Cap'n Pete Straw

That was a RUSSIAN Lawrence of Arabia. Searover ... the stones are just fine; thanks for your concern. It was a balmy 20 degrees on my way home this evening. At last - a Chicago heat wave. (Hmmm... Cling Peaches?) Ye will be missed, sir.

I have the mechanical parrot (cyborg?), which will make pretty good set dressing, especially if you want to avoid the inevitable biological mess that occurs with real animals...

Charles Bronson

The cannons don't recoil. When the ship lurches, half the people are thrown one way, the other half are thrown mysteriously in the other direction. Bob Hope keeps saying his lines directly into the camera. Instead of wearing earrings, the pirates are wearing nipple rings.

snowmobile

You mean the 1926 silent movie? Wow -- I am impressed. I have never seen ithat one. I raised my children on the 1982 televised stage production (Lansbury, et al.); I practically wore out my (pirate!) VHS copy of it. My oldest daughter, now a college music/theater major, has memorized every word of the original soundtrack -- even I never mastered that task. It was a natural, therefore, to take the whole brood to see the movie just two days after it opened. Fantastic. The kids LOVED it. I laughed through every blood-splattered shave (and two-story head-first skull-splitting body dump!). Yes, there is gore. Lots of it. Too much of it. But the gore is deliberately over-the-top, and mostly done during a hauntingly lovely love song ("Johanna"), which makes it too comical to take too seriously. (One movie critic said something along the lines of: "If we are to be entertained by death, this movie makes sure that we, the audience, witness just how graphically violent death can be." Or something like that. This kind of sums up the movie) I found the introductory meat pie scene ("The Worst Pies in London") to be more disturbing than the gore. Splattering blood? Okay, whatever. Cockroaches cooked live inside my food? Don't block the exitway... I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Singing? Give me a break. All the actors do a fine job -- these are not professional singers, after all. I am used to Sweeney's deep baritone -- but Deep pulls it off well. I have the soundtrack in my car, and have been listening to it over and over. As I type all this, the songs are rushing through my head. Standouts: The little kid who plays Toby (who I just saw last week in a Dr. Who episode): excellent. The bit-too-young salor: superb. Johanna? Wow. I was pleasantly surprised by Rickman -- one of my favoirite-ever actors, I had feared he was ill-cast, but upon seeing the movie he impressed me once again. The "By The Sea" sequence was a great improvement over the play (IMHO), as we finally see what Mrs. Lovitt is envisioning. I always found this song to be a boring sidetrack, but seeing her fantasy (and Sweeney's continued disinterest) makes it now more an integral part of the storyline. And did I mention the sets, the clothing and the lighting? This movie has to collect some Oscars, even if only technical ones. It is truly a masterpiece -- a wonder to look at. Cannot wait to go see it again. I have already signed up for advance notice from Amazon when the DVD is available for pre-order.

Well then Cap'n Pete...you should be do quite well! The Archangel crewe shall have get a table close to the front... Need to get there early... and stash some movie reference books in my pockets... And he'll be joined by his lovely assistant - Mrs. Lovette Hmmm... a most Evil plot is brewing... now if I can find a white-streaked black wig for myself... ...hmm, you may see a face or two you know up there! Actually, I found out about this seminar from a fellow CW reenactor who is participating in the panel. Does that include; "How to handle yourself on the Dance Floor" and "Grogtini...more than a drink!" More like: "How To Scrape Yourself Off the Dance Floor" "Know Your 'My Little Ponies' For Fun and Profit" "The Development of Soviet-Pirate Relations of the Seventeeth through Twentieth Centuries" "Advanced Dance Techniques: Disadvantages of Jackboots" "Improve Your Gaydar: How To Recognize When You Are Being 'Hit On'" "Bartending 101: Cutting Yourself Off" Let me know if I left anything out.

>> Didn't you loose some major weight last year? Are ye calling me fat? These Middle East events have to be arranged in the off-season (financial concerns) and as not to conflict with any religious holidays (of ANY religion -- which is rather difficult). This forces everything to happen just before Christmas time, which sucks for me (and my family) on virtually every level. I have resisted being involved -- but was actually begged to go this last time. I can choose to not eat anything at all, but that's rather impractical for a week at a time. Listen all... if these efforts are actually successful in securing some peace in the Middle East (and thus increased stability around the globe), a few years of holiday intestinal distress is a small price to have paid. The food in Istanbul was quite superb -- I had stuffed vine leaves at virtually every meal. It was a five-star hotel, and dinners at top-of-the-line restaurants, and I refused to eat anything from street vendors. All that -- and the timing of getting sick -- is why I am convinced the illness was caught on my way back, and not while in Istanbul. I also enjoyed an lots of Turkish coffee. Maddogge (if you are reading this) -- I "read" my grounds one day, and found the distinctly unmistakable image of a leaping cat -- I even took a photo of it and will try to post it here later.

My movie trivia is okay. But I have memorized every line of dialogue from MP & the HG -- does that give me an advantage? No Historical Jeopardy at all? Disappointment. I will drown my sorrows in Grogtinis. Maddogge -- What are ye talking about? I have seen ye wearing undergarments; they were mine, and you paraded around with them on your head during the.. er... Oh, dear, too much information, I fear. Regarding the seminars, I certainly plan to attend the straight razor one. The speaker -- a Mister Todd out of Fleet Street, I hear, gives the closest damn shave you ever had. I'll sit in the front row with a meat pie (It's lean -- must be Royal Marine). Probably also want to attend the Lady Reenactor one -- if I can get the Missus to attend, she will be interested as well. I was considering offering a seminar on "How To Have The Most Outrageous Fun During Reenactor Fest." But would it was feared that only newbies would attend, while anyone who attended RF2 would run away in horror. Pete

And I am missing an awesome WWII reenactment right now as well... The job gives me the money to do the stuff I want to do -- so I choose to keep working. Turkey wasn't bad -- but I had 15 hour work days, which sucked. Got to see Taksim Square, a boat ride on the Bosphorus (to dinner at the Maidens Tower!!), Aya (Hagia) Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. But these were all organized tours, and I had no free time at all. Still jet-lagged -- and I picked up an intestinal bug, but NOT in Turkey! I seem to have acquired it during my 20 hour travels back to the States. Crappy airline and airport food.

Logging in from Istanbul. Hey everyone. Not supposed to be using this computer for this purpose. Update when possible. Hotel balcony overlooks the Bosphorus! Later...

Cheeky -- Turkey has really strict laws regarding exporting antiquities. If I can identify something as being from the Ottoman empite, it's staying where I find it. I saw Midnight Express -- I have no plan to run afoul of the Turkish police. Speaking of which -- most of Midnight Express was shot in Malta (where I have been) because the Turks throught the storyline painted Turkey in a negative light (it does). Malta, on the other hand, remains one of my favorite places in the universe. Capn William? Yes on the hookahs. But if I just came back from Egypt and Jordan without purchasing a hookah, I doubt I'll pick one up in Turkey. And, yes, all these Middle East countries have vast quantities of daggers. I really plan to look for exotic fabrics... maybe some silks, maybe a rug. But yes -- plenty of Turkish Delight. Although I can pick it up at the local World Market.

Yes - Istanbul. Thanks for the heads up on the antiquities law -- I am already well aware of it. I'll pick up my antiques in the good old U.S. of A., thank you very much. I don't smoke, but I will look for the pipes (good call!)... maybe to use as barter for something better after I get back?

Drug testing

Ziggy zaggy ziggy zaggy hoy hoy hoy... Toasting Rats on his birthday... And his teeth are... Pearly white.... The End of Evil Peaches...

Sorry... I had to refresh this topic so I could find and copy some of Rats' photos to another topic.

after the Beer Run

Add me to the list -- just someone remind me in advance of my turn...

The Cowboy and Ninja things just weren't working out for me.

I am taping episodes of The Monkees off of Comcast On Demand (pirate!). ...and the smallest cat is attacking the Ball-In-A-Track toy -- which is actually drowning out "Last Train To Clearksville."

Fortunately or unfortunately -- depending on how you look at it -- I will be traveling to Turkey in early December on a work-related obligation (yes, I know it is the off-tourist rainy season). There will be precious little time available for sightseeing or touring (I do know that a group trip down the Bosphorus is in the plans), but I thought I would cast my net among you -- any suggestions on what to do, what to see or (more importantly) what to try to purchase while there? I will certainly be able to hit some shops, if nothing else. Yes, I will bring back some Turkish Delight (my kids are sick of it, however) but, unlike last year's trip to Jordan (go if you have the chance!) and Egypt (I do not recommend it), I have no motivation on what to shop for while there. Thoughts and ideas solicited...

I have some raw octopus I could wear on my head...

Count me in.

Cheeky, what are you ... um... holding in this picture? What? Can you not clearly see she has her right arm wrapped around me! She is holding Evil Peaches! I would think it was obvious.