Linda C. McCabe's Blog, page 4
May 31, 2012
News for Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery
There is more news regarding the serialized murder mystery appearing in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Last Sunday, on the front page of the Press Democrat, appeared the first installment of the sixteen chapter story. An editor decided to run the series in print, a chapter a day. So today, May 31st, 2012, is the day that my chapter entitled "Why Sandra?" is being run. I plan on picking up a souvenir copy to keep in my scrapbook.
The series is still being updated online and is up to chapter eleven. The online and print version will end simultaneously on June 11th.
The winner of the writing contest for chapter 13 has been selected and that chapter will be appearing online this coming Monday, June 4th.
This is a fun literary adventure that Robert Digitale started. Next week Robert, Chris Coursey, Ana Manwaring and myself will be interviewed by Gil Mansergh on KRCB Radio FM 91.1 about this project. It will be broadcast on Wednesday, June 6th at 7 pm. You can also listen to an online audio streaming or a few days later as a podcast.
There is also a possibility that this series will be made available as an ebook once it is all finished. I will post about that should it come about.
May 17, 2012
Feminine Archetypes and Symbolism in Carolingian Legends
The following is the text of the paper I gave at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology Conference held in San Francisco on May 11th and 12th.
Like many conferences, it was difficult to choose which session to attend because there were many topics that sounded interesting. With that in mind, I wanted to share this online for those who were not able to hear my talk.
Deconstructing Carolingian legends to
discover feminine archetypes and symbolism
Before I start, I want to get a sense of the room. How many people here are familiar with
Arthurian legends? Now, how about Carolingian legends?
I want to first give an overview of Carolingian legends for
those unfamiliar with them. The
word Carolingian comes from the Latin Carolus
Magnus, meaning Karl the Great, better known to us as Charlemagne. The
legends of Charlemagne are just as luxurious of a source material as the legends
of Arthur, but without any debate as to whether or not Charlemagne was an
historical figure, he was, and the legends about him were stories created to
entertain and not considered as history.
I will touch on the most popular aspect of these legends in
art and drama so that you will be able have discussions with people who may
only be familiar with the legends of Roland (in French) or Orlando (in Italian).
The most famous of the legends of Charlemagne is the Chanson de Roland or the Song of Roland. Written in the eleventh century by a Frenchman, it was
loosely based on a real defeat of Charlemagne's army in 778 in the Roncevaux
Pass in the Pyrenees. The
historical events are rendered into mythology. There are other stories comprising the Matters of France,
not all were written by Frenchmen, but they all deal with legends of Medieval
France. Similarly, the Matters of Britain were not all written by British
writers, but they concern Medieval Britain.
Some of the largest sources of Carolingian legend, and what
I will be discussing today are two epic poems written by Italians. Orlando innamorato (Orlando in love) was
written by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the first version was published in 1483 and
another version with more cantos was published posthumously in 1495. He stopped
writing his story when the French army invaded Italy in 1494. He found it impossible to lionize the
heroic nature of fictional Frankish warriors when real French warriors were
attacking the various duchies on the Italian peninsula.
A decade or so later, Ludovico Ariosto was commissioned by
the same patrons to continue Boiardo's unfinished tale. Ariosto's Orlando furioso (Orlando enraged) became more famous than its
predecessor and was first published in 1516, so we will soon be celebrating its
five hundredth anniversary.
Those poems were pure fiction and written to entertain and
flatter the poets' patrons the noble house of Este in the northern Italian city
of Ferrara. The stories depict
wars that never took place between Christian and Muslim armies and were
undoubtedly influenced by the Crusades, which occurred centuries after
Charlemagne's death in 814.
The two poems follow the title character of Orlando, a
famous paladin of Charlemagne, and his unrequited love for Angelica the princess
of Cathay. Once Orlando discovers that Angelica has married another, he
goes insane. The story has
multiple interweaving plotlines and numerous disparate settings from Europe and
North Africa to Asia.
Boiardo's
epic featured an invasion of the Frankish Empire by the North African Muslim
army and the war was finally finished in Ariosto’s tale. There were brave
knights, scoundrels, bloody sieges, enchanted realms, sorceresses, wizards, a
flying hippogriff as well as the brave female warriors, Bradamante and Marfisa.
These stories inspired many artists such as Doré, Fragonard
and Ingres. There was a special exhibit in 2009 at the Louvre in Paris
featuring the art inspired by Orlando
furioso. There are also at least a dozen operas that cover portions of Ariosto's
masterpiece. Cervante's classic novel Don
Quixote includes mentions of the poem and William Shakespeare even borrowed
a dramatic set-up from the fourth canto of Orlando
furioso for a scene in his famous comedy "Much Ado about
Nothing."
Most people who
are somewhat familiar with these stories know of Orlando's love and madness,
but they are not as familiar with Bradamante's story which began as a subplot,
but wound up becoming front and center in the story at its conclusion. In Italian, her name is pronounced
Bradamanté, whereas the French pronunciation is Bradamante. Because she is a Frankish character, I
use the French variant, but both are correct.
I feel Bradamante should be as famous and as well examined a
character as Guinevere, Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake.
The first time I read Orlando
furioso was nearly ten years ago and I was startled to discover such a
strong female character in literature. I had a hard time believing that this
feminist character was written centuries ago, by a man, and I wondered why I
had never heard of her before.
I see Bradamante as being a blend of two similar
archetypes: Joan of Arc and
Athena. Bradamante is depicted as
riding on a white horse, bearing a shield and plume of white, having cropped
hair and disguising herself as a man.
She also has the nickname "The Maid." Since Joan of Arc was killed in 1431,
it is reasonable to think that Boiardo and Ariosto were inspired by this real
life heroine as they were writing their fictional heroine.
The major difference between the Maid of Orléans and
Bradamante is that the fictional character was not persecuted for her military
prowess, but instead heralded and valued as a military commander. She was the niece of Charlemagne and
came from a distinguished military family. Her interest in warfare was not due
to hearing divine voices, but instead military duty was in her blood. Charlemagne had also been a powerful
monarch for many years before his niece was born, so unlike King Charles VII of
France, he was not threatened by this warrior maiden's influence with the
people.
Similar to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and victory,
Bradamante is depicted at the beginning to have a heart unmoved by men. That is until Ruggiero, a Saracen
warrior, performed an uncommon act of chivalry on her behalf on the
battlefield. This led to their
talking to one another and experiencing Love at First Sight. Ruggiero was descended from Hector of
Troy and strove to live up to the image of his noble ancestor as the perfect
knight.
Dore's hippogriff
Bradamante and Ruggiero represent an impossible love as they
are warriors on opposite sides of a holy war. Symbolically this impossible love is represented in the
story by the hippogriff, a mythical creature that is part eagle and part horse,
and first described in Virgil's Ecclogues as being born of the mating of
natural enemies of griffins and mares. Griffins were fierce protectors of gold
and raiders rode horses in efforts to steal gold, leading to the animals'
enmity of each other. Ariosto was the first author to use the hippogriff as a
character in literature.
Bradamante and Ruggiero's bliss at finding one another does
not last and they are soon cruelly separated.
This love story of Bradamante and Ruggiero shows an inverse
on what we have come to expect with the hero cycle as described by Joseph
Campbell with his thesis the Hero With a Thousand Faces. Instead, Bradamante's story arc is more
in line with the Heroine's Journey as described by Valerie Estelle
Frankel. Bradamante, a fair
damsel, is given the Call to Adventure and is told she must rescue her beloved
who is being held captive by a wizard in an enchanted castle. After rescuing Ruggiero, her next task
is to persuade him to be baptized as a Christian and marry her. In so doing,
their union will bring forth generations of heroes who will, in time, lead to
the noble house d'Este of Ferrara.
This is far different from traditional quest stories with a
young man fighting evil in order to save his world from destruction. Instead, Bradamante is told that her
ultimate goal is marriage and motherhood.
There is a tragic element however, for it is also foretold that Ruggiero
will be betrayed and killed before the birth of their child.
This next part is not symbolism or archetypes, but I wanted
to share with you the qualitative difference in plot structure than what we
have become accustomed to. While Ruggiero is the orphaned youth raised in
obscurity, it differs from most stories in that there are two prophecies with
divergent fates for Ruggiero. Should
he remain a Muslim, he would bring about the defeat of Charlemagne devastating
Christendom. These stakes are compounded with dueling magical forces trying to
influence which fate will come to pass.
There are other feminine archetypes appearing in these poems
that are worth mentioning. The
character Angelica, the object of Orlando's romantic obsession, is described as
the most beautiful woman in the world and caused every man to fall violently in
love with her. She is the
archetype of Helen of Sparta (and later Troy) who was the catalyst for a war
with multiple suitors vying to possess her.
Dore's Alcina
There is also Alcina, a sorceress who uses her magical
powers to appear youthful. After
tiring of her lovers, she transforms them into trees and shrubs - retaining
them as souvenirs of her conquests.
This echoes the story of Circe from Greek mythology.
Another female character you should know about is the other
warrior maiden Marfisa. She was
abducted as a small girl, sold into slavery, and has a deep-rooted hatred of
men in general. She survived a
rape attempt by her king by killing him.
She then slaughtered the king's guards until she was declared Queen
Marfisa. That was the first of
many kingdoms she conquered.
Marfisa represents a destructive force of womanhood in that she conquers
but does not govern. I see her as the archetype of Nemesis, the goddess of
retribution.
Marfisa and Bradamante appear to be opposites at first. Marfisa is a Muslim while Bradamante is
a Christian, and they are both attracted to Ruggiero. Only when it is revealed
that Marfisa is not a romantic rival for Ruggiero's affections, do the two
women put aside their differences and become fast friends and allies.
These legends are also filled with symbolism. The richest
symbolic scene is when Bradamante is given the Call to Adventure in a cave,
recognized symbolically as the womb.
Melissa, an old enchantress, tells Bradamante of the two prophecies
surrounding Ruggiero and what is expected of her. Melissa represents the Crone. Bradamante is a warrior maid who is being asked to become a
wife and mother. The two women
together comprise the three aspects of the triple headed goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone. Bradamante represents the Blade being
transformed into the Chalice by the Power of Love.
National ASWM Board Member Anne R. Key and Linda C. McCabe
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
May 16, 2012
Advice for newbie writers
The other day I received a ping on Facebook chat from one of my FB friends who wanted to ask me about how to go about getting published.
It is a common starting point question for those who have begun the process of writing a book. What do I do after I finish writing?
Well, before you finish your first draft, I recommend that you begin thinking of yourself as a writer. Start using that term when you refer to yourself. It is a psychological shift, but one you need to make in order to take yourself seriously as a writer.
You also need to work on your craft. That means you must write all the time. You must also read all the time.
Discover what you enjoy reading, and then write the kind of book that you would like to read.
Analyze your favorite books. Tear them apart. Dissect them. Take copious notes. Discover the plot points, the subplots, the plot twists. Think about the characterizations and settings. Could the story be set in another place and time? If so, how would it have changed the story?
Here are a few books on craft that will be thought provoking and help improve your storytelling ability:
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld
Here is another book that I adore for understanding drama:
Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff
Beyond working on your craft, you also need to start educating yourself about the business of publishing. I recommend that you subscribe to two different daily electronic newsletters.
Publishers Lunch and Publishers Weekly Daily
You should also read industry blogs. If you do not have a reader to help manage blog subscriptions, please remedy that today. I use Google Reader and I have far too many blogs to comfortably follow, but I do scan them. If you don't have a Google account, please get one. It's free and easy to obtain.
Here is one agent's blog that I think is helpful: Kristen Nelson.
Start there, check out her blogroll. Try a few others, subscribe to ones you like. Scour more blogrolls. Rinse, repeat.
You must also find a support network. Try and find a writers club near you. Check your Sunday newspaper to see if there are any listings for meetings in their author signings area. Look in the advertisements in your papers for meetings. Perhaps you have a writers club that meets that you've never heard of before.
Then again, maybe you'll have to dig a little deeper to find a writing community in your area.
You can also try and utilize a cyber community of writers. Absolute Writer Water Cooler is a great place to start.
Getting feedback from fellow writers is essential. Finding a good fit critique group is important in improving your writing skills. It is helpful to not only hearing from others about what works and what doesn't work in your drafts, but by reviewing others' work you begin to develop stronger editing muscles by identifying strengths and flaws in someone else's writing.
I feel it is more important to find someone you have good chemistry with in your critique group than it is to find a group of same genre writers.
Now onto a word of caution: there are many who will try and take advantage of writers. Please do not click on any links for "Publish your novel here" that you might see. It is doubtful that you will be happy with the result.
You should check out a website called Preditors and Editors and familiarize yourself with the various scams that are done to unsuspecting writers.
A companion blog that is entitled: Writer Beware Blogs!
Another tip is to find a good adhesive to secure your backside to your desk chair or as some of my friends call it: Butt Glue.
Any other suggestions from my writing friends for those just starting out?
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
It is a common starting point question for those who have begun the process of writing a book. What do I do after I finish writing?
Well, before you finish your first draft, I recommend that you begin thinking of yourself as a writer. Start using that term when you refer to yourself. It is a psychological shift, but one you need to make in order to take yourself seriously as a writer.
You also need to work on your craft. That means you must write all the time. You must also read all the time.
Discover what you enjoy reading, and then write the kind of book that you would like to read.
Analyze your favorite books. Tear them apart. Dissect them. Take copious notes. Discover the plot points, the subplots, the plot twists. Think about the characterizations and settings. Could the story be set in another place and time? If so, how would it have changed the story?
Here are a few books on craft that will be thought provoking and help improve your storytelling ability:
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld
Here is another book that I adore for understanding drama:
Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff
Beyond working on your craft, you also need to start educating yourself about the business of publishing. I recommend that you subscribe to two different daily electronic newsletters.
Publishers Lunch and Publishers Weekly Daily
You should also read industry blogs. If you do not have a reader to help manage blog subscriptions, please remedy that today. I use Google Reader and I have far too many blogs to comfortably follow, but I do scan them. If you don't have a Google account, please get one. It's free and easy to obtain.
Here is one agent's blog that I think is helpful: Kristen Nelson.
Start there, check out her blogroll. Try a few others, subscribe to ones you like. Scour more blogrolls. Rinse, repeat.
You must also find a support network. Try and find a writers club near you. Check your Sunday newspaper to see if there are any listings for meetings in their author signings area. Look in the advertisements in your papers for meetings. Perhaps you have a writers club that meets that you've never heard of before.
Then again, maybe you'll have to dig a little deeper to find a writing community in your area.
You can also try and utilize a cyber community of writers. Absolute Writer Water Cooler is a great place to start.
Getting feedback from fellow writers is essential. Finding a good fit critique group is important in improving your writing skills. It is helpful to not only hearing from others about what works and what doesn't work in your drafts, but by reviewing others' work you begin to develop stronger editing muscles by identifying strengths and flaws in someone else's writing.
I feel it is more important to find someone you have good chemistry with in your critique group than it is to find a group of same genre writers.
Now onto a word of caution: there are many who will try and take advantage of writers. Please do not click on any links for "Publish your novel here" that you might see. It is doubtful that you will be happy with the result.
You should check out a website called Preditors and Editors and familiarize yourself with the various scams that are done to unsuspecting writers.
A companion blog that is entitled: Writer Beware Blogs!
Another tip is to find a good adhesive to secure your backside to your desk chair or as some of my friends call it: Butt Glue.
Any other suggestions from my writing friends for those just starting out?
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
May 7, 2012
Chapter 5 Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery is online
My contribution, or Chapter 5 "Why Sandra?," of the Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery serialized story is now online.
Please check it out here.
And if you would be so kind, like it on Facebook. There you will also find kind and generous remarks Robert Digitale wrote about me.
I must admit that trying to cover all the information given me in a short word count was the greatest challenge. In the final version, most of my dramatic flourishes were lost on the editing room floor, but it was fun writing a scene where characters refused to answer questions posed to them. It creates tension and drama, plus readers will have unanswered questions that should make your imagination run overtime.
I hope you enjoy this tale of intrigue.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/05/...
April 23, 2012
Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery has begun
The first chapter of the serialized Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery is now available online.
This is a project created and organized by Robert Digitale, a fellow member of Redwood Writers and a reporter with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and author of the YA fantasy novel Horse Stalker. New chapters will be posted on the blog Digitale Stories on Mondays and Thursdays.
They are short chapters that are fast paced and filled with suspense.
My contribution should be printed on Monday, May 7th. I hope you enjoy the story, and as a reminder there is the opportunity for you to become a participant as well. You can check out the details of how to submit your draft for possible inclusion in this literary effort here.
Robert is hoping to turn this online effort into an ebook whose proceeds will go to charity. So, if nothing else, you can get another literary credit to your name which always looks good on cover letters and author bios.
Bonne chance, and happy reading everyone!
This is a project created and organized by Robert Digitale, a fellow member of Redwood Writers and a reporter with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and author of the YA fantasy novel Horse Stalker. New chapters will be posted on the blog Digitale Stories on Mondays and Thursdays.
They are short chapters that are fast paced and filled with suspense.
My contribution should be printed on Monday, May 7th. I hope you enjoy the story, and as a reminder there is the opportunity for you to become a participant as well. You can check out the details of how to submit your draft for possible inclusion in this literary effort here.
Robert is hoping to turn this online effort into an ebook whose proceeds will go to charity. So, if nothing else, you can get another literary credit to your name which always looks good on cover letters and author bios.
Bonne chance, and happy reading everyone!
April 20, 2012
Details of how to become a part of the Sonoma Square Murder Mystery team
I mentioned in a previous blog post that I was a part of an upcoming serialized murder mystery due out next week online. There are sixteen chapters to the story and one chapter has yet to be written.
There is a contest to see who will get the honor to be the sixteenth writer. If you are interested, you can find all the details on the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's blog Digitale Stories on how to submit with the chance to win. There is no prize money, but it is a chance to be a part of a cool literary project and a nice writing credit to your name.
The deadline is Friday, May 18th.
The story begins on Monday, April 23rd on the Digitale Stories blog. It will be updated with a new chapter on Mondays and Thursdays.
I wrote chapter five and have read a few chapters (to help me in the course of understanding the context of my contribution) and it is a quick and fun read.
Here is hoping that Robert Digitale gets an overfilled inbox with submissions to be a part of this project he brainstormed and started.
Good luck!
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/04/...
There is a contest to see who will get the honor to be the sixteenth writer. If you are interested, you can find all the details on the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's blog Digitale Stories on how to submit with the chance to win. There is no prize money, but it is a chance to be a part of a cool literary project and a nice writing credit to your name.
The deadline is Friday, May 18th.
The story begins on Monday, April 23rd on the Digitale Stories blog. It will be updated with a new chapter on Mondays and Thursdays.
I wrote chapter five and have read a few chapters (to help me in the course of understanding the context of my contribution) and it is a quick and fun read.
Here is hoping that Robert Digitale gets an overfilled inbox with submissions to be a part of this project he brainstormed and started.
Good luck!
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/04/...
April 17, 2012
Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery - Coming Soon!
I will be a part of a literary experiment. One of the members in my writers club, Robert Digitale, is a reporter with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Robert has created a murder mystery to be published online with sixteen different writers. I am honored to say that he invited me to participate in this fun endeavor.
Robert wrote the overview and gave us direction as to what he wanted covered in our assigned chapters, and then he served as the air traffic controller/editor in assuring that the storyline was as seamless as possible.
The story will be available online starting Monday, April 23rd and can be found here. There is one last chapter that has yet to be written and is still up for grabs. Details of how you can apply to write that installment will be posted online this Thursday.
You can find a lineup of the different participating authors here.
Check it out and you can even "Like" the Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery page on Facebook.
I hope you enjoy the story and my small contribution. I found it difficult to try and cover as much ground as Robert wanted in as small of a word limit as he gave. Going from epic historic fantasy with room to elaborate on settings, characterizations, etc. to writing a distilled essence of a scene was challenging.
Should anyone here wish to join the mystery, I wish you the best of luck getting chosen and have fun in the writing if you are!
Linda
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/04/...
Robert wrote the overview and gave us direction as to what he wanted covered in our assigned chapters, and then he served as the air traffic controller/editor in assuring that the storyline was as seamless as possible.
The story will be available online starting Monday, April 23rd and can be found here. There is one last chapter that has yet to be written and is still up for grabs. Details of how you can apply to write that installment will be posted online this Thursday.
You can find a lineup of the different participating authors here.
Check it out and you can even "Like" the Sonoma Squares Murder Mystery page on Facebook.
I hope you enjoy the story and my small contribution. I found it difficult to try and cover as much ground as Robert wanted in as small of a word limit as he gave. Going from epic historic fantasy with room to elaborate on settings, characterizations, etc. to writing a distilled essence of a scene was challenging.
Should anyone here wish to join the mystery, I wish you the best of luck getting chosen and have fun in the writing if you are!
Linda
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/04/...
March 15, 2012
Upcoming conferences
The next three months are going to be busy for me as I will be at three different conferences.
The first chronologically is the Women's Power and Strategy Conference organized by my friend Patricia V. Davis and being held on Saturday, March 24 from 9-5 pm at the San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California. I will be a vendor at this conference that is billed as "a gathering of leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who are joining forces to educate and inspire women of all ages to believe and invest in their own talent, skills, and potential.
Speakers include keynote Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, California Arts Council Chair, Founder - Feruzzi Fine Art, Evan Bailyn, Erika Bjune, Christine Bronstein, Nancy Calef, Zoe Fitzgerald Carter, Marisa Churchill, Kaye Cloutman, Deborah Cooper, Verna Dreisbach, Deborah Grabien, Dr. Tamarah McClintock Greenberg, Jeb Harrison, Laura McHale-Holland, Joe Klocek, Dena Kouremetis, Vicki Larson, Linda Lee, Frances Lefkowitz, Monique Lessan, Ivory Madison, Gil Mansergh, Amanda McTigue, Hyla Molander, Kimberly Moore, Justin Oliver, Kim Pipkin, Laurie Berry, Rebecca Rosenberg, Jeannette Sears, Ransom Stephens, Alex Vargas, Niko Volonakis, Jody Weiner, Susanna Solomon, and Mimi Towle.
All registrations of adults at the regular rate of $100 will include a gift registration for a girl. More information and to register for the conference can be found here.
I will be a presenter at my writers club upcoming conference on Saturday, April 28th at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California. It is Redwood Writers Next Step Conference where writers are encouraged to take their "next step."
I will be moderating the luncheon panel of four industry experts: Mark Coker founder of Smashwords, Charlotte Cook principal of Adapting Sideways, Joel Friedlander proprietor of Marin Bookworks, and Laurie McLean literary agent with Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents. We will be discussing the rapid changes in the publishing industry in the 21st century and how writers can use those changes to their advantage.
The morning keynote address will be done by the marvelously talented David Corbett.
A description of the talks given by the following presenters can be found here.
Abby Lynn BogomolnyCatherine BradyFrances CaballoRobert DigitaleVerna DreisbachKate FarrellJody GehrmanC.W. GortnerDeborah GrabienSuzanne LangRob LoughranPete MastersonArlene MillerKemble ScottJeane SloneGeri SpielerLee Stein
A special newsletter created for the conference can be found here.
There is also a banquet the night before the conference with the focus on poetry including the keynote speaker Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus.
The deadline to register for the conference and the poetry night is April 13th!
And lastly, I will be presenting a paper "Deconstructing Carolingian legends to discover feminine archetypes and symbolism" at the biennial national conference of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology being held in San Francisco from May 11-12. For more information about that conference, please see their website here.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/...
The first chronologically is the Women's Power and Strategy Conference organized by my friend Patricia V. Davis and being held on Saturday, March 24 from 9-5 pm at the San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California. I will be a vendor at this conference that is billed as "a gathering of leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who are joining forces to educate and inspire women of all ages to believe and invest in their own talent, skills, and potential.
Speakers include keynote Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, California Arts Council Chair, Founder - Feruzzi Fine Art, Evan Bailyn, Erika Bjune, Christine Bronstein, Nancy Calef, Zoe Fitzgerald Carter, Marisa Churchill, Kaye Cloutman, Deborah Cooper, Verna Dreisbach, Deborah Grabien, Dr. Tamarah McClintock Greenberg, Jeb Harrison, Laura McHale-Holland, Joe Klocek, Dena Kouremetis, Vicki Larson, Linda Lee, Frances Lefkowitz, Monique Lessan, Ivory Madison, Gil Mansergh, Amanda McTigue, Hyla Molander, Kimberly Moore, Justin Oliver, Kim Pipkin, Laurie Berry, Rebecca Rosenberg, Jeannette Sears, Ransom Stephens, Alex Vargas, Niko Volonakis, Jody Weiner, Susanna Solomon, and Mimi Towle.
All registrations of adults at the regular rate of $100 will include a gift registration for a girl. More information and to register for the conference can be found here.
I will be a presenter at my writers club upcoming conference on Saturday, April 28th at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California. It is Redwood Writers Next Step Conference where writers are encouraged to take their "next step."
I will be moderating the luncheon panel of four industry experts: Mark Coker founder of Smashwords, Charlotte Cook principal of Adapting Sideways, Joel Friedlander proprietor of Marin Bookworks, and Laurie McLean literary agent with Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents. We will be discussing the rapid changes in the publishing industry in the 21st century and how writers can use those changes to their advantage.
The morning keynote address will be done by the marvelously talented David Corbett.
A description of the talks given by the following presenters can be found here.
Abby Lynn BogomolnyCatherine BradyFrances CaballoRobert DigitaleVerna DreisbachKate FarrellJody GehrmanC.W. GortnerDeborah GrabienSuzanne LangRob LoughranPete MastersonArlene MillerKemble ScottJeane SloneGeri SpielerLee Stein
A special newsletter created for the conference can be found here.
There is also a banquet the night before the conference with the focus on poetry including the keynote speaker Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus.
The deadline to register for the conference and the poetry night is April 13th!
And lastly, I will be presenting a paper "Deconstructing Carolingian legends to discover feminine archetypes and symbolism" at the biennial national conference of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology being held in San Francisco from May 11-12. For more information about that conference, please see their website here.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/...
March 13, 2012
Full Metal Jousting: A Review
I have been meaning to review The History Channel's series Full Metal Jousting. It is another 'reality' television series that features the sport of jousting.
This series stands in stark contrast to what the National Geographic Channel presented with their Knights of Mayhem series. Last November, I posted one blog post about that troupe. I considered writing follow up posts, but suffice it to say - things didn't get any better.
The Knights of Mayhem are led by a foul mouthed egotistical man without honor.
The Full Metal Jousting series is led by Shane Adams who is the leader of a professional jousting troupe known as the Knights of Valour. What's in a name? Apparently a lot.
Because Mayhem vs. Valour explains the difference between the two approaches.
They both use solid lances in competitions, but that's about where the similarities end.
Full Metal Jousting shows sixteen different men chosen to enter a competition where the champion will be awarded $100,000. The applicants were screened beforehand to only allow those who had adequate equestrian experience to take part.
That's key.
Making sure that someone knows how to handle themselves on horseback is fundamental before you ask them to don heavy armor then hold and aim a lance.
I have watched five episodes so far and have been impressed with the training they make these athletes undergo to learn the sport of jousting. Some were theatrical jousters with years of experience in choreographed dinner shows, but that didn't mean they would win when they were engaged in an actual competition.
They split the sixteen men into two teams: the Red Team and the Black Team. Each team has their own coach. The participants have their food and lodging provided in two separate dormitories.
A coin toss determined which team had control in the first round. The controlling team's coach not only chooses which of his jousters will compete, but who the competitor will be. They also have first pick of the horses.
Each week shows another preliminary round, but afterward the losing jousters have been asked to remain there and continue training. There will be an additional $25,000 prize to another jouster who had been eliminated in an early round.
I enjoy watching the training and the jousting. The tone of this series is professional and they have physicians on hand during the competitions to assess whether or not jousters can continue if they have been unhorsed.
There appears to be real concern about injury and concussions. That's good. Glorifying injury is something that turned me off about the Knights of Mayhem attitude. I don't want to see blood and gore, I want to see good jousting.
The competitions are comprised of eight passes. The first four passes use an inch and a quarter diameter, eleven foot long solid pine lances. The second four passes the diameter increases to an inch and a half.
The armor was custom made for this show and were designed specifically to fit the jousters. The design is modern and reminds me more of Lego's Knights' Kingdom design than it does of historical armor. Here is a video from The History Channel's website describing the armor.
To compare this with the Lego Knights Kingdom action figures here is Jayko.
(Personal note: My son used to have a complete set of the Lego Knights Kingdom figures and I was always partial to Jayko because he had a golden hawk on a field of blue. It was the closest to my hero Ruggiero's silver eagle on a field of blue than the other knights with their heraldic standards.)
In the fifth episode of Full Metal Jousting my respect for Shane Adams increased when he dismissed a jouster for abusing a horse. During practice a jouster punched his horse in the head when the horse stepped on his foot. I do not know the proper technique to get a horse to move its foot quickly, but imitating Mongo from Blazing Saddles is not it.
His coach witnessed this act and immediately dressed the man down because of it. The next thing shown is the coaches from both the red and black team and Shane Adams taking that jouster aside into a private room. Shane said he had a zero tolerance for abuse of the horses. He then told the jouster to pack his things and go home.
I liked that a lot.
An old Arabic proverb holds that a horse is attached to its master's honor.
This man did not demonstrate respect for his horse and therefore he has no honor.
Abusing a horse is intolerable and I am glad Shane did not give him a second chance.
To sum up:
Full Metal Jousting shows respect for the athletes by giving them proper training in the sport of jousting. It ensured there was adequate equestrian experience beforehand in order for the athletes to enter the process. Proper armor for each contestant was provided and safety measures are put in place to avoid/minimize injury.
Shane Adams as the leader appears that his goals are to increase public attention to the sport of jousting as well as train more jousters to expand the sport.
The Knights of Mayhem on the other hand did not have any such proper precautions for their new recruits. It seemed as if they just looked for individuals who were tough dudes who were looking for a new thrill, and gave them promises of riches and glory.
Then the new recruits were given inadequate training as to how to handle their lances as well as inadequate attention to equestrian handling. The armor the new jousters used was borrowed hand-me-down armor that others had cobbled together. That is pathetic, because if armor doesn't properly fit it is dangerous to use.
Charlie Andrews was the leader of the Knights of Mayhem and he appeared to be a bully in a sandbox. He invited others to play in his sandbox, but then beat them up when they dared touch his toys.
I will continue to watch Full Metal Jousting as I find it entertaining as well as informative.
Should there be a second season of the Knights of Mayhem, I shall not invite that foul mouthed miscreant back into my living room.
For those interested in a summary of the episodes, I found the website Medieval Archives has posts describing what transpired as well as a breakdown of each pass in the competitions.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/...
This series stands in stark contrast to what the National Geographic Channel presented with their Knights of Mayhem series. Last November, I posted one blog post about that troupe. I considered writing follow up posts, but suffice it to say - things didn't get any better.
The Knights of Mayhem are led by a foul mouthed egotistical man without honor.
The Full Metal Jousting series is led by Shane Adams who is the leader of a professional jousting troupe known as the Knights of Valour. What's in a name? Apparently a lot.
Because Mayhem vs. Valour explains the difference between the two approaches.
They both use solid lances in competitions, but that's about where the similarities end.
Full Metal Jousting shows sixteen different men chosen to enter a competition where the champion will be awarded $100,000. The applicants were screened beforehand to only allow those who had adequate equestrian experience to take part.
That's key.
Making sure that someone knows how to handle themselves on horseback is fundamental before you ask them to don heavy armor then hold and aim a lance.
I have watched five episodes so far and have been impressed with the training they make these athletes undergo to learn the sport of jousting. Some were theatrical jousters with years of experience in choreographed dinner shows, but that didn't mean they would win when they were engaged in an actual competition.
They split the sixteen men into two teams: the Red Team and the Black Team. Each team has their own coach. The participants have their food and lodging provided in two separate dormitories.
A coin toss determined which team had control in the first round. The controlling team's coach not only chooses which of his jousters will compete, but who the competitor will be. They also have first pick of the horses.
Each week shows another preliminary round, but afterward the losing jousters have been asked to remain there and continue training. There will be an additional $25,000 prize to another jouster who had been eliminated in an early round.
I enjoy watching the training and the jousting. The tone of this series is professional and they have physicians on hand during the competitions to assess whether or not jousters can continue if they have been unhorsed.
There appears to be real concern about injury and concussions. That's good. Glorifying injury is something that turned me off about the Knights of Mayhem attitude. I don't want to see blood and gore, I want to see good jousting.
The competitions are comprised of eight passes. The first four passes use an inch and a quarter diameter, eleven foot long solid pine lances. The second four passes the diameter increases to an inch and a half.
The armor was custom made for this show and were designed specifically to fit the jousters. The design is modern and reminds me more of Lego's Knights' Kingdom design than it does of historical armor. Here is a video from The History Channel's website describing the armor.
To compare this with the Lego Knights Kingdom action figures here is Jayko.
(Personal note: My son used to have a complete set of the Lego Knights Kingdom figures and I was always partial to Jayko because he had a golden hawk on a field of blue. It was the closest to my hero Ruggiero's silver eagle on a field of blue than the other knights with their heraldic standards.)
In the fifth episode of Full Metal Jousting my respect for Shane Adams increased when he dismissed a jouster for abusing a horse. During practice a jouster punched his horse in the head when the horse stepped on his foot. I do not know the proper technique to get a horse to move its foot quickly, but imitating Mongo from Blazing Saddles is not it.
His coach witnessed this act and immediately dressed the man down because of it. The next thing shown is the coaches from both the red and black team and Shane Adams taking that jouster aside into a private room. Shane said he had a zero tolerance for abuse of the horses. He then told the jouster to pack his things and go home.
I liked that a lot.
An old Arabic proverb holds that a horse is attached to its master's honor.
This man did not demonstrate respect for his horse and therefore he has no honor.
Abusing a horse is intolerable and I am glad Shane did not give him a second chance.
To sum up:
Full Metal Jousting shows respect for the athletes by giving them proper training in the sport of jousting. It ensured there was adequate equestrian experience beforehand in order for the athletes to enter the process. Proper armor for each contestant was provided and safety measures are put in place to avoid/minimize injury.
Shane Adams as the leader appears that his goals are to increase public attention to the sport of jousting as well as train more jousters to expand the sport.
The Knights of Mayhem on the other hand did not have any such proper precautions for their new recruits. It seemed as if they just looked for individuals who were tough dudes who were looking for a new thrill, and gave them promises of riches and glory.
Then the new recruits were given inadequate training as to how to handle their lances as well as inadequate attention to equestrian handling. The armor the new jousters used was borrowed hand-me-down armor that others had cobbled together. That is pathetic, because if armor doesn't properly fit it is dangerous to use.
Charlie Andrews was the leader of the Knights of Mayhem and he appeared to be a bully in a sandbox. He invited others to play in his sandbox, but then beat them up when they dared touch his toys.
I will continue to watch Full Metal Jousting as I find it entertaining as well as informative.
Should there be a second season of the Knights of Mayhem, I shall not invite that foul mouthed miscreant back into my living room.
For those interested in a summary of the episodes, I found the website Medieval Archives has posts describing what transpired as well as a breakdown of each pass in the competitions.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/...
March 5, 2012
The History Channel Special Becoming Medieval: A Review
The History Channel has changed over the years. I enjoyed watching the channel when it was focused on people and historical events, but now its schedule seems to be filled with all kinds of shows that stretch the meaning of history.
"Engineering an Empire" and "Cities of the Underworld," have been replaced with "Pawn Stars," "Swamp People" and "Ax Men." I scratch my head and wonder about who are the target demographic audience for those shows.
So, I was pleasantly surprised when a friend of mine told me about a show called "Going Medieval."
I had to keep asking him to repeat the title, because I was confusing it with the names of the excellent medievalist blogs Getting Medieval and Got Medieval.
My friend had watched the special on the H2 channel (formerly known as the History International Channel, and should not be confused with the chemical formula for hydrogen gas.)
A few months ago we downgraded our selection of channels on our satellite television, so we do not get H2 anymore. However, my friend told me that it was available for online download from Amazon.com and iTunes. He thought that the Amazon version might restrict portable downloads to their proprietary table Amazon Fire, so rather than risk being disappointed I went directly to iTunes so I could get it on my iPad. It was only $3.99. I thought that downloading it directly to my iPad was far more convenient than trying to watch the website to see if it might be rebroadcast on the regular History Channel and futz with programming my fickle DVR.
I wanted to share with my blog readers that I thought the show was wonderful.
Here is the product description:
"In this two-hour H2 special, historian and weapons expert Mike Loades goes medieval diving deep into the world of the Middle Ages. From the 5th to the 15th centuries, Mike battles the realities vs. the myths of this extraordinary time crusading for the core of real life while delivering fun-filled facts. From living, working and fighting to how to keep a knight's armor shiny using a vigorous rub of sand, vinegar and urine, Going Medieval is an expert account of life during medieval times."
Yes, stale male urine was mentioned several times in the show. It was used in making soap and dying wool.
Mike Loades demonstrates those domestic chores as well as plowing fields with oxen, hunting with hounds and falcons, and cooking a medieval feast.
One of my favorite aspects of the movie is that a large portion of the show was filmed at the Guédelon castle project in France.
For those unaware, this marvelous project began in 1998 and they are building a castle with only the tools and techniques used in the thirteenth century. In fact, the masthead of my blog shows a picture taken during my first trip to Guédelon back in 2007. My first blog post about Guédelon can be found here.
Here is the other side of the same structure and you can see the tile work as well as two "human hamster wheels" used as cranes to lift heavy stones to the top of the building site.
The host of the show was Mike Loades. He and Gordon Summers demonstrated using Guédelon's archers' slits. I did not realize until this show that one had to stand several feet away from the slit in order for the arrow to go through a sinuous phase before it can fly outside. The two men took turns releasing their arrows and it was instructive as well as entertaining.
There is a picture posted on Mike Loades' official Facebook page showing him and Gordon Summers shooting from within a tower at Guédelon. (Go check it out before it gets moved too far down the front page. There are other photos of Guédelon on his page as well.)
For those who prefer the DVD format, the show will also be available in that manner at a much higher price.
I recommend this show for my medievalist friends and believe you will not be disappointed. I believe it would be good for classrooms as well.
One thing to note, since the DVD or downloads are commercial free, the running time is 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Has anyone else watched this special? If so what are some of your thoughts?
Or let me know if there are other specials you would like to recommend for people to watch or Avoid Like The Plague.
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/...
