![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Class Is In Session
Oct. 5th, 2008 10:20 amYesterday after taking care of Teh Ranch and over Houdini, Smudge, and Squrrl's objections, I hied on down the road to do something I've not done in years. I taught a class at an official SCA event.
The opportunity came with Herselfs invitation. She's still very active in SCA, where I'm not and haven't been for over a decade. Her shire, Amurgorod, hosts an event every fall called 'Road to War'. The past two years were done with a Japanese theme, and with fairly good attendance (though down a bit this year). Last year the theme drew so much commentary that they decided to do so again this year, and expand somewhat on the offerings, hence the invitation to myself.
Good to know people with an in, I suppose.
At any rate, I suppose I know a wee bit about Japanese Clothing, even if what studies I did are now around 20 years out of date. So I caught up a bit on an old pamphlet I started right about those 20 years ago, and put aside as of '92. That's when I shifted my time expenses from SCA to AORN. Caught up a bit on that pamphlet on how to sew kimono (popular and generally accepted name, though the word does literally mean robe or clothing or things to wear) and hakama (baggy trousers for those who don't recognise the word). Printed up some copies, tossed those into the car. Loaded up the clothing I'd made back in the day as well as some Herself made for herself and a couple pieces I made for her. She added a few examples of Made In Japan clothing (not historical period for SCA, all probably made in the 20th Century). Plus a few accessories, and some added by another friend present.
Oh, and a plastic storage crate of fabric chosen some time ago to make Japanese Clothing for the SCA. To show as examples.
Overall, a good class.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ofuroyama accompanied me as Teaching Assistant. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I did bring him along deliberately, as there is a project for some items he needs, as well as Fat Fred. First step in that process is taking measurements, and taking Ofuro's measurements is as good a place as any to demonstrate which measurements need to be taken to make a kimono. Shoulder width, chest, waist, length of arm (shoulder to wrist), and height i.e. shoulder to ankle. With those measurements made, it is time now to start working up the smaller pattern and making some clothing.
I've made small people Japanese clothing before, so this shouldn't be much different.
And I got a photo ofofuroyama as my Teaching Assistant. Look for it later; just getting up now haven't finished coffee.
So on the drive home I was thinking about some of the reasons I stopped playing SCA. The biggest really was time available, what with dedicating more time to my professional association. However, when one thinks about it if one enjoys something enough (and I did enjoy playing SCA for a goodly length of time), then one will make the time for it regardless. Thus, one can not discount that it had stopped being a great deal of fun for me, making it easy to say hey, other things, only so much time.
How evil is it, then (and this may only be apparent to those of you who are somewhat familiar with Japanese culture and theatre), that on the drive home I started thinking about organising something...
Making or acquiring Japanese clothing for a group of the Ottarz, taking them to an SCA Event, accompanied by Myself and an appropriate number of Others, all of whom would be wearing the midnight blue-black unadorned kimono and hakama of Bunraku theatre...
The Ottarz Mob storms the Knowne Worlde and the Current Middle Ages.
The opportunity came with Herselfs invitation. She's still very active in SCA, where I'm not and haven't been for over a decade. Her shire, Amurgorod, hosts an event every fall called 'Road to War'. The past two years were done with a Japanese theme, and with fairly good attendance (though down a bit this year). Last year the theme drew so much commentary that they decided to do so again this year, and expand somewhat on the offerings, hence the invitation to myself.
Good to know people with an in, I suppose.
At any rate, I suppose I know a wee bit about Japanese Clothing, even if what studies I did are now around 20 years out of date. So I caught up a bit on an old pamphlet I started right about those 20 years ago, and put aside as of '92. That's when I shifted my time expenses from SCA to AORN. Caught up a bit on that pamphlet on how to sew kimono (popular and generally accepted name, though the word does literally mean robe or clothing or things to wear) and hakama (baggy trousers for those who don't recognise the word). Printed up some copies, tossed those into the car. Loaded up the clothing I'd made back in the day as well as some Herself made for herself and a couple pieces I made for her. She added a few examples of Made In Japan clothing (not historical period for SCA, all probably made in the 20th Century). Plus a few accessories, and some added by another friend present.
Oh, and a plastic storage crate of fabric chosen some time ago to make Japanese Clothing for the SCA. To show as examples.
Overall, a good class.
ofuroyama accompanied me as Teaching Assistant. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I did bring him along deliberately, as there is a project for some items he needs, as well as Fat Fred. First step in that process is taking measurements, and taking Ofuro's measurements is as good a place as any to demonstrate which measurements need to be taken to make a kimono. Shoulder width, chest, waist, length of arm (shoulder to wrist), and height i.e. shoulder to ankle. With those measurements made, it is time now to start working up the smaller pattern and making some clothing.I've made small people Japanese clothing before, so this shouldn't be much different.
And I got a photo of
ofuroyama as my Teaching Assistant. Look for it later; just getting up now haven't finished coffee.So on the drive home I was thinking about some of the reasons I stopped playing SCA. The biggest really was time available, what with dedicating more time to my professional association. However, when one thinks about it if one enjoys something enough (and I did enjoy playing SCA for a goodly length of time), then one will make the time for it regardless. Thus, one can not discount that it had stopped being a great deal of fun for me, making it easy to say hey, other things, only so much time.
How evil is it, then (and this may only be apparent to those of you who are somewhat familiar with Japanese culture and theatre), that on the drive home I started thinking about organising something...
Making or acquiring Japanese clothing for a group of the Ottarz, taking them to an SCA Event, accompanied by Myself and an appropriate number of Others, all of whom would be wearing the midnight blue-black unadorned kimono and hakama of Bunraku theatre...
The Ottarz Mob storms the Knowne Worlde and the Current Middle Ages.
Rainy Travel Day
Mar. 23rd, 2008 09:13 amDrove to St.P Town to visit fatfred yesterday, popperaussie, Dredd Phredd, and Ferd (well, actually it's F.E.R.D. but hey...) all hitched a ride to visit some of their friends too. Things got raucus enough at one point that Skippy & I bugged out to go by Shep's. I bought a Sampler Six-Pack of beer which I also hid in the car, so those reprobate otters wouldn't find it. Managed to get it home intact, too.
Popper snapped some pics of Fred wearing the Crazy Hats (damn, the Boing really suits Fred!), and of some of the other hats folk sent to Skippy. I got some rather more 'artsy' photos made, experimenting with lighting. Also used the trip to do a first-check run packing the new camera bag, getting ready for the trip to the Other West Coast. Hey, running down to teh West Coast seemed the appropriate time. Didn't pack everything I figure to take out West, did drop in the highlights as it were. I believe this bag will provide a great deal of service, and will indeed fit in as the general travel bag.
The portable reflectors will probably need to be packed into the carry-on roller bag; that's fine. They don't take up much space. For this trip, I won't be out shopping for any more add-ons. Figuring out the tripod situation will be interesting; with the mid-size bag it straps right to the bag, and thus quite simply qualifies as a single unit for airline/TSA thinking of 'two items, one carry on and one personal bag such as a purse or camera bag'. I may still be able to do that, but it will require an extra strap. We'll see.
More time spent schmoozing and providing some professional judgements on questions Skippy put forward. She's looking good, sounding good, and acting better. Um, well, OK, she's acting pretty 'normal' for Skippy... Went out to a really good Cuban place for dinner; La Teresita. I got the puerco asano, a marinated roast pulled pork dish. Skippy, I think it was lime in the sauce, not orange. *G*
Drove into some rain a bit north of T-Town which kept up through the city and across the Bay all the way. Continued off and on the rest of the day down there, and in fact most of the way home. Pulled back onto the Ranch about 23:15 so made good time despite the weather. Today, catch up and other chores about the Ranch and Studio.
fatfred yesterday, popperaussie, Dredd Phredd, and Ferd (well, actually it's F.E.R.D. but hey...) all hitched a ride to visit some of their friends too. Things got raucus enough at one point that Skippy & I bugged out to go by Shep's. I bought a Sampler Six-Pack of beer which I also hid in the car, so those reprobate otters wouldn't find it. Managed to get it home intact, too.Popper snapped some pics of Fred wearing the Crazy Hats (damn, the Boing really suits Fred!), and of some of the other hats folk sent to Skippy. I got some rather more 'artsy' photos made, experimenting with lighting. Also used the trip to do a first-check run packing the new camera bag, getting ready for the trip to the Other West Coast. Hey, running down to teh West Coast seemed the appropriate time. Didn't pack everything I figure to take out West, did drop in the highlights as it were. I believe this bag will provide a great deal of service, and will indeed fit in as the general travel bag.
The portable reflectors will probably need to be packed into the carry-on roller bag; that's fine. They don't take up much space. For this trip, I won't be out shopping for any more add-ons. Figuring out the tripod situation will be interesting; with the mid-size bag it straps right to the bag, and thus quite simply qualifies as a single unit for airline/TSA thinking of 'two items, one carry on and one personal bag such as a purse or camera bag'. I may still be able to do that, but it will require an extra strap. We'll see.
More time spent schmoozing and providing some professional judgements on questions Skippy put forward. She's looking good, sounding good, and acting better. Um, well, OK, she's acting pretty 'normal' for Skippy... Went out to a really good Cuban place for dinner; La Teresita. I got the puerco asano, a marinated roast pulled pork dish. Skippy, I think it was lime in the sauce, not orange. *G*
Drove into some rain a bit north of T-Town which kept up through the city and across the Bay all the way. Continued off and on the rest of the day down there, and in fact most of the way home. Pulled back onto the Ranch about 23:15 so made good time despite the weather. Today, catch up and other chores about the Ranch and Studio.
(no subject)
Nov. 17th, 2007 05:32 pmSome time in Studio today, after taking care of the Ranch and between watching the start and end of the Michigan-Ohio game. OK. Congratulations to the Buckeyes, Big 10 champs. 'K, that's done.
Studio time was for shooting some photos that Herself wants for the Levy County Fair web site; that, and an Ot-tars get-together. Received a couple packages yesterday, one of which pleased me as I'd about resigned myself to being stiffed through e-Bay for the first time. It simply seems to've taken a lot longer for the package to be delivered. Feedback posted; if that seller doesn't like that I rated the feedback 'neutral' (the text is not derogatoray, simply states the item arrived in good condition but shipping took way longer than expected), well, too bad. The second package which arrived is from another e-Bay auction which closed a week and a couple days after seller #1 shipped, and arrived within 3 days of payment. Still one more package outstanding.
However, it does mean there's a couple more ot-tars hanging out here. One of them only briefly, but the other looks to be a more-or-less permanent fixture. I'll leave it to either Popper or Dredd Phredd to do the introductions. Though some members of the Ottars Mob have actually already met one of them.
The other pictures are of toy race-car shells (they had radio-control components inside during the fair) and T-shirts. When those are ready I'll probably just post the link to the Levy County Fair web site for you.
Tonight... Herself's famous Home-Made Chili with Home-Baked bread. Eat your hearts out, suckah's!
Studio time was for shooting some photos that Herself wants for the Levy County Fair web site; that, and an Ot-tars get-together. Received a couple packages yesterday, one of which pleased me as I'd about resigned myself to being stiffed through e-Bay for the first time. It simply seems to've taken a lot longer for the package to be delivered. Feedback posted; if that seller doesn't like that I rated the feedback 'neutral' (the text is not derogatoray, simply states the item arrived in good condition but shipping took way longer than expected), well, too bad. The second package which arrived is from another e-Bay auction which closed a week and a couple days after seller #1 shipped, and arrived within 3 days of payment. Still one more package outstanding.
However, it does mean there's a couple more ot-tars hanging out here. One of them only briefly, but the other looks to be a more-or-less permanent fixture. I'll leave it to either Popper or Dredd Phredd to do the introductions. Though some members of the Ottars Mob have actually already met one of them.
The other pictures are of toy race-car shells (they had radio-control components inside during the fair) and T-shirts. When those are ready I'll probably just post the link to the Levy County Fair web site for you.
Tonight... Herself's famous Home-Made Chili with Home-Baked bread. Eat your hearts out, suckah's!
First Leg: Denver
Jul. 20th, 2007 01:18 pmSo up at 03:30, quick shower and dress, out the door and to the airport. Camera bag took the longest in x-ray. No bobble over the roller or tripod bags. Popper rode with the camera bag and shifted later, he was a bit grumpy when I woke him this morning.I'd folded the rainjacket and stuffed it in back vest pocket. No visual inspection called on anything. Mildly surprised about that, I expected it.
So when travelling by air, one must divest oneself of certain things to go through the security check. No jackets, no shoes, empty all pockets (no metel), and of course no water. Heh. So the Photo Vest, bumbag, shoes, plastic ziplock bag containing shampoo, toothpaste, etc all went in one tray. Laptop always goes into its own tray. Post assembly on this trip proved mildly awkward, I'm thinking to transfer the bumbag contents to vest pockets which is something I frequently do anyway. This is one less item to juggle then. Getting shoes back on, laptop collected, baggie of goodies collected, vest (and bumbag), and bags and trying not to block the line (despite the fact that as early as it was, things were moving well anyways) requires some streamlining. I don't mind grabbing shoes and walking away a bit to put them back on, but I definitely am not leaving camera bag or laptop unattended.
So Popper shifted into one of the cargo pockets of my shorts after we cleared TSA, and everything re-seated into the roller bag and stacked. Caught the shuttle train out to the concourse. Food outlets were not open yet, I bought my water from a bookstore. They announced that the on-board coffee brewer was down so there would be no coffee on board unless one purchased it. I didn't; I figured to sleep the trip anyway. Boarded on time and put all bags in overhead which preserved legroom for me. Sometimes I get away with this, sometimes not and I've got to put the camera bag under the seat.
Then we sat at the gate for an additional 30 minutes while there was some maintenance done on one of the after heads. Still, Wheels up at 06:40 and touchdown in Denver at 08:10.
Not having to make any connections, I took my time clearing the plane, keeping out of the way of those folks feeling rushed by the late departure to make their connections. Heh. Ambled down the concourse to the central hub, and ate breakfast in Concourse B at 'Pour la France' a 'french restaurant'. Decor was. Maybe some of the food. My theory was I'd arrived long before check-in and I was hungry. So I got the 'Country breakfast', 2 eggs overeasy, sausage, potatoes. Figured after eating then to ground transport and the hotel should arrive approx 10:00 is good time for check in. May still have to wait a bit but in a better mind frame.
Didn't have to wait for check in. It's high overcast here today, partially cloudy, and very hazy at ground level. Couldn't see the Front Range from the airport, and still can't from the city. Need to check with my bank; for some reason the card was declined. Should of been a payment made yesterday, what's up with this. So of course, once I'm into the room and onto the 'net, the bank site is 'experiencing some difficulties'.
Overall though, a good start to the trip. Popper stimulated a couple conversations (as an ot-tar is wont to do) but was mostly quiet. I expect that's related to getting him up so early.
So when travelling by air, one must divest oneself of certain things to go through the security check. No jackets, no shoes, empty all pockets (no metel), and of course no water. Heh. So the Photo Vest, bumbag, shoes, plastic ziplock bag containing shampoo, toothpaste, etc all went in one tray. Laptop always goes into its own tray. Post assembly on this trip proved mildly awkward, I'm thinking to transfer the bumbag contents to vest pockets which is something I frequently do anyway. This is one less item to juggle then. Getting shoes back on, laptop collected, baggie of goodies collected, vest (and bumbag), and bags and trying not to block the line (despite the fact that as early as it was, things were moving well anyways) requires some streamlining. I don't mind grabbing shoes and walking away a bit to put them back on, but I definitely am not leaving camera bag or laptop unattended.
So Popper shifted into one of the cargo pockets of my shorts after we cleared TSA, and everything re-seated into the roller bag and stacked. Caught the shuttle train out to the concourse. Food outlets were not open yet, I bought my water from a bookstore. They announced that the on-board coffee brewer was down so there would be no coffee on board unless one purchased it. I didn't; I figured to sleep the trip anyway. Boarded on time and put all bags in overhead which preserved legroom for me. Sometimes I get away with this, sometimes not and I've got to put the camera bag under the seat.
Then we sat at the gate for an additional 30 minutes while there was some maintenance done on one of the after heads. Still, Wheels up at 06:40 and touchdown in Denver at 08:10.
Not having to make any connections, I took my time clearing the plane, keeping out of the way of those folks feeling rushed by the late departure to make their connections. Heh. Ambled down the concourse to the central hub, and ate breakfast in Concourse B at 'Pour la France' a 'french restaurant'. Decor was. Maybe some of the food. My theory was I'd arrived long before check-in and I was hungry. So I got the 'Country breakfast', 2 eggs overeasy, sausage, potatoes. Figured after eating then to ground transport and the hotel should arrive approx 10:00 is good time for check in. May still have to wait a bit but in a better mind frame.
Didn't have to wait for check in. It's high overcast here today, partially cloudy, and very hazy at ground level. Couldn't see the Front Range from the airport, and still can't from the city. Need to check with my bank; for some reason the card was declined. Should of been a payment made yesterday, what's up with this. So of course, once I'm into the room and onto the 'net, the bank site is 'experiencing some difficulties'.
Overall though, a good start to the trip. Popper stimulated a couple conversations (as an ot-tar is wont to do) but was mostly quiet. I expect that's related to getting him up so early.
Ticket's Please
Oct. 30th, 2006 02:01 pmBack at Saltwater State Park couple weeks ago, Dredd Phredd figured we could pay for the trip by staffing this gate. Not sure whether he just can't count, or he's an optimist, though; there wasn't anyone else at the park.
Friends of Fat Fred, Take Note
Oct. 16th, 2006 08:39 amI expect all those Friends of Fat Fred who actually live with a member of the Otterz Mob won't need to see this. In fact, a few of you who've travelled to some event with Skippy and one of the Otterz Mob will be able to identify as well...
( What It's Like To Travel With An Otterz. Cut for pic intense... clickee to see biggee )
Yup. That's about right.
( What It's Like To Travel With An Otterz. Cut for pic intense... clickee to see biggee )
Yup. That's about right.
(no subject)
Oct. 3rd, 2006 12:57 pmWell, looks like popperaussie put up pics from the Sushi Bash before I did, here. Though curiously enough they're all pics I took of him... I'm starting to wonder if that otter had film in that camera.
popperaussie put up pics from the Sushi Bash before I did, here. Though curiously enough they're all pics I took of him... I'm starting to wonder if that otter had film in that camera.The Otters, The Otters!
Aug. 23rd, 2006 10:17 amThey are proliferating! For those as may be interested, meet Phil popperaussie "Popper" Aussie the Ozzie Otter.
And to quote both Fat Fred and Mini-Fred, "I din't do it, I wan't there, you can't prove it, I destroyed all the peeectures."
popperaussie "Popper" Aussie the Ozzie Otter.And to quote both Fat Fred and Mini-Fred, "I din't do it, I wan't there, you can't prove it, I destroyed all the peeectures."
I just received the strangest e-mail from my sister, who is also a nurse and lives in Rapid City, South Dakota. Now, they don't live in town at all, but they're also not near any watercourse. And she saw five otters bouncing around in the woods behind their house with a white buffalo...
