Matthew Belinkie, Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, John Perich and Matthew Wrather overthink why there were no big movies this weekend, “the summer of the flop,” and Renaissance Faire.
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Well, while Alex Rodriguez is likely to be suspended on Monday for an extended period of time because of Bud Selig’s gross incompetence, he is evidently expected to fight it, and play on Monday. I hope he strings this out as long as possible and then retires before Selig can nail him down, and I don’t even like A-Rod.
Also, the well-worn notion of Rodriguez as a playoff choker is completely false. Granted, there is not a good sample size for him, he’s only played in 75 postseason games, but he has a .369 OBP, a .464 slugging percentage and a .361 wOBA. Basically, he’s hit great in those 75 games, and back in the day he could actually run the bases well and field and stuff too. He was terrible in the last two playoffs, but he was hurt and stuff in serious ways. If only there was a readily available, legal medical drug out there he could take to help him heal. Some sort of hormone maybe… but perhaps I am just a dreamer.
Deltron 3030? Meh. Call me when there’s a new Handsome Boy Modeling School album.
I went to a Renaissance Fair once as a lad and there was a booth with throwing stars you could toss.
Also, hey Breaking Bad, right guys? That’s exciting. And maybe that new show after it, Low Winter Sun starring Mark Strong, will be good. I’m going to give it a shot. It takes place in Detroit so I’ve got that going for me, even if I don’t recognize much of anything out side of Downtown or Midtown, because why would somebody go anywhere else in Detroit?
I don’t know why I turned outside into two words.
Dear Mark Lee;
No. There should not be such a thing.
Thank you.
Justin
Well when it comes to merch at ren faires, quite often it’s hand-made stuff, too, don’t forget that- from the blacksmiths and wood-workers to the people brewing the various meads and beers and ciders available. A ren faire is a jolly-good place to go if you want hand-made crafts.
And with respect to garb, some faires are friendlier than others to non-Elizabethan outfits. Smaller details like having laces on the wrong side of an outfit (peasants should be front, nobles back) aren’t too big of a deal usually, but I do know some faires aren’t all that keen on the fantasy stuff like fairy wings and elf ears. And wearing just any random corset can get women looked down upon, just as having, say, an eighteenth century French getup on a man (think muskateers) could be a bad idea. Also, some aren’t cool with medieval garb, either, which is more common for Society for Creative Anachronism groups (who then may sort of snuff their noses at Elizabethan garb and props, too). People dressed “incorrectly” are called “mundanes,” or “danes” for short- this could mean anything from a Robin Hood outfit to the wrong kind of lace. It’s not necessarily a pejorative, but it often does get used as an insult.
Well, if people who don’t do everything right at the Ren Faire are “danes,” then just call me Cnut.
How does a body pronounce that, and is it better with a British accent?
It’s pronounced like Jessica Simpson’s kid’s middle name, “Knute” — or like a hard “K” sound before the word “newt.”
And yes, it is definitely better with a British accent. Cnut conquered England right before the Norman Conquests, so hearing English historians have to talk about him in history shows, and hearing stuffy British academics say “K-newte” is as good a reason to giggle in this life as any.
yes, the majority of the items at the Ren Faire are handmade and I think that’s a plus-some of the items that I’ve bought are far superior than anything “store bought” and will last even longer. Yes it’s expensive than something story bought, but at the same time it’s how those people make a living (even a majority of the performers at the faire, they’ll travel around the country from faire to faire with the show/act they’ve developed) so I think it’s well worth the cost.
the one I go to in Wisconsin is the longest running Ren Faire and it’s always a good time!
Oh yeah, agreed! I’ve never regretted anything I’ve taken home with me from a faire. My favorite was a gift, though: The blacksmith that goes to the faire my college puts on every year gave me a simple ivy leaf made of iron the year I was chair; it’s probably in the top 5 on my Useless Trinkets Collection list. And it’s pretty/unique/nifty enough that I probably would have been totally fine with paying the amount he charged for them in order to get one. There’s just something really satisfying about the hand-made chainmails and garments and wooden figures and such that makes them just feel better in a normative/subjective way than mass-produced stuff. I’m not sure how much that has to do with the inherent capitalist under (and over) tones in US culture, and I’d totally buy (hah!) into a theory that it comes from a deep-seated urge to support small business within me as a Proud American. Which then could be called a “HA-HAH!” at Britain for their losing the war, since Ren Faires are celebrations of British history, not American.
‘Murica? ;)
I’m going to do a “well actually” moment here: it was Iron Man 3 *not* Pacific Rim that had a special version (recognizable actors/specific product placement) for the Chinese market-something that was talked about at length in the IM3 podcast… (also the vitriol for Pacific Rim in this podcast and the one discussing the movie is astounding…I thought that it would have picked up on all the nuances that the movie had-millenials saving the day at a time when they’re under fire for being a “me me me generation” as well as showing that technology isn’t bad as so many science fiction movies tend to spout)
And the reason (at least to me it’s a legit reason since I love that time period and have studied it endlessly both in school and outside of academia) that there are pirates at Ren Faires, especially ones that focus on the Elizabethan Era, is that England gained much of its wealth through piracy; they would plunder Spanish/Danish/French (but mostly Spanish since they were the richest country at the time) and take what gold/spices/anything of value and sell it through their merchants. Also piracy was the way of life for most men who wanted to create their own fortune but didn’t want to suffer under some noble/the crown (the Assassin’s Creed franchise is even publishing their next game during the “golden age of piracy”)
The selling line for me on seeing Elizabeth: The Golden Age, despite mediocre (at best) reviews and feedback from non-faire buddies was, “Clive Owen as a pirate.” Yar.