Amphorae

I usually think of myself as fairly traditionally feminine, and I'm sure most people who know me would agree. On this blog I've reviewed a lot of shows and movies, usually costume dramas with a good dose of romance; but sometimes even I want to see something blow up or someone get soundly beaten. For those times, there's Deadliest Warrior, from Spike tv. Do you like historical weapons and battle tactics? Have you ever gotten into a heated debate with your friends over who would win a fight between disparate opponents (a la pirate vs ninja)? Do you like to scream with glee during gory testosterone-dripping battle sequences? Yes? Then you'll like this show. I'm quite certain that it started with a bunch of historical weapons experts sitting around debating pirate vs ninja (or viking vs samurai etc), and realizing that they had the ability to scientifically test their theory. Bring on the pig carcasses, ballistics gel, and foam torsos. Oh yeah, and blood packets, l...

Fashion plate 1870  Have a great week, everyone!

I was listening to a song this evening which was a ballad of WWI and happened to notice that it mentioned the popular nicknames of "Tommy" for a British soldier, and "Jerrys" for Germans. It made me wonder if the later cartoon cat-and-mouse duo were so named for being adversaries. Several websites later and it would appear that there is no linguistic link between the two characterizations. Tom is so named for the common appellation of "Tomcat", and Jerry was originally called Jasper when he appeared in his first short.

“Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.”- Beatrix Potter  

I had meant to post this yesterday, so it's actually "Yesterday in History", and for those of you reading from farther east, perhaps even later still. August 16th, 1946. In the aftermath of WWII Britain is in the process of handing over control of India to the native population. There are two major factions within the Indian government, however, The Muslim League and the Indian National Congress (which was mostly Hindu). The short version is that the Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted to form an independent nation, where the population was already predominantly muslim, called Pakistan, and let the other Indian principalities declare for India, Pakistan, or their own independent nations. The Indian National Congress rejected this plan, preferring instead to keep India geographially and politically (i.e. predominatly Hindu) as it was. The Muslim League reacted to the outright rejection by declaring Direct Action Day, and calling for muslim-operated shops to...

Back from my honeymoon with lots to share about historical sites across the Mediterranean, and the museums who love them. First though I thought I would share some sites and vendors who are my go-to resources in the historical and costuming worlds. fabrics-store.com  This is the place for linen. The sell it in a wide variety of weights and colors, both in bulk and by the yard. I use them for both reenactment attire where it has to be really accurate, and for theatre; in fact I once did a show where all of the costumes were 100% linen. If you get on their mailing list and sign up for rewards points you get additional coupons e-mailed to you, and earn points for every purchase you make towards a future one. Richard the Thread  Every costume shop I've ever worked in has ordered from RTT, and it's because they are a great one-stop shop for everything sewing. Boning, elastic, hem puffers, millinery wire, curved rulers, dressforms, buckram, you name it. Shipping is fast and the p...