Argh, a Pirate Blog

(Disclaimer: That is really the best I could come up with to name this. Don't judge me.)

To say I have an obsessive love all things pirate is more than a bit of an understatement.
There are two reasons for this.
First: Let's face it, pirate lore and mythology taps into so many great human aspirations and emotions. Most of us are bogged down by day to day life, making ends meet and getting by. Pirates signify our hopes for freedom to seek our dreams (treasure) and go where the wind may take us.
Second: They're sexy as long as you don't have to smell them.
All that being said, here are some of my favorite pirate-y things.

Pirates of the Caribbean.

Alright, so I understand that I went with perhaps the most obvious first, but bear with me. Here's the thing with Pirates of the Caribbean, first and foremost it's a fantastically entertaining movie. It's silly, yes, but it's also a great adventure film. The sequels definitely start to suffer from lack of quality storytelling, but it's always entertaining.

Pirate Pin Up Art

To put it simply, I love pin up everything (almost). Especially when applied to traditional pin up art, pirates make for some of my very favorite images of all time.

Monkey Island game franchise.

Oh, Monkey Island. If you have never played this adventure game, I genuinely feel like you are missing out. It's funny. It's hard enough to keep you interested, It's not so hard that you want to throw your computer through a window. Seriously, it's a good time and a good way to spend a couple hours, possibly days if you play the whole series through in one sitting.

Cutthroat Island

Take a pirate movie and give it to the director of Die Hard 2 and cast Gina Davis as the bad ass female pirate captain (in a world that actually questions that), add a good dose of extra cheese and overacting, and you get the wonder that is Cutthroat Island. I can understand how you would read this and think it would be awful. Maybe you did think it was awful and that I'm crazy for having it on this list. I really love it though. It's by far not a great piece of art, but seriously, find me something pirate related that is. Gina is hot and there's a charismatic monkey. I'm satisfied.

The Best Damn Drinking Music Ever

Seriously, if you don't like listening to pirate shantys while drinking, there is something inherently wrong with you. From Captain Bogg and Salty (pre-Jake and the Neverland Pirate days) to the Rogue's Gallery album "curated" by Gore Verbinski, it's just a rollicking good time for all. Except maybe your neighbors, but it's not like you really like them anyway.

Note: Later this year the sequel to Rogue's Gallery is coming out "curated" by Johnny Depp. It looks to be a step up from the first one even with the presence of Tom Waits, Iggy Pop and others. So, yeah, look for that.

Muppet Treasure Island

Muppets!

Tim Curry as Long John Silver!

I really feel no more explanation is needed as to why this is the single most awesome pirate thing of all time. ALL TIME.

Captain Hook (Once Upon a Time)

Once Upon a Time (heh, get it?) I thought there couldn't be a hotter pirate than Jack Sparrow. I am one of those. And then Hook showed up in the second season of Once Upon a Time. And that changed. Eye candy for days and days and days. Sigh.

And so concludes this list. Think I missed anything or I was way off the mark having something on here? Tell me so in the comments. ;)

The Awesome Redheads Blog

As I type, I'm in the process of regingerification (which is now officially a word in the Land of Me), something I periodically do, because technically I'm a strawberry blonde and I enjoy the darker shades of gingerdom. So, I thought, what better time to give all you fine people a list of my very favorite redheads from film and book.

1. Lucy

There's a reason everyone still loves Lucy (no pun intended), she's cute, she's funny, and let's be honest a little dirty given the era of her show. What's not to love about that?

2. Poison Ivy

By far the best female in the entire Batman universe (excluding the awful big screen film version portrayed by Uma Thurman). In true ginger fashion, she is never afraid to use her sexuality to get what she wants. Also, she's an evil hippie, so what's not to love about that?

3. Daniel "Oz" Osbourne

Another favorite from a universe that I unhealthily adore. Always cool to Xander's always trying too hard, more straight faced in the face of everything than Angel, he was the snarky, sarcastic sliver of what deep down every girl/guy really wants. Also what every man secretly wants to be. Plus, werewolf always equals winning.

4. Joan Holloway

So, here's the thing with the working girls of Mad Men: Peggy Olson represents the girl who is blessed and can do whatever she puts her mind to. Sure, she runs into sexist attitudes, but she climbs relatively quickly in the business. Joan, on the other hand, is forever the glorified "coffee girl". I think there's something we all identify with in this. The world has made her bitter and her general attitude reflects this, but at heart she's just frustrated with where she's continually peg holed despite her obvious intelligence (higher than Peggy's) and ability to do whatever she's given.

5. Anne Shirley

My obsession with all things literary really started with Anne Shirley (aka Anne of Green Gables). She was spunky, she was smart and she had things to say. So many things, as a matter of fact that she almost literally never shut up, much to the initial annoyance of her adoptive family.

6. Grace Adler

Will and Grace is one of the most brilliant shows in the history of sitcoms. Grace is every woman. We all want to be Karen. Anyone who says differently is probably lying. But at heart chances are you're Grace. You're awkward, you're sometimes desperate, you just want your happily ever after g'dammit. For all of that we all hope that we're also as loyal and lovable as Grace.

7. Ron Weasley

Oh, Ron, poor Ron. In the universe of Harry Potter is there a character that is more unappreciated? I know someone is going to say Neville, but he has fan clubs for days and ends up being kind of a bad ass. Ron spends a lot of time just kind of being there, being supportive of Harry and waiting for the girl he loves to notice him while fumbling horribly with it. Confession: I spend more of my life feeling like Ron than I do anyone else, always kind of waiting to be the star. And that's why I love him so much.

There are so many more wonderful gingers out there, but these are my favorites. Will possibly always be my favorites. They represent to me all the struggles and virtues that I personally deal with and feel. If I missed any of your favorites, let me know in the comments who they are and why you love them.

5 Reasons Gossip Girl Wasn't As Awful As You Probably Thought It Was

So, I'm not going to blame you if you've never given Gossip Girl the time of day. I didn't for years, thinking it looked absolutely ridiculous and fluffy. In a lot of ways, it's still that. There's a lot to love here though. Maybe it's not the kind of thing I should blast across the nets that I love, but meh, I'll take it.

Now that the show has run it's course, here are 10 reasons I love Gossip Girl and why I'll miss it (from a self confessed addict of the show).

1. Chuck Bass

I read a statistic once that said Chuck Bass is more known than Gossip Girl is. Which is obviously completely true, because they can't put it on the internet if it's not true, right? Seriously though, he's one of the more dynamic characters to be on television in the last ten years. Initially just a douche, he grows to be amazing complex and just interesting. There are days when I feel defeated and I just channel a little Chuck Bass to get through the day.

Also, from a strictly shallow point of view, the man is sexy. Blair even found out a prince couldn't compare.

2. I Love Playing Spot the Reference

I really do. Sometimes it's painful watching Buffy with me and hearing my reaction to finding something I hadn't caught before. Gossip Girl has both the obvious and the subtle. From Nate Archibald's initial American Psycho look (seriously, it freaks me out)

to constant references to classic films in the form of Blair's dreams, there a ton of great references to be found in watching this.

3. It's Far More Clever Than It Appears

So, trashy teen show based on trashy teen books can't have that much depth, right? Wrong. There is a bit of a scathing commentary here on the rich and privileged lifestyle, the prevalence of technology in our lives and our dependency on it for everything. It's one of the first shows to showcase this last point in a natural and nonforced way in my opinion.

4. Fashion, Fashion, Fashion

Disclaimer: I love Jenny Humphrey's fashion sense and think Taylor Momsen is adorable, so that's the image I chose. However, there is also Blair's extremely polished ladylike look, Serena's boho and HI I HAVE BOOBS look. (I think the husband was especially fond of those dresses on Serena...) The original concept behind the show was to kind of have a walking, breathing magazine. The focus point of said magazine would definitely be the clothes. And I'm a fashion whore. I'll be the first to admit it. So in all reality, I could have watched it for the designers and clothes alone, even if I hated everything else.

5. I Love a Great Love Story

Just to make this clear, I am not talking about Serena and Dan here. Even though I'm sure there are plenty of fans of the show that care more about that than I do. I'm talking about Chuck and Blair here. Their love story in all it's convolutions and difficulties is positively Shakespearean. If the world isn't trying to tear them apart, they're trying to tear each other apart. You're constantly rooting for them with a complete uncertainty if they're going to make it together. Which.......I'm not going to throw in any spoilers in case I've somehow made you want to give the show a chance, so there's not much I can say here except always root for Chuck and Blair.