The Great Deluge and thoughts on the Worth of Research

[femkederoas]

Many of you who are on FB are aware that my house is sort of in shamble. OK, strike the "sort of." It went like this: Massive rainstorm ---> Flooding ---> back pressure in the city system ----> failed sewer line ----> Blackwater contamination ---> basement stripped up carpet, drywall, and furniture. So I'm still pretty discombobulated and

Comments

[femkederoas]

Thanks, Estela. MOST of the people on that list are kind and sane. Though as it continues to grow, I suspect that will change. The two subsets that make me cringe are those who feel that the way they were taught when the joined the Faire in 1974 is The One, True Way - and those that have studied one aspect and think it applies to all costume of that era across cultures. Bah!

[alysten]

They are pretty awesome.

[femkederoas]

You are overgenerous, but I'm glad you enjoyed. ;-)

[alysten]

Sometimes you have to hit said Baroness Snark with the clue by four. Annoying? Yes. Satisfying? Absolutely.

The one that frosts me the most are the comments on shoes.

[femkederoas]

I think it's a fathoms' deep flaw in the overall culture of the group that pretty much ensures that wherever you go, someone will "correct" you about something.

Then again, I might be a bit bitter about the "Knight" who offered me the opportunity to "correct" my child. Just a tiny bit. Now and then.

[hlwoods]

And yet I have called hold when a child was about to run into a firepit that was in use. And me not even a knight. :)

(But yeah; bitterness is logical. Especially if the Knight was being an ass.)

[femkederoas]

Stepping in for safety is one thing. Lecturing me so that I may "correct" the behavior of my ASD child... not so much. I got a rather back-handed apology for it later. But I'm pretty sure it was, shall we say, unfelt. It ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back for me with the SCA.

[hlwoods]

Amen on the attitudes. I weave. Hence I buy yarn in bulk. Silk, for instance, is relatively cheap ... if you buy it a kilogram per colour at a time.

And don't even get me started on the people who want me to weave them trim. Rarely enough someone will offer barter. Truly rarely someone will offer worthwhile barter. Trading 30 hours of weaving for some glass beads made by someone who has just started how to makebeads? Not worthwhile. I've just started accepting cash. And I rarely share books. Too much of a dragonish hoarder. (That book is paperback; the spine is uncracked. And you want to ... force it to lay flat so you can scan both pages at once? Right. That's a $90 book; here's where you buy it.)

[femkederoas]

Having MADE trim both with cards and on an inkle loom, I appreciate the work involved.

Part of my *twitch* about books is that it's the intellectual property of the author. I can't even bring myself to copy patterns from knitting/embroidery books from the library.

[hlwoods]

My husband calls me a dragon. Knowing the work that goes into a book I cannot bear to see it damaged. And too often the scanning damages the spine.

And I understand your point about intellectual property right. Myself, I get bored copying other people's patterns, so read only for inspiration. And I find myself, often, purchasing the books I most enjoy reading.

[mistressarafina]

Yeah. I gave away thousands of dollars worth of clothing before I decided that I just wasn't going to do it anymore.

I feel your pain.

[femkederoas]

Part of it is that it's become inherent in SCA culture. Part of it is that there is this whole bottom-feeding element of the group that runs around with grabby-hands ALL the time. And part of it is that there is an assumption that that's what you have to do to get the BIG brass ring. Or Laurel wreath, as the case may be. Both teach (which can be a drain on resources, even if you charge a little something for the class. It's probably not REALLY going to cover your expenses) AND provide stuff to the brass hats.

We've actually stabilized a bit, financially (Well, until the house blew up) by leaving the SCA. I hadn't realized how large a drain on our resources it had become.

[asagormsdottir]

The gimmee isn't as bad in my neck of the woods, though I recall one reign a few years ago where the incoming royals issued a very precise, detailed list of exactly what fabric the populace was expected to give them - yardage, colour and type. I'm sure they were trying to be helpful but it put a bad taste in my mouth

[femkederoas]

It isn't even just the brass hats. It's the constant grabby hands - and not just even SCA stuff, but the begging for mundane goods, as well. Srsly - go work for a living like the rest of us.

I did a LOT of scribal work, and that's not all that cheap either - at least if you're using nice paper, good quality ink, and period pigments. Which I usually did. It was also pretty thankless. I think I got 2 thank you's over 100+ court scrolls.

We're better off financially now, and have the time and the resources to pursue other interests and/or do things the kids like. (THEY hate events, so that wasn't helping).

Yeah, Mama Bear time when someone goes after the Wee Ones. I still maintain the SCA is not very kid-friendly and is in many instances openly hostile.