Mission

Hey, this is sort of neat. Although what it apparently says on page 93 is, "After capturing this ship, l'Olonnais held council with his whole fleet, proposing to go on to Guatemala. Some voted in favour, others could not agree." So that isn't actually talking about them being there, but thinking about going.

Reading what I found on the text on-line (here), if you go back a few pages, you'll discover that they were near Puerto Cabello in a town called San Pedro when all this took place. (The text says San Pedro is 12 Leagues - which I believe is about 36 miles) from Puerto Cabello.) Based on that, I'd guess that what was then called the Guatemala River was in Venezuela near Puerto Cabello. But this is not in Chapter 10, it is in Chapter 2 in this book. One thing I've learned from reading period texts is that the names of places changed. In fact, the Spanish often called a place one thing and the English called it another.

Blues Brothers.

Since Exquemelin lived in Amsterdam after his adventures with the privateers, I doubt it would be all that difficult to find the book in Dutch. Although I have wondered if the material that Morgan sued to have removed from the book was returned to later English editions and, if not, how it reads in the Dutch editions. (Not enough to do any actual research, but still, I've wondered. )

Yes, it is.

We need to have a goat for this event. They did keep live animals on voyages. Looks like Priceline put me at the Hyatt for $50 a night. I wonder if they have somewhere to keep a goat in the Hyatt?

John? Johhhhhhhn? Oh, well. That was from The Sting, which is one of my five favorite movies EVER. Since John gave it away and didn't take credit, here's another one, in honor of Captain Sterling's laptop. It could be challenging unless you know the movie. "Bring around...the loaner." (Speaker rolls eyes.) "The loaner? The loaner?" "It's a classic."

I always thought it was kind of sad when I broke one of their legs off and it kept moving - but then I was trying to take them outside, not squash 'em...

And that completes it! Thanks! (I attached your forum names to your numbers. Sometimes it's hard to tell who posts here and who doesn't.) If anyone else has been wrongly tagged as a non-poster, just let me know and I'll fix the first list.

Why are they called deathhead buttons?

Ah, Journal fodder. I must try and be there for some of this.

When we were working on a haunted house for Halloween one year, we painted an advertising sign and put it up on the side that read, "If you lived here, you'd already be dead by now. Jaycees Haunted House Opening Oct __." I don't know if it actually worked as an advertisement, but I thought it was a funny parody. (That's what counts, right?)

They look like this: According to my quick web search they're House Centipedes, but I could swear we came up with another name for them. This pic came from this page, which has a really interesting article about the creatures, which notes: and Voila! Everything you need to know about our friend the House Centipede. Although I'm pretty sure they have another name...

Next you'll be suggesting we should squish spiders.

Interesting. This is from Rory W. McCreadie, The Barber Surgeon's Mate of the 16th and 17th Century. He has a sketch of his idea of a plaster box that might have been carried as described, although I don't know what it's based upon. If I remember, I will scan it in and add it to this thread. I do wish this man would have footnoted his quotes. “All surgeons were treated by both parties as non-combatants, and enjoyed certain privileges by custom rather than by any positive regulations. They probably wore a distinguishing badge; an Elizabethan writer said ‘Surgeons must wear their baldric, whereby they may be known in time of slaughter.’ What or if a sign was worn at the time of the [English] Civil War [1641-51] is not known. It is probably he had a green woolen baldric with three white stripes, one running along the middle and one down each edge, with their coat of arms (a silver speculum behind a crown which is over a Tudor rose) on the front, running long-ways. The woollen baldric is very strong, so it __ is possible he carried his first aid kit or plaster box, which looks like a large powder flask, on it. Often they were allowed to enter a hostile camp to treat wounded of their own side.” (McCreadie, p. 32-3)

“The services of a Barber to shave were more often used in the past than today. The steel of the razor was very expensive (more than a pikeman’s tuck or sword) and most men did not have the time, money, skill or courage to do it themselves. A man would go to a barber once or twice a week to be shaved. Samuel Pepys used pumice to smooth his face before developing the courage and skill to shave himself with an open razor. He went from once a week to daily, which was unusual, as said previously. Why he did it, we do not know. Perhaps he liked to save money, liked a challenge, or did not like anybody near him with a razor! To smooth your face with pumice (daily) must have been very painful.” (Rory W. McCreadie, The Barber Surgeon's Mate of the 16th and 17th Century, p. 30)

No, but thanks. I originally started this topic several years ago and we were talking about these centipede-like things that have long whispy legs that hang out in dark places. Their legs are really fragile and when you pick them up (to take them outside - I always take insects outside), their legs often break off because they're so delicate. Maybe they were centipedes, but it seems to me they were called something else...

Mark, you will laugh at my answer. Paul Newman and Robert Redford... in... Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It really was the first thing that came to mind. Funny that. Oh well. Maybe someone else will guess it. But...but... I think I'll give it to you on a technicality. Right people, wrong movie. (Who are those guys? )

since the original version of this topic seems to have been deleted (several years ago), I had to start a new version to show you all this: I'm sure you're all gratified now. (What were those things with the long whispy legs that we chattered on about back in the original topic? Does anyone remember?)

I found some further confirmation of this. “In 1629 King Charles I ordered “all the English ships calling at English ports to have a surgeon on board. The king ordered the Barber-Surgeons’ Company to get 97 trained Surgeons to fill the ships which had not surgeons, for when the law came into force”. A trained Surgeon is a Surgeon plus kit. The Company could not get the numbers. The Apothecaries made up the numbers kitted out all 97 of the Surgeons and Apothecaries with 3 chests: a small wounds chest (first aid or plaster box); a large Surgeon’s chest and an Apothecary chest. The Surgeons were given a crash course in apothecary work, and the Apothecaries one in surgery. The cost of the chests alone would have been very high. Once on board the ship, if the first aid chest was not adequate, the Surgeon/Apothecary would go for the chest he had more knowledge of." (Rory W. McCreadie, The Barber Surgeon's Mate of the 16th and 17th Century, p. 23) I wonder what McCready's source is?

I actually just asked Jill-Handed Red. She's very gregarious so I suspect she may know.

Thanks, Callenish! Bummer that no one knows the second girl's name. I put a whole series of pics with her in them in the Journal...

There were three teenaged girls with dark hair. While I do not know her name (and have given up hope of learning it), I'm pretty sure that this is Alex's girlfriend: There are a surprising number of people in the Searle's photos whose names I don't know. I don't feel too badly about this because no one else seems to know them either. (In fact, it's become a sort of running gag in the commentary...)

The movies that I know, I usually know really well. (Where would Bugs Bunny have been without the Marx brothers?) I actually have a whole picture book containing some of their best riffs that's named... Why a Duck? Gee, now I have to come up with another quote. "He's not as tough as he thinks." "Neither are we."