Avast, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Ahoy landlubbers, tis your Captain speaking!

If ye had not known by now, it be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Ye can find more information about this holiday by click here.

Ye best be talking the old tongue of pirates t'day, else you may have to walk the plank like the scurvy rat ye are!

But, if ye are not savvy enough for the lingo, might I suggest some other ways to celebrate TLAPD:







Watch a pirate movie! Here's some suggestions:



Dress like a pirate, it's always fun!




Make pirate cookies!


Drink some grog!

Or just change your Facebook layout to "English: Pirate" for the day!

No matter what ye decide to do, be safe in ye travels in the seven seas!

Batman

I've posted about being a nerd a couple of times on this blog, but I just wanted to reinforce the image onto you all.

One of my favourite nerd loves is Batman. I am currently subsceibing to "The Return of Bruce Wayne" and picking up Batman Trades. I have a list of them I wrote down that I am still aiming to get like the Knightfall Trilogy, Haunted Knight, Hush, Batman RIP. Also I'm going to be subscribing to the new Batwoman when it comes out in November, and picking up the one shots of Batman's return from RoBW and Final Crisis.




To here is what I have to date:
Batman pillow plus, Batman: The Animated Series plush
Baman logo t-shirt
Batman logo belt buckle
Seasons 1-4 of Batman:The Animated Series
Final Crisis
Return of Bruce Wayne Issues 1-4
Batman: Year One
The Dark Knight Returns
Red Rain: Batman VS Dracula
The Long Halloween
Dark Victory
Batman Vs Mr. Freeze: Subzero
Batman and the Mask of the Phantasm
Batman and the Mystery of Batwoman
The Batman Anthology (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin)
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight

No shown:
World's Greatest Detective (Bob Kane collection)
A red Batman pillow
The Batman Collection (which is all the movies in the Anthology but the Anthology DVDs came with an extra disc each with special features. Batman Anthology came out a few months after I bought the Batman Collection, sigh)
Batman Keychain
Batman Christmas Ornament
Batman Logo Hoodie
Old School Batman Logo shirt
Batgirl symbol shirt

Cyborg Pony on Leave... Sorta!

Hey gang,

My cousin came over Friday and we did a last minute trip to the Zoo in Toronto. It was a great time. It was warm, muggy and overcast so there wasn't many people out. The animals were pretty sleepy but I ended up taking 203 photos!

We were there from 10 AM to 3:30 PM, then we came home to celebrate my brother's birthday. He turns 24 on the Tuesday but he was visiting this weekend for a race car event down the road from us.

I will probably talk more about my zoo experience, but I am in the middle of packing for Nova Scotia! I fly out at 7:20 AM! We're leaving here at 5 am. Blah. I am taking old lappy with me to post pictures and to write about my experience. I have never ever taken a computer on a trip with me - or on an airplane so I'm a little nervous.

When I get back I am probably going to Fan Expo on the Saturday. Hurray for summer!

Nerdy Friday

I am going out for a nerd night tonight. A bunch of friends of mine are going to be catching the 10:15 PM showing of Scott Pilgrim VS The World.

We were going to go out for Thai good but someone doesn't like Thai so that idea has been nixed. I am not sure where we are going, but I do know that we are meeting up at a comic book store.

I don't know how excited I am about SP. I never read the comics, even though I probably should since it's Canadian and does feature Toronto, Ontario which I live close by to. I'm not really a big fan of Michael Cera. I liked him in Arrested Development but I've hated him in everything since, rspecially Super Bad. I'm also not too crazy about going opening night but that's the way these guys are sometimes. I mean, the movie will be there tomorrow, and next week and probably for a whole month.

I can't decide if I want to wear my Star Wars Burnout Tee or my Old School Batman shirt.

Cartoons That Shaped My Childhood

I haven't done a list for awhile and as I'm sitting here watching Rugrats on Nickelodeon Canada, I started thinking about the cartoons that defined my childhood for me. I still watch a lot of cartoons now, so I'll limit it to the age of 12. In no particular order!

1. My Little Pony
As if you couldn't tell from the name of this blog, My Little Pony (both the show and the toys) shaped my childhood. I already lived in a world of horses, and having a tv show and toys dedicated to cute little ponies was just fab. I still have my box of MLP toys in a closet somewhere, which I want to dig out sometime soon. I want to track down the movies which I was also a huge fan of. I can sing the songs from The My Little Pony Movie where they fight the Smooze.




2. Beetlejuice
I loved this show. I loved it so much I wanted a Beetlejuice action figure that spun his head, but I had a little kid crush on him, so I felt weird about it when I was given it from Christmas. My mom took it back. She did this with my Jack Skellington figure too, that I wanted but I also felt weird about having a figure of a character I had a crush on. She took this back too, and I wish she hadn't. Beetlejuice was just a crazy show that helped the blooming goth within. Ghosts, skeletons, monsters. It freaked me out at times since I was quite young, but I watched it every time it was on. It comes on Teletoon Retro and I couldn't be happier unless it came out on DVD.



3. Care Bears
The Care Bears cartoon was a staple for Canadian children. It was on every morning. Although the show itself was a little bland, the characters were lovable. The movie Care bears in Wonderland was a favourite. My favourite? Noble Heart and Brave Heart.



4. Ghostbusters
Just like Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters nutured the innter goth that I would later become. I still think I'm a bit gothic, although I don't dress in the extreme. I had a huge crush on Egon, which later determined I was a latent nerd. PI also liked Venkman. Didn't care too much for Slimer. Like Beetlejuice, the show scared me at times.



5. Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles
My brother was more into this than me, and because he had to endear MLP, I watched TMNT. I did like it, so I can't really complain. I remember the show coming on, and me and my brother would start bouncing all over the couches. I had a crush on Donatello. Yup.



6. She-Ra Princess of Power
She had an awesome outfit, a flying horse and she kicked ass in a mini skirt. She was one of the first strong female role models I had. I have her action figure still.


7. Rugrats
My dad stole satelite when I was growing up, and we were the only kids in school that got to watch Nickelodeon shows, as the US hadn't permitted Canada to Nick until November 1st, 2009. Rugrats was one of the first few Nick shows and we watched it. My favourite episode is Reptar On Ice.


8. Ren and Stimpy
This show was insane. Absolutely insane. I watched this show when I was 7-8. My parents were pretty lenient when it came to parent discretion. We watched a lot of mature stuff, but we turned out ok. I think.


9. Rocko's Modern Life
There was just something about this show I really liked. Probably because it was off the wall, and had so many adult orientated jokes in it that I would later get. It's also on Nick Canada. Camera Shy is my favourite episode from this cartoon.



10. Tales of the Crypt
Another show about monsters and ghouls. My favourite was the fairy tale one where Sleeping Beauty was a vampire.



11. Batman: The Animated Series
My first real introduction to Batman. I think we watched Tim Burton's Batman on VHS when I was younger, since it came out before I was born but the Batman of my lifetime will always be Kevin Conroy's Batman. I watched this show every day when I got home from school. I was never huge into action but the plots were always so captivating, and mature. I remember how sad I felt when Clayface died (I couldn't find his real death on yuotube, so his first 'death' will have to do). I have seasons 1-4 on DVD. Always a great watch.



12. The Mask
I watched this every morning before school when it came out. I had a thing for Stanley Ipkiss. When my best friend found out, she told everyone and I got made fun of for liking a cartoon character. I was 12 years old and mortified.



13. Super Mario Brothers Super Show and Legend of Zelda
A show based on video games, how could you go wrong. I have LOZ on DVD. It's pretty repeatetive but I still liked it. Missing Link is my favourite episode.


14. Captain N: Game Master
Another video game based show. I liked the concept of this cartoon, and who wouldn't want to live in Video Game Land? Simon Belmont hands down my favourite character from this series.



15. Chip'N' Dale
This was a great show from Disney. Not much to say about it except for "CHUH CHUH CHEEEEEESE!"


16. Winne The Pooh
When you're alone and there's nobody home, it's nice to be able to count on a friend like Pooh Bear.


17. Dark Wing Duck
A Batman like goofball. How could you go wrong? A hilarious rogue gallery too. I liked Megavolt.


18. Duck Tales
If anybody from the 1990s didn't like this show, they don't have a soul.

Batman riding a Tauntaun

I drew this back in 2006 in MS Paint, and I just wanted to post it after seeing Batman Riding Robot Unicorn.

What do you think? Do you think people would pay me for this? :O Haha.

Field School Update

I'm going to have to start brushing up on my archaeology real soon, as I just got confirmation today from Louisbourg about my field school.

I'm a little sad though because I am flying out Sunday to Halifax and driving to Louisbourg and I just found out that we are all entitled to a free pass on Sunday to explore the site. The site closes at 5 p.m. and I won't get there until 4 p.m. so I won't have enough time. The letter does say that there will be other opportunities to explore to site during the week we are there.

Originally, our team was going to excavate in the De la Valliere yard but this year we are going to be helping out on a two month rescue excavation project. The sites are threatened by coastal erosion due to the rising sea levels. The sites have never been studied before, and are facing the Atlantic Ocean.

This is going to be one crazy adventure for me. I have travelled to parts of the US and a couple of times to Quebec, but I have never been too far out of my own province, and I have never been out East before. I'll be flying to Halifax on August Sunday 22nd and driving the rest of the way, approximately 4 hours to Cape Breton Island, where Louisbourg is. I'll be staying at a Bed and Breakfast called Cranberry Cove. I originally wanted to stay in The Captain's Den but I'm going to be in a suite called Isle Royal that faces the harbor. I plan on trying to get some time to swim in the Atlantic Ocean while I am there, and maybe catch a couple of events in the town. Hopefully I make some new friends while I'm there, though I can be quite shy, haha. On Friday, the team will have dinner together and I'll leave for Halifax that night, and sleep in the airport. I'll be back in Toronto early Saturday morning, where I'll try to figure out if I want to go to Fan Expo that day, or on Sunday.

Visual Proof of Nerd Status

This weekend I was bored and decided to take a couple of pictures that demonstrate how proud I am to be a nerd. I wish I had my own house where I could dedicate a room to my collection. A lot of my action figures, tiys and books are packed away in a small closet, and this is only the tip of the iceburg. It also only showcases books that I dug out recently because I think that they'll be needed in the up coming future, or I feel that they are closest to my heart. I do have boxes and boxes of books and wish they could be showcased.

I also have a couple of pictures of my DVD collection. A lot of movies I own are actually still on VHS, including my all night favourite "The Flight of Dragons" that hasn't gotten DVD release yet. I'm also missing a couple since they're on loan, or they're my CSI collection which got packed away.



Top of my book shelf, from Left to Right: Pictorial History of Horror Films, Star Watch, Evolution text book, Primate Behavior text book, Introduction to Anthropology, Standards for measuring bones, William Bass's Field Guide to Osteology, The Growth of Humanity, The Archaeology of Disease, Forensic Anthropology, Concepts in Anthropological Thinking, Here There Be Dragons, The Princess Bride, Whale Music, The Three Musketeers, Articles for Medieval Military Technology, Medieval Warfare, The Royal Book of Horsemanship, Jousting and Knightly Combat, Under The Black Flag, How the Horse Shaped Civilization, An Anthropologist on Mars, Horse Treats and The Ultimate Guide to Pampering Your Horse.


Second row on the bookshelf, from Left to Right: The Archaeologist's Laboratory, The Archaological Workbook, Pottery in Archaeology, The Archaeology of Aninal Bones, Understanding Stone Tools and Archaeological Sites, A Brief History of Archaeology, Archaeology and Anthropology, Archaeology, The Peopling of Bandelier, North American Archaeology, Archaeology of South America, Death by Theory, World Politics in a New Era, Microbiology, Clear, Correct and Creative, Echoes of the Past, The Art of Ancient Egypt, General Chemistry, Embalming, Human Anatomy, The Cell, and the Flight of Dragons. Also, my sad collection of McDonald's Happy Meal Toys of The Last Airbender.



Top Shelf - various horse figurines and a Captain Morgan glass, books from Left and Right: Le Morte D'Arthur, yearbooks, Dungeons and Dragons books in Second, Third and Fourth edition, Encylopedia of Mythology, Body Worlds, Mutter Museum, The Beatles Anthology, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, A Hard Day's Write, Last Mysteries of the World, Mysteries of the Unexplained.

Another top shelf with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles (I was young and vampire were kinda cool unlike today), Celtic Mythology, Lord Byron, A vampire book, Dune
Second shelf: Le Morte D'Arthur, Mists of Avalon, Canterbury Tales, The Myst Series, Body of Evidence, Uther, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Sleepy Hollow, Macbeth, The Dragon and the George, Frankenstein, Peter Pan and A Streetcare called Desire.




My Dune books, not in order at all. I know someone reading this will appreciate this photo haha.

My comic shelf with the entire Sandman series, Endless Nights, The Watchman, Batman: Red Rain, The Dark Knight Returns, The Long Halloween and the first three issues of The Return of Bruce Wayne.

Bottom shelf: Tarot books, The Penalty Killing, American Gods, The Tick: The Complete Edlund, July previews, Fragile Things, Domiknitrix, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Big Book of Canadian Ghost Stories, The Very Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction 60, The Last Unicorn, St John's First Aid (Haha) and The Life of Pi... oh and some previews.


My DVDs, with some interesting titles.


A close up so you can see my hidden Batman collection!

Indiana Jones is hiding in there too.

Jurassic Park, Dune, Star Wars, Willow, Van Helsing, Young Frankenstien, Krull, Stargate... jsut to name a few....

Summer Plans

Everyone knows that the best things always happen in summer. There's always so much I want to do, but I never seem to have the time. This summer, I will attempt to accomplish most of my plans!

1. Go the Toronto Zoo
I haven't been to the zoo in three years, and before that, I can't even remember. The Polar Bears are back, and going to the zoo is such a summer event. I hope to accomplish this sometime in August, or even in the first two weeks of September when the weather is still warm.

2. Go to Fan Expo (August 27th to 29th)
Being a nerd, I have always wanted to go. But Barrie Fair has ALWAYS fallen on the Saturday of the expo and I have never been able to go. There wasn't any reason for me not to go on the Sunday other than the Sunday has never been the best day. Barrie Fair was cancelled last year, but I was out of the country so I couldn't go. Barrie Fair is still cancelled this year, but I will be in Nova Scotia until August 28th. I am going to try to get to Expo the Saturday or the Sunday. I booked my flight back from Nova Scotia really early on Saturday so I have the option of going on the 28th. More on that...

3. Go to Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia for an Archaeological Field School at the Louisbourg Fortress. I would like to get some experience in archaeology to help me get a job in the anthropology field. I didn't go to field school when I was in University, but I was suggested to go to this week long field school. I am very excited about it. I am staying at a bed and breakfast that has a room looking out at the harbor. I'll be digging at an old french fortress part of Canada's history. And I'll be travelling out east - something I have never done before! I am going to trya nd catch a few events in the evenings. I'm renting a car to get around, as my plan is to fly to Halifax, drive to Louisborg and then drive back to Halifax Friday night, sleep in the airport and take an early morning flight back to Toronto where I will either take the TTC downtown to the expo or the Go Train to Oshawa. This is going to be a crazy week.

4. Go to the Royal Ontario Museum and see the Terra Cotta Army
I've been to the ROM many times, but they were redoing the dinosaur exhibit the last time. I really would like to see the Terra Cotta Army but they're going to be there until January so there's no rush yet!