Evaluation of Performances in the SCA
Da'ud Bob: Robin Hood (BBC Series)
Summer greetings unto the most noble populace of Baile na Scolairi from your Chatelaine.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Fairview Park cleanup! It is a good public relations activity for us and a positive contact with the Parks & Rec people when we need to reserve facilities at any of the parks around town.
Another round of gratitude to those who helped with the recent demos. Your efforts are appreciated.
Ellen
Finally! We're practicing outside! Had a pretty good practice in May. Let's continue that in June. Don't forget June is Jubilee month. For those new to the area, Jubilee is a demo that we do Father's Day weekend on the far side of Peoria. There are four demos total, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Yes, there's camping as well, go to the Midrealm calendar website for information. I really encourage you to fight on Sunday if you can do so. By the second demo on Sunday we're way down on fighters, because people are packing up or wanting to get home early. I personally will be marshalling on Saturday and fighting on Sunday. If you would like to authorize in anything at Jubilee, please let me know and I will notify the MIC. They will hold authorizations immediately after the first demo on Saturday morning. As usual, if anybody has any quesitons, issues or comments just email me. Good fighting!
Catalin
Greetings to all you may read this fine publication. Archery practice will be starting this month, finally heard back from the City of Normal. Archery takes place at Maxwell Park behind the water tower. The range will be open from 09:00 to 12:00 or until we get tired. My plan is to have a Royal Round every other practice for anyone that wants to shoot it. You have to have 3 in the year to get a published score.
Next month I will be doing a review of “The Great Warbow” by Matthew Stricland and Robert Hardy (yes the actor).Llewelyn
To all, please note the following upcoming A & S events:
- Jubilee Renaissance Fair: June 15-17
- Spring R.U.M. in Gwyntarian (Akron, OH) June 30
- July 14 Fiber Arts Symposium and Workshop, 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m. Normal Public Library Community Room, in the basement
Summer Hours at Milner Library/ISU
Monday-Thursday: 8:00 a.m.-8:00p.m.
Friday: 8:00a.m.-5:00 p.m. (The Library will be closed on the following Fridays: May 18,
June 8, July 6, Aug., 10)
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: 1:00p.m.-8:00p.m.
Exceptions: The Main Floor and Computer Lab open at 7:00a.m. Monday-Friday. The Media Resource Center is open 10:00a.m.-5:00pm Monday-Friday.
Variation in hours due to holidays and breaks
May 26-28 Saturday-Monday: CLOSED
July 3: 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
July 4: CLOSED
Break between summer and fall semesters
Aug. 6-9 (Monday-Thursday) 8:00am-5:00p.m.
Aug. 10, 11, 12: CLOSED
Aug. 13-16: 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
Aug 17, 18, 19: 8:00am-5:00pm (tentative)
Aug 20 8:00am-2:00am
Please check the Milner Webpage for updates:
Sites of Interest:
Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Tresors Carolingiens.
http://expositions.bnf.fr/carolingiens/index.htm. Accessed 5/25/07
This site provides significant portions of famous Carolingian
Treasures in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Flash Animations are presented as readable books, pages of which may be "turned" by clicking the page-corners.Eithne
Greetings unto the talented scribendi of Baile na Scolairi from Ellen of the Scholars.
Our lucky Kingdom Signet, Lady Mary Buchanan, will be heading off to the Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium in Caid (Los Angeles) June 14th through the 17th. The Symposium provides a chance for Scribes and Heralds from across the known world to meet and exchange ideas, attend classes, and get a taste of what’s happening around the rest of the known world.
Next year’s (2008) KWHSS will take place in Thames Reach (London, England) September 5th through the 7th at University College. The bid was just recently accepted and announced, so the event web site is not yet up. You can take a look at the bid online here:
Select 'read LoIs'
Scroll to January 2007
click 'Laurel-other' dated 10 January 2007, which is the full bid.
If you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to visit London, now is your chance!
There have been rumblings of hosting another “Inkin’ in Lincoln” event some time in October here in our own shire. We will hopefully hear some event proposals at the June business meeting. So get your scribal kits together and think about what classes you’d like to take or teach! There will be plenty to keep us all busy over the coming summer months.
Ellen
By Lady Catalin Zoldszem, OCK, APF
My name is Catalin Zoldszem. Mundanely, I go by the name Vivian Elder. As Vivian, I have been in Toastmasters for about fifteen years. What is Toastmasters, you say? Toastmasters is an international group that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. I have participated at the club and district levels as an officer and participated in bi-annual contests. In the spring is the evaluation contest, where six evaluators evaluate the same speech; and then are judged by how unique they can be in their evaluating. Evaluation is an important part of Toastmasters. It is the way we help each other improve our skills. I believe this process could benefit those in the SCA as well. Before we get into the ‘hows’ of evaluation, can anybody tell me why we would use the term ‘evaluation’ and not ‘critique’, ‘criticize’ or even ‘constructive criticism’?
All those ‘c’ words have negative connotations. Their language is more direct and sometimes harsh. Even ‘constructive criticism’ doesn’t sound pleasant, does it? Evaluation, on the other hand, is more positive. It is working together to improve, whether the project is performance based (a song, a story, a dance) or craft based (sewing, wood, clay, anything). A critic simply identifies strengths and weaknesses, but an evaluator must concentrate on specific methods of improvement.
Let’s talk about the benefits of effective evaluation.
For the Performer or Crafter:
- It is a timely and powerful learning aid – Evaluation provides direct feedback,
especially valuable when it immediately follows an activity.
- Paves the way to better skills – It gives the Performer or Crafter specific methods
for improving.
- Creates a positive climate for motivation – It encourages the person to work even
harder and improve even more.
- Builds and maintains healthy self esteem – Positive and supportive comments make
the person feel good about him or herself.
For the Evaluator:
Provides opportunities to help others – Helping someone develop valuable personal
skills can be highly satisfying.
- Develops an attitude of helpful interest – Relating to others in a positive way is
a key leadership skill. It also builds self-understanding.
- Builds positive interpersonal relationships – Providing sincere, supportive help to
other people creates mutually beneficial personal bonds.
- Develops listening and observation skills – Effective evaluation requires active,
careful listening and observation skills, important components of good communication.
Why do we want to learn to perform or craft?
- Gain knowledge and skill – We all want to improve and expand ourselves.
- Meet a specific need – Maybe there is a story that needs to be told, maybe you need
a shirt and pants, maybe you just need to be doing something with your mind and/or hands.
- Gain material rewards – Maybe you are receiving payment, maybe you’d like to
get an award. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not advocating doing these things
just to get an award, but sometimes that is how people measure their skills.
- Earn recognition – This goes hand in hand with material rewards and word fame can
go a long way.
- Build self –esteem – It feels good to accomplish things, a well done
performance or a great craft project gives quite a rush.
- Build self confidence – The more you perform or craft, and get feedback, the more
confident (hopefully) you will feel about expanding your horizons.
Next month we'll continue with the roles of an evaluator and six guidelines for building and maintaining self-esteem when you evaluate.
It seems that the old saw is really true. You know, the one that goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The subject of this observation was a new (well, new to America) television series about an old, old hero. The story has been told dozens of times; sometimes well, sometimes, well, not so well. And occasionally abominably. Still, it’s a compelling story; it must be, to have such staying power, and to keep rising again and again. This time it was on BBC America on a bright early spring day in 2007. It was the first episode of a series first shown in the fall of 2006 on BBC One in England. (For those of you who can’t watch this on BBC America, and who still want to see it after this review, the full first season is scheduled to be released on DVD in the U.S. on June 5, 2007.) So, which particularly English hero has the BBC done a new series on? Why, the same one whose basic story is so familiar to all of us from so many movies and other TV series. And so it is that this month, Da’ud Bob reviews Episode 1: “Will You Tolerate This?” of the BBC Original Series, Robin Hood.
Starring Jonas Armstrong as our erstwhile hero Robin of Locksley, Earl of Huntington, Lucy Griffiths as Marian, Richard Armitage as Sir Guy of Gisborne, Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Gordon Kennedy as Little John, Sam Troughton as Much, Joe Armstrong as Allan A Dale, and Harry Lloyd as Will Scarlett, “Will You Tolerate This?” finds Robin and his man Much returned from the Crusades, finding their home much changed, mostly for the worse, during their absence fighting with King Richard in the Middle East. This episode revolves around Robin’s trying to settle back in and set things right, but making powerful enemies (the Sheriff and Sir Guy) and having to run to the forest to hide.
Good points: The horses are pretty.
Bad points: Fake – very fake – chain mail. (The sort of thing, made from some kind of fabric, that you believe probably wouldn’t even slow down a decent breeze, much less a weapon of any kind.) Digging using a wooden shovel with no metal edge on it. (Yes, back then, metal edge braces made for shovels may have cost a little, but they so extended the life of the shovels that they were more than worth it.) Father and daughter (the former Sheriff and Marian) are nearly the same age. (What was he when she was born? Five? I don’t think so!) Wandering about for extended periods of time with a bow fully strung. (This is really not very good for the bow!) Guy of Gisborne’s greatcoat. Robin’s hood makes him look like a modern street thug wearing a hooded sweatshirt rather than a medieval man. Counting money in “pounds”. (It would far more likely have been done in “marks” or “merks”.) The Sheriff saying, sarcastically, “Yippee.” (The best dictionary I consulted said of the term: “1910–15, Americanism; expressive word of uncertain origin.” In short, it ain’t medieval, and it ain’t English.)
Zero breasts. No blood. No dead bodies. Arrow fu. Sword fu. Brooch fu. Men at arms roll. Gratuitous decolletage. Gratuitous scimitar. Gratuitous slo-mo. Gratuitous “Saracen” recurve bow. Gratuitous crushing of songbird by the Sheriff. A 93 on the Vomit Meter. 1½ Stars. Anna Sue says, “He’s not that cute”, and noted that given her druthers, she’druther watch Robin Hood: Men In Tights. To give you an idea about how Anna Sue feels about Men In Tights, she wouldn’t let me get my own copy of Army of Darkness until Men In Tights had replaced it on her list of all-time bad medieval movies. Da’ud Bob says “Check it out!”
Greetings and salutations! Well...fall down and faint! I am submitting something to the newsletter (as I promised). I have decided that I will do the feast menu in a few installments, so as not to take up all the space and let a few other shire members contribute. Here is the first course. Enjoy!
Cock-a-leekie Soup
1 chicken (I like fryers - smaller and less fat)Place all ingredients except the prunes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours until the chicken is cooked. Adjust seasoning of stock to taste. De-bone chicken, chop into pieces and return to pot.. Add the prunes, simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with baps and honey butter.
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This recipe was recommend by THL Eithne...and is a wonderful, edible version of the Scolairi bap. Tasty!
Baps ( From Celtic Hearths, Deborah Krasner)
2 scant tsp active dry yeastDissolve yeast in milk and water in a medium bowl. Sift the salt into the
flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the flour, and pour the liquid in the
dry mixture and stir. If dough is too stiff, add a little more warm milk. Turn
onto floured surface and kneed lightly. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover,
and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Flour a baking sheet. Punch down dough, divide into 8-9 portions (better size
would be 12 portions) Form into ovals, set on baking sheet, and cover with
plastic wrap. Let rise 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425. Brush baps with
warm milk. Map an indention in the center of each bap. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just
golden.
I want to thank all of my helpers for making lunch a success. I couldn't have
done it without you. As always, what make an event a success is teamwork. Huzzah to
you! and hugs and kisses!
In service, I remain
Lady Branwen ferch Rhodri Gwynedd
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Bara Brith (Speckled Bread) - WalesThis bread recipe was very popular at our event. Many people asked for the recipe so here it is - Eithne.
2 ½ cups unbleached flourCombine the flours, and salt in a ceramic or metal bowl. And warm in the oven for a few minutes. Warm the milk to a little over 100° and add yeast to it. Cut the butter into small pieces and stir it into the warm milk mixture until melted. Pour this into the flour mixture and form into a fairly light dough Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 40 minutes if all the ingredients were warm to start.
Mix together the sugar, dried fruits and allspice. And put them into the oven to warm as well. After a few minutes, work this mixture into the dough with your hands, trying to be sure that all ingredients are well distributed. If the dough seems stiff, add additional milk as necessary.
Grease a large 1 ½ to 2 quart casserole or an oversize loaf pan that ha outward-sloping sides. Warm it in the oven and pat the dough into the pan to fit. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let the dough rise to the top of the pan, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 425°. Bake on the center shelf for 20 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack. Yield: 1 large oaf
From: Krasner, Deborah. From Celtic Hearts: Baked Goods from Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books: New York, NY, 1991. ISBN:0670837601, pp. 42-43.
This is the on-line version of The Scolairi Notes. Scolairi Notes is the publication of the Shire of Baile na Scolairi, a branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Scolairi Notes is available from Renee LeVeque, 711 E Taylor, Bloomington, IL 61701, at no cost. It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and does not delineate SCA policies. Opinions expressed herein are not those of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Webbed version created by Rory mac Feidhlimidh.