I've long been a fan of the wacky, amazing and FREE Bishop's Castle in southern Colorado. I had always hoped someone would come along and film a documentary of the castle builder, Jim Bishop, as he's quite the character.
The Craftsman is 30ish minutes of stunning views, back story and of course, political intrigue...
Why not take a trip into the Colorado mountains this year and see it yourself?
I've been visiting replicas of real places in Second Life, which I think is a great way to experience a monument or city you might otherwise never get to see.
But, one must be careful of tangents in the virtual world, for there is much to distract you in the metaverse. Sometimes a guide can keep you on the right track. There are actually virtual travel agencies now within Second Life that will take you on a guided tour of pretty much whatever you are looking for. Castles, scenic balloon rides, tall ship cruises, whale watching, scuba diving and the list goes on...
That would be a cool job, huh? Virtual Tour Director. I thought so too, so I started to do a little online research on the subject.
Which led me to a site called Virtual Tourist, wherein I made myself a member just so I could create a virtual map of where I've been, lived and would still like to go:Get Your Own Map View Larger Map
Yeah, I know it has absolutely nothing to do with Second Life, but it's a really cool map widget and website.
It's just ironic that I would have never found this website if it weren't for the virtual world.
The Thirsty Traveler has the best job in the world. Basically, he gets to travel around the world and get the locals to share their alcohol with him. Watch as he visits a Viking reenactment in Great Britain, where Mead is the flowing and the battles are fierce! His opening music sounds kind of "Firefly-esque" don't you think?
You may have to view a short Orbitz ad at the beginning of this video, sorry. But it's worth it to see all the awesome mead-cooked Viking food. Mmmm....hungry...
VALHALLA!!!
Apparently, I'm never, ever going to be done tinkering with my blog. There's a new section on the upper right called "Places to Go" which have direct links to many of the other pages that I keep online. The first is DarbukaGirl, which will take you to my channel on YouTube. Yes, I have my own channel. Frightening, isn't it? Here you can view not only the videos that I've uploaded, but also all of my playlists and favorites, too. Please keep in mind that YouTube is not child safe - you are literally three clicks away from hell.
The next new link is My Amazon Store! Yes. I've gone and sold out. If you plan on shopping with Amazon, do me a favor and jump into their website through my store. Then I will receive a commission. Which I will then turn around and spend on MORE BOOKS. See? You are helping me stay educated.
Last, but not least is the link called MySpace SCA Group, which should be pretty self-explanatory. This group has over 3000 members! That's about 10% of the paid membership that the SCA can verify. You can read any message or bulletin on this group if you do not have a MySpace account, but any further actions require you to sign up. But don't worry, it's free!
Also, you'll see that I've changed all of the products I'm offering through Art.com. Again, if you are planning on shopping at Art.com, please jump to their store through one of my image links, and I'll end up with a commission from the sale.
Every little bit helps. The more cash I can bring in right now, the likelier it is I'll be able to go to the big expensive events like Estrella and Pennsic.
Ok, onto less 'self promotion'. I shall NOT be attending Outlands Crown Tournament this weekend, as I have to work and visit family. Until I get that cloning booth perfected, I won't be able to do more than one thing at one time.
Here's something very weird I found online the other day. Just when I thought the Renaissance Faire thing had been done to death, along comes All-Star Cruises and Travel with three upcoming Renaissance Festival cruises. Who ever thought of mixing a RenFair with a cruise? It's either going to be very fun, or very awkward. I mean, you can't get away from the creepy guy in a nylon cape if you are all on the same boat together!! Then again, the pirate possiblities are endless...
And because I can't end a post without adding video, here's one of the latest I've uploaded to DabukaGirl. It's an old Saltanah performance at the Mercury Cafe in Denver.
What a GREAT dancer, huh? Ooohh, do I ever need to workout.
I've gotten all backed up with things to write about! So I'll try to keep it short...
In about a week and a half I'll be traveling to San Francisco (Kingdom of the West) for five days. Sadly, this conflicts with 20th Year, which I really, really wanted to go to. The most Outlandish party of the year and I will not be there.
Ah, well. Weddings are important, too.
Another event I will miss is Rogue Camp, which ironically, would have fallen on the same weekend as 20th Year. But I can understand how they might not want to throw a 4 day party for 50 friends, being new parents and all.
I just feel like I haven't gotten my recommended yearly dosage of camping events, and I'm surly about it. Maybe there's a few coming up that aren't too far to drive for a weekend.
Lately I've noticed the SCA making the rounds of online news stories:
Mancos, Renaissance style
July 10, 2006 | Herald Staff Writer
A man in a sashed white tunic tramps through the thoroughfare of matted straw, bellowing a voluble proclamation toward silk-draped tents and women at spinning wheels.
"My lords and ladies, oyez, oyez, oyez! A white Chevy Blazer needs to be moved immediately!" (read more here)
Another take on the same faire can be found at Cortez Journal Online.
Ooohh, this one's in the OUTLANDS:
Superday gets medieval touch
Where is the time going? It's almost summer! Event season is almost here. Looks like only an act of God will allow me to get to Grand Outlandish this year. I may as well just plan for Crossroads instead.
It's all about the income. Or lack thereof. Especially when the 'experts' are predicting that the price of gas will be $3 a gallon at least over Memorial Day weekend. Seeing as how my poor old event van gets only 17 miles to the gallon, well...you do the math. It's too depressing for me.
Long gone are the days when I could use my disposable income to fund my SCA life. Now it's the choice between event money or groceries. I really need a job that pays more than $12 an hour.
Sigh. You know you have too much disposable income when you trick out your car with oriental carpet mats. Personally, I would if I could...
By the way, if you haven't visited my MySpace profile lately, I added a slide show of Estrella War photos.
Also of note on MySpace is the SCA group I started waaaay back when MySpace was just a teeny blip on the radar screen instead of the social networking behemoth it is today. More than 2000 SCA'ers have joined the group and are, for the most part, behaving themselves. Knock on wood.
In other news, I've just gotten Sid Meier's Pirates for PC, and it looks like it will suck away many, many hours of my precious time.
At least I'll be able to pretend I'm accumulating disposable income by looting ships and plundering ports.
Arrr, mateys!
Yet another reason to get a PDA (personal digital assistant for you dark ages types):
Venice Unwired
Oh, man, could this ever revolutionize the travel industry. Get a bunch of cheap PDAs for travelers to rent. You'd have to have a way to recharge it, with a bunch of different adapters. Load it with the tour, good maps and attractions, internet connection and GPS unit. Instant travel companion.
Oh, yeah, and this is yet another reason why Europe is much cooler than America.
