Cap'n Pete Straw

ebay. Just do yerself a search for "cutlass" and "pistol". Actually, do it and take a look-see -- its a mighty fine little prop. But its useless fer firin', fer iffen ye pack it with powder and succed in ignitin' it, it may blow up in yer face. But a flitlock pistol and boarding cutlass all in one. Sure looks fine hangin' off yer belt.

Oh! Pirate-y news! I fear we may be a might off topic here, but chattin' with a comely and witty lass is, er, exactly What I Like In A Woman! (there... back on topic, Aye?) Today I just got me new cutlass/flintlock combo. It's a cheap metal non-firing knockoff, but as far as props go, it's a mighty fine little costume pirate toy. Impressed the hell out of the landlubbers at work.

Oh, and -- er -- ye still got any o' them thar grapes?

Nae, lass. I din't mean ye -- no offense in station intended. I took yer phrase "A beer in one hand and the remote in the other" te answer "What Do You Like In A Woman?", and thus me remark. It were generic, and did not imply te impugn on yer bitin' and wrestlin' prowess. But here, I ain't below servin' ye a drink -- slide yer tankard o'er here... Ray left the bottle a wee too close te me. ..

Lady Barbossa -- I am IN Chicago. Live in the Western Suburbs (way west.... there are camels less than a mile from my front door!), and I work downtown. My office window (14th floor) overlooks Lake Michigan, and I get to see all the boats from my unobstructed view. So... you tell me when you guys are gonna be here. I am either free or not -- but otherwise I don't need to plan to get to where I already am. I have been to MSI a gajillion times, but have not "done" the filmmaking exhibit. Some friends have had a blast there... Isabella: I will check for Wacky Pirate Cruise brochures in the neighboring hotel lobbies. Speaking of hotels, "good" = "king's ransom." If you want to be downtown, your choices are limited to expensive ones. Or crappy ones.

Hey, whoever has that top, can you please give it back to Merrydeath? 'Cuz I really doubt it could possibly look better on YOU.

Hey, wench! Where ye be goin' wit' me beer and remote?

... And then I re-read the posts. Merrydeath has herself a clear place in mind, so fergit what I were a-sayin'. Care te tip yer hand of where ye be thinkin'?

Hmmm... Chicago? Sure, that sounds like it might be possible te weigh anchor and get out te them climes... March is still technically winter the Land of the Stinking Onion, and there still be the threat o' snow an' freezing. April, like they says, comes in like a lion and out like a lamb (except for one notable year when it were reversed). Mid-to-late-April can be the nicest weather ever. So what are we talkin' about? What kind of pubs do ye need? Are ye lookin' in the city proper, or out in the 'burbs? (there be some nice places in the 'burbs).

SORRY -- that did not work at all. Anyone have any tips on uploading a photograph from my computer WITHOUT trying to put it on an intermediate website?

I went out and bought a 6 foot cable so I could scan this photo. Here is the pic of my son at Hallowe'en, wearing his new pirate coat. I have never tried to upload a photo before -- let's see if this works... My Webpage

Actually, yes -- I think I said this earlier when I mentioned my preference of an absence of Y chromosomes!

Actually, I were thinkin' this morn' that, in the vein of the "Survivor" shows, a really good'un would be "Pirates." Ye put tegether a bunch o' people with no nautical experience whatsoever, under the command of a cruel captain and crew (the ones who keep the ship from capsizin'), give them ridiculous tasks (impossible knots; swabbin' the deck with toothbrushes; catchin', cookin' and eatin' rats from the hold), and through some sorta elimination "voting off" system, make the losers walk the plank! Ahr! We seem to have digressed rather far from "What do ye like in a woman?"

I cannot answer, with any degree of expertise, what pirate reenactors wear for leg coverings, as this needs to be answered by more seasoned pirate reeanctors. But the term "Pirate" means "one who plunders the seas" and, as such, represents people from prehistoric times to present day. ...Therefore, leg wear is/was dictated by the customs of the time (AND geographical location!). Most of the "Pirates" these days (and please correct me if I am wrong) are striving to recreate the "High Wave" of piracy which largely surrounds the 1700s (of course, there were significant Big-Name Pirates in the 1600s, and the "problem" continued well into the 1800s -- don't even bring up Confederate Blockade Running of the 1860s). One of the best boks I have in my collection is "A History of Costume" (by Kohler; Dover Press; ISBN 0-486-21030-8; 1963), a beautifully researched study into clothing through the ages, complete with pattern drawn from dissected originals. Men's hose was in vogue until the Sixteenth century -- when the reign of Charles IX (1560-74) largely changed the fashion of the times. Long hose (bas-de-chausses) retained its earlier form, but breeches became stylish as slashed outer breeches (trousses), then widened into tonnelets, and then into "trousers" by lengthening to the knees or lower and omission of the slashes. "At first these trousers were of the same width all the way down, and were merely gathered at the foot. But ere very long they were made tighter at the knees. This change was accompanied by the disappearance of the padded front flap. Its place was taken by a slit arranged for buttoning." -- must now put up Christmas lights outside and increase credit limit for Xmas shopping to be done later this afternoon... I can add to this later (going into the 1700s, if needed), if you are interested....

Actually, El Pirata, I be sayin' it's too bad there'll never be a tv series like THAT!

Yar, per'aps ye be right, lass, but everyone's tastes be diff'rent. Somtimes keepin' the booty in one place gives the Ol' Cap'n time te figger out which way ye need te blow a different set o' sails.

While I don't be keepin' so-called "S&M supplies" near at hand, in me sea chest I be havin' two sets o'wrist shakles, and a set o' legs irons. I be usin' them as paper weights te keep my printed booty from blowin' away... Actually, the irons be real useful themselves in keepin' all sorts o' booty from escapin' (iffin ye 'kens what I be meanin') but I be digressin' agin, I fear. :)

So what DO ye do with a drunken sailor? Buy him another drink? Go through his pockets looking for loose change?

I be disappointed... I typed in "Leathery Pirates," and all I got were listings fer Keith Richards autographed photos.

One last thing! What do I like in a woman? An absence of Y chromosomes.

I see this topic thread has been dead fer awhile... but did anyone buy these guns? What be yer experience (if ye did)?

I was tryin' te read all these posts (as many Pages as there are Seas! ), but had te give up... I kinna read no more. "What do you like in a woman? Physically that is. What do you notice first?" Well, I have te tell ye, this is two very separate and distinct questions. The Second First. What I notice first in a woman depends on my distance from her. Close: eyes. And skin (and then the shape o' her face; cheekbones, jawline... *sigh*). Far away: body shape (they all be good) and hair. If I can see her eyes from a long ways off, well, that be good too. Eyes be quite literally the porthole into a person's soul. Many things may catch my attention, but it's always the eyes. My likes? That quite depends on who 'tis I am with. Present company kin never be excluded. Of course, it's the eyes. Red hair (personal weakness). Personal beauty -- but this is something that I kinna summarize in any short space -- it depends on the person, and rarely acquaints to anythin' akin te textbook beauty. I guess this list could go on, and my list may be as long as there be women. But the one thing that I have always had a weakness fer, is when a woman displays a genuine interest in me. "I'm just terribly curious" Well then, bless yer heart, lass.

WD40 is some of the greatest stuff ever invented when it comes to metal care. However, it can remove surface printing (also the mystical runes spelling "PAKISTAN" on some of the less expensive models!). Picked myself up a Civil War naval sword ($50) which, to the unititiated, appears rather pirate-y. Regarding other blades on eBay, I have made a decent haul picking up replica (not United Cutlery) versions of virtually all the Lord of the Rings swords. Got some pretty good deals -- but they are NOT meant for rough blade-to-blade play... Be Warned Ye Wielders of Low (=No) Carbon Steel Blades!

For my son's hat (picture coming soon under "Simplicity Pattern" thread), I machine sewed a strip of yellow wool around the brim of the felt hat (the wool wrapped around to both sides of the brim, so the modern sticking is not obvious. For hat #2 (in progress: mine): I sewed a fancier braid (again - felt hat) and plan to cover this with hand-sewn fur around the inside of teh folded-up brim (documented in pirate books with pretty pretty pictures)

I am new to the Pyracy Pub, and am only catching up with these topic threads... This past summer, my son decided he wanted to be a pirate for Hallowe'en (the kids have a July deadline to get their orders in, or they don't get anything new). Several Joann Fabrics stores in the area were having moving sales -- so I picked up the Simplicity Pirate pattern for $0.99 (along with about 30 other patterns at the same price) and $75 worth of Burgundy velveteen for about $30 (SCORE!). The only problem I had with the pattern was scaling the adult pattern down to fit a kid. I have many years experience in costume making/design, however, and the whole thing turned out great IMHO. I used wodden buttons (purchased for $0.20 each at a Civil War Reenactment) to keep the price down... but still need to finish sewing the remaining buttons (I ran out of steam -- three costumes from scratch just about wiped me out). People were almost angered that my son "wasted" his full pirate costume only for trick-or-treating, and did not enter a contest (although the family had three rounds of full-costumed laser tag on Halowe'en morning!). I have some photos of the costume, and when I find a way to hook my scanner back up to the computer, I will post them.