Game On!

After several years of rumor and speculation, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, has begun filming in Hawaii. Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly are long gone and, to be honest, I won't be missing them at all. Will Turner is now Captain of the Flying Dutchman, and Elizabeth Swann is raising his daughter (see the post credit clip from POTC: At World's End), so I don't see how those characters can return - and since the actors who portray them don't want to come back, they aren't. But Johnny Depp is back, as are several familiar faces from the crew. Rob Marshall is directing, and Jerry Bruckheimer is producing. There's no way of knowing how this is going to turn out, though. In my humble opinion, the first POTC is still the best, and the sequels just got sillier and sillier as time went on. I love a good swordfight as much as the next fencer, but on a water wheel (POTC: Dead Man's Chest)? Really?

I read the book upon which this installment is based, and while it wasn't a awe-inspiring, life changing read, it was enjoyable. It also unexpectedly brought historical pirates such as Blackbeard into the setting, which was a nice twist that other pirate fiction (to my knowledge) had not. So I am looking forward to seeing what POTC does with Tim Power's novel.

Yo, ho! Yo, ho! It's still a pirate's life for me, it seems! : )

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Crazy Comments

I've had to disable my comments section of this blog, unfortunately. It seems that almost all of the comments that are left here are by Asian posters. Not that's a bad thing, of course, but these comments are not really comments at all, just random sayings (I used Babelfish to translate some) that are nonsensical. Tracking back to the posters' blogs revealed blogs that are devoid of posts, links, etc. In other words, they're probably spammers.

So the comments section is on lock down. I'd apologize for it, but since no one was posting comments that make sense anyway, it's no big deal to me. : )

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There and Back Again: The Monthly Recap

I think it's foolish for me to keep making excuses for not posting for a couple of reasons. One is that my work load has tripled over the last few weeks, and given that the only time I post is at work (I need to change that, but so far I haven't), the posting ain't gettin' done. The other reason is that I haven't had much to say. Yes, I have a child on the way (insert dramatic music here), and have made a list of all pirate inspired baby wear that I can find. Yes, I still read and collect pirate inspired stuff, and yes, I still keep up with the so-called pirate situation in Somalia (freebooters! They are freebooters! Just sayin'.). It seems when something blog-able comes up on my radar, by the time I have a moment to write about it, the issue is no longer as relavant or interesting. So I don't.

And my blog has become a place for simply keeping some of my favorite websites bookmarked in one place. And that's just sad.

So, in order to keep things rolling here and not have this blog go the way of so many other blogs that haven't had a post since 2007, Here is a review of what's been going on in the life of a land-locked pirate:

One Ring and I went to Disney World at the end of May for our babymoon (yes, there is such a thing, and I highly recommend it). We stayed in a nautical themed resort on property - the Beach Club Resort, which even has a shipwreck in a pool complex which is complete with a lazy river. Given the heat, One Ring's inability to ride many of the rides in the parks, and our mutual desire to avoid crowds, we spent many an afternoon drifting in the currents.

The shipwreck is actually a large waterslide that starts halway up the main mast, continues down the fallen mast, and ends up in one of the pools that connects to the lazy river.






And here is the lazy river.







Obviously we had a lot of fun. We were able to ride the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean together (no problems for pregnant women on those rides, thankfully!), so I did get my pirate fix. And I did come very, very close to having a picture taken with Capt. Jack Sparrow. I got up to the line, only to be told that he was taking a break and would be back at 3 that afternoon. Sadly, it was our last day, and we were not able to make it back for the pic. Maybe next time. We were able to get a picture with "Pirate Goofy," and I'll try to remember to post that picture later.

Star Wars Weekend was also going on at Disney World while we were there. Let me tell you, I felt a whole lot less geeky about my obsession when I stood next to a bunch of fans who were foaming at the mouth to get a picture with Anakin Skywalker! And it wasn't even Hayden Christiensen, just some guy who looked like him! The same was true for Mace Window, though that was no surprise; I can't see Samuel Jackson hanging out in the Florida sun all day for fan photos.

Guitar lessons continue to go well. I'm having my guitar instructor build my next guitar, but won't be able to start that project until the fall. The plan is that I'll buy a kit (I'm going with the "RG" model, which is based on the Ibanez line of the same name.) from BYOGuitar.com, then send it over to him for the build, staining (I'm having it done in onyx, to give it a dark, menacing look, in constrast to the warm brown of my Laguna LE300.), and set up. We may have to replace the supplied pickups if they don't sound good, but I've found a brand that has gotten great reviews at a very inexpensive price. I should be able to keep that cost, if necessary, under $100. All told, the entire project should run about $400, which is less than most guitars and far, far less than custom builds.

I'm adding at least one or two more links to the side bar. One is Twisted Kaiju Theater, which is a 10 year running webcomic run by a guy with way too many Godzilla action figures and a quirky sense of humor. Some of it is NSFW, but it has been a great way to improve my mood during my lunch breaks. And since I grew up on Godzilla movies, this site is particularly enjoyable!

The next one is the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, which has made a full length, professional quality, silent film version of The Call of Cthulhu. They're currently working on The Whisperer in Darkness, which should be released soon. It's also the place where I received my honorary doctorate from Arkham University (it's in theoretical realities, in case you're wondering)!

And finally, I'm adding Day of the Woman, a horror blog by (gasp!) a woman about women in horror. Great reviews, commentary, and news about the genre.

Okay, I'm tired of typing. Now it's back to trying to avoid work until my next patient / victim arrives at 1:00.

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