You've probably noticed that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Others may joke about the matter, but Read/WriteWeb is a serious blog. Thus we present to you our Top 5 Online Resources for Real, Live Pirates. Perhaps someone who likes lists has boarded this blog and seized the captain's wheel!
The International Chamber of Commerce has for years published a fascinating Weekly Piracy Report on its website. These fairly detailed accounts of attacks on commercial vessels at sea must read like the sports page for real pirates. Thousands of pirate attacks happen every year, still today. The report is a fun, if twisted, site to read for anyone on any day of the year. For example, this week's report includes this account:
"13.09.2007: 0550 UTC: Posn: 18:33.9N - 072:23.0W: Port au Prince, Haiti. Robbers, armed with knives, boarded an anchored general cargo ship unnoticed. Ship's general alarm sounded and crew mustered. Robbers jumped overboard and escaped with ship's stores. Attempts to contact local authorities were futile."
Online CD retailer CDBaby's got a page for kid-friendly pirate band Bogg and Salty where you can listen to all the songs on the album online. The site also recommends a variety of other pirate themed bands. If you've got wee ones to indoctrinate into the lifestyle, this could be a great way to do it.
The always creative Andy Carvin has started a pool for pirate-themed lolcats on Flickr. You can make your own with the LolcatBuilder. Flickr itself is getting into the spirit by changing their logo for the day (or was it hijacked?) and including "Arrr!" as an interface language choice at the bottom of the screen. Consider it a form of pirate sensitivity, typical of liberal landlubber stuff like this it's only for one day of the year!
Video search engine Blinkx is a good source for finding videos about pirate attacks, both musical ones and serious ones. Note that at least some of these videos are concerning the Sea Sheperd Conservation Society, who fly a pirate flag at sea while "enforcing laws" and stopping indigenous tribes from hunting. Weak. Real pirates can watch these videos like a football coach and come up with some better strategies.
Speaking of controversy, there's no shortage of it over on the talk page of Wikipedia's entry on piracy. Are there any real pirate treasure maps still in existence? Was a pirate's life more or less democratic than it would have been on shore? Should pirates be considered terrorists? Check out these and other heated debates down below deck of this extensive Wikipedia page. Maybe you'll even join the WikiProject Piracy, a collaboration area and group of editors dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of Piracy.
Those rascals over at TUAW have built an iPhone app that lets you dress up photos of your friends like pirates. What a bunch of rogues!
If anything struck me as the most absurd pirate resource online today, it would be the special pirate theme over at classified ad site Oodle. There you can find all kinds of booty listed - for sale with a price next to each item. Umm, I think somebody's a bit unclear on the concept. :)
Thanks for stopping by; we at Read/WriteWeb lift our pints of grog to you and wish you a happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now get back to swabbing the deck!
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1632
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts
If it's pirate music you're looking for, you absolutely have to check out Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew.
Arrrr! Didn't realize it was Pirate Day. ARRRR!
Rex
100 bottles of rum on the web...
Savvy?
You forgot Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, a fantastic game...
Check out the ‚ÄúPirate Booty‚Ä? gallery full of yo-ho-hoes from the seven seas. It‚Äôs all rum, no scurvy.
http://coedmagazine.com/video/2503
I knew this was you , MK, just by the headline in my Netvibes.
Oh, Patrick. Surely it's "If it BE pirate music..." Or at the very least, "If it's pirate music you be..." A land-lubber, perhaps? *arches eye underneath patch* I'm just saying.
For those looking for a pirate-themed sitcom script (i.e*, all of you): http://morphemetales.wordpress.com/2007/09/08/pirates-pilot/.
*Aargh, aye?
Arrr! Need to brush up you pirate lingo? Take a quiz and find out if you are worthy of Captain status
http://www.thecyberinstitute.com/pirate/
don't forget the English to Pirate translator
http://pirate.monkeyness.com/installable_pirate_translator
Arrgh...I wants t' win some doubloons!
Yeap...check this nice video in
http://www.theboaters.tv/