Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Can you say 'Arrrr'?

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! If you feel a bit silly, their website is pretty much fun.

There's even a translator feature on the site. When I asked it to translate 'Good morning, world,' a phrase that I thought might stymie it (just too ordinary and plain), it popped right back with "Aye, good mornin' world Gar."

To be truthful, I thought this was all pretty silly, until later in the day when I decided to punish myself -- not by walking the plank (that might've been more fun) -- by sorting and tossing old newspapers I'd thought needed saving.

The more I sorted, the more I kept encountering pirates. An enviromental piece about the Dominican Republic busily dissed the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for its less-than-conscientious stewardship of the land there.

There was the obit for Canadian publishing icon, Jack McClelland. None other than Margaret Atwood was quoted as calling him a "genteel pirate".

Even the book review section got into the act with this headline, "Aye, matey, it's sailor's life for me." Really, pirates seemed to be everywhere.

So, ahoy, all -- and may the parrot steer a wide berth round yer shoulder!

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