National Talk like a Pirate Day
So for those of you unaware, we are practically on the eve of the greatest (pirate) holiday this country, nay the world, has to offer. For the past 18 years September 19th has served as the perfect yearly outlet for all your suppressed pirate urges. So how did this all start? Lets turn back the clock to the early aughts for the answer...
Where it all began
I will try to set the stage for our younger readers here. The year is 2002 and a much younger and a much svelter Fingolfin is getting ready to graduate from high school. George W. Bush is in the white house and Eminem, Nelly, and Avril Lavigne are dominating the airwaves as the DC snipers are terrorizing the nations capital. Amidst all of this turbulence and mediocre music we meet John Baur and Mark Summers. For the full version of the actual moment of inspiration you can head straight to the source over at talklikeapirate.com to see exactly what caused these brave men to embrace their inner pirate. I won't go into too much detail here but what basically happened is that some pirate slang slipped into a heated game of racquetball and both men realized that talking like a pirate is awesome and worthy of its very own day. While the idea was solid, it wasn't quite ready for national acceptance until they reached out to syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry. Once he ran a national piece on it a new yearly tradition was born and we are all better off for it.
Why celebrate?
Who doesn't enjoy talks of chests full o' booty and comely wenches? There is no better way to relax than to get with yer' favorite mateys, throw back a few bottles of grog, and hoist your personal jolly roger. The pirates of yore were badasses and worthy of celebration, whether it was the seemingly impossible to kill Blackbeard or Henry Morgan, the original Captain Morgan. The influence of these figures can be seen hundreds of years after their deaths. Swashbuckling pirates have captivated audiences generation after generation, from mutiny on the bounty to Pirates of the Caribbean they still resonate with us to this day. Not only is the influence cultural, but religious as well. Pastafarians (adherents of the church of the flying spaghetti monster) believe that all modern humans are descended from pirates and that the decrease in pirate activity of the past few centuries is the main cause of global warming. The pirates of yesterday were legendary figures in their own time and while the pirates of today might share some of the same brutality they have none of the same flair...
very little swashbuckling here...
How do I celebrate?
There is no official way to celebrate other than forcing random pirate slang into your daily conversation. One of my yearly rituals is to go on my facebook homepage and changing the language to English (Pirate). Its definitely a good start to get you in the holiday spirit and will remind you to spread the pirate cheer throughout the day. One of the text based browser games that I play takes any word in chat that has an "ar" in it and automatically adds a few extra r's to really pirate it up for the day. I feel like Hive should definitely adopt this policy, even if it is just for one day of the yearrrr. Try telling a few of your favorite pirate jokes, I've always enjoyed this one- So a pirate walks into a bar and he has this massive bulge in his pants and asks the bartender for a drink. The bartender looks at him trying to figure out what it could be and with this puzzled look on his face hesitantly asks, "is that a steering wheel in your pants?" and the pirate responds, "Aye, and its drivin' me nuts" Follow any of these suggestions or just create your own NTLAP day traditions to join in on the fun. So avast ye!, I hope you scallywags will join me in celebrating on the 19th. Dubloons aplenty for the scurvy dogs who upvote this post.
