Tour de Fleece Update - Day 10 - Day of Rest

I made this fun montage for the Tour de Fleece message board on Ravelry so that people can see what I was up to today.  There are so many people involved in the Tour de Fleece that the moderators ask everyone to only post one reasonably sized photo per day.  I assume this it to keep us from melting Ravelry's servers :-)

Today is a day of rest for the Tour de France, so us hand spinners are resting as well, hence the imagery having nothing to do with anything I have spun.  On my day of rest from spinning I wound up one of my skeins of Louet Kidlin into a center pull cake in preparation to begin knitting and started the second of my summer fiber plans: The Mystery Summer Wrap knit-a-long.  The typically persistent group of knit-a-longers managed to wring the first clue out of Talitha a day early quite handily, so I came home, took some pictures of the pretty yarn and sat down to get me knit on.  2 hours, one frustrated Jo and 4 lost beads later, I emerged triumphant with a completed first clue.  Actually much of my time was spent finding a way to attach the beads without having to go out and buy dental floss (yes dental floss) to string them on.  After a few horrid attempts that don't even dignify a mention, I found the thin-est ribbon ever and made it work.  Yeay!  

Since then, I have retreated to the computer for some much needed Tales of Monkey Island time.  I'm currently on Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood.  I <3 this game so very much!  You can check ou the game at www.telltalegames.com or if you want to start with the first one (that I played in the 80's and yes it's still awesome) you can go to www.steampowered.com and you can download it and the second in the series for $10.  Trust me, it's worth the measly ten bucks.

Must Have Video Game: Tales of Monkey Island

Now, I am not the avid gamer that my husband is... I wouldn't even try to compare us on this subject. He has quite a long history with games going all the way back to the age of 5 when he sat down at his parents' TI99/4a (aka old freaking computer) to play Alpiner. Since, he has tried out so many console systems and computer games, that I can't even begin to list them here. However, I will state for the record that there are no fewer than 7 consoles in our apt. at the moment in addition to our computers.

That being said, I want you to know that I too was exposed to video game-age at a relatively young age. While I never had consoles growing up, I instead fulfilled my healthy need for entertainment via computer based video games. While, there were many over the years, one of the most memorable games that I played growing up was The Secret of Monkey Island which came out in 1990 when I was about 12. The story begins with the main character, Guybrush Threepwood, and his desire to become a "mighty pirate." This game was great and while some would consider it being on easy-mode, you had to solve problems interestingly and use your head rather than your sword (as it were). I won't wax poetic about this first game anymore, but if you know me at all, you will understand the allure of the plot and the game design.

The first game was followed by multiple sequels such as Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, The Curse of Money Island, and Escape from Monkey Island. Back in college, before we were even officially dating, my husband ordered a copy of Curse for us to play together. Awww.... his first gift was a game. Are you shocked? Cause I'm not. And I loved it!


So, now to the point of my lengthy blog post. Back on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Telltale games had a special promotion to download the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island for free. I jumped at the chance and got episode 1, knowing it would be awesome. Until the past few days I hadn't had much time to get into the episode, but now that I have it all wrapped up I feel the need to stand on my soapbox and shout of its excellence!

Check out the trailer below to get a sense of the Tales series:

If you've played any of the previous games, Tales offers the same bumbling Guybrush, the same type of insane solutions to problems (rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle of it), and the same great character voices (since there were characters voices anyway). If you haven't played them, then check them out. I believe you can still purchase them all, although it might take a little digging.

As for Tales, you can purchase the episodes for your computer individually (for $10) or as a complete season here. Three of the five episodes are ready for download and if you buy a season pass for $29.95 (promo at the moment, reg is $34.95) you get a free dvd when the series is complete. They also offer the game for the Wii (clicky for more info on how to download for the Wii). If you want to try it out first click here and select a download option under download the FREE demo.

So, go over to the Telltale games website, download an episode and GAME LIKE A PIRATE!

Edit: As an added note for all you iPhone addicts out there, you can also get the special addition of The Secret of Monkey Island for your iPhone for just $7.99 off of iTunes or App Store. Three guesses as to who downloaded that this evening...

Avast, me hearties! An' hoist the sails ye scurvy dogs!!!

Today be the International Talk Like a Pirate Day and for those of ye who are unaware of this most excellent holiday (since 1995) I feel ye must be enlightened and given the tools ye need to appreciate it. Ye can find out more at The Official Talk Like a Pirate Day Website which has all ye need to know about the piratey holiday and more.

Firstly, ye need to talk like a pirate all day long! This means throwin' in words like Avast, grog, bilge rat, and any sailin' like terms you know such as referrin' to right and left as starboard and port. Nothing quite beats givin' directions to a matey like "turn to your port side after ye spot the ancient scottish restaurant from the crow's nest." If ye need a primer to teach ye proper pirate jargon ye can learn some here at the official how to talk like a pirate page. They even include pirate pickup lines for that special someone ye want work yer magic on.

Now, there are many different ways ye can celebrate on Talk Like a Pirate Day to go above and beyond yer scurvy ridden duty. If ye need help developin' yer pirate persona, go to find out your pirate name. An' instead of just talkin' like a pirate, ye can also Post like a Pirate! and make all yer emails, tweets, and status changes filled with pirate pride.

Example:
Original Tweet- Going to pick apples with my friends. We're making enough pies and applesauce to feed us for years.

Pirate-ized Tweet- Goin' to pick apples wit' me buckos. We're makin' that be all I can take pies 'n applesauce to feed us fer years.

Ye can also catch up on yer pirate related movies. Some of me favorites and suggestions are listed here:

The Princess Bride - small amount of piratey goodness, but tha best movie ever! Ye can see the best sword fighting seen from tha movie here:

The Pirates of the Caribbean - all three be good, but I prefer the first.
Cutthroat Island - some people hate it, others love it, I liked it.
Muppet Treasure Island - for those who enjoy plushy, less gritty pirates. Shiver me Timbers song below:

The Pirates of Penzance (1983) - for those matey's who enjoy a good musical.
The Seahawk (1940) - this pirate has not seen this film, however, Errol Flynn is the star so it must be good.

For those of ye that are of a creative nature and love fiber, here are some examples of pirate knits:

Arrgyle Socks Chart
Felted Eye Patch
Knitted Tricorn Hat Pattern
Knitted Gunner's Cap Pattern

So, enjoy yer day as ye see fit. After all, it is yer life... even if you're Jack Sparrow! Pardon, Capn' Jack Sparrow.