So You Want to Be a Pirate?

You may have seen the exciting news. The folks at Kingsisle have announced their new game the very original "Pirate101"! You can go to the Pirate101 website and sign up for a chance to join the closed beta, and you can also drool over really beautiful images.
But you've seen all that now. I bet you can't wait to become a pirate and swashbuckle your way to fame and glory. I bet you've already picked out the class of pirate you're going to play and everything.

But there's a whole lot more to being a pirate than wearing an eyepatch and not bathing! And if you don't want to look like a landlubber, you better start studying now.
First you better catch up on your pirate literature. It would be best to start with Rafael Sabatini's The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood. Along with Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island they are THE pirate books to know.
Then after reading up on your pirate lore, you should probably start watching pirate movies. There are as many choices as there are fish in the sea, so here are some suggestions, that I know are a jolly good time:



And here's one for The Sea Hawk which won't let me embed it. (Boo!)





Yes as you watch you're way through the pirate films of history you can learn about the great songs of Cole Porter and--- Hey! Who put that last one there? Sheesh. That's hardly a pirate film. Well I guess that The Harvey Girls was hardly a western...
ANYWAY.
You'll also want to work on your evil pirate laugh, and your swashbuckling skills like everyone's favorite villain Basil Rathbone here (yet another video that won't let me embed it. I ask myself, what is the world coming to!?).  And of course you're dramatic death scenes, but I highly doubt that you will ever be as good as the lovely Basil.

For those of you who are the more interested in the science of pirates (you must be the navigator or something eminently practical like that) I highly recommend watching the "Pirate Special" of Mythbusters (Season 5, Episode 2). Try pillaging your local library for that one. And if you want to know about what real pirates' lives were like at sea, you might check out this interesting article. Um, needless to say, I'll just stick with the interesting folklore, and less of the extreme hardship.

Finally you'll want to know how to talk the talk, now that you've been learning how to walk the walk. Here is a video which covers the basics.  Also at your disposal are many fantastic study aids like this handy Pirate Speak translator. 

In no time you'll find yourself ready to cast off for pirate adventures! Arrrrgh.
~Heather

From the Shoso-in, with love

I think that KI is trying to torture me on purpose. First the Kirin pack, and now just today they've added the "Emperor's Attic" pack. Here's a link to the flyer for it. It boasts over 60 new items, including a Koi Pond. Well you know me, I love all of the Japanese stuff, so I thought, heck I can buy one and see if I get an awesome koi pond for my house. Well I didn't get a koi pond, which was a big bummer, but here's what I got anyway:

Four new things. I like the samurai armor and the bookcase, although it's very small and you can't put much in it. I believe that all the items I got are auction-able, but I don't think that the coolest interactive items will be (I don't know yet, we'll have to wait and see). 

Off to go bazaar hunting! Wish me luck!

~Heather

Here in Camelot

Avalon. I'm not going to go into much detail about the world, because I'm sure many others will be outlining it in great detail. And I'm a little bit tired, so all I'm gonna attempt is a first glimpse!

As many have mentioned, the world is based on Celtic legend and King Arthur. Camelot! What? You aren't familiar with the magical land of Camelot? Here's a musical description:

Here's another, slightly more realistic description:

I managed to jump on the test realm for a little bit with my friend John and Eli. Here's what we saw:

Well I think the test realm was a little glitchy. I kept holding my wand and my moose's ear at the same time. Oops! I kinda like it though.

This is what Avalon looks like when you first enter through the spiral door. So in other words, Stonehenge!

One of the first places that we went was "Abbey Road". Haha very funny. Beatles Crossing! (My favorite song on the album. Oh and you can see the lyrics in the description on Youtube for those of you who don't have them memorized.)

I don't really know what place this is because I haven't done any questing. I'm calling it the "rose hall". John and I were both drooling over the stained glass windows. They made me really happy because they reminded me of one of my favorite movies as a little girl, Beauty and the Beast.

Here you can see what I'm talking about:

(Hearing impaired wizards can get the text for this prologue in the description of the video. Click on over to YouTube.)

John pointed out that the ceiling of the Library was really awesome.

This door was the subject of much debate amongst us. It strongly reminds me of the West-gate into the mines of Moria in Fellowship of the Ring the first book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is a hammer on that door as well. My best guess is that Gimli is trapped behind the door. Don't worry Gimli! We'll getcha out of there! Eventually...

It looks really pretty. It also looks like there might be a few Rings mentions. Kinda makes me want to reread my favorite book. Yeah in my "spare time"! Bwahahaha!

What I'm actually going to be doing in my spare time is finishing quests off on my wizards, and getting Victoria through Zafaria. Ugh. I'm not looking forward to the lions, but I do like to have wizards that can go to the shiny new places, so that's the price you pay I guess! I'm a little more excited now that I've actually seen Avalon.

I can't wait to see the level 78 pets too! I wonder what Myth will get...

~Heather

We now resume our programming

The winner of the little random contest I had is
Destiny Soultamer!
Congrats Destiny, just comment with a friend code and I'll get those Mega Peas to you! :)

In other news, after many attempts, my Wizard101 is finally working again. I'll update again when some interesting things have been happening.