Capn_Enigma

Hoisting my Jolly Roger over our boarding school dorm in 1983: This flag made its most noteable appearance in December 1985, when I hoisted it on a 5,000 GRT tanker going from the Mediterranean into the Atlantic (i.e. crossing the Gibraltar Strait). I still wonder to this day why the Limeys didn't challenge us!

Captain Picard: How many people does it take, Admiral, before it becomes wrong? Hmm? A thousand, fifty thousand, a million? How many people does it take, Admiral?

Well sure it is. Whether it ashames us or not, it's the way of things and is not unique to America. Where do you think we learned this national behavior from? We certainly didn't invent it. That sure is right. Some guy named Adolf invented it.

I am beginning to see why Americans are generally regarded as being perfectly lackadaisical to anyone's history except their pathetic own one.

Well said, Hurricane! It is just this darn Hollywood/ American arrogance that had Afro- american Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel act as eye- rolling extra to the white cast. And in her Academy Award acceptance speech, she was not even allowed to speak her own mind but had to read a speech that was ghostwritten for her by the studio.

Huzzah! Arrr! I like it very much. The voice imitation is rather convincing and the modeling is pretty good (guess I can judge, I'm a hobby modeler myself). The figure is very worth having!

Finally! I am glad to announce that my smiling Captain Jack Sparrow figure arrived here in Germany after only two weeks on preorder. The price was practically the same as if I had bought it in the US, although I was prepared to spend considerably more, given my location. Actually, I am happy that I got one at all, as they will soon be considered an investment and subsequently rise in price.

Good for another happy owner who can appreciate it.

Thank you! My sentiments, exactly.

LOL! Here is a picture of an utterly and completely useless astrolabe. You look at it, you can feel like you had bought it. But I made it. And I own it. And so it will be with my Jack Sparrow figure.

Sys requirements aren't really that high: - Operating System: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP - Processor: Pentium® 1.0 GHz or higher - Memory: 256 MB RAM - Hard Disk Space: 1.2 GB Free - CD-ROM Drive: 4X Speed - Video: 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support - Sound: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible sound card - DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0b (included) or higher

Sid Meier's Pirates!, the long awaited sequel to (or remake of) the classic Pirates! and Pirates! Gold has hit the stores this week. Has anyone here already played it? I am considering getting it and I' d like a few opinions. Although the graphics are stunning, the game seems to have remained much the same as last time around.

Often the same day!!! A pirate worth his salt wouldn't touch this ship wreck thing with a 10 feet boat hook - let alone waste a torch on it!

Yerr can't beat a Norwegian Blue for a beautiful plumage. Beware however, when he's resting:

Well, for starters, I'd prefer a woman who has not her entire photo album in poster size for a signature!

IIRC, wasn't Stephenson the guy who invented the locomotive? Sorry, couldn't resist.

The "Ashley" is a really wonderful book. Apart from the sheer size (also literally, my edition weighs almost four pounds) and number of knots (~ 4,000), it is also interesting reading. Mr Ahsley also mixed some yarn (pun partly intended) between the otherwise matter- of- fact descriptions of the knots. This book is not for the heavy- handed, however. You should have a good three- dimensional sense, or you will fail at the more complex knots. But if the sailors of old mastered it, it cannot be that difficult. I have used it myself on numerous occasions: For "real" seamanship aboard cargo ships, for adorning my large brass telesopce (took me a week and about 200 meters of lanyard to cover it ), for ships in bottles, making keychains etc etc. For piracy purposes, I even replicated one of the blackjacks that are also shown in the book. It may be a matter of perspective, but I feel that this book is definitely worth the 50 $.

You will need to get The Ashley Book Of Knots, then. Although primarily on knots (almost 4,000 of them), there are also explicit instructions on the making and dimensions of several hammocks (item # 3813 ff.). I used the book to make a heavy canvas hammock with sewn grummets aboard my first ship in 1985, which I still use today.

Thank you, Nigel!

Ahoy Maria! Here be the pic of the book's spine. Ye can clearly see the gilt French fleur- de- lis in the second field from the left.

Ahoy, Wolfy! Actually, there's a story behind this tattoo (I believe that a good deal of inks have a more or less "secret" story): The bird that you see on my right forearm is a plush vulture that a former girlfriend gave me: After we separated (No, it's not one of those tattoos that lasted longer than the love ), I decided to make him a tattoo. I converted him into a toon in the same pose like the sparrow on Captain Jack Sparrow's arm. He looks so damn confident in spite of his small wings, that he is my symbol for endurance and fortitude against all odds. BTW Wolfy: It's a strange conicidence that you should have a predilection for wolves, for I do too, because of my first name, Wolfgang. That resulted in another tattoo, a wolf's paw on my right upper arm (own design as well):

Have ye seen the end date? 8 days to go! The price will waaayyy rise until then... especially when the Johnny Depp estrogen crew finds out about this...

Ahoy King's Pyrate, I am only the proud owner. The one who really was (and should be) proud of this excellent work was the bookbinder. Ahoy Blackjohn, I spent 50 Pieces of Eight (Euros ) on the binding, because the leather binding is about twice as expensive as a normal binding. I was pointed to the bookbinder by our local Landesbibliothek (State Library). They have lots of very old tomes there. One that I studied was dated 1512, and I have to confess that my hands trembled when I turned the pages over. So I figured that if anybody knew where to have books bound, it had to be them and, indeed, they were able to help me. The bookbinder was a very nice and competent older gentleman and he and I had a great discussion as to how to bind it, what material and embellishments to use, etc. I am particularly fond of the smoothness of the goatskin. It is as smooth as silk and feels great. I am already thinking of also having my edition of "A General History Of The Robberies & Murders Of The Most Notorious Pirates" rebound. Have to to plunder a few galleons first, though. Hopefully, this book will last for a long time to come. Hope this helps,

Avast there! Just collected a re- bound book from our local bookbinder. It is the "Buccaneers of America" by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin that was first published in 1678. I had the book rebound in goatskin and decorated it with the year of publishing on the cover (1678 translates to MDCLXXVIII in Latin numerals) and a french lilies on the spine (as Exquemelin was a frenchman). What a transition! From an ordinary, dull paperback like this: to a work of art:

How about this one: Victory from "The Pirate Movie" ? (Remember to click the "play" button) Although I think the movie sucked big time, the song is rather cool. The lyrics: Raise the flag of piracy, sing the song of victory Glorious in battle are we We've never known defeat, we never will retreat. We live to hear the cannon roar, And terror is our sempahore Victoriously loathsome are we, We rob the rich, the poor; then steal a little more. Chorus: Victory, we fight to win Victory is ours again We are the scourge of the land and sea Beastly pirates are we. Masters of the briny sea, We'll go down in history. Couragous men who live by the sword We deal in treachery, the kings of lechery. Raise the anchor, trim the sail We raid tonight if winds prevail Invincible we fight to the end United to a man, we need no battle plan. Chorus It's so pitable a sight, to see them walk the plank They squirm and cry for mercy regardless of their rank. Chorus Victory