Zath Chauvert

So far, I've only met Phil, but that might change soon, what with PARF being just around the corner and all.

I took a couple of pictures, but none of them are terribly interesting. I got one amusing one of some little werewolf/rat thing poking through the boxes by the pirate ship. Other than that they're all pictures of bits of stage with people's heads in the way.

Do you happen to have any further information about the faire in Wildwood? I was planning on visiting Cape May that weekend, and a faire would be a wonderful addition to the trip. :)

I was at work today when I remembered that there multiple songs with the title "Sailor's Prayer" or some variation thereof, so I figured I should clarify yesterday's statement. The song I am talking about is the one with the chorus that goes, "I will not lie me down, this rain a-raging. I will not lie me down in such a storm. And if this night be unblessed, I shall not take my rest until I reach another shore." I am not talking about the song praying for revenge against people who sell bad beer to sailors. That one is amusing, but it doesn't give me the warm fuzzies inside like the first one I mentioned does.

fyi - there is an atm in the wine shop before you get to the gates onthe right. Doh!

I didn't arrive at the fairgrounds until after 3pm on Sat., so there were a few groups that I didn't get to see perform, and I never made it over to Bosworth Field to watch the guys flinging telephone polls and such, but all in all I had a grand time. I ended up buying three CDs (Eileen Ivers, Charlie Zahm, and the Glengerry Bhoys) and some Welsh cookies (yummy!). I also saw a nifty silver compass rose pendant that I wanted, but it was $20 and at that point I only had $15. I'll just have to hope that it's still there in August. That's what I get for forgetting to hit the ATM before hitting the road. I didn't see anyone wearing the Pub's black spot pin. But then again, I wasn't wearing one either (I really should get one some day), so I guess there could have been a lot of us there, all wandering around incognito. I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did.

I don't recall who wrote it, but I really like the song "Sailor's Prayer" as performed by the Corsairs.

Suddenly these things are appearing all over the place. I know for certain that I've seen them at Rite-Aid and Wegmans, and I think that I might have seen them at Target too. Unfortunately, I have neither the time to play such games nor anyone to play against if I ever found the time. Can anyone tell me if the cards are worth $3 per pack just on the basis of their mini piratical artwork? Or should they only be bought by people who actually intend to use them?

I'm getting ready to make coat #2 from this pattern, this time for my brother. Coat #1 is the one I'm wearing in my profile pic. Anyway, I found some nice lightweight blood-red fabric that is supposedly (haven't done a burn test yet) 86% linen at Jo-Ann's in the clearance rack for $2/yd. The only problem is that it crinkles/puckers strangely whenever it gets wet, so if I ironed the fabric smooth again before giving it to my brother, it would look really weird once he started to sweat. Therefore, rather than ironing, I'm going to leave it wrinkled. It makes for an interesting texture, and at least this way the fabric will be uniform in appearance instead of just wrinkled under the armpits and down the middle of the back.

In a pinch, a fistful or two of those gold-tone Sacajawea dollar coins can be an easily obtainable substitute for doubloons. They might even be better than doubloons because they're modern legal tender, so you can actually buy things with them without having haggle with anyone over several hundred years worth of inflation rates after convincing them that the 17th century Spaniards routinely stamped "copy" on their money.

Even without any accessories, just a frock coat and a longish waistcoat can be enough to cause quite a problem when trying to maneuver in a narrow stall with less than sanitary conditions. Add a big hat and a sword into the equation and you have a whole new dimension of trouble. Real pirates had the option of using the head before they geared up for battle, but that isn't always an option at the faire.

So far everyone has left one very important thing off the list: a friend to hold all your stuff while you're in the privy!

Actually, someone cheated by doing a little "post-production" cropping, contrast enhancement, and such. You also haven't seen all the blurry, horrible pictures that I took in between the good ones. He was mean to pirates but also quite amusing. Did you guys have a script that you stuck pretty close to, or were a lot of the jokes ad-libbed on the spot?

Okay, let's see if this works...

What sort of stuff will be unique to the individual comics and left out of the trade paperback edition?

I'll have to see what I can do about posting some of the photos that I took. I should have a few good ones. I just need to remember my photobucket password so that I can share them. I also used my camera to take a couple of amusing video clips. I took one of Phil demonstrating his piratical poetry and another of part of the pirate queen's death scene at the end ("I'm not dead yet!"). Unfortunately, the files are far too big to post online.

No, I somehow managed to miss the spurting blood! I guess your black pants did a good job of hiding it. When did it happen? When we met again at the end of the day, I was curious about why you were limping, but I figured that you had twisted your ankle or something. I hope you feel better soon. On the bright side, you could probably take advantage of the limp in order to do a pretty mean Capt. Barbossa impression. You would just need to exchange your parrot for a monkey. :) The weather wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was strange that it seemed to be centered directly over Wilkes-Barre. The weather was beautiful the whole way up until I crested the last big hill before the town, and then there were suddenly rain clouds covering the whole area. It was also downright bizarre the way that the last of the rain ended at the very instant of the last drumbeat of the last song by Clann An Drumma. They couldn't have timed it better if they had tried. Awwww...

I had a lot of fun in Wilkes-Barre this Sunday. There was not a lot in the way of vendors, but I did find myself forced to part with some hard earned cash for a stuffed dragon holding a rabbit in one hand and a bottle of tabasco sauce in the other. The shows helped to make up for the lack of vendors, as did the hot apple sundae on a waffle. My favorite shows were Clann An Drumma (crazy Scotsmen with drumsticks), the Singing Executioners (a comedy duo who are exactly what their name implies), and Phil's pirate show (also what the name implies). It was also nifty to finally meet someone from the pub, and it was nice chatting with PyratePhil. Finally, I have to say that the big, dark gymnasium-like building full of vendors was strange at first, but it certainly came in handy when it was pouring rain outside. :)

**drool** I'm not very keen on buying individual comic books. However, once the bound edition comes out, it will be mine! :)

So you're saying that I should show up at the faire without pants? At least that would make me easy to pick out of a crowd. I could call myself "Capt. Drafty" and pretend that I don't know why people are looking at me strangely.

Once the comic book run/arc/whatever is over, will all the issues be collected together in graphic novel format?

Yes, it would be very nice to see Jason Isaacs as Hook again, but he'd be a bit too old to play this particular version of him. However, he could always play James's father. Personally, I'd like to see Mr. Isaacs as Hook in a Pan-sequel where he ditches the flying children and gets to do some real pirating.

I'm going to try to be at the faire on Sunday, the 29th. I haven't decided whether I want to dress up or not. I still haven't sewed the buttons on the frock coat that I made for PARF/Halloween last year and my costume is also lacking pants and footwear. Maybe I'll just wear jeans and my "Worst Pirate Ever" shirt...

I have good news for Captain Hook fans. There is another prequel to Peter Pan coming out, and it has nothing to do with Peter and the Starcatchers. This one is simply called Capt. Hook, so I'm sure everyone can figure out who the (anti)hero of the story is. It was written by J. V. Hart and illustrated by Brett Helquist. I just finished an advance reader's edition of the book (it goes on sale in August) and I have to say that I liked it better than Harry Potter. It starts with a fifteen-year-old James entering Eton and then shows everything that leads him to becoming a pirate. If anyone wants to know more, I will be happy to provide details with as few spoilers as possible. :) p.s. Before anyone thinks that the Harry Potter comparison is just hyperbole, I should point out that I am not overly fond of J. K. Rowling's series and gave up on it after the third book. I am not saying that Capt. Hook is the greatest young adult book in the world. I am simply stating my own preference for one versus the other.

Arrr! I've been raiding galleys! Unfortunately, these have been galleys in the printing/publishing sense of the word rather than nautical ones. But a pirate can dream, can't she? Anyway, I recently got my hands on an uncorrected proof of a book called The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf, by William C. Davis. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it has 200+ pages of endnotes and bibliography, so it looks like it was well researched (or at least well documented). If anyone else is interested in it, the book is supposed to be in stores this May. On the fictional end of the shelf, I also acquired a galley of a novel called Kingston By Starlight, by Christopher John Farley, which is yet another telling of the story of Anne Bonny/Mary Read/Jack Rackam. This one is due out in June.