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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 ethics officer

What post apocalyptic books and films can teach us

June 22, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Source: jabulela.com

All these apocalypse world warnings are getting annoying. Media attention on the Miami Zombie, earthquakes and suffering economies is hyping up the prophecies even more. If you’re dead set on focusing on the oh-so-imminent end of the world, why not at least absorb the knowledge you’re getting from post apocalyptic books and films and put it to good use?

If you’ve been obsessing on the news, reading Nostradamus’ The Prophecies and the history of the Mayan calendar, it’s time to focus some of that attention on preparation and strategy. Then you can at least put your “knowledge” to use in the event of an emergency, natural disaster or when the Uni-Gov comes knocking at your door. Employ the strategic thinking and ideas that you can get from all those post apocalyptic books you’ve been hoarding.

Probably the most important thing you can take away from science fiction and fantasy books set in dystopian societies, such as The Hunger Games and the Save the Pearls series, is that your survival is dependent upon outplaying and outwitting pretty much anyone you encounter. Get in the best possible shape possible, learn martial arts or some other form of combat skills, and take some outdoor survival classes. You’ll need to be thinking on your toes at all times and choose in advance whether you want to play the passive, reactive role or be on the offense. Many urban fantasy books and movies also offer good strategies for surviving in a dog eat dog world, even though some supernatural element may be involved. Regardless, from what is being prophesized, we’ll need to be prepared to take on anything from our neighbors to otherworldly beings and aliens.

The next important principle to take away from science fiction and fantasy books and dystopian films is to never trust the military (except for the Uni-Gov, of course). In an apocalypse world overrun by zombies, it may seem perfectly natural to run to the closest military base for safety. But at the end of the day, they are all humans too, and in a post apocalyptic world, the government will have no power and may be operating on the offensive even towards their own civilians. Stay away from that military fortress—it’s no safe haven, as indicated in The Crazies, 28 Days Later, The Hunger Games and Revealing Eden.

Another good thing to take away from your favorite post apocalyptic books, films and urban fantasy books set in dystopia is to be a good parent, a tenet that is well-represented in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. You’ll need to provide safety for your child and be there to teach them not to give in to bad habits like cannibalism to survive.

 

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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

Beauty tips for the apocalypse

May 24, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Source: Blog.urbanoutfitters.com

Let’s say it’s circa 2013 and the world as we know it is over. We no longer have our Maseratis, beach condos and yachts and we’re living the life of a piranha—you know, chilling with your man one day and you get pissed off so you off him and cook him for dinner. You were comfortable and secure since you had a partner by your side, so looks weren’t a priority. Now you’re single and ready to mingle, but instead of looking like the perfect girl, you look like the perfect Chewbacca. How’s a girl gonna get her swerve back on?

Something they definitely don’t talk about in post apocalyptic books is how to keep your looks once that world-ending catastrophic event hits. We all know that when we look good, we feel good. But with very few tools and little to no luxuries, how can someone make the most of their natural assets?

Let’s start with our crowning glory—there’ll be no flatirons, blow dryers or styling aids. If you’re not down to chop it all off, I suggest stockpiling baby powder for a little double duty as dry shampoo and deodorizer. Obviously, you’ll jump in any non-radioactive body of water you find, and learn how to finger style your hair. You can work the Heidi look with some cute, funky braids—guys loves them. After a few days, when you’re ready for a new look, take them out and get your afro on—the smaller the braids, the tighter the waves. When it needs conditioning, throw whatever oil you can get your hands on or egg whites if there is a surplus.

Nails—I hate to break it to you, but you’ll have to cut those babies all the way down. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a pair of clippers and a nail file. It’s not even remotely realistic to think that we’ll be able to have pretty nails—well-kempt is the best we can hope for. You never read about any heroines in urban fantasy books or apocalyptic movies fighting zombies off with their long gel nails.

Skincare—you won’t be winning any post-apocalyptic pageants when you smell like poo and are covered in acne. You’re going to have to get real old school and make your own soap. They were making soap back in Babylon, so it’s got to be easy to do. The Celts made soap from animal fat, ash and plant stuff, and the Romans used olive oil. The next time you slaughter your dinner, make sure to boil off some of the fat, mix it with ash from the fire, throw any herbs you can get your hands on for a nice little scent and you’re good to go. For moisturizer, mix a little water with animal lard from your beastly meal, apply it to your face at night and your skin will be smooth as a baby’s bum.

Makeup—again, you never read about any heroines in urban fantasy books reapplying lip gloss. Minimal is really the way to go, but if you need a little glamour in your apocalyptic world, there are a few things you can do to maximize your natural beauty. Get your Cleopatra on with a little charcoal mixed with candle wax (or beeswax if that’s all you can find) for makeshift eyeliner. If you’re near an ocean, search for a jellyfish. Their venom makes a great lip plumper.

Bottom line—If you ever find yourself solo in the kind of world we’ve been fed in post apocalyptic books and movies, let’s hope you’ve got a really great personality and a nice smile.

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by eden

Why I love urban fantasy and post apocalyptic books

April 20, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Source: Freegreatpicture.com

I never got into vampires and wizardry—give me some urban fantasy books and I’m good. Take me to an apocalypse world and let me go along for the ride with the protagonist as she navigates the trifles created by society. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pearl, or because my world is post apocalyptic. Or maybe it’s just because I relate to their situation, even if takes place in a world that’s completely unfamiliar to me.

Clearly, I’m not the only one. The days of Twilight are over—it’s all about dystopian and post apocalyptic books like Save the Pearls right now. Yes, I couldn’t wait to see The Hunger Games after I devoured the trilogy. It was so cool to watch Katniss, obviously because I could relate to her plight living in that horrific totalitarian state, but it was more than that—I could see how she handled her situation and apply some of what she did towards dealing with my own life. I could identify with what she was going through and see how she handled it, knowingly and, at times, unknowingly.

While young adult books are super popular right now, especially those set in a dystopian or apocalypse world, I recently found out that this subgenre has a history that goes back forever. In the past month, I read George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World and Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. I told myself I was doing this as research for the Save the Pearls project, but I think I was looking for something else—maybe answers for why the world is the way it is or ways to deal with my current situation. Tick, tick, tock… it’s only a matter of months before my personal romantic apocalypse hits.

I think that even if I lived in the Old World, I’d still love post apocalyptic books. I feel like the chaos and harsh rules are similar to what it feels like being a teenager. You have to grow up so fast in my world, so I feel like I’m already middle-aged at 18 (technically, I almost am). But I remember feeling like I didn’t need rules and was smart enough to do whatever I wanted.

When it comes to urban fantasy novels, it’s the same thing. I like that not everything is made up or imaginary—it’s the perfect mix of some fantastic parts but some based in reality. They kind of give me hope… at least when there’s a hopeful ending.

Most of all, I think I love these books because they’re exciting.  Just like in most young adult books, we get to watch the character’s journey, as they become a different better version of themselves.

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by Chafrika

Home sweet zombie-defense-station

April 13, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Source: Netfreestuff.co.uk

Let’s say you wake up smack dab in the middle of a post apocalypse world. There’s a catastrophic rising of the undead, criminally insane or terrorists in full effect, and they’re lusting after tasty human, American blood—like yours. Or worse yet, you’re a Pearl and missed your mating deadline—sneaky Uni-Gov reps are stationed outside your home, waiting for the right moment to nab you, just like the peeps at the Save the Pearls headquarters warned you about. Either way, the state of the nation is right out of a zombie film or one of those urban fantasy books you’ve read. Let’s hope you were smart and safeguarded your home in advance.

Now’s the time—with a little thought and some creativity, you can protect your home with class and style. Your goal is to create a defense station slash arsenal that is completely impenetrable, while stocked with enough supplies to keep you alive for months. If you get ahead of the game, you may even be able to stockpile enough in-house entertainment to keep you sane—like a stash of video games, DVDs and young adult fantasy novels. Obviously, only a rare few will have the time and resources for that luxury.

Location, location, location. Your home’s locale is of primary importance. The urban fantasy is over—you want to build your home in the most remote area possible, like on a mountain, deep in the woods or in the desert. Ideally, it will be compound style, a la Dennis Hopper’s famous abode or the infamous Neverland ranch, with a lot less whimsy, of course. In a post apocalypse world, zombies and the undead tend to focus on areas with large human populations, so living in an area with few neighbors decreases your appeal and improves your chances of survival.

Fencing. No, I’m not referring to archery, I’m talking narly fences that the undead will not be able to climb or break through. Your fence should be too high for an agile Uni-Gov rep to leap over and with a surface too smooth to gain traction on and scale.

It’s a material world. Build your walls and doors out of concrete or metal. While your house will look like it belongs in the setting of one of your favorite post apocalyptic books, it will be a fortress that no one will want to take the time and effort to permeate. There’s something to the old adage, “Looks aren’t everything.”

Windows. What windows? This is no young adult fantasy novel you’re living in, you’re in the most real-life manifestation of Darwinism ever imagined. At the most, you’ll build a tower at the highest point of your house, with a tiny window that allows you to see who or what is heading in your direction—and enough of an opening that you have room to shoot or hurl a Molotov cocktail at who or whatever is trying to infiltrate your safety zone.

Potable water. In the event of a zombie outbreak, you’ll need your own potable water supply. The water treatment plant could be overtaken with undead, so it’s best to build a well on your property and develop some sort of filtration system. Keep your in-house supply stocked at all time in case the Uni-Gov is sneaking around outside your grounds, ready to pounce. The less you go in and out of your house, the better. Stay inside and catch up on reading those urban fantasy novels you stockpiled.

Powering up. Now is the time to go green. As you’ve probably read in many post apocalyptic books, the environment could be totally destroyed—but the sun always survives. Install solar panels immediately. It’s also imperative that you have a generator and plenty of fuel to keep it powered up.

Put these guidelines into effect and you’ll be able to keep the undesirables out, whether there’s a horrific zombie takeover, terrorist attack or in case the Save the Pearls campaign fails. How’s that for giving shelter an entirely new meaning?

 

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by Chafrika

Prepping for a real or romantic apocalypse—the safe house

April 12, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

As we move through 2012 and the masses obsess over a zombie takeover, the end of the world or a romantic apocalypse, recommendations and schools of thought are basically erupting out of the woodwork. There are zombie survival panels, shows like Doomsday Preppers, and in essence, even we have succumbed with our creation of the Save the Pearls movement.

Source: zombiesandtoys.blogspot.com

While fans of Zombieland, The Walking Dead and post apocalyptic books dream of surviving a zombie apocalypse, it seems like many manufacturers are getting savvy and taking advantage of the vast marketing opportunities. Everyone has an idea of the best place to go, the best weapons to stockpile, and how to best slay a zombie. Yet in the meantime, why not take a cue from Doomsday Preppers and use the time we have now to prepare for the supposed END?

Just like everything in life, for truly successful survival, one must be prepared. Instead of burying your nose in fantasy and adventure books, take this time to put those key skills you learned in girl scouts or boy scouts to use. From what I’ve garnered from all these “survival” guides, the most important thing, across apocalypse causes, is to secure a location where you will be safe and protected—in other words, a safe house.

As you should know from watching zombie films and reading post apocalyptic books, the last thing you want in the case of THE END is to be on the run. Those with a place to go have a significantly greater chance of surviving, as opposed to those on the streets, left to scavenge for food, exposed to the elements, and fend off the undead, terrorists or the Uni-Gov.

The necessity for a safe house is such a well-known concept that there have actually been Zombie Apocalypse Safe House competitions for several years now. Teams of architects who clearly have a penchant for fantasy and adventure books and films strive to create the ultimate safety zone. In Warsaw, Poland, a team of engineers created their aptly named Safe House, a building that turns into an impregnable concrete cube at the touch of a few buttons. Versions have been constructed across the entire gamut of possibilities— from compact extending shells that can be carried on your back complete with potable water systems to entire fortified neighborhoods complete with electrified lawns and zip lines.

Anyone harboring apocalyptic thoughts should take a look at some of these fascinating monstrosities designed to keep threats away. These disaster-proof, self-supporting designs boast everything from independent ecosystems, solar panels and greenhouses to rainwater collectors, built-in weapons arsenals and canals.

Whether you choose to turn your house or basement into your safe house, or team up with your entire community to create an ominous bunker, either way, if you want to survive a terrorist, zombie or romantic apocalypse, you better start working on your zone.

 

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by ethics officer

Obsessed with zombie films and post apocalyptic books

April 5, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

It seems like every decade we re-popularize the trend in zombies movies and post apocalyptic books. There’s something people seem to love about the end of the world and watching zombies roam deserted cities, searching for brains and wreaking havoc along the way. They annihilate most of the human race, destroy civilizations and cause a romantic apocalypse everywhere they turn. And we love them.

What is it about ugly creatures and the end of the world that has us so fascinated? The popularity of post apocalyptic books dates back hundreds of years, based on scenarios that include aliens, natural disasters, and of course, zombies or demons. Once the film industry began, it was a no-brainer—no pun intended—that movies of the genre would enjoy success. Even in present day, as outrageous as it may seem to rational members of society, urban fantasy books and films based on zombie apocalypses and takeovers are bestsellers and box office winners. Just look at Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead, as well as one of television’s most popular series, The Walking Dead. There’s no denying it—zombies have a corner on the market. The same goes for dystopian novels; The Hunger Games and Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls Part One) are two perfect examples.

Maybe it’s the fact that people enjoy the idea of a little guiltless killing—if a member of the undead is trying to eat you and your loved ones, what other choice do you have? Or if the idea of an apocalypse world is like a land of urban fantasy books to you, where you can run free through deserted stores, looting and pilfering as you go, then perhaps these books and movies give your imagination an outlet to play in.

Another reason for the popularity of post apocalyptic books and the zombie film could be that people enjoy watching or reading about characters facing horrific circumstances and seeing their transformation. A once mousy introvert or big geek could become a zombie assassin, slaughtering the undead with utter nonchalance and newfound skill. It’s a fascinating character arc, isn’t it?

Maybe, just maybe, these art forms offer their audiences a sense of hope. They grow attached to their main characters and get to watch them fall in love, and in some cases, avoid the romantic apocalypse, living happily ever after in a dystopian society.

I have a theory that fans tend to experience a catharsis of contemplating simpler “life” forms—or undead forms. An apocalypse world filled with zombies is simpler and more succinct. When there are violent undead creatures chasing after you, lusting after your brains and causing destruction everywhere, it makes you realize that your real life is just not as bad as you originally thought. Zombies are ultimately driven by the same things we are—a will to survive. When you strip us of all our material possessions and good looks, obliterate our resources and motivate us by destroying life as we know it, we could very well be walking in a zombie’s shoes. So that’s my idea—zombie films and post apocalyptic books remind us to stay present and make the most of our lives. Therapy in an undead form!

Source: Thedeadfuture.com

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by ethics officer

Nostradamus— Urban fantasy at its best

March 28, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Perhaps it’s the current preoccupation with young adult books, maybe it’s the end of the Mayan calendar hoopla, or we can chalk it up to all the hype surrounding planetary alignments, magnetic pole shifts and birds dropping out of the sky. No matter the cause, people can’t seem to ignore the rumors and misconceptions about 2012. Meanwhile, Pearls keep disappearing and it’s hard to keep people focused on the real question at hand—how to save the pearls.

Proponents of urban fantasy would have us believe that it all stems from the predictions of Nostradamus.  Best known for his book Les Propheties (“The Prophecies”), written in 1555, Nostradamus was a French apothecary and reputed seer who moved out of medicine and into the occult after a trip to Italy. He wrote his first annual almanac in 1550 and gained notoriety amongst the rich and noble, who flocked to him for horoscopes and psychic advice. Unlike true astrologers, Nostradamus had clients supply him with their birth charts—it’s recorded that when he tried to calculate them himself, there were many errors. Sounds like these almanacs were more like their own brand of fantasy and adventure stories of that time.

Les Propheties was Nostradamus’ written project consisting of one thousand mainly French quatrains—these make up the mostly undated prophecies that made him famous. Undated prophecies sound like quite an anomaly to me, which is why I chalk them up to nothing more than urban fantasy and fiction. The publication of this book attracted a following that credits him with predicting many major world events—again, if they’re without dates, it would be like one of us predicting an earthquake in California. We know it may happen, but exactly when is difficult for us to divine. Les Propheties received a mixed reaction when it was published—some people thought Nostradamus was insane, a phony or a servant of evil, while many of the prominent and elite thought the book contained spiritually inspired prophecies.

Feeling threatened by religious fanatics, Nostradamus created a method of hiding his meaning through the use of “Virgilianized” syntax, word games and a mixture of other languages including Latin, Italian, Greek and Provençal. Since the quatrains were written in Middle French, this led to many problems in the translations, resulting in vagueries, metaphors and allusion. Some are so vague that you can conclude they make absolutely no sense, or that they provide justification for any event. Many academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and his predictions are the result of these mistranslations or misinterpretations.

An example of a glaring inaccuracy is Nostradamus famously predicted prosperity for King Henry II of France just two years before his death in a jousting accident. He might as well have written a fantasy and adventure novel depicting a long life for the king.

Those who believe in the prophecy of 2012 usually fail to identify the quatrain where this prediction is made. In fact, his followers tend to look for matches to events in his quatrains after the events occur. They may as well focus on fantasy and adventure novels, as Nostradamus never directly mentions December 21, 2012.

If after researching Nostradamus, you still want to believe the hype about his prediction of an apocalyptic event in 2012, then you’ll need to ignore the fact that his quatrains extend well beyond 2012—as in all the way to 3790. Clearly, if all of those predictions are correct, then the world cannot possibly end this year.

My suggestion? Go back to reading young adult books in your free time and focus your attention on ways to save the pearls.

Source: Mayanpredictions.net

 

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by eden

Urban fantasy and balancing acts

March 22, 2012 in Urban Fantasy

Today and the days surrounding are supposedly very powerful—in fact, the perfect time to bring every urban fantasy to life.  They say the days around the spring equinox are the best time to make a list of your goals and focus on making them come true—if that’s the case, then you know I’m focusing on how to save the Pearls and locking down my fantasy romance already!

Planetary Numerologist, John Davis, also the Director of Coptic Fellowship International and President of Spiritual Unity of Nations, wrote that March 21, 2012 is the most important date he has ever analyzed. As it’s exactly nine months before this year’s winter solstice on December 21, whatever seed we plant on and around March 21 will supposedly come true by December 21. That would work out perfectly for me, since we all know that my 18th birthday is right before that. So if I can cement my fantasy romance and mate with Jamal, I will survive my fate.

While some of us are focusing on creating the kind of world we want to live in, one where Pearls, Coals, Ambers and Tiger’s Eyes all live in peace and harmony, without any class system, others are focused on a different kind of young adult fantasy: balancing eggs. Yes, you read that right. Instead of thinking about peace, respect, love and a planet that is full of resources, the egg balancers are springing out of the woodwork. Apparently, it has something to do with the fact that this is one of the only two days each year where the day and night are exactly the same length.

Tales of urban fantasy state that, during the equinox, the position of the sun and other planets during the equinoxes enable miraculous feats of balance to occur. Hmmm. People are literally spending their time propping up eggs and cleaning up the mess when they don’t stand up on their own. They do this every year, despite the fact that astronomers report that equinoxes have no physical effect on objects or balance. Funnily enough, while the egg balancers come out during this time of year, at the fall equinox, these same people try to balance brooms—I’m gonna guess in honor of witches and Halloween.

I’ve read about the broom standers in a few young adult fantasy books—of course, the premise had to do with wizardry and the occult. I’m not going to lie, I tried it when I was little. The brooms just fell each time, knocking me on the forehead once or twice. I chalked it up to the fact that I was a lowly Pearl with no witchy or supernatural powers, and that the broom standers had to be getting a little help from above—or below. I guess I let all the tales of urban fantasy I’d read spark my imagination into believing. At least I didn’t try the messy egg trick!

I’m older now and not quite so gullible. Not to knock anyone’s else’s choices, but since I’m trying to help save the Pearls and my own life, I’m choosing to make a little list and check it more than twice. Plus, I don’t really want to spend my night cleaning up egg yolks.

Source: .indianasnewscenter.com

 

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