Comments on: Real history from a pretend pirate

By: Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet

Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:47:00 +0000

The re-enactment folks up at Grand Portage do a great job too! Always interesting stuff. Maggie, if your friend wants to try shooting a cannon I know people in town who can arrange that.

By: austinhamman

austinhamman — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:44:00 +0000

lots and lots of ocean..no one will notice a bit more excrement.

By: Rick Logan

Rick Logan — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 03:24:00 +0000

I know Butch, and many of the other ‘pirates’, and I cannot WAIT to go!

By: Fred Cairns

Fred Cairns — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 19:00:00 +0000

It’s generally worth talking to these re-enactment characters. I’ve learned a bit from a ten-minute conversation with someone from the Sealed Knot doing an English-Civil-War re-enactment at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle-of-Wight; from a Victorian Maiden in Warwick Castle, who was part of the regular staff; and from others. In fact, I’m a re-enactor myself, to an extent, at the Bison Farm Powwow in Wiltshire, UK. And if you ask me about Mountain Men and their relations with First Nations, I can maybe keep you interested for ten minutes or so.

By: cha0tic

cha0tic — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 16:39:00 +0000

So How DID they go to the toilet?

By: Seraphim_72

Seraphim_72 — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 03:06:00 +0000

”We also get a lot of people who want to show us how much they know and that’s goddam irritating.”

Oh, I whole heartily agree. Been there, done explaining why giant gem stones make bad anvils. Having said that I did find a mistake in the exhibit. I pointed it out to one of the volunteers who promised to put it up the food chain, no idea if they did of not. Am I am expert? No. Am I a very talented amateur? Yes. I brought the thing I had seen to a higher authority on our end of the scale, he said he would look into it, don’t know if he did.

Maggie, thanks for being you.

Oh, and were you to want to fire a cannon, I can help with that.

By: Jonathan Roberts

Jonathan Roberts — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 02:46:00 +0000

The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie had a lot of this information in the special features. There are a number of clips about pirate history that I found surprisingly informative, given the nature of the movie itself.

By: Jonathan Roberts

Jonathan Roberts — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 02:40:00 +0000

I guess you’d really have to get down to the nitty gritty in order to get the authentic piratey experience.

By: SVarielvictoria

SVarielvictoria — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 23:19:00 +0000

Unfortunately, Real Pirates as an exhibit is kinda crummy. I saw it in Denver a year ago. While the search for the Whydah and the history of her crew are fascinating both historically and scientifically, the exhibit design left my (actual-tall-ship-sailing) boyfriend apoplectic. The pinrails and rigging were upside down, interactive displays on ships’ parts mislabelled, and docents misinformed (or underinformed). When we called the design firm who was responsible , they told us it wasn’t supposed to be historically accurate, just give the “feel.”. Which is too bad; there are actual riggers, shipwrights, sailors and maritime museums along both coasts which would have happily consulted (which is to say, our friends do this stuff for a living. You could do better than the “feel” of accuracy. The exhibit could really be accurate!) . I’m so glad the actors are taking their character research to heart.

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:16:00 +0000

Finally! Someone is taking global warming seriously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

By: angusm

angusm — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:38:00 +0000

"I am a free prince, and I have as much authority to make war on the whole world as he who has a hundred sail of ships at sea and an army of 100,000 men in the field." ['Black Sam' Bellamy, master of the "Whydah Gally"]