Kerrytown Book Festival

The Kerrytown Book Festival is being held on September 9 in the Ann Arbor neighborhood ( a little north or northwest of the downtown area). There are some activities of interest to those interested in book arts.

Templar's Treasure Cancelled

The October 13 Templar's Treasure event, which was also to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Stormvale, has been cancelled. It was the second event scheduled for this October that Stormvale has successively scheduled and cancelled.

I understand that we will instead have some kind of revel and invite the neighboring groups. The Artisan's Guild decided a schedule for the fall, and I will note coming classes and workshops here.

Library Acquisition

Crecy 1346 from Osprey by David Nicolle and illustrated by Graham Turner. The usual charming illustrations and a very decent text. Especially satisfying because I bought a used copy for a derisory fee and rather expected it to be battered - it is nearly perfect. I love that.

Tangent

I am guessing that most of the folks who find this blog interesting also like Harry Potter. We therefore depart from the usual topic to note this column which notes the classical and religious allusions in the books. Actually rather inspiring.

Video of Pennsic 36

From Legio Draconis, a list of YouTube videos of Pennsic. Haven't had time to watch any yet. If any reader sees any local folks in the videos, or anything else of special note, perhaps you might note it in the comments here.

Pennsic Update

Here is Geirmundr's report on his late visit to the Pennsic War, complete with a photo of all the Stormvale soldiers. From left to right: Lord Tsunamei Kenjiro Torashi in the Stormvale Champion tabard, Nagatatsu Satto, Lady Juana de Leon in the Cynnabar tabard and Lord Skalla Geirmundr Ulfsson in the (Mark III) Stormvale Militia tabard.

Update: Link added.

Congratulations and Thanks

A hearty thank you is owed to Lady Maryska Daciana de la Mare, the Web Minister of the Shire of Stormvale. Her handiwork was an advancement over previous versions of the site, including my own. She included slideshows, music, nice graphics and kept it up to date.

My old comrade Lord Breac Mac Finnein is taking over as the Web Minister, and I'm sure he'll have fun adding his particular touch to the operation.

Pennsic 36 News

Well, we won. Not sure of the final score, but the Middle was up by enough points as of Friday that no combination of additional scoring could result in a surprise win for the East and its allies. So Hoobah! to my fellow Midrealmers!

I kept up on a daily basis by subscribing to the web edition of the Pennsic Independent, which I heartily endorse. Only $6 and one can read the daily newspaper of Pennsic town in the comfort of one's home that same day - or in moments at work, to be sure.

Melisande made some wistful remarks during the war about how she rather misses going, and my father has expressed a wish to go next year, likely basing his operation out of a trailer in a nearby campground and visiting during the day. Melisande's allergies are much worse than they were years ago when we camped at Pennsic more frequently, so a hotel room or perhaps in my parent's trailer would seem indicated.

My own situation is problematic. I have had the curious misfortune (in this regard, anyway) to first study and then teach at two different institutions with unusual academic schedules. Pennsic was scheduled for early August in order to make it easier for college students to attend. This has never worked for me, alas. I had a narrow window of opportunity in the late 80s and early 90s during which I regularly attended for the second week, but the last time I was able to spend a whole week at Pennsic was in 1997. I've only been able to visit for a day or two a couple of times since.

It would take some arranging. I will likely have three classes to teach, and I can't just blithely wander off on vacation during the term. I might be able to arrange substitutes or something of the kind. At any rate, I am presently planning to attend for - well, as much of the second week as possible, let's say. Let's say long enough to set up camp and fight in as many battles as possible. 51 weeks away! I'm looking forward to raising my banner in Aethelmarc again.