Grimm's Monster of the Week: Fuchsteufelwild

                                                                    

Try saying that three times! Last night’s show centered around three different situations. At the start of the show we find ourselves at a big celebration for an online game corporation. The game they’re celebrating is called Black Forest. Two of the people responsible for making oodles of noodles (money) for the company Jenna and Brody sneak away into one of the offices to get some private one on one. Jenna hears a noise, is worried that they’re being watched and leaves Brody alone in the office. Brody is attacked by a creature called a Fuchsteufelwild, who has sharp claws that drip acid. Jenna who heard the commotion returns to find her boyfriend sliced in half and a message written in blood, “Play the game”.  Nick and his team are called in.

                                                                     

Over at Nick’s house, Juliette is still dealing with spirits. She sees a vision of a soaking wet Nick, but when she goes to touch this spirit, it disappears. Why she doesn’t call Nick, I’ll never know, but she goes to visit Rosalee and Monroe at the Spice Shop to ask for help. They go over her house for dinner and this time, she sees a vision of Nick reading a very old book. Rosalee and Monroe don’t see a thing, but they do believe that these visions might be connected to the potion that all three (Nick, Juliette and Renard) drank to break a curse put on Juliette. Somehow, Monroe lets it slip that Juliette vision of Nick, may be connected to Aunt Marie’s trailer, which Nick inherited. Juliette wants to go to the trailer, and Monroe is between a rock and a hard place. If he takes her to the trailer, he’s betraying Nick’s secret, but if he doesn’t, Juliette will leave town.

                                                                    

Renard is having his own adventure. He makes plans to meet one of his informers for a secret meeting, not realizing that his informer is being followed. He learns from his informer that his brother and six other royal families are trying to dissolve the union and that is not good for the humans. When Renard notices that he and the informer are being watched, he goes after the spy and at the same time notices the bomb. Renard grabs the bag and tosses it out into the street, saving everyone’s life in the restaurant. He then gets into a shoot-out with the spy.

                                                                   

Nick, Hank and Sgt. Wu learn from Dominic (the head of the company) that Jenna’s ex-boyfriend might be responsible for the murder, but when Nick and his team go to investigate they realize the man is innocent, but they learn that Brody’s character in the game of Black Forest was also cut in half by a game player known as Nameless. The killer then slices and dices a female friend of Jenna’s and this time leaves three title pages from three different books. It’s another clue, but what does it mean?

                                                                   

Sgt. Wu

This was Sgt. Wu’s night to shine. He figures out that the three books were written under the author’s pseudonyms or non-de-plumes. They get the list of players from Dominic and then Sgt. Wu, using a Sudoku clue (that the killer left with the second murder victim) finds out the real name of the killer and why he’s going after Jenna. He was the tech who helped fix their program when it crashed and not only fixed it, but improved it, but he was never given credit for his work, hence the name “Nameless”. Like I said this was Sgt. Wu’s night to shine and he’s almost killed when the team set a trap for Nameless. When Nick and Hank chase the man onto the roof, he jumps to his death.

Conclusion

I love when a show allows a supporting character to grow in his or her role. Congrats to Sgt. Wu for solving the case, but we’ll need to give Monroe a hug because he’s the one who has to break the news to Nick; Tell Juliette the truth or she’s gone for good. I love this show and I know you will too. So join me on Friday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Happy Easter and Passover

                                                                           

No episode on Lilith’s Escape this week, dear readers. I’m using the space to wish all my friends, family, facebook, twitter and Google+ friends

 

                                                            a peaceful Easter

                                                                       

 

 

                                                            and Passover.

                                                                    

                                                                     

Let’s start the Spring season with a new agenda: no hatred towards people who think and act differently from us; rainbows and flowers are beautiful, because each one is different and unique in its own way.

                                                                    

Stop talking and start listening; you learn more. Stand up for what is right and fight what is wrong; we are only as strong as the weakest link. Don’t believe the talking heads on T.V. or the newspapers; do your own research.

Allow people to be who they are and don't shove your beliefs down their throats; Live and let live.
                                                                            

 

                                      Life is short, so play! Play! Play!

                                                                   

                                                Love you all

Life in the Middle

                                                                          

There’s a show on Wednesday nights called “The Middle”, and my daughter and I love to watch this show; maybe because it mirrors my daughter’s life so well. The Middle features one of my favorite actresses, Patricia Heaton. Many of you know her as Debra, Raymond’s wife on Everybody Loves Raymond. As good as she was in that show; she really shines in The Middle as Frankie Heck, a working class Midwestern mother of three kids.

                                                                              

On each episode we find Frankie and her husband Mike Heck (Neil Flynn) attempting to survive all the mishaps that life delivers to their doorstep. The children, Axil (Charlie McDermott, Sue (Eden Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer) bring their own set of problems which the parents must deal with each week.

                                                                       

The Show is told from Frankie’s point of view as she deals with her children’s school or social lives. Mike is the level headed person in the family, and usually takes a back seat to Frankie’s handling of problems, in which there are many.

                                                                     

Axil is like Bart Simpson. He’s sarcastic, immature, and full of pranks; he makes underachievement an art form. When Axil is not skipping out on doing his homework or driving his teachers crazy, he’s tormenting his siblings, especially Sue. But in spite of Axil’s laziness, he’s good at sports, girls are crazy about him and he has a lot of friends.

                                                                      

Sue is a socially awkward freshman in high school. Sue is a born cheerleader for all good causes, although she has a problem fitting in with her classmates who basically ignore her. In season one, she had to take a picture for her yearbook three times because the school didn’t know she even existed and then when her picture was placed in the yearbook, she was in the section devoted to students who had passed away. Poor Sue doesn’t have it any easier at home, where her parents don’t understand her and her older brother teases her. Luckily, she and her little brother Brick, get along most of the time.

                                                                      

Brick is a strange child, but he makes more sense than the adults sometimes. He rather spend his time reading books than making friends, but that could be because he has such a hard time making friends his own age. He’s that smart, but he does have one peculiar trait or tick. He repeats words under his breath and this drives his parents crazy with worry. The show is funny and you just have to trust me on this and watch it, Wednesday nights, on ABC at 8 p.m.

Oh and how does this mirror my daughter’s life you ask? She is the Sue in her family, and she’s surrounded by Axil’s and Brick’s. Believe me it’s never dull at her house.

    

                                                                              For example:

                                                                          Or better yet:

     

                                                                                  

Grimm and the Creature of the Week

                                                                     

Another great night on T.V. thanks to the people at NBC. Good going, team.

Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Guintoli) had his hands full with a particularly nasty critter on this week’s episode, Mr. Sandman. To fight this monster Nick will need the help of his friends, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), Monroe’s girlfriend Rosalee (Bree Turner) and Nick’s partner, Hank (Russell Hornsby.

                                                                     

Fly Man

The story begins with a very handsome man, Andre (Kierea Hutchinson) who’s originally from South Africa who drives his red and white 1959 Cadillac (I just love this car) to a grief center.

                                                                                 

He joins the group and later offers to drive a woman, who is grieving over the death of her brother, home. But it’s not because he’s a nice guy, no way, my little Scooby Snack; he’s a giant fly called a Jinnamuru Xunte. What he needs from this woman is her tears and when she begins to cry about her brother’s death, Andre goes to work. He blows a reddish mist into her eyes, which causes extreme pain and then he uses his long sticky fly tongue (double yuck) to lick her eyes, causing the woman to go blind. In her panic, she accidently pulls a heavy bookcase down on herself and dies.

                                                                    

River Blindness

When Nick, Hank and Sgt. Wu go to investigate, they have no idea what they’re dealing with until a second woman, Molly (Megan Henning) is attacked and this time the medical examiner, Dr. Harper (Sharon Sachs) is able to compare the results on both victims. They have red blood worms in their eyes due to an infestation that you can only get in Africa, river blindness, but neither the dead woman or the second victim were ever in Africa. Luckily for Nick, the second woman was saved by her sister Casey (Jenny Wade) who gave a good description of the man and the car that he was driving. Nick heads to his trailer with Monroe and Hank and they look through all the monster books until they find a picture of Fly Man.

Juliette and Rosalee

Juliette not only has to deal with the mother of all sink holes, but now she’s seeing ghosts. She goes to the Spice Shop to ask for Rosalee’s help. Rosalee goes home with Juliette, but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Are these visions due to the magic potion that Juliette and Renard had to drink to break the curse?

                                                                      

Nick

Fly Man, to avoid capture, sprays Nick with the red mist, but before he can lick Nick’s eyes, Hank and Sgt. Wu come to the rescue. Nick is blind and time is short so Monroe and Hank take Nick back to the Spice Shop where Rosalee tries to find a cure. Guess what the cure is? They have to dig out one of the Fly Man’s eyes and make a paste to apply to Nick’s eyes. Are you grossed out yet? I am!

                                                                    

To make a long story short, they follow Fly Man back to Molly and Casey’s house where Fly Man is waiting to attack the sister. Things go from bad to worse for Fly Man. Rosalee makes the past to save Nick’s eyesight and Casey gets revenge for her sister.

Conclusion

This show was really good this week, especially with the three different story lines. Three, you ask? Oh, yeah, we learn that Adalind is definitely pregnant, but she’s not sure who the father is. It could be Renard’s or his half-brother’s baby. Tune in next week to find out who the new monster of the week is. Grimm can be seen on Friday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Episode Sixty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                        

 

It took most of the day to move through the underground ruins that was once a working subway system in the city of Philadelphia, with the majority of time spent climbing over the wreckage from the bombing. Scouter carried the child known as little bit on his shoulders, while Edward held the hand of a boy who had to be about six years old.

                                                                            

“I’m hungry,” the boy told Edward.

“So am I, Peter,” Edward replied. He picked the boy up into his arms and hurried his steps until he reached Bradley. “We’ve been walking all day…these kids need a break.”

“Let me check with Tzaddik. Here, watch him,” Bradley replied before handing over an older child to Edward.

Edward was exhausted, but he managed a smile as he asked the boy, “What’s your name.” But, the child never replied, only stared off into space.

“He saw a monster and now he don’t talk,” the six year old explained.

                                                              

Edward wondered what type of monster this kid had seen and was it scarier than the zombies that they had fought, earlier. Whatever happened to the boy, it must have been bad.

“We’re taking a 15 minute break,” Bradley said as he handed Edward a package of crackers and a bottle of water to share with Peter. While everyone took advantage of the meager meal and needed break, Bradley whispered to Edward “We have to make it to the museum before nightfall.”

                                                                       

                                                        Edward knew why.

Why I Love NCIS and Gibbs

                                                                     

 

A friend of mine from the Academy of Natural Sciences (she knows who she is) and I both love NCIS, a Navy Cop Show. Just this past weekend, she posted on facebook that the USA network was having a Lucky Ducky Marathon. You know what that meant, don’t you? Already down and out with the flu, I now had something worthwhile to watch as I shivered, coughed, sneezed and moaned under the blankets.

                                                                                                                                                 

NCIS was a spin off from the show JAG and premiered in September of 2003. This police drama centers on Naval and Marine Investigations and is the brain child of Donald P. Bellisario along with Don Mc Gill.

                                                               

The Cast

Although some of the cast has changed over the years, the main characters are Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), the Chief Agent and former Marine, Senior Field Agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) a smart talking, movie trivia expert and cutie pie, Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) a forensic computer specialist and receiver of many of DiNozzo’s  jokes, Special Agent Ziva David (Coti de Pablo) a former Mossad agent, Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) Director, Abbey Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) Forensic specialist and Goth goddess, Ducky Mallard (David McCallum) Chief Coroner, Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) his assistant.

                                                                                                                                                            

Plot

NCIS is the primary law enforcement and counter intelligence arm of the United States Department of the Navy and when a crime occurs on military property or involves military personnel, Gibbs and his crew go right to work. The show is smartly written, the plots believable, and the cast work so well together, that you can easily see them being friends even when they are off the set. When Ziva first replaced Katie Todd (Sasha Alexander) she had a hard time fitting in especially since her brother was responsible for Kate’s death, but now it seems that she was always part of the team. Tony‘s constant use of movie trivia and his good natured teasing of McGee and Ziva and their subsequent revenge, Abbey doing DNA sequencing while on roller skates, Ducky’s long and involved conversations with the dead, who lay upon his autopsy table, and the head butting between Gibbs and Lance over how to proceed on a case is what makes this show so special.

How special? NCIS was voted America’s favorite T.V. show in 2011 and has been renewed for its 11^th season. But, it’s Gibbs who really makes the show. He’s a bona fide Marine and proud of it and he leads his staff with a firm hand, kind heart and when needed, a smack to the back of the head.

                                                   http://youtu.be/boY7i11aYRA

So join Dara and I as we watch NCIS every Tuesday night on CBS at 8p.m. and reruns of older shows on the USA Network.

Haunted Collector

                                                                             

Season Three of one of my favorite shows returned to the Sy-fy channel on March 6th. Haunted Collector which airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. follows a team of paranormal investigators who are asked to do research on buildings (public or private) that have a high level of spiritual activity. The team is led by John Zaffis, a world renowned demonologist and paranormal researcher. Objects that are collected during his investigation are stored in his museum, but only after the items have gone through a binding ritual done by a member of the clergy. His work is documented in his book, Shadows of the Dark.

                                                                    

Team Zaffis includes two of his children Aimee and Chris Zaffis along with Jason Gates and Jesslyn Brown (investigators), and Brian Cano,( a tech specialist and second in command). When Brian is not working on Haunted Collector, he produces an independent paranormal series called “Scared”.

Why are objects haunted?

Maybe a particular object was cherished by a person while they were alive and the object’s appeal still draws that person’s spirit to it. Some objects were used in ceremonial rituals and they carry the essence either good or evil of the practiced ritual. When I visited the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, there was one particular room that reeked of paranormal activity and my two ghost hunting friends also felt the vibes when we entered that hall.

What do you do with a haunted object?

Don’t destroy it. You might cause worse problems, like a pissed off spirit. The smart thing is to contact a paranormal investigative group to handle this situation. The object needs to go through a binding ceremony by a member of the clergy.

                                                                                                

If you want to find out more about the subject of hauntings, be they spirits or objects, then you need to watch Haunted Collectors on Wednesday night.

                                                                       

Oh, and by the way, now that the warmer weather is just around the corner, there will be plenty of flea markets and yard sales popping up all over the place. Have fun shopping, but if weird things start happening in your house after purchasing that antique piece of jewelry, then my little ghost snack, you are now officially haunted.

Episode Fifty-nine of Lilith's Escape

                                                                           

“The king of England and his people have fought the Illuminati tooth and nail. You might not recognize London because of the bombings, but the king has kept his people free.” Scouter’s revelation lifted the weight that was hanging over Edward ever since he arrived in this time and place.

                                                                      

“First good news I’ve had since arriving here. Is England the only place to survive?”

“Israel, Germany, the northern part of France, the Swiss, parts of Canada, and here in our country, several Native American tribes who have formed a resistance group at the Bitterroot Mountains,” Scouter replied.

“We’re ready, move it guys,” Rita, interrupted their conversation as she entered the area.

“Will you be okay?” Edward asked Rita.

“We’ll soon find out,” she bravely replied, but her expression told him otherwise.

                                                                   

After Edward, Scouter and Rita joined the others, Tzaddik gave the signal and the trek to a new location begun. Fear hung heavy in the air, and even the children were unusually silent. The plan was to move underground, using the subway system until they would eventually come above ground. The destination was a museum which was located in the southern part of Philadelphia, in a park known as the ‘Lakes’.     

We All Need a Good Laugh

                                                                      

My grandsons love to show me stuff on the internet. This site is called "Just for Laughs" and I thought that you would enjoy watching this. There are several in a row, but they’re quick and they’re funny.

http://youtu.be/RCI1B3B0y2w

Episode Fifty-eight of Lilith's Escape

                                                                           

 

 

Back inside the underground hide away, below the subway station, the evacuation was in full swing. Bradley, Tzaddik and the other marines were packing up the weapons, ammo, and what little food supply was left. Rita, Lilith, Jones and the older children took care of preparing the children, while Scouter and Edward packed up the maps and two short wave radios.

                                                                     

“Are there other resistance groups in this city,” Edward asked Scouter.

“Yes, four in this city…in fact, we’re going…” Scouter was interrupted by a little girl, who had wrapped her arms around his legs.

                                                                          

“Outer…are you coming with us?’

“Hey, little bit.” Scouter picked the toddler up and threw her up into the air. “Yes, we’re all going.” The child was so painfully thin, but her eyes were bright and her laughter, infectious.

“So what’s your name?” Edward asked the girl.

“I’m three.”

“We nicknamed her ‘little bit’, now say hello to Edward,” Scouter urged the child who was now playing shy.

“Hello…” she said and then hid her face against Scouter’s neck.

“Are her …?” Edward was about to ask, but Scouter shook his head.

“Little bit, we need to finish packing. I’ll come for you, later.” Scouter placed the child on the ground and off she went.

Edward waited until the child was out of earshot and said, “Are her parents dead?”

“The Illuminati have their own soldiers, mercenaries who gathered up the people in each city, to be used as slaves for the new order.”

                                                                       

“Even the children?” Edward asked.

 They placed the children into retraining camps…that’s what they’re calling them, but it is brainwashing, plain and simple.”

                                                                     

“But, the children here; how did you save them?” Edward asked.

“We were able to save some, by ambushing the trucks as they were being moved to the camps. But,  ‘little bit’, we found at a nearby wildlife preserve.” Scouter replied, and then quickly glanced at the door.

“What happened?”

“She was sitting next to her older brother; he was dead.”

                                                               

“What about my country? Were my people enslaved?”

 

 

 

The Zombie Run-Philadelphia

                                                                                    

I’m pretty sure that my followers have figured out how much I love zombies, right? Will this year, my grandsons and I will be participating in Zombie Run- Philadelphia this April.

                                                                              

Josh age 16 and Nathan age 10 wanted to run away from zombies, but as I explained to them, “Granny can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.” So, this year, the three of us will be zombies, and on April 7^th, we will be chasing our next meal at the F.D.R. Park in South Philly.

I had the opportunity to interview one of the people responsible for promoting and pulling together The Zombie Run. So join me my little zombie snacks as we meet Director Carrie Snyder and find out a little bit about the upcoming apocalypse.

Hi Carrie, thank you so much for joining me. Tell us a little about yourself.

Before joining Dave Feinman and Andrew Hudis, I had met them at other Philadelphia events. I was the Director of the Ragnar Relay Series, and my other race projects included the ODDyssey Half-Marathon and the Yuengling Light Lager Jogger.

What was the inspiration behind Zombie Run- Philadelphia?

Dave and Andrew , the brains behind this project called me in to direct and promote the race. We wanted to base the race on something that was popular at the time, something from a movie or T.V. show. With AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, we found the perfect venue with widespread popularity. Everyone loves zombies.

How is this race different than other races?

Our race focuses on a story, like a Disney World Ride, we’re creating an alternate reality. The Zombie Run creates a running narrative on a racecourse designed like a Hollywood Apocalypse movie set. Participants either run the course as Zombies or living Zombie prey.

                                                                   

Since my grandsons and I will be zombies, who will do the make-up on us?

Professional make-up artists will be on site to transform warm-blooded runners into blood sucking, flesh eating zombies. Some of the artists have worked on the yearly Eastern State Penitentiary Halloween Terror Event.

Who will the race benefit?

The Zombie Run benefits Active Heroes (www.activeheroes.org) a volunteer-led charity helping veterans, active duty military and their families. A portion of the proceeds from each event will also be donated to a local charity.

Philadelphia is the place this event will launch from, but how many cities are involved?

Right now, there are 11, but we plan to have 16 in 2013, more will be added on and you can check them out on our site, www.thezombierun.com

                                                                     

Why did you pick this particular site (my favorite) for the Philadelphia Zombie Run?

The Franklin Dell Roosevelt Park is a beautiful little known gem that is part of the Fairmount Park System. This green oasis and is located at 1500 Pattison Ave and is home to the American Swedish Museum. This park can be reached by the Broad Street subway and bus line and it’s easily reached by the main highways.

                                                                        

Thank you Carrie for spreading the news about this amazing event, and for you little zombie snacks who live in or near the Philadelphia area, yeah I’m talking to you, New Jersey, Delaware and New York, come watch the race, or better yet, become a runner.

I’m hungry and need brains to eat.