short takes

My mom, who didn't know about the LJ power outage, wrote me frantic email wondering if I was still alive because I hadn't updated my journal in a week. So here we go -- I'll try to keep these to 1-2 sentences so it's still readable.

My last week, in no particular order

One thing that has been bugging me so much about being sick for the last month is that I can't sing without coughing. I guess nobody except maybe Eli has any concept of how much I actually sing, in the car and at home and whatnot, but I've actually been feeling a great loss here.

Speaking of Eli and losses, it was exactly one year ago today that we officially split up (and I got into my first ever car accident). Happy one-year un-anniversary, Eli!

I was running errands yesterday and ended up at Fred Meyer, where there was a guy in front of me in the checkout line who had no arms, and had to use his feet to get money out of his wallet and such. He asked me to help him put stuff on the counter, and at first I was sort of disgusted, and then I felt ashamed. Suddenly my problems just don't seem so bad.

At Fred Meyer they were playing "Open Arms" by Journey over their music system, and I instinctively started walking around stepping in waltz tempo.

Last night tangerinpenguin and I went to Todai for dinner and then saw Finding Neverland, which was a very good movie. We spent most of dinner tarting about Puzzle Pirates and work.

I had a lot of fish this weekend; in addition to Todai, Friday night I went to Blue C for sushi and Saturday night I went to Ivar's for fish'n'chips.

Aside from food, I didn't feel like leaving my apartment at all on Saturday. I felt bad because nykkel had a board games gathering, but I just wasn't up for it, which sucks. I stayed at home and read books and played PP and did some other things around the apartment.

Last Thursday I did something, when I went to Thursday Evening Board Games at Microsoft because bpr and Dave Bailey invited me to. The three of us played Puerto Rico, which Dave hadn't played before, and it was a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to the Celtic Bayou for dinner with two other TEBG guys and played Ricochet Robot.

I went to Half Price Books somewhere in the last week and noticed they had the Sandy Koufax biography I just finished reading in hardback for $5.98, which sucks since I bought it in paperback at HPB a while back for $6.98. Oh well. I need to hit up the East-side HPB's to determine my next baseball reading path.

On baseball reading, I seem to be going through time periods, as I just finished a Sandy Koufax biography last night, and my next two books in the queue are "The Mick" and "The Duke of Flatbush", the autobiographies of Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, respectively. After that I'll be reading "Baseball: The Writers Game", which is a collection of short articles by prolific baseball writers. Then either the next time period, since I have the biographies of Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, and Paul Molitor to transition into, or I may pick up Moneyball, The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball, and The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip instead. We shall see.

The Mariners re-signed Gil Meche last week, which makes me smashingly happy, as I've always been a Meche fan.

On Puzzle Pirates, things are going smashingly in the Fifth Fist, as last night Friday and I had a spontaneous Endurance Beach Party, and Sinlaeshel and I have been making people sail and pillage a lot (he's so cool, he has a ship named the Gideon Brown). Weaver and I continue to try to get the elusive Ultimate in spades. There's a new crew of "famous people" called Fandango which threatens to "wreak havoc" on the ocean and OOH I should post the song parody I wrote about them! Arrr.

The monorail is apparently running again. Carl, you have to come visit me again so you can ride it!

I think that's it. Hopefully I'll stop feeling sick and antisocial soon and catch up with more people.

PP Song Parody : The Fandango Tango

Yet again I try a Tom Lehrer parody for the Puzzle Pirates world, though at least maybe this song is more well-known? (At least degauss better get it :P)

The background is simple; Homullus is heading up a new crew of "famous" people called Fandango Familiars to "bully the ocean" by extortion and whatnot. It has caused a lot of bitching on the PP forums, but in all honesty, most of us are just like "Ah, who the scupper cares." Hence, I sing you:


The Fandango Tango
(to the tune of "The Masochism Tango" by Tom Lehrer)

I ache for excitement at sea, mate.
And much more for a good PvP, mate.
You shoot a lot
But never get shot
As we fight in the blockade by Fandango.

Let our fighting be fair, not a landslide
Say you'll gun for me with both your hands tied.
Your frigs run hoops
'Round their puny sloops
As we fight in the blockade by Fandango.

On your war brig
I'll sing and dance a jig
And bring aboard a pig (Eww!)
It's here that I must be.
I like to carp
And hide under a tarp
And stab with stuff that's sharp
So come and swordfight me

To generate fear and hostility
Was their primary responsibility
Their intent from the start
Was this bullying art
Which is why people tart about Fandango

You stole my crew
For your rockstar elite, Hom,
I'll be shooting your fleet, Hom,
Every time I fill guns.
And I may misconstrue
All the goals of your group, Hom
As I stand on this sloop, Hom
Rhyming into these puns

Your war frigate sunk all our Tenches
The last time we hired fifty wenches
To carp up the wall
You smashed with your ball
When we fought in the blockade by Fandango.

Destroy my sails
And take away my nails
And kick over our pails
And raid my monger's stock
I know too well
How we can all rebel
So Fangoes, if you smell
Something burning, it's the dock. (Oh, blimey!)

Turn yourselves around in that cutter
And flee 'fore we shoot into your rudder
Whisk yourselves home
And leave us alone
'Cause we're all sick of hearing 'bout Fandango!