hurricane

Oh, and in the spirit of things, downing a couple of Red Stripes.

As they say in Jamaica: Red Stripe - get it right!

When I was in Jamaica, Red Stripe probably constituted most of my useful calories until I made it to Negril. (Although there were a couple of decent restaurants in Montego Bay...)

That's a heck of a lot of multitasking, Hurricane! I'm impressed!

Ah, the joys of running a small business. Always too much to do and no time to do it. Plus this pirate thing Diosa and I've cooked up is taking off faster than we thought.

-- Hurricane

Quite the tongue lashing, GoF. But I has to agree with you. The least she could do is post a little and then promote her wares. Perhaps her publisher should give her a $100 marketing budget next time.

-- Hurricane

It's $22.95 at the parks.

-- Hurricane

The kiddies love trinkets. No problem handing them out and prepared to be mobbed. :)

-- Hurricane

You shouldn't be able to miss your mates. We tend to stand out even among a crowd of other pirates.

-- Hurricane

So close and yet so far. We will finally meet up at Clearwater, will we not? We will be there from the gate opening on Saturday til about 4. We need to see our fellow lass, Paisley, get KO'd as a nun.

-- Hurricane

Let's see. I'm finishing the design on two web sites, shifting two others two servers and managing all that, writing five articles about food on the internet and redesigning a brochure. Yes, basically all at once.

And I just finished cutting out pattern pieces for 20 pirate vests for the Morgan Harbour Resort in Jamaica.

Oh, and in the spirit of things, downing a couple of Red Stripes.

Whew!

-- Hurricane

Thanks Rummy for the link.

I really like the bamboo buttons. I already use coconut buttons on one of my rigs. They look great - primitive is in. Looks like something a pirate would wittle out and tie on. Obviously it was readily available, eh?

-- Hurricane

Not really... the event is a mish-mash of people - last year we had turquoise bikini guy who was a real hoot - but I don't know if he was family or family friendly. :) The crowds aren't overly huge - lots of pirates and wenches to play with and the crowd varies greatly. Most come on the last Saturday and Sunday during the fort event. That's because the locals are all working during the week. So during the weekdays it tends to be heavy on sponsors, arts patrons, writers and then tourists.

-- Hurricane

Only the participants in the festival get in costumet. The locals don't participate in much of anything there. They just watch the fruitcakes stroll by. Everyone is just great there. Pirates are just part of the ordinary wallpaper there. My mate and I have been there outside of PiP in full regalia on Duval and in the bars and it's just another day in paradise to everyone.

So don't expect anyone to be too amazed, except the tourists. And get used to the fact that most of them don't know a festival is even going on. Some 5,000+ pour off the cruise ships each day at Mallory Square and flood the town. But they don't know what's going on there unless it was on the cruise director's list of tours.

Be prepared to pose for lots of photos.

-- Hurricane

Black Skot is making some great buttons by hand.

They look like pewter, with a very rough cut skull on them. Each is hand crafted so they don't look manufactured. We have some here and they're amazing. A far cry from the stale cheese some pirates used as buttons but they are nice.

You can see one here:

http://www.geocities.com/pyrate_skot@sbcgl...ate_buttons.jpg

-- Hurricane

I just finished reading mine. It's a terrific read. And some of the stuff about the movie is just as interesting as the stuff about the ride itself. I used to think the Orlando ride sucked because it didn't go up the waterfall but the Imagineers were thrilled with it because they always considered going up so boring. Go figure. But they say the Paris version is the best one of all of them in terms of story telling and design. So now I've got to go to Paris, after the riots quiet down of course.

-- Hurricane

Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to surrender my Logitech roller ball mouse. My kid would like it though.

-- Hurricane

Check this out - quite the little battle. New weapons, same old pirates.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/11/05...ates/index.html

-- Hurricane

Best Poet Afloat: Rummy

I am honored to be included in the list, but even more honored to have read your fine rhyme. I hope you're a writer in real life because you're missing out on some coin...

-- Hurricane

I've just learned that one of our own Pyrates of the Coast crewe members, Slipshot, has been called to filming for PotC 2 & 3. He'll be there through December. Yeah! One of our own crewe members is immortalized - or is that immoralized.

Here's his mug - if you're filming along side him be sure to say hi - he's from St. Augustine, real pirate country.

-- Hurricane

It's definitely G to PG. Nothing bawdy except songs. It's a family festival 95% of the time.

-- Hurricane

So that's why my marriages failed.

No wonder their eyes would roll up in the back of their head.

-- Hurricane

I would add that a captain probably selected his officers by how much he could trust them and trust in them. I certainly know this was the case in Morgan's day from my recent readings, albeit that's pre GAoP. But even if a crewman had a lot of ability, a captain may be be loathe to appoint him if he could not trust him for he wouldn't want to be having to watch his backside all the time. His officers onboard would be most likely to be the most loyal to him.

-- Hurricane

I'm with GoF on this. The bulk of facts run counter to what the research paper is about. So I'm not sure how we can be of help, particularly when many on this board, GoF being one of them, work so hard to dispel the mythology with well researched opinions supported by facts, not fiction. Sure, there are always an exception to a rule - some captains were elected - but a pirate ship was more of a benevolent dictatorship than a democracy in most cases I believe. It's the old my bat, my ball rule. I can't imagine the likes of Blackbeard taking a vote on anything aboard his ship.

-- Hurricane

Actually, there is a conch fritter stand at the entrance to the aquarium. They're great. A lot of restaurants sell them too. I'm not going to say who has the best as I don't want to start a fight among my favorites.

I personally like the aquarium too. It's right across from the Wrecker's Historeum and they package the attractions together. They have regular feeding of the rays and sharks. It's a very traditional 50s style place. Not much has changed over the years.

If you need new pirate gear while you're there stop at FantaSea Weddings. The stuff can be a little more garish than authentic wear but they have some great accessories and nice hats.

-- Hurricane

We will be there lass! I think it's Diosa, your Captain, Flint and Fhyre and Cinn. I think we're going Saturday.

-- Hurricane

Not much damage - some downed trees and flooding. The main Duval establishments were up and running within a couple days from what I hear. Otherwise, it's just normal as it ever gets down there.

-- Hurricane

French Horn

Tenor Guitar

5 string banjo

Washtub

Over the weekend my great media connection, Diosa, got us onto the MGM Studios lot here in Orlando in costume (that's a whole 'nuther story) so she could interview Jason Surrell, the author of the Haunted Mansion book (attraction to movie). He just finished Pirates of the Caribbean, a follow up book.

It's absolutely amazing - full of trivia and great stories of how the attraction came to be, the differences between all the park PotC rides and how it dovetailed into the movie.

It's on sale right now at the Magic Kingdom and I believe Disneyland. Here's a photo of us at Jason's signing. Of course, I'm stealing the book. I think it's set for release to the general public mid-month. Awaiting our Disney PR girl to let us know that.

Diosa will have more soon, including her interview with Jason about the book.

Hurricane