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by ethics officer

Post apocalyptic books and cannibal attacks

July 6, 2012 in Apocalypse World, Post Apocalyptic Books

Source: slaughterhousevixen.deviantart.com

The latest cannibal attack took place last week but this time, it was in China. Could this be the result of people reading too many post apocalyptic books and watching too many zombie films? If that doesn’t sound plausible, read on.

It was caught on camera this time, when a drunk bus driver leapt on a woman, bit and chewed her face in a horrifying assault. The victim will require plastic surgery to heal extensive damage caused to her nose and lips. It was a random assault that happened in broad daylight, in the middle of a city road. Another strange incident resembling a scene from one of the most graphic science fiction and fantasy books.

The attacker, a man named Dong, drank heavily with his friends during lunch prior to the attack. He proceeded to run onto a road and jump in front of a moving car driven by a female. When she stopped the car, he jumped onto the hood and beat on it maniacally. The panicked woman jumped out of the car to try to escape, but he wrestled her to the ground and started biting. Witnesses said the driver was acting insane and was impossible to subdue. Several remarked that he looked like a villain from a horror movie or an otherworldly being from a series of science fiction and fantasy books.

The incident mirrors the Miami zombie attack, as well as some of the others that have taken place across the states. It is unknown if the attacker had any other substances in his system, but friends of his claim he has an obsession with zombie movies and post apocalyptic books. Could he have been imitating the actions of one of the most frightening antagonists? Or are we on the brink of a zombie takeover, a romantic apocalypse of sorts?

Whatever the cause behind this rash of violent outbursts, it’s got people thinking. Some are preparing for the unknown, taking precautions and going to extreme measures to ensure readiness for everything from terrorist attacks and zombie outbreaks to a natural disaster or romantic apocalypse. Time will tell. In the meantime, beware of people acting too far from the norm.

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by Chafrika

Bath salts—zombie catalyst or fictional scapegoat?

June 29, 2012 in Apocalypse World, Urban Fantasy

Source: storiesbywilliams.files.wordpress.com

The Miami zombie attack last month incited hysteria across the nation. It was like a scene out of one of the most graphic horror films or post apocalyptic books when causeway attacker Rudy Eugene chewed the face off of a homeless man. It took the police six gunshots to kill Eugene and out an end to the gruesome18-minute attack.

The bizarre details of the ghoulish assault prompted speculation that Eugene was under the influence of “bath salts,” which have prompted other psychotic attacks and incidents nationwide. The attacker stripped off his clothes and commenced the attack in plain view on a sidewalk. When a policeman arrived and told him to stop, the unfazed attacked continued to chew chunks off the victim’s face. He was like a villain in paranormal romance books, semi-impervious to bullets and immune to rhyme or reason.

All around the country, rumors flew and the internet was abuzz with rumblings of an imminent apocalypse. Many hypothesized that bath salts, which are touted as the “new LSD,” could bring about a modern day plague, creating human zombies boasting superhuman strength. Clearly, this man-made, synthetic substance turns abusers into violent, raving maniacs with a propensity to get naked.

Yet medical examiner reports released this week indicated that Eugene had only pot in his system. Tests for a number of street drugs, including bath salts, oxycodone, cocaine, heroin, PCP and amphetamines, were conducted, but they all came up negative. Marijuana has typically been known to be a “peaceful” drug, if you can even call a plant a drug, so what could have sparked this gory assault?

The mysterious toxicology findings are increasing speculation that the zombie apocalypse is coming. The attacker possessed inhuman characteristics, branding him and others like him as dangerous as the omnipotent vampires in paranormal romance books, the evil shape shifters in werewolf movies and the zombies in post apocalyptic books and films.

If hard drugs were not the cause of this brutal assault, then what could have happened? Now that bath salts are ruled out, people can only guess what could have caused such maniacal behavior. And how could he continue the attack after being shot several times?

Eugene’s girlfriend is convinced that his actions were the result of some supernatural affliction. She said he rummaged through closets and acted odd before leaving their apartment holding his Bible. Later that day, he was reportedly seen walking down the road naked and hanging off light posts. His torn Bible pages were found strewn along the causeway. While this type of behavior may be normal in urban fantasy books or psychedelic films, it’s unacceptable and frightening in the real world.

Hopefully, there will be no more similar incidents pointing to the imminence of an apocalypse. This may have been a one-off situation to which we’ll never know the cause. At the very least, it’s opened our eyes to the possibilities we never wanted to look at, let alone face.

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by eden

Avoid the Heat or face a romantic apocalypse

June 19, 2012 in Apocalypse World, Eden's Posts

Source: alifestyleofwellness.blogspot.com

If you know anything about the plight of the Pearls, you know you’ve got to avoid the Heat. If not, you’ll find yourself face to face with a romantic apocalypse and possibly THE END.

In most post apocalyptic books, they offer a scenario where the hero or heroine faces the end of the world and survives against all odds. Yet in the New World, not everyone can enjoy a happily ever after. In fact, if you’re a Pearl like me, you have little to no chance of survival.

What you can do is to try to help save the Pearls and do your personal best to avoid the havoc that exposure to the Heat can cause. You won’t find answers or guidelines to follow in any post apocalyptic books or films; fiction will not save you. What will save you is one basic tenet—STAY INDOORS AT ALL TIMES.

But how will you get supplies when you run out or the latest copies of that series of fantasy romance novels you’ve been dying to read? Stock piling and abstinence, my Pearl friends. No supplies or books, not even Revealing Eden, are worth the wrath of the Heat.

In addition to avoiding the outside world, you should apply Midnight Luster every single day. I strongly suggest applying several coats, and re-applying later in the day if it starts to wear off. Take your time and put it on carefully so you can avoid a streaky looking finish. Several coats will make you look more Coal-like and therefore much more attractive. If you’re looking for a mate or are under the delusion that you can find the kind of love you read about in fantasy romance novels, than Midnight Luster is an absolute must. As soon as I apply it, I feel better and definitely look more appealing.

Another good rule to follow is to keep physical activity to a minimum. Getting overheated can make you more susceptible to those who already have the Heat but may not yet be showing symptoms. If you do engage in any sort of physical activity, thoroughly re-apply Midnight Luster.

Last but not least, if you truly want to avoid a romantic apocalypse and not suffer an early demise, do not make physical contact with anyone who has the Heat. If you see someone showing any of the signs, RUN like there’s no tomorrow—if you don’t, there will be no tomorrow for you.

 

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by Chafrika

The Zombie Apocalypse lingers on

June 7, 2012 in Apocalypse World, Urban Fantasy

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com

Turn off the zombie films and put down the post apocalyptic books —there’s plenty of gore happening in the real world.

Last May’s Miami zombie attack brought attention to a slew of other events that are straight out of the most graphic horror films and urban fantasy books. During the same month, a New Jersey man stabbed himself 50 times and hurled pieces of his own flesh and intestines at a S.W.A.T. Team before they were able to subdue him. A few weeks prior, a Louisiana man bit a chunk the size of a quarter out of a man’s face. A crazed New Haven woman jacked a wig from a store, and when confronted by the shop owner, bit a chunk from his arm and spit it in his face. In June, zombies invaded Miami once again when a 21-year-old man freaked out and tried to bite police officers.

Each of the suspects was believed to have taken bath salts.

While few, if any, noteworthy zombie films or post apocalyptic books point to hallucinogens as the source of an undead outbreak, the idea is entirely plausible. In fact, more so than even the most realistic zombie apocalypse works, from The Walking Dead and Dawn of the Dead to Zombieland and The Crazies (okay, ‘realistic’ may be a stretch, but you get the meaning). Either way, the incidents are more horrifying than what we’ve seen in the scariest horror movies.

While violent crimes occur in this country every day, what makes these attacks so horrific is their randomness. Except for the Louisiana man, whose victim was his ex-wife’s new husband, the acts were unwarranted and inflicted upon victims who’d never met their attackers. These attacks show that the “zombies” lost all control of their senses and were somehow transformed into hollow, soulless shells of human beings.

Are these events a true sign of the zombie apocalypse? Did the attackers read one too many science fiction and fantasy books and let them inspire their own neuroses?

Zombies have existed since 1818, when Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gained notoriety, and became truly popular when George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968. Over the last few decades, they’ve literally invaded pop culture with horror films like Evil Dead, Dead Alive, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. Series of urban fantasy books like Living With the Dead and apocalyptic books such as Dying to Live, The Host and The Zombie Survival Guide are finally taking attention away from bestselling paranormal romance books like Twilight, Fallen and Vampire Academy.

The fascination is turning into an obsession—the term “zombie apocalypse” has trended hard among search engines for almost two weeks. Even the CDC is in on the action, shamelessly promoting their guide to apocalypse preparedness. Does this mean it really is time to get that apocalypse survival guide together, learn hand-to-hand combat and book your room at a zombie safe house? Will the collective hysteria manifest a self-fulfilling prophecy for our country as a whole? Were the Mayans right to end their calendar on December 21, 2012 and was Nostradamus on point with his end-of-the-world predictions?

Only time will tell. In the meantime, distributors are liquidating bath salts at bargain basement prices, online retailers are raking in a fortune selling apocalypse supplies, and authors and filmmakers are rushing to release their latest zombie apocalypse projects while the market is ripe. Either way, it’s the end of the world as we know it.

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by Chafrika

Bath Salts—the new Jeffrey or formula for a Zombie Apocalypse?

May 31, 2012 in Apocalypse World

Bloggers and news sites everywhere are telling us that Armageddon is imminent. What we thought were just teasers for post apocalyptic books and movies could actually be grounded in an authentic, widespread panic that is already sweeping the nation. Ever since news of the Miami face eater broke, searches for the term “Zombie apocalypse” are at crazy proportions on Google and all the other search engines. Clearly, the prospect has of an undead takeover has invaded our collective psyche.

While most people thought the world would play itself out via nuclear annihilation or a natural disaster, this week’s bizarre incident in Miami has directed a whole lot of attention to the threat of a zombie apocalypse. In a horrific attack that rocked the nation, a naked Rudy Eugene, 31, aka the Miami Zombie, cannibalized the face of Ronald Poppo, 65, leaving only his goatee intact. The Miami Zombie did not stop eating even after being shot—in fact, it took six gunshots in total to finish this demented cannibal off. Clearly, the double tap rule from Zombieland didn’t quite cut it.

Police are attributing the zombie’s supernatural strength, psychosis and nudity to the use of “Bath Salts,” which is also being touted as the “new LSD.” This man-made, synthetic drug has turned many abusers into violent, raving maniacs with a propensity to get naked. Made from amphetamine-like chemicals (tweak), this powdery substance causes a unique combination of effects on the brain. It comes in a small packet and can be inhaled, swallowed or injected. A 50-milligram packet will set you back between $25 and $50. It’s been said to blend the narliest effects of meth, coke, PCP, LSD and Ecstasy—a sort of 2012 Jeffrey.

Since Bath Salts arrived on the scene in 2009, there have been thousands of emergency room visits and strange incidents involving violent attacks, supernatural strength, hallucinations and death. Bath Salts give users an extended rush of adrenaline, which is why they have increased strength, and they experience something similar to “cocaine psychosis” when they’re high on it, resulting in paranoia, extreme agitation, and apparently, strange cravings for flesh. A doctor arrested in Florida was nearly impossible to restrain and spat buckets of blood at police officers. A guido in Hackensack apparently stabbed himself repeatedly, then proceeded to throw bits of his own skin and intestines at police officers trying to subdue him. He was impervious to two cans of pepper spray and it took an entire SWAT team to overpower him.

While we may have all though the idea of a zombie apocalypse was a joke, a bath salt drug epidemic could be the modern day plague. Crack was an epidemic in the 80s, so who’s to say that this isn’t ours? Instead of crack babies—you guessed it, baby zombies! While post apocalyptic books like The Zombie Survival Guide offer an array of tongue-in-cheek solutions to zombie attacks, it looks like we may actually need to take this game seriously.

Photo source: zerohedge.com

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by Chafrika

Why I love my machete

May 16, 2012 in Apocalypse World

It’s not the way my machete’s thick metallic edge glimmers in the light or how its sleek, glistening blade slices through just about anything. Nor is it the graceful beauty of its curved blade or the fear it evokes among women, children and an unfaithful ex-boyfriend. My love affair with this dark, irreverent weapon of destruction is based on one thing only—its sheer power.

Wielding a machete sends a powerful message in the event of an apocalypse. Cheap, quiet and superbly multifunctional, it’s basically a one-stop shop—you can fend off undead intruders, clear miles of thick brush and split open even the hardest shelled coconuts for that morning-after hangover cure. There’s more than one reason it’s the weapon of choice among survivors in horror films and post apocalyptic books.

Derived from a Spanish word meaning “little sledgehammer,” a machete typically has a blade between one to two feet long and approximately 0.12 inches thick. With roots dating back to primitive times, machetes were originally created for cutting dense jungle undergrowth and plants such as sugarcane. However, its sword-like qualities soon gained appeal among many rebel and outlaw groups, as well as national armed forces. Commonplace throughout Central America, South America and Africa, the machete achieved iconic status among various militia groups such as the Interahamwe during the Rwandan genocide, Communist revolutionaries in Cuba, Gran Colombian patriots against the Spanish Army, Dominican independence fighters and the Dominican Republic Armed Forces.

In a zombie invasion ala The Walking Dead or the kind of world depicted in the most horrific post apocalyptic books, a machete can be your very best friend. You can kill your dinner with it, conduct some bushwhacking and behead a crowd of zombies without having to reload or worry about diminishing your ammunition stash. You can carve open the hardest to cut fruits and vegetables or slice the head off of venomous snakes. Plus, the evil, gruesome imagery it conjures up will scare off any survivors looking to pillage you and your supplies.

Whether you’re splitting coconuts, fending off wild animals or trimming unruly hedges, a machete is a powerful ally to have on your side.

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by Chafrika

Why I love Molotov cocktails

May 3, 2012 in Apocalypse World

Source: Iimages.wikia.com/criminalminds

As your resident zombie expert, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about annihilating the undead. Everyone has their preferred methods, whether it’s with a shotgun, AK-47, grenade, liquid nitrogen or my personal favorite, the machete. While it’s all good to shoot ‘em up in sci-fi films or fantasy and adventure books, you’re going to have to make the most of what you’re working with in a post apocalypse world—and that means save the ammo and don’t get close enough to a zombie to wave your machete in their face.

To fully prepare ourselves for zombies, we’re going to have look further than post apocalyptic books and movies. We’ll need to get in the best physical shape possible, learn important skills like hand-to-hand combat, gun safety and machete wielding, and develop our resourcefulness. Since we have no idea how much ammunition we’ll need once the apocalypse hits, we’ve got to develop methods for zombie killing that require the least amount of supplies. I therefore propose the perfect weapon for obliterating undesirables—The MOLOTOV COCKTAIL.

The Molotov Cocktail, aka the petrol bomb, is the perfect way to get incendiary on some zombie a$%. It’s like a poor man’s grenade—they’re cheap, effective and anyone can make them. I’m not sure why they’re not featured more prominently in post apocalyptic books and films, because they actually provide stunning visual imagery. Just imagine yourself running from a horde of flesh-eating creatures that are lusting after your brains—and with a few quick moves, you’ve set the entire group ablaze. It’s like the perfect opening for a series of urban fantasy books. Ahh… bliss.

This simple, handheld device is made from a glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid like gasoline, kerosene, alcohol or any other napalm-like mixture. A makeshift wick is formed from a fuel soaked rag that’s held in place by the bottle’s stopper. When it’s time for deployment, the wick is ignited and flung at the target. When the bottle smashes, the flammable substance ignites and becomes a raging fireball. In urban fantasy books and movies, we see Molotov Cocktails takes out entire mobs, but in a real post apocalypse world, it’s best to not count your zombie killings until you see them burn.

I’ve read in a few fantasy and adventure books that other flammable liquids can be used, such as wood alcohol or turpentine mixed with a thickening agent like tar, sugar, blood, laundry detergent or dish soap to create a cloud of thick smoke. It’s probably best to stick to the time-tested formulas above, but in case of emergency those are some viable options to try.

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by Chafrika

What science fiction and fantasy books don’t tell you about love

April 26, 2012 in Apocalypse World, Fantasy romance

It’s 2012 and sources say an apocalypse is imminent. The masses are stockpiling food and supplies, learning hand-to-hand combat and machete skills (wait—maybe that’s just me), and converting their residences into safe houses. If you read science fiction and fantasy books or were one of the many who lined up to see The Hunger Games five times, you probably have some ideas of your own.

Thanks to modern technology, we can get apocalypse survival kits, zombie-annihilating weaponry and potable water systems online. Between The Walking Dead, Zombieland and The Sopranos, we’re overflowing with ideas for fulfilling our most basic needs, and there are hordes of books filled with guidelines and checklists for surviving the worst. There’s even Doomsday Preppers, a reality show that chronicles the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world.

Yet is anyone prepared for a whole new level of uncivilization? The lack of socializing alone will probably dehumanize those of us who survive. There won’t be any parties or clubs to go to, sports to watch or any forms of recreation aka debauchery for us to indulge in. At least I’ll never have to go to another bridal shower—that’s an unexpected perk never mentioned in science fiction and fantasy books, even the bestsellers.

More importantly, what will happen to our love lives? How will the single survivors meet people in the same boat? To survive as a species, we’ll have to procreate and that means dating—or at least hooking up. But I doubt that anyone will want to be a single parent in this dark and dangerous world, so it means either forgo sex and stay on the solo mission or only date with commitment in mind.

Source: thebands.biz. A computerized simulation of the Dave Matthews song “When the World Ends"

I’ve never read any fantasy and adventure novels that really prepare you for procreating in a post apocalypse world, let alone dating. If we’re going to do our part in propagating the species, we’ll probably need to lower our standards and have a strategy ready. We’ll have to change expectations, on both a physical and behavioral level—wining and dining will be a thing of the past and manners will fly out the window. No romantic dinner dates or weekend trips—no three date rule. In the kind of world painted in post apocalyptic books, every day is a grind, a constant battle to survive. Dating will be replaced with quickies performed in that rare stolen moment of privacy, after every other basic need is taken care of.

How will women navigate this new terrain—will the advice based on old school principles from crap like The Rules or Why Men Marry Bitches still apply? Should we still use protection, at least in the very beginning? Do we play hard to get or Miss Convenient-and-Super-Available? Since most post apocalyptic books don’t provide dating advice and there’s no proven how-to guide for end of the world relations, it looks like we’re on our own to figure this out. Or maybe we’ll figure out that it’s best to stay on our own.

In most fantasy and adventure books, the romance is a byproduct of the situation or stems from some old school crush. While film producers will invest millions in special effects to make aliens, zombie and natural disasters in movies seem real, the love relationships feel contrived and inauthentic. The heroes and heroines overcome insane odds to enjoy an overly romanticized affair that’s improbably immune to the stress, impending dangers and utter lack of personal hygiene we’ll be enduring on the regular at the end of the world. Love may be blind, but I have a feeling it also needs to be deaf, dumb and beyond unconditional to last in a post apocalypse world.

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by Chafrika

Eliminating zombies apocalypse world style

March 23, 2012 in Apocalypse World

After reading the last blog post from our oh-so-lovely Ethics Officer on killing zombies in an apocalypse world, I came up with some ideas of my own. I figure neither one of us has actually ever met a real life zombie, so who’s to say one of us has more experience than the other?

Using some inspiration from all the science fiction and fantasy books I read, along with a little online research, I developed some other ways for getting rid of the undead. Many of us don’t have guns or know how to use them, so if we find ourselves in survival mode, deep in a post apocalypse world, it’s best to have some ammunition-free options to work with.

Imagine yourself taking a breather or having a moment of adventure romance with your loved one inside a local shopping mall, when all of a sudden, it’s overrun with zombies, Dawn of the Dead style. You want to keep your brains intact but they’re coming for you and you don’t have a gun. This is the perfect time to unleash your machete and go on an undead decapitation spree, severing them right at the neck. Or if you only have a knife on you, you can run up on them and stab them through the brain like they do on The Walking Dead. Clean, quick and simple. All you have to do is keep your machete and knives sharpened at all times.

A less messy way to eradicate the zombie you run into at the park is to throw a little liquid nitrogen at their head followed by a lit match—I’ve read about vampires getting offed that way in several paranormal romance books. All you have to do is keep a water bottle filled with it on you at all times. This keeps the element of surprise, as the zombie will have no idea that it’s not just H20—if they can even think at all. Make sure not to get any on yourself!

If one night your adventure romance is interrupted by one of these rotting creatures knocking at your door, get resourceful. Use furniture, cleaning fluids, bleach, hair spray, pots, pans, forks and whatever else you can find to fight them off. Even a glass vase or mirror smashed over their head may do the trick. You can also use one of the shards of glass or a pair of scissors to spear them through their brain.

Obviously, as we’ve read in many paranormal romance books and seen in science fiction and fantasy films, there are tons of inventive ways to banish the undead. Grenades, molotov cocktails, and those industrial style arrows are other good choices for survival in an apocalypse world. I think the most important thing is to find the method that you’re most comfortable with and can get really good at. Get in the best shape you can, always be alert and on point, and have your method of choice on hand at all times. Sleep with it, eat with it, live with it. Good luck, especially to all the Pearls!

Source: Scottemerson.wordpress.com

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by Chafrika

Apocalypse world tips—how to kill zombies safely and efficiently

March 15, 2012 in Apocalypse World

The Walking Dead has little Miss Eden Newman thinking about an important topic—how to endure and survive all the atrocities and threats of an apocalypse world. While Eden brings up an important potential scenario—what to do if a loved one becomes zombified—it’s probably best to focus on one overall strategy for eliminating the riff raff of the undead, former friend or not. There’s no doubt about it, putting these nasty brain-suckers out of their misery is the right thing to do, and the only way to ensure your own survival.

We’ve all seen lots of science fiction and fantasy films and television shows that depict certain ways of killing the undead—a stake through the heart, bullet in the head, decapitation, etc. Successfully killing one of these undead dudes requires solid planning, as well as preparation for a slew of unexpected problems. While the various techniques portrayed in most fiction are interesting enough and make some sense, no one has yet to actually meet a member of the undead, so we have to plan beyond common speculation.  Until I meet someone who has survived an apocalypse world, I will prepare myself for any type of situation.

While most  fantasy and adventure books and movies portray zombies as slow, uncoordinated creatures, who knows if they really can be outrun? In addition to getting in the best possible shape of my life (how else do you think I keep my adventure romance alive? You guessed it, by keeping that booty in shape), I plan to procure the best in running shoes and buy every type of acceleration device known to man during the next few months.

Even if these guys are slow, getting cornered in a confined space with a bunch of them could be fatal. In order to hang onto your brains, it’s best to be strapped and carry a variety of knives to wield at close range. Let’s hope they don’t get close enough for a little adventure romance with you, but if they do, a knife through the brain is probably your best bet.

If you do have time to shoot, make sure to aim directly for their forehead. We’ve all seen too many science fiction and fantasy films where civilians waste a ton of valuable ammunition shooting in the leg or arms. If you’re in an apocalypse world, ammo is bound to be scarce, so save it for the right shot. With that in mind, make sure to start going to a shooting range now to learn gun safety and hone your skills. The last thing you want to do is waste your bullets or bust a cap on some poor human.

If for some reason, you have no ammo left and you’re forced to engage in a little hand-to-hand combat with a member of the undead, it’s good to have some martial arts and knife-wielding skills. Remember, unlike some fantasy and adventure movie where you have nine lives or a loved one who pops up to save you at all the right times, you’re going to have to be on point at all times. One slip up and you could be reduced to a grunting, brain-craving beast limping down the road in a zombie style crip walk. Not fun and not attractive. Start preparing for an apocalypse world, my little Pearly Pearls!

Spurce: Crimlaw.blogspot.com

 

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