Omphaloskepsis: In Defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The SCA can be a wonderful, transformative organization, teaching others medieval arts, courtesy, and other skills that can affect not only their in-game life, but their world outside of the organization. However, like any modern organization that contains people, the SCA has a DEI puzzle to solve. When studying the medieval world, its class systems … Continue reading Omphaloskepsis: In Defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Volunteer Retention in the SCA

People are far more willing to give if they are invested but not abused; cherished, but not made a pawn; loved for who they are while also giving them space to find ways to grow and learn. Don't badger people for why they don't have awards or things you think they need, but be willing to make space for them to figure things out on their own. As long as it's not destructive, harmful, or hateful, let people be.

Family Heirlooms: how heraldic inheritance really works

With the interest in heraldry growing from the funeral of QEII, there's something I've noticed a lot of lately from folks outside of the SCA, and that is (mostly Americans) not understanding how heraldry works. So, you know those heraldic shops at cultural festivals and renaissance faires and occasionally the mall? You know, the ones … Continue reading Family Heirlooms: how heraldic inheritance really works

Making Choices; or why Konstantia wore one outfit over another

Seriously. This is pretty close to what we had. I live just north of the green circle. Calontir Coronation was this weekend, and as is often the risk with midwestern kingdoms in January, we had the prediction of some pretty heinous weather. So not kidding - we had a winter storm warning issued that morning … Continue reading Making Choices; or why Konstantia wore one outfit over another

Let Me Google That For You: How to Use Internet Tools to Research Effectively

In my post Experimental Archaelogy and Social Media, I talked about the concept of provenance, and why it's so important to historians of all levels. This post, though, will go a bit further in showing that there are tools available to all of us in properly determining where the original post comes from. I was … Continue reading Let Me Google That For You: How to Use Internet Tools to Research Effectively