Ransom

.................................................. When you least expect it! Buwaaaahahahahaaaa! (And there, I just gave you another post.)

Is there anyone thinking about being the Cat Wrangler....er, organizer....for the next round? Cat Wrangler is kinda a joke between organizers, but I must say, this third round seems to be progressing nicely, with no major issues. **knocks on wood*** Former organizers are Ransom, Patrick Hand, and currently Pew. It'll be awhile yet, but think about it....somebody....please.

Hey Rogue Mermaid- you look much better as a mermaid than I do! I'm probably going to regret posting that picture here but I have no shame :D :D ...............................

I haven't seen Jill's picture, but...I've heard about it! I'll share me French bubbly with you anytime, Patrick...but I think you prefer rum?

Eeeoowww. Peas are evil! HATE peas. SEEP

Trust me, go with Patrick. The McGyver of pyrates. He is not only sexy, but can make anything out of anything. Besides that, he is a really nice guy—I mean, fierce pyrate—yeah, fierce...LOL Welcome to the Pub. I'll have a glass of French bubbly, if you please.

APES

King's Head Inn Portsmouth The innkeeper’s last remark turned Simon a bit off his food. However, he thought the Keep was right in one respect. This might be the last good meal he'd have for quite some time. So, he forced himself to finish it all. The coffee helped wash it down. When he was done, he returned to his room, repacked ink, pen, and paper, along with the volume of Shakespeare, donned his great coat and hat, and returned to the common room. The Keep gave him a forlorn look. “So, ye’re off then?” “Yes, and could you make sure this gets in the next mail pouch bound for London.” Simon handed over the letter he had written to his father. “Last will and testament?” the Keep asked, as he took the envelope. “No! A first of many letters I intend to send to my family, letting them know how I fare.” Simon handed over the heavy room key. “Really, you are the most depressing fellow. Do you treat all your patrons with such a funereal attitude?” “Only those as are throwing their life away on a fool’s venture.” He leaned across the counter and gave Simon a wink. “Tell ye what, young sir. If ye survive yon trip, and turn up in my inn again someday, I’ll make ye a feast, and fill a pitcher with my finest ale, and not charge ye a copper.” Simon grinned at the man. “Done. And I’ll want dessert as well.” They shook hands to seal the bargain, then Simon left the King’s Head and started the short walk to the docks. To his dismay, it was still pouring down rain. With a nervous shrug, he headed for the Terra, the eggs and greasy chops suddenly curdling in his stomach.

GEEK

Very good work. Wish I knew more about how to do computer art. It's all a mystery to me.

I think your beard is developing a personality all its own. Let it grow! BTW, That interview was a crack up. Funny how now reporters think of Jack Sparrow before any other pirate. It's not like they ask, "So, what would you do if Blackbeard showed up right now?"

Super! But, unfortunately I miss-counted, and we still need one more! However, for those who have already signed on, here are some suggestions. When you go to mail the cards to me, put small pieces of wax paper between each card, so they don't smear or stick together. Sign each card, so the recipients will know who each artist is. If you sign them on the back, maybe put a small initial on the front, in case someone wants to frame the cards, where the backs wouldn't be visible. If you wish, put a brief bio on the back of each card. This isn't mandatory, but would be fun. ***Sign ups close Friday, February 13th.*** ALL CARDS MUST BE IN THE MAIL TO ME BY MARCH 1st. If you finish them right away, go ahead and mail them in. Don't wait until the last minute. As soon as I have all the cards, I will divide them up and mail them back out to you guys. For this first exchange, I will absorb the cost of return postage. In some exchanges players send postage or pay a small fee. I was afraid asking for a fee or postage would turn potential players away for this first try. So, don't worry about that, because I really don't mind doing it this time. Also, I intend to add goodies, so I'm not sure what the envelopes will end up weighing, but it isn't going to be a huge amount of money. If someone wants to do another exchange later, it is normal to ask for postage or charge a small fee. ***If any artist has not mailed their cards in by the deadline, the PTCs that would have gone to them will be divided up between the other players. List of artists so far: 1 Ransom 2 Rusty Nell 3 Cpt. Sophia M. Eisley 4 Michaelsbagley & Kate Souris 5 Pew 6 Patrick Hand 7 Sjoroveren 8 bbcddutchman 9 pyrateleather 10 ...? Wow, found another great web site giving examples of tons of ATCs. Lot's of ideas here, just not pyratey ones. But shows how creative you can get. Look Here!

Really? I figured you would want it to be beer.

Thanks, Michael. As for theme, yes, I would say pyracy would be the order of the day...but that could include anything to do with ships, treasure, maps, the sea...well, you get the idea. I also might add, that the pyracy theme includes pyrates off all nationalities...think the bretheren court. LOL That should give you lots of ideas to choose from.

I'm going to let sign ups go until the end of the week. If no one else has jumped on board by then, we'll go with just nine players. If any of you know of someone who might be interested, give them a shout out. Once sign ups are closed on Friday, I will give a few more instructions, and you will all have to send me your snail mail addys, and I will send you all mine. I'm thinking three weeks to get the cards done and mailed should give everyone plenty of time. The fun will begin on Valentine's Day.

SEAR

The Rakehell had just started to make her turn when a commotion started on the Relentless. I hurried to the rail, training the glass on where Jacky's men were pointing. An ominous red stain spread from a spot on the water, like an oil slick. Black fins broke the surface everywhere. Frantically, I searched the Relentless for Jacky's familiar figure, but couldn't find him. "Luff her up, luff her up now blast you, or I'll skin the hide off all of you," I screamed. The Rakehell fell instantly off the wind, and drifted not far from Jacky's ship. Africa, eyes wide, pointed to the seething water, where sharks circled and darted, looking for more prey. Running to the waist, I shouted at Jacky's stunned men. "Who was it? Who got taken by the shark?" The men, while giving wild-eyed glances at the hunters in the water, were frantically pulling up lines attached to something below the surface, and were too busy to answer me. With a sudden, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I watched the lines being hauled up, willing Jacky to appear unharmed. "If he lets himself get eaten by a shark, I'll kill him..." I cursed.

TONS

The cutlass is made by Windlass sword makers, and I bough it from a vendor at Ojai two years ago. You can google Windlass Swords and learn a bit about them. Also, Red-Handed Jill has one just like mine, but I don't know where she got it.

Thanks for the link, Kate, and heads up about being able to get ten cards from one sheet of card stock. I think, in that case, I will limit the number of players to ten, to make things easier. I'll go back and edit the intro post. That will also save me a bit of postage costs when I go to mail the cards back out. So far we have: 1 Ransom 2 Rusty Nell 3 Cpt Sophia M. Eisley 5 Michaelsbagley and Kate Souris 6 Pew 7 Patrick Hand 8 Sjoroveren 9 bbcddutchman ONE more, and we're good to go!

No problem, Michael. Here is another link with more information. ATCs The PTCs must be 2 1/2" X 3 1/2". Some craft stores sell sets of blank ones already cut to size. Or you can cut sturdy craft/art paper. Just make sure whatever you use will stand up to having stuff painted or glued to it. I think regular playing cards are about the right size, and I think they'd be sturdy enough, but you'd need to rough them up a bit. They're pretty slick.

Artist Trading Cards or ATCs, are small works of art traded among artists. The challenge is to be as creative as possible on a small scale. For more information on ATCs click HERE. I'm calling the ones we will do PTCs = Pyrate Trading Cards. The artwork will be the same as the journals—anything goes. The BIG difference between the PTCs and the journals, is that there will be no waiting months and months for a book to come back. PTCs are a one-shot deal. Here is how it will work, if the max of ten people sign on. 1. Each person makes ten cards, one for each player plus themselves — they can all be the same design, or all different. 2. You mail all the cards to me. As the organizer, I will have ten mailing envelopes ready, with each players name & addy on it. As the cards come in, I will divide them among each of the envelopes/players. 3. When all the cards are in to me (I will set a deadline), and divided up, I mail them out to all the players. Along with some extra goodies I intend to include. 4. Each artist then receives a packet containing one PTC from each player, for a total of ten, plus goodies. Done. From start to finish, it shouldn't take more than a month, or month and a half at most. You can display the PTCs in small photo albums, frame them as a group, or for those who have already participated in the journal rounds, you can add these to the empty back pages. So, who wants to play? And remember...it's a QUICK, one-shot deal. No waiting up to a year for a book to come back. **Maximum number of players changed from twelve to ten, mainly due to logistics and the fact that you can get ten PTCs cut from one standard sheet of card stock.

I see it now...Patrick's Angels. LOL OMG...My life is now complete! I've been immortalized in a Patrick Hand comix! Hey, Jill. Now we not only share birthday's, we share a comix strip! How kewl is that!

I gave Mr. Dysart a hard stare. "What do you mean, you know that ship? Who is she, and what's her business?" She's the Pride of Flodden, and her captain is one Tavish MacTavish, out of Aberdeen. That is, if he's still captain. He's an...opportunist, sort tae speak. Picks up goods 'round the Caribbean and sells them up North, sometimes as far as York Town." "What's he doing here? And why is he flying no colors?" Colard Dysart shrugged, then looked sheepish. "Weel, nae tae put tae fine a point on it, Ma'am, but, we ain't flying colors neither. He's nae a threat tae us, but he has nae love for yon Spaniards." Colard gestured toward the vessel that had been watching us. "Like as not, that's why he's here. Has a terrible hatred of the Spanish, does ol' Tavish." "Will he remember you?" "Been many a year, but, yes, I guess he'd remember an ol' shipmate from Dysart." "Fine." I turned to Africa. "Run up a flag of truce, so he doesn't fire on us, then put us within hailing distance of the brig." I turned to Colard. "When we get close, you give him a shout, and find out why he's here." "Aye, Ma'am, but..." "What?" "Weel, just hae a care. Ol' Tavish can sweet talk the birds from the trees, all the while he be stealing yer mother's sliver from the tea table." I grinned. "Oh, good. I can't wait to meet him." Just before the Rakehell veered off, I shouted at Jacky, "I'm going to make a social call. Be back in a tick."