19 September 25

Ahoy! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Here are some popular quotes and phrases to help you talk like a pirate: "Ahoy, me hearties!" (Hello, my friends), "Shiver me timbers!" (An exclamation of surprise), "Avast ye!" (Stop and pay attention), and "Aargh!" are all great ways to celebrate the holiday. You can also use words like "landlubber" (a person unfamiliar with the sea), "grog" (rum), and phrases like "walk the plank" (to be forced into the sea) to add to your pirate persona.

Yes, I am getting my free lunch today from Long John Silver's, where dressing like a pirate (including wearing a skull-and-crossbones necktie) is rewarded with food!

19 September 23

Me timb'rs ar' shiv'r'n fer Talk Like a Pirate Day! You can learn many pirate-y expressions at the Pirate Glossary site. Most of what we call pirate lingo came from movies in the 1950s -- we have little evidence of their shipboard conversations. Their flags did commonly show skulls and crossbones. Talk Like a Pirate Day has been celebrated on 19 September since 1995 but gained "National" status in 2002 through promotion by comedian Dave Barry.

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19 September 22

Ahoy there, me mates! 'Tis that rare time every yearr to weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen for Talk Like a Pirate Day! The Long John Silver's restaurant chain continues their tradition for giving out free grub for anyone (landlubbers included) who wears piratin' clothes or talks in pirate-speak.

17 May 22

Today marks 340 years since the birth of John "Bartholomew" Roberts (1682-1722), famous nowadays as the inspiration for the "Dread Pirate Roberts" character(s) in the movie "The Princess Bride." The real Bartholomew Roberts was "the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy as measured by vessels captured, taking over 470 prizes in his career. . . . Roberts was the archetypal pirate captain in his love of fine clothing and jewelry, but he had some traits unusual in a pirate, notably a preference for drinking tea rather than rum." (from Wikipedia). On his ships, Roberts flew flags with several different designs featuring skulls and crossbones. I can't honestly celebrate piracy but there are some great tales and legends.

19 September 21

'Tis the nineteenth day o' Septimber, which be "Talk Like a Pirate" day every yarr. I am a landlubber but an old friend (scalawag!) gave me this bit o' treasure tie some years past and I like to wear it on pirates' days. If yer needin' some help with pirate-speak, check these glossaries and translators.

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17 May 21

Today marks 339 years after the birth of John Bartholomew Roberts, aka "Black Bart," acclaimed as the most successful pirate in history. He commandeered 400 ships during his two-year career. His prowess became the model for the "Dread Pirate Roberts" legend in the plot of The Princess Bride book and movie. On his ships, Roberts flew flags with several different designs featuring skulls and crossbones.

19 September 19

It's almost 9:19:19 a.m. on 9-19-19. Jolly Roger is here to command your awareness of Talk Like a Pirate Day! When it comes to sweaters, you might expect pirates to prefer BOATnecks, but they actually like arrrr-gyle better. Today I'm attending "Blackboard Day in Indy," a mini-conference sponsored by the Blackboard company to stimulate conversations with their learning management system clients in the Indiana/Kentucky area.

19 September 18

Avast, me hearties! 'Tis "Talk Like a Pirate Day" once more. Ye landlubbers, cast yer browsers to this link for learnin' more about the basics of piratin'. Them as don't be scurvy dogs.

19 September 17

Most landlubbers dasn't care one wee bit, but today is (again) International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It was invented in 1995 and gained popularity as an "international" celebration in 2002. Why is the pirate's flag known as "Jolly Roger"? The best answer seems to be "no one knows." Many different designs were used, but the skull-and-crossbones design has become the most familiar.

19 September 16

Avast, me hearties! (Or, Achtung, Frrrreunde!) It's Talk Like a Pirate Day! This is the only holiday known to have started from a sports injury. There are many sites to help you learn pirate-speak. But maybe this year you'd prefer to learn how to stop your idiot colleagues from talking like pirates, or how to recognize true pirate speech from fake. (Throwing around the expression "Arrrrr!" is pure Hollywood.)

10 February 16

Today marks the 294th anniversary of the death of John "Bartholomew" Roberts (1682-1722), famous nowadays as the inspiration for the "Dread Pirate Roberts" character(s) in the movie "The Princess Bride." The real Bartholomew Roberts was "the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy as measured by vessels captured, taking over 470 prizes in his career. . . . Roberts was the archetypal pirate captain in his love of fine clothing and jewelry, but he had some traits unusual in a pirate, notably a preference for drinking tea rather than rum." (from Wikipedia). There's no evidence that he ever needed an eye patch, but I made one for myself today.

28 April 14

Welcome to Dead Week for Spring 2014 at Eastern Kentucky University! This is the time when no "major" assignments are supposed to be due, so that students can prepare for final exams next week. But many students report that they face very important DEADlines during Dead Week!

19 September 13

Arrrrrr -- It's "Talk Like A Pirate Day" again. But my examples this year are Westley, aka Dread Pirate Roberts (from The Princess Bride), and Guybrush Threepwood (from the Monkey Island game series), who both used relatively normal speech.

19 September 12

Ahoy! Ye be awarrrrrre of Talkin' Like a Pirate Day?

23 May 12

Celebrating (?) the 1701 execution of famous pirate Captain Kidd --

19 September 11

Some great things to say on "Talk Like a Pirate Day":
1. "Hi, I'm Guybrush Threepwood, and I want to become a pirate!" (from The Secret of Monkey Island) (See a list of all the swordfighting insults here.)
2. "We don't do anything!" (from VeggieTales, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything)
3. "As you wish." (Westley, as Dread Pirate Roberts, in The Princess Bride)

20 September 10

Yesterrrrday was the annual celebration of "Talk Like a Pirate Day." I chose to wear my skull-and-crossbones tie today instead. I will amuse some co-workers with this silly joke: "What kind of sweater do pirates prefer?" The answer is NOT "boatneck." The best choice is "ARRRRgyle," with a very close second-best "herRRRRringbone."

17 September 09

"Talk Like A Pirate Day" falls on September 19, which is Saturday. I can't wait that long, so I'm wearing the aaarrrrr-propriate tie today.

21 April 09

Mandy Eppley, my coworker/assistant in Online Learning, was born on 21 April. She gave me this tie especially for "Talk Like a Pirate Day," which is every September 19. But she gets to see it today, especially when we go to lunch!