The Poopdeck

136 days until International Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

Ahoy there, pirates and friends of pirates!

It's been a while since I wrote last. We've been hibernating, but things are starting to heat up. There's plenty of news to make up for the long hiatus! Items in this newsletter include:

• Buccaneer Bachelor Contest
• New Designs Coming
• PotC Sequel Coming Soon
• Schedule Filling Up Fast
• "Pirattitude!"
• The Blog Story
• Ol' Chumbucket's Book Club

Buccaneer Bachelor

Avast there, ye wenches! Does it get lonely out on the open sea? Ever find yourself pining for the kind of corsair who can keep you company during the long, lonely night watches? Well, here' s your chance! Enter to play "Buccaneer Bachelor," and you might just win the heart, the hand, the hook, or some other body part, of none other than Cap' n Slappy himself!

How it works:

We’re going to collect a group of contestants, and each week from early June until September 19th (Talk Like A Pirate Day) they’ll be asked a piratical question in our blog. The contestants will then submit their answers - answers that we hope are both piratical and funny. Cap'n Slappy will go through their responses and, with a great deal of sadness, eliminate one contestant each week. On or around September 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Slappy will choose one lucky lass from among the two contestants who've shown enough pirattitude to make it to the final round.

Everything ye need to know about the contest can be found at http://talklikeapirate.com/contest.html.

To become a contestant, send an e-mail with the subject line "Buccaneer Bachelor" to: contest@talklikeapirate.com. Tell us:

- Your name, city and country
- Your pirate name
- Confirm yer a wench 21 years of age or older (this is the only question for which we expect or at least hope for a truthful response!)
- The name of the most recent pirate ship ye sailed on
- A description of yer tattoos and missing body parts - real and imaginary
- And why you should be a contestant, in 200 words or less.

If you want to check out the fine print, it's at http://talklikeapirate.com/contest.html#disclaimers

While we can't really promise you a life of romance with that paragon of pirattitude, Cap'n Slappy, we will have some "fabulous" prizes for the winners.

So send us an e-mail to become a contestant, then get yer quill pen out and get ready to compete for Slappy.

New Designs

While yer on the contest page, take a look at the logo on the upper left hand corner of the page. Try hard to ignore the leering pirate on the right.

That was designed by our friend and shipmate, Bloody Jodi, and she's got a whole slew of those almost ready for us to post at our Cafe Press store. We decided our shirts and such needed a fresh look, and Jodi was far and away the most talented person we knew in that regard. The fact that they're not quite ready to go is a testament to her perfectionism.

So in roughly the next two weeks you'll see a whole new batch of really fine piratical T-shirts, mugs and more at the store as well as on the We site. We've already culled some of the older or less popular designs already, and we're leaving the most popular old designs. But we think you'll be really excited by the work Jodi has done. We are.

For now you can check out the store at http://www.cafepress.com/talklikeapirate and see some of the classics and our most popular designs. And in about two weeks check back and Jodi's new work will shiver yer timbers and blow ye down.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Man's Chest

I don't need to tell YOU that the sequel to our favorite movie in recent years (maybe ever?) will be out this summer.

Check out keeptothecode.com for all the news and interesting tidbits about this movie.

You've also probably seen the trailer –maybe hundreds of times. I could provide you with the link, but keeptothecode already links to it in seven different formats. Check out http://www.keeptothecode.com/14potc2.html#trailer2

They've also got interviews with some of the actors, production art, and lots more. (There's even an article written by Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy in the features, plus the interview they did with us last September.)

The movie opens nationwide July 7. Don't forget to be there for the opening, dressed in all yer pirate finery! It'll be a fine night.

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Summer Schedule

We're in the busy season, the buildup to this year's Talk Like a Pirate! And our schedule is already starting to fill.

We'll have a more complete schedule for you in the next issue. For now, we want to make sure you know about the big one coming up this month in Ilwaco, Wash., out there on the larboard edge of the continental United States.

The Nautical Renaissance at Port Ilwaco runs May 18 – 21 and June 9 – 2. Cap['n Slappy and I will be there Saturday, May 20, to provide part of the official grand opening of Pirate Invasion Day. We'll be joined by the buccaneering brethren of the Rifle Loot & Salvage Co. There'll be tall ship tours, combat and black powder demonstrations, music and lots more. It'll be a great way to get the summer started.

At 2 p.m. that day, Slappy and I will be a short distance away at Time Enough Books in downtown Ilwaco, where we'll read from our book, "Pirattitude!" and sign for anyone who wants a signed copy.

There's tons more stuff. Check the festival's Web site at http://www.nauticalrenaissance.com/

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"Pirattitude!"

Since we mentioned the book reading in Ilwaco, this seems like the perfect place to thank you all for your support. "Pirattitude! So You Wanna Be a Pirate? Here's How!" is now in its fourth printing and the publisher, New American Library, is gearing up for a very busy summer. Thank you, pirates!

Of course, we’re working on a sequel, and some other projects. Nothing to report yet, but we’re getting closer.

Blog Story

Our pirate story continues in our blog – http://talklikeapirate.blogspot.com/.

We started a new adventure three weeks ago, and we're writing it as if this were a book and readers would never have met these characters before. That means you'd only have to go back a few weeks to catch up with the goings on of the Festering Boil and her crew. So come join us for "The Havana Caper," as Cap'n Slappy, Ol' Chumbucket, and all the rest hunt down the Spanish Treasure Fleet.

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Ol' Chumbucket's Book Club

Starting with the next edition of The Poopdeck I'll be running brief reviews of piratey or nautical books. Why should Cap'n Slappy have al the fun with his advice column? And why should Oprah have a lock on the book world? One thing about being one of the Pirate Guys is that people send you a lot of books and stuff and some are items I think you'd really want to know about.

I'd actually have started it in this edition, but it's already gotten too long and I imagine most of you have stopped reading already.

But if you just can't wait to read a few lines about a piratish book, go back to Keep to the Code and at this address you'll find the review we wrote for Keith Thomson's new book, "Gus Openshaw's Whale-Killing Journal." It's a hoot.

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That'll be all for now. You've probably got work to do, and I probably ought to find some. There are ships to be plundered and ports to sack!

Ol' Chumbucket