(no subject)

[learnedax]

Catching up on the olympics, thanks to TiVo, has made me realize how many strong parallels they have with Pennsic. From the athletic core which revives ancient tradition (with champions contesting points ranging from archery to fencing) to the strong cultural representations of diverse homelands, there's a big cognitive similarity. When landscape-transforming temporary construction, ingrained rivalries, and a healthy dose of pomp and circumstance are taken into account, I begin to seriously wonder whether the two events serve similar psychological purposes.

This nicely dovetails into two longstanding discussions that came up again at war: first, is there any significant difference between Pennsic and a large sci-fi convention, and second, is the role of martial activity within the SCA truly a critical element, or merely a historical quirk?

Specifically, if fighting, as the Olympic tradition seems to, serves a higher purpose than being yet another fun thing that people do, it represents a qualitative difference between the SCA and other things that the counterculture does... And if it's just a diversion for a bunch of stick-jocks, then what is Pennsic but a themed con?

Thoughts?

Comments

Re: Depends on what you call "work", I suppose

[umbran.livejournal.com]

I didn't go to Pennsic with any new garb. Heck, I hadn't had any new garb for about six months before, and it certainly hadn't been made with Pennsic in mind. So, unless you want to classify any effort in the year done for the SCA to qualify as work for Pennsic, specifically, I don't really think it counts.

Re: Depends on what you call "work", I suppose

[siderea]

I don't care when you did it. The fact that it wasn't specifically for Pennsic is immaterial. You still had to do it; you still had to have it done.

You could have bought it. That still reflects an additional effort which one has to invest time/effort in before showing up, without which one can't go. You could have hired a professional Scadian shopper to deal with the problem for you; you could have convinced someone madly in love with you to do all the sewing for you and not bother you with it. Still counts; it still is a level of effort, modest though it be, required by the enterprise.

For a clear measure of the labor it takes, start with someone who has never done anything SCA or related before, and who has never gone camping. Now: what do they need to do to go to Pennsic?

The fact that you have managed to save labor by building up infrastructure merely means you banked labor up front.

Re: Depends on what you call "work", I suppose

[umbran.livejournal.com]

I don't care when you did it. The fact that it wasn't specifically for Pennsic is immaterial. You still had to do it; you still had to have it done.

Hm. By that logic, the summer job I had years before that paid the fees for getting my driver's license was "work for Pennsic", as it established infrastructure that I needed to get there. I don't find that a terribly useful definition of "work for Pennsic". For me, "work for Pennsic" is work that you need to do that isn't required for anything else. YMMV.

For a clear measure of the labor it takes, start with someone who has never done anything SCA or related before, and who has never gone camping. Now: what do they need to do to go to Pennsic?


Never done anything SCA or related before? That person will probably not know that they are expected to be in garb 24/7 while they are there - that rule seems to be unwritten. And while some folks will give them the Hairy Eyeball, I've never heard of anyone who has paid the gate fee getting tossed out for not having garb. They'll need camping gear (modern will do) and getting it only requires cash ands a trip to Sears.

If they have SCA friends to know the unwritten requirements, they'll have access to loaner garb, tents/crash space, and rides. All they'd really need is some cash for the gate fee and food.