Cap'n Pete Straw

Jack Black

Been having so much fun playing this 3-in-1 game, I forgot to write about it. If I know that the checkers were metal (read that: metal -- not plastic), I would have purchased it earlier. I thought I understood the Liar's Dice rules without reading the instructions, and explained "my" rules to my kids while we were driving home in the car. By the time we got it open, we all knew how to play the game, and played it that way, and had a lot of fun. The next day I read the rules. I don't like them. I think ours are better (although I cannot convince my family to add the "Wild Card" die face, which I think would enhance our rules). But we have been playing this game almost every night according to our own House Rules. This turned out to be an excellent purchase. The Liar's Dice set is decent. I am still freaking out over the crapload of extra METAL "Aztec Gold" coins (half are tarnished nickel finish, but do you hear me complaining?) for the checkers set. And while it is so hard to play chess with non-standard pieces, the Black Pearl vs. Flying Dutchman set is rather enjoyable. And the chess/checkers board has a sea map laid over it, which adds to the piratical spirit of the fun. HOWEVER... these games sell separately for around $20 each. I got all three for about $35. The $35 was a much, much better deal. A satisfied customer am I.

There is a boxed PotCII set "sold exclusively at Target" which contains a chess set, checkers game, and Liars Dice. I commented on this in another thread... but... My family is now hooked on Liar's Dice. Of course, we have our own House Rules which work out rather well, as long as someone insists on lying. But if everyone plays it safe and refuses to stick out their necks, then it's a boring game the way we play it. We have proposed setting up and running a Liar's Dice table at the neighborhood black party this next weekend. My son and I -- yes, in our Pirate garb -- will run a game designed to lose in favor of kids, and will give away a bunch of cheap tattoos, eyepatches, and other stuff.

Wait... I said it was distracting. Did that imply criticism? Entertainment versus historical accuracy. Hmmmm.. I will probably opt for entertainment value almost every time. For example, I found "Pirates" to be way more entertaining than the Hallmark "Blackbeard" movie. ...Perhaps more historically accurate, too... Oh, I keep writing and deleting comments here in response to that sentence, and all I am left with is this non-funny and uninformative statement. I guess the only PG-13 thing I can say is that "Pirate Porn" was the only fantasy I had left to fulfill. And don't even ask me about "Planet of the Apes" porn, 'cuz I got that one covereed already.

Hoping to have more detail before then... .. But it will be the weekend of my son's birthday. He has already selected the festival for his birthday activity.

Did the Faire yesterday. O. M. G. We have not had so much fun in... oh, I don't know, like forever. A great time was certainly had. Pictures to be posted soon. Yes -- Dreadnought admission in $5. Mike Breza (who serves as Captain of the ship) has set up a mini-museum within the ship, and plans to expand on it as the summer progresses. He did a rather fine job. There are an awful lot of pirate-theme things throughout the Faire. There is a small pirate ship that kids can climb on in the kid's playground area... and a bunch more. I was actually surprised to see all the buccaneer/nautical themed things. And a lot of costumed pirates. Did we meet? Let me know if I unintentionally ignored you. Yes - we were dressed as a small band of pirates. I only had one (small-minded) person criticizing me for dressing in 17th/18th-century garb for a 16th century event. She seemed to have no problem with the people wearing fairy wings or prosthetic cat faces, because that happened in the early half of the ... oh, wait... that NEVER happened. I ran into so many people who asked me where my hook was! It turned out all these people remembered me from Port Washington! I must have made a complete ass of myself there, to be so recognizeable a month and a half later! One vendor was talking about my vist a week ago -- I had to tell him I had not been at the Faire in 10 years. But he insisted -- as a costume designer -- he recalled my coat in precise detail... I mentioned Port Washington, and the light switched on: he was a vendor there, too. Hmmm... a bigger ass than I thought. As I said... photos coming soon. Will likely make a return visit later this summer. This is yet TBD. Merrydeath: No Guinness to be had at the Faire. They do serve Beamish Stout, which I found to be a faire(pun intended) substitute. I recommend it with a plate of the vegetable tempura.

Er, Yes and No... The movie was released over a year ago (and there was at least one other topic thread on it here in the Pub somewhere), but both hardcore (XXX) and (edited) softcore versions have been released separately. But I admit to waiting quite a long time before jumping on the bandwagon for this one.... I bided my time.... and I finally picked up a primo (3 disc set!) copy of the movie for a fraction of the full price. A full disc of bonus extras includes outtakes (basically people flubbing their lines and then dropping an F-bomb) and very boring audition reels (extremely non-eventful for what one might expect concerning the XXX movie). The third disc is an HD version of the full movie. I found the CGI effects of the ships and other effects to be extremely sub-par (they appear to have been pulled directly from a video game). But I presume they didn't have the budget to spend on full-size wooden ships ... or even realistic miniatures -- so they did what they could with what they had. Given the same resources, I might have done the same. Spend all your money on the big-name porn stars. While the "Adult" aspect of the movie was quite well-done state-of-the-art action, it was rather distracting trying to believe, even for a fraction of a moment, that female pirates of the early 1700s (I forget the exact year the movie is set in) engaged in that degree of personal hair removal, or had such access to silicone body enhancement.

Toilet paper

Ship's Master has set our sails for this event. I was not able to hit it last February, and missed out on my opportunity to connect with the Chicago area WWII Soviet reenactors.

Ah, but my children live but a half hour from there. Hmmm.... might be worth the trek for me.

My Pretty Pony

.... this one should bring Catwoman...

Wait... I thought THIS was a Kraken...

Damn. Ye all used up the good Monkee jokes already. I have nothing to add. (Hmmm... I'm a Believer? Pleasant Valley Sunday? Last Train to Clarksville? rats.)

Working on pirate gear for the remaining members of the crew (that would be the immediate family). Sights are set on Bristol for this next weekend.

Picked up my copy. We now own all the "-Ology" books.

Closing score to Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, which is playing on cable. I lost interest in watching Real Pirates of the Carribean for the fifth time.

While I am trying to find a faster method to get to the basement. And what to do with this 40 foot brass pole?

Cheers

I got a Queen Anne kit from Dixie Gunworks. First gun I ever built from a kit, and it was a fantastic (yet frightening) experience. If you have the tools and patience, I say go for the kit. It will be rewarding -- even if you make mistakes... but that's what experience is made of. If you never built anything before (especially out of wood), then I'd suggest you take a pass on the kit. I am saving up for another kit, just to do it again.

Actually, he and Robin waxed their poles at the same time whenever there was action to be had... ------ Still have all my Batman memorabilia. One complete Batsuit (with enough extras to make it different everytime), with an impressively functional utility belt. I have a collection of batarangs which includes most of the models used in the films -- most of these I made myself (much cheaper). When I was dating my current wife, she was immediately impressed by the fact that I had in my apartment a "Bat Closet," which housed all my Bat Props, with the Bat Suit hanging (in all its glory) when you opened the door.

asshole

Now making a waistcoat from the Simplicity pattern to go with my son's Pirate Coat. Really finished the whole thing this morning.... need to hand-sew shut the interior lining holes, then make the button holes & sew on the buttons. Man, I am getting a lot of mileage out of these $1 patterns! Large size (for me): coat, two shirts, pants, and waistcoat. Extra small size (William the Bloody): coat, waistcoat, pants (lengthened for Civil War trowsers), and shirt. Maybe the best two bucks I ever spent.

Still have my original Batman Credit Card from when I was a kid.

Chains