Pirate Events and Faires (Fairs)

I'm creating a page on my main website of pirate related events.  Feel free to post them here.  Include name of events, dates and times, links to websites, brief description, etc.  I will them post the information on my main "Events" Page.

We are all pirates

I was thinking about my post about why many of us like Pirate-related entertainment.  Pirates get to live by their own rules, in a survival-of-the-fittest sort of way.  They have freedom from the routine of a more civilized society.  Much of our world is basically run by those same principles.  Think about it - war, wall street, business, sports -- heck even politics-- are all just a different reason for piracy behavior on a grander scale.
  We all are pirates to some degree!

There's often a Jimmy Buffet song in my head:

"Yes I am a pirate

Two hundred years too late

The cannons don't thunder

There's nothing to plunder

I'm an over forty victim of fate "

Drunken Sailor Shanty

When I was preparing yesterday's post, Blow The Man Down, I came across the Drunken sailor shanty. We used to sing this as kids when I was growing up. After the initial question of what to do with the drunken sailor, each verse suggests a method of sobering or abusing the drunken sailor. As kids, we always thought it would be awful to shave a belly with a rusty razor.  I think we ended up making our own verses of what to do with the drunken sailor.

I also did some research and found this site which had alternative verses. Now, its uncanny because I realized I bought cd's last weekend from the gentleman in the photo playing the dulcimer on the linked page.  I was at the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale, CA last weekend.

Blow the Man Down Shanty

Blow the Man Down is an old sea shanty. According to The Contemplator's Microencyclopedia of Folk Music

Shanties were originally shouted out, with emphasis on a syllable or word as sailors performed their work. Shanties developed separate rhythms for the various chores at sea - for raising the anchor (which was done by marching around the capstan), hauling ropes, etc.

When a sailor said that a man was blown down, it meant that he was knocked to the ground.

There are countless versions of Blow the Man Down.

Enjoy this version by Roger McGuinn from his Folk Den Project.

More Treasure Island and a Dead Man's Chest

I was thinking about the Treasure Island Movies being filmed and I thought I would provide some links to Robert Louis Stevenson's books to read.  If you want to download, or read the book online here is a link for the Internet Archive and the from Project Gutenberg.  The version I linked to from the internet archive is illustrated by Louis Rhead and has some interesting illustrations.

The initial catalyst for the story was an island map that Stevenson and his stepson drew while on holiday in the Scottish Highlands.

The first page of the book contains the lines for a ditty.

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

Stevenson intended the rhyme as a forewarning of the events in his tale.  It was expanded in a poem years later, titled Derelict by Young E. Allison.  Here's the music of "15 Men On a Dead Man's Chest."

Shiver Me Timbers -- or Shiver My Timbers

So, I got to thinking about the new Treasure Island movies I mentioned a few days ago. I couldn't help thinking about the Muppet Treasure Island and the "Shiver My Timbers song."

"Shiver my timbers" was most famously popularized by the pirate Long John Silver in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883). Silver used the phrase seven times, as well as variations such as "shiver my sides", "shiver my soul" and "shake up your timbers".

According to Wikipedia, the phrase is based on real nautical slang and is a reference to the timbers, which are the wooden support frames of a ship. "In heavy seas, ships would be lifted up and pounded down so hard as to "shiver" the timbers, startling the sailors. Such an exclamation was meant to convey a feeling of fear and awe, similar to, "Well Blow Me Down!", or, "May God Strike Me Dead". Shiver is also reminiscent of the splintering of a ship's timbers in battle - splinter wounds were a common form of battle injury on wooden ships ('shiver' means splinter in some English dialects)."

Shiver me Timbers, enjoy this youtube video.

The Last Saskatchewan Pirate

I stumbled upon this video while searching pirate songs. Who would have thought there were Pirates in Canada? The pirate spirit has the ability to manifest anywhere. This song is about a Farmer who just couldn't take life as it was.

I like the teacher's face.



"The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" excerpt:
Well, I used to be a farmer and I made a living fine.
I had a little stretch of land along the C. P. line
But times got tough, and though I tried, the money wasn't there.
The bankers came and took my land and told me, "Fair is fair."
I looked for every kind of job, the answer always no.
"Hire you now?" they'd always laugh, "We just let twenty go!" (Ha ha!)
The government, they promised me a measly little sum,
But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum.
Then I thought, who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone.
I'm gonna be a pirate on the river Saskatchewan! (Arr!) "

Chasing Pirates

Norah Jones has a brilliant song on her album The Fall called "Chasing Pirates." The song keeps going through my head.





VH1 has a high quality version here:
Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates: "The Fall"

Pirate Surprise -- its what's for dinner!

Arrgh!  What's for dinner? 

If I was a pirate, I would be eating plenty or else starving.  While at sea for long periods, fresh foold would be scarce.  But while docked in areas like the Caribbean, then the pirates would often have plenty of food on which to feast.

OK.  This isn't REAL pirate food, but you can tell your kids it is!  If they like beans, this casserole is sure to be a pleasure.  Underneath the cheese is treasure to be found!  Its tasty and fast to prepare.  

Pirates Surprise


Ingredients:

• 1 whole onion -- chopped
• 2 whole carrots -- chopped
• ½ cup celery diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 can corn drained
• 3 cups kidney beans, canned drained and rinsed
• 16 ounces tomatoes, canned
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
• ⅔ cup cheddar cheese shredded

Directions: Use food processor to prepare vegetables. Cook onion, pepper, celery and garlic in small amount of water until tender. Combine with remaining ingredients, except cheese. Break tomatoes into smaller pieces with spoon. Place in a 2-quart casserole or Dutch oven. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover dish and bake in 350° F. oven 25 to 30 minutes.  Alternatively (and this is my favorite way when I'm in a hurry and have not planned dinner): Microwave on High for 7 minutes. (Uncover dish if you wish a thicker mixture.)
(Serves 6)

Serve with a Salad and maybe some bread and you have a complete meal!

Competing Treasure Islands

The influence of the famed Robert Louis Stevenson novel, "Treasure Island" on the perception of pirates is vast, including treasure maps with an "X", schooners, the BLack Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen with parrots.  Most of these are pure fiction, but enjoyable fiction compared to the facts about pirates.


Ecosse Films is adapting a new version of  "Treasure Island" and now it seems that a different project on the same topic has found a new competitor on the high seas. Pajiba is reporting that  Lionel Wigram (Sherlock Holmes) is developing a competing Treasure Island project at Warner Bros.


Why not?  Everyone wants to cash in on the success of Pirates similar to DIsney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Some Pirate Jokes and Humor

"Talk Like a Pirate Day" only comes in September, but pirate jokes and humor can be fun any day. What Pirate jokes do you have?

How do you know if you are a pirate?
You just "Arrrrrrrr"...

What did the pirate name his daughter?
Peggy.

Did you hear about the new pirate movie?
It's rated arrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

How much does a pirate pay to pierce his ears?
A buck an ear!!!

You can't spell pirate, without "irate"

Pirates do not clean up, except when gold falls out of a treasure chest.


And, I always liked this keyboard designed exclusively for pirates:

More Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

While I was writing yesterday's post, I found this video. I do like this music by Relient K.

A VeggieTale Pirate Silly Song of Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Even if you don't like VeggieTales, this one makes me laugh. I especially liked the part about Captain Crunch.

Why Enjoy Entertainment about Pirates?

Why do you enjoy pirates? They are nasty and they kill people. We know the recent news of the Somalian pirates and other modern pirates are barbaric. Yet, we still enjoy entertainment about pirates. Why doesn't the routine robbing of perfectly innocent people by pirates stop us from enjoying books and movies about them?

"A Pirate's Life for me," is the famous quote from a song. Some dream of life out on the seas, watching the stars in the night sky, having the thrill and terror of fighting harsh storms, and battling other ships. For some, pirates bring out the thrill seeker -- men and women alike. Men want to be like them -- adventure seekers, women want to be with them. They help some indulge in their wildest fantasies.

I like them because they have given the world hundreds of years of myths and legends. Pirates have inspired imaginations and stories. Their whole persona and lifestyle lends to tales that appeal to little children, grown men and romantically inclined women. It is not often that criminals lend themselves so well to so many less barbaric interpretations.

George Harrison's Buried Treasure!

This is a clip of a 1975 TV show. George Harrison is performing on Eric Idle's (of Monty Python Fame) BBC series "Rutland Weekend Television." This is George many of us have not seen.

Blackbeard, Bluebeard & Redbeard - A Pirate Story by Eric Herman

I just watched this video on youtube. Its hilarious. You'll here a lot of subtle humor.