#parf-fan video

[parf-fan]

Star Shanties at PARF 2024

Geeky folk at its finest (as is to be expected of music written by Arthur Rowan), the Star Shanties project is not simply music about Star Wars: these are songs that could exist within the world of Star Wars. Each of the songs has lore, not all of which is relayed within the show. Full lore/flavor-text can be found in the video descriptions on the Twin Suns Entertainment YouTube channel, along with lyrics and the earlier versions of the songs.

Many a Parsec Running Down from Kessel Hondo Ohnaka (only flavor-text; no lyrics in description) Old Man Thrawn (only lyrics; no flavor-text in description) Hydian Way

Sing a Song of Obi Wan Bound for Nar Shaddaa The Trooper's Lament Hondo Ohnaka (again) (still no lyrics in description) Ghosts of Alderaan

This last one is the same songs from Saturday's 3:30pm set, plus one from Saturday's 1pm set. I therefore shall not bother linking them again. Still worth watching, if only because they added some PARF-specific verses to Hondo Ohnaka.

Not appearing in any of these performances but you should still go watch them if you haven't: Song of the Midnight Blade Admiral Raddus Let Shine Your Orbs Of Life Day

Time presses, and I have done naught to this footage and audio besides the fades at either end (and the patching of the third set). Please be aware that I cheer VERY loudly and somewhat shrilly throughout the first set; and there is hecking surrounding noise in the second set, as well as sunlight shenanigans (which I'd probably have left in anyway, for artistic reasons).

[makalauriels]

So many good additions in the notes and I think we might need a discord or something. I cannot comprehend why so many fans and casuals are saying the Numenor storyline does nothing for them when it's everything to me.

They could go anywhere, people in their 20s have no idea what they're doing and we live until 70-90 years old. I imagine life must be even more confusing for Numenorean youth who live up till 250 or so. Idk, don't quote me on this. Add in a political schism roiling under the surface that none of these lore episode breakdown videos can properly cover, we've got the recipe for insane Byzantine Numenorean Games.

Isildur and Valandil might join forces, they might have a homoerotic break up and make it everyone's problem (ala Rhaenyra and Alicent of HotD). Earien and Kemen might be united as King's Men or Faithful (Earien could potentially be the architect of Morgoth's Temple or of Gondor and Arnor, 50/50), They might play Romeo and Juliet (and try my patience). The possibilities are endless with the young cast.

The key ingredient in a Numenor story must be death and how we grapple with our mortality. In fact, I think Rings of Power has made it one of the central themes of the show. Elven tree memorials and now the introduction of fading, Harfoot memorial ceremonies and little apple seeds they plant in a grove for their dead (I am going to cry if they show Poppy amongst the apple trees she planted for her family), Southlanders with the looming orc threat, all the storylines have a kernel of looming death somewhere. But I suspect the Akallabeth will be season 4 and we will have a long time to build up to that.

Lol, I was wondering whether I missed a name somewhere when you said two names. It's Ontamo's fiancee right? Imdb said her name is Mairen, which parf edhellen is telling me is the female form of Mairon. Yeah, Ontamo's definitely toast. Dude's dating Sauron!

i am anxious!!!

[zloyodessit]

Yuriy Dud and Co - Young video bloggers in service of Russia's GRU

Information about Dud's bias driven by Russian military intelligence has leaked to the Russian media.

In September, when I was actively covering the Belarus unrest and all the phenomena accompanying it, such as the widespread exposure of Russian GRU's trail, I penned a piece titled "NEXTA creator's interview with Yuriy Dud: GRU doesn't let strangers anywhere near its people." The op-ed explained that the interview that Stepan Putilo, the man behind the main protest-promoting Telegram channel in Belarus sat down precisely with Russian host Yuriy Dud for a solid reason.

Indeed, what's wrong with the star of Russian "independent journalism", Yuriy Dud, winner of the "Profession – Journalist" prize established by Open Russia NGO, led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky (the guy tenderly cared for by the GRU), who interviewed Alexander Nevzorov, the elite pundit from the GRU's journalistic workshop, now interviewing another star – the creator of the Telegram channel with more than a million readers, the one that's been promoting the Belarusian opposition, supervised by the GRU, covering GRU-coordinated protests, and being cross-promoted by the GRU-affiliated Telegram platforms?

What can I say? Two blooming younglings, both fed from the same trough of the Russian military intelligence, met for a nice conversation –that's what it is.

After I released that article, I received a bulk of disgruntled comments both in the comment section and my DMs, coming from Dud's fans, NEXTA readers, those empathizing with the Belarusian protesters, and just internet bots. Most of the real users behind those comments seemed to be mad at me simply due to their unwillingness or inability to actually think.

And now, less than six months on, we see in open sources some very interesting reports stating that the ideologist of the "For Putin!" campaign, ex-deputy of the State Duma with the pro-Putin United Russia party Konstantin Rykov owns 50% of the content on Yuriy Dud's YouTube channel, which pretty much explains how this ambitious journalist rookie managed to make his way up so high from the bottom. But there's more...

The thing is that Konstantin Rykov is parf of the closest entourage of Vladislav Surkov, the GRU's gray cardinal and the architect of unrecognized republics. By the way, if someone is not in the know, it's Rykov who has once set up such online media outlets as Vzlyad.ru and Dni.ru, which are now under the direct control of Vladislav Surkov's right hand Alexei Chesnakov and, as a result, directly subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defense, or rather, its military intelligence, where a separate structural unit is responsible for the media domain.

So, my dear fans of Mr Dud and the NEXTA channel, as well as sympathizers of Belarusian protests, here is such an easy puzzle for you to solve: Add all these things up, won't you?

https://medium.com/@zloyodessit2.0/yuriy-dud-and-co-young-video-bloggers-in-service-of-russias-gru-4ce77e2141b1

[chillyspoon]

Making some quick workshop aids

No detailed builds here. Just three quick aids that I made for my workshop this week. None of the designs is my own although I can’t recall where I saw one of them because it’s so darn simple.

Bench Dog Extractor

Hand Sanding Pad

Bandsaw circle jig (update)

Bench Dog Extractor

I wrote a small section about Peter Parfitt’s Parf Guide System MkII in my July 8th 2019 post about putting a new top on my little workbench. I’m a big fan of this system, which is marketed under the UJK brand by Axminster Tools & Machinery. It produces an MFT bench top with close tolerances, which is accurate and makes the perfect tracksaw station.

One of the side effects of the close tolerances is that it can be very difficult to remove the bench dogs from their holes particularly the lowest ones such as the UJK Guide Pups.

In one of Peter’s own New Brit Workshop videos on YouTube he describes making a simple tool for extracting 20mm dogs more easily. I followed his approach relatively closely and made the little tool shown below.

Hand Sanding Pad

Peter Millard’s (10 Minute Workshop) Hand Sanding Pad design is so simple that it’s all but self-explanatory. In Peter’s case he uses Festool sander heads with a handle directly mounted. In mine I have the head from a broken Aldi Workzone Random Orbit Sander. I fixed this to a disk of 9mm plywood using the three screw holes that are used to attach the head to the main body of the sander. I added a small wooden drawer pull as the handle fixed with some CA glue and a single screw . Peter’s video describes his approach clearly so there’s little else for me to say.

Bandsaw circle jig (update)

Technically I made this jig back when I re-enforced the lid of a soft plastic bucket for my cheap alternative to an Onedia Dust Deputy, described in Buy another Oneida Dust Deputy Deluxe or go east?

As you can see from the original photo used in that article, it was simply a piece of plywood clamped to the table of my bandsaw after being passed about half way through with the blade.

My update was to add a runner and a fence stop.

I’m honestly not sure where I first saw jigs of this type, it may even have been my Dad when he got his bandsaw many years back. At some point I’ll make a new jig which doesn’t require a pin in the workpiece but I’ll wait until I have a project needing that difference before doing so.

The runner was made in the same way as any runner for a mitre slot on a table saw, router table or any other piece of machinery.

I rip cut a piece of timber (hardwood if it’s for a high use jig such as a cross cut sled) to a little wider than the slot and then gradually reduce its width a fraction at a time until it just about moves in the slot with a little friction. The piece must be shallower than the depth of the slot, so I usually take care of that before addressing the width. With those steps done, I placed the runner into the slot on top of a few washers to raise it just above the table surface. I added alternating drops of CA glue and PVA wood glue, then fitted my existing jig carefully over the bandsaw blade and brought it gently down into position on top of the table and the waiting glue of the runner. When the CA cured (15 seconds or so), I slid the jig horizontally back towards me and clamped the runner in place until the PVA cured another 45 mins or so later. I didn’t even bother adding screws, and later verified that they weren’t necessary by dropping the whole damn thing.

With the saw running I ran the jig back into position horizontally, to clear up any minor catches in the blade slot. I turned off the saw and brought down the blade guard. Then I ensured that the blade teeth were lined up with my axis line on the jig (in place from when I originally made it) and clamped the unit to the table of the bandsaw. I measured up and then cut an L shaped block of softwood which I clamped into position and then screwed into position beneath the jig to act as a stop fence.

These changes make it more accurate. When the circle jig is slid onto the table, it will always stop with the teeth in the right position relative to the axis of rotation. There’s also an additional measure of safety due to the runner and fence stop keeping the jig locked from two horizontal positions. A single clamp to the table and the jig is rock steady.

Lastly a rub of machine wax to the ugly underside of the jig meant that it is ready to use once more.

[parf-fan]

boy I just Fucking Love filming queen's court only to find three minutes from the end that APPARENTLY I didn't press the button all the way and didn't capture ANYTHING AT ALL – and on a day I was using ANGLES and ZOOMING and CHARACTER FOCUS and there's only four days left of main season plot I'm going to cry.

[parf-fan]

And that's a wrap for the 2024 season! For my part, I enjoyed the hell out of the season and did not end it with closure (through no fault of my own, for once). The only reason I'm not in a rotten headspace about the lack of closure is reflected in my choice of phrasing for the opening of this post: the sheer amount of footage I captured this year and the anticipation of finally getting to sink my teeth into it, putting together that cinematic edit I've been dreaming about since 2017.

Final count: One-hundred and nineteen (119) shows. Three-hundred and twenty-three (323) gigabytes. Seventy-one hours, twenty-five minutes, and thirty-nine seconds (71:25:39) of footage.

As part of reviewing all this footage to begin work on those cinematic edits, I'll get started right away on posting the raw footage to the PARF-fan Facebook. This will not, I fear, be a swift process. It took me twenty-one days to get through the twenty-six videos from 2022, which I cared about significantly less than these.

As a compromise, I've begun posting individual one-off numbers from Finales in Song to the PARF-fan Highlights youtube channel. If there are any particular moments you would like access to sooner, message me and I'll toss 'em up there. I recorded every single Finale from the Saturday of Viking Weekend through the end of the season, with the exception of both days of Wizarding Weekend (as I was ill at the time, no I will not stop being salty about that). I also have the Saturday Finale of Pyrates' Invasion; as well as Off The Cuff on 9/21, 9/29, 10/6, 10/12, 10/19, 10/20, and 10/27; and Whose Jest from 9/21 and 10/13. (For that matter, I have the 2023 Finales from 9/30, 10/1, 10/14, and 10/22; and 2023 Off The Cuff from 10/1 and 10/22; and 2023 Boarshead Brawl with its multiple endings from 9/16, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/14, 10/15, 10/21, 10/22, 10/28, and 10/29; and I'd have more if I'd realized sooner that the ending changed daily rather than weekly, and also if it hadn't rained so blessed much.)

[parf-fan]

PARF-fan's 2022 raw footage masterlist

These links all lead to the PARF-fan Facebook, as I am unwilling to muck about with chronology on the PARF-fan YouTube, or put completely raw footage there. As it was unfair of me to sit on this footage just because it wasn't to my standards, this is my compromise. You need not be logged onto Facebook to view these.

Disasterpiece: The Moral Allegory and Fantastical Tale of the Fair Young Maiden and the Goblin King and the Confounding Maze – August 28th – Pyrate Invasion

Rakish Rogues – September 10th – Wizarding Weekend

Midday Revels – September 10th – Wizarding Weekend

Sirens and Rogues – September 10th – Wizarding Weekend

Ultimate Joust – September 10th – Wizarding Weekend

Disasterpiece – September 4th – Heroes & Villains – The Moral Allegory and Fantastical Tale of the Fair Young Maiden and the Goblin King and the Confounding Maze

The Sirens – October 2nd – Oktoberfest

Sirens and Rogues – October 2nd – Oktoberfest

Tournament of Arms – October 8th – Celtic Weekend

Ultimate Joust – October 8th – Celtic Weekend

Finale in Pub Song – October 8th – Celtic Weekend

Queen's Court – October 9th – Celtic Weekend

Boarshead Brawl – October 9th – Celtic Weekend

Tournament of Arms – October 9th – Celtic Weekend

Halloween Queen's Court – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Boarshead Brawl – October 29th – Halloweekend III

The Sirens (Halloween) – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Rakish Rogues (Halloween) – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Midday Revels – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Tournament of Arms – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Ultimate Joust – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Finale in Pub Song – October 29th – Halloweekend III

Halloween Boarshead Brawl – October 30th – Closing Day

Halloween Tournament of Arms – October 30th – Closing Day

Sirens and Rogues (Halloween) – October 30th – Closing Day

Halloween Ultimate Joust – October 30th – Closing Day

[parf-fan]

Video update

Though I thought myself truthful when promising to begin screening and posting my videos right away, I quickly realized that I would prefer to first make available an example of each main-season plotline show for those who could not attend, or could only attend Halloween. Because, of course, the order I filmed things in is not indicative of the order the shows take place within a given day.

But the thing about plot-show stages is that they're big; and the thing about the blocking and choreography of the 2024 season is that it took no prisoners when it came to making full use of that space; and the thing about my camera is that I can't point it everywhere at once. Therefore, I have spent the past two weeks putting together what I have dubbed “logistical edits” of the main-season plot shows.

These edits are pieced together not with an eye for drama or cinematography, or even storytelling; rather, with an eye for that which is indicative of the overall or “average” version of the show. Replacing early-installment weirdness with later-season norms; swapping out footage (and occasionally audio) when something is flubbed or disrupted; scavenging my plethora of character-focused zoomed-in footage to isolate the rare moments when I pointed the camera at the whole of the action: that sort of thing. (Also dispensing with as much motion-sickness fodder as possible.)

I have finished everything at this point except for Ultimate Joust, which I've determined what parts shall come from what video, and Finale in Song, which I've barely even considered. I hope to have them done by the end of this week, and shall post them as soon as I may.

[parf-fan]

If anyone is curious how seriously I take my archival efforts, or how much I've learned from/since 2022, behold my field guides for ONE show on ONE weekend:

This is gonna be the year I finally have enough footage of enough types to make a proper cinematic edit like I've wanted to since 2017.

[parf-fan]

I come bearing an update of sorts, featuring my usual lack of brevity.

I have spoken previously on here about my grand and lofty multistepped video-editing plans that require learning and hefty investment of time and energy. I've also spoken about how Executive Function Deficit Disorder – more officially but misleadingly known as adhd – leaves me with a consistent deficit of time and energy, and brings about floundering on multistepped processes.

I captured a reasonable amount of footage in 2022, and quite a bit of footage in 2023. I am on track to capture quite a lot of footage in 2024, potentially even with minimal detracting from my own enjoyment of the shows at the time. Some of you may recall that I filmed more shows during the 2020 season than I did not, and posted about half of them on the PARF-fan Facebook, unscreened and unedited. I also still have unprocessed footage from 2018 and even 2017, the years on which I cut my metaphorical teeth as far as archiving the Faire goes. My intention is for all of this to land on the PARF-fan YouTube in one form or another, but I insist on it happening in chronological order. None of this jumping around year to year for me.

I've also spoken here before about how it is unfair of me to withhold what I've archived just because it's not yet to my standards. This season, I am resolved to have my shit together with filming more than ever before, and that makes such withholding even sillier. To that end, I shall be posting what I film this year more or less as I go, giving it a basic screening to ensure nothing is too objectionable, and leaving the proper editing for later. As stated, it shall be on the Facebook and not the YouTube, though YouTube plays videos better (almost like that's its purpose or something), because I am far more willing to play fast and loose with chronology on Facebook.

However! Because of personal reasons unrelated to chronology, I am unwilling to address 2022 after 2024. To that end, I shall begin this process with my 2022 footage and make my way through my 2023 footage before posting my 2024 footage. All footage from the Megan-Zach-Mary 'verse shall wait until I'm caught up on the Jules 'verse. I'm hoping to get at least two videos posted each day – which will still make it more than a month before I get to 2024, so I'll make every effort to post more frequently than that; but it simply won't be viable at all times.

I shall start the upload process as soon as I've posted this li'l update.

[parf-fan]

Here's a fun fact about me. I filmed main-season Ultimate Joust seven-and-a-half separate times this year, and I was so concerned about capturing the various performances of the folk upon the dais that I only remembered to focus extensively on the knights in one (1) of those recordings. I'm not quite sure what that tells you about me, but it sure tells you something.

[parf-fan]

As soon as I get more than three batteries for this camera, it's all over for you hoes.

[parf-fan]

2022 – Rakish Rogues – September 10 – Wizarding Weekend

Please note that this footage is from 2022, not the current season.

General warnings:

*Audio is just really unbalanced and boy howdy is there surrounding noise.

*I don't always point the camera quite right or notice when it slips.

* I sat too near the stage to always get them all in frame at once.

*I cheer into the microphone and it seems shriller than usual.

[parf-fan]

If anybody with the necessary equipment hasn't sold their soul to the combat track this year as I have, it appears that I only recorded the Sirens' stage set once this season, and from a talkative part of the audience, at that. I very much wanted to ensure that footage existed of at least two different iterations of that show, and I genuinely thought I had already filmed it twice, but the video folder on my computer says otherwise. Realistically, and with apologies to the Sirens, I know there is no way I'm missing any of the four remaining Brawls (same timeslot), particularly not with the constantly-changing endings. Many of the YouTube channels I'd come to rely on for PARF archivism do not seem to be recording things this year (unless they're simply holding off on processing their footage, as I am; which, fair), so there is no particular safety-net for shows I don't get. I've only been able thus far to find some of the individual numbers; which, while better than nothing, don't hold a candle to the whole show. I ask as much for the sake of the actors who don't get to see their performance as I do for patrons who will want somewhere to turn when nostalgia hits them suddenly in a couple months.

[parf-fan]

Masterlist of recent PARF videographers

Inspired by a comment on my update of sorts in which the commenter stated that it had never occurred to them to see if anyone had filmed PARF, I present to you a post I have been intending to make literally since starting this blog.

● Michael Ulrich – PARF footage as far back as 2004, hitting stride around 2015, stopping at the end of 2022. Most of the older stuff is scattered in amongst the 2018 footage and again between 2020 and 2021. An excellent source for a one-off example of most in-house shows each year. Quite important for reviewing the Megan-Zach-Mary 'verse. Some of the highest-quality footage. ● Renaissance Road Trips (formerly known as maddog015) – PARF footage as far back as 2007. More out-of-house stuff than in-house, though they've been expanding to include a little more in-house in recent years. Contains footage from many different Faires, so sifting will be required if you are exclusively interested in PARF. Divides shows up into many pieces, which is handy if you want to reference a specific moment, but cumbersome if you want to just watch a whole show. Footage quality is perfectly reasonable, though not professional-level. Home of THE Halloween Finale of 2017.

● PARF Performers (formerly known as wavking) – PARF footage from 2011 through 2021, excepting 2014 and 2020. Filming is somewhat scattered and not systematic until around 2016. Occasional videos from NJRF and from non-Faire events taking place on PARF grounds. Overall the best source for Finales and an even selection of everything else for 2016-2018, petering off in 2019. Indispensable for reviewing the Megan-Zach-Mary 'verse, though less so the Mary part. Footage quality is perfectly reasonable, though not professional-level.

● Steve Kossor – PARF footage as far back as 2013. Very little in-house stuff; mostly focused on the artists who fall under the heading of “musicians of the shire”, both individually and as a whole. Plenty of stuff from other Faires, too. Most videos are clearly labeled. If you never got to witness the actual Pub Sing from the Before Times, this is where to look, particularly 2019. Very fancy filming, often including multiple cameras at different angles on the same day (goals tbh). Occasional interviews and such. Scattered throughout are videos completely unrelated to Faire, 'cause he's gotta put 'em somewhere.

● MerlinWinchestr – PARF footage as far back as 2013. Hits stride in 2016 (I think), at which point she carefully archives one example of each main-season plotline show, and sometimes Halloween, as well as scattered highlights. Literally the only person besides me to actually bother with non-Halloween plot before 2018, for which I owe her a small portion of my soul. Indispensable for reviewing the Megan-Zach part of the Megan-Zach-Mary 'verse. Nothing from PARF in 2018 or 2019 due to moving to a different state, but filmed stuff from other Faires in the interim. Picked up again in 2020, and expanded the number of shows filmed. Recent videos are carefully labeled. Footage quality is perfectly reasonable, though not professional-level. Scattered throughout are many clips from various unrelated concerts and cons and sometimes reenactment, as well as quite a lot of fandom edits of (predictably) both Merlin and Supernatural.

● Joseph Germano – PARF footage as far back as 2015. Almost entirely in-house; largely storyline, combat, improv. Initially filmed things exclusively for himself and his family, not listing the videos publicly for years. As such, the quality of camerawork can occasionally leave something to be desired (though much less, in my opinion, than he claims), hence his playlist called “MeadVision”. Filled the void left by PARF Performers's petering off, and is owed a small portion of my soul for archiving so much Disasterpiece in 2019. Footage quality is perfectly reasonable, though not professional-level. Chronology is a mere suggestion until 2021.

● PARF fan – If you're interested in 2017 plotline and combat, I've got everything I filmed up on the YouTube except for Halloween Joust and Halloween Finale. I've also got loads of raw footage of in-house stuff from the first half the 2020 season over on the Facebook. Effort is made with cinematography, though it sometimes backfires. Videos are carefully labeled, but only in the titles, not the thumbnails. Footage quality is perfectly tolerable, though far from professional-level, and the sound is sometimes bad (didn't have a fancy camera until the 2022 season). Indispensable for reviewing 2017, frankly.

● PA Renaissance Faire – PARF footage from 2018 only. One each Court, Melee, Bloody Best, some of the main-season individual Chess fights, Halloween Court, Halloween Chess, and a whole bunch of in-house songs from sundry Finales, many of which were not archived in any other form elsewhere (that I know of).

● Ren Faire with Rose – PARF footage as far back as 2018. Nigh-on exclusively in-house. Mostly highlights rather than entire shows. Features occasional streetwork, particularly from 2019, which is beyond value. Mostly chronological, but 2022 and 2023 and 2024 are intermittently jumbled. Tbh, I haven't gotten around to watching enough of their footage to comment on the quality of camera or camerawork.

● Dan Gualtieri – The newest member of this “team” (none of us actually coordinate or otherwise work together, though we should). Videos from 2022, 2023, and 2024. Mixture of highlights and full shows. Has already filled several gaps. I haven't actually watched any of his videos yet, so I cannot provide comment on camera or camerawork.

[parf-fan]

PARF 2017 – Human Chess – Halloween Daze and Spooky Knights III – Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

Even the presence of an inimical fae monarch cannot prevent the sport of a human chessmatch between Queen Catherine of Aragon and Baron Helmut von Wolfe – though it can certainly delay it somewhat! As the match proceeds, tempers remain congenial amongst the humans present, and the ruler of the Black Forest all but melts into the background. After all, the faerie had vowed to harm none of Their Majesties' subjects….

Recorded by yours truly on Halloween Daze and Spooky Knights III (Saturday October 28th), patched up with Oktoberfest Weekend (Sunday October 1st).

Description contains links to alternate recordings.