See, I own a number of swords, some for fencing with, some for playing pirate with, and two for dancing. One is my Rakkashah sword, made for belly dancing - a show sword, shiny and fancy looking, real, but without a sharp edge. Though it's just as tricky to balance on your head edge-on, and you could probably actually kill someone with it, you wouldn't ever use it in a fight - it's essentially a prop.

Then there's my scimitar. It was purchased for me as a gift the last year that Renaissance Faire was up at Stafford Lake, in Marin County, from the high-end weapons booth. It's a real, edged weapon, with a heavy wooden handle, and a double-edged final third of the blade meeting the rest of the sword in a jag that just says "Arabian Nights" all over it... .curved enough that I can actually balance it on my head. It's so heavy that it actually limits the amount of time I can practice with it, as it gets painful fast - but it's wicked cool. And it's been lost for years, in the eternal remodel afflicting my house.

But I found it last night, after a sudden vision of where I had seen it last (I performed a Vulcan mind probe on myself in desperation, as the Pirate Festival is happening this weekend in Vallejo, and I dearly wanted that sword...). At long last, my scimitar! Quite sadly, it was covered in rust, so it has been subjected to the tender mercies of naval jelly and steel wool for prolonged periods of time. (Thank gods it's real steel and can take a scrubbing.) And...I think I have talked my Ren.-gear-meister into making me a sheath for it - so, there's quite a good chance it shall be making a foray with me this weekend.

And...I logged on tonight to find that I'd had 1001 profile views on Tribe - ye gods! Just a month or two ago it was like 600-something views; not sure why I've had this sudden spike in viewership. Must be all those naked pictures...:-) (No, I don't really have any naked pictures up!) Maybe just that I'm posting more, offering tips on how to be successful at real estate, win at blackjack, and lose 50 pounds without dieting...