Singing Potatoes
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Friday, 27 December 2002
Spoiled little rich kids

Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is demanding that they be the only ones permitted to dress as pirates during the annual Gasparilla Parade in Tampa.

Never mind that other "krewes" have dressed as pirates for years. Never mind that other krewes are formed around the legends of other pirates, such as Grace O'Malley. Never mind that their members have invested quite a bit of money in their floats and costumes (one cost-unconscious kreweman in the article mentions that he's paid "several thousand dollars" for his pirate costume). Never mind that the parade is in honor of Jose Gaspar, the pirate!

Nah, never mind all that. Ye Mystic Krewe wants to distinguish themselves. Heaven forbid they should come up with something original! That would take effort! Much easier to just tell everyone else to stop doing what they've been doing.

Two tangential points: First of all, the word "ye" is not, and has never been, a definite article. It's the nominative second person formal singular/informal plural pronoun (but also, oddly, the objective second person plural pronoun). Þe is the archaic spelling of the definite article.

And secondly, several thousand dollars? For a costume? Hell, I'm definitely in the wrong business; I was able to make a complete authentic 18th-century naval uniform, including hat and shoes, for under $200. How can I get in on this obscene overcharging action?

Posted by godfrey (link)
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Comments
Y'know, I saw that article and I oculdn't believe it either. The fascist bully boy rich kids want to rule the roost as the only pirates?! Madness! How can one group claim to be the only people allowed to be pirates?! Doesn't that sort of defy the entire idea of piracy?!

I have always been fond of pirates and that era, but I LOATHE that parade of drunken buzzards and buffoons! I say we protest the exclusivity of the pirates by dressing up as pirates (even fictional ones) and crashing the shindig. Perhaps El Vago should make an appearance. After all, I have the hat.

Ok, I'm not much of a rabble rouser. Who we need is the man who controls the media - Lunchbox!
Posted by Darren on 27 Dec 2002 09:32
It's on February 1 this year, eh? The ban starts in 2004, but I wouldn't mind showing support for the other krewes a year early...

I think it'd be fun to show up as a pirate and crash their party! Especially if the ladies decide to reprise their "Vitamin D Girls" costumes...

Posted by Godfrey on 27 Dec 2002 09:57
Avast ya' scallywags! Ol' Cap'n Lunchbox is here, dead center of YMKG territory, spying on the likes of them unfriendly overpaid rich babies. I work for one, and with several others. I have been giving them a serious hard time about the childishness of the whole ordeal, but sadly, they have the upper hand because your "krewe" (god, I hate that "word") has to be invited to be in the parade. So it's conform, or be left out. Unlicensed radio stations are called pirates stations, so an unlicensed "krewe" would be...

Well, the Night Parade is sponsored by the "Krewe of Sant' Yago" and YMKG has to be invited to that, so we'll see if an exception is somehow made for them.
Posted by Lunchbox on 27 Dec 2002 11:28
Oh, and yes, these guys DO pay thousands of dollars for those clown suits they call pirate costumes. My boss wanted Lisa to make him one, slightly more authentic, but still clown-like. Nothing says pirate like sunglasses and 8 thousand plastic bead necklaces. They should be required to wear red size 40 shoes.
Posted by Lunchbox on 27 Dec 2002 11:31
I've seen those costumes up close, when I put scars, bullet holes and bruises on the Mystic Krewe several years running. Most of 'em are only about $50 worth of material (mostly cotton broadcloth and polyester), plus some gaudy trim. Hell, Lunchbox, if anyone else around your office has more dollars than sense and Lisa doesn't want to sew for them, give 'em my number! For several thousand dollars, I'll make their costumes as ugly as they want them! (And give you kickbacks, of course.)

Never understood why so many of the Mystic Krewe pirates want bullet holes right in the middle of their foreheads. I wasn't aware that the Floridablanca was crewed by zombies; you learn something new every day.

Speaking of which, until today, I hadn't known that Gaspar's ship was sunk by the U.S.S. Enterprise. I'm such a geek.

Posted by Godfrey on 27 Dec 2002 11:50