A letter of marque is basically permission for a private citizen to capture people and/or goods of another country. In other words, a privateer. Similar to a pirate, but sanctioned by the government.
I'm a vision of hotliness, and how weird is that? Mystical comas. You know, if you can stand the horror of a higher power hijacking your mind and body so that it can give birth to itself, I really recommend 'em.
Cordelia ,'You're Welcome'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
SailAweigh - Jul 17, 2006 5:17:03 pm PDT #2964 of 10001
Nana korobi, ya oki. (Fall down seven times, stand up eight.) ~Yuzuru Hanyu/Japanese proverb
Strega - Jul 17, 2006 5:20:40 pm PDT #2965 of 10001
Having a letter of marque makes you a privateer. You're a pirate with diplomatic ties to a country (basically, you don't attack that country's ships, and you do attack their enemies). It's more like being a hired mercenary than joining the Navy, although still not something Jack would be into.
Edit: ...Or what everyone already said.
Zenkitty - Jul 17, 2006 5:26:01 pm PDT #2966 of 10001
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.
That's what I want. A letter of marque. A privateer's life for me.
Cashmere - Jul 17, 2006 6:02:12 pm PDT #2967 of 10001
Now tagless for your comfort.
What do you do with a scurvy privateer?
Polter-Cow - Jul 17, 2006 6:27:22 pm PDT #2968 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I want a letter of Mark. Maybe the M. It's a very slashy letter. Good for murder. I could do with the k too, though.
Anne W. - Jul 17, 2006 6:50:03 pm PDT #2969 of 10001
The lost sheep grow teeth, forsake their lambs, and lie with the lions.
Just got back from seeing PotC2. Short form opinion is as follows:
I liked large parts of it, but the story needed to be tightened up by a good twenty percent at least. Losing some of the cool effects shots and trimming some of the exquisitely choreographed action sequences would have helped with that considerably. One should not be thinking "enough already!" during a scene that would otherwise have one on the edge of one's seat. When it comes to the glitz of effects and action, I'd rather have just a few truly memorable sequences that leave me wanting a little bit more.
§ ita § - Jul 17, 2006 9:44:56 pm PDT #2970 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)--the video.
Volans - Jul 17, 2006 10:05:11 pm PDT #2971 of 10001
move out and draw fire
"A letter of marque came from the King / To the scummiest vessel I've ever seen / God damn them all"
t /Barrett's Privateers
There were some nice moments in GoF, and the kids are getting much better as actors, but since it's been years since I'd read the book, I honestly couldn't follow the story. Motivations were unclear, and so many scenes were inexplicable.
I still want to live in Hogwarts, though. Or the Weasley's tent at the World Cup.
DebetEsse - Jul 18, 2006 4:18:56 am PDT #2972 of 10001
Woe to the fucking wicked.
And Raq shares my brainworm.
Jessica - Jul 18, 2006 4:42:19 am PDT #2973 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
but since it's been years since I'd read the book, I honestly couldn't follow the story
I remember wondering if this would be an issue when I watched it -- it wasn't for me, because I remembered the book well enough, but they definitely chopped out HUGE swathes of plot in order to make room for the big set pieces.
Last night I saw Little Miss Sunshine, which was a huge hit at Sundance, and I think comes out in limited release either this Wednesday or next, and then gradually opens around the country.
It was wonderful. It achieves a perfect balance of an over-the-top hijinks-filled plot with really beautifully grounded performances, so even as you're laughing at the absurdity of the situations, you're always watching real people go through them. Steve Carrell and Toni Collette are SO GOOD in this. Go see it.