Three Times a Pirate

The best thing about Pirates of the Caribbean 3? Multiplicity meets Captain Jack Sparrow. Mmm! More Johnny!

The second best? The Keith Richards cameo. Please tell me there will be outtakes on the DVD.

The worst? It desperately needed some previouslys. You don't see Captain Jack for the first ten minutes, at least, and all this other stuff is going on with people you vaguely recognize/remember but aren't really sure about their whole deal and why they're mad at each other. . . Or maybe that was just me.

Essentially, I was just excited that I had enough money on my AMC entertainment card to cover the ticket. I mean, I liked the movie okay, what with the buckling of swashes and the walking of planks and other piratey whatnots. However, since we were at the 9 PM show, I was in danger of nodding off at a few points. Oh, and Christine totally called the post-credits scene, so that wasn't much of a surprise, but I guess if you're into totally schmoopy happy endings, it would warm the cockles of your heart.

I needed something to warm me afterwards because it was surprisingly windy and chilly in the parking lot, which is where Cathy and I presented Christine with her birthday gifts. Cathy gave her the obligatory nun-themed birthday card and a copy of The Book of Useless Information. That prompted a discussion of how much we miss Pub Quiz and when is Mike D going to organize a new one already?

Then I gave her a sappy birthday card, of the sort that gets passed around the office when it's someone's birthday. (I'm in charge of this tradition at the office, so I just raided my stash.) Inside, I explained that since I didn't like any of the nun-themed cards I had on hand, I thought I would do a birthday card from the nuns. I photocopied and cut out some inscriptions the nuns had written in past birthday cards (stuff like, "Blessings for another year of your life!" and "Celebrate in your own inimitable style!") and scotch-taped them to the inside of the new card. That got a big laugh.

The actual gift was Harry Potter candies (you know, chocolate frogs and everyflavor jelly beans) and a copy of the Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! CD by Harry and the Potters. Oh, and the latest issue of Pirates magazine, which is freaking hilarious. I mean, they have serious articles on historical pirates and pirate-related topics (like actors who portrayed famous pirates in film or the people who selected the musical instruments for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), but then they also have these loopy ads for Molly Roger, Pirate Up, and Real Pirates Wear Eyeliner.com. OMG. You just have to laugh. Which we did. A lot.