Welcome!

A shout out to my LJ friends to give a warm welcome to the lovely and talented vittoriosa.
Some of you already know her, some of you may remember her from my "anachronism" post a couple of months back.

Five answers for Sasha

1. Given unlimited funding and time, what sort of

trouble

, er ... personal research would you get up to?
I would learn both modern and Classical Japanese and I would go to Japan and look at extant period garments up close. I'd probably try  apprentice myself to a traditional textile artist over there as well. Imagine learning how to do surihaku or shibori or katazome.

There's also a nice man in Germany I would talk to about building me a better hurdy gurdy than the one I have now. Assuming I ever get my mojo back, voice lessons would be on the slate.

2. Being known as an 'internet celebrity expert' (and you are - Uncle Eff thinks so) - more burden than pleasure? Or vice-versa?
Uncle Eff needs a boot in the backside. If he'd bother to update HIS website I wouldn't be in this fix.

Seriously, it's about a 50/50 proposition. Burdens include:

• having to be up on things well enough to at least remember which book I read it in when someone asks a question.
• being a weirdo magnet.
  
• being patient. This means answering the same question over and over again as each new person asks it. Or coping with someone who's just not seeing the detail or getting the concept. Or realizing they've just read so many resources at once their brains are full and they just can't absorb the concept Right This Minute.
• Makiwaramania. Having "fans" is a daunting prospect.
  

The fun parts:

• going back to that book to try to answer a question and noticing something I didn't see the last time around.
• getting to meet like-minded maniacs from all over the world, usually electronically, sometimes in person.
  
• more homework!

3. How did you satisfy your history-geek jollies befire SCA/LH?
I read. A LOT.

4. Your idea of The Perfect Meal?
I enjoy too many cuisines to come up with a menu, if that's what you're asking. Regardless, the Perfect Meal is one shared with excellent company.

5. Stealing a question from jillaw, is there a society wide belief that you think is a crock?
We're on the same page regarding the value of "I don't know."
"The Dream" (TM) makes me want to throw things. "The C stands for Creative" is another phrase that makes me want to shake people. Fine, we started as a costume party. That was 42 years ago. We've grown up some since then. We've got legal status as a non-profit educational organization. Let's act like it, at least part of the time. I associate these phrases with intellectual laziness, wooly thinking and a patent refusal to grow beyond the show-up-and-have-a-good-time phase.