Indiana Jones is back. As a result, this ultimate screen hero is destined to be one of the hottest costumes for Halloween among kids and adults alike.

To achieve just the right look, you’ll need to prepare your Indy gear. Below is a list of must-have items to pull off the best Indiana Jones costume in town.

The Fedora – First and foremost, you’ll need to secure Indy’s signature Fedora. Indiana Jones and his Fedora is iconic and is known to rarely leave his head. This hat is integral to the character of Indiana Jones and designed to capture his essence.

The Jacket – Indy’s jacket goes hand in hand with the Fedora. It is inspired by the leather jackets of the 1930s that preceded the advent of the famous A-2 jacket worn by American fighter and bomber pilots in World War II.

The Shoulder Bag – Although Indiana Jones used his shoulder bag to store things like pencils, maps and other props, this element of your Indiana Jones costume can be used to store the plans for your tricks or to collect lots of treats.

The Boots – Like Indy, your boots should have a strong tread and not be too heavy. After all, you need to be ready to run (in case you get spooked).

The Bullwhip – One of the oldest weapons in human history, Indiana Jones used his leather bullwhip to hold his enemies at bay and swing across ravines. This weapon will definitely come in handy to scare off any unwelcome ghost or goblins knocking at your door (and for the kids, the monsters in the closet). Although Indy used a 10 foot bullwhip, shorter replicas will fit the bill to top off this costume. But, whatever you do, don’t get too excited about swinging your whip around. This weapon takes great skill to use efficiently and without inflicting unnecessary pain upon yourself or others.

The Pistol, Holster and Belt – The bullwhip is not Indy’s only weapon of choice. Usually a World War I era revolver, this weapon is a great backup to defend against the scary creatures of the night. Replicas (not the real thing here folks) are available online and include the leather flap holster and belt.

Shirts and Pants – With your accessories in place, you must not forget Indy’s signature khaki pants and Safari shirt.

The above items should make your Indiana Jones Costume complete. While you may need to substitute items here and there, remember that an adventurous attitude will bring your costume to life. Once you put your ensemble together, with attitude in check, the journey begins…

Polished Garnets

India and Idaho are the only two places in the world that star garnets are found.  They range in size from a grain of sand to golf ball in size.  Star Garnets display a reflection of the light with a four or six ray star, which is caused by an inclusion of rutile in the gemstone.  Idaho is the only known place where six ray star garnets are found.

The U.S. Forest Service operates a star garnet gemstone collection area at Emerald Creek Idaho.  For a fee of $10 per day the treasure hunter can search for garnets and remove a maximum of five pounds of gemstones.  Screen boxes, buckets and shovels are provided by the Forest Service; however you should bring drinking water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, gloves and a container for your treasures.  The treasure hunting season starts at the end of May and lasts until after Labor Day.  No pets allowed.

How Is It Done

Use the shovel and fill your five gallon plastic bucket with dirt and rocks at the mining area.  Next take your bucket to the screening area and sift all of the dirt and sand leaving only the rocks.  Next take your collection of rocks to one of the two sluice boxes to wash the material and look for garnets.  Any rock that appears to have a shiny plastic like shine could be a garnet.

Rough Garnets

The garnets found at emerald creek are nearly opaque and will be a dark reddish or purple in color.  Good quality large gemstones are rare and about one half of the gemstones you discover will not be of a quality suitable for cutting or polishing.  Many of the stones will show a four ray star but the six ray star is quite rare.  A good quality star garnet may fetch up to $100 per carat.

The garnet name is believed to have come from the pomegranate.  Many of the ancient pieces of jewelry have clusters of red stones that do look a lot like a cluster of pomegranate seeds.  Travelers often carried garnets to protect them from accidents.  Legends suggest that garnets will glow at night and will protect the owner from nightmares.  Noah has also been rumored to have used a garnet lantern to navigate the Ark at night.

Happy Treasure Hunting.

sluice boxes

The Influenza A (H1N1) virus started in Mexico. Then the virus spread all over Africa, china, and even in America. On may 21, 2009 the virus entered in the Philippines.  The first case in the Philippines is from a young Filipina who got the influenza while she was in the united states of America. Health secretary Francisco Duque said that the girl is now in stable condition and she is quarantine for the safeties of the public. In the following days, many cases followed when two infected Taiwanese women attended a wedding in Zambales. On may 21, 2009 department of health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque confirmed the said cases in the Philippines.

As a progress, on June 22, 2009 news came out about the 49-year-old lady who died because of influenza A (H1N1) the DOH assured the public that the said lady did not die because of Influenza A (H1N1) but due to heart attack. The lady is a regular employee of the house of representatives. for safety reasons they suspend the legislature for 5 days.

Almost half of the part of the Philippines were said to be affected due to Influenza A (H1N1). Another case was confirmed in metro, manila when a 50-year-old patient who arrived in the Philippines from united states. On may 20, 2009 he showed the symptoms of the Influenza A (H1N1) including having a high fever. Immediately he was diagnose having the virus and quarantine in the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) in manila.

On June 8, 2009 the De La Salle University-Manila confirmed a case of Influenza A (H1N1). One of their foreign students diagnosed to have the virus. The University suspend their classes starting from June 4, 2009 up to June 15, 2009 almost 10 days to quarantine the University. The University is diagnosed to have the first case virus in Metro, Manila. The University recorded the most numbers of confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) in Metro, Manila.

As the Progress of the virus many cases confirmed from different Schools and Universities all over the Philippines. The Department of Education assures the public that the opening of the classes was moved to June 15, 2009 for the safety of the students as well as the teachers. Luckily, the virus Influenza A (H1N1) entered the Philippines is mild and curable. As of now only few of dead cases are recorded.

Vaccine for H1N1