moricktowain

I've just been informed that Middlefaire will be holidng a Pirate Festival on the weekend of May 1 of this upcoming year. Being the assistant cast director out there, I'm planning to come up with a "fight the pirate" type of thing using boffer weaponry (like is used at Live Action Role Playing games). We tried a Live Action Role Playing game tournament thing during our Renaissance Faire last year and I found that to be relatively difficult to get going (due to multiple reasons), and most of the days it turned into a free-for-all. I will be posting to the Raids section more about this event as I get the finalized information on the festival. There is also a flier about the pirate weekend at the faire's website, www.middlefaire.net. Morick Towain Captain of the Inferno

I wasn't quite sure where to properly post this, so I put it in the Crow's Nest section. On Tuesday, I was interviewed for a potential article about the pirate entheusiast sub-culture (especially that of the Texas pirate groups). The article was printed on Thursday, and showed up in the Dallas Morning News on Friday (on the *second* page of the front page section!). Not only does it refer to Talk Like a Pirate Day, as well as some comments from Craig Lutke from the Bilge Pumps, but (and I was very pleasantly surprised to find this out) but the first three articles referred to ME and the interview they did with me on the phone. I actually referred to this site during the interview, but that didn't make it into the actual story. For those that would like to read the article, here is a link to the report: Somalia spoils fun for make-believe pirates I know it didn't really give us the best exposure, but a little exposure is better than no exposure. (And I read several of the comments which were not very flattering....) C. Jackson Morick Towain, Captain of the Interno

In case anyone is interested, I am the captain of a pirate crew that is more geared towards the GLBT community based in Dallas, TX, but is open to anyone as long as they have an open mind. We are also geared towards the Hollywood stereotype, mainly for comfort reasons. groups.yahoo.com/group/piratebrethrenofTexas

The Pirate Brethren of Texas is currently recruiting new members. We're a GBLT and GLBT-friendly group based in Dallas, Texas. We are mainly a male only crew, but will consider a female crew member on a case by case basis. Our website is http://www.geocities.com/piratebrethrenoftx/index.html We also have a Yahoo group for prospective members to join, at groups.yahoo.com/group/piratebrethrenofTexas With Scarborough Renaissance Faire quickly approaching, I'd like to try to get a few new crew members before this happens (especially when our crew currently comprises of myself and our historian.)

This search has gone on for a year now, with little success, so I'm going to post here about it again in case anyone can help me out with locating this style of shirt. What I am looking for is a wrap around shirt. I know Center Stage Costumes used to have it in their online catalog (I've emailed them about it, in case they might have the capibility of selling one of them.) I found a good example of the shirt I'm looking for. The example I want to refer to is in the Autumn 2006 issue of the Pirates Magazine. There is a segment at approximately page 79 called "A Pirate's Journal". The shirt depicted in the photos in that segment is the exact type of shirt I'm looking for. And to put any minds at ease, I went through all the vendors listed in the NQG website's merchants list, and couldn't find it. I couldn't even find a pattern for the style of shirt I am looking for..... Any help would be greatfully appreciated! Morick Towain

If this is the wrong place for this post, I apologize in advance for putting this in the Rabble Rousing section. I'm not quite sure which forum to put this in, so I'm putting it here. While at Scarborough Faire last Sunday, I came to the realization that many of the various pirate crews in Texas tend to be seperate, and don't have much communication with other crews (I know my crew doesn't have much correspondance with other crews and I'd really like to open some correspondance with the other crews (yes, I used a few big words there.). In light of this, I have created a Yahoo group, solely to {here come some more big words) facilitate communication between the various pirate crews, whether they be geared towards the Historically Accurate or Hollywood Stereotype, so that they can coordinate events and so that they can possibly have a more interesting turnout. For those pirates in Texas (whether they be captains or otherwise) that would like to join such a group, I would encourage them to come to the following web address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PirateCrewsOfTexas I think in the long run, this will make things more interesting for the various crews in Texas! Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

Just adding something I found today: MTV has several interviews with some of the voice actors, and one in particular includes a small (3-4 second clip) from the Port Royal segment, with Jack Sparrow talking, with the PotC movie theme in the background. If I hadn't read the Electronic Gaming Magazine article that said that Johnny Depp was not voicing Jack Sparrow in Kingdom Hearts II, I'd think that it was Johnny Depp, but that's only based on the small snippet that I heard. In case anyone is interested in viewing this clip, the address is: www.mtv.com/overdrive/?lnk=v&name=playlist&vid=76259&source=OD_VIDEO:playlist:David+Gallagher+on+Kingdom+Hearts+II+ The PotC snippet is right at the end of the interview, which is about a minute or so long. Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

I didn't see a post about this, so I thought I'd post something about it. I've actually known about this for about four to five months now, but in the upcoming Square-Enix/Disney collaboration, Kingdom Hearts II, one of the game worlds is "Port Royal".....where the game's hero, Sora, encounters characters from Pirates of the Caribbean, including Jack Sparrow and Barbossa. In fact, not only does the Sora character interact with the characters of Pirates of the Caribbean, but he can remove one of his two main party members (Donald Duck and Goofy), and put Jack Sparrow in that character's place. The game has already been released in Japan (a few days before Christmas last year), so has the soundtrack for the game. I've gotten a chance to hear some of the soundtrack, including the music for the Port Royal section. Each section has at least two major music themes, a exploration theme, and a battle theme. I was very pleased to hear that the battle theme for Port Royal is the PotC movie theme (not the ride theme). For those that would like to see what the game looks like, a website has the footage from all the cutscenes of the game, including both visits to Port Royal (the first that looks to somewhat follow the movie's storyline,(I think it does, but I don't speak Japanese.....)the second as a seperate storyline that now involves the PotC characters.). This website is www.kh2-vids.net. Note that the videos there are in Japanese....there are some people working on fansubing the videos, but they havn't done the Port Royal section. The only sad part of this whole thing is that, according to Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), Johnny Depp and the other PotC actors will not be voicing their appropriate characters. They say it's due to "scheduling conflicts". The game is supposed to be released for the Playstation 2 console at the end of March, and I'm personally planning to get a copy of it (especially since I've played and really enjoyed the first Kindgom Hearts game). I'm really looking forward to it! :-) Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

I'm still searching for somewhere that I can buy this type of shirt. None of the vendors listed in the NQG's Merchants list sell the type of shirt I'm looking for..... Morick Towain

That was the first place I went to, in order to find the shirt I was looking for. Unfortunately, none of the vendors there had it (or at least I couldn't find it.)

It's coming up on the three year anniversary of the forming of the Pirate Brethren of Texas, and since it's inception, we've had no more than 4 members. I'm going to post here, just in case anyone might be of the right persuasion (and perversion) to join our motley crew. Here's the information: The Pirate Brethren of Texas is a male only crew comprised of gay and gay-friendly men. We do not focus on making members dress historically accurate, and encourage members to dress more towards the Hollywood stereotype (because it's more comfortable!) if they wish. This does not mean that a member can't dress in full historically accurate garb, but they shouldn't complain to another member because they're not "period". We hold a weekly social night on Wednesday Nights at the Throckmorton Mining Company bar located in the Cedar Springs area of Dallas. (Directions can be provided upon request.....just be prepared, it's a gay bar. Straight (gay-friendly) people do frequent the bar on Wednesday nights though.) We try to go to several of the renaissance faires in Texas, including Scarborough Faire and Texas Renaissance Faire. We also are working on orgainizing the "Gay Pirate Gathering" held at a campground an hour from Dallas each year in August which includes food, contests, and a lot of piratical fun. (We had a trial run last year, which went moderatly well. Didn't go exactly as planned, but we're going to do better next year!) We're also planning to have movie nights and costuming nights throughout the year, once things get sorted out schedule-wise. Many of the current crew members have been in movies and TV, although not piratical themed, including being in the audience for the courtroom reality show "Eye for an Eye", as well as being background extras in the upcoming Disney production "Invincible". We tend to have opportunities for the crew to participate in movie/tv shows as background extras on a semi-regular basis, although they tend to not be pirate themed.) We like our members to be courteous of other religeons other than their own. (One of our members is Wiccan, another is Christian, and a third is pretty much an atheist). The only major requirements for membership are that they be in the state of Texas, male, over 21(with few exceptions), and either be gay or gay-friendly. If anyone is interested in joining, please feel free to visit our Yahoo group and join the prospective member group, located at groups.yahoo.com/group/PirateBrethrenofTexas. Morick Towain

It's close, but not quite what I'm looking for. After a while of hunting, I did finally find a photo of someone wearing the type of shirt I'm wanting to find. Because I don't have the permission of the photo owner to post it, I'll just give the information as to where I found the photo. The photo I'm referring to is on the Pyrate Leatherworx website (www.pyrate.org), in the "Ports O' Call" section. There's a photo of them at Mansfield with four people in it. The style of shirt I'm looking for is the same style of shirt worn by the second person from the left side of the photo. That's the style of shirt I'm looking for. Morick Towain

A while ago, I found a shirt online, don't remember where off the top of my head, and I'd like to try to find where I can buy such a shirt. I've seen it worn by some people at some of the faires I've been to. The best way I can describe it the shirt is similar in style to wrap pants where the shirt is put on like a jacket, split in half down the middle, and then the bottom of the shirt is wrapped around the waist like a belt, tieing in the back with the other side. If anyone might be able to direct me as to where I might find a shirt similar to this decsription, please let me know! Thanks in advance! Morick Towain

I honestly don't know how the game works at the moment. Apparently I don't quite meet minimum system requirements to play the game. (Have to upgrade my Operating System from Windows 98 to Windows XP.....should be done sometime this month.). Morick Towain

I'm about to start playing the Second Life game. I'm curious if anyone from here happens to play that, as a pirate. Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

I've posted in the raids forum about a pirate camping weekend I'm working on. I've been asked by the campground owners what sort of food I want to have prepared for dinner on the Saturday, and I'm at a somewhat loss for ideas as to what would be easily prepared that would be something appropriate for a pirate to eat. So: What sort of food(s) would a pirate eat on board a ship as well as on shore? I also need suggestion for a pirate themed non-alcoholic drink that could be served during the weekend (reason being that there might be people attending who will be under the age of 21) Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas Moderator of the Gay Pirate Reenactors Yahoo group.

Update: A date for this event has finally been selected. The following is the "semi-official" announcement regarding the event: Greetings. I am posting to let all know about a special event that will be held at the Circle J Ranch and Cattle Company campground, a new GLBT (Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transexual) only campground that has opened an hour from Dallas, which is being arranged by the Pirate Brethren of Texas. This event is being held solely for the GLBT community. Garb will be encouraged for the entire weekend, and garb can either be towards the Historically Accurate or towards the Hollywood Stereotype. We are also opening this up to pirate-type characters from multiple time periods as well as science fiction/fantasy (so, yes, one could come as a loincloth clad barbarian pirate.) Although the events associated with this weekend will be more geared towards men, we will make accomodations for any lesbians or bisexual females that want to attend As per rules of the campground: The minimum age for participation in this event is 21 (18-21 is allowed as long as a parent or legal guardian accompanies said person). The campground will also be open to the general (GLBT) public during this weekend, so there will probably be people in mundane who will be there. in light of this, there will be some of the special events planned during the weekend that will be open only to those in garb. Also, as this is open to both those that like to dress along the Historically accurate standpoint and those that want to dress along the Hollywood stereotype standpoint (like myself), those that like to be "garb nazis" should try to refrain from commenting on someone's garb not being period. There will actually be a camping area for historically accurate camping and garb wearing. This will be an adult oriented event, however there will be limits as to what can be done, and where. There will also be contests during the event, including a three round "King of the Island" competition, taking place on a small lake on the property. There may also be a swordfighting competiton, using boffer swords (PVC pipe covered in foam). Many other suprises will be in store for participants of this event. Some of the more adult-oriented activities will be at a location that one must make an effort to get to. The event will take place from Friday, August 19 to Sunday, August 21. Registration for the event itself will be free, owever participants will have to pay the normal camping fees set up by the campground, which are $15.00/night, with a $10.00/year membership fee. So, if you wanted to attend for the whole weekend, it would cost $40.00/person (2 nights of camping plus the membership fee). Registration for the event will only be used so that we know who is participating in the contests, and so that only those registerred will be capable of recieving awards for the competitions. If a participant lives in Dallas, I would encourage they car pool down to the event with another participant, as it will cost about $20.00/vehicle in gas to get to the site and back. Reservations are required to go to the campground, so those interested will first need to contact the campground and make reservations for that weekend (In case you talk to someone who may not be aware of the event, please make reservations for the weekend of August 21.). So that I will know how to arrange the camps approprately, and so that I can get enough awards made, please also get in touch with me via email. (The email address is in the next paragraph.) Please also include in that email what camp you are more interested in camping in, and if you plan to attend in garb or mundane(normal attire). If anyone has any questions, please get in touch with me via email at piratebrethrenofTX@yahoo.com, and I will answer your question to the best of my ability. For more information on the campground itself, please visit their website at www.circlejranchandcattlecompany.com Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas Moderator of the Gay Pirate Reenactors Yahoo group

In a post on the Rabble Rousing board, I posted about a GLBT pirate themed camping event that I'm in the process of putting together. I was at the campground where the event is to be held this past weekend, and tested some of the events I'm going to be doing. One of the events is similar to a King of the Hill competition, but instead of taking place on a hill, it was to involve a person, in garb, swimming to a platform and trying to knock the other person off of the platform using a boffer sword. I attempted this wearing a pair of wrap pants that I bought at the House of Dra, and found that it absorbed a lot of water and became very heavy to swim in. Because this would prevent people from swimming out to the platform, we decided to compromise and use a paddleboat to take the participant out to the platform. What then started to worry me was this: The person knocked off of the platform may have a difficult time swimming if the wrap pants they might be wearing absorbs too much water. To allieviate this, I decided that both the defending and attacking pirate have to wear a live jacket. That really doesn't seem right to me, but it's more safe that way. What I'm wanting suggestions on is what type of wrap pants (material-wise) will not absorb so much water. Or, would something like breeches or tights be better along the lines of swimming? Thanks in advance! Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas Moderator of the Gay Pirate Reenactors message list.

I am currently in the process of putting together a GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bi Trans) pirate gathering weekend. Being a gay man myself, I always drool when I see a man in pirate garb, but can never get a chance to really compliment verbally the way I want to. Recently a GLBT only campground opened about an hour from Dallas, and I've been talking to them about holding a Pirate Gathering weekend there. My pirate themed social group (mainly gay, but we welcome straight people as well) has debated in the past whether to hold a camping event somewhere, but have never had the location to do it, and now we have a place to do it. A date has yet to be determined, but will be once I have 10+ people interested in attending. So, with that, I'm posting an announcement that I am putting together a pirate gathering/camping weekend, which will be held at a GLBT adults-only campground (which I'll name once I have the specifics nailed down). The event will be open to both those who have interest in dressing along the Hollywood Stereotype (like myself) as well as those that have interest in dressing more along the historically accurate side. I have a few contests planned for during the event, including a "king of the island" competition centering around a swimming platform in a lake there (using boffer swords as weapons), a swimming relay competition, as well as one of those "best [whatever] competitions". I'm also planning to have a pub sing style event around the campfire on the property. I'm also hoping to find someone associated with the SCA (who is GLBT) who might be able to come down and help with some swordsmanship training as well as some simple knot tieing education. There will also be some more "adult oriented" suprises planned, including something regarding what garb can be worn by one group of campers. So, what I am in the need for is people to contact me via email at piratebrethrenofTX@yahoo.com if they are interested in attending. One word of warning: The campground is GLBT only, so sorry to the heterosexuals that might like to come down...they won't be able to attend. (It's not my rule, but the campground's rule.) If anyone has any general questions, I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas Moderator of the Gay Pirate Reenactors Yahoo group.

Turns out I did win a free pass....unfortunately, the other two people in the group that went with me, including my roommate (and my pirate crew's mundane historian) did not win passes. Since the tickets are only good this weekend and next weekend, and I want to take as many of my pirate crew as possible to the faire, we're going next Sunday (April 17). I won't be too hard to spot....look for the long haired, bearded pirate in wrap pants, boots and a leather vest (no shirt underneath) escorted by a mundane with long hair and a beard taking pictures like crazy, and mabey one or two other pirates. Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

I personally plan to attend Scarborough at least once. I'm personally planning to attend the preview tomarrow at Grapevine Mills mall, and am hoping they do something similar to what they did last year with giving away free tickets (Spinning a wheel with every other slot being a free ticket.). If I don't win a free ticket, I'll be attending probably once this year (more than likely in May). Otherwise, I may attend one of the days this month, and one of the days next month. It'll be nice to get out of these mundane clothes, throw on my wrap pants, vest, and boots and have a good time! Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas.

For the past few months, I have tried to get my pirate crew to show up at a local bar for a social night. Since most of the time, this is just myself, I would like to invite anyone interested to come out to a social night on Wednesday nights starting at 10pm at a local bar. A note of caution: Because my crew is mostly comprised of gay men, the bar is a local gay bar, that for some unfortunate reason doesn't get much patronage on Wednesday nights. (On the flip side, there are quite a few heterosexuals (both male and female) that patronize the bar too.). The bar apparently has their balcony open on Wednesday nights, and that will be where the socializing will be (it's quieter there, compared to the rest of the bar that's open.) The social get-togethers are every Wednesday, with garb encouraged on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. The bar that we patronize on Wednesday nights is the Throckmorton Mining Company at the crossroads of Throckmorton and Cedar Springs in Dallas, TX. I'd personally love to see more pirates show up, even if they're not gay or part of my crew. (The more the merrier!) Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

Just wanted ta post sayin' that I'm still huntin' fer crew members for the Pirate Brethren of Texas. It's been a very slow fall(dealing with me crew) and our "bar social" nights have pretty much consisted of just me and my crew's historian. [For reference as to what the Pirate Brethren of Texas is about, my original post lies on the second page of this thread.] It'd be my interest ta have at least 5 garbed members (we have averaged two members the last two years.) when we do our yearly trip ta Scarborough Faire in late May of 2005. Also, if anyone has contacted me via email about joinin' tha crew, please contact me again. Things got quite hectic in my personal life (with the elections, guests visiting for a few days, trips to visit family, etc.) and those emails may have gotten lost.....I'm slowly going through my email box as we speak to mabey catch some that I've missed(or didn't get a chance to respond to it.) Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

The following might be of some use to someone who might be interested. My parents are trying to sell their timeshare in Williamsburg(They're selling the Deed to the timeshare.), and they asked me if I knew of anywhere that I could tell people about it. The timeshare is in Williamsburg during the month of August. It's a two unit timeshare (upstairs and downstairs) every other year, or it can be split so you have the upstairs one year and the downstairs the other. What I thought might be pertenant to this board is that the owner of the timeshare property can swap his/her week for another week(Which means it could be swapped for a week when the Blackbeard festival was going on for example). The owner can also swap their week in Williamsburg for a week anywhere else that timeshare company has properties at. Now, I looked and alas, they do not have any properties in New Orleans or Key West, BUT the timeshare owner will also have access to timeshare swapping service and THEY have something like 6 or 7 propteries in Key West, for example. The current asking price for their timeshare is $17,000. Reasonable offers will be considered. If anyone would like more information, I will be happy to provide further information. Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas

Very nice photos! It's a shame I couldn't make it to Pirates in Paradise this year. Unfortunately, money for transportation and lodging just wern't available...... I say it every year, and it never happens.....Hopefully I'll get to go next year! Morick Towain Captain of the Pirate Brethren of Texas