Cutlass (Signature Weapon)

Here is another post in my Signature Weapons series, formally started this year. It's about weapons that could be used for a character in crime fiction or spy fiction, or indeed any kind of genre fiction. So today, I have decided to blog about the cutlass. It's obviously the weapon of choice of a pirate, so this may seem more suitable for historical fiction or an adventure story set in the golden age of piracy. That said, I still think it could and maybe should be featured in a contemporary setting. First, because piracy is still a thing in many parts of the world. Sure, modern-day pirates use modern weapons, mainly firearms, but they probably have blades too. And why not a traditional cutlass? It's barely anachronistic, being halfway between a knife and a sword. Nowadays, the cutlass is mostly a ceremonial weapon for the Navy, but its uniqueness and its history could definitely make it a signature weapon.

Jouer aux pirates

 Cette photo a été prise à Sandown dans l'Isle of Wigh. C'était lors de notre première soirée. Je regardais mes vieilles photos de voyage il y a quelques jours et celle-ci m'a fait penser à ma propre enfance. Mon père avait une chaloupe qu'il utilisait pour aller pêcher le saumon, elle était dans la remise chez ma grand-mère. Quand il allait pêcher, il laissait la chaloupe quelques jours dans l'entrée de la maison. Nous passions alors plusieurs jours à jouer dedans, mes frères et moi. Et nous jouions toujours aux pirates. Le bateau avait à peu près la même grandeur que ce bateau-là. On pouvait passer des heures sur notre "bateau pirate," des scenarios très élaborés. Quand la chaloupe etait remisée à nouveau chez grand-maman, on continuait en faisant de la gallerie d'en avant le bateau.

Le temps de l'érable (et du cidre?)

Ceci n'est pas exactement un billet sur le Joli Rouge, mais je partage cette photo rien que parce que c'est une très belle étiquette et que ça fait temps des sucres. Parce que le Joli Rouge, en plus d'être un cidre du Saguenay, est un cidre à l'érable. Une idée inspirée, mais un résultat peut-être pas inspirant, en tout cas selon ma mère. Dans tous les cas, c'est le temps des sucres au Québec. Ah oui, si la température était plus clémente, ce serait peut-être le temps du cidre ici. Qu'en pensez-vous?

Le Joli Rouge

Nouveau billet sur le Joli Rouge, le cidre du SagLac au sirop d'érable. Parce que des fois, lire les cannettes de cidre et de bière nous apprend des choses. Enfin bref, le nom du cidre vient du vocabulaire de piraterie et serait le nom donné au drapeau rouge de l'abordage. Le terme a bien entendu donné l'équivalent anglais du "Jolly Roger", lequel est en fait le pavillon noir. Mais bref, Joli Rouge est donc le mot du jour.

La citrouille et le vaisseau fantôme

J'ai blogué sur le sujet lundi dernier, je partage une photo à nouveau: un vausseau pirate fantôme et une gigantesque citrouille. Rien que parce que.

Le vaisseau fantôme

 Mon père a pris cette photo en septembre, je ne sais plus où. Dans une quincaillerie (Rona?) je crois. Dans tous les cas, je suis toujours heureux de voir que des commerces célèbrent l'Halloween longtemps en avance. Et dans un autre ordre d'idées, suis-je le seul à remarquer une association entre pirates et l'Halloween?

Vaisseau pirate fantôme

Mon père a pris cette photo lors d'une de ses promenades. Un vaisseau fantôme qui est aussi un bateau de pirates. Pirates et fantômes vont bien ensemble, je trouve.

L'Îlot Pirate

Près de la plage de Weymouth dans le Dorset, il y avait un manège. Comme ceux à la Ronde, que j'adorais quand j'étais jeune. C'était un genre de petites montagnes russes faites de bateaux. Mais ce qui m'a frappé, c'est le nom du manège: L'Îlot Pirate. Bon, les pirates viennent toujours avec les villes balnéaires, je veux dire dès qu'une ville est proche de la mer et veut attirer les touristes, elle sort le Jolly Roger et le met partout, on dirait. C'est du moins mon expérience. Mais ce manège-ci avait un nom français. Ca a fait ma journée. Ah oui, mais nous ne l'avons pas essayé. J'ai passé l'âge et petit loup est encore trop jeune.

Santons marins

 Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix. Cette fois-ci, ce n'est pas un santon, mais trois et même quatre: un capitaine, un matelot et un pirate (avec son trésor), avec un bateau. Je les veux, surtout le pirate, qui a l'air pas mal cool. Quand vient juin, je pense souvent à lire des histoires maritimes, qui se passent en mer ou près de la mer. Ou de regarder des films qui se passent au large. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, c'est le cas depuis que je suis enfant. Je décorerais aussi la maison avec des choses qui évoquent la mer. Je regarde ces santons et je pense aux vacances.

Gold Divers

A few days ago, we were flicking through channels when we stumbled a reality tv program called Gold Divers. This is the UK title. The original title is Bering Sea Gold, but I don't find it nearly as good or evocative. We watched it a few minutes, five tops, as it had big machinery and this got Wolfie interested for a little bit. I don't know if it is any good, I find reality TV pretty rubbish in general. There was a lot of bleeped swearing in it. But anyway, what I liked about it is the premisse: the show is about, as it says in the evocative British title, people digging gold in water. Shallow water, sea and even ocean. Now this premisse is fascinating and I would say way too good for reality TV. Gold is one of these perfects MacGuffins and I am surprised that nobody thought about a story in a nautical environment with gold divers, who could be the target of brigands or pirates. There's room for a lot of drama there. I think I might just watch more of this show.

Albator

Mon billet d'il y a une semaine ainsi que la mort récente de Leiji Matsumoto m'ont fait penser à une chose: ça fait un bail que je ne me suis pas retapé la série Albator. Je parle du dessin animé de 1978, mais il y aussi la série manga originale, que je n'ai jamais lu au complet. J'ai le premier volume en français, que j'ai lu il y a plus de dix ans. Il faudrait que je m'y remette. Le capitaine Albator a été l'un des plus importants héros de mon enfance, certainement mon préfér de tous les héros de mangas. Il y avait beaucoup du héros romantique chez lui et puis l'idée d'un corsaire de l'espace résolument anarchiste affrontant tant un establishment corrompu que des envahisseurs d'une autre planète quasi-démoniaques me plaisait beaucoup. Enfin bref, je crois que je vais me retaper ce bouquin aussi, essayer de trouver le reste de la série et essayer de trouver la série originale en ligne.

Long John Silver

There are many things I really enjoyed in Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight, the oldest theme park in the UK. Among them, the pirates section (I cannot remember the real name it had right now). A lot of what I saw there seemed to have been taken directly from my childhood's imagination, but there was at least one classical character. You probably have recognised Long John Silver from Treasure Island. Although I always imagined Silver to look far more cunning. This one looks a tad dumb. I showed himto Wolfie, who did not seem impressed. All the same, it was pretty cool to meet him there so to speak and I wished I could have been a child again just for that afternoon.

The Jolly Roger

One of the things I noticed on the Isle of Wight is the presence of the Jolly Roger. This picture was taken at Sandown, but you can really find them everywhere. It is as if the whole island had been taken over and run by pirates. I guess that it cannot be worse than being invaded by tourists all the time. And I'm not sure that the island has much if any history with piracy, it's just the romantic and exotic notions of piracy these flags remind us of. But I enjoyed their presence all the same.

A treasure (for pirates?)

My parents went to Quebec City for a few days and sent me many, many pictures. I am sharing some of them, which fascinated me. One of them is this one, of a open treasure chest full of coins with the fleur de lis. I wished this chest had been there when I was a child. Because back when I was very young, we often went to Quebec City for a few days during the summer holidays, or indeed any holiday. For me, it was the tourist destination and even though it was only a two hours drive, Quebec City felt at the edge of the world. There was something about the place that fired up my imagination. Back then, I often play pirates with my brothers, as a make belief game and our stories often involved treasure hunt. Boy would I have loved to see that treasure back in those days.

Giant Shark

I took this picture at Sundown Adventureland and I am sharing it today just for fun. I was checking my old pictures and this one struck me. This critter is right by the Jolly Pirate Boat Ride which was not open when we visited it. A shame, but there were so many cool attractions there that I didn't mind. That shark was very impressive and looked absolutely huge, so I had to take a picture of it. If you have sharp eyes, you might see that there is a bait and aabove its head, hanging from a big fishing stick. It does bring a bit of fun to the sight, but the shark is no less terrifying. I think it's a great white, or at least it looks like one. Anyway, I thought I'd share this picture today.

Ice Pirate

'Tis the season to be giving and I am buying presents for Wolfie, trying not to spoil him. Shopping for gifts, I came up with quite a dilemma: this Playmobil Ice Pirate with Snowmobile. I mean an ice pirate, how utterly cool is that? Not sure how you do piracy in Antartica, or the Arctic circle, or any wintery place, and do it with this fancy snowmobile on top of that, but it certainly looks nice. The problem is, while Wolfie likes Playmobil, he does not play with his sets nearly as much ashe used to. Now he's all about many his train sets. Maybe it is just a selfish idea, as this is the kind of present I wish I could still receive. I don't know. Still, it's an ice pirate. Just typing it gives me goosebumps.

Revisiting Treasure Island

I first read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson ten years ago. It was one of these books I kept wishing to read, but always waited for the right moment to read to fully appreciate. You need a lot of free time, ideally during a holiday. If I discovered the novel itself as an adult, I was familiar with the story since my childhood: I first read a pop-up book adaptation (this one) bought in Montreal when I must have been six or seven. The plot had been reduced to a skeleton of itself, but the main characters were there and it got me into pirates, treasures and it influenced a lot of our make belief games, especially during summertime. Then there was a Japanese animated series back in the 80s which my brothers and I really loved, even though the pirates, even Long John Silver, had turned into physics defying ninjas. I was eagerly waiting for every new episod. Then, years later, I bought this edition of the original novel when I first came to England.

It actually took me ten years to read it, which is pretty shameful. What struck me about the novel is that it can be read as proto crime fiction of the hardboiled kind, espcially at the beginning. All the pirates showing up at the Admiral Benbow, looking for the map that will lead them to the MacGuffin, it's all very common to modern crime fiction, if you think about it. Just like is the search for the treasure, where the investigation and the interaction between the characters more important than the resolution. Now I will not reread the novel any time soon as I have so many new books to read, but I have rediscovered the old animated series and I intend to binge watch it soon. I have seen the first two episodes and with all its flaws, it is still very solid entertainment.

A Smuggler for summer

I blogged before about the Smuggler from Rebellion Beer. I am a real ale drinker and I prefer my beer dark, so this ale is the one I favour during summertime, although it is available all year round. I explained my reasons in this post. I also love the label: the smuggler on it could easily be a pirate and summertime is one that always remind of piracy. I took this pint of Smuggler in a local pub and while I enjoyed it as I always do, it gave me a bit of a headache. I overestimated my stamina against the current heatwave. I must confess, a blonde beer is easier to drink when the outdoor temperature is like a oven. I guess the Smuggler would ideally be drunk on a rainy day. Which may not happen any time soon.

Un espadon et un souvenir

Photo prise au National Museum de Cardiff. Je ne suis pas certain si c'est un vrai de vrai espadon empaillé, mais dans tous les cas c'est impressionnant. Quand je l'ai vu, j'ai eu un souvenir d'enfance très vif. Mon père avait une chaloupe pour aller pêcher et elle s'appelait L'Espadon. Il semblerait que tous les bateaux, même les plus modestes, aient un nom. Avant et après ses voyages de pêche, la chaloupe était amarrée (?) dans l'entrée chez nous et nous y passions souvent beaucoup de temps, mes frères et moi, à jouer à pleins de jeux d'aventure, la plupart du temps aux pirates. La chaloupe devenait alors dans notre esprit un grand navire, toujours appelé L'Espadon.

Time for a Smuggler

I took this photo last year in a local pub. I thought I'd blog about beer tonight, it has been a while. My readership knows that I love the products of Rebellion Beer. One of my favourite during summertime is the Smuggler. I blogged about it briefly in 2013. The beer is available all year round, but its name and look fits summer far more than any other time of year. It is a darker ale, but what's to say that you should only drink insipid blondes during the sunny season? Smuggler is good whether it is sunny or not, for one. And it has plenty of character, something many summer drinks lack. Anyway, I did not drink this one in a while and I miss it, so I should correct this soon.