Mission

I have a new favorite movie. It even aces out my previous favorite movie (Raiders of the Lost Ark), so I'm sharing. Interstate 60 Be forewarned, it is not for all tastes - it's sort of the Alice in Wonderland road trip movie - very thought provoking and interesting. It feels like a much-beloved niche book about growing up; one set on an imaginary route, going through imaginary towns, populated by fascinating imaginary characters who encounter extreme, but well-defined situations. Yet it isn't from a book at all - it's a movie idea that Bob Gale had when he got frustrated with Hollywood. The characters are very well drawn, the acting is top notch and the situations reveal important points. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I can't recommend it more highly. Brush up on your slightly loopy metaphysics and enjoy a really fascinating ride. I watched it three times this weekend before ordering my own copy and reluctantly sending it back to Netflix.

This is a list of goods that were in quarantined ships coming into England from 1709-1714 from Booker's Book. While even the author notes that the accuracy can be easily questioned (records were spotty at best), I thought it did present an interesting assembly of things being imported. It gives a small insight into what pirates may have encountered when they took vessels. Note that most of these cargoes were coming from the Baltic, however. I admit I am a trifle confused by the heading on the columns. If I understand it rightly, it indicates how many cargo items ships had when they were quarantined. The foot notes and an explanatory paragraph about the meaning of some of the commodity words is included at the end. "Notes: (1) Items italicized were 'enumerated' as particularly liable to convey infection. (2) (G) means the product was imported from the German North Sea ports; (g) means the product was essentially from the Baltic, but also imported from Germany (3) The term 'staves' includes hogshead, barrel and pipe-staves. (4) Hartshorn includes buckhorn. Sources: NA PC 2.82-4; Calendar of Treasury Books, vols 24-8; NA SP 44/245 and CUST 99/1; Hull City Archives WB 8,9 The usual caveat applies: that the information is only as good as the details which were entered in contemporary records... The term 'bale goods' was ambiguous, as it could refer to any cargo not classified as 'case' goods, but there was much more at stake than naval stores. Potash was used by soap-makers. Deals had a market in the building trade, and staves, although very much in demand for shipboard barrels, had a wide sale among coopers. Clapboards, although sometimes used also for barrels, were the material for wainscoting. Lampblack, or blacking, was used to make ink. Mum was a German beer. Smalt was a blue class crushed to make pigments. But the temporary absence of such minor commodities would not have sent ripples through Government as did naval stores. It is worth noting that one cargo of rye (imported to Newcastle) is the only significant foodstuff in the list, although the Danish prize Helena, forced to do quarantine in Stangate Creek, carried a cargo of corn which the prize agent was anxious to sell." (Booker, p. 66)

But by cocking the hat... they don't blow off of your head as easily. (they do stay on yer noggin so much better than a flat brimmed hat... or Cavalier/Musketeer style... ask Mission... ) Yep. I love my Patrick Hand original hat, but you cannot wear that thing in a medium breeze. Hollywood is all about style and (almost) never about substance. Watch some of the alleged History Channel productions and see how many times you can count the places where they modified, amplified or simplified the historical facts to make sure it "works" - ie. the first half hour ends with an unresolved conflict, or there is a romantic involvement or such like. You can learn a lot by watching "Making of" and voice-over commentaries. They choose clothing that makes the character stand out (Jack Sparrow for example) or not (British soldiers in identical red costumes). The Brit costumes are also an example of shorthand. I've read here about British uniforms in all sorts of different colors, but American audiences would be confused by pirate era soldiers in anything but red with white piping unless it was explained to them - a story complication most movies don't want to bother with. So the shorthand version is that all British soldiers wear red uniforms with white piping - nothing needs to be explained. Etc. You can't really blame them. Most people don't go to movies to see historical accuracy - they go to see something cool. (I would argue something similar for the History Channel - except it would go more like, "Most people don't watch the HC to learn about history, they watch to learn something cool they can use to impress people with in conversations.") So they are essentially providing what folks will pay to see. Besides, as we've discussed here (ad nauseum), folks who actually do want to be historically accurate can't even pin the facts down very well.

May I suggest breaking it down into finer steps? You need one that you can cross items off occasionally - which lowers anxiety instead of increasing it. My get up (much of which Michael made for me since I am not good at sewing) includes at least 7 items - hat, coat, waistcoat, shirt, slops, socks (easier to buy) and shoes (not as easy to buy, but buy them anyway). A list like yours would frustrate me once the novelty wore off and reality set in. Being able to cross things off regularly fends off frustration. Also, an important key to lists is working on only one item at a time - until it's finished. (I give a training on organizing large tasks sometimes. Feel free to tell me to pipe down if you don't want to hear it. )

Ah, this is the trouble with making an index thread... I know Harry had a hand in making these forms and he won't be in charge of the event this year. So this year's forms (I am presuming there will be some) may not be the same. Or they may. Who knows? As Michael said, they haven't shown up until a month or so before the event began, so there is no reason to believe they will this year. I mainly included this in the index to give folks an idea that there will probably be forms and you should keep a sharp eye - starting in, say, late September. As for being ready for the event, no one is ever fully ready for the event. Even when you think you're ready, you'll find new things occurring to you in the last minute. My suggestion - if you're an org. freak like I can be - is to make a list of everything you want to do pre-PiP and then prioritize it. Start at the top and go. Maybe add to and check it over once a month or so, possibly re-orging it if you're really an org. freak. Otherwise you'll find yourself getting sidetracked on irrelevant projects. (Well that works for me when I'm tackling big projects.)

Ah, found another quote related to quarantining goods coming into England. I thought the details about importing skin for leather and hair for wigs was kind of interesting. "It remains to consider one more aspect of quarantine in the Marseilles emergency [1720-1723], which was the airing of kid and hare skins, and human hair. This was an issue to which the Privy Council paid close attention, as medical opinion held that skin and __ hair were especially prone to harbour infection. Skins were sometimes imported in ships which were liable to quarantine anyway, but in the great majority of cases they formed part of a cargo in vessels from the near Continent, especially Hamburg, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. As these ships were not themselves detained, they do not form part of the statistics of quarantine... Most of the skin and hair went to the Red House at Deptford, which has already een discussed. Skins were imported in vast quantities for the leather trade; as many as 28,000 in one consignment, sometimes spread between two ships, and packed in bales, casks or 'fatts'. Other skins were imported through Ireland, which did not exempt them from the quarantine restrictions. Human hair for wig and peruke makers was imported generally in quantities of 50 to 70 lbs, packed into bag or barrels, although 500-lb cargoes were not unknown."

Above is William's post, which has been split out of another topic, because I thought his post would be the perfect one to head an index of threads to help those looking for info on the event. William's list of threads above refer mostly to events pre-2008 PiP. There is some overlap between this and William's post, but I guess it's just as well to have it in two easily accessible places as one. Note that I have tried to add the year of the post to topics where it made sense for reference. First I want to highly the two threads of most importance to those attending this year (as of 4/3/12): FTPI Roll Call 2012 - FTPI 2012 Below are topics of interest, hopefully in order of importance. For First Timers! (some of the basics): Smart things to bring -- More questions about PiP -- How to begin? -- We're Virgins! -- Question from a pyrate new to PiP -- First Time Going to PiP Logistics: Flying To PiP -- Eating Out in Key West -- Firewood, Meals and Cooking -- Powder? -- Special Effects at PiP -- Driving to PiP -- Shipping Items to PiP - Tent Poles/Trailer Relay -- PiP on the Cheap? -- pets at PiP? Where to Stay and How: -- FTPI Encampment Info 2010 -- Some PIP Experienced Pirates, pls? [2010] -- PC Tent? -- Getting tentage ready for PIP -- Sleeping and washing -- Can We Use Hammocks at PiP? (2009) -- The Mercury, 1720 Careening Camp (2007) -- Creating the 1720 Careening Camp (2006) -- GAOP Encampment (2006) * Modern Camping: Additional off site camping -- ????'s about PiP (Modern Camping & RVs) * Hotels & Such: my research: places to stay (hotel & condo info) -- Places to Stay Clothing & Such: Garb and Questions (pics) -- MyFEET! (Footwear Appropriate to the Event) -- need socks (hose) -- The Mercury, 1720 Clothing and Weapons (2007) Photos for Reference: 2011 F.T.P.I. photo thread -- PIP Pictures! [From 2010] -- Pip Photos Thread 2009 -- Who Goes There? - Identify Yourself! -- Mr. Isreal Cross goes on Holiday PiP 2008 Photo Thread -- Callahan Photos ('08) -- Official PiP Picture Thread ('07) -- Pics From Past PIPs (/07) -- More Pictures of PiP 2005 -- PIP 2005 Photos -- More Pics of PiP (2004) -- NEW PICS FROM PIP 04! -- Pirates in Paradise, 2004 Other Events & Happenings: Sutlering at PiP -- Blacksmithing at PiP -- Port Royal Scenario ('08) -- The Mercury Crew (Roles 2007)-- Music -- The Sealkies Hide ('08) -- Planned Bar Ordinary Fight (at the Sealkies Hide) '08 PIP 2008 Parade * Buccaneers Display: The Buccaneer Camp 2010 (Planning) -- Buccaneer Camp at PiP 2009 -- Buccaneer Camp Discussion (2008) * Dead Man's Chest Fundraising Auction: Dead Man's Chest 2010 -- Dead Man's Chest 2009 -- Dead Man's Chest (Planning for '08) * Living History Displays: Living History Demos Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion [2011] -- Living History Demos Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion 2010 -- Living History Ideas '09 -- Living History Demos (2009) -- Living History Display ('08) * Fun Stuff: Things Overheard at FTPI/PiP 2011 -- The History of PiP (2010) -- Things Overheard at PIP 2010 -- Period PiP Drinks -- Things I haven't done at PiP (2010) -- Special Moments of PIP 09 -- Top 10 Reasons to Go To PiP '10 -- Top 10 Signs You've Been To PiP ('08) -- Top 10 Signs You've Been to PiP ('07) -- Arr You Ready? -- PiP Teaser Trailer 2009 -- Fort Taylor Pirate Festival Trailer -- Fort Taylor Pirate Festival Trailer ('08)-- PiP Video ('07) -- Video #2 ('07) -- 'memorable quotes Event Journals: The Tryal of Stynky Tudor -- PIP Update! [2010 By Diosa] -- A Pirate's Account ('08) -- Event Review ('09) -- AFTER ACTION REPORT PIP 2006 * Surgeon's Journals: 2011 Surgeon's Journal Web Page -- Surgeon's Journal 2011, Text Version -- PiP 2010 Surgeon's Journal -- Surgeon's Journal Web Page 2009 -- Surgeon's Journal 2009 [Text Version] -- Surgeon's Journal PiP '08 -- The Surgeon's Tale (Surgeon's Journal Webpage '07) -- Play by play at PiP ('07) Other Event Info (NOTE: Some of this is for reference only! Sign ups and forms may be out of date!) : FTPI 2012 -- FTPI Website (2011) -- FTPI 2011 Forms & Information -- 2011 Pirates in Paradise Festival -- 2011 Fort Taylor questions -- PIP/Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion (2010) -- PIP/Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion (Changes in 2010 from 2009) -- The PiP Poop Deck (All the Details and Information) [2009] -- PiP Registration forms ('08) -- 2009 Festival Dates -- 2008 Festival Schedule -- Suggestions for '09 -- Encampment Duty Roster -- Footprints! Tents (We need to know your living space size!) (2009) * Roll Call (Signing up to attend): FTPI Roll Call 2012 --- Roll Call 2011 --- Roll Call 2010 -- Roll Call 2009 -- Roll Call 2008 -- Roll Call 2007 --

I'm not saying the process of quarantine is not interesting, I'm saying the book I'm reading is not interesting. This book reads like stereo instructions. My interest was in the role of the ship's surgeon in the quarantine process - particularly in obtaining pratique. Unfortunately, they appear to have had no role in the English version. I have some other notes where they were involved in a minor way at the Italian ports. Yonge gives a fun description in his Journal: “We came up close to the mouth of the haven of Messina, and sticking the ship ashore under the trees, ran hastily with a halser and fastened to one of them… After we had been a while there, no one suffered to come ashore, we are all hands called out of the ship and directed to a small quadrangle, where an old fellow, perusing the bill of health we had from Genoa, puts on a great pair of spectacles as big as saucers and, making each man expose his groins and armpits, he looks into them and with a stick thrusts in them, where, finding nothing, we are allowed prattick [pratique], and then went into the town. One of our men who came from Genoa with a bubo [from Gonorrhea] was quite cured, for I purged and sealed it off, so as he was well and nothing showed but the want of hair, tho our man earnestly lookt into it and see if he could find what he suspected.” (Yonge, p. 75)

Ok, I'm sicka' trying to find the "secret" stuff on my own website in the Surgeon's Journal. For those of you who didn't know, the Surgeon's Journal web page features a bunch of "hidden" links to other pages for various things at PiP last year. (They're not very well hidden - you just roll your mouse over photos and see if there's a link. However, people have complained that they get caught up in the text and forget to do this.) Since there is no index to these pages on the page and the web page creator (me) can't find the damned things without opening it up in edit mode, I am fixing this. See, I use the Pub as my back-up navigational tool for my own site. So I'm listing all the extra (or Easter Egg) pages here, mostly for my own reference. For those of you who weren't sure you found all of them a few months back, you now have the map. Here is the first page of the Surgeon's Journal PiP '08. The extra pages include: "Organized" Events: The Buxom Wench and Bad Ass Pirate Contest -- The Walk the Plank Contest -- El Meson Party after Walk the Plank Contest -- Friday Flag Procession into the Fort -- Sunday's Dead Man's Chest Auction -- Sunday's Locks of Love Auction-- Sunday's Hanging of Captain Sterling Battle-Related Pages: Friday - First Battle -- Saturday - Second Battle -- Saturday - Pirates Take Fort Taylor -- Sunday - Third Battle -- All Girl's Cannon Crew -- M.A. d'Dogge's Cannon Crew Informal Events: Conquestadors Abduct Captain Spike -- Dutch (bcddutchman) Explains Period Navigation -- Firing to Salute the Sunset -- Sunset Itself -- Fort Ghost-Hunting Tours -- The Process of Making Salmagundi -- Stynky's Drunken Hat Swap Game Places of Interest: Encampments -- The Sealkies Hide -- Vendors and Such Interesting Characters: Crudbeard & Oreo -- Harry -- Mae & Brig dunked by M.A. d'Dogge -- The Tryal of Stynky Tudor -- Morgan Drake -- The Thatchers and, of course, last, but certainly not least Lob And one extra special one featuring Grace Thatcher's Baby Lion Gift to Mission the Surgeon: Baby Lion Visits Mexico I am putting this in the first post as well so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

Ed Fox does pretty good (and thorough) research. If he says it's period, he's probably got a source to back it up, so I'd say you were pretty safe if you wanted to go with that design. If you still want to cast about, you might check out the Encampments Page in the Surgeon's Journal PiP '08. I'm thinking particularly of Michael Bagley's tent - it would probably would use the least amount of canvas.

Yep. It reads like dialogue from a Gregory McDonald novel. ( I do so wish Kevin Smith would have made a Fletch movie like he was considering...it might wash all that Chevy Chase nonsense out of the public psyche.)

Cheers to Morgan! Rennie turned pirate photographer and good sport.

I thought some of you interested in clothing might find this a little interesting: "Yet the European perception that some goods were more ‘susceptible’ to harbouring disease than others was certainly understood in England. Cloth was thought one of the most deadly transmitters: this is why the linen ships from Morliax were targeted in 1638, and why textiles from Colchester were to be aired at Stratford in 1666. Any fibrous material, including hemp and flax, was reckoned highly contagious, although tar and pitch were thought to form an effective barrier. Thus the cordage at Yarmouth was susceptible but not when tarred. In the years ahead the division into susceptible and non-susceptible goods was to be a science in itself, with every conceivable import placed in one category or the other, with grades of susceptibility.” (Booker, p. 15-6) “The most interesting aspect of the Scottish measures lies in the insistence that cargoes should be ‘cleansed’, either by the very radical measure of immersion in sea water for a day or two, or by opening and airing. In this respect the country __ was nearer to the Continental practice than was England where, for lack of a convenient airing ground in the Thames estuary, and for the insouciance of the Privy Council about what happened in the outports, the focus was on quarantine itself.” (Booker, p. 24-5)

I don't know Christine's quote, but the game has been dead for months and I just thought this quote was funny so I'll post it here and see what happens. (I took the name out. It makes it too easy to find for those of you willing to sink to Google-cheating. ) "Is there a Mrs. _____?" "No, but I do have a very nice cat." "Not the same." "Well, you don't know my cat, it's very demanding." "You don't know if it's a boy or girl?" "I respect its privacy. "

The way this was set up, no one contributes anything other than their time participating in the experiment.

Well, I made an assumption - one based on the results of the actual experiments. But let me phrase it as a question to you: If you were the person who was charged with offering the split, would you offer 60% of the total to another, unknown and unseen person and be willing to accept 40% if they agreed to accept your offer? (On the plus side, I imagine they would almost surely accept.)

Because that's what everyone would choose based on their personas. (It would bias the results and that ain't scientific.)

Ok, so I was reading about this psychology experiment they did and I thought it would be interesting to see what pirate re-enactors thought. How it works: Two people are randomly assigned to each other. You do not meet and your identity is never revealed. At stake is $100.00. One person picks how the money will be divided between the two of you and the other chooses whether to accept the deal or not. There are 2 rules: 1. You are only given one opportunity to play. 2. If the second person declines the deal, you both walk away with nothing. Since we don't actually have the situation described, I have created a poll which asks for the lowest division you would accept if it were offered to you by your unseen partner. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you're a pirate and would take all the money, but that's not an option.)

I sort of liked this series and followed it up to about the seventh novel. At that point I found it had gotten weighed down as the author kept acquiring zany new regular characters to 'help' Stephanie out. (Although I suppose it gets boring writing about the same characters - adding new ones gives you goofy new directions to follow.) I am still reading Maritime Quarantine by John Booker, which is, for the most part, stultifyingly dull; Confess, Fletch by Gregory McDonald (For probably the 7th or 8th time) and Code Name High Pockets by Edna Binkowski. I am also in the middle of several books I have set down for the nonce (to allow me to wade through the Quarantine book which is due back to the library soon) including Churigius Marinus by John Moyle and the General History of the Most Notorious Pyrates by Johnson (although the version I have is mis-attributed to Defoe.)

This is how I got sucked into joining. I think it is only cool if you are really familiar with the facebook commands - I personally found it sort of confusing. I do like the fact that I can turn on all these anti-social settings on a social networking site, however. That alone makes facebook amusing.

Cheers! Have a great birthday!

Oh...Sophie is Sophia! Happy birthday! People were asking about you at the event in Columbus a few weekends ago. You should have come up.

While this book [Maritime Quarantine: The British Experience c. 1650 -1900 by John Booker] does not contain as much about the medical aspects of maritime quarantine as I had hoped it would, it is sort of interesting how political the whole thing was. A lot of the various periods of quarantine and importing countries subject to quarantine seem to have had as much, if not more, to do with personal political agendas than they did with health. Then there are the aspects of local enforcement (apparently strict for some, lax for others) and the paperwork, fees and appeals required to be certified to leave quarantine for some, but not all.