MadL

A message in a bottle?!!? Might this be th' pirate equivalent t' scribe'n a wenche's phone number in th' captain's head? "For a good time sail 33°24'S by 70°40'W then drop anchor!"

Capt Skynner that is AWESOME! I notice ye do not have a Turks head or anything covering th' top (which I am assuming th' beginning o' yer work). That is where I am currently in delemia is in how t' start and how t' finish th' wrapping, books and tutorials only seem t' describe th' wrap itself and never focus much on where t' begin and where t' end....ye aint seen how I sew!!! Good news is th' Ashley book has decreased $8 again! but with recent loss o' steady income I think I be look'n at th' cheaper ones for now and wait t' see if Ashley's lowers even more...like perhaps after I secure me work once again Thank'ee all for remind'n me about th' Amazon Used Books, I forget about them little links but just found I can get both The Arts of the Sailor" and "The Marlinespike Sailor" for 'bout half th' regular price o' both! Still hesitant t' hit th' button thou as I be count'n coin real close....damn car payment....damn fool who wrecked me car what was full paid for! - can I kill someone now? Well, I am certainly take'n this all in, got knife on th' table and three sizes o' hemp twine sit'n ready for me muse t' kick me in th' arse.....that bottle o' Synner's certainly look sweet, Sweet Enough T' Fill With Rum!!!! (damn, Pusser's just went dry! only Gosling's Gold left now..)

Hey they Gotta use paste for Dead Hand Dan ate all th' glue!! Aye Patrick, I have had Ashleys' book in me Amazon basket for some time, but it carry quite th' price and has gone up another $8!! I think I may be able t' swing $10 for Hervey's book, is that th' one ye show a sample from? if so then he shows th' needle hitch! I found one on a couple other hitches but naught as nice. Frayed knots shows th' graphing, but me thinks th' needle hitch looks much more better, fancier. That fender hitch look right nice too. well, back t' drink'n me paint thinner cuz someone drank up all th' rum too!

Me thinks Ransom been sail'n th' shady side o' th' Net, where sneaky photographers post their sneaky pics

Not sure t' put this here in Captain Twill or in The Thieves Market, but th' way I sees it them blaggard thieves would just steal it so I chose here. Ok now, there be tons o' books on Knots 'n even more on th' net but what I be trying t' find is an instructional aid for making them fancy wrapping, braiding if ye will, on tool handles? Like the ones ye see on most any true sailor's knives, fids, or anything else he get he's hands on with a handle, like these here: Frayed Knot Arts On that particular page he mentions a "needle-hitch" o' which I have had no luck finding information on. Ya I know, I have many 'knot books' and through th' years with me Da, a fishing tackle designer/entrepreneur, I have many, many, many queue cards, flash card, hand outs, fold outs, wad ups, and booklets o' all th' basic knots; but Not One what speaks t' how t' carry th' wrapping down th' length of a shaft? I have woven me own hammocks (but find a true Yucatan th' most comfortable o' all!), I have Macrame books but again they do not speak t' 'wrapping it around an object'. So, now that I find me self unemployed for a spell I would like t' spend some time learn'n this trade but can find No information on it, just more o' the same knots and more o' th' same - Where are these masters o' wrapping hiding their secrets???

Finally! The historical Voyages Of Captain Drake come t' th' telly! This Saturday night at 9pm (8pm for ye middle kiddies) on th' SciFi Channel! SEE, I Told ye I saw a Sea Monster when we set sail aboard th' American Pride last summer - It T'was NAUGHT Th' Rum!!

Well ye know, if ye kept this forum in th' refrigerator as stated on th' label then it would naught spoil so quickly: "WARNING: Keep Refrigerated After Opening"

Aye this be true, I picked meself up a couple new off Manybooks that was naught linked at th' other place I plunder (can naught recall th' port off hand) but ye must admit there be one major draw back t' this 'electronic paper' of which ye speak - it makes LOUSY roll'n o' cartridges 'n it really tends t' gum up me barrel!!

Too bad they aint got th' Scarecrow series, there still be a couple I have yet t' find in PDF

Well, from what I have been reading and watching on training videos, Silkie, it would seem that the standards for Stage Fencing are already there, perhaps just not adapted by the pirate reenactors? Also from what I have been comparing, the same basics for 'real' fencing (be it sabre, foil, or epee) be the same for 'stage choreographers' with pretty much just the actual "target" being different; along with some 'keys' to let yer opponent know where you are going next - in 'real' fencing you don't use them but you use various movements to inform the judges of your execution...some of which I see are also carried over to stage "because it looks good". Even much of Cold Steel's video set on cutlass fighting follows most nearly all of the basics that I have been seeing for sabre...only Cold Steel's DVDs go for 'real' not 'stage', and in real I mean "real" like in Self Defense.

Remorse for killing, for me I would have had to have found out after the fact that my killing was done by mistake, or that I was fooled into killing a good man who had no intention of harm. On the other hand you have people who break down and cry just to hear of a wild animal being killed, people who cry when they hear of a person killed of whom they have never met, know no one connected to them, even do not know the circumstances around the killing. There are even people who stand outside prisons as a confirmed serial killer is executed and still they weep tears - a complete foreign feeling for me, indeed I wonder why so many of them in there continue to live after the heinous acts they have committed (as I am sure several loved ones of victims do as well) Indeed Lady Cassandra speaks much wisdom for anyone today trying t' explain th' thoughts and minds of humans 300 years and beyond ago has a much skewed frame of mind to over come. I would say however that 80% if not 98% of today's citizens would cringe if asked to put them self in the seat of a towns folk witnessing a public execution of the 16th and 17th century, yet have have not read ANY WHERE that protests where ever staged for hanging pirate's corps out on the docks to rot and 'serve warning to other pirates', I don't recall even as much as a sentence of any complaints that "but children can see them there!" - it was a vastly different world then and so where your and my ancestors in the way their minds work. Back then women, children, and man alike would gather in the street and cheer te executioner on, not gather with candles and beg a murder be given a second chance because "he is really a good man down inside, he just needs a hug" or "but he had a tough time as a child" "Basic Humanity" is a figment of the imagination for every culture, every religion, every person has a varied 'basic humanity instinct', it is not something encoded into human genetics but something mentally 'developed' over time and generations. By the time we are living among the stars in great Star Ships our predecessors may well look back and wonder how WE TODAY could kill a chicken, let along a cow. then Eat it without remorse.......(dangit! now I'm hungry!) For me you ask? Often the only reason I do not kill is because I do not have permission to and no heinous act has been committed against me to over turn the need for such permission; for me, that is what many generations have inbreed into my genetics.

Not true at all! Meself, I believe there is room for both, but both are completely separate. A more true statement would be: Western Martial Arts performers can learn from Stage Combat entertainers but Western Martial Arts performing may not (and so clearly is not) for everyone I say this for even in th' dojo martial artists know that ANY form of dance (ie choreographed sets) is a fantastic extra curricular activity - to you have any idea how many pro football players take dance classes? And they don't do it so they can go to fancy balls with their multi-million dollar paychecks, they do so to Improve their ability t' Pound each other on the field o' combat! But Hawkyns, I don't think ye should have t' worry about being 'excluded' or that the Stage Combat entertainers would become th' status quo - if ye think about it, for most faire they already are, reason being is that the more conservative faire organizer would frown on full contact battle, unless you fully convince him/her that the group performing is FULLY Qualified...I know here in the west, the first time someone swings a sword (speaking blunt edge of course) and someone gets whacked t' th' point of injury (speaking of a "accident") that demonstration would get shut down for the duration of the festival and the city itself would give the organizers a big problem when they try to get the permits for the following year. Imagine a full on contact battle at North Cal Festival where someone gets hauled off injured due to a 'oops'....that would be the end of swords even being allowed on the grounds if not even the end of North Cal Festival - WITH THE EXCEPTION where the battle is Pre-Staged, Roped Off, and performed ONLY by a pre-approved group; then an 'accident' can be accounted for, but not if "two groups just happen to meet and start going for a good time and then....oops". Silkie...lower that bedpan, I be on th' side o' "both" now, after all......pirate

I think one would also have to be very careful when trying t' fit pirates int' these discussions of Holocaust and Vietnam, and personally I would not put ANYTHING of concern with th' Holocaust in relation to our troops currently coming home from th' Middle East. The atrocities of the Holocaust and what our troops are doing in the Middle East and what happened in Vietnam have nothing to do with each other - 'complete inhalation' and winning a battle via war are two different issues and the killing what happens are under completely different situations and completely different mind sets. Sure come can argue of similarities but in its rawest sense they would only be nit-picking the futile and completely off the mark. (*edit* let me clarify this statement better: Holocaust vs Middle East/Vietnam have no parallels) Now back to pirates, also pirates who kill would be more under the mindset of battle troops, not Germans being forced to commit atrocities of mass killing of 'non-combatants marched into a pit' or corralled into a pen for slaughter. Where the killings of the Holocaust was to 'cleanse the world', ie: wipe out a race, the pirates killed primarily for one of three reasons: 1) obtain the wealth of the ship(s) they attacked 2) survival if attacked 3) revenge after surviving either a failed attack or an attack that earlier when bad (or a double cross of a Governor o' some town/port they had dealings with) Then there was the privateers and pirates with letter o' marque, they too had a goal not so much to commit Holocaust of another race but to defend the seas and lands from those deemed 'the enemy invaders'. Now depending on which crew you discuss, which nationality they where and what era of time (GAoP, pre-GAoP) one could nick-pick out those that were pressed into th' crew, now those individuals could fit into the descriptions of the Germans ordered to kill (with still some differences in factors) but I would have to lean toward them being the 2% for you could not have a crew that was 98% percent Against or even marginally against th' kill and only 2% killing willingly...that would clearly lead to a mutiny and a failed attack. I think if one wanted more of an accurate look into a pirate's mind at time killing then they would need to look toward studies of the Foreign Legion, mercenaries, vigilantes, or even bank robber gangs of the alleged Wild West (I say 'alleged Wild West' due to some very interesting statistics I recently learned about just how 'wild' the Wild West was in reality verses today's common presumption due to movies and 'stories' - looks like Wild Wild East and Tame West would be more appropriate titles)

For that matter just take America and Mexico; over at the Tavern there was discussion about a show on ghost hunters, out of curiosity I caught some of the International Ghost Hunters last night, part of it dealt with a Mexican graveyard where they keep hundreds of mummies. One of the commentator's lines hit right on what Capt'n Bo is saying; down in Mexico they 'embrace' the dead, the dead are kept around "right out in the street" (or something like that he said) where in America we try to hide the dead, make death a 'taboo' - two completely different cultures but right next door to one another. Down in parts of South America they actually go into th' crypts of their ancestors and bring the remains HOME for dinner once a year, then parade them down th' streets on their way back t' their graves...to them that is just life (rather 'life after death'). Now with that bit o' modern day fact; do you think th' 2% figure hold true in Mexican society? Or would it stand reason that Mexican (who are very Catholic in general) are much more de-sensitized t' death? And th' list goes on, as Capt'n Bo above points out. Another reason I really hate 'surveys' - Who did they survey? When where they surveyed? What questions where asked and how where they presented? Who was the questionnaire? and most importantly - WHY did they NOT ask me in this 'survey'!?

ye mean this Naught be Pirate Politics??

I not at all think it "can not" be done, I just think that 'however it is done' people must still be aware when encountering people, rather lets say "strangers" for the first time at faire they must make sure they are reading from the same page of the same book. So, putting all the safety issues aside for a moment (but I will only put them aside 'for a moment', after all we are talking about working with weapons, be they stage props or not). To make it so two groups from across th' globe can meet for the first time and engage in a public viewed choreographed sword battle there would have t' be Agreed upon Rules. 1) A standardized set of choreographed 'sets' 2) A standardized set of Names for each attack and each perry 3) A standardized set of Queues used t' telegraph t' yer partner that ye be about t' switch from one set t' another, or that ye be about t' toss in a move not scripted int' th' particular 'set' running. Sounds simple enough, just 1, 2, 3 And it would greatly help someone like me get going as I have no one local t' play with on weekends ::pay no attention t' th' rubber blowup Elizabeth Swann beneath me bed:: Now th' hard part; who gonna step forward 'n begin t' set these standards? Once these standards are set, choreographs worked out 'n documented, then I would still highly suggest returning t' th' table 'n discuss th' standardization o' Safety (how t' identify each other Before engagement; no 'spontaneous' engagements...ie: first meet 'n greet out of public view t' 'feel each other out' before stepping back into public view 'n proceeding with th' play - after all, even in movies and theater there are HOURS of practice before th' actor(s) go in front of the camera and th' director yells "ROLL 'EM!", even with seasoned actors who have already done hundreds of hours of film fights, even for the same series or previous episodes. Never did Sparrow and Turner just walk ont' th' set one day, step in front o' th' camera and start swinging th' next shoot say'n "Ah heck, this scene is just like the one we did in POTC1, lets go for it")

Well cut it out, ye just made th' earth shake!

I have to stand with Capt'n Bo on this one. The human mind is way too complex and the issues around life and death, the taking and saving thereof, battle, why, and even when (as repeatably stated even in this forum - people back then did not 'think' as we do today) - there is no way to put such simple numbers and figures to such a matter. Also I recall a study where they found back in one of the WW (I or II I can't recall) that Air Force pilots did not seem to be as effected as ground troops, reason given: they did not 'See' their enemy before dropping the bomb, or in case of air-to-air they did not see the 'faces' (in most cases) of the one they shot down. Also they would not see the aftermath so therefore was less prone to the factors that would make a hand to hand victor take deeper thought in what just occurred. But this topic is just Way too deep for some arm chair B of A BS degree demigod to put such simple figures and numbers to. To be honest and blunt; I take offense to his claim *edited to add* (I was doing two conversations at once) The air-to-air vs hand-to-hand combat I feel would also encompass many a pirate as well. Are we speaking of a pirate stealing on board and slitting another's throat or the one who shot a cannon shot on board the other ship? Also as Bo points out, there is a BIG difference when one is fighting for survival vs someone who is indeed warped and killing on the streets for fun. Killing for "profit" now that also is not so cut and dry, a solo hired assassin would be in a much more different situation then a band of hired soldiers (remember, pirates for the most part, in their mind where soldiers, just not soldiers her royal service). Then there are those who are ambushed and literally forced to kill for survival. True I believe that if any human looks 'deep' into the act afterward they can convince themself to either accept it or not accept it, it all depends on so many issues and circumstances and the individual him/herself. There are those who killed for they had literally NO Choice of kill or be killed and they know that if they had not then they would be then one laying dead yet they will have a total break down, even when they and everyone around them know it was the only choice to make, then you have the total bastard who goes out and kills just so they can become a member of a street gang and yet you never seem him/her have any apparent concerns or regrets - - it is all in what and how you handle your own brain, what and how you were taught ALL throughout your life (not just as a baby, not just what you were trained last month - ALL THROUGHOUT) and the variable are just so vast and literally each person and each incidence is completely individual. There is No way to lump people into such a cut-n-dry "You are in the 98% and you are in the 2%" type cookie jars

Hawkyns & RustyNell; here be th' two worlds what first me own brow about th' idea of two people unfamiliar with the other then via e-mail on the Internet ways and suddenly meeting for the first and saying "Hey, lets give this crowed show" (unrehearsed other then each 'THINK' the other is of the same schooling). Aye, I meself come from Hawkyns' school, however I know t' always first 'Test' a new acquaintance before actually engaging with them; from where I come from (especially today, being muchly out o' shape as well as practice) I want t' know if I need t' make sure He/She take is easy on me, or 10 year ago, make sure I do not overwhelm them take'n for granted what I 'think' they know. However, there are many out there that are no so conscious of their opponent's skills and just 'assume' that if they are willing to engage then both must be equal...and often not finding out th' contrary until 'after the fact' (rather after th' "aftermath"). Hawkyns I am sure knows his style and school requires two well fit and prepared individuals and extra care must be taken in an open theater t' guard against them drunks (which be everywhere, not just ren and pirate faire), where RustyNell is side of 'show' without bite and also still need guard against them wild hounds. Heck, ever seen a drunkard jump up on stage want'n t' dance with th' strippers??? (THAT was NOT ME! I wasn't even there and I can Prove It!!) (AWK! I was going to post me link t' th' fight Tiger Lee and Captain Sin did for us at CHOC but me corpirte security blocked me - it be on me MySpace) Tiger and Sin performed a quaint little battle right amidst th' crowd, even if we were all pirate with only a couple 'civies' they pulled it off in a cute and fun manor - an entertainment show it was. However what Hawkyns refers to would still be 'entertainment, but it would be of "demonstration" quality. ie: Two schools, two type o' people: Entertainment Show Demonstration Entertainment Both valid 'frames of mind', two completely different school sets and type of people - however they would combine like oil and water.

oh wait! Dictionary: An avatar is a computer user's representation of his/hers alter ego. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user. So ye see me dear Lady Barbossa, that little picture ye see there be me 'alter ego', igo, th' person I wish t' me, me mentor, me idol. ...actually it just be some totally cool, macho wench chase'n, rum gulp'n, cur slay'n, hunk o' a pirate I wish I was.

Aye, also one more good reason why everyone should be armed (and o'course properly trained t' handle their weapon as well). I never have understood those who get drunk that way, and I have known many (grew up in the carnival business - LOTS of 'stupid' drunks there). Had one bout me own age once my father had hired, between fairs he would live with us, boy could not drink more then two beers before he began acting like a complete arse hole and want'n t' fight everyone around him, I usually just laughed he'm off...til th' day me folks left us alone for a weekend, he got hold o' a six pack and in no time, for reason I still do not know, he took t' stand'n out back and throw'n stuff at th' house...???..I tried t' get he'm t' go lie down, told he'm t' go sleep it off (he lived in our garage) but he just got more insane, then it happened, he pulled out a bowie knife and came at me - that was it. When ye find a fool with a weapon there can be no more game play, every move is for 'real' at that point. I won't even go into me ex-brother in-law incident, that involved a hand gun be'n point'd at me head...and yes, it was loaded, I watched he'm load th' rounds! No, drink'n and weapons do NOT mix....actually, some people and weapons don't mix - drink'n or not But I just do not understand those who get 'stupid' drunk...but then I have never really been a "drinker", I mean I drink, but I don't 'get drunk', yer supposed Stop before ye reach that point...me, I'm more th' "I get drunk, I fall down" type, but I prefer t' Stop before reach'n such a condition - I learned in high school that hangovers hurt! But really, I have been at parties (ones where I did not intend on driving home, and NO weapons where around) when suddenly someone starts acting up - I have always maintained a state of mind where at that moments notice I straighten up and can take charge - Responsibly (I am not talking 'drunk on drunk'). I just do not understand the 'stupid' stage that some people get themselves into....are they 'really' stupid, does alcohol 'really' take them over like that? how? why? don't they know their limit? if not? why? it all just seems so illogical to me....and as I said, I have known, and dealt with many, but I still do not understand them? Anyway, sorry t' interrupt - the topic was: Choreography :angry:

Thank'ee for that tip, I had not seen anything bout th' kerosene and boiled linseed oil (at first I thought ye be give'n me a recipe for a bank robbery!). I plan'd on get'n three or four, however I have naught yet found any blanks. All Track of the Wolf seem t' have are th' tips, they be thread' for metal rod but I figure that still be fine for wooden. I found a link t' a couple places local that offer Hickory and several other dowelings, but I do naught have a lathe t' turn them 'n get th' taper like th' original (I still have th' rod, just th' tip be miss'n). Middlesex wrote me and suggest gett'n a straight one then use a vise and scissors (held open in a V) then shave it down. Would prefer t' find proper turn'd blanks if I can.... still gotta go check Rifle Shoppe however, been kinda busy see'n as I get laid off Friday so everything else suddenly take th' back o' line :angry:

Tar'n yer own rope: ye mean bout th' fumes, th' possibility o' exploding th' pot o' boil'n tar, th' chance o' catch'n it on fire, th' chances o' get'n boil'n tar on ye 'n cause'n sever burn, n' get'n th' stuff in yer hair? Or is there more t' be concerned with?

One t' hang on yer Christmas tree eh? uh, Oderlesseye, should I be afraid now t' ask What th' other one be for? :angry:

Try here!: American Rope & Tar They have REAL tarred hemp marline ye can use splice yer line! None heavy enough for th' actual line less'n ye want Leoflex -X Rope (?? must be from them Spaniards 'er possible them Frenchies), but ye can also get genuine Stockholm Tar 'n tar yer own hemp rope!