The Idea Solicitation For December Days Post

[silveradept]

It's the middle of November already, which means it's time to come up with a broad yet specific topic to talk about for thirty-one days in December. Suggestions? Either based on "this sounds cool" or "now that I have gotten to know you a bit through our interactions, I think you'd find lots to talk about on this subject", whichever works.

I do have a backup plan, but I always like soliciting ideas from all of you because you all have brilliant ideas for what to talk about.

Also, this is the rough part of the year, and it's going to be especially rough because many of us aren't going to be able to safely interact in person with our relatives and friends in the usual celebratory manner. It's normal to feel like this is weird or wrong and endless. But there are signs that things are turning the corner, and hopefully that means there is an end in sight that will allow us to come out of this wiser and better able to interact with the world.

Comments

[james]

Talk topic ideas:

If you could go back to any one point in your life and make one change, what would it be and how do you think your life would be different now?

If you could own one artifact from any point in time and place, but you could never ever show it to anyone or let on that you have it, what item would you want? (Also, if it were an ancient book you could not "magically" show up knowing how to read/speak that language bc you learned it from the book. Magic wish and magic takebacks! ;-) )

What movie or tv show (or play, musical, etc) do you wish you could go back and see again for the first time, with no spoilers?

[madgastronomer]

Historical handicrafts. Including but not limited to metalwork, fiber arts, carving various things, painting, beadwork... pick a culture, a period and a craft and combine them, do a little research, and POOF, it's a topic? Might be too far out of your field, but it occurred to me. I'll help you research if you want to do it.

[silveradept]

It is a good idea, and I mostly am concerned that my DEX score is too low to pull it off, especially if it requires fine control from tools too small to fit my hands.

ETA: Unless this is just a research thing rather than a "pick something and try to do it" kind of request.

[madgastronomer]

I was thinking mostly the history of them and maybe sharing pictures from others rather than picking up something new, so you could pick different things to do histories on, like pick 4 or 5 and do several days on the history of each. But if you wanted to, I could help you pick things that are low-DEX. But like, don't feel obligated or anything, I'm just offering. Like spinning, maybe, which is easy enough for four year olds (who don't have great fine motor control) to do, and you can get big spindles for pretty cheap. Some kinds of weaving. Lucet cords, maybe, I dunno, or kumihimo (Japanese cord making) might be easier, since that's mostly moving bobbins around. Sorry, that went all stream-of-consciousness.

[madgastronomer]

Ah, did not see the edit. Yes, just a research thing.

[silveradept]

It's helpful for understanding. Admittedly, I'm not much of a crafter (part of it is low DEX due to large hands compared to the tools, part of it is anxiety about doing things "right" that makes it difficult to do things enough until they can turn out right), even if there are other crafters in the house.

It is still a good idea, and I don't know enough about what I don't know to try and decide on what would be good things to look at. (And, because I'm still working on the Giving of Grief, my brain hlepfully wants to format this into "so they talk about Weavers and Smiths and such on Pern, but they never go into actual details, so what would a lowish-tech society actually have at their disposal to create the things they claim to have?")

[madgastronomer]

I can't help with smithing, but Pern would absolutely have multiple things you can spin (including native plants fibers, plus sheep and maybe goats and other animals, maybe they brought cotton and flax too; probably not silk unless somebody thought to bring frozen larvae), spinning wheels, horizontal pedal looms, and even brocade looms. Maybe even water-powered Jacquard looms. The plans would be in the computers, and those are all 14th C European technologies (bar the Jacquard, which is more 18th C IIRC, but still sufficiently simple-mechanical that it would be doable), which they're thoroughly up to. They'd have various kinds of lacemaking (which would be highly regionalized), knitting, and crochet, because again, they wouldn't have to develop them from scratch and the tools are easy to make. Spinning, lacemaking, knitting and crochet would all be the equivalent of cottage industries, things people could make a living doing in their own living spaces, which makes them ideal for anybody with a disability or who is otherwise not suited to participate in more physical labor. I'll stop there, but seriously I can go on and on about this.

[silveradept]

That's the kind of interest and willingness to deep dive that makes a good December Days. I feel like a topic like that might require a bit of preparation beforehand to do the research. And possibly bring willing to find some friendly SCA folk who would be willing to talk about it, because it's almost a guarantee that if I want to talk about the guilds of Pern and their various methods and things, then I'm gong to find re-enactors and people trying to preserve, revive, or otherwise keep that knowledge and technique alive. (For Evil Ex reasons, the SCA is not a place I want to be active.)

[madgastronomer]

Hey, since I'm watching the Dragon/ISS docking, you could do space travel, the small things people don't know about. Like do an entry on the rituals astronauts do before a launch.

[azurelunatic]

Marginalia?

Saturnalia!