Crazy ain't it?

This doesn't have much to do with my topic or armorsmithing...well, I guess it does, just though some of you might want to see what fascinates us so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77IEeJ5ZtiA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0NkYbZNiE&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Warriors+and+Warlords&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&clie

Finally found the Armorer's

Hey gang,

I haven't had the chance to do any observations as yet but I was able to go to a heavy fighter practice today and meet with Sir Morgan. He makes armor and weapons full time for re-enactors and I've set up all this next week to go sit with him in his shop and find out what he does and why he does it.

I've also discovered that blacksmithing isn't really the same as armorsmithing so my topic may be getting altered slightly.

That's really all I've got for now, but I will post my first observations either tomorrow or Tuesday. He has a weekly get together at his house to work on armor and just generally be a guys night in the garage that I've been invited to. I'm going to take my armor over and let him and his friends make any suggestions for changes.

Ok, enough rambling.......stay tuned......

WoW Raid Meeting and WCA question #3 (late)

Observations:

1. 11AM everyone logs on and meets for the Saturday morning raid of Ank Hill.
2. There's about 20 players in the raid group all under one leader who seems very organized and keeps everyone in order maybe that is why it seems he is highly respected. 
3. There are a few others trying to get into the group late but they are told no because they are to late. They are getting annoying and asking alot.
4. Alot of people get ready for the raid and respec and grab different gear from their banks.
5. Everyone seems to be super excited, this is a free server so nobody knows what drop they will get?
6. People are chatting in game and it seems that most everyone is friendly and knows eachother quite well. Some people are using a voice chat program called ventrilo.
7. There are a few VIP players that i think i will ask to interview as well.
8. i see some gamemasters or GM's watching and hanging out.
9. Everyone is attacking one monster or mob that has an insane amount of health.
10. 12:36PM the mob has died and everyone has gotten a token that can be turned in for better gear. most people have left and others are still around just chatting. 
    

Impressions:

1. These players seem to long for these saturday morning raids. Most of them seem like kids going to the annual fair and thats just from watching them talk in-game.
2. I feel i should interview the raid leader and figure out why all these people respect him and let him lead.
3. I guess this is a life lesson...Dont be late! 
4. I wonder how long have people spent getting all this gear and experience?
5. Why would people spend a good hour and a half killing a single monster, trying to get one single item? 
6. I am wondering how all these people meet and start playing wow?
7. I see that the vip players have really good gear. where did they get it?
8. How long does it take for people to have enough experince to be a GM?
9. I see that on free servers alot of gear is created and is 100 times better then the retail gear so that must be why the mob has more health.
10. I wonder how many of these people are actual friends other then game friends?

WCA question #3:

As I read kidders excerpt I get the sense that he is being pulled more towards the conservative side. As I read on I got the sense that this was a happy, quiet, little town full of people with conservative views and ways that was slowly overtaken by younger more liberal people who wanted to come in and change this town. As I read on I felt kidder expressing sympathy for the older towns folk who just wanted to be left alone and to there merry little ways. His writing was slowly subconsciously influencing me in the direction he was leaning towards weather he meant it or not. 

My attitude towards my community is greatly influenced by my experiences, so when i talk about my community I am very enthusiastic about it. I could probably persuade anyone to dab into my group. But I realize everyones experiences are different so some people might hate my community while others like it. It just depends on your own personal experience with that community. 

Populace Meeting, Febuary 22, 2009

Observations:

1) 5:45, People start arriving W/ their whole families.

2) All the guild leaders have set up different displays representing the different groups that are represented.

3) Saw many new people and met some of them. Also saw most of the members from the archer’s guild that I met.

4) 6:00, Seneschal opens the meeting with reports from the heads of the guilds

5) The guild officers report on the events that they have held within the previous month and make proposals for upcoming events.

6) The members of each guild were asked to possibly help with an antique auction for the Idaho Historical Society.

7) Seems that people in the local chapter prefer hands-on events over lectures.

8) Torch-light Tourney

9) Baron seems to be a figurehead. Doesn’t have much say in how his kingdom runs.

10) 6:45, Everyone shakes hands and depart for their mundane existences

Impressions:

1) These people really seem to enjoy participating in events as a family unit.

2) The Archer’s, Casting, and Armory Guilds seem very interesting I think I will attend these meetings and see if I can gain any more information on the type of people that are attracted to the reenactment.

3) How do these people find time to attend all these different meetings? What do they do in their mundane careers?

4) He seems to be the real man in charge of this chapter. Might know the most about this group of people. Possible interview candidate.

6) Big question. Why is the SCA involved in Idaho history projects? Do they receive any money for their help?

7) These people seem to truly enjoy reenacting and recreating medieval and renaissance time periods and arts.

8) What is this?

9) Seems like a very nice guy. Very easy to approach I believe he will be one of my interviews

10) Can’t wait for my next observations which will be the casting guild.

Archer's Guild; February 20, 2009

Observations:

1) 6:45, Everyone begins to gather

2) Imediately I am welcomed by no less then 5 different people

3) 7:00, After getting my name and information I am outfitted with all the equipment I need and am welcomed on to the shooting range to participate with them.

4) Noticed a lot of family units participating in the events together

5) Several officers of many different guilds approached me to introduce themselves and accertain my interests.

6) Some of the guilds seemed almost wolfish to snag new members

7) There were very strict commands from the field marshal and everyone listened to her

8) Noticed many of the Playtrons really getting into the roles of their characters

9) Lots of extra loaner gear

Impressions:

1) Comradery is instant. These people love it when mew members express an interest in their ancient skills

2) Lady Clare the Field marshal was very nice and made sure I felt welcome

3) Again very friendly people and very serious about creating historical reenactments.

4) This is not just a bunch of single people getting together but it seems to be very family oriented.

5)This could lead to possible interview candidates. Still not sure on who sould be interviewed. I will defiantly try to get an interview with the Baron or Baroness.

6) I wonder what their turnouts are like and if they generate fees by the numbers of attendees? Possible inlet for more observations.

7) Lady Clare. How long has she been a member? What inspired her to join the guild?

8) How do the playtrons create their roles? Are there any special requirements or standards that must be followed?

9) Possibly they expect a lot of people to show up. How many people participate in the local group?

The Anarchist's Cookbook, found on PG. 143 is a very intriguing cultural artifact. not only is this a book that these boys shared and traded, but it also helped to define what it means to be truly free. Coincidental this book has instilled ideas of freedom from "the man"in many young minds and produced some of the mainstream gangs on the streets today.

WCA Late Response to Question #3 cuz I'm a slacker...;)

As I read through the initial pages and listened to Kidder describing the history and background of this town, I tried to imagine what kind of person he was. Was he a tolerant sort or more rigid in his moral views. I'm still not sure. As we proceeded through the excerpt and into the heart of the matter, that of whether the DPO should be passed, I started to feel that he was leaning towards the conservative side, in that although this town was known for it's tolerance, when its citizens felt that something was wrong or threatened what they considered a moral way of life, they stood up to be counted. I'm not sure if this is making any sense but it seems that the townfolk were content to let sleeping dogs lie as it were. As long as people kept a low profile and didn't disturb the peace of the town, they were content to just let folks go about their business. It's only when they, **whoever introduced this bill**, tried to formalize things that folks started to take notice and voice thier opinions. Of course, all this might not mean much if you read the last line. "As usual, a majority of the adult population hadn't even bothered to vote." After I'd read the article and this line, I almost felt let down, like he had made it out to be this big argument the whole town was involved in when in actuality less than half the town was even paying attention.

As for me, as hard as I may try to be open minded and tolerant, my life experiences always get in the way. When trying to describe my community, say the SCA community, I always tend to gloss over some of the, shall we say, less than stellar parts of it. It's something I enjoy so I try to cast it in as favorable light as possible. It's not easy to look at yourself or your community and admit your own faults.

And lastly, sorry I didn't post this in time....I have no excuse.....I'll go sit in the corner now...**hangs head in shame**

WCA #3, Kidder Reaponse

Kidder gives us a good example of how perception can define our writing. When describing his community he tries to keep a neutral opinion about the issues but like any human leans toward the issues that strike his way of thinking. For instance on the issue of traditional Northampton values versus the Domestic Partnership Ordinance(DPO), Kidder because of hi values seems to lean more towards the idea of traditional values. Growing up in a small town in the Idaho backwoods, I saw just how radical things things could be. Small com unities like Driggs, Idaho are very Conservative and have a tendency to reject change.

World of Warcrack

Well for my ethnography I plan on interviewing 2 family members that got me to play world of warcraft a while back. Luckily I didn't get addicted like many other people have! Those two people would be my cousin, and secondly my dad. My cousin doesn't really play anymore because he ran out of money to pay for WoW and he had to get a job and then decide to "quit" WoW. My cousin is mainly responsible for both my father and I playing WoW. My dad has now been playing for over 2 and a half years and hasn't stopped. When he had a job he would come home and play wow till he slept then wake up play and then off to work again and repeat... Now he doesn't even work. I swear he just saved up enough money to live off for a while so he can play wow everyday all day. Its sad I know, but I'm pretty sure thats what he did. I feel they are both very good candidates for an ethnography, they represent the addicted and the once addicted players. So I will hopefully get some good responses from them so I can figure out what about this game "addicts" them!

All Things Renaissance

I found this awsome website with links to many topics relating to renaissance and reenactment. There is even a section for blacksmithing.

www.sirclisto.com/table.html

Rennie connections

As per the assignment most of the "rennies" that I know are hard to get a hold of but I hope to meet some of them at the fair in moscow this year in march. Until then I will get to know the local reenactors here in Boise while I do my research.

People I plan to contact about my project

So, I'm researching blacksmithing, with possible emphasis on the smithing in the middle ages. I'll have to see how that works out and if I can find enough of a community here in the valley. I'm fairly sure I can and have already sent out some emails to the local group of the SCA here in the valley. Hopefully I'll get a response soon.

In particular I'm looking to talk to a gentleman who goes by the alias of Morgan in the SCA. He is an armorer and has made some very nice sets of armor for both himself and many fighters in our society. I'm hoping that he can introduce me to others in the blacksmithing community here in the valley. I also plan to contact some people back in Minnesota that are smiths. I had the privilege of spending a day with them in their shop a few years back and they might be able to assist me in my research. Specifically I'll be talking with my friend Bob and he can put me in touch with his friends there.

Wish me luck...:)

REASONS TO URGENTLY STOP PLAYING WOW! lol

Im not sure what we are all allowed to blog about but i just wanted to post this, i thought it was funny, sorry if you guys have seen it before! 

1: words like gank, pwn, and aggro have made it into your regular vocabulary.
2: you find yourself hitting your push-to-talk key to the person next to you, on the phone, or any other place that's not Vent.
3: You've had nightmares that involve Death Knights, Murlocs, or *shudder* Gnome Rogues.
4: you think of your errand day in terms of a quest log.
5: you think of gifts for your friends and family as rep turn-ins, and you're hoping for epic lootz under the Christmas tree.
6: you secretly wish that playing the stock market was as easy as the auction house.
7: when none of your friends want to do something URL, you seriously consider PUGging it. 
8: You're so spoiled by in-game camera controls that when watching TV or Movies you long to be able to pan and zoom.
9: You find yourself shouting Leeeeeeroy! when you're nowhere near a computer.
10: when you got to the zoo with your friends/family and you reach the Tiger exibit you find your self climbing into the exibit and trying to tame the animal!
11: when you go to church you ask a priest to ressurect a dead relative
12: when you go down to the local bar you ask the bartender to set your hearthstone to this location

IF ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS OCCUR IN YOUR DAILY LIFE STOP PLAYING WOW!

Changed everyone to Admin

I found a way to change everyone to admin status so you all have god-like powers now. Let me know if this is a bad idea....don't want any of you running off trying to stop the sun or rearrange the heavens.....**yea...you know who you are...hehehe**

Practice Post

Wow...I R UBER....hehehe