It’s been a deceptively quite month – there’s plenty of pirate news to report, and plenty of booty to review (indeed, I have a small backlog of reviews to write,) but somehow it all seems rather quiet. I think this might be sort of an “eye of the storm” thing – Talk Like a Pirate Day was the focal point of much of my summer as I made plans for the most ambitious party my household had ever thrown, and following that was something of a calm as we all began the long wait for Sid Meier’s Pirates! to complete its home stretch.

Talk Like a Pirate Day in September, and Sid Meier’s in November, and a whole lot of waiting in the middle. Plenty going on, as I previously stated – but it just doesn’t grab my attention as it otherwise should. Which is exactly why now is the perfect time to force myself to sit back and reflect on all the pirate goodness that charms our very existence. This is November, after all, and thus a little pirate thanksgiving introspection would not be misplaced. There’s so much that’s great out there – some of it new, some not so new. But definitely LOTS worth mentioning.

Let’s start with the not so new:

• I’m thankful for Monkey Island (1-3), the only game series that fully embraced the shameless love of piracy I remember from childhood – a love based not on history or fact, but on adventure, jolly rogers, and three-headed monkeys.
• I’m thankful for Sid Meier’s Pirates!, which allowed me to sail the seas and marry various governors’ daughters at an early age.
• I’m thankful for Walther Matthau, who gave us Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red.
• I’m thankful for Pirate Jenny. I’ve spoken with them recently, and it appears Pirate Jenny may (or may not be) over. The key members are instead focusing on their other, equally brilliant-and-piratey band, Captain Bogg and Salty (for which I’m also thankful.) Lots of pirate music is for historians and reinactors, but Pirate Jenny made piracy rock – not only in a fun and humorous way, but also in a genuine, modern, I’m-not-a-freak-I-just-know-what-I-like way.
• I’m thankful for Bermudan, Barbadian, and Jamaican Rum. I’m not so thankful for Martiniquan, Demeraran, or Guatamalan rum (but this may always be changed.)
• I’m thankful for corsets.

And now, some of the new:

• I’m thankful for Johnny Depp and Geoffry Rush, for their parts in creating two fantastic pirate archtypes and breathing new life into cinema piracy.
• I’m thankful for Keira Knightly for all the pictures floating around the internet of her in that red dress from Pirates of the Caribbean.
• I’m thankful for all the small businesses that are trying their level best to provide us with top-notch pirate products – Center Stage Costumes, Captain Jack’s Pirate Hats, Champion Attitude Boots, PirateMod, the list goes on and on. If you’re out there and you’re fighting the good fight, then I’m thankful for you.
• I’m thankful for all the new pirate video games, not only because they’re fun, but because they’re out there and keeping the dream alive. I’m thankful for Tropico 2, Port Royale 2, Puzzle Pirates, and Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m also thankful for the games that haven’t come out yet, but are still in the final stages of development – Pirates of the Burning Sea, Voodoo Islands, and Sid Meier’s Pirates! I can’t yet say whether these games will live up to our hopes or not, but I’m thankful they’re out there trying.
• And finally, at the risk of sounding sappy, I’m thankful for all the viewers of this website. Bilgemunky.com gets more than 7,000 hits a month. Small potatoes by some standards, and blockbuster by others. This site is a labor of love, I do it simply because I love pirates and want to share it as best I can – and I’m thankful for every visitor that finds it useful or entertaining, whether you’re just passing through, or digging through every page. This month roughly marks Bilgemunky.com’s one-year anniversary, and I look forward to many more.