it's like the eye of a duck

• 09:20 RT @briandgregory: My cats are evil. #obvious #
• 18:35 Just read something mentioning a burlesque performer called "Cece My Playmate" and now that silly children's rhyme is stuck in my head! #
• 21:52 Ooooh, Vassar's Historic Costume Preservation Workshop blog! blogs.vassar.edu/hcpw/ #

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D. recently got us a Playstation 3. He got it for the Blu-Ray as neither of us are really big game players - I know next to nothing about computer games and the few he plays he plays obsessively until he wins, and then never looks on them again.

Still, he figured he ought to have some game to play on this thing, so he did a bit of review-reading and chose Assassin's Creed II because of my interest in the Italian Renaissance: the premise is an assassin avenging the deaths of his family in 15th century Tuscany/Venice.

Take a look at the trailer - it is visually stunning, and I could swear that the Florentine streets are laid out fairly close to reality! Even the clothes look right(ish), with tied-together pieces and covered heads on both men and women. Landmarks are beautifully detailed, from the Campanile to the humble roof tiles.

Also it is well researched and involves a lot of historical figures and events (the Pazzi Conspiracy and Lorenzo di Medici; the art of Donatello, Leonardo and his inventions, etc.). It's not just a shoot/beat'em up, there's learning, planning, puzzles, treasure, alliances, purchases etc. so it involves layered strategy and information collection.

As I said, I don't know much about video games, but Assassin's Creed II calls to mind that interactive games can be a powerful teaching tool - for history, strategy/war gaming, language, etc.

And I'm sure it plays fantastically well. See, I learned all this from watching D. play :P

He plugged it in Friday night and has barely put it down - was up all night defeating the Pazzi and moving his surviving family to the country palazzo :P Problem is that this game is so dense that he may never win, so I have to remind him to stop!


*Saying in our family that means getting someone a gift you'd prefer to have for yourself :P

Just upgraded my OS to Windows 7 Pro and am reinstalling software and getting used to the altered interface (the default font is very, very tiny). Some amusements while I wait on things:

hrj on character naming strategies. Her attention to detail is impressive to me because I can never come up with anything creative (girls are usually called Elizabeth. Or Mary).

Check out belfebe's Marguerite de Valois dress site (I've seen this dress in person - it is spectacular!) and follow the links within.

The Library of Congress will be hosting a concert featuring their priceless Stradivariuses (Stradivarii? Strads?) this Friday. IIRC, they need to be played occasionally to preserve quality, so the LOC takes them out of their cases and into the hands of trained professionals once a year on the anniversary of Stradivari's death.

Completely forgot I'd uploaded this photo of my new latchet shoes by Pilgrim Shoes. They look fantastic, smell richly of new leather, and fit like bedroom slippers. Recommended :)

You can print out your own Get Excited and Make Things 8x11" poster in multiple colors. This is cool with the creator.

Moments of Change: The Early 17th Century and the Roots of Modernity lecture podcast (opens iTunes). Free (!) Found via Worn Through.

• 09:47 These tights....do not suck. I would even venture to say that they rock. Let's see how the rest of the day goes...
• 10:43 Hey, sewing sorts - free/cheap copyright free patterns! Good ones too: www.burdastyle.com/patterns . HT @sewgirls
• 11:13 RT @FashionHistoria: Colonial Williamsburg are putting their collection (including historic costume and fashion) online bit.ly/2nC0zp
• 12:17 All your characters speaking in the same voice (and how to stop that): tinyurl.com/yk6jrwb #writing
• 12:24 A Southern food blog. It's not all fried: biscuitsandsuch.com/

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Via folo1: From the Aussie Living History list: Of interest to anyone wanting provenance for Tudor impressions, some previously unseen artifacts from the Mary Rose: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/oct/12/mary-rose-treasures?picture=354149534

Includes shoes and remains of a wool jerkin.

Expanding on a Tweet from earlier in the day, I enjoyed this article from Tor books blog describing the liberties Hollywood takes with historic accuracy. I agree with the author that the real story is often more interesting than the watered down, simplified version movies give us, and I'm often frustrated with the cut corners, compressed timelines and/or modernization/"sexing up" that shows up in movies covering time periods I actually know something about.

At the same time, I think it's inevitable given that historic stories (rather like science fiction) are interesting to modern audiences primarily because of what they tell us about ourselves, and apart from the comparative few who know the historic context of any given film I'm aware that allowances must be made to tell a story modern audiences can relate to (this is in addition to any limitations set by budget, actors, 2 hour limit, etc.)

( deliberate anachronism )

This book, The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History looks especially interesting considering the repeated discussions I find myself in re: historical hygiene. It's a topic I know little about but I know enough to recognize that the modern conception of washing = soap and water isn't the only way to get clean - I'm specifically thinking of the Romans and their oil + strigil, or the vigorous scrubbing with towels done by the Elizabethans (not a lot of washing, perhaps, but a whole lot of exfoliation!)

It's possible even in today's polluted, modern cities to successfully (i.e. inoffensively, unstinkily) go without washing one's hair (search the H-costume archive for "not washing hair" for the story from a man who figured out that after 22 weeks, his scalp and hair took care of themselves), though I have to admit mine is so short I'd never try it.

I'm also pleased to read that the book covers the theory that allergies and asthma are more common among modern people because our washing habits remove us so completely from the natural world. Worth considering.

Not sure I'd change my bathing habits though, at least not much. My face feels like an oil slick after only a day and the goop I use in my hair demands washing out to avoid the same. I am trying to use milder soaps this winter though, as every doGdamn thing seems to irritate lately :P

[Poll #1098649]

Note I leave no selections for "no bathing at all" 'cos I can't imagine anyone reading just isn't.

Spent the weekend on a fast/furious 2-day history-gasm at Williamsburg and Jamestown with the divine shemhazai. Things discovered: incredibly fine 18th century tailoring, how NOT to fire a musket, masts on a ship can move (!) and just how close one can get to an archaeological site. Also - parrying daggers!

More later, but I HAVE to emphasize - the weather was absolutely ideal, and the off-season rocks! It is criminal that I didn't drag my procrastinating carcass out before now, and this *will* be the first of many more trips!

Special thanks to new CSA buddy E. for helping us to prioritize Williamsburg and showing us how it "goes".

Never again will I have to strain my brain to remember that DISTAFF stands for Discussion, Interpretation, and Study of Textile Arts, Fabrics, and Fashion.

November 9-11, 2006: Attending to Early Modern Women--and Men. Now if they'd just fix the damn link!