Ink kraken

inksPIRATE by Brian Nur Afandi - - one of today's new $10 Threadless t-shirts. (Reminds me of Mieville's Kraken.)

This is a good one too, but not $10:




All Hands On Deck by Alex Solis and Jonah Block.

Link roundup

1. Free download of a 13-track tribute to Nirvana's Nevermind. (In Bloom by Butch Walker and the Black Widows is my favorite.)

2. Tips on making photos look better on Blogger.

3. "The lost wreckage of a ship belonging to 17th century pirate Captain Henry Morgan has been discovered in Panama, said a team of U.S. archaeologists." The expedition was funded by Captain Morgan rum.

4. Colleen Coover's looking for commissions.

Link roundup

1. "However, the volatile situation in Syria means that activists' methods to get documentation off the streets and onto social media are rapidly changing. Unconfirmed reports claim pen phones and small camera phones are being smuggled into Syria by anti-government expatriates and both the Saudi Arabian and American governments."

2. Fascinating article about pirates. When I read about the Barbary pirates in Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, I thought he was greatly exaggerating their exploits. But no:

Initially, the corsairs used galleys, which were fast and easily maneuverable, but the problem of supplying their rowing crews and soldiers, which could total some 184 men, limited their range. But European renegade sailors, such as John Ward, “without any doubt the greatest scoundrel that ever sailed from England,” as a courtier put it, and Danseker the Dutchman, known as the “Divil Captain,” were on hand to supply the expertise needed for a shift to sailing ships.

They could now raid along the British and the Irish Channels — they would even reach as far north as Iceland. Throughout the century, their raids caused havoc in coastal communities, with sailors and fishermen refusing to go to sea. In the Mediterranean, whole stretches of coast in Spain and Italy were deserted.

3. Useless, but a magical idea - - it looks like a camera, but when you press the shutter it doesn't take a picture. Instead, it pulls off from the net a random photo taken by someone else at that exact moment. Via these sites.

The Black Pearl by Charm City Cakes

The Black Pearl by Charm City Cakes.

Link roundup

1. It's one plot twist after another when Bugsy Malone meets ghost pirates in Spell of the Sea Witch.

2. For those of you interested in Games Workshop miniatures - - a review of the new resin "finecast" figures.

3. Best Buy is giving up on electric scooters and motorcycles.

New Celebrity Disney Photo by Annie Leibovitz

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow joined by his friend, Patti Smith as the Second Pirate in Command.

The previous photographs in the series:


Queen Latifah as Ursula from The Little Mermaid.




Penelope Cruz as Belle and Jeff Bridges as the no-longer-a-beast prince from Beauty and the Beast.



Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen and Alec Baldwin as the Magic Mirror from Snow White.


And here's previous photos in the series:


Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens as Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.



Gisele Bundchen as Wendy Darling, Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan, Tina Fey as Tinker Bell.



Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony as Princess Jasmine and Aladdin.



Whoopi Goldberg as the Genie from Aladdin.



Jessica Biel as Pocahontas.



Roger Federer as King Arthur from "The Sword in the Stone."



Julie Andrews as the Blue Fairy of "Pinocchio," and Abigail Breslin as Fira from the Disney Fairies series.



Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella.



Rachel Weisz as Snow White



Beyoncé Knowles as Alice in Wonderland, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare, and Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter.



David Beckham as Sleeping Beauty's Prince.

*Buy Disneyland posters at eBay.

The Voltron of business cards (link roundup)

The latest desktop wallpaper at Kitsune Noir is a pirate/ninja battle by Dan Matutina:



Great stuff at Dan's site including this Voltron-esque series of business cards for Ideals:







Plus a Big Bad Wolf desktop wallpaper, and a strange desktop pattern. Dan has prints on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. After being accused of lying, Fake Steve Jobs/Dan Lyons said he "misspoke" when he claimed on TV that Apple lobbied to prevent his hiring at Newsweek.

2. Supposed iPad-esque design for Nintendo's new handheld.

3. Terminator is real in Waziristan:

The drones, operated by the C.I.A., fly overhead sometimes four at a time, emitting a beelike hum virtually 24 hours a day, observing and tracking targets, then unleashing missiles on their quarry, they said.

Via.

*Previously: Voltron reimagined.

*Buy Voltron toys at eBay.

The Voltron of business cards (link roundup)

The latest desktop wallpaper at Kitsune Noir is a pirate/ninja battle by Dan Matutina:



Great stuff at Dan's site including this Voltron-esque series of business cards for Ideals:







Plus a Big Bad Wolf desktop wallpaper, and a strange desktop pattern. Dan has prints on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. After being accused of lying, Fake Steve Jobs/Dan Lyons said he "misspoke" when he claimed on TV that Apple lobbied to prevent his hiring at Newsweek.

2. Supposed iPad-esque design for Nintendo's new handheld.

3. Terminator is real in Waziristan:

The drones, operated by the C.I.A., fly overhead sometimes four at a time, emitting a beelike hum virtually 24 hours a day, observing and tracking targets, then unleashing missiles on their quarry, they said.

Via.

*Previously: Voltron reimagined.

*Buy Voltron toys at eBay.

Jack Sparrow amigurumi (link roundup)

Amigurumi Jack Sparrow by Deadcraft.

And a few more links:

1. Iron Man 2 ARG. Via.

2. SWAT officers in Los Angeles ended a 12-hour standoff by smashing into the building with a bulldozer. I couldn't find video, but here's video of a modified bulldozer rampage from several years ago.

3. Target popup shops with a limited selection of pre-wrapped gifts. Via.

*Previously: Eight hour standoff ends when officers realize home is empty.

*Buy Iron Man toys at eBay.

Ninjas and pirates living together in harmony

Ninja and pirate share a good hug in this t-shirt design by Sean Keeton for Threadless. If you'd like the chance to buy it, vote by clicking on the voting widget:



Sean draws a cute Mega Man, too.

*Previously: Participate in the December Art contest and win a $100 Threadless credit.

*Buy ninja toys at eBay.

Ninja pirate on his zombie unicorn steed

T-shirts are $12 with free shipping at Threadless, including this ninja pirate on a zombie unicorn steed.

Captured mermaid costume

Andrea dressed as a mermaid captured by a pirate for Halloween. See also: Beheaded Bride how to. Via.

*Previously: Man captured by a dinosaur costume.

*Buy mermaid toys at eBay.

Pirate paper doll (link roundup)

Go here to download a pirate paper doll, created to promote a pop-up book called The Castaway Pirates (the download link is immediately above the pirate video). Via.

And a few more links:

1. I sure read a lot of people opining about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but almost no one identified someone who should have won. Well, here's a nomination for Zimbabwe's Morgan Tsvangirai.

2. In case you ever wondered - - the answer to the question of whether zero is odd or even.

3. Watched Wolverine on the plane and thought it was fine - - better than X2 (I've only seen the atrocious end of X3). Watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the theater and was thrilled when, after an hour, my oldest asked to leave. Boy, how did that get even half decent reviews?

*Previously: Bruce Lee paper doll.

*Buy pirate toys at eBay.

Pirate paper doll (link roundup)

Go here to download a pirate paper doll, created to promote a pop-up book called The Castaway Pirates (the download link is immediately above the pirate video). Via.

And a few more links:

1. I sure read a lot of people opining about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but almost no one identified someone who should have won. Well, here's a nomination for Zimbabwe's Morgan Tsvangirai.

2. In case you ever wondered - - the answer to the question of whether zero is odd or even.

3. Watched Wolverine on the plane and thought it was fine - - better than X2 (I've only seen the atrocious end of X3). Watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the theater and was thrilled when, after an hour, my oldest asked to leave. Boy, how did that get even half decent reviews?

*Previously: Bruce Lee paper doll.

*Buy pirate toys at eBay.

Pirate Star Wars figure; Birth of Vader action figure

Hondo Ohnaka with Kowakian monkey-lizard (I looked it up) - - one of the Clone Wars Wave 7 figures on display here.



"Birth of Darth Vader" set available for preorder for $27 at Entertainment Earth. Via these sites.

*Previously: Enter the Horror of Star Wars art contest and win a total $250 store credit.

*Buy Salacious Crumb toys at eBay.

Pirate Star Wars figure; Birth of Vader action figure

Hondo Ohnaka with Kowakian monkey-lizard (I looked it up) - - one of the Clone Wars Wave 7 figures on display here.



"Birth of Darth Vader" set available for preorder for $27 at Entertainment Earth. Via these sites.

*Previously: Enter the Horror of Star Wars art contest and win a total $250 store credit.

*Buy Salacious Crumb toys at eBay.

Vintage phone (link roundup)

Rotary phone spotted here. I've never seen that design before. You can see a more traditional rotary phone here.

UPDATE: Twee points out that it's an Ericofon, and there are several on sale at eBay.

And a few more links:

1. MIT's Great Dome was modified to look like sheet music displaying the first seven notes of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."

2. Pirate octopus with eye patch and peg leg.

3. Best photo of the Geek Squad, ever.

*Previously: This phone is tapped.

*Buy vintage phones at eBay.

Vintage phone (link roundup)

Rotary phone spotted here. I've never seen that design before. You can see a more traditional rotary phone here.

UPDATE: Twee points out that it's an Ericofon, and there are several on sale at eBay.

And a few more links:

1. MIT's Great Dome was modified to look like sheet music displaying the first seven notes of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."

2. Pirate octopus with eye patch and peg leg.

3. Best photo of the Geek Squad, ever.

*Previously: This phone is tapped.

*Buy vintage phones at eBay.