Monday, July 28, 2008

Pennsic War 37

Once again I find myself unable to attend Pennsic, even briefly. I gave it some slight thought, but it seems impractical. We moved earlier this year into much more spacious and congenial quarters, and that cost a lot in time, effort and money; and I am in no way prepared to fight, camp or otherwise participate. And that's leaving aside the question of my work schedule, which makes Pennsic highly impractical. Can't just wander off and cancel classes during a nine-week term, and it's awkward to schedule substitutes during the summer. If the regular Econ guy were around this time of year to fill in for me, I wouldn't be teaching the classes to begin with! (I could afford the time to go to Pennsic, certainly, but my bank account would very much not appreciate it.)

However, in this day and age, it is increasingly possible to attend Pennsic in spirit, if not in person. One can keep up in the virtual world of the Internet. Here's my primary tool, the Pennsic Independent. This is the on-site daily newsletter of Pennsic, and they provide hard copies in the mail or .pdf copies. I prefer .pdf, as I can read them the same day.

And tonight I came across this web diary, at which the writer, one Rowan, who appears to be an old hand, promises to deliver photos and commentary on a daily basis.

Ok, it's not arming up and fighting in the field battle. One does what one can.