The Curse of Oak Island S06E02

Fresh with excitement about that discovery last episode, Rick and Gary drive a long distance across the island to knock up Dan's house where Marty is already gathered. Hope they've put the kettle on! Inside, they show the broach to the two non-experts who both like what they see. Gary's insight is that it's a fancy one but mine is that it's also past its best in its current form. Is it related to a treasure or just accidentally dropped on the floor by someone? We're reminded that this is the second jewel they've found, or resemblance of a jewel. Soon they'll be opening up the Oak Island Jewellers. Gary thinks it's 1700's or older. Thanks for really pinning that down, Gary. We're also reminded of James Anderson (not the England bowler) who was a pirate who once lived on the island.

Back at the Money Pit, and there's more explosions, like there's a badger being chased across the area at 100mph. More seismic scanning at its best is going on. There's been 100 in the last hour, with more being set off in the hopes of making a decent map of the area underneath. Here's hoping it's something that sort of looks coherent.

Laird drives to the Exhibition Centre, clearly having already been busy elsewhere pulling up trees as his hands are dirty. Some of the gang are there for him to look at the latest broach. Laird has never seen anything like it before, so thanks Laird. He does say that jewellery finds are rare in Nova Scotia. He thinks it might be gilded by gold.

Next day and it's off to Smith's Cove to meet two of the company's looking to splash the brother's cash like there's no tomorrow, Irving and Brycon. They plan to make a 25ft deep coffer dam but first a new road needs to be built to get that 300ft crane out to the cove. Apparently it'll take about a week to get started once road is there.

Pub booze-up next as some of the gang gather to talk about the broach and offer zero valuable insights. However, they are going to go on a jolly to Calgary, some 3,000 miles away. Well, Dave and the brothers are. Charles Lewton-Brain is a gemologist and uses a digital video microscope to examine the first "jewel" from last season which he says is hand cut, and has a refractive index of 1.7. That means it's a garnet gemstone!

Next, this season's "gemstone" which is of a softer material, and has an occlusion of bubbles, which means it's nothing special and just glass. Still, it looks pretty. Certainly he thinks it's handmade and not modern. Maybe up to 500 years old. We're told about secret societies, like the freemasons, by the narrator because glass makers used to be quite secretive with their colouring stuff.

The second "gem's" broach is looked at next and he says the wire around the outside section is super ancient. The technique used is called block twisting. Potentially it's older than 13th century which makes it that much older than anything else they've found on the island so far; yes, even older than Dan Blankenship.

Next day and the road is being made. Marty, Craig and Alex held off to Halifax to meet that Professor of Chemistry lady again and get that broach examined. She uses magnifying scope and chemical composition. Initially there's just brass but, wait for it, there's some sections of GOLD!

Gold
(Gold)
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible, always believe in, 'cos you are.

Blimey! Actual gold? Well, I'll be blown down. It is perhaps only gold plated but could be up to 700 years old.

Later that day, in the War Room, all this info is shared and much nodding and fist pumping goes on. Ok, not a lot, but they are happy.

Rick & Dan (the other Dan) are at the Money pit to check on those seismic charges and ... it's all done. Should take only two weeks to get data processed and generate a 3D Map. Ohhh, at least two weeks goes quickly on this show.

We end up with a familiar site. The road is ready to the cove and lots of large lorries and trailers make their way onto the island.

Rick points out how much bigger the "gem" looks when magnified ...

This is ancient stuff. The thing in gold, not the pointer.

The convoy of serious money being spent arrives.

Rating 7/10 - Although this is a bit of filler episode in terms of new action, we get a lot confirmed about those two broaches and we are ready to start that dam and get that 3D map.

Star Wars Resistance: Episode 17 - "The Core Problem"

Synopsis: Poe turns up, and he and Kaz go off to explore an area where the First Order have been lurking.

What I thought: Whilst we don't really learn much new that we didn't already know before, this episode in itself shows us that we're not going to have to wait too long to catch up with the events of TFA. Well, we're assuming that's the case because Poe says he has to take BB-8 on a mission to Jakku, and we all know how TFA opens. It would be a real twist in the story if this isn't the mission we see the end of in the movie. Could he have been there before? Given the devastation of the nearby star system (missing a star) and planet cored out, you'd think we're being expedited up to TFA but it could yet be a wait. We will have to see.

We don't know how Poe arrived, or how Kaz got back to the station with CP-23, his new droid, but we do know how they both exited the station, in a rather ridiculous manoeuvre: how did the TIE fighters not spot that distinctly coloured Fireball on top of the cargo ship? How did Poe hang on to Kaz's ship so much? Oh well, we just have to accept these things.

I was hoping for a little more in the destroyed Star System investigation but all we mostly got was reinforcements of things we already know, such a evidence for Starkiller base and a totally destroyed town with a sort of temple. Ring any TFA bells? I'm not sure why the rest of the intelligence was dismissed: what about all those First Order ships?

The First Order Probe droid seemed destined to stay hidden until it decided to go all macho on us and attack. Quite who'd trust Kaz with a blaster I don't know, but he single handed stopped the droid, although almost taking out BB-8.

Still, at least we're ticking off the list, and hopefully future First Order detail will continue to add to that which we didn't already know. You'd also think that the Red TIE pilot must recognise the Fireball and that can't be good for Kaz.

Looks familiar ...

Trouble lurks.

They arrived quickly!

Rating: 7/10 - The pace accelerates up to TFA, as we get a stark awakening of the threat from the First Order.

Star Wars Resistance: Episode 16 - "The New Trooper"

Synopsis: Kel and Elia take down a Stormtrooper who was trying to identify them, leading to Kaz and Co trying to help them evade capture.

What I thought: Wow! That was a blast! It's been a while since we'd had this much fun but I totally enjoyed this episode, especially Kaz's antics in the Stormtrooper uniform where he looked nothing like you'd expect of a trooper. Cleverly they left his neck not fully cover by the black undergarment so he was easily identifiable against all the other troopers, but his mannerisms and voice totally gave that away regardless to us viewers. Quite how it took so long for the other troops to notice any suspicions I'm not sure, given Kaz was totally unlike any normal disciplined trooper. I'm also not sure how they knew his identification number after just mere seconds. I'm assuming there are some sort of electronic display/sensors inside the helmets which identify other troopers. Regardless, this is a fun, comical time with Kaz in the uniform, faking it totally with every other trooper, and gathering important data for the resistance at the same time. His confrontation with the First Order BB unit was typical of how Kaz does his action: kicking and falling all over the place!

Along the way we learn more important information, not least slightly more about the First Order's time on the children's planet, the recondition nature that Troopers can undergo, that there's more Troopers coming, and that, as we know, but no one else does, that there's a lot of First Order ships out there. Tam isn't convinced there's anything to worry about with the First Order, even Neeku backs her up, and although the children's story saddens her greatly, it's still quite a leap for her to just accept what they say so quickly. I guess we'll have to accept that, as we have to accept how quickly they got the Trooper redressed into the uniform and stood upright, just as the other Trooper's closed in on Kaz.

After the promise of more First Order from the mid-season trailer, and a few quieter episodes lately in that respect, the threat level is really ramped up several notches now we know more First Order are on their way.

Oooops ...

Kaz versus the BB unit.

That's a lot of red dots ...

Rating: 8/10 - A lot of First Order this episode, and some excellent Kaz antics, make this a thoroughly entertaining episode.

Conversing about 'Citizen Curators' - Core Session 6

It's early February as we reach the very last of the Core Sessions before we go totally loose on project work. In the previous weeks since the last Core Session, us Penlee House Citizen Curators have met a few times and cracked on with planning, thanks to meetings with Tehmina and Zoe, plus Katie from Penlee House itself. We have a good idea of the outcomes we'd like to deliver, although the nitty gritty is still ahead to make it happen. The next formal session will be the big finale in late April, two months from now, where one needs to be able to demonstrate the project is primed and loaded to go, even though it doesn't necessarily have to be live by that date.

Rather bizarrely, my notes from this session are not in my notebook, so goodness knows where they went. Therefore I'm relying on my rubbish memory totally for this blog post.

Project Workshop

On a blowy damp morning, we ended up for this session in the cartshed at Penlee House, which has officially the slowest cold water tap in the South-West but an impressive three kettles to ensure everyone is well watered. This session is all about the project that us Citizen Curators have to get busy with over the next two months, so therefore we started off with a little pre-enable of filling in our thoughts about everything we'd learnt from the course. I'm not good with a blank piece of paper in front of me, so had to get that brain churning via looking at my notes and the handouts from previous sessions, plus a second cup of coffee. Strangely, my sheet is also missing from my notebook but it was divided up into sections in a table form covering the main headings from the core sessions: Communications, Research, Collections etc. What came to mind for me? Unsure as the sheet has gone missing :D I'll probably be doing a conclusion post on the whole course in the early summer so I'll neatly slope my shoulders at this point and move on to the next part of the session.

A Good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.

That was today's quote on the handout and also sums up the next portion of the morning that took us up to coffee and cake, or, as most other people call it, lunch. We had a double sided handout full of multiple sections to fill in, this piece of paper being our formal project plan document which needs to be submitted by the 22nd February. Although there are some 14 sections to be filled in, it's not as daunting as it sounds, especially as most groups have done a decent amount of ground work for their projects by this point. Of course, this isn't the day we have to do the project plan, but an opportunity to think about the form, get a draft copy done and have some help. Types of things to think about and cover on the form include 'communication' - what message are you telling your audience? who is your audience? What are the primary outcomes? What is unique or different about your project? what's the star object? what about feedback,? what's the Cornish connection and more. I'll not go through everything but suffice to say it's comprehensive but also a very highly useful document to help collate ones previous planning work into a formal structured plan document. Plus, it's only two sides of A4 so you aren't writing an essay here.

I thought you was doing that?

Additionally, we had a one-sided handout form that is like a tasklist, detailing the tasks you need to do to complete the project, who is doing it and by when. There's also a shopping list which isn't for your next supermarket trip but the bits and bobs you'll need for the project such as interpretation boards, flyers etc.

All in all, a very useful morning spent bringing everything together in a more formal manner and helping to ensure you've not forgotten anything or lost your focus.

Golden Tree Productions

The afternoon was taken up by a presentation and group tasks set by a representative from Golden Tree Productions, who promote Cornishness off the back of a pot of money given our way in 2014 when Cornwall became officially a national minority. All the sordid details of that framework and what it means for us Cornish was shown to us, and we got to do some group tasks to test our cornishness and thinking about what one needs to do to put a big project together, as Golden Tree did with the Cornish Tick Box Bus ... which, I don't think I'd even heard about before. Mind you, given my introverted ways, they are lucky I'd heard anything about their work thus far.

It was interesting, although a little dry perhaps. I'm not totally sure what to think, most likely because I'm totally unsure what to say about the whole Cornish topic, and I'm about as Cornish as they come! I actually kept quite quiet during this part of the day, mostly because I was a little sleepy but also because I've never really been able to convey my thoughts on the topic coherently. Certainly this blog isn't the place to start ranting on about Cornish stuff either way but as a presentation is was adequate, and as a guide to a project, it ticked a few boxes (no pun intended) although if I'm being honest, I'd had preferred more structured examples I think.

That's not quite all folks 

I'll be back with another blog post probably in May as a sort of conclusion to our project and the whole course. Until then, we've got work to do :)

Star Wars Resistance: Episode 15 - "The First Order Occupation"

Synopsis: Kaz helps smuggle Synara out of the station, who is being pursued by the First Order.

What I thought: At the end of the last episode it was 2 stormtroopers on the station, but clearly there are more now. All together we never see more than 4 but there's possibly a few more, given the TIE fighter circling the base and that lots of things such as platforms are under First Order control. This really does feel like the title says, an occupation. How we got to this from the last episode, we don't see, but the First Order have done their homework and already suspect Kaz (who they seem to not know even though they saw him on CCTV) then move on to Synara whom they suddenly seem to believe is the spy even though they hadn't questioned Kaz. Oh well, it still was a fun episode.

Once again Kaz is at his ridiculous best, yet even more haphazard than normal, as he must bang his head and knock over more objects than in the entire season thus far. His romantic chat-up lines need more work too, given how he totally fails to show affection in a manner any sane person would understand. Kaz and Synara in the elevator scene was brilliantly done as they stood there, trying to pass time by doing nothing in particular.

Synara escapes, thanks to Neeku and BB8 helping Kaz's attempts. Only one escape capsule left? Where's that latest health and safety report due?? Unless I'm wrong, I got a strong vibe in the closing minutes that Synara might be force sensitive. The sea monster is seen observing her, and she's also playing with sea birds whilst waiting on the water's surface to be rescued. As sure as sure, we've not seen the last of her.

Almost everyone is harassed by the First Order, including the cleaner!

LOL

Synara has a way with the animals ...

Rating 7/10: The threat and obtrusiveness of the First order feels real, yet the entertainment remains.

Star Wars Resistance: Episode 14 - "The Doza Dilemma"

Synopsis: In league with the pirates, the First Order hatch a plan to kidnap Torra and gain Captain Doza's favour ...

What I thought: Ohh, I didn't quite see that happening. Sure, I knew it was all clever manipulation by the First Order, to finally get Captain Doza over the line and accept their protection, but they went one step more devious. Having the pirates kidnap Torra, and then make it look like the First Order were rescuing her rather than being part of the whole manipulation, was almost genius ... if it works. They did indeed deliver her back to her father but, although he obviously appreciate their help, he doesn't look much more convinced to accept their protection. Rather extra sneakily, the offer of two stormtrooper's for his personal protection was made as a rather generous gift that was somewhat forced and made without Doza saying anything! Looks like we've got some interesting times ahead.

Naturally there are a few people who know slightly more about the facts, not least the pirates and Synara, but also Torra who will know the First Order were there to pay the pirates although that isn't evidence enough that they devised the whole plan I guess. Kaz is now totally suspicious of Synara who seems to be really nervous when her comms belt goes off, as if that makes her look like a spy. Surely plenty of people have comms belts? And, what hold do the pirates have over her? She's almost free on the station but still feels compelled to help them? Do they have some leverage on her or is  breaking free just a step too much for her?

Kaz continues his rather comedic personality this week as he sneaks behind the pirates in a full-on classic cartoon manner, making him and BB8 look like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. I'm left wondering also if those security droids are much use when 4 being deactivated doesn't really cause much concern, other than the head droid reporting it to Doza. "Oh yes, 4 droids are down and Torra isn't in her room.Would you like me to panic now, sound the alarm, or make you a cup of tea Captain Doza?" What good are they?

Kaz would make a great stormtrooper with his shooting skills ...

Betrayal by the First Order.

Here, have some stormtroopers on us.

Rating: 6/10: Another twist of the screw by the First Order as they now get eyes on the ground on the station.