The Dark Knight Rises in Aquano

At long last the most anticipated film of the year has arrived on the Island. The Dark Knight Rises got its first premiere at our local cinema last night and i Blu Bird was there for it all. Like most premieres there was the glamor and the glitz of our local celebrities, the who's who of Aquano. What an evening it was and what a great film, i made my way up the red carpet the odd camera flash but i don't think they were all directed at me but id like to think so. Got myself sat comfortably in the cinema at the back in the middle always the best place to sit, and of course the popcorn next to me. Although i swear local actor James Davids was stealing some, theres no way i ate all that popcorn to myself, or i could just be greedy.

So anyways, the film itself, brilliant, absolutely brilliant, a fitting end to a great trilogy of film. I don't wish to spoil it for all those who have not yet ventured out to watch this film, so i wont go into too much detail.  Prepare yourself for a film that doesn't feature batman as much but more of Bruce Wayne and who he has become, or should i say what he has not become. A sad lonely man lost from the world and a world that has lost him, however all is not lost a few trials and tribulations get him back on his feet and with him the real Dark Knight rises again.  The ending is sad but one i feel Nolan, the director, wanted to achieve, end the film this way so no one can follow it on. The end of an era as they say, but don't let that put you off, this is one amazing film with a brilliant cast and storyline, not forgetting the cinematography as well.

So what are you waiting for, get yourself down the cinema now and watch this epic film.

Discovery

It was a cold and windy night on Aquano, the island on which i reside, and i was tucked up nicely in my favourite tree. Sheltered from the wind and rain that was battering down across the whole island. A ferocious and howling storm had swept in from the ocean to try and reek havoc across my beautiful island paradise.

Now i must add that back then the island was not called Aquano, in fact it had no name other than my island as i was its sole inhabitant. I could of flown off to explore out to sea but i was a little too scared of what there was out there and i had everything i needed here, food, shelter and a whole expanse of an island to fly around.

So anyways back to my story of how it all began before i get side tracked. That faithful night the storm was howling away battering the forest of trees into submission, a typical storm that i had encountered many times before. I was safe and tucked up in my tree sheltered from the winds almighty force.  It was not until the morning after that i awoke to see the damage caused that night, trees fallen, plants obliterated, but life must go on as they say, they will regrow. I flew out to survey the island, but ultimately to see the beaches as these storms can wash up some surprising items. This time it was a surprise i was not prepared for, there across the northern beach were people, humans they called themselves, wooden planks and parts of a boat were just smashed and splintered across the beach.

These were the first people to step foot on my island, the storm had brought them too me, to my island. Now being a curious bird i had to see who or what these people were. They were distressed, naturally, panicking and frightened, they needed help. I flew down and asked them how i could help, not a good idea, it turns out that humans are not use to a talking bird and thus were somewhat shocked and scared by my ability. I was not aware that birds couldn't talk, although as far as i was aware at the time i was the only bird that existed. After a few hours there shock had subsided, they had grouped together on the beach collecting all they can from the wreckage strewn along the sands. They seemed to of picked a leader, a Captain Phillips was his name, who was doing a lot of pointing and barking orders to his fellow humans. I flew down to the Captain as i needed some answers, who were these people, what are they doing on my island.

I remember to this day that conversation i had with the Captain, a burly and strong man, muscular, just to look at him you would say he was a born leader.

Me "Hello, who are you"

Captain "I am Captain James Phillips of the Aquano"

Me "The Aquano, whats that, who are all these other people"

Captain Phillips "The Aquano, is our ship, well, was our ship till it crashed in last nights storm. We have luckily washed up on this island, partially unscathed. As for these people they were the crew and passengers of said ship"

Me "I see, and what is a ship i must ask, sorry to burden you will all these questions, its just there have never been people on this island before"

Captain Phillips "HAHAHAHA, a ship is kind of like a boat, a large wooden vessel that sails across the seas. Now i must ask some questions of my own, what do i call you, do you have a name"

Me "Im Blu Bird"

Captain Phillips "Well its nice to meet you Blu Bird, can you tell me how is it possible you can speak, and ultimately where are we, are we in heaven"

Me "You are on my island, as for this heaven you speak of i dont know what that is. I can speak because like that storm which washed you up onto these shores, there have been many others like it over the years. With them strange and unusual objects wash up, paper containing words, some very thick which i believe to be called books have appeared. I learnt to read them and speak the words contained inside."

Captain Phillips "Amazing, just amazing. Well if you've never heard of heaven i suppose this cant be heaven, however it is somewhere and im thankful to be alive"

Me "Do you need any help, some of your fellow people seem to be scared and looked lost, although i suppose you are lost in many respects"

Captain Phillips "Yes we could do with your help, we need to make shelter in case that storm comes back, we also need fresh water and food"

Me "Food, water, i can help you with those, there is a waterfall deep in the forest, with the most wonderfully tasting water, so fresh and clean. As for food this island is abundant, being only me here i dont eat through much"

Captain Phillips "Wonderful, thank you Blu Bird, i shall get a group together if you could show them to this waterfall and to the food. I must ask also, where is there a place for shelter"

Me "Sorry, yes, shelter, well towards the south of the island is a large cave, perfect shelter for all of you to fit in, there are the trees also if you wish to build. I read in a book that wood is used to make buildings, perhaps you could do that"

Captain Phillips "Brilliant just brilliant, however can we repay you Blu Bird"

Me "You dont need to repay me, you are welcome here on my island, Ive never had anyone else on here before"

After a group had formed i showed them to the waterfall deep in the forest towards the mountain in the center. They had brought with them large buckets to carry water back to the beach, they felt confident enough to find there own way back, a couple of women and followed with baskets to collect food on the way. I flew off back to the beach to take another group to seek out the cave on the south of the island, by this point the people seemed to be more cheerful, perhaps it was the fact i was helping them that they felt more settled. Either way they were grateful of my presence with them, they kept asking me strange questions about where they were and what i was. I was a bird is all i could reply, just a bird nothing more, they laughed alot when i said that. As for where they were it was my island, or at least our island now, little did i know how it would grow in to the place it is today.

After a few weeks they had built themselves wooden shelters, or homes as they began to call them, this was my home and now it was theres too. Small areas were cleared of plants, seeds were sown onto the land, collected from the food around the island. They were going to grow there own, it was like they didn't want to leave, which i later found out to be true. They didn't want to leave, leaving Europe they wanted to set out to find a new world of there own, the storm had led them to this island, their new home.

Aquano, the name of there ship, became the name of the island.  Adopted by these new people to give the place a more homely feel, without a name it is nothing they said, with a name they can make it their own. So they did, they made it there home and for 467 years it has remained that way. Growing and growing with the years to the amazing place it is today, a small corner of paradise in the wide open world.

And that folks is the story of how Aquano was discovered, that unforgiving storm gave new life to my little island, gave me many friends, many stories and will continue to do so for all time.

Mr Spealburgs Film Title Competition

Well its with great pleasure to announce to you all that some of you gracious twitter users have been tweeting me your film titles. Below i shall list all the titles tweeted to me and will keep collecting them up until such time that Mr Spealburg feels he has enough. Then it shall be cast to a public vote.

Sialia Baba & the 40 thieves -  @Dads_Arnie
The KingFisher King. Blue Moon - @Mrs__F

Fishy Goings On (Part 2)

Part One - Click Here

As i promised, i have spent today out on one of our fishing boats, the luxurious Aquano Mermaid. This is our largest and most advanced fishing ship in the entire islands fleet, with up to date fish tracking software and some of Aquano's best fisherman.

It was a very early start, one that i am not use to, at the tender hour of 04:00am. But needs must if i wish to tell you all about the new shark in our waters. We sailed out for about an hour before the sonar started to bleep away. "Where here boys" shouted Captain Jimmy, owner of the Aquano Mermaid, "Cast your rods, men lets get ourselves some sharks".

I had assumed they were going to be catching straight away, however this proved to be wrong when Captain Jimmy told me "These sharks are very smart ya see, takes awhile for them to be lured to our bait and hooks".

All was not lost when eventually one the rod tips went round, "where in" screamed the fisherman who's rod it was, bending almost over into the sea. Now the fun began as all the other men on the boat rushed to reel there lines in so the one fish could be played in without being snagged in another line. This fisherman was strong as he slowly played with whatever it was on the end of his line. And whatever it was, it was big. So we all sat round watching waiting for him to bring this fish closer to the boat so we could see what was causing this man to puff, pant and drip with sweat.

Eventually a shadowy shape began to appear from the deep. Slowly moving close towards the boat, it must of been at least 20ft down however seemed enormous, at least 20ft wide by my reckoning. It looked to of tired out as the fisherman seem to find it more comfortable to reel the fish in, either that or he had broken through so many pain barriers he was merely possessed in catching this fish. It was Captain Jimmy who stepped in and told me that the sharks live in deep waters, they fear the sun light, "That is why it has given up on the fight" he said.

Now the shark was on the surface of the sea floating along side the boat. This vessel must be at least 30ft long and the shark was close to that length. As well as its extreme length its width was just as impressive, this has to be the largest creature i have ever laid eyes on. A strange pattern seemed to be visible along its back similar to that of a mackerel, in fact more like a zebra stripe, running round the entire girth of the shark.

"Zebra Shark" i shouted to the joyous fisherman, relieved by their wondrous catch. However as i have now found out, that shark already exists in the world, and is nothing like this shark.

So what do we call this amazing creature, its long, large, wide, has zebra stripes, lives in very deep water, has a phobia of light.  Let me know what you think of this unusual shark, tweet me #namethatshark

Our Special Days

Well firstly id like to say a big Happy 4th of July to all those celebrating in the United States of America. Like yourselves and many other countries that i am currently discovering we celebrate our own special days or national days as some call them. So to show off our islands greatness i would like to tell you all about our special days.


18th January - Aquano Day

This is the day that the island was discovered some 467 years ago. I at the time was the only inhabitant when a boat washed up after a storm. They were a mixed group of people, very wealthy, who decided to leave Europe and discover there own new world. They were lucky in that they landed on my island as i was able to help them find the best food and shelter on the island. The opportunity was there to rebuild there boat however they chose to stay and build there own little paradise.

On this day we carry through the streets of Aquaros, our main town the chest of coins and jewelery that they were carrying on board. This is paraded on a small recreation of there boat although an exact look is not known as i had seen it as pieces washed up on the beach. We spend the day watching reenactments of that day and celebrate what a blessing it is that they survived the storm or other wise it would just be me all on my own.

20th - 27th of March - Fruit Day

This is the day that all the wild fruits of the island are at there ripest and the people go out into the jungles and forrests to pick the wonderful fruit that our island has to offer. We only pick half the fruit from one tree or plant in order for the forrests and jungles to carry on producing more. Apparently its called reproduction or so our local science teacher Mr Johnson calls it.  The fruit that is collected is shared out amongst all the people of the island equally, allowing some really great creations from the island people. Some make jams, cakes, wine all sorts of wonderful creations.

This is my favourite day of the year as i love to taste all the food people have created at home. Some even sell them to the rest of the island people. There many shops and market stalls depend on this day of the year so its always good to see an abundance of fruit each year and equally important that Mr Johnson takes part as he mainly studies the plants and foliage of the island to ensure its good health. He's like the doctor of the plant world, or Botanist as he prefers to call himself.

15th of April - Fall Day

Its this day that we celebrate the coming of Autumn of Fall as some people call it. Its the day when the trees change to brown and the leaves begin to fall. Although it doesn't happen like clock work on this day every year it is around this time that it happens, generally. Well for this day we prepare ourselves for the coming of winter which is just around the corner. Our fishermen begin to fish for more, with most going into storage, our harvests are brought in and put into storage for the coming months, so for this we like to celebrate the hard work of the island people. Whilst the farmers, fisherman and the busy workers of our town are preparing for winter there wives and children prepare for the festivities. In the evening we have a huge party, lots of food, wine, music, dancing and this all takes part in our town square. Oh what a joyous day it is, i do enjoy sitting down at a table with some of the farmers and fisherman discussing there arduous days and the coming of winter. Sometimes i may even have a cheeky drink of there wine, although not too much as i never feel good the next day.

Part Two Soon.......



  

Fishy Goings On

As always i have my evening meals round at the local Fish Bar and always, always have blue sardines. But last night was different, there were no sardines. I asked Mr Phillips who owns the restaurant what was wrong why were there not sardines, for 20 years Ive had blue sardines every night. Mr Phillips was ever so apologetic, he had constantly stuck to the tradition his father left him of serving me my favourite dish when he took over the place 12 years ago.

Now im not one to begrudge someone these things happen, perhaps for the best, perhaps i need a change from blue sardines, it has been 20 years of the same dish every night. I suppose i can part ways with tradition and go for something a little more exotic.

So after i had convinced Mr Phillips that it was okay and he had eventually stopped apologizing i got down the bottom of why there was no blue sardines. The local fisherman had not caught any that day, for the first time in however long there were no blue sardines in the fishing grounds, they had been out all day and not caught a single one. They had caught other fish but no sardines, usually the most abundant fish in our waters. So i agreed with Mr Phillips to try something new, he recommended a new fish caught that morning, a fish with no name they say, new to our waters never before seen. They say its a type of shark but one they had not seen before, one much bigger than those found in our nothern waters, but who am i to ponder on ocean life i am but a humble bird.

What can i say, amazing, delicious, so meaty and full of flavour was this shark, i never thought i would finish it after they brought out such a huge steak on my plate. It was so nice you could see my face in the plate afterwards, not a drop wasted from my plate. I told Mr Phillips its time for a new tradition each night i would like another of these nameless shark steaks, so long as they keep catching them. As i found out it shouldn't be a problem as they are so big they only caught one but its enough to cut up and store in the freezers to last a long time. This sounded great, a new tradition is born and a new found love of sea food, perhaps i may shock Mr Phillips into trying something different tomorrow night, who knows.

P.S I will be paying a trip shortly with our local fisherman into the northern waters off the island to see them catch this nameless fish, maybe you could help by tweeting me #namethatfish with your ideas for a name.

Local Director Seeks New Film

I was round at the Blue Cafe this lunchtime and low and behold sat enjoying a cup of coffee was our local director Mr Spealburg.
A prestigious man who many of you may not of heard of unless you live on Aquano. He has directed many classics here on the island over the last few years and is now at a low as all his inspiration has dried up.
Well me being the bird I am offered to help him seek out new ideas for a film as without him our film hall would cease to be.
And this is where you guys come in as of this moment as I write this story #twitterfilms is trending. So I want you to come up with your best ideas for a #blubirdfilm and tweet them to me. The best ones will go to a public vote and in no time at all Mr Spealburg may turn your title into one of his amazing films.