Anachronista

Opening day of the Colorado Renaissance Festival

2009-06-17T11:53:00.003-06:00

So a few days ago I went to the Colorado Renaissance Festival for the first time in a few years. It was two for one pricing, making it $9 to get in, rather than the usual $17.95 (and that is highway robbery!)

We had perfect timing, got close parking, and no wait in line at all. THAT's what leaving at 8 am will get you. Thankfully our designated driver picked up hot caffeinated drinks for us, or the cranky-ness might have been too much to bear. Of course by the time we arrived, the hour and a half drive + coffee had taken a toll on our bladders. And then I remembered how much fun portapotties are in difficult garb.

We dressed ourselves in mostly cavalier clothing, with the exception of one of us who wore a flowy middle eastern ensemble. From this, a few merchants were able to come up with catchy phrases like "Three pirates and a mermaid walk into a bar....and gave us all their gold!!" "Nice boots! Wanna ffffffind out how much you love our nuts?" "Ladies wearing PANTS! For shame on you wanton wenches! Come try on my skirts!" And so on.

I noticed something new about the merchants: many, many of them had "no photography" signs in thier booths. Probably sick of us crafty SCAer's making our own versions of their wares. Don't get me started about the prices of things, I know they have a high booth fee to cover but come ON. One henna booth wanted $17 for a teeny-tiny OM symbol. I mean, that's just bending you over.

But, of course, we shopped (and haggled) anyway. Between all four of us, two fine wooden mugs were purchased, a lovely leather hat, a cast iron teakettle and a copper coin bra, for bellydancing. Oh, and copious amounts of alcohol and food. We stood in the world's slowest mead line, as the Pirate's Pub was both understaffed and under equipped. The ladies...ahem, I mean wenches, that were serving were practically falling out of their tops keeping up with the rush. By noon, they were serving their last bottle of mead, of which we were lucky to get a couple of servings. Huzzah!

We also saw a few shows. The clarion machine bell-player down by the joust was dramatic, and I think my ears are still ringing because we sat too close. Ded Bob was funny as usual, and conveniently located near the main food court, where we were able to purchase the completely NOT medieval delicacy of deep fried macaroni & cheese on a stick. OK, maybe the stick is medieval. Yummy! We tried to see Puke & Snot (there's a new Snot since the original one died last year) but thier act was cut short due to a rainshower. By the way, to the ladies with white chemise tops, rain makes it see-through!! Wear a BRA! My GOD some of these girls have no shame at all. But I digress...

For those not familiar with the high altitude terrain of the site, only about 20% of it is flat. The rest is a hill. I was thirsty often. And you know what? There are NO DRINKING FOUNTAINS anymore. They were dismantled in the last couple of years. Something to do with the huge water bill the festival gets every year. So now you have to BUY expensive bottled water if you don't want to get dehydrated. Or, find the one or two 'flushy' bathrooms with sinks to refill your mug at, because they don't let you bring in water either. Honestly, that's just crap. Water should be free and abundant at hot, high altitude festivals, or there are going to be a ton of medical emergencies. If you don't provide it, people should be able to bring it themselves. Grrrr...cranky, maybe I need another beer instead. It's mostly water anyway...

Now, one of my favorite things to do is people watching. This is doubly fun at a renfair. There were many more people dressed up than I was expecting, but it may have simply been because it was opening day...

For those of you who went in beautiful, authentic garb and patiently posed for photo after photo, thank you. Your dedication to the theme is inspiring. But some of you must have waaay too much free time, or money.

For those of you who went in modern clothes and proceeded to try and 'blend in' with your viking helmet, cutoffs and wife-beater tank top, thank you. Your 6 unruly children are obviously well trained in the art of berserking, too.

For those of you (ladies) that stuffed yourself into a corset five sizes too small, thank you. I never knew you could make a muffin top out of back flesh. I think corsets are like spandex: a privilege, not a right.

For the MANY barbarians, goreans and cavemen, thank you. How any of these costumes fit into a renaissance, I don't know, but your grunting, rawrring and quoting of "what is best in life" never really gets old. And Conan the Librarian, you are too funny. The big glasses really complete your look. I think some of you need to wash your leathers though. I could smell some of you from a great distance. Or maybe I was just downwind of the stables.

For all the pirates, rogues and cavaliers that spent most of thier time around the Pirate's Pub, thank you. This last bastion of bawdiness is made much more fun by the constant AAARRRRRRing and jokes about your pegleg. And sooo many Jack Sparrows. I probably couldn't have thrown a belaying pin in there without hitting at least two.

For the two or three guys dressed as video game characters, you made me feel like MUCH less of a geek, thank you. Especially Link. You should really get some real tights and not wear your mother's pantyhose though.

All in all, a great day of seeing old friends, drinking and eating things you KNOW are horrible for you, and having all this material for mockery. Kind of makes me want to go back. Except for that hefty entrance fee...

xkcd does the Voynich Manuscript

2009-06-04T22:48:00.003-06:00

The Renfair approacheth, just in time for a sanity check.

2009-06-03T15:40:00.004-06:00

What the...it's JUNE already??!! Where did the spring go?

Oh, right. I've been busy gardening, weeding, planting and other dirty yard work. And getting medieval on the gopher colony in my yard. How does one get medieval on a gopher? I'm glad you asked.

Their mounds, as they appear, are opened and flooded with my trusty +3 (to gopher slaying) garden hose. I wish I could use boiling oil, but that stuff's not cheap. I've poured out buckets of the foul-smelling pepper powder barrier, to no avail. The traps (as much as they look like medieval torture devices) have failed to trap even one gopher. Lately, I've been wandering around the backyard at night like a village idiot, trampling their tunnels and stomping the earth to drive them out. There must be an entire underground city under my house, and they just keep sending up reinforcements...or maybe they're zombie gophers and just can't be killed...

Thankfully, a close friend called yesterday and broke me from my reverie.

Her: "Want to go to the Renaissance Fair? Opening weekend? It's two for one..."
Me: "RenFair already? What month is it?"
Her: "June."
Me: "Wow, somehow I'm still in May."
Her: "Do you have fresh dirt under your fingernails?"
Me: "What? Uh....yeah...why?"
Her: "You need an intervention, you know."
Me: " WHAT?"
Her: "Remember your other life? The one with the costumes? The fencing? How long has it been since you've even BEEN to the Renfair?"
Me: "Uhh, three or four years?"
Her: "And you call yourself an anachronist? Pah."
Me: "Touché."
Her: "We're going in costume. You ARE wearing one. And I'll drive. You have no excuse."
Me: "But-"
Her: "Your garden will be FINE without you for a whole eight hours."

Today I can write about this and laugh. Yesterday I was stressed at how much I think I still have to do outside with more planting, building trellises, cages, and supports, setting up row covers and of course keeping the zombie gophers at bay, and then I realized I really REALLY need this excursion as a sanity check. I never knew I could catch obsessive compulsive disorder from gardening.

Rocking the Outlands, Darbuka style

2009-05-25T17:36:00.003-06:00

So this is what I did for Memorial Day weekend. Finally got to camp again at an SCA event (Crossroads in the Barony of Caerthe) and hang out with my musical friends. Sorry about the shaky camera...I'm not too good at walking in the dark and filming at the same time.

And that's why I play in the SCA. Where else in the USA can you camp out and bellydance to live sitar, saz, qanun and drums?

Twitter meme: #MedievalMovies

2009-05-18T13:43:00.004-06:00

So Twitter is a really addictive social sharing tool if you haven't tried it. A feature called "trending topics" shows you what tons of people are talking about ALL AT ONCE. It's like an RSS feed on crack.

One of today's trending topics is called #medievalmovies, and is hilarious. You have to *medievalify the names of non-medieval movies. Since not all of you have Twitter, I'm copying some of my favorites here. Man, it's like somebody started this JUST FOR ME! Some of these ideas are ripe for parody.

Julian Calendar Girls

Feudal Attraction

You've Got Chainmail

Weekend At Constantinople's

Serf's Up

Apocalypse Whence

This Is Spinal Tapestry

National Lampoon's Monastic Pilgrimage Vacation

Grand Theft Cart: Market Town Edition

Last Castle on the Left

Ace Ventura: Parapet Detective

Marketplace Royale

Crouching Knight, Hidden Flagon

Father Of the Wench

My Big Fat Byzantine Wedding

Under Siege Engines

Up Close and Percival

The Italian Renaissance Job

I Know What You Ploughed Last Summer

Gawain My Way

Legally Blondel

Sex in the Citadel

Charlemagne's Angels

Sisterhood of the Traveling Corset

A Moat Runs Round It

Buffy the Viking Slayer

The Hazard of Dukes

Mr & Mrs Blacksmith

Thatch Me if you Can

Its a Flat, Flat, Flat, Flat world

A Feudal Good Men

Annie Get Your Crossbow

Sir Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Trebuchet

Runneth, Lola, Runneth

Some Like It Motte and Bailey

Jerry Mcsquire

Milord, Where is my Mount?

Snakes On An Ox-Cart

The Man With The Golden Trebuchet

Carriagespotting

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Catapults

16 Tallows (or) Sixteen Candelabras

Prithee in Pink

The Star Wars of the Roses

Single White Damsel

Monks in Black

White Men Can't Joust

Die Bard

Die Hard: With a Crossbow

Reservoir Dragons

Next of Bodkin

Robert The Bruce Almighty

* I'm like Shakespeare, yo! I can make up words and stuff.

The "Hunt for Gollum" LoTR Fan Film

2009-05-11T13:15:00.002-06:00

At nearly 40 minutes, this amazing Lord of the Rings fan film cost only $5,000 to make. It's 100 times better than I was expecting. The titles, music and cinematography are quite similar to the original series. The effects and makeup are top quality - and Aragorn gets to slice through loads of orcs! The clever use of CGI and an 'Elven sack of holding' means your imagination does most of the work filling in the Gollum details. Tricksy filmmakers!

The Hunt For Gollum (HD version)

If you can't see the video in this post, you can watch it at the Hunt for Gollum Movie website. And keep up with more Middle Earth news at theOneRing.net - The Hobbit is still yet to come!

Reclaiming the Blade giveaway

2009-05-08T23:00:00.006-06:00

The makers of independent film Reclaiming the Blade are giving away prizes including Hasbro Force FX Lightsabers, practical swords and the grand prize, a Trainer for a Day:

Apparently I'm eligible for something, being a 'friend of RTB', and having their banner on my blog for a while now. You can enter to win swords by signing up for their mailing list. I'm all for supporting independent film, especially when there is booty involved! I figure a high percentage of my readers like swords, and might like to help support this film by buying the DVD or downloading it on iTunes.

Also from their site... NEW: Friends of RTB will be listed in the final film credits. Oh, that makes me squee a little!

Summer's coming, that means Renaissance Faires!

2009-05-02T15:03:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I know, for those of you who live in Southern California or Arizona, you've already had your fill of jugglers, gypsies and pickle-sellers, but those of us in colder climes are just getting warmed up for our yearly dose of frivolous fun from the renaissance ages.

If you've got the time, why not sit a spell and watch this hour long documentary: "Renny - A Festival Way of Life." You'll learn stories behind the stories, how performers got their start, and what really goes on behind the curtains, after the crowds leave...and you may even see a few familiar faces, because many of these Rennies travel from Fair to Fair, all over the country.

Our local Colorado Renaissance Festival doesn't start til mid-June, so there's still time to get a good costume together if you are lacking in that department. Or, just show up in modern clothes and buy something beautiful from the merchants. Every dime you spend at the RenFair supports the lifestyle of these crazy rennies!

To think, when I was a teen, going to King Richard's Faire, I could have gone down this road so easily...I think I told my mom in a fit of teenage angst that I was going to run away and join the RenFair.

She said, "Honey, you're a walking RenFair already. No need to go chasing it when it's inside you." Smart mom.

Bishop Castle Documentary

2009-04-30T20:29:00.002-06:00

I've long been a fan of the wacky, amazing and FREE Bishop's Castle in southern Colorado. I had always hoped someone would come along and film a documentary of the castle builder, Jim Bishop, as he's quite the character.

The Craftsman is 30ish minutes of stunning views, back story and of course, political intrigue...

Why not take a trip into the Colorado mountains this year and see it yourself?

Another Great SCA video from Atlantia

2009-04-15T12:41:00.003-06:00

The Kingdom of Atlantia, Barony of Pontealto, holds the Tournament of Love and Beauty every year. This year they were visited by modern video cameras and interviewers...

Huzzah to the much higher production values than I'm used to seeing on most SCA videos! This was produced by "Push-Pause," a Verizon original production in collaboration with Michael Rosenblum's HyperLocal News Productions. Push-Pause features high-impact hyper-local news and community stories shot by trained citizen video journalists.

Dark Tower Reborn!

2009-03-31T12:31:00.005-06:00

Anyone who grew up in the early 80's might remember that sinister electronic board game called "Dark Tower." If you don't remember the game, maybe Orson Wells can jog your memory.

This was one of the first games that contains what I call *The Insidious Theme Song. It was the subtle looping music behind all the other beeps and bips that would still be running in your head hours after you'd quit the game. I played this at a friends house any time he would invite me over for it. It was a fun way to kill an afternoon, but it was frustrating getting the plague all the time. I think he rigged it to do that to me though. He was a smart kid with one of the first personal computers I ever saw. Incidentally, this was the same kid who got me into D&D. I hold him personally responsible for my medievalist outcome.

Finding an actual working complete copy of the game is nigh on impossible now. If you do manage to find one for sale, you'll shell out over $300 for it. In these low economic times who can afford that?

So how can YOU experience the awesomeness of Dark Tower? Once again, the internet saves the day with the online flash Dark Tower! It's only 1 player, instead of multi, and while not 'quite' as cool as the real thing, it does have all the sound effects and theme song. Now you can lay siege to the Dark Tower whenever you want! Good luck, adventurer! Try not to get the plague.

*Yes, there is an acronym for that phrase. Think about it...

Bringing back the Celtic Art

2009-03-24T00:21:00.006-06:00

A few people have known me long enough to know I used to draw all kinds of Celtic stuff, all the time. This was way back in the early 90's, when if you wanted something with Celtic art on it, you had to make it yourself. There were only a handful of good printed resources about the Celts and their varied art forms then.

Not so anymore, in these modern internet times. Right now, in five minutes, I can gather nearly as much imagery as it took me ten years to amass, prior to the digital sharing of data. You kids today, with your celtic vinyl stickers, celtic stick-on tattoos, knotwork jewelry and t-shirts have it soooo easy. I used to have to paint my own jackets and draw on myself with sharpies and order expensive art books from Europe to make good celtic art. I even went to celtic art classes, which helped me to understand the mathematics behind the designs, so that I could create new ones that no one had ever seen.

I took my new knowledge and volunteered many designs for the Institute for Celtic Studies in New England, created and showed paper celtic sculptures in an art gallery, designed many tattoos, a line of pewter jewelry, many scrolls in the SCA, and even some embossing stamps for a Renfair leather merchant. And none of them were copies of existing historical designs.

I had stopped drawing celtic art years ago, because it took oodles of brainpower to mathematically construct some of these designs, and frankly, I got lazy and found drawing work that paid the bills and was much easier to do.

Recently, the siren song of the spiral called me once again... but it was so hard to get my brain to to process the designs I wanted to draw! I may have eventually lost the ability to do this, if I hadn't been inspired by my man, who needed a set of armor in order to fight upon Outlands fields this summer. He'd gotten some blank leather bracers from a friend and wanted me to help design them. I looked around online for something cool to copy, but all of it was either the same stuff I've been seeing for 20 years, or tribalish modern celtic art. None were nice enough, so I got charged with creating a new design. So of course they had to look awesome. And you certainly can't buy awesome like this in a store.

He requested it include ravens and horses. After days of research into early period British pre-Roman Celtic Art, I had a plan for a design that was not too complicated, but dynamic, as I also had his very beginner knowledge of leatherworking to consider. So I drew it, he tooled it, and I antiqued the lines. They still need to be cuirboiled, and I have no idea what color they will turn...

If you want some thing done right, you really do have to just do it yourself. I guess I'll be exercising my celtic brain muscles a bunch more soon. There's a lot more armor to make.

Something Green

2009-03-17T11:07:00.003-06:00

If you haven't heard, I'm quite fond of Muppets. Especially when they are singing sad Irish songs...

It's not ALL about green beer and leprechauns today. Saint Patrick was a real person, credited with 'driving the snakes from Ireland.' So I guess if you have a snake problem, you can invoke St. Patrick for help!

Exploring the Social Media Swamp

2009-03-11T17:07:00.006-06:00

For those of you who don't keep track of all the little bells, whistles and widgets going on about my blog, or never even visit if you *subscribe to my RSS feed, prepare yourself. I'm about to give you... the links of despair... don't even think about trying to escape...

I have fallen victim to two of the biggest timesucks on the whole internet ever. Facebook and Twitter. I know, I know. I didn't HAVE to make profiles there. But I do pride myself on keeping up with modern internet gadgetry, however fickle the winds of the web blow. Seriously though, these are almost as bad as my **Warcraft addiction.

Excuses aside, now that you know I have a profile on FaceBook and a few updates on my Twitter feed, you can follow me into the dark, spirally depths of the intertubes. Better take some torches so you don't get lost.

*Subscribers to my RSS feed and widget readers should know that publishing a blog through subsites like Facebook or sometimes strips out images and videos. So if you are reading along and things just don't seem to make sense, visit the actual post.

**I was a Warcraft addict up until November 2008. The Lich King made me go cold turkey. That doesn't mean I'm done mocking it though.

A Feast of Epic Proportions

2009-03-11T11:08:00.004-06:00

One of my friends pointed out that if I have Gatorade "G" medieval pop culture on my blog, I would be remiss not to also include the Snickers "Feast" marketing ploy. Even though it's ancient history in internet time, as it aired in 2007. But hey, I'm all about the time travel. Just let me set the wayback machine...

So, what do a Pilgrim, a Viking, an English King, a Roman and a Polynesian Fire Dancer have in common? They all feast upon the gooey, chocolaty goodness of Snickers. Maybe they should meet up with the Gatorade Knights so they have something to drink.

It occurs to me that I have taken several road trips in costume to SCA events, Renaissance Fairs and conventions. And I know I'm not the only one who drives to events in costume. Is it possible that the marketing genius behind this may have seen some SCAer's or Rennies all piled up in a car together, and thought, "Reenactors! Now there's a good idea!" I would have loved to have seen the boardroom pitch on this one.

Building a Medieval Gauntlet

2009-03-02T23:43:00.003-07:00

If you can't view the embedded slide show below I suggest you visit the original post at Instructables on Building a Medieval Gauntlet. Way cool!

Building a Medieval Gauntlet - More DIY How To Projects

Of Princess Bride and F-Bombs...

2009-02-27T11:59:00.005-07:00

I've just had a blogging crisis. As you may know I try very, very hard NOT to swear on this blog. Lewdness is unbecoming on the internet and it never goes away. Last thing I need is some f-bomb coming back to haunt me, say, in the process of a job interview or future fame. I know, I worry about the wrong things.

The problem? XKCD just published a comic about the Princess Bride...which I really wanted to include an image of here. But I just can't bring myself to copy the image and photoshop OUT the f-bomb. It would be like erasing the smile of the Mona Lisa...

So, clicketh yon link, if ye be of strong health, if swearing not offend ye...and if you want to know what should have happened, when Buttercup discovers Westley is not only NOT dead, but a pirate.

Gatorade gets Medieval

2009-02-27T10:37:00.003-07:00

Gatorade seems to be the sport drink of choice for many athletes, and even some heavy fighters of the SCA. I've sampled the stuff myself a time or two on the fencing field, and verily, it doth quench my thirst as advertised.

Someone at the Gatorade marketing factory has decided that the recent surge of medieval pop culture must not be complete without yet ANOTHER Monty Python parody. One that includes basketball stars, talking goats and fire-breathing poodles... oh, and one 'bleep'.

Please understand that I'm contractually obligated to include as much medieval pop culture as I can on this blog, and that occasionally includes advertising ploys such as this. But there's only so far I can go without permanent brain damage. Probably won't be able to drink the stuff now without quoting "Your Mother was a polar bear and your Father was a figure skater!"

Yep. Brain damage for sure.

Estrella War XXV (25) photo gallery links

2009-02-19T11:08:00.010-07:00

The armies have returned home from the 25th Estrella War! The digital cameras many of you still haven't unpacked are undoubtedly full of amazing shots of battlegrounds, revelry and colorful characters.

So, what are you waiting for? Upload those babies to the photo sharing site of your choice and let's see the action!

I'll be updating this post frequently, as I find new galleries. If you'd like your Estrella War 25 gallery listed here, please email me at anachronista (at) gmail.com with a link to your photos.

#1 The first shots I've found (via her bulletin on the MySpace SCA group I moderate) is adriana6's Estrella War 25 Gallery on photobucket: there's 14 pages! HuzZAH! I know what I'll be looking through for the next hour.

#2 Here's another big gallery: 414 images in the Estrella War 25 set by Dame KoCH on Flickr includes Equestrian, rapier, lots of heavy fighters and boatloads of A&S images as well.

#3 Even bigger yet is the Flickr gallery called Estrella War XXV by Jeff/Godfrey. 761 photos and 7 videos. From camp setup, to merchants row, to lots of nice closeups - you'll probably see someone you recognize in this set...

#4 Another from Flickr is this small (25 shots) Estrella War XXV gallery by ladyelenbofa.

#5 Another small (21 photos) but sweet set on Flickr comes from OliverDogberry, whose title A New Donning at Estrella War gives the new Don Todd from Atenveldt some love. Awwww...

#6 Wuuga (also on Flickr) has 165 photos in his gallery called EW25 Hardsuit, containing all heavy fighting. I can almost hear the clash of steel!

UPDATES: NOW WITH VIDEO!

#7 Simon Drake emailed me a link to his 02.09 EstrellaWar gallery, containing some great shots within a handful of subject folders...and one stands out named 'Stake Your Garage'. Good times. Yeah, always bring nice long stakes.

#8 A YouTube video channel by adrianas6 captures several moments (18 so far) of battle and Grand Court. Explore her videos further and you'll find many other SCA events, too.

#9 And now back to Flickr, where an Estrella War XXV group has been created, just for shots from the War! As of now, there are already over 1,300 images. To post images, you must join this group through Flickr, but anyone can view them.

MORE UPDATES!

#10 CombatChris was kind enough to email me a link to his Estrella 09 gallery full of great portraits, buxom ladies, camps, fighting, fencing and equestrian. There's over 400 shots, and I see a LOT of people I know in this set!

#11 Darius Coligny has reediculous amounts of images up at his Estrella XXV 2009 gallery. The navigation to the 14 pages of images is all the way at the bottom of the page, so make sure you scroll all the way down. There's even a bunch of Estrella videos down there too! He's covered most aspects of War quite well, expect Rapier, but there's a great explanation for that about five pages in...

Watch this space! More to come as they appear....

The Glorious Caped Whiffle

2009-02-16T13:38:00.005-07:00

Many people have called me a super heroine of the internet. Why? Is it because I leap tall blogs with a single bound? Do I promote justice and fairness in the face of tyranny and spam? Do I save trapped LOLkittens from fiery doom?

No. I mock. That is my only power. I also provide links to other, funnier material than I could write or create myself. Then I mock that too.

Witness this attempt at styling myself as a hero via The Hero Factory:

Outlanders may notice the gold and green combination of our Kingdom colors, complete with an insignia that looks suspiciously like the Stag's Blood antler. Though I am not a heavy fighter (which are the only people who can receive Stag's Blood awards) you'll notice the big BAT I'm carrying in order to pummel evildoers. Or Atenveldters, whichever comes my way first.

And the red belt? In the SCA, normally that would indictate that I am a Squire to a Knight, but not this time. That is where I keep my mocking gadgets. The fact that I'm obviously in a city, bereft of EYES and a NOSE is a bit disturbing. So I apparently I cannot hear or smell anything, leading me to belive that I have some other super power like echolocation. At least I can't smell the dirty pollution.

Want to be a Hero too? Make yourself heroic at The Hero Factory!

Star Wars - Organic Food Parody

2009-02-16T11:32:00.003-07:00

The first Star Wars movie came out OVER 30 YEARS AGO which means that the futuristicness of it should be current technology any time now...I mean, we've already got little robots that will clean up after us (hello Roomba) but where are the personal spaceships? Real light sabers? Wookies?

Real technology inspired by the films has been slow coming, but there have been numerous parodies, with the first being Hardware Wars. That little gem was one of the reasons I fell in love with the parody genre. As a child I learned that yes, you can make fun of something, and not only not get in trouble, but people laugh and want more. If I ever saw a perfect career path, that was it...

So, 30 years later, it takes a pretty funny Star Wars parody to get my jaded attention. Being a gardener and all, and having made the switch away from most processed foods in the last couple of years, I love the message behind this one:

ChewBroccoli. Heh.

May the Farm be with you!!!!

Top 13 signs you are at a Bad SCA Event

2009-02-11T13:58:00.004-07:00

Apparently, these are all true. Hopefully none of these are happening to anyone at Estrella War...number 8 seems likely though. Always bring earplugs!

Top 13 Signs You are at a "Bad SCA Event" (original via the Medieval Trivia Yahoo Group)

13. As you enter the site, there is a ferocious fist fight going on. It is between the autocrat and the head cook, both female.

12. One hour after the bread and butter course is served, the kitchen staff announces that everything else is burned. And...you can smell it.

11. The special meat presentation is being carved and served cafeteria style. You are 2/3 of the way back in the line and when they serve you it is just a bone.

10. Even Mapquest.com can't find directions to the site.

9. Reservationcrat's phone number is disconnected.

8. On the event schedule - doumbek drum-off at 2 a.m.

7. Weekend cost without feast is $20 (Oh, wait, that's a sign you're at a Kingdom event).

6. Feast is being prepared by big, sweaty, hairy, shirtless guys.

5. No fighting, but there's an embroidery tournament.

4. Feast theme is "Lactose Intolerance in the Middle Ages."

3. Guy who gives you the clipboard at Troll insists on a kiss after he reads you your license plate number.

2. Earl Marshall makes you wear plastic bags over your shoes.

1. Site token is a flea and tick collar.

Dreaming of Battlegrounds

2009-02-09T14:04:00.007-07:00

This is what happens when;

A. I do not get enough sleep.
B. Many of my friends are going to Estrella War this week and I'm jealous.
C. Boyfriend gets involved in another online game that goes "PEW PEW PEW" which I can hear as I'm attempting to fall asleep.
D. Cat decides bed is a fine place to search for things to play with.

Behold. Warcat has returned.

Click the image to view it larger. If that doesn't work, or it is difficult to read, visit this World of WarCat comic.

Have fun at Estrella War XXV!

2009-02-05T11:39:00.004-07:00

No, I'm not going to the 25th Estrella War. Thought I'd get that out of the way first thing.

Back before Christmas, I was thiiis close to announcing my intent to go, but I was laid off two weeks before the holiday. That really blew my holiday AND any plans for a vacation to Estrella War. Thankfully I hadn't bought airplane tickets, or pre-registered.

For all of you who have offered space to camp, transportation, or even just a mug of ale when I arrive, thanks greatly, but I need to decline your offers, respectfully, with the hopes that I can show up NEXT year and make up for lost time.

I'm kinda busy looking for a job right now anyway. I can't focus too much on fun when I see my bank account getting smaller and smaller.

So, everyone have fun, be safe and I hope it doesn't rain on you. I expect a full report WITH PHOTOS upon your return!

And will somebody please take a video camera to Muster for some Outlands War Wagon footage??

Pretty please?

With vikings on top?

Anachronista - now on Facebook!

2009-02-05T11:13:00.003-07:00

After approximately 100 people have bugged me about why I'm not on Facebook, I finally succumbed to the pressure.

Clicketh for Facebookery!

For those sharp eyed readers, you'll notice I've added the Facebook logo in the "Find Me Elsewhere" box in my right sidebar. In fact, all those little logos enable you to stalk me across several social networks, plus see my Amazon wishlist.

This is the time of year I generally do upgrades and redesigns to my blogs. I'm seeking a fresh new look to this page as well. As much as I love the Blogger Scribe template, I need to move on from the conspiracy of medieval bloggers.

Links for 2008-07-17 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-18T00:00:00-07:00

64 Beautiful And Free Nature Brush Sets And Vectors - Giant Design Pack

Links for 2008-06-13 [del.icio.us]

2008-06-14T00:00:00-07:00

Vector Magic | Precision Bitmap to Vector Conversion Online
Vector Magic - precision auto-tracing online

Links for 2008-06-11 [del.icio.us]

2008-06-12T00:00:00-07:00

Browncoat Wiki - Browncoats - a Wikia wiki
Browncoats is a database that anyone can edit.

Links for 2008-05-14 [del.icio.us]

2008-05-15T00:00:00-07:00

Slideoo.com - The horizontal Flickr slideshow
Slideoo.com - The horizontal horizontal photo slideshow for flickr

Links for 2008-05-08 [del.icio.us]

2008-05-09T00:00:00-07:00

Medieval and Renaissance Food: Sources, Recipes, and Articles

Links for 2008-05-03 [del.icio.us]

2008-05-04T00:00:00-07:00

Oldtimey photo conversion
This site is not in english, - the tab containing URL is meant for images off the web. The other tab is for using images from your computer. Click the blue button below the image name and it is instantly transported back in time!

Links for 2008-04-18 [del.icio.us]

2008-04-19T00:00:00-07:00

Gypsy Wagons Online
Roma encampments are becoming more commonplace at SCA gatherings. Although the vardo is not period for the SCA, more and more people have either made one, or are in the process.