And Other Fine Things I Learned in the SCA:

Billing itself as "The Middle Ages as they Should Have Been," the Society for Creative Anachronism is, much like BDS&M, Wicca, and sci-fi fandom, a product of Berkeley in the '60s. The best way to explain SCA is that it's what is often referred to as a "historical recreation." However, there's an awful lot of BDS&M, Wicca, and fandom thrown in, so what this actually means is that large groups of people, most of whom (including—nay, especially—the women) look like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, dress up in ridiculous costumes and pretend they're living in made-up medieval kingdoms. It's a perfect escape from that all-too-disturbing "real world" into a happy fun land painted by pre-Raphaelites on crack.

I've always wondered just what, exactly, the relationship was between the Renaissance Fair folks and the SCA folks. I have a feeling both would deny any, even though the resemblance is plain to see.

Ah who am I kidding. I still have all my AD&D stuff from high school. Except for the sex and the thwacking with sticks, I could be the guy who wrote this article. We gotta hope Olivia ends up being pretty, because she's getting bupkiss in the social skills department from us.