical SEO, you know, to get rankings where it’s X amount of links, and the link quality and the link density and latent SIMATIC index and all these things we used to focus on to try to beat the search engines, right? And now it’s not. Now it’s being social. It’s getting people to talk about you. It’s networking. It’s gone back to like organic business. It’s really interesting, and so again despite the fact that I’ve been fighting it for years, we’re now jumping in and trying to focus on that because I think that’s going to be the future for all of us. And I also look at like when I first got into this business, the way that I grew my business was networking. Like I was out there on the forums, meeting everybody in my industry. I was getting to know them. I was going to events and meeting them, and I became very, very social, and then somewhere along the line I had kids and a wife and a company and we just stopped being as social, and so… Oop, I’m pausing because I just drove past a cop in the Ferrari, and he’s looking at me now. Anyway, we basically, as I said I stopped being as social, and luckily I built a lot of deep connections and relationships, and I had a lot of really good partners. But if I look at my business now, and I think that nothing is stagnating at all. We’re still growing, but it hasn’t grown as it should because I haven’t been out there networking, and the new place to network is not the events, it’s not the forums — it’s social media. It’s Facebook, and I hadn’t been putting in my time there. And so, just for you guys, you know, think about the same types of things. This networking stuff that we’re talking about, it’s good from so many standpoints. It’s now good for the social traffic, obviously. It’s good for future SEO rankings and things like that, and it’s also really good just for finding partners and friends and networking and things like that, and so I just want to stress to you guys that now is the time to get social, if you haven’t yet. Jump on the bandwagon with me. You know, I fought it for years, but now we’re jumping in and I think that all you guys should, as well. So, anyway that’s what’s happening for our Halloween today. I’m really excited. I just got to the office. I’ve got my fake biceps. My Halloween costume is these fake biceps, and then a blonde mullet wig. [Laughter] Which is kind of fun. I had it the other day, and my daughter said that I looked like a muscle woman because my mullet was long and blonde. So anyway, I’m dressing up like a muscleman, with a long mullet, and going to have a fun day today. So I’m excited. I hope you guys are as well, and we’ll talk to you again soon.
*It's no secret that boys of a certain age like guns, even if they are *make-believe. I remember that before my boys ever had any plastic weapons, they would use other toys, or even sticks, and pretend that they were guns. Perhaps they were influenced by something that they had seen on television, or maybe in a book. Who knows? Even at snack time, they would hold up their carrots at eachother and pretend to shoot. Well, now that my boys are older, we have found a happy medium between play and reality. Air soft. These guns are fashioned to look exactly like the real thing, but often smaller in size. And what they shoot is harmless: bb's. These are small, plastic balls that come in various colors. We have white, orange, and fluorescent yellow ones. The boys *take their weapons quite seriously. They have already had a proper air soft battle with friends up in the forest where they camped out for the night. It was supervised, of course, by parents. Eye protection is a must, and nobody is allowed to play unless their eyes are covered. The extent to which you cover yourself in clothing is up to you. Some people don't want to risk getting hit with a bb because it stings a little. As long as you wear long sleeves, long pants, and cover your face and neck, you are completely sting-free. Airsoft is the sort of hobby that grows on you. Some adults are devoted to it. You-tube is full of video clips about the air soft weapons, and battles among friends in lots of different countries. When my two sons had their air soft camp-out, they came back with stories of all the cool stuff that people had. There are heavy duty combat suits that you can use that not only completely cover you, but also are camouflaged. Some of the air soft guns are CO2 powered (carbon dioxide), so the bb'ss fly hard and fast at their target. What's really fun, is having a make-believe battle in our back garden as the sun is going down. We use the glow-in-the-dark bb's, so we can see when someone is shooting at us, and duck. Our kids absolutely love it; it's intense and exciting. The only trouble is, there are bb's everywhere. If you pick any room in my house, even after it's been cleaned, you will find bb's somewhere. Even the driveway has bright yellow bb's glowing against the black asphalt, and from underneath bushes and plants. Those little plastic balls started out in a factory in China, made their way by boat to the U.S., were transported by train to Washington, and then by truck to our local store. And now, those tiny things will be turning up for months in my house and entryway. Grammar notes. Related vocabulary and expressions: it's no secret, make-believe, to take something seriously, glow-in-the-dark. 1. It's no secret that their money influences local politicians. 2. My daughter's unicorn lives in our backyard; it's make-believe, of course. 3. She takes her cake baking very seriously; don't disturb her when she is making them. 4. My Halloween costume was a glow-in-the-dark skeleton. // //