Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

My pirate name? Black Prudentilla Bonney. Find your pirate name here.

It seems appropriate to be given a pirate name, and to be developing rock star attitude all in the same week!

A little background.

I've always been afraid to sing. In 4th grade our music teacher told my sister to "mouth the words" instead of singing in the Christmas concert. This didn't phase my sister at all, in fact, she probably sang louder just to get even. Me? I stopped singing.

Fast forward to 2004, and East Village karaoke with Michael, Alex, Joanne, Melissa, Franny and Bill. I didn't sing that night, but I loved it. Next thing, I found myself singing along with my MP3 player. Out loud. On the subway.

In a fit of absolute bravery I called this guy advertising guitar lessons in my neighborhood and started taking lessons. My strategy for guitar, as with photography: impersonate a brave person... then grow into it...! It's 6 weeks now, and my teacher tells me to develop some rock star attitude.

Here's what I've learned/am working on:

• The Clash - Death or Glory
• The Cash Brothers - Raceway
• Blue Rodeo - Hasn't Hit Me Yet
• Blue Rodeo - English Bay
• The Clash - Clampdown
• Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
• The Distillers - City of Angels