Divers close in on lost fortune of Ann Cargill, a scandalous star

Posted on by October 16, 2008

An intriguing news story. (Thanks to LizMc on the Horatians forum.) According to the BBC, Ann Carghill was “was the Britney Spears of her day.”  I think they slight poor Ms Cargill.

A Scandalous Star 

“When the packet ship, The Nancy, was wrecked off the Isles of Scilly in 1784 one of the victims included Ann Cargill, one of the most famous and highest paid Opera singers of the time and whose numerous affairs and elopements had scandalised London.”

Divers close in on lost fortune of Ann Cargill, a scandalous star
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Putting the Oy Back into ‘Ahoy’ – Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean

Posted on by October 14, 2008

A friend pointed this book out to me. It looks intriguing and is coming out in mid-November.  Jean Lafite was Jewish? Who knew?  (Thanks Henya!)  From a review in the Jewish Press:

Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom–and Revenge

“They did not sing “Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Manischewitz,” nor do they ever seem to appear in any of the Disney films about pirates in the Caribbean. The website piratesinfo.com carries not a single reference to them.  

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Sailor Talk – “Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter” and “Sucking the Monkey”

Posted on by October 13, 2008

One of my particular frustrations with the “Talk-Like a Pirate Day” folks is that even if one ignores the very nasty nature of pirates, historical and modern alike, a second and perhaps even great problem remains. The Talk-Like-a-Piraters do such a lousy job of talking like pirates. A few “Aarghs”, “avast-ye maties”s and “shiver-me-timbers” isn’t very impressive.  If that is the best they can do, why bother?

So in the spirit of fellowship I offer two phrases for those with an interest in sailor talk, whether for the sake of TLAP or not. Continue reading →