Avast Ye Landlubbers! Talk Like a Pirate Day be Approachin’! 

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The cover of Pirates by Charles Johnson

In case you’re worried after reading that title, no, I won’t be typing this entire blog post in Pirate. If you want to read that, various sites have you covered, so have fun with that silliness. But this is me we’re talking about, so of course, there’s still going to be some silliness even before it gets piratified, even if I’m only doing a round-up of various pirate-themed (or pirate-adjacent) books and other media we’ve got on our shelves. But before I launch into that, let’s talk about Talk Like a Pirate Day.

First off, we’re probably not talking like pirates. We’re talking like a specific group of pirates: those that came from southwest England. So that’s at least better than talking like completely fictionalized Hollywood pirates; when you’re letting out your loudest ‘Arrrr!’ rest safe in the knowledge that it’s somewhat authentic. Secondly, in case you didn’t follow the link to Wikipedia, it’s been held on September 19th since its inception in 1995. And before you go looking, that date has nothing to do with pirates; it was simply easy to remember for one of the holiday’s founders as it lined up with an ex’s birthday. Thirdly, if you’ve got a Vaughan Public Libraries card, you can talk like a pirate all you want without needing to be one, thanks to our extensive collections. Our Fast Track items help you get hold of the latest trendy book or movie without waiting on a holds list if you can be in the right branch at the right time to find it, that is. So, what are you waiting for? Dive into our pirate collection and let the adventure begin!

Enough delayin’, on wit’ the pirate media!

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Bringing the Outside In With Farming Sims

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Image-of-a-painted-landscape-with-a-grassy-field-and-a-small-cottage

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you may already know of my hateship with Canadian Winter (which I may or may not have just typed with a giant stink face, it’s up to your imagination). The moment it starts getting somewhere below the 18-degree mark or mid-September rolls around, I start preparing for hibernation like I’m a small, grumpy woodland bear. Part of that is bringing out the winter wardrobe way too early. The other is an attempt to get the most out of reasonably livable weather any way I can, whether it’s going on a run, a much less intense walk, or sitting outside and cursing the sun for deigning to set before 6 PM (which it always inevitably does). When all else fails, as it never fails to do, I lumber my grumbly self inside and hunker down with the only way I can bring the outside in during the long, cold, grey months of winter (my beloathed): farming simulators.

If you’re not familiar with what I mean by farming simulators, let me give you the rundown. These video games are pretty much what they say on the tin: they’re (for the most part) an easy, go-at-your-own-pace experience where you design, manage, and care for your own little plot of farmland (plus a few adorably round and chunky animal friends). They’ve existed since the 90s and have had multiple takes on the genre, with their own niche mechanics and new additions. For the beginner or less intense gamer they’re great hours of fun, and if you hate the outdoors come mid-fall like me, they’re perfect. They’re characteristically colorful (unless you’re playing one of the more gothic takes like Graveyard Keeper) which means you get to completely ignore the lovely array of browns and greys outside your window while you game. Plus, many of the newer iterations of farming sims have a multiplayer function, so you don’t even need to brave the cold to hang out with your friends (and that’s a win in my book). Farming simulators are all the rage in the independent gaming sphere too, so if you want to support a small, start-up gaming developer look no further than games like Coral Island, Dinkum, or PuffPals Island Skies (which I’m looking forward to simply for the frog named Bean).

Since there are so many choices to choose from and only so much gaming time (unless you’re an indoorswoman like me), let me give you some of my top picks that you can pick up here at the library.

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A Brief History of the Olympics

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marble-relief-fragment-depicting-athletic-prizes
Marble relief fragment depicting athletic prizes (via The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Is this post a bit late, considering the (summer) Olympics will be over by the time this goes live? Perhaps. But to my mind, it’s actually fitting, because we’re going to be talking about the Olympics’ past, not present.

So, when did the Olympics first start, and where, and why?

It all began in Ancient Greece, in a town called Olympia, where contestants competed in various games of strength, skill, and athletics in honour of the god Zeus. This religious event eventually spread all over Greece and would always be marked by a truce, allowing athletes and pilgrims to travel without fear of danger. According to myth, the first Games were played by the gods. “Zeus wrestled his father, Kronos, for the throne; Apollo outran Hermes and beat Ares at boxing; and Herakles, often credited with founding the Olympic games, won victories in wrestling and the pankration, a no-holds-barred combat sport.”1 (Link added by me). Many of the ancient sports are actually still played in our modern Olympics, including foot races, discus and javelin throwing, wrestling, and boxing.

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