Possible Lead

At the Dutch Royal Institute For Cultural Heritage they have a set of tapestries that include pictures of period Rom interacting with the locals from about 1500. Down at the very bottom left of the tapestry called "The Fair" there is a female figure who I think might be a dancer. She's wearing the ever popular white turban and a v-necked kirtle, similar in shape to the Spanish vertigale gowns you can see on the ladies in waiting here. This picture is by a Spanish painter Pedro Garcia de Benabarre and is dated between 1470 and 1480.

It is possible that the small female Rom is actually supposed to be a child. I've read a few commentaries on how the locals in an area often despised the Rom for the tatters they dressed their children in and the figure is smaller then the nobles. However, if the figure is only smaller because they were still working out perspective for use in tapestry, this may be one of the links I've been looking for.

It's exceptionally hard to document information on a physical art form such as dance or acting. We normally have to rely on written records from the past or clues in the play we perform to get our cues. However, even today the Rom are not known for writing things down. Most of the historical records I've found for them come from an outside source documenting their arrival or passage. That's why this tapestry may be so important to me. I'm looking for the earliest documentable "Gypsy Dancer" and this is the first one I've seen a picture of so far.

Why do I think she's a dancer? The belt around her waist is very hard to make out, but I suspect it's a set of the large acorn-shaped folly bells like the ones Cynthia du Pré Argent talks about for her

houppelande. The other forward lady, down right of the tapestry, looks like she's holding one in her hand as well. Then, around her left wrist, there's a length of ribbon floating out from her body. Her arms appear to be moving, spread out away from her body and her leg is pretty easy to see as well. In fact, I don't see a long chemise to cover that leg, just a shirt under the gown. Maybe the chemise had a slit in it? Maybe I can't see a detail on-line that's visible in a different picture? I need more evidence!

I'd like to try and find a few more pictures of dancers from about 1500 and compare them. If I can find them I may be able to start reconstructing actual dance steps as well as period-correct costuming. This could be really cool.

Kings College went well.

The Rom clothing was a success! While it wasn't exactly visually stunning, it was comfortable, light weight, and easy to get into and out of in the back seat of a car. Those of you with access to fancy dressing rooms may sniff but I've gotten used to speed dressing at events in the weirdest places.

The outfit was visually period which was very important to me. The next version of it will be even better. I have some coral colored linen for the drape and enough black linen for the re-enforcing stripe. I think I may be able to make some nice ribbon ties out of the scraps as well.

For this drape I scavenged an old poly-cotton striped skirt from an unwanted dress. The stripe of black cotton sheeting was sewn down on the top, then I ran out of thread and time. Also, I couldn't figure out why the pattern I was using wanted the stripe 18 inches from the edge. That would have put my little bit of material almost in half making it very bulky, so I only put it 6 inches in. After everything was put together did the penny drop. That extra fold of material becomes a pocket! I was able to carry a small bag with my notes, phone, and wallet in the little pocket I had made. Next time I think I'll make it a 12 inch fold since I rarely need to carry much more then that. The drape itself didn't come down past my knee which is a little bit short looking at the pictures. The next one will be wider. I also am very tempted to start carrying documentation for the outfit in the pocket as well. A few people did ask about it and were totally shocked that it was a "Gypsy" outfit.

The white linen chemise held up fine and the silk turban worked well, particularly since I made my hair into a bun before putting the turban on. That's not normally how I do it, but it kept the thing balanced better. I'm really looking at all the bizarre and interesting hats that keep showing up in these pictures and thinking I'm going to need to sit down and play with some lengths of fabric for awhile. There's this huge almost Chinese coolie looking hat that's seen fairly often. I usually see it more on males then females, but I've got a Bruegel painting that *may* have a female telling fortunes wearing one of these whoppers.

Bruegel was known for putting daily details, common things that his audience would have already known, into his paintings to add verisimilitude. His painting of The Sermon of St. John is dated roughly 1566 which is about 66 years later then I wanted, but includes lots of costumy goodness. Many costumers of my acquaintance use Bruegel as a reliable source so I hope I can do the same.

I'll keep looking around to see what I can find and build. While the outfits themselves seem pretty straight forward, the hats are going to be a little more complicated if I do them right.

Crafty in Summer

I don't know about where you live, but around here we tend to hide from the summer heat as much as possible. Often, I accomplish this by means of doing crafty stuff but I just can't quite get up the urge to knit when the sidewalk out front just melted. Ok, I exaggerate for effect. The street is melted though, around the edges, no joke.

So I was doing a little research on-line. Some people just call it fooling around on the computer but I had sort of goal in mind. I wanted a summer outfit for the SCA that was different enough to stand out, but as light-weight and comfortable as possible. Also, it had to be seriously period and Western European according to our organizational charter. Right now, you can't throw a rock at an event without hitting someone in a sari (outside of place) or a chiton (outside of period).

When I was first getting started in the SCA I made a newb mistake. At my very first meeting I introduced myself as "Lady So-n-so of Other There"(not what I actually said). When it was kindly explained to me that 'Lady' is the title of an award given by the King, I was sure they were going to toss me out on my ear. Instead, a sweet lady pointed out that there were a group of people in period who had a habit of giving themselves Really Great Titles and that I should do a little research on the Rom or Gypsies. I jumped head first into that information, but I've never gotten around to making a proper, period Rom outfit. For one thing, they're just not really flashy.

Now I find myself looking for lightweight period gear and I think it's time to make that later period Rom outfit. First we consider the period sources. I've tried to put a few down at the bottom here. Then we see what other people have made along the same lines. Old Marian was one of the better researchers I know of and she died just recently. I'd be proud to wear her pattern.

So I took apart an unused Italian Renn styled gown for the large rectangle of skirt fabric. The fabric itself is a mid-weight gold and green striped poly cotton (ugh! hot) and I'm sewing a line of black cotton sheeting made into trim down it for the contrasting stripe. I've got some black ribbon I'll use to attach the drape at the shoulder and I'll be wearing it over a round necked linen chemise I made last year. I've got a rectangular silk drape with lots of hand embroidery on it that I can use for the turban and I'm hoping I can find ghillie shoes. If not, I may just wear leather sandals.

Later on, if this outfit proves comfy, I'll work on developing new and better turbans. Some of the ones in the pictures are huge and I'm sure there was a trick to them.

Back to sewing for me! What do you do to stay cool and alert in the summer?

Another batch of Neruda

If you haven't heard of Pablo Neruda then I am very sorry for you. This poet was from Chile and unlike many of the other poets I prefer was alive during the 20th century. I'll lift a bit here from his Wikipedia entry to save you the trouble of looking for the basics.

"Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean writer and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. With his works translated into many languages, Pablo Neruda is considered one of the greatest and most influential poets of the 20th century. He chose his pen name in honour of the famous Czech poet Jan Neruda."

The article goes on to mention that he wrote many different styles of poems, but honestly I think his best work is in his love poems. Steamy like a South American jungle at midnight, I tell you. Here, I'll let you have a sample:

If You Forget Me I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everything carries me to you, as if everything that exists, aromas, light, metals, were little boats that sail toward those isles of yours that wait for me. Well, now, if little by little you stop loving me I shall stop loving you little by little. If suddenly you forget me do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you. If you think it long and mad, the wind of banners that passes through my life, and you decide to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots, remember that on that day, at that hour, I shall lift my arms and my roots will set off to seek another land. But if each day, each hour, you feel that you are destined for me with implacable sweetness, if each day a flower climbs up to your lips to seek me, ah my love, ah my own, in me all that fire is repeated, in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten, my love feeds on your love, beloved, and as long as you live it will be in your arms without leaving mine. Pablo Neruda If your toes didn't just curl a little then I say to you there is no romance in your soul! The idea of a love almost lost or remembered in a sweetly melancholy way is often in his works. He also loads his poems with taste and scent words, speaking to the senses poets often overlook. Many of his poems talk about the idea of a perfect woman but there are also poems that are just admitting total lust with someone. These are not poems to read out loud to your mother. Personally when I found out that Borders had a copy of The Poetry of Pablo Neruda for about $20 I had a small moment of "SQUEEE!" then ran over and bought it. I keep it handy for rainy days, or for dropping on small yappy type dogs since it's a fairly heavy book. Don't let the size fool you though, once you get into it you'll hate to let it end. Stavans, Ilan. Editor. The Poetry of Pablo Neruda New York, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003

Coffee and Rum

Otherwise know as, The Difference Between On-Line and Reality.

One of the more curious parts of life on the internet is the fact that we get a chance to stand out on the merits of our minds and personalities first, before people ever see our faces. We get to know, respect and admire people without even learning their gender, skin color, or age. For the good people who want to interact with other good people, this is a really nifty thing. For the bad people, that's a different post on Mask Syndrome.

On-line as in Real Life we all try to stand out. Our habits and personality traits tend to become more focused and sharper, since we don't have the softening edges of body language or outside stimuli to distract from what we're saying. If your personality is naturally abrasive or sarcastic you find that it doesn't always translate well. Equally, people who are shy and not self-promoting often vanish into the background in an online social setting.

My own observation is that since humans like labels it's easier to remember one or two personality points about them on-line and, if you like those points, open yourself up for a more in depth relationship. Moving from Acquaintance to On-Line Friend to Real World Friend can happen very quickly, slowly, or not at all, depending on the basic original points of communication. If the first interaction someone has with you is unpleasant to them, you have little or no chance of ever moving beyond that first impression without changing your handle. In that respect, it is easier to live down a bad first contact on-line but it's not guaranteed.

Once upon a time, I used to drink a lot. Every night I'd crawl into at least one bottle of wine or more. I'd lost my job, my kid hated me, I failed in everything I put my hand to. I hated myself, but when I drank I didn't have to notice how much I sucked. In fact, I could blame all my bad behaviors on the booze. How easy and convenient!

Of course when I drank I could stay up very, very late indeed. That meant that I required a pot of coffee to make it through the next day, so I could drink again. Coffee only works for so long though before your body gets used to it.

I had mentioned in passing to a friend I regularly drank with that I wasn't going to drink sodas anymore. They're really bad for you and it wouldn't hurt me to cut the extra sugar out of my diet. He laughed at me, reminding me of all the other things I put into my body on a regular basis. I hate having my logical inconsistencies pointed out, particularly when I'm feeling so self-righteously healthy. Most people do I believe.

Since then I've learned moderation. I try to limit my drinking to one or two glasses of wine a week and I'm down to a single cup of coffee per day. But all the people I met on-line don't know that. They met me when I reveled in excess and there's very little I can do to convince them that I don't actually swim in barrels of rum every day.

There are worse faces to show the world, but I still feel a little pang when I'm reminded of how very foolish I can be. Moderation may not be a very clever way to get people's attention on-line, but perhaps I've had all the attention I need for now.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So the other day my new room mate was watching over my shoulder as I navigated one of my pixelated darlings through the caves and sewers under Paragon City. I was showing off my favorite computer game, City of Heros and I lamented that my system is just a little old. I couldn't show off all the really awesome graphics and fabulous reflections because I had one measly little gig of memory and a video card that sometimes grinds its teeth and growls at me.

"I've got some spare memory," he said "You can have it if you want."

I jumped on that like a duck on a june bug and we got it into the rig last night. I was able to play for several more hours afterwards with the game just humming along. No more avoiding teams because it takes half the mission for me to get through the door! No more avoiding Atlas Park because I have to move one frame per second!

This morning I got up and turned the computer on. It began to loop, refusing to boot up at all. Eventually, I got it to come on in safe mode and called my husband who handles my tech issues and nervous breakdowns regularly. He suspects the memory might have been bad and that the image on my hard drive may be corrupted. *sigh*

Later today I'm going to be attempting to broadcast my streaming radio program by using my laptop for the game-side and a separate music machine. I envy the octopus who knows where each of his arms is at any given time.

Today I am thankful that I have a laptop, grateful that there is a work-around, and vowing to keep my mouth shut and be happier with what I have in the future.

Think Globally, Eat Locally

One of the big social concerns right now in the Western Hemisphere is how to reduce our oil and gas use. One of the other big social concerns is how to reduce the size of our butts. Oddly enough, in many ways the answers to both of these questions are related. No, I haven't developed a car that runs on human fat (yet).

In many places in the U.S. there exists something called a 'food desert'. According to the website Market Makeovers a food desert "is a term that describes geographic areas where mainstream grocery stores are either totally absent or inaccessible to low-income shoppers. Though these may be located in the vicinity, they remain unavailable to low-income residents because of high prices and inadequate public transit. While the phenomenon is typically associated with large, urban communities, it can also occur in rural neighborhoods."

The Local Food Movement is a handy label for a group of people who think that food deserts and general lack of healthy edibles also help contribute to the dependence on fossil fuels. Mother Earth News has an article that sums this idea up very neatly by saying "With the fast-growing local foods movement, diets are becoming more locally shaped and more seasonal. In a typical supermarket in an industrial country today, it is often difficult to tell which season it is, because the store tries to make everything available on a year-round basis. As oil prices rise, this will become less common. In essence, a reduction in the use of oil to transport food over long distances — whether by plane, truck or ship — will also localize the food economy."

So what does this mean for you, me, and the loud guy in the apartment down the hall? Well it's getting easier to find local farmers markets. They're even staying open later for those of us who stay out to late on Friday nights. It's also getting easier to find a neighbor in the area who has chickens, or somebody growing tomatoes and peas on the roof or in a corner of the yard. Lots of people (including the First Lady) are putting in vegetable gardens or subscribing to a produce delivery service like Greenling. Finding local green food is getting easier and that means healthier people and hopefully less use of gas.

If you happen to be able to strap a cooler to your bike and ride over to the local farmer's market, you'll be arriving in style. If you're like me and have to drive to get there, make sure to take a cooler with wheels, a few ice packs, and some comfy walking shoes. Lots of places give out samples but you'll probably want to bring along a full water bottle of your own just in case.

Personally, I'm going to take a crack at eating better closer to home by going to visit Boggy Creek Farm as soon as I can. I need to go make friends with some chickens. I'm also planning to get a few dwarf fruit trees for my lot to go with the tomato and pepper plants I already have. I might even go crazy and get a row of corn in before the summer gets too hot.

What brought this all up today? I had to mow the lawn. More garden means less to mow and if I'm going to be watering all of that anyway I'd rather be able to eat it.