Swords and shelves

Been a little busy 'round the dragon cave lately. Between cleaning, organizing, and catching up with old friends, I haven't had much time to get back to answering questions about steampunk. Still more to do, but the cave is looking less cluttered. The fairies are brighter, and the gnomes are humming while they work. We need more shelves around here, but I've gotten them better arranged to get things off the floor. Much nicer when we aren't tripping over things, don't you think? And I'll see about elaborating further on steampunk in my next post.

Last Wednesday, a couple of friendly neighborhood knights took me on, raw beginner that I am, to begin teaching me sword and shield. I didn't hurt all that much, but I had almost no energy the next day. I have another lesson this afternoon. We'll see how well how I keep up today. And least the pixies didn't snicker too much, and the knights both said I did well enough for my first time.

I'm off to do some reading and maybe a bit of gratitude baking. The knights are so patient; they deserve a treat of some kind. Maybe some fairie cookies or brownie biscuits. What do you mean, do they have real fairies and brownies in them? Of course not! Azuranna would flambe me. Oh, that was a joke? Ohhhh. Silly me. ;D

My writing goals are going to have to change. I pulled out my one completed story the other day and started working on revising it. So instead of a word count goal, it's going to be by scene. By Sunday, I want to finish the first scene. My other goals can stay the same.

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2011

Arrrr!!! Didja all have a grrrrreat day of talkin' pirate? (Myself, I was a little busy with orientation at my new job. Not much room for pirate when listening to videos and explanations.) To wrap up the day, here is Tom Smith's Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hope you all had a blast with your piratittude. Yo ho!

Filk Friday: I'm a Pirate

Avast! Monday be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Just getting me voice warmed up for good 'ol pirate speak. Make sure that on Sunday night you skip the ZZZZs and get plenty of ARRRRs instead.

To help you landlubbers get ready for a day 'o pirate fun, here's Cap'n Slappy, 'Ol Chumbucket, and lil Chumpail singing an original ditty by Cap'n Slappy hisself: I'm a Pirate.



And for a bonus, here be George Harrison sneaking his own pirate song onto Eric Idle's show back in 1975. Never knew he had it in him. Yo ho ho!

Saturday Question

Just a quick morning post, since I didn't get anything posted yesterday. (Sorry, I had something, but it sounded like I was trying too hard for the voice. Still working on it.) I'm trying to think of post ideas for the next couple months. Other than getting in some more book reviews and my periodic ROW 80 check-ins, I'd like suggestions for topics to write about. They just have to relate to spec fic in some way.

Also, do you have anything you'd like to know about me? Several of you have recently joined me here in the dragon library, and this seems like a good time for some questions. They can be wacky or serious. You can even submit more than one. I'll start answering questions on Monday. Have fun thinking up ponderables.

And have a great weekend!

Who's the tank?

One of the people in my gaming group showed me this on Sunday: a modern interpretation of the old Abbott and Costello "Who's on 1st" routine set in World of Warcraft terms. I was laughing so hard. My dad used to have a cassette of the old routines, so I've actually listened to them many times. The guys who put this together have the entire thing nailed from beginning to end with all the emotions. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Even though I know some of you aren't gamers, it still makes sense from a fantasy standpoint. Hehehe.

Milestone fun and an easy contest

Wow! I just noticed I picked up a new follower bringing me up to 50. (Hi, Melissa!) Even though a few of those 50 are inactive bloggers, it's still feels good to reach that milestone. I'm such a homebody even on the internet. I don't really go places where I'd pick up new readers. Since the first question that comes to mind when I spot a new person around here is "What brought you to my little pocket of the blogosphere?" that sounds like the perfect question for... a drawing!

Yes, that's right. Tell me how you found my page and what made you decide to add me to your blogroll, and you will be entered in the drawing for a $10 gift card to either Borders or Barnes & Noble, winner's choice. You have from now through Friday to share your comments. I will choose the winner in good ole luddite fashion: write the names down, put them in a hat, and pull one out. Check back on Monday to find out the lucky reader.

The winner will get the card, and I will get a current idea about what you enjoy about my blog. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Castle's Costume

My son is sick today, so I thought I'd just post a little bit of video fun: a snippet from Castle, one of my favorite tv shows. This is one of the best Firefly references Nathan Fillion got to do, about 5 years after Firefly got canceled.

Ninja fun for the new year

I thought I'd start the year off with something fun. In browsing my Fun Things folder on my bookmark list, I rediscovered Deadly Accurate Search, the ninja way to search the internet. You can imagine the big grin on my face and the gasp of shock as I went, "How could I have forgotten something so cool?"

In keeping with the goal of sharing something fun, that's what I typed in the search bar: fun. Here's my favorite link: The Bored Ninja, an archive of "fun, interesting, and cool stuff on the internet." It has videos, games, and pictures. The Trustworthiness of Beards, Shark Face Paint, and Snow-Jabba-the-Hut are three of my favorites. Ms. Shark would probably enjoy that second one.

Have a wonderful beginning to 2011!