Bilgemunky

Nope - I'm talking about real world, look on a map and there it is Tortuga. I've seen two of them - maybe I need new glasses?

My lovely wife (God bless her) was researching a way to suprise me with a sailing trip to Torguga for my birthday. It won't happen this year unfortunately, just couldn't make all the factors work out. Once she knew for certain it wouldn't happen, she went ahead and told me (I'd known something was up, just didn't know what). While looking at maps and discussion the itinerary she was thinking of, things weren't adding up. I know of Tortuga as that island just off the north coast of Haiti, but the trip she had in mind was just off the coast of Venezuela - near the island of Margarita. I figured she must have been mistaked, but in looking at a different map - sure enough - there was an island named La Tortuga just off of Venezuela. Are there two? Which is the impostor?

I've been contacted via email by a leader from a Cub Scout pack in Buffalo NY who'd like a pirate (or small group of pirates) to give a talk to the cubs and their families. I'm getting more details as to the specifics, but I'd expect anyone with a decent costume and the ability to share a little pirate lore would be most welcome. Any of you from that area? Or do any of you know any pirates who are? Please let me know - we don't want to leave a bunch of Cubbies pirateless, now do we?

Hey, HarborMaster was addressing ME!!! <ahem> LMS Records :)

I think this is a tragically under-rated pirate flick. Lots of reviewers gripe about one thing or another, but I think it's an absolute blast - gorgeous, funny, exciting, and spanish peacocks getting mocked by scurvy swabs - what more do you want? Glad to hear it'll be coming out on DVD soon - it's been a long time coming.

Sorry so many folks are having trouble with the install - don't know what's up. Mucky_Pete - my name in puzzle pirates is (surprisingly) Bilgemunky. I'm a senior officer with the Sea Ogres. Sadly I haven't been able to play much this month, things are just too busy. I love that game dearly, but it does take a time commitment to play properly. Most games you can just stop playing and pick up where you left off whenever you like, but in this one things continue without you, and people start wondering where you've gone off to.

"Can't shiver me timbers without any timber!" I love that game, and I REALLY love the sound track. I ordered the CD last month and it was worth every penny. If you've not yet tried it, I'd also steer you towards Puzzle Pirates, an online pirate game where you get to join crews with other actual players. Loads of fun - the only thing it's missing is good background music, which is why I bought the Tropico 2 cd

Seems Key West will be getting a new pirate museum shortly. The article can be found here. Or, just read it below _____________________________ Pirate Museum Planned for Key West, Fla. KEY WEST, Fla. — Former Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce plans to open a pirate museum in this island city, once a base for seafaring outlaws. Croce, known for his daredevil personality, bought a building in Key West's (search) downtown for $3 million last week. He hopes to open Pirate Soul in the fall. He said the museum will feature items from his pirate collection, including a treasure chest from Capt. Thomas Tew (search) and the last journal from Capt. William Kidd (search), a 17th century pirate who was executed for his crimes. Croce also wants to borrow or lease other items. "I want people to say, 'Wow!' when they see it. We'll take them back in time," Croce, who lives in the Philadelphia area and owns two homes in Key West, told the Key West Citizen. Asked about his interest in pirates, he showed his tattoos of a pirate ship and the Jolly Roger flag, and said, "Life is a bold and daring adventure." Croce, who first worked for the Sixers as a physical therapist and taped ankles for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, is a self-made millionaire. He was president and minority owner of the 76ers from 1996-2001. In 1996, he oversaw the drafting of Allen Iverson, who became the team's star. "I've had offers to run other teams, but I've been there, done that," Croce said. Instead, he's been an NBA television analyst for NBC and three years ago published an autobiography, "I Feel Great." He has most recently been a commentator on the Spike network, and he's signed on as a martial arts commentator for NBC at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

I should be able to comply with this request, as I got a new digital camera, and plenty of piratey booty for Christmas. But I'm a little tipsy right now. Soooo.... I'v ebeen trying to figure out how to post a picture of my digital camera - but no matter how I aim it, I can't get ti to shoot itslelf. But the impportant thing is this - it's a canon. So when putting in a new flash card i get to yell "loadin' canon's, mate!" and then "mind if i shoot ye with my canon???? My wife and son are already sick of it, but oh well I'll post some pix soon. Maybe even a dashing photo of meself :)

I aint no poet So bullocks to all haikus Ya bleedin' cockroach

Your analogy is flawed. This is more the case of a man on parole, and one of the stipulations of his parole is a weekly search of his home by the police. If that man were to lock his doors and refuse to let in the investigators, that violation WOULD justify the cops breaking in and arresting him. I'm done too. Pyracy and politics shouldn't mix. How 'bout that Blackbeard?

No, I haven't forgotten why we went into Iraq. We were afraid Saddam was developing WMD in violation of UN Resolution 687. There is no doubt that in the recent past Saddam HAD weapons programs, the only question is whether or not he halted these programs as required to do so by the UN. The burden of proof was on him, not us. Saddam needed to account for 17 metric tons of Biological warfare growth media. He did not. Saddam needed to offer proof of the destruction of over 150 R-400 aerial bombs and over 25 chemical/biological Al-Hussein ballistic missile warheads. He did not. Saddam needed to allow investigators unlimited access to the nuclear scientists, technicians, and suspected test facilities in his country. He did not. So no, our motive for the war wasn't that Saddam HAD weapons of mass destruction - it was that we believed he did. And according to the cease-fire agreement following the first gulf war, Saddam was required to fully cooperate in PROVING he had no WMD, and PROVING that his WMD programs had been dismantled. Instead he stalled, gloated, and threatened. He defied the UN resolutions and hindered any efforts to prevent this second gulf war. Combine this with the fact that Saddam is a man who's tortured his own people, raped his own people, gassed his own people - why on earth should we give him the benefit of the doubt?

To this point the white house has been very cautious about making any claims at nabbing Saddam. I seem to recall a couple of months ago the media speculated he was hit in a bombing raid - but the white house kept its distance from these rumors. They knew this question would be asked, and I'm confident they'd make no such claims if they weren't certain, be it through DNA, medical records, or getting Saddam's own mother to identify him. As to the weapons of mass destruction issue, it's really a non-issue. According to the cease-fire agreements from the first gulf war, Saddam agreed to full disclosure of his disarmament efforts. By refusing to do so, it was Saddam who instigated the second gulf war, not us. I believe proof of these weapons will soon be found. There's already been a ton of evidence, but people believe what they choose to believe. What's more, the videos of iraqis being tortured, the discovery of rape-rooms, the children's prisons, the thousands of iraqis killed by Saddam's regime - this was a good thing we did.

Indeed fantastic news, but I'd stow any hopes of our troops rushing home - these things take time. Now, more than ever, we're in danger of opening the door for one thug to replace another. On the flip side, the Iraqi people are within grasp of true freedom like they've never known. We gotta stick around and make sure it's the latter of the two options that takes root.

Hell, why stop at a prequel? They should pull a whole george lucas shabang and make a prequel that doesn't even work, like making it turn out that Jack Sparrow IS Bootstrap Bill. Or we could have a young Will Turner "accidentally" take over a navy vessel when he's 8 and single-handidly destroy the entire Spanish Armada. Then Disney can go back to the original PotC and re-edit it to fit with the prequel, complete with new music, extra scenes, and maybe some subtle "improvements" (for example - isn't it a little cold-blooded for Jack to shoot Barbossa? Maybe it would send a better message if his gun went off "accidentally," thus keeping Jack's conscience clean, but also warning young people of the dangers of muskets.) Add a scene with a giant octopus and we'll REALLY have a movie worth watching Sorry, but with the possible exception of "The Hobbit," I think prequels are like bathing in gasoline and then playing with matches.

Swords as home defense? Happened to a neighbor of mine just a couple of months ago. He was expecting a friend to drop by, so like a fool he left the front door unlocked for 'em. A few minutes later, while upstairs, he hears the door open, but after a minute or so starts to wonder why his buddy hasn't come upstairs or yelled for him. He grabs a sword from his wall (a one handed viking-looking thing) and heads downstairs. He sees some dreadlocked dude he doesn't recognize standing in his hallway and asks him what he's doing there. "I'm lookin' for Jim," he says. "No Jim here. Please leave." "I know Jim lives here" and the dude starts to walk to my neighbor who then unsheathes his sword. The intruders eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and then he turned tail and fled :angry: I've got me cutlass in the bedroom, but I've also got me 9mm sig. Hell, if it's good enough for Navy seals... :angry:

I haven't read the book in question but I did read Barry Clifford's other book, Pirate Prince, about his search for the Whydah. Based on this book, I'm inclined to give credence to the amazon.com reviewer's unfavorabe comments. My impression was that Barry was far more interested in conveying his message that "I'm right, and everyone who's ever doubted me is a bureaucratic jerk," than in actually trying to share any sense of adventure. I posted a short review of the book a while back on my website at Bilgemunky.com. My review may also sound like I have an ax to grind, but bear in mind - I don't know a damned thing about Barry Clifford, save what he said in his own words in his book. Just my 2 cents.

Quite right - USUALLY they're not. But I recall a few years ago one other Disney hit that was sorely undermerchandised - Nightmare Before Christmas. You couldn't find much of anything for years. Then some japanese bought the rights and started making overpriced collectors items. Then Disney caught on a few years ago and started selling snowglobes and such. Then more Japanese manufacturers got involved. Been in a Hot Topic lately? You can get Nightmare underwear, toothbrushes, nightlights, checkbooks... If Disney doesn't catch on soon, don't lose heart. Ten years from now you might be able to buy yerself a PotC chess set and Jack Sparrow shower curtain

Well, that's not comforting news about CA Boots - I've had me eye on a pair of theirs for some time now. Glad for the heads up that they'll hurt my feet, but sadly dissappointed to hear it all the same.

I am personally responding to every entry to let them know their score - if you were an early entrant and I didn't tell you exactly which ones you got right, just drop me a line to remind me. So far, there have been correct answers to #3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 (although not all by any one individual.) That's exactly half, and we're just getting warmed up!

Oh come now! To be perfectly honest, the questions are far trickier than the answers. I guarantee that several of them will be headsmackers for many on this board (as in <SMACK!> OH! You meant THAT Highlander - I knew that!> Yes - that was a hint.

It was down all of yesterday, as it was down most of last weekend. Looks like I'll be having a few choice words with my ISP. Sorry about that. It's working now - hopefully it will stay that way.

We have grape-grog aplenty in Milwaukee. The bottle is fun, but the drink is like any other grape juice (certainly not my favorite Sobe.) I don't know if it's still available, but by collecting 10 Sobe tops I was able to get a free Grape Grog T-Shirt :)

Now I know most of you swabs are die-hard pirate fanatics, I also I know ye know yer stuff - so I figured I'd have a good deal more trying their hands at me Pirate Trivia Contest, located at Bilgemunky.com. SO... To sweeten the pot I've made two significant changes (as well as giving my site a much needed face-lift. Growing pains, ye know). First - I added an extra CD to the grand prize pot, and also changed the rules so that you don't necessarily have to answer ALL the questions correctly to win the grand prize. and Second - I've added not one, but TWO not-so-grand prize packages, so even if'n yer not THE winner, you can still win somethin' fun. C'mon ye barnicles - give me a run for my doubloons!

Aye - I've been twice. My first visit was back in '95, when it was not much more than a mom&pop exhibit/gift shop. Then I stopped by again just this past summer, and it's STILL a mom&pop exhibit/gift shop - albeit a much better stocked gift shop and a much more thorough exhibit. The exhibit takes about 15 minutes to go through, and includes a small video. The gift shop is compact, but chock full of blackbeard stuff - bobble heads, beach towels, books, cds, t-shirts, I could go on, but you've seen the online catalog, so you prolly have a pretty good idea.