SS Blogger - To all personnel...

Attention! Until further notice, Hijack Thursday will be replaced with a special broadcast from Ike, lord of the cutlery. These broadcasts may cover a wide variety of topics due to job role diversification and a severe lack of office stationary in the cutlery department. Thank you for reading and may your sporks facilitate the moving of food from plate to mouth, it bugs Ike to see cutlery unfulfilling of their purposes.

Bard Corner - Shiina Ringo

Well, this week I've been on the hunt for Japanese musicians. Well, not in a hounds and on horseback sort of a way. I've often found that severely limits the creative potential when musicians are terrified for their lives in their burrows whilst I send bloodthirsty dogs on their trail. Anyway, I could've picked anyone from Gackt to Nightmare (who, incidentally are awesome bands, check 'em out) but this week I decided to feature Shiina Ringo. She has an impressive variety of styles on some of her tracks and carry a fun sound around them, so I decided to share my 3 favourites with you:

So there you have it. Hope you enjoy the songs as much as I do, this is Scamp, peruser of tomes now with 5% less sugar.

Review Reliquary - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Ahoy there! Sure this here review is late, but it's here now, Savvy? Anyway, this week is the latest pirates of the Caribbean, in 3D no less. (Which, I'll admit had as much effect as a colouring book does on world art. 3D is secretly a ploy by which cinema staff are allowed the slight amusement of seeing customers in silly glasses, and by now even that amusement must be wearing thin.) As ever, Johnny Depp steals the show as Cap'n Jack Sparrow now on the hunt for the fountain of youth, or at least I think he is, he seemed more to be tagging along with love of his past Angelica.

Anyway, this time's piratey foe is in the form of Blackbeard, legendary pirate, and competent in voodoo too. (What with the East India Trade Company a tad blown up in last time's adventure I imagine he's had time for a few nightclasses in the supernatural to fill in the time.) Unlike Davy Jones, or Barbossa before him, I didn't find Blackbeard to have much presence as a villain, hell he doesn't even do much more than top one of his entirely mutinous crew during the course of the film, as a vague indication of general villainy I suppose. In fact, even the mermaids are more fearsome than he. There ain't much Under the Sea sing-along with these lot, instead they'll feast on your corpse, having dragged you under. (Makes a change from shellfish every bloody day I suppose)

Captain Jack is pretty much all there is to this thoroughly swashbuckling romp. From hijinks in London with a distinctly Dursley George II, to standard Sparrow antics with Blackbeard and co. he is really all we're watching for, and Depp as ever performs marvellously. (Damn how I envy that London school he visited in character...)

Barbossa reappears as a Privateer, sporting a fetching peg leg, alongside Mr. Gibbs and another cameo from Keith Richards as Sparrow's father, however they all seem to have very little to do in the film, despite Barbossa being central to a "prophecy" mentioned about once in the entire film (unless I missed something) concerning Blackbeard. A new addition is Phillip Swift, missionary who I could spend a paragraph pointing out how bland he is, but why do so when he can be summed up as "meh"? There's some vague subplot involving him falling in love with a mermaid (despite the drowning and face eating problems of such a relationship but hey, he can dream) which I didn't pay much attention to.

Verdict? It doesn't really measure up to the first two outings, but this sequel feels less bloated with extraneous minutes, for which it avoids much more potential criticism I feel. The plot is generally quite bland with little more interest than Captain Jack and the odd pirate-eyness from Barbossa, yet strangely I enjoyed it, and, stranger still I wouldn't mind another outing for our favourite pirates. Don't examine it too closely. Just let it wash over you and you can spend a pleasant hour or two of easy entertainment. Brought to you by: Scamp, peruser of tomes, with a side order of swash.

Piratical Monday - Hetalia

Ahoy there! Here we are with the second Piratical Monday, comes round fast doesn't it? So what have I unearthed this week? Hetalia is an anime series of five minute episodes with the premise that all the world's countries are people. It may not sound the most promising premise, but for small, bite-sized chunks of funniness (with a sprinkling of history too no less) it fits the bill. One word of warning however, this is not for the easily offended. The anime frequently makes use of stereotypes to an extent, however, it is all in good fun. Everyone gets a dose of mockery as we make our way through the world wars among other things.

My personal favourite countries are Italy (as pictured, centre) who spends most of his time making alliances with Germany (much to Germany's irritation) as well as being adorable in the flashbacks to "Chibitalia" where Italy paints with his grandpa Rome and generally becomes bullied by fellow countries. England (naturally) is another favourite of mine, particularly his relationships with America and France. (Which frequently had me giggling with amusement.) I'm also quite fond of the Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden (and his relationship with Finland) and Denmark, (who just looks awesome!)

The first 4 episodes of the Axis Powers season are available on youtube in both Subs and Dub. However, the dialogue in each version differs slightly in concern to jokes, however the plot overall remains the same.

On a smaller note, I love the ending theme! Which is worrying it when you start singing it whenever you're walking about anywhere. All in all, Hetalia is well worth a try. (particularly if you're a bored history student) But for now, this is Scamp, Peruser of the tomes, do not consume in large doses.

Space Journal - Day 2

Good news everyone! I'm alive...I think. I'm writing this anyway. And it seems there is life on the other side of a black hole. I followed the distress signal to a nearby planet and I must say, alternate realities aren't what they're cracked up to be. Everything's the same! Well, apart from everyone having cat-like tails and behaviour, and the fact that Earth was blown up two centuries ago. But where was I? Ah yes, I landed on a planet (which freaked out the natives, they seemed to be approximately average to Earth's development in the early 19th Century.) However, I luckily managed to be accepted into their society via a rather roundabout series of soirees at the estates of much of the landed gentry in the immediate area. But, I feel I must confide in this here diary, about one of the gentlemen I met during one of these seemingly endless bloody balls they keep having, (and all that dancing) for I overheard him making slanderous comments about my lack of a tail before going off to "mark his territory" around the grounds. I was most repulsed. (I fear too that my use of "carry on" style humour did little to ease the tension.) Furthermore, the natives seem to busy themselves fretting over marriage arrangements and minor gossip over how some dreadfully boring woman can't crochet. From these rough field notes I can safely deduce that this land is populated by a bunch of po-faced bastards. I can only hope that I trace this distress signal fast and escape this dour planet. I fear that I too may soon become interested Lady Catherine's polite encounters with Mr. Hartley rather than the fact that I was to be forced into a frock coat and go to laugh at the peasants...

Fandom Friday - Geek achievements

Lists are good. Lists are simple, unfortunately this list will also be packed with as many feats of fandom/geekery that I can think of, so let's see:

1: I have edited a wiki (but not the Wikipedia)

2: I have created a fan moveset several fan movesets for a Final Fantasy game (Dissidia if you're interested)

3: I seem to have an uncanny knack for spotting actors on TV, naming them and listing their previous roles.

4: I own a box set of a relatively obsure anime.

5: I have entered debates on the relative merits of game characters.

6: I have written (half of) a fanfiction. (again, Dissidia)

7: I have arranged my DVD collection once in order of age rating, secondly in Genre.

8: I have attempted to imitate an anime character's mannerisms.

9: I have had to close a webpage of Amazon down due to one bad review of one of my favourite games, in order to quell an intense anger.

10: I can quote most of the TV series/games that I have seen/played.

11: Furthermore I can provide a synopsis of the plot for each episode of said series'.

12: I have multiple game soundtracks on my iPod.

13: I have compared friends to an RPG setting.

14: I regularly browse DeviantArt for fanart.

15: I can name over 200 pokemon.

16: I have awaited a letter from Hogwarts. (A since discontinued practice upon reaching 12 years old)

17: I have harboured hopes that some fictional characters would be real.

18: I am currently teaching myself another language for no other reason than boredom.

19: I secretly refer to scientists as alchemists in my head.

20: I have considered the most suitable Job Class for my personality. (It's a Bard by the way)

Wow. I didn't expect it to be that long. Turns out I'm worse than I first thought. Anyway, I'd love to hear your own geek achievements down there in that little comment box. This is Scamp, peruser of tomes complete with Bard Tunic, +5 to Perform stat!

Hijack Thursday - Cause hijacking is harder than it sounds...

[This week's guest post is written by Scattered_Laura of scatteredfigments.blogspot.com. Check out her fabulous blog and follow her. She has no real friends and is, instead, collecting blog-followers! She is ever so slightly mad, which makes her ever so slightly more awesome than she already is!]

Okay. Your very own Squiriferous Scamp has asked me to hijack his blog. I'm not sure his asking nicely and my agreeing equally nicely really constitutes a hijack... maybe I should pretend I have a cutlass. Cutlasses are hijacky, right? Right. I have a cutlass. Watch out. 

*Brandishes cutlass*

*Falls over*

*Stabs self in the eye*

...

*One trip to the hospital and an eye-patch later...*

Right. I'm back! So... what was I doing? Oh right! I'm hijacking this here blog. With my cutlass. Te he. 

*Eyes cutlass dubiously*

So today I want to talk to you about something ever-so serious and grown up. It is an issue which is close to my heart. An issue which concerns each and every human being on this planet.

Hmm. Before I start blogging, I'm just going to pop and get myself a drink. You know...to get the creative juices flowing. 

*Wanders away to the kitchen*

*Sees various empty bottles*

*Reluctantly reaches for the only bottle which has anything left in it. Rum.*

*Realises there are no mixers in the house. Straight rum it is then...*

Right. Ahem. I've got myself a nice cup of tea now [hic], so I'm feeling all creative and ready to [hic] blog.

*Pours another*

Sho. I like bloggging. And Im the won who [hic] originally got Scamp into the hole bloggin thing. That was a while bak now. 

*And another...*

The thing iss... Cal's blog is better [hic] than mine! He'sh funnier and I just bet he'll end up wiv moor followingers than me. And then, you no what'sh gonna [hic] happen?! I'll tell you! He's gonna forget about me, thas wha! He'sh gonna forget about good ol' me while he'sh a wurld faymuss bloggist with a gajillion followus! [hic]

Iss not bleedin' right! Iss not FAIR!

*Waves cutlass around and starts sipping rum directly from the bottle*

*Slips on a puddle of spilled rum*

*Cuts off leg with an errant swish of the cutlass*

...

*One trip to the hospital and a peg leg later... still clutching the rum...*

Rite! Thas it! Im no lettin you get the better ov me, Scamp, you scurvy devil! [hic] Im takin' over! Thish blog is mine now! Arrrrrr!

*Hijacks blog*