Tag Archives: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Amusing Monday: Avast there! Shiver me … what?

This Friday, Sept. 19, has been designated Talk Like a Pirate Day. Rather than burning itself out, as one might expect of such a crazy holiday, the event seems to grow bigger each year. For many people, it’s about dressing up and having some fun in the month before Halloween.

Ol’ Chumbucket (aka John Bauer) decided to shiver his skull and crossbones this year by joining the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS, as you can see in the first video on this page.

We can thank Mr. Baur and his longtime friend Mark Summers, known as Cap’n Slappy, for starting this unusual event. In the beginning, they were just a couple guys goofing around with pirate talk until they came up with an idea for a national holiday.

The two, along with some friends, celebrated “Talk Like a Pirate Day” for several years until they informed humor columnist Dave Barry about it. He wrote a column and gave the event some national credibility. It took off, capturing the imaginations of people around the world, as described in on the official webpage of Talk Like a Pirate Day.

The webpage also includes a map of events scheduled for this Friday. On the Kitsap Peninsula, for example, Kiana Lodge near Suquamish will feature pirate fun and games from 5 to 9 p.m. As described on the Kiana Lodge website, “Gnaw on turkey legs, dig for treasures, and do your best pirate impersonation, all in celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day.”

The nearby Clearwater Casino also is joining in the fun with giveaways and a costume contest with prizes up to $750. See the casino’s website for details.

While speaking of giveaways, Krispy Kreme donuts has a nice offer. Talk like a pirate on Friday and get a free donut. If you come in dressed like a pirate, you will get a free dozen donuts. Read the fine print on the Krispy Kreme website to see what qualifies as appropriate pirate attire. (Swords and knives do not count.)

By the way, I still enjoy the official song of “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” shown here.

Also worth mentioning for “Amusing Monday” is a comic strip by Doug Savage, who will be featuring a pirate theme all week in his strip “Savage Chickens.” This link also takes you to last year’s cartoons featuring this theme.

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Amusing Monday: ‘Pirate Day’ still going strong

Shiver me timbers! I thought “International Talk Like a Pirate Day” might be dying out after 10 years. Going into last Thursday’s scheduled event, I could find almost nothing new or exciting to share with you about pirates.

But clever blogs posted last week by Time magazine and the Huffington Post convinced me that talking like a pirate will continue — and some people are taking this event to new levels. I guess what finally convinced me to talk about pirates today was a catchy video posted by Pyrates, a swashbuckling band from Holland. The video is displayed here.

As Katy Steinmetz points out in her blog for Time, the event has gained the attention of some corporate supporters. For example, Long John Silver restaurants and Krispy Kreme donuts decided to offer some free food for people talking like a pirate. Free food. I’ll try to stay ahead of this next year.

Talking like a pirate is not much of a challenge once you get the hang of it. In her blog, Katy offers instructions and points out other places you can learn the lingo. She even offered a video of “Time’s Favorite Pirate Moments,” embedded at the bottom of this page.

The idea of talking like a pirate each year began with a racketball game between two friends, John Baur and Mark Summers. During their games, the two started throwing around phrases in pirate slang. They had so much fun that they decided the nation needed a new holiday, “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” For seven years, they celebrated the event among friends. Then in 2002, they contacted syndicated columnist Dave Barry to explain the holiday, and he loved the idea. You can read “How it all started … “ on the official website of International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

In her Huffington Post piece, Sara Nelson quotes Summers (now known as Cap’n Slappy) on his reasons for keeping the event going:

“Part of my passion for this particularly silly event is my long-held belief that the world needs a healthy dose of ‘silly’ in generous portions from time to time. This is just how Ol’ Chumbucket (Bauer) and meself make that contribution on an annual basis. It’s hard to harbour hatred for your fellow human beings whilst bellowing, ‘YARRR! Great Neptune’s Salty Man-Nipples!’”

Yes, we may be hearing about International Talk Like a Pirate Day for years to come. Although writers are waiting until the last minute, it appears more are writing about it this year. Even Fritz Hahn of the Washington Post, in his “Going Out Guide,” tells us where we can go and feel less self-conscious dressed as a pirate.

Previous Water Ways entries about “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”:

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Amusing Monday: Pirate videos on tap

Last Wednesday, Sept. 19, was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I was thinking about posting a reminder on this notable day. Then I realized that “Water Ways” readers who wanted to talk like a pirate already had this date on their calendars.

We have celebrated this day before on “Amusing Monday,” first in 2010 and then again in 2011, so I won’t go over the history or meaning of this event again.

This year, the organizers solicited videos from anyone who wanted to sing along or act along to the official song of the day. The winner can be seen and heard on the YouTube video embedded on this page. The second-place winner can be found at this YouTube link.

If you can stand to listen to this song and watch a few more pirate skits, go the video website with what is presumably all the entries.

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Amusing Monday: It’s ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’ today

Shiver me timbers! It’s that time of year again. A special day to talk like a pirate.

We be plunderin’ the Internet for amusing scraps on this International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If ye want to know how this special day came to be, heave ho and go back to “Watching Our Water Ways” from last year, or visit the official website of the scurvy dogs who started it all.

This year, I be offering ye some video treasure, songs and such. Patrick Penzance kicks up a yarn in the video player on this page. And the videos below should bring ye round to the spirit of the event.

What You Ought to Know

The Five A’s from the pirate guys

‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’ song

I be wishin’ that “Freaking News” would continue the Photoshop theme “If pirates ruled the world,” with well-known folks dressed as pirates. But here be some galleries of images submitted in the past:

Gallery 1, 2007
Gallery 2, 2008
Gallery 3, 2009

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Amusing Monday: Sunday is ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’

Shiver me timbers and avast you landlubbers!

“Talk Like a Pirate Day” is almost here. It will be this Sunday, Sept. 19. All folks, good and bad, are called on to, well, talk like a pirate for a day.

Strangely enough, this international event started out with a couple of guys — John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur and Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers joking around while playing racquetball. They started poking fun and encouraging each other in pirate lingo. The two celebrated the annual occasion of talking like pirates somewhat quietly among friends for seven years until 2002, when they sent the idea to syndicated columnist Dave Barry, who made it an international event.

So now these two guys have a website, TalkLikeaPirate.com, which has grown through the years and includes tips and all manner of fun and games.

There’s also the official “International Talk Like a Pirate Fan Page” on Facebook, and I’m sure this crazy idea has started producing some major booty for them and a good number of other folks who have jumped aboard the Jolly Roger. I’ll leave you to investigate these treasures on your own.

In the spirit of Amusing Monday, I’d like to share with you this video about Robot Pirates, which I found amusing, though it probably has nothing to do with Talk Like a Pirate Day.

But the event was clearly being celebrated by Freaking News and a bunch of folks who created Photoshop images on the theme “If pirates ruled the world.” Most include some well-known people dressed as pirates in various situations, which I think you’ll find amusing. Since the contest has been going on several years, there are a lot of photos, organized here in galleries:

Gallery 1, 2007
Gallery 2, 2008
Gallery 3, 2009

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