May Day Then And Now
What's so important about May Day? In history, today or in the SCA?
SCA Apprentice Scouting
My first published novel, ‘American Rust,’ took three and a half years of full-time work to write. But I wrote two apprentice novels before that. Philipp Meyer You probably know an apprentice is someone learning a trade. For Meyer it was writing novels. In the SCA it can be any pre-17th century craft. Or multiple crafts based on a theme you choose. In the Middle Ages apprentices were legally bound to a master craftsman. In the SCA there’s a sorta similar relationship. For laurel’s their student is called an apprentice. So, how do you become a laurel’s apprentice? Are there specific steps you follow? It’s a process. It begins when you have an affinity with an SCA Laurel. That affinity doesn’t have to be based on a shared skill, persona, or even similar Kingdoms. If you’re not already their friend and sometimes if you are, you send out feelers. You say something that lets the peer know you’d like to be more than hangout-friends. You’re scouting. Ok, but what’s the typical way you do that? Sorry folks I don’t have an answer for you. There’s no set person that must ask. Either the Laurel or the interested friend can do it. The tough part is some peers have a preference. If you think that’s case you might ask an intermediate friend to help. To act as your matchmaker. Once you both agree the next step is also fuzzy. Together you […]
Old Age Difficulties
I have a birthday coming soon. 73. Not a decade or great milestone. I’ve simply lived thru another great year. When you’re 30 you think anyone my age would be sitting in their rocking chair with a lap-blanket warming their legs while watching soaps on TV. But my perception’s changed. In my mind I’m 53. But my body signals otherwise. Weird sleep patterns, achier hands and feet, thinning white hair, and less accommodating eye-sight. I’m fortunate people in my family live well into their 80’s. I hope to have a long journey yet to go. I do what I can to keep in shape. Tai Chi twice a week and walking miles at a nearby enclosed mall on the other days. I enjoy spirited visits with my extended family and friends. And have three crazy pets I love. I volunteer – sorta – keeping my mind active as Lonely Tower’s Social Media Officer and writing this blog. Occasionally I travel away from Lonely Tower and home. When I get a round “tuit” I have a project list to do. That’s all fun and good. Now I have an added annoyance. Clogged eye-lid ducts. My tears don’t have enough oil. It’s drying my eyes and fogging my vision. I can improve it with daily heat and eyelid washing using common baby shampoo. Thankfully it’s not a big deal. I’m up for the small challenge adjusting to my new eye-wash routine. I […]
The Myopic Scribe
Illuminated manuscripts have the tiniest strokes details. They’re so intricate I don’t see how they were made without a visual aid. Unless….they were created by someone who could naturally see with precision. Even in the ancient world magnification was technically possible. Crystal or glass lenses were known. But no deliberately created lenses have been found from then. And Pliny didn’t […]
Making Your SCA Life List
How many times have you sat with your SCA friends listening to stories about their experiences and creations? Did you wonder where they got the idea to do such a thing? How they even began to figure it all out? One way to create distinctive life experiences – SCA or otherwise – is to have a Life List. I had never […]
Judge This
Link Let’s pretend for a moment. Pretend this is a lovingly-made very-first attempt of someone entering a Kingdom Arts and Sciences novice competition. How would you judge it? What would you recommend the entrant do for their next creative steps? How would you inspire their creative passion and persistence? In Calontir the premier novice competition is Queen’s Prize Tournament, a non-competitive […]
Why Is Art Important In The SCA?
Medieval art involved not creative freedom but subjection to rules. Some time after classical antiquity all period creations were done for God’s glory. If that’s the case how does art relate to you and me in the Society for Creative Anachronism? Especially since the organization is apolitical and nonreligious. Why is Art important in the SCA? First, what is art? […]
"Uncopyright Notice" Notice
Historiated initial of a man citing a layman by touching him with a staff. You may have noticed I now have a copywrite on my blog. Well, it’s actually an uncopywrite. I am releasing my rights to everything I personally create here and place them all into the public domain. What does that include? That includes articles I’ve written or linked to my posts on this blog since I started it in December 2015. Unless I state otherwise that will apply to any future content I personally create and publish on createme365.com. What does this mean to you? As much as you want you can use my uncopyrighted work in various ways. You could: Repost it on your own website Translate it into other languages Transfer it to different media like your own articles and posts Make money from what you create from my work such as selling it in ebook form or linking it to Amazon and make money. Develop a scribal workshop or seminar based on my handouts You don’t need to directly ask my permission to do these or other things. You can just do it. If you’re not sure about something, consult your inner counsel and make whatever decision you believe is honorable. Don’t ask me about anything legal because it’s all Greek to me. Plus, I’ve already put this in the public domain. While I am giving away the copyrights, if you reuse my work, please give me […]
Challenging The New Year
Calendar fragment with wishes for the new year. Printed in Basel between 1480 and 1490. ow in the British Museum The New Year is fast approaching. Just two days away. As I do most every year at this time I reflect on the last year. I encourage you to do the same for your SCA life. You’ll want to consider both things that went well for you and things that did not. What inspired your SCA creativity and what depleted your energy? And how well you used your hobby time? After pondering those questions I consider what I learned last year. And, what I did with what I learned. And finally, I consider how I might do things differently in this new year. For the future I set goals. One long-term goal that I chop into several that are shorter. Last year my SCA goal was to better connect with the SCA scribal community. Then M. Aidan – the current Calontir Minister of Arts and Sciences – chose to take within the scribal community all Book Arts, not just the skills used for making scrolls. So I expanded my goal slightly to connecting better with Calontir’s book artisans. As with many SCAdians, the reason for this goal was my restricted budget. I wanted a way to connect and support Calontir scribes that didn’t involve kenneling my two dogs for extended periods. The kennel cost limits my participation. You may have limiting budget factors too. Most of us […]
Holiday Shopping For SCA Scribes, Book Artists And Friends
Gifts featured at Kris Kinder. With Thanksgiving over it’s time you turn to preparing for the coming winter holidays’ gift-giving. Here’s a few shopping tips and budget friendly ideas. You could put together a scribal gift-pack like the one I described in my post Holiday Scribal Gift Ideas. It’s easy to make yourself and a great gift for a want-to-be scribe for 12th Night. […]
