Good Stuff! Lindybeige Rocks!

ByJohn Brown

I’ve been watching Lindybeige videos for a few years now. Lindybeige is the online name for Nikolas Lloyd, a smart, funny geek of the re-enactement, fencing, and RPG line. He’s got a youtube channel that is chock full of videos in which he makes witty and insightful points about ancient and medieval warfare, archaeology, dance, and anything else that takes his fancy.

For example, have you ever seen folks pushing each other about with swords? Is that realistic?

Interesting, what about pushing in a shieldwall?

Food for thought, isn’t it? It makes me want to go read up on shieldwalls. Were they really as he concludes they were? But enough about history and conjecture. What about the truth? What about science? For example, if you believe in science, must you also believe in a certain approved list of theories?

But surely that doesn’t apply to Global Warming Theory, which is now called Man-made Climate Change because the warming bit never panned out. No?

Wow, and he even accepts the data on the warming. Okay, enough about the truth. Back to fantasy geekiness and weapons in fantasy worlds that make sense.

I love this guy. If you’re a fantasy geek and haven’t yet begun to watch Lindybeige, you’ve got a lot of enjoyment ahead of you.

Share

Similar Posts

  • Good Eating in Rock Springs and Laramie, Wyoming

    ByJohn Brown

    A few weeks ago, I had to travel to Denver for business.  I elected to drive instead of fly. The weather was glorious, and I had a book on tape—what could be better?  Driving also allowed me to stop into Rock Springs and Laramie and few other spots to do some research for the novel I’m writing.  And while I was tooling around, I found two excellent places to eat.

    The first was in Rock Springs.  It’s about five minutes off the freeway, tucked in the downtown area, which means it’s a place locals visit. It’s called Broadway Burger Station.  I walked in, past the tables, and took a swivel seat at the counter. The menu listed sandwiches and soup, but I suspect it’s the burgers most people go for.  These are BIG burgers—1/3 to ½ pound of ground beef.  I almost asked for a kid’s meal.  Not only because the portion was smaller but because they serve the kids meals in a cardboard hot rod car!  How cool is that?

    But I went with the basic burger instead. All their burgers come with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, and their special sauce. You can also add other things including mushrooms, avocado sauce, bacon, cheese, chili, egg, ham, jalapenos, and pastrami.  I went with the sautéed mushrooms. Then the very nice server tempted me with a hand-dipped malt, and I said yes because I was only thinking of all of you at the time, wanting to provide a complete and honest review.

    The place was hopping the whole time I was there, and rightly so. The server brought out my burger, fries, and malt, and, man oh man–the burger with tomato and mushrooms was succulent!  The fries were hot and delicious.  And the malt was made with hard ice cream right before my very eyes.  What’s more, I could have easily shared my meal with Nellie, which means we could have both eaten for a total of ten bucks. Great food, super-friendly service, and reasonable prices. If you’re ever passing through Rock Springs and need a place to chow, go to the Broadway Burger Station on 628 Broadway Street, (307) 362-5858.

    On my way back I stopped in Laramie and found a McAlister’s Deli in the shopping strip at 2317 Grand Avenue, (307) 745-3760. This is not the type of deli that you walk into and gag because of the weird meat smells. It’s a soup and sandwich shop. And it’s apparently been doing well. I’d never seen a McAlister’s before, but found out it’s a chain that’s in twenty-two states in the Midwest and South. And Wyoming is currently as far west as you can find one.

    They serve hot sandwiches, including one called The New Yorker (corned beef, pastrami, and swiss) and another called The Big Nasty (1/3 pound beef on a baguette).  They have classic sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, and clubs.  I ordered the Cobb Club with turkey, applewood smoked bacon, gorgonzola cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and a light Parmesan Peppercorn sauce served on ciabatta bread. I also ordered a cup of their vegetable soup and a piece of Colossal Carrot Cake.

    Dude, it was all delicious. Lovely. And in Laramie of all places. Laramie! All these years I never thought to stop because the town looked so unassuming.  Laramie was just that place where Cowboy fans enjoyed hollering and throwing beer bottles at my favorite football team from the neighboring state.  Of course, I did cut them some slack—I mean, what else can you do when your team gets dominated year after year?  Sing Kumbaya? 

    They’re a’running again, Kumbaya . . .

    Just a’stomping us, Lord, Kumbaya . . .

    Freezing misery, Lord, Kumbaya. Oh, Lord, Kumbaya . . .

    Right.  Now I see I’ve misjudged them.  Maybe their football program has been in the doldrums the last few years, but Laramie isn’t a pass-through town.  Next time I’m rolling by on I-80, I’m going to stop again and see what other gems the good folks there have to offer. If you’re in the area, and you love places like Jason’s Deli and Kneaders, stop at McAlister’s Deli. Then take some time to visit the lovely St. Matthew’s cathedral on 3rd street. You can’t miss it: it’s the one with the red doors.

    Share

  • Audio book is on the way

    ByJohn Brown

    This last week I listened to the reading of Bad Penny by Mikael Naramore on our trip down and back to Panguitch (and the forest fire from hell) and then later here at the house and was so happy I hooked up with Naramore. He’s done a wonderful job. He nailed the voices of Frank, Sam, Pinto, Carmen, Ed (ye slimy villain), and all the rest and delivered excellent sound. And the process was so easy.

    Right now ACX is doing its quality control on the production. When they clear it, it will be posted for sale on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.

    I’m very excited to bring Frank to the audio market. I think he and Naramore are going to please a lot of listeners.

    Here’s the final cover for the audio book.

     

    Share

  • Good Stuff! News of the World and two for the Downton Abbey crowd

    ByJohn Brown

    I recently watched a move and two British TV mini-series that were just terrific.

    The movie is News of the World. It’s a Western set in 1870, starring Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate officer who makes a living traveling from town to town in Texas and reading newspapers to local residents for an admission fee of ten cents.

    After departing Wichita Falls, Kidd comes across an overturned wagon on the road and finds the driver, a black freedman, had been lynched. He also finds the stray, young white girl who only speaks Kiowa (the language of an American Indian tribe), that the freedman has been transporting.

    Kidd learns from the girl’s paperwork that she is Johanna Leonberger, who had been kidnapped and by Kiowa six years earlier. She doesn’t speak English. Doesn’t want to go with Kidd. But Kidd is tasked with getting her to safety. Of course there are all sorts of perils and issues along the way that threaten that goal.

    There’s suspense, action, drama, bad guys, and some poignant moments that will move your heart strings. If you like westerns or Tom Hanks, I think you’ll love this movie. It’s the best western I’ve seen in a long time.

    ***

    Those of you enjoyed Downton Abbey will be very happy to hear that Julian Fellowes, who was the executive producer for that series and wrote many of the episodes, is back and has written two more historical dramas with that same type of feel.

    The first is Dr. Thorne,a three-episode miniseries based on the novel by Anthony Trollope.

    It’s set in the late 1800s. Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham, the only son and heir of the squire of Greshamsbury, fall in love. However, Frank’s parents want him to marry wealth because they have very little to leave their son. Mary is penniless and of suspicious birth. She’s not anything at all that would help Frank in the world. And so the drama begins. You get to enjoy the historical setting, the manners, and romantic suspense.

    The second is Belgravia, a six-episode miniseries set in the 1800s and based on the novel by Julian Fellowes himself.

    For you geography buffs, Belgravia is an actual place, an affluent district of London. And the story set there is about two couples. The first, the Richmonds, are part of the aristocracy. The other, the Trenchards, are from the business class.

    The Richmond’s had one child, a son. The Trenchards had one child, a daughter. The two fell in love. But the son was killed in the battle of Waterloo. And the daughter died in childbirth. However, it was an illegitimate childbirth that the Richmonds don’t know about. The Trenchards thought it best, to retain the reputation of their daughter, to have someone else raise him.

    Twenty-five years later, however, both couples still feel the hole those deaths left in their hearts. Mrs. Trenchard feels it’s time to reveal the truth to the Mrs. Richmond. But it does not go as planned. Especially not when the Richmond’s nephew wants the Richmond’s inheritance and is willing to remove all obstacles in his path.

    It’s a story full of manners, heartbreak, suspense, hope, and, well, I won’t tell you the ending. But I will say that if you like these types of historical dramas, you’ll probably love this.

    Share

  • Gladwell, Dish Cloths, and Higher Technology for Tuna

    ByJohn Brown

    The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

    After reading Made to Stick, I decided to read the book that inspired it—The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. I’d read Blink and Outliers by the same author and found both fascinating.  I’m happy to report The Tipping Point is just as good. In it, Gladwell examines what conditions cause ideas, behaviors, messages, and products to spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. 

    In the book he shares a number of situations and studies, including the sudden drop in crime in New York city in the 1990’s (which started by attacking graffiti in the subway), the dramatic popularity of the Blue’s Clues TV program with pre-schoolers, Paul Revere’s success in rousing the citizens along his route (versus the almost total failure of the other guy who rode that night), the resurgence of Hush Puppies shoes, syphilis in Baltimore, Columbia Record’s amazingly effective golden box ad campaign, and a dozen other outbreaks.  From all of these, he extrapolates three rules of social epidemics—The Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor, and The Power of Context.  

    The arguments Gladwell presents are thought-provoking and powerful, but what makes him such a treat to read is how he writes.  Like the best science writers (in fact, I think he IS one of the best), he tells great stories with interesting characters.  He puts the reader on the edge of the seat with mystery, insight, and humor. He makes things that could be incredibly complex seem like first grade math. It’s as if he’s standing right there with you chatting about the subject. Moreover, he does all this from page one.

    Here’s what I mean. I left the book out on the kitchen table one night after reading a few chapters.  The next morning Super Wife came down to quickly eat breakfast and get herself to a meeting.  She made the mistake of opening the book to glance at the first page. Twenty-five minutes later she came up for air and realized she was going to be late and dashed out the door. The writing is pure mind control.  And I loved every minute of it.

    If you’re at all interested in advertising or how fads and movements start, if you want to affect the behavior of customers or local teens, if you just like to read how things work, I think you’ll love this book.

    Sunflower Dish Cloths

    I used to suffer along with subpar dish cloths.  There were the dish cloths with mesh on one side that were so small you had to rinse them after every wiping stroke.  There were the hand cloths made of terri that belonged in a bathroom but were repurposed and were far too big. Then were the cloths that had some slippery crap in the thread that refused to soak up water.  And there were the crocheted things that I think we should have put out of their misery when we first got them. Folks suggested we go to sponges. So we did sponges and had similar results.

    Oh, woe, woe, woe.

    Then a kind and loving friend gave us a set of mystery cloths that were incredible.  They were large enough that we didn’t need to rinse with every wipe.  They had this fantastic weave that was open, yet absorbent, and dried quickly.  And the weave had enough of a texture that you could use it to scrub.  We received those back in 1999.  They lasted us for years and gave us much kitchen cleaning joy.  But, alas, like all of mortality, those brave cloths finally began to give up the ghost. 

    My problem was that I didn’t know who had made those cloths and where I could get more.  We looked all over and couldn’t find them.  And then, at this year’s Garden City Raspberry Days craft fair, we saw them nestled amidst all the kitsch!  We bought as many as we could afford, and went our way rejoicing, fully expecting these to last us until we have grandchildren.  Maybe we’ll pass them down as priceless heirlooms.  Maybe some day they’ll be featured on Antique Roadshow.  Maybe they’ll be resurrected with us and become the official dish cloth of the Millennium when the world is renewed (it could happen).

    If you’re sick and tired of sponges and crappy dish cloths, let me suggest you pick up some Sunflower Dish Cloths made by Sangamon Mill. You can order them in bulk at http://www.sangamonmill.com/ , or in smaller quantities online from places like Amazon.

    Everiholder’s Veggie & Tuna Press & Strainer

    Do you eat tuna? If so, you know the biggest pain is draining the can. But you don’t have to suffer along any longer using the lid, which doesn’t do a good job at all anyway.  There’s a better solution, which Super Wife discovered. It’s called the Tuna and Veggies Press and Strainer by Evriholder: http://www.evriholder.com/Tuna-Veggie-Press.asp.  With this little blue piece of higher technology you easily and quickly press all the juices away, and nothing slips out the sides. We love our.  You can order it online, although Super Wife found it at our local evil empire Wal-Mart store.

    That’s it for now.  In the next review, I’m going to reveal two killer recipes over which all who partake will salivate and drool—Chocolate Éclair Cake and Dill Potato Salad.

    Share

  • I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

    ByJohn Brown

    IAmNotASerialKillerYou can scare the crap out of me (Aracnaphobia), and I will love you forever. You can make me bite my nails in terrible suspense (Wait Until Dark, The Village) or throw supernatural at me (Poltergeist) and I will sing with praise. But the moment you do gruesome, the moment you start showing me entrails and organs, my discomfort level shoots through the roof.

    And this is why I would not have finished  I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Well’s if I had just picked it up off a shelf–because the main character is the son of a woman who owns a mortuary. We get to see him help process a mutilated body very early in the book, pumping fluids in etc., and Wells knows his craft so I was THERE. I’m sure it’s not too gruesome for some, but I just have issues with organs. I don’t know why. I also have an issue with clowns.

    Clowns are, by far, the scariest things around. And this is not because I read the book IT by Stephen King as a wee lad because I didn’t. It’s because they’re painted vessels of evil. End of story. They’re perfect examples of the freakazoids that lurk in the uncanny valley.

    Anyway, I’d heard Wells read a portion of this book that had all of us in the room crying because we were laughing so hard. So I read on, telling myself I had to at least get to that part. And I am so very happy I did. 

    I Am Not A Serial Killer is young adult story about a good-hearted teen named John Cleaver who is a sociopath with all the traits shared by serial killers. John’s in counseling, but more importantly, he is convinced he can prevent himself from becoming a serial killer by keeping rules he’s made for himself like not watching people for too long and complimenting someone when they make him angry. Such rules, he hopes, will keep him from feeding compulsions he won’t be able to resist.  The problem is a real serial killer has come to town (but unlike any you’ve seen before). And John may be the only one who can stop him. Will he let go of his rules to save the town? Or will he keep his monster asleep while others die around him?

    It’s a fascinating situation (without a clown in sight, may the writing gods be praised). And Wells takes the reader on a journey through it that includes mystery, dread, and humor. In the hands of some other author, that would be enough. But Wells does more than entertain us. He gives us things to think about. He gives us great characters to boot–come on, when was the last time you read a book where the hero was a likeable sociopath? And most of the gruesome is up front anyway.

    Read this book. Skim the body processing if you must. But you simply don’t want to miss the rest. It was a fabulous read and I recommend it highly.

    The US version comes out in March of 2010. But you can get the UK version now on Amazon UK, Borders UK, etc. The links are all here on Well’s site.

    Share

8 Comments

  1. The sword pushing is really bad. Most sword arts I know are based on wrestling or some other “hand” martial art. As close as they are, if it was “realistic”, one party or the other would have grabbed the other’s sword arm or sword, then gutted him.

    One other thing is that close makes your face real vulnerable to the other’s guard. Doesn’t take much to adjust, getting the guard in line for a strike.

    Modern perceptions on swordsmanship make me shake my head.

  3. Hi Mr. Brown

    I was.

    Today, at 63 and having survived a stroke seven years ago, I’m an ex-martial artist and ex-swordmaker.

    I think there’s a short post on Wikipedia. Another swordmaker, one Michael Tinker Pearce and I used to spend some time teaching some of the local sword martial artists how to cut with a sword.

    In this area, the Seattle area if you will, in the early oughts, there were several “swordsmanship groups”. In the early part of the century most of the western stuff was based on rapier. There are a lot of surviving documents of the arts on rapier………

    Over the last few years, there’s been a transition. Now most of the western work is longsword.

    Back to the “oughts”, there used to be several Japanese Sword Arts groups here too. I’m not sure what there is today. The thing is that instructors have a “shelf life”, depending on age, condition and what’s going on in one’s life.

    Anyway, yeah. I’ve practiced Tai Chi Sword and Italian Rapier. Have had more than a small introduction to Italian and German longsword and Italian Sidesword. My introduction to JSA was fairly small.

    Now saying what I did a couple of days ago about sword pushing, Tai Chi has or had an exercise with practice swords that you could consider sword push hands. But the point of the exercise is to gain sensitivity and feel for what the other is doing with his sword. You’re certainly not pushing.

  4. Angus,

    That is awesome. Hats off to you. And a sword maker to boot. From what you experienced with the rapier and long sword, did you feel that as a personal arm (as opposed to battlefield arm), the rapier simply had so many pluses over the long sword, that it was inevitable that it eventually dominated? It seems to me the rapier would be fairly useless in a line of battle against armor and shields. And as swords in battle waned, so did the long sword. What do you think?

  5. Hello John

    What looks like a simple question but which would require a really long and complex answer if done right. {grin}

    Since we’re discussing them as personal arms, I’d say the cultural changes, and the {potential} fact that swords were becoming male jewelry had more to do with it. I don’t know that I would say that the rapier as such had any decisive advantages over the longsword.

    One of the things that got beat into my head early in my study of medieval swords was that to understand the weapon, or the sword art, you needed to have an idea of the culture. The culture changed constantly from, say, 1200AD through the present time.

    Swords were already in decline as weapons of war in the thirteenth century. You weren’t going to cut your way through a surcoat over maille over padding. missile weapons {crossbows and longbows specifically}, and polearms were far more effective against armor.

    Swords in use as civilian arms {as much sense as that makes for the medieval period} go back a ways. I can’t think of where to find my source at the moment, but there was a prohibition on teaching sword and buckler within the city limits of London in the 1290’s. I can’t remember the name of the document, but there is one dated in the same time period from Switzerland that shows sword and buckler as a personal weapon system. The earliest longsword manual I know of is early 14th century, a German named Lichtenaur.

    Anyway, I got a little carried away. Facts on the ground on swords in any given period in Europe are rare. There are some tidbits, but you’ll find that there are a lot of opinions that can’t always be backed up by facts. Some of the most respected scholars of medieval weaponry will really caveat an answer. I’ve tried to learn from their example because there’s still a lot to learn, and it’s incredibly easy to be wrong.

  6. Although it seems they made a comeback in the 15th and 16th centuries with the Landsknecht and Reislaufen infantry blocks–pikes supported by powder weapons and men with those massive swords–as the situation on the battlefield changed.

    I know that soldiers will often carry whatever is in their kit, but if you weren’t a soldier, and you had the means, it just seems to me that a rapier or small sword with its speed is more suited to personal defense on the streets than some variety of big honking killer of steel 🙂

    Yes, fashion and laws and culture would modify the choice. But if you yourself had to choose and base your choice, not on any historical data, but simply on how well you think you could fight other opponents around town and out on the road with small swords, long swords, knives, or clubs, what would you select? I’m assuming most opponents wouldn’t be wearing armor, although a highwaymen waiting for you along a stretch of road might.

    And I’m asking you because I think you will have far more insight into this than I, having spent time using them. Angus, your personal choice. What would it be?

  7. Hi John

    I could say “the thing about swords”, and lay a line of bs. But I’m not really into that. I will say that there are several perceptions of these weapons that are, maybe a little off. At the end of this, I will give you an opinion.

    One of them is that most medieval swords were heavy. Not so much. The “big honking” swords you mention, sometimes also referred to as zhweihanders averaged about 5.5lbs. That would be with a blade/ ricasso length of 42 inches and a total length of 58 to 60.

    The 15th century longsword popularized in Germany and Italy in the fifteenth century, averaged 2.75lbs to 3lbs. Blade lengths from 35 to 37 and total lengths between 45 and 49 inches. They vary more than that, but this is where the bulk of the surviving antiques seem to lie. What I’m discussing here are not the “great swords”, which dimensionally are similar but could run up to 5lbs.

    Most single hand medieval swords would run about 1.7 to 2.5 lbs. Blade lengths range all over the place, my favorite is 31 to 32 inches.

    Depends on the period with rapiers, during the transition, they might be 2.75lbs and have a blade length of 36 inches. During the peak period in England some blade lengths exceeded 50 inches. These were a little unwieldy.

    If you consider rapiers for the whole period of their primary use, they averaged around 3lbs. The longer the blade, the more point specific.

    Before the stroke, I got to play the “Uneven weapons” sparring. And the one thing I learned is if you know what the other guy needs to do to defeat you, and what you need to do to get to him, and the other guy is clueless, the odds are in your favor, never mind the weapons.

    If the other guy has a clue, the weapon can give an advantage.

    Not what I would choose, but of those mentioned longsword has a bit of an advantage over rapier, and a healthy advantage of the single hander.

    The rapier’s real advantage is the blade length, and the fact a lot of practioners seem to underestimate it.

    “In Period”, the rapier masters turned the sword art into a science. Many rapier masters taught their students how to beat swordsmen, what a man with a sword would have to do, and how not to let him.

    More shortly

  8. We didn’t touch on the katana or the jian, popular sword types here in America with their own fans.

    Down to cases. For my own use, I’d prefer a single hand medieval sword. Today, it doesn’t have the cachet of the others, but its likely more versatile. Reading and trying to guess why you want the “best”, for me it would be that using a baldric and scabbard to carry it, it would be the easiest of the three to carry. Its the easiest to deploy in close quarters. Trying to draw a rapier quickly in close quarters just isn’t going to work. If you opponent closes with you, prevents the draw, and uses a dagger, your toast.

    With the longsword, that long hilt gets in the way. If you’re carrying it belted, its difficult to draw fast. If you’re carrying it in a baldric, you can deploy it fairly quickly, but if your opponent manages to get a hand on that long hilt, you’ve got a problem. In Northern Italy, part of the fashion in the early 14th century was to carry it in hand by the scabbard.

    I think in a heroic sense, the longsword might have the advantage. Once deployed by a good practioner, it’s the quickest of the three in movement. Cutting limbs off, lopping a head off, thrusting through an opponent’s eye before they can react, yeah, this might be the weapon. It’s also the best weapon to use in a non-lethal fashion, crossing swords and taking the other guy down in a wrestling hold is best done with the longsword {though I’m sure that could draw disagreement}.

    The rapier though, is the paramount dueling weapon. If your blade is 42 inches long, and the longsword blade is 36 inches, your measure is at least 6 inches deeper, which means you can penetrate him while he’s still trying to close with you.

    That longsword guy is going to have to deal with that point aimed at his eye, and it’s not as easy it sounds. He can slap it aside and try to rush. You take a step back, draw your rapier back towards you bringing the point back on line. If he persists his rush, he walks your blade into himself. On the other hand, if he can get “crossed swords” for a moment, and can grab your blade, your day’s about to go really bad.

    I have to admit I played with this in the fantasy series I’ve written. Mainly in book 4 and 5, and the first three take place “in the field”.

    I studied rapier for three reasons. I wanted to learn it as a simulator {I was making them at the time}, I wanted to see if you could use Tai Chi principles and techniques with it {you can}, and I wanted to learn how to defeat it with my chosen weapon. The latter depends on the rapierist’s grasp of his art, and his knowledge of what a swordsman needs to do to get to him. It would also help if he’s a bit arrogant.

    I probably didn’t answer things how you want. Part of that is caution, “back in the day”, if you answered things publicly, you could wish you didn’t.

    But looking at that paragraph again, I’d answer the same, the single hand sword. 31.5 inch blade, 2.2lbs, center of gravity 5.5 to 6 inches in front of the cross. Edge sharpened such that its fairly blunt at the cross, and from thirteen inches from the point to the point its as sharp as I can get it. Everything about the single hand sword is a weapon, the pommel {to pummel with}, the cross, and the blade.

    And truthfully, I’d be more concerned about facing the longsword than the rapier. A really good longswordsman scary indeed.

Comments are closed.