blackjohn

Ha! In some circles that question would bring on a debate as fierce as the bucket boot debate can rage here, or the authenticity vs not debate. Suffice to say, there are some who think he's a godless commie or the worst thing since the invention of rock and roll. Then others think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It all depends on which side of the table you sit with regards to the "pirates and democracy" debate. If you like that line of thought, you'll like Rediker. If you don't you'll scoff at the things he says.

My feet are killing me... but I have to admit I like walking at the mall, you see all sorts of interesting people, and tying it into Christmas shopping makes it that much easier. Resolutions Tom? I think I'll resolve to do a better job at it next year, and not tie in into posting here. That didn't work. I'd be better off resolving to keep my library in good order so I can drag out the exercise machine. But I'm glad to say a few people stuck it out. Here's to ya!

I think I'm mostly convinced at this point... and since I decided to not go to the St Augustine thing in March... well... there's possibly some travel money right there.

And there's my birthday, on December 4... you know, this would be an awfully good birthday present to give to myself...

Huzzah! I know what you mean mate! In fact, the weekend after my birthday I had some gentlemen friends over for an afternoon of old fashioned wargaming. Before the first turn was through I had cracked open a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap. Sometime about four hours or so later, after giving the order for my side to splice the main brace, the other guy on my side and I had finished off the bottle. He tells me he had at most 1/3 of it. This is where things get a little hazy... at some point, we conceded defeat. My friends departed. With farewells said, I went to the head to cough some of the rum back up... next thing I remember it was dark, and I was naked in bed. I can only hope the missus took advantage of me in my drunken condition... The good thing about rum hangovers, they aren't that bad. I was mostly fully functional the next day. Yeah, I didn't feel better than say 65%, but if I had been drinking that much of anything else I would've felt like crap. Hell, I didn't even experience the "end over end bed" thing. I just passed out, and woke up naked. Wooo!

Wow. Looks like a lot of fun! Some great pics in there!

Digging through some pics from last year came across this... whoa... sorry about that... freakin' huge... if I can find some time I'll scale it down a bit...

I didn't think I'd get around to posting here anytime soon, but happened to find some time... what Foxe said... I doubt pirates wore them unless given some reason... buccaneers may very well have found reasons. Without any trouble I was able to come up with an illo (Guerard's French Dragoons 1695) showing gaiters. If I could find that with no problems, I suspect someone could push it back a decade or two with a bit of research. http://www.piratebrethren.com/periodpics/g...ragoons1695.jpg

Does spending time stalking the mall for Christmas presents and cards count? It does! Oh, good! (hmm... haven't spent much time here lately... must change that avatar...)

heh heh... agreed! I think somewhere in Beyond Piracy I posted a link to some remote control steam tanks and a steam R2-D2. This was an ax thread... mandatory ax content... there is, as I recall, a Danish or Swedish ax in Boarders Away that looks a helluvalot like a fire ax.

What scene? It's spinning in my PS3 even as I type this... I'll take a look.

If you like Victorian SF, you must see... A Gentleman's Duel And the Steampunk Laptop http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklaptop/...mpunklaptop.htm What this has to do with pirates... eh... nothing. Sorry! I should learn self-moderation!

They have. They decided to make you choose a side. I choose the right side... Blu Ray! And now I'm off to finish watching the most amazing Pirates of the WhatsitPlace 3 in style!!! But just between you and me... I really can't wait to pick up Cars on Blu Ray!!! Cars rocks!!!

ugh... remind me to pick a more sensible New Year's Resolution next year... like a repeat of No $tarbuck$ for a whole year. Too much pumpkin pie and birthday cake has left my arms a shambles... lifted weights for the first time in... whatever... and now I can barely type.

Good job! Bruce Dern as astronaut/eco-guerrilla. Your turn!

Haha... my pirate geekiness is only exceeded by my SciFi geekiness. So a quote... It calls back a time when there were flowers all over the Earth... and there were valleys. And there were plains of tall green grass that you could lie down in - you could go to sleep in. And there were blue skies, and there was fresh air... and there were things growing all over the place, not just in some domed enclosures blasted some millions of miles out in to space.

Yep, it's getting too cold for walks... or maybe because I gave blood yesterday I'm feeling it more. After I finish writing here, it's time to clear a path to the exercise bike.

Doh! I forgot to pist here first, in my excitement to answer the movie quotes game question... which was one of my all-time favorite stupid fun movies!

Doolittle addressing Bomb #20 in the cult SF classic Dark Star, directed by John Carpenter. Doh!

And... that's my birthday... guess who will be staying home with a bottle of rum and a movie on December 4!

It's awesome isn't it?? And SO worth the investment Seriously. It really is spectacular on Blu-ray. As much as I liked it on dvd... watching it in Blu-ray is practically like watching it in 3d! I can't wait to see that musket ball scene when 3 comes out... the hi-def channels are showing a millisecond of that as part of the teaser for the Blu-ray release, and it's just amazing.

Well... it seemed like the fun thing to do. Honestly, when I first saw a shadow run by I was like, "what the..." and just assumed I was imagining things. Then I saw it again and I thought, "hey, let's play this up and make it into something fun." Which it was. Glad they enjoyed being chased as furtive spirits. Thanks. And likewise, I'm glad you bring them. It's cool to have kids around, and I look forward to the day when they can meet mine.

I have it on Blu-ray... regular television will never be the same...

Or is that Little John? Or Little Stinkin' Durty John... who kept running around to and fro between your camp and Bill and Ted's Adventure Tent... as furtive spirits... fleeting glimpses of shadows racing through the night... with some devilish plan to drive me to the brink of madness... Or to put it another way. Fun kids! I'm glad they were there. They really did add to my enjoyment of the event.

Twas my pleasure. I will admit to a certain... hesitancy to allow finely dressed weapon so close to danger, but... you traveled so far, how could I deny you a chance to get your hands dirty. And... DAMN fine pics!!! What sort of camera were you using? I know how hard it can be to get good pics by candlelight, and these are some of the best I've seen. What's your secret?