MadL

Well th' beach be too far a drive this weekend 'n there be no faire either but as this weekend be sit'n in th' 70s I think I will take a hike in me local canyon, plenty o' sand 'n rock there t' get them broke in....I might also find me a rattler - I so miss me a good snake hunt!

Well, after attend'n a faire be'n approach'd be many a ilk 'n cur what call me by name yet I did naught know their's 'n when I ask'd them just how they come t' know me they tell me "I seen yer photo in th' forum"....?? So, I will NAUGHT be post'n me photo t' such spy'n threads as this again - I have enough trouble keep'n up with all th' want'd posters th' admiralty keeps post'n!!! Fer now on I be invisible as a ninja!

Rumba Rue, pirates n'er be "cute". A pirate can be ruthless, a pirate can be dashing, a pirate can be frighting, a pirate can be filthy, rotten (like really bad eggs), a pirate can be drunk, 'n they can be scoundrels, 'n scandalous, a pirate can be treacherous, 'n they can be so much more....but a pirate can NOT be "cute"! **Phatoooie!**

They Have Arrived!!! 'n This time they fit too!! With just a wee bit o' help from a shoe horn me feet fit in both shoes like a well fit pair o' dress shoes, No More SQUEEZING o' me balls, No More HUGE Hump under be left arch, I have had them on for two hours now and NO PAIN!! They fit so comfortable I wonder about stretch, might they stretch 'n become too loose for a pair o' silken socks...no matter for I Ain't Got A Pair! Now I just need t' fit them buckles without screw'n it up!

::Mad L stops 'n thinks about last night at th' pub, 'n last month at th' park, 'n before that at th' market...'n all them times back in high school....:: I'm sorry.....

Thanks Capt'n Bo, will check their site tonight. Also got a response from Track of th' Wolf say'n th' Early Brown Bess should have th' correct size tip for it be naught but one half inch, but they did naught tell me th' length? Then Middlesex also wrote say'n they recommend just a solid wood o' Hickory that it would be proper 'period' and with out th' weak point made by th' section - that sound like a good thought as well.

Now I done it...actually I did it a month ago or so, but I broke th' tip off me ramrod, unfortunately I did not know it until I got home so I do not know where to find it - tried blaming it on three little kittens but that don't seem to work... So, does anyone know a good source for locating ram rods or ram rod tips? I need t' replace one for an Elliot Light Dragoon. I have written to both Middlesex and Track of the Wolf - I did see a tip at Track of the Wolf for "45 cal and up" but only in steel, the others they offer I do not know if they would fit as I no longer have my original to take measurements from. Does anyone know the difference in size between a Brown Bess ram tip and a Light Dragoon? Shape is dead on but I do not have a Brown Bess t' compare with, they say th' Brown Bess tapered tip is 7/8 diam which would fit me 5/8 diam barrel but they do naught say how 'long' it be....perhaps someone here with a Brown Bess would measure th' length o' their tip for me? uh, RamRod tip please, just yer firearm's RamRod tip....

hmmm, perhaps some Passion Fruit Mead be th' way t' th' wench's heart... Begad! am I think'n out loud again?!? Aye, I too must limit me own intake o' alcohol; when I reach me limit I must let out me breeches then go fer a refill

I had a monster signature thingy once, but every time I took 'em on deck t' play catch he would tip th' ship so th' capt'n made me throw 'em back Also remember if yer photo is th' size ye want but the file size it still really huge, you can use programs like PhotoShop, PaintShop Pro, or even the fantastic and FREE program GIMP (which is practically like having full blown PSD or PSP!) to shrink their file size while still retaining dimensions. If you need a photo manipulation program (such as I mentioned above) and do naught want t' shell out any coin, then get GIMP for free there: http://www.GIMP.org (sometimes th' best things in life are free!)

hmmm, I have swam nekid, I have snow skied nekkid, I have partied nekid, I have even skydived nekid, but I Never sword fought nekid... which one would I use t' perry with? NEKID SWORD FIGHT!!!

::falls out'a me hammock:: *clears throat t' make a toast* 'n Here's t'...... ::ah heck with it....wake me when th' party gets started:: ::climbs back in me hammock::

i'm alive? I'm Alive! I Survived 2008!!!! t'day be January 01?? Oh Crap! Now I gotta do it all over again!!!!!? They also grab everything that's not nailed down on a sinking ship. Get crackin' mate and nab yerself office supplies for '09. Way ahead o' ye mate! Anyone need staples, post-its, paper clips, pens, pencils...ye can find me at th' corner o' 5th & Main on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 'n Friday.....Thursday I be at th' pub

True, I can see that point. Would be a whole discipline in itself t' get one t' fight an entire scene without move'n one's feet, plant'd like a tree they would be. Interesting discipline. Forgive me however dear sir as it still seems awkward t' me but would certainly be good practice. However I would still fear - think'n bout one who not have any other background/skill to draw from, absolute newbie jump'n in head first and hold'n a weapon for the first time thinking it is all just good fun, which of course it should be (true combat training should be 'good fun' as well, I know I laugh'd as I went home and rubbed Tiger Balm 'n Dragon Saliva ont' me welts! ); but what would worry me is if he "had to move", fell off balance, etc - if he had not first practiced How to step (forward, backwards, sideways) and he was knocked off balance - would he fall upon th' blade that he now is such good aim with? Or would he trip upon he's own two feet? Me own parents never let me run with scissors until I first learn'd t' walk: "Mad L! Ye put them scissors Down this instant! Ye learn t' Walk without fall'n down before ye run with them things mind ye!!"

task next year will bring yet another task

Aye, this too can I relate; with a layoff stare'n down at me in just 9 more morns....but it brings t' mind a line from one o' them Musical Blade's song: "Its not what ye have but what ye do with it" I have survived four other layoffs and company closures so I will survive yet another, for that be what pirates do, they survive - till th' hangman catches up with them, then they Fight t' Run Away t' Live t' Fight Another day! HAZZA!

but...but...thar be no more o' me....I did have a twin, but I killed he'm in th' womb - bastard said he thought we should split everything 50/50 upon our birth he did - I was have'n NONE o' that!!!

Give Stynky th' Raspberries! *thwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthwthw* naw, really, raspberry mead is mighty fine! (especially warm'd, 'n with some rum mixed in!)

I agree when your talking weapons. Don't you think its a good idea to have fighters do hand to hand before ever going to weapons though? At least then they can be a part of fights until they are safe enough to use a weapon. I think people start to feel left out in the training period and I worry that people rush to progress too quickly and thats how they get hurt. If they can learn the basics of stage fighting first and learn how to make a fight LOOK like a fight they might feel more comfortable and have better control of their body by the time they pick up a weapon. Just my thought. And to be honest I'm delaying my ability to use my sword.. that would mean I'm a long way away from fighting with steel, my conditioning is way off. I am willing to put it aside if it means in the long run I'm a more believable stage fighter. Pardon me fer butt'n in again, but I would have t' agree with RustyNell again, 'n not just because she be prettier then ye M.A.d'Dogge. I know, I know, I am going back to actual 'competition' and combat again - but still - one always must start with the Basics, and the Basics in any form o' combat be it weapon or hand-to-hand is the Stance, the Balance, the Footwork. As th' masters always say "You advanced style will only be as strong as your basic." One should always learn t' walk solid before attempting t' walk with a blade (in most martial arts you are forced to First pick a wood, become proficient with that, then ye get t' pick a blade). Even in fencing (with any blade) they first drill th' foot work in ye till yer sick of it (true, I have not had th' fortune of such training, but I watch those who have) However, tis still true that once the blade (sharpie or dullie) be put first time in the newbie's hand THEN, the footwork should STOP and first learn t' hit th' mark stand'n still, then intricate the already learned footwork in. Aye, this be th' 'combat' method t' train, but stage should take head in such matters as both can be equally dangerous, even deadly. While one may be able t' stand 'n wield a sword - can they Walk 'n Chew Gum at the' same time? After all, the whole stance and step method of sword play be very similar t' the martials, keeping least exposed t' yer opponent (excuse me; Partner) and always stay center balanced. Can be awkward at first for some, I know I still must focus on side steps with blade in hand. Not t' mention a lunge or double step - ALWAYS teach a newbie that First Without a sharpie, then once they can do so with grace, then put a sharpie in hand. So first teach one the walk, then teach he'n t' talk, then teach he'm t' walk and talk. *I know, I know; I be preach'n t' quire now....but sometimes even a master can take young grasshoper's innocence for granted. Better t' "preach" t' the quire then hear a newbie scream out in soprano*

MISSION! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE T' YE LAD?!!??

Me fair Lady Cassandra Seahawke, that sound like a wonderful idea! plus I hear them sororities be better then th' finest brothels t'boot!!!

As I will naught be make'n port again till next yar I just want t' share a few thoughts with me mates: Tis amazing when ye stop t' think that humans be th' only creatures upon this planet that be obsessed with th' com'n 'n go'n o' a year. We number th' years, we count th' years, we name th' years, but mostly we detest each one 'n revel in it's departure. But t' other creatures we share this life with, a year be just another day; there be no difference between December 31 and January 1, heck, there be no January, no February, no October, no December, there naught even be a summer, winter, nor fall, just more days with some hotter then others, some longer then others...just another day 'n life goes on undisturbed till death. They say this makes us "intelligent"...but then why is each year worse then the last yet we keep celebrating th' next know'n that in 365 days we will be curse'n it?? hmm, that sound pretty stupid t' me. So I says: 2008! WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!! Let's Do It Again! only fer them nay-say'n ilk we will calls it 2009 HAPPY NEW YARRR ME HARTIES!!

can't we just sit back 'n watch Cheecky and Silkie go at it? I will bring th' pudding!!!

AYE! That be th' code...'n we all must Keep t' Th' Code!!! Oderlesseye, got me new breeches, naught fall front this time....take a look at me cuff buttons tomorrow night - one e'en be Gold!

'too much rum'? thar be such a thing?? PARTY AT SILKIE'S PLACE!!!!!

How t' make those "3 moves" standard across th' GAoP role play'n field, as well as th' queues used t' telegraph that an alternative move will be thrown in t' make it appear real. Aye, I do agree, me own first battle is t' think "exhibition" rather then "competition" for competition after all is where I come from. Oderlesseye guided me t' some online video only just recently where I learn'd for me first time that stage combat do not actually aim for th' target spots but rather just off, but when executed properly (and countered properly by yer opone...'er partner) it looks real enough. After speak'n with Oderlessye I now look back at me video footage I took o' Tiger Lee 'n Capt'n Syn at CHOC (viewable on me MySpace - *cheap plug*) in a whole new light as now I see their signals (naught a real fine example o' stage play fer I think perhaps they were try'n some new moves fer th' first time or had naught square'd off t'gether in a while or where both a bit drunk due t' th' extra extra slow pace. But both kept well sync with neither appearing t' attempt showboat'n on th' other - discipline). I still think a written script o' th' basics, a standardization o' basic keys (telegraphs), and a standardization o' rules would be a very good idea for all. After all, when we do go in public not everyone is at full understand'n o' why we carry our weapons (stage, real, or junk) and then when those who do step up t' "play" there are always those in th' viewing eye that will recoil but if we all be on th' same page and quote from th' same book, be we professional or week-end warrior, then together as a whole we just give a more professional view t' our adoring fans and can better but their worrisome hearts at ease. As well as Prevent accidents (a ounce o' prevention be worth a pint o' rum!) If ye will indulge me for a moment t' quote back on what I know best: the skydive community learn'd long time a ago that if we do not police ourselves then we will be policed weather we like it or not. Plus a standardized system would make it much easier for newbies t' join in without any serious issues or endless "he said/she said" encounters. However it would not stop such things as those who choose t' spar with junk what falls apart and sends blade and shards fly'n through th' air or th' occasional yahoots who just don't/can't read, but that would be a topic for another book indeed. And as for "jousting troupes....pride themselves with how many bruizes and welts they can take/give" Aye, been there done that, got enough scars t' pride (wanta see th' one on me arse?), gotta enough bone scar tissue as well that I confuse th' poor ol' doc when they look at me X-rays ("Son, why do you have a couple cracked ribs and missing bone chunks from you ankle? Those are too old to have been caused by what you are here for...." - couple o' recent followups after a car crash). While I still want t' get active in true fencing (bruises and all) I really do naught feel like limping home from faire......unless it involves be'n assisted by a couple o' lovely wenches tend t' me wounds