Monday, November 23, 2009

Edward Teach: a.k.a. Blackbeard the Pirate


Blackbeard is often regarded as the archetypal image of the seafaring pirate. He often fought, or simply has been shown, wearing a big feathered tricorn, and having multiple swords, knives, and pistols at his disposal. It was reported that, during battle, he wore lit matches woven into his enormous black beard to intimidate his enemies.

He would plunder merchant ships, forcing them to allow his crew to board their ship. The pirates would then seize all of the valuables, food, liquor, and weapons. Despite his ferocious reputation, there are no verified accounts of him actually killing anyone. He deliberately cultivated his barbaric reputation, and so could prevail by terror alone. It was far more profitable to plunder without a fight at all.

Blackbeard's chief claim to fame is his blockade of Charleston, South Carolina. In approximately late May 1718, Blackbeard entered the mouth of Charleston harbour with the Queen Anne's Revenge and three lighter vessels. He plundered five merchant freighters attempting to enter or leave the port. No other vessels could transit the harbour for fear of encountering the pirate squadron.

Aboard one of the ships that Blackbeard captured in the harbor mouth was a group of prominent Charleston citizens, including Samuel Wragg. Blackbeard held these hostages for ransom, making an unusual demand: a chest of medicine. He sent a deputation ashore to negotiate this ransom.

Due partly to his envoys' preference for carousing rather than bargaining, the ransom took some days to be delivered, and Blackbeard evidently came close to murdering his prisoners. Eventually, the medicines were turned over, and Blackbeard released the hostages, without their clothing, but otherwise unharmed. Blackbeard's whole squadron then escaped northward.
Having accepted a pardon, Teach had apparently retired from piracy. Nevertheless, Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia became concerned that the notorious freebooter lived nearby. Spotswood decided to eliminate Blackbeard, even though he lived outside of Spotswood's jurisdiction, and offered a reward for his head.

When they came upon Blackbeard's Adventure, they were hit with a devastating broadside attack. Midshipman Hyde, captain of the smaller Jane, was killed along with six other men. Ten men were also wounded in the surprise attack. The sloop fell astern and was little help in the following action. Maynard continued his pursuit in Ranger, managing to blast the Adventure's rigging, forcing it ashore. Maynard ordered many of his crew into the holds and readied to be boarded. As his ship approached, Blackbeard saw the mostly empty decks, assumed it was safe to board, and did so with ten men. Blackbeard's assault was preceded by several grenades made by filling rum bottles with gunpowder. Broken glass swept the deck and gunpowder smoke obscured Maynard's view of Blackbeard's boarders.

Despite the best efforts of the pirates (including a desperate plan to blow up the Adventure), Teach was killed, and the battle ended. Teach was reportedly shot five times and stabbed more than twenty times before he died and was decapitated. Legends about his death immediately sprang up, including the oft-repeated claim that Teach's headless body, after being thrown overboard, swam between 2 and 7 times around the Adventure before sinking.

Teach's head was placed as a trophy on the bowsprit of the ship (it was also required by Maynard to claim his prize when he returned home). Despite the sheer terror of the battle with the pirates and the wounds that the crew received, Maynard received only a meagre prize of £100 from Spotswood.

(Source)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

OMG SO SWEXY


I just couldn't help myself. Granted, I won't be flying it for awhile but its gonna be a mean son-of-a-bitch when I finally do.

So how to fit this little beast? When Dominion comes the firetail will be significantly boosted and become a mixture of wolf and jaguar, albeit an expensive one at around 35mil.

It is still very fast, despite losing its speed bonus in favor of damage, and outperforms the Wolf and Jaguar with 410m/s base speed. Its new bonus and slot layout have made me quite happy: 20% Projectile damage per lvl minny frig and 3-4-3 slots allowing for a shield tank and tackle. The changes put the firetail's dps around the level of a Jaguar.

The changes make this ship incredibly flexible like the Jaguar. You have the option to sport a mwd and artillery/missile with some ewar (tracking disruptor or sensor damp would both be good options) or Autocannons and a utility high (nos, neut, rocketlauncher). With the short ranged firetail you have a choice between shield or armor tank, with armor allowing extra tackle/ewar/cap options and shield giving you the speed and gankiness of gyro's and (the new) awesomeness of tracking enhancers. With the ranged version shield tank is preferable to keep you nimble and allow for maximum gank.

From my above hypotheses I see this firetail fulfilling essentially the same roles as a Jaguar. It lacks the higher resists of an Assault Ship but compensates with significantly greater speed and damage. For a slightly higher price tag the Firetail gives slightly better performance.

Also it looks fuckin' amazing.

(Source)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Henry Morgan: Pirate King



Continuing my retrospective of pirate history I bring you a chapter from the life of one of histories most illustrious and notorious pirates, Captain Henry Morgan.





Buccaneer and pirate, admiral and general, country gentleman and planter, custos and judge of the court of Vice-Admiralty, governor and knight ­ all are titles held by Morgan during his colourful lifetime.

Jamaica in the second half of the 17th century was a pirate haven. Known for plunder and trade, the island's port town of Port Royal (aptly located at the entry to Kingston Harbour) was home to many of these "brethren of the coast".
It was at that time that one pirate in particular rose to prominence ­ the Welshman, Henry Morgan. Famed for his exploits on what was known as the Spanish Main (today called South America) Morgan seemed larger than life. Although accounts place him as being of average height and build, there was nothing average about his leadership abilities or his charisma, however.

It is not surprising that history regards him as a pirate king, referring to him as the greatest buccaneer of them all (although most likely forerunners of the pirates, the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably).

According to noted Jamaican historian, Clinton Black, Morgan was "more than a buccaneer captain. The same man who could swear and curse and drink and whore with the best of them in many a den of murder, or lead a bunch of desperadoes for miles through hostile jungles and fever-ridden swamps...was also to prove an astute politician with a breadth of vision far, far beyond that of the men he drew to him with his rare magnetism".


If you'd like to learn more about this badass mofo check out the link:
Source

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I always liked him


Spectre in his awkward years.

Spectre's Blog

Buccaneer Lifestyle

A bit of historical background on "Buccaneers":

A hundred years before the French Revolution, the buccaneer companies were run on lines in which liberty, equality and fraternity were the rule, although only for white members of the crew
(for shame!). In a buccaneer ship, the captain was elected and could be deposed by the votes of the crew. The crew, and not the captain, decided the destination of each voyage and whether to attack a particular ship. The buccaneers' democratic model was adopted by many later pirate crews.

Spoils were evenly divided into shares; the captain received an agreed amount for the ship, plus a portion of the share of the prize money, usually five or six shares. Crews generally had no regular wages, being paid only from their shares of the plunder, a system called "no purchase, no pay" by Modyford or "no prey, no pay" by Exquemelin. There was a strong esprit de corps among buccaneers. This, combined with overwhelming numbers, allowed them to win sea battles and shore raids. There was also, for some time, a social insurance system guaranteeing compensation for battle wounds at a worked-out scale.


(Source)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tuskers...




...every last one of them.

Well they gave us everything for bending the mind
And we cleaned out their pockets and we drank ’em blind
It’s a long way to the finish so don’t get left behind
By those horsemen

- The Clash



(Source)

Monday, November 16, 2009

How about a snack?



Would you like yours rare or well done?

Ingredients

* 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
* 3 ribs celery, peeled and cut into thirds
* 3 onions, peeled and cut into quarters
* 1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) baby, rinsed and patted dry
* 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
* 2 teaspoons cracked white pepper
* 1 lemon, halved
* 2 fresh bay leaves
* 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
* 4 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped, plus 1 tablespoon for gravy
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons roasted garlic
* 1 cup dry white wine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

In a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan, add the carrots, celery and onions. Season the baby both inside and out with the salt and white pepper. Squeeze the lemon halves over the baby and place the rinds inside the cavity. Place the bay leaves inside the cavity. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, olive oil and butter. Rub the baby both inside and out with the garlic rosemary blend and place in the roasting pan.

Place the pan in the oven and roast the baby for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear. To test this, insert a thermometer in the thickest part of a leg. It should register at 160 degrees internal temperature. Remove the baby from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Pour off excess fat from pan and return to heat. Whisk in baby stock, roasted garlic, white wine and chopped rosemary, scraping up the bits on the bottom of pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Reduce gravy by half, until thickened.

Serve baby with gravy on the side.

(Edit: substitute baby for chicken: recipe).

This guy I killed

Reaching back to my time in Curse of the Nazghorn I present you with Ryddic, a rather unctuous interceptor pilot(?):

Bourreau > yes?
Ryddic > you no give me 40 milion
Bourreau > hahaha
Ryddic > cost for me interceptor
Ryddic > my alleans
Ryddic > declar war vs your corp
Ryddic > XD
Ryddic > ahaha???
Ryddic > wath??
Ryddic > i is ceo for me alleans
Ryddic > ahahah no vs me
Ryddic > you win
Ryddic > good
Ryddic > give me 40 milion
Ryddic > o 24 hours and your corp is deads
Bourreau > wars are cool
Ryddic > 40 no
Ryddic > 30
Ryddic > sorry no 40 30 milion
Ryddic > fast
Bourreau > lol
Bourreau > go ahead
Ryddic > lol???
Bourreau > we like wars
Ryddic > but is noob o idiot
Ryddic > mother focker
Ryddic > fast give me 30 milion o declar wars vs you

Still waiting for that war declaration...Did I mention hes Italian?

(Also, apologies to everyone I hot linked in there...:\)
____________________________________________________

I'll end this post with a joke you've probably heard:

Q. Why does the new Italian Navy use glass bottomed boats?
A. So they can steer clear of the old Italian Navy.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Pirate Food Pyramid













I think its pretty self explanatory.

Plundering of the Astarte

The autumn space breeze howled through the rigging of the pirate sloop One-Armed Shoemaker. On deck the crew raced furiously to adjust sails under the tyrannical bellowing of their unpleasantly bald-headed captain (who I heard smells terrible).

A second pirate sloop commanded by captain Kelshall bore alongside the Shoemaker as it sliced through the vacuum waves toward their mutual quarry. Just beyond them lay the prize they sought; a heavily armed Astarte warship.

Though the massive command ship outclassed the small vessels they did not slow their approach. The two sloops were merely the advance element of a larger pirate fleet and their purpose was singular: pin down the prey until the bulk of the fleet arrived to finish the job.

As the cutthroats pulled alongside they launched their tackle hooks into the Astarte’s mammoth gunwales and lit it up with 150mm Autocannons and nuclear warhead tipped rocket propelled grenades. Amazingly the huge vessel held firm under their terrible onslaught?

The Astarte’s own weapon systems activated but its long-range cannon were ineffective against the vastly more maneuverable sloops. As the behemoth angrily spun the remainder of the pirate fleet arrived and promptly delivered napalm death unto its pitiful seaman.

Although pirates are known for their discretion in ransoming a defeated foe they were content to watch this vessel burn. Much to their surprise a ‘Meditation’ medium armor repairer, whatever that is, was hoisted from the smoking wreck. This set the mates to rejoicing and much rum was consumed in celebration. To the west the setting sun slipped over the horizon.

Thus began another night of piracy on the high…space…seas.

The Prize

The Truth...



As you can see I've got Spectre's back mhmmm.

The Pony Lover Himself

It begins

That's right, I'm starting my own blog!

What a wonderful idea you must be saying to yourself. Why thank you, I feel the same way. You can look forward to all sorts of relevant and totally irrelevant stories/info/pornography/geography so come check me out. Chances are you can catch a hot bear ass or two.

Rarrrr.

Boo ya, first post beotches, get it while its hot.