Becca b-day at pennsic

Titus · Post by **Titus** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:24 am

Ah, that is from Kevin building a log cabin out of Lincoln logs and setting it on fire was it not?

Clan ONeill Guy · Post by **Clan ONeill Guy** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:05 pm

Jello wrestling may be difficult due to the logistics of making/transporting/disposing of the jello but a slip and slide wouldn't be hard. We could dig a trench/clear a path down one of the hills... cut a few plastic tarps into like 3' wide strips, overlap them, secure them with some glue the day before.... A couple of bottles of baby oil and some water... shwish.....
Of course, I'm not going to try this any sooner than eat a blue apple but I like the idea. And if it doesn't work out we always have a firewood chute. That will be much easier than loading it hand to hand.

Brynhild · Post by **Brynhild** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:24 am

o0o0oh, how about a slipin slide into jello, joking? lol I do think a slip and slid would be fun. We could use the hill we use for wagon racing!!! Ok sooo mud wresling, ok to do?

lilkender · Post by **lilkender** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:39 am

Now a fire-wood chute might be a good idea but if you're making a slip'n'slide, think of where you'll end up, you don't exactly have a comfy grass field at the bottom of the hill!!

Brynhild · Post by **Brynhild** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:39 am

A kiddie pool filled with.....Beer?

hypo · Post by **hypo** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:39 pm

BEER will attract the bugs, especially the Bees. Stick with Mud!

Moon · Post by **Moon** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:29 pm

Odd - I and some of the other McGroynes were tossing the "there ought to be wrestling" idea around just recently. Some things we considered:

The Thunderball - "2 wo/men enter, 2 wo/men wrestle!". With the inside coated with something slippery (baby oil, Wet, carefully processed glo-stick guts, etc). http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/re ... B000HCT7NC

Basic wrestling pool (did anyone ever mention that Tex has a "thing" about giraffes?): http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/re ... B000CN8S68

Regarding mud. We figured that the best/safest/most appealing solution would be to buy a couple bags of dirt from Home Depot and use that for mud. Just shovelling ground in there could mean rocks, sticks, bug bits, bottle caps, etc.

On the jell-o front, I know the woman who puts these events together in NYC - http://www.jellowrestle.com/event.html - and she doesn't use a food-based jello but a kind of powder that makes a little nodulelly gel substance that pretty much does all you would want jell-o to do but not be sticky/gross. I'm not sure if we're going for that as I think we decided that mud seems more fun and "period" and we have the Classic nearby to rinse off. Still, if you want more info on what it is and where to get it, I can let you know. One other note on this stuff - she puts mattresses under the pool that they use because people really do slip and hit the ground hard. An air mattress or some sort of padding underneath might be worth considering.

Because we haven't finalized these plans, I can't extend an invite to y'all come play with us just yet, but of course if we go through with this on our end, you know we love you folks and would happy to have you over to watch/compete.

Moon McGroyne

Moon · Post by **Moon** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:39 am

At last night's event, I spoke with Dana and she clued me in as to what they are using (+ a little food coloring) to fill the bottom of their pools. Apparently it only takes the addition of a little water and the granules swell up ~300x their packaged size.

Water Jelly Crystals
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1283

Moon

Berserker · Post by **Berserker** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:37 am

Ohh, sweet! Thanks Moon! Becca, there's your answer! Now get with the organizing! ;)

Brynhild · Post by **Brynhild** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:52 am

Yes, Any help you need moon with getting stuff setting up. I'll be there the full 2 weeks. Sweet I've always wanted to do this!

MorGrendel · Post by **MorGrendel** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:51 am

Mcgroynes, are we doing this together, or do you want us to plan something separate. I have a foam egg crate with a camp mat on the bottom I bring to soften any of the ladies owies.

Also, Becca, what do you think about using your floor as a platform?

I think Cook told me he picked up two battery converters, (I had one, but I may have returned it), if so, do we want to think about lighting?

Brynhild · Post by **Brynhild** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:21 pm

I'll ask kevin about the platform. I think it might be better to dig around the place the pool will be and maybe a matress. platform might hurt/ pop (sharp things.)

MorGrendel · Post by **MorGrendel** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 10:26 am

Maybe, I figured the higher off the ground, the easier to see, but your safety was only a secondary concern :) No, but seriously, from my backyard wrestling days it is almost allways better to land on anything other than the ground, because the ground always wins.

Moon · Post by **Moon** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:45 pm

McGroynes might be an odd duck in terms of Pennsic camp organization. We don't do much as a collective - individuals just pitch in on things that they like and/or feel should be done and that kinda guides the outcome. (Think swarm intelligence - http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/ ) Right now, I've talked to some other people this weekend, mostly women and their buy-in ranges from tentative "Let me see how it looks..." to strong positive. Given our baseline of being pretty lazy, that's plenty for me to continue.

There is still some disagreement as to what is better, mud or "jello". Although it has been pointed out that both are water-based and could be done in a pool that has been rinsed out.

I'm still a fan of getting a full-on mattress for underneath. Women are often not as light-injury tolerant as men. Owies tend to kill the buzz and ward off the fence-sitters. Perhaps Pittsburgh's Freecycle will come through for us or we might find a roadside one that is not stained into untouchability (people shouldn't be directly on it much at all but someone's gotta load it onto a truck.)

So before I get too wordy, here's what I see as outstanding issues that I'd like to hear some other opinions about:
- When, including date(s - Would a practice run be in order? - or it could be a hit and we do it a couple times <shrug>), time of day, and any possible conflicts that result. For example, I can't do this all middle weekend Saturday and Sunday afternoon. MWOP night is also out. Fizzball/Mrs Swampie days are also probably out.
- Where. Your camp (far from Classic, more private)? Our camp (closer to Classic, more open)? Or in that sort of "beach" area by the Classic (WAY close to rinse off point, way open)? Other?
- Gear, including:
- Safety. Egg crates. Mattress. Hay. Combination of all?
- Arena. Pool? I'm suggesting an inflatible pool - even sturdy ones shouldn't cost too much - but am open to other ideas. Could even do a tarp surrounded by hay bales for that more authentic look.
- Medium. If dirt, again I suggest it be purchased or somehow be able to be considered "clean". If "jello", we will need to order - I'm asking my friend how much she goes through to "fill" a pool.
- Overall fundage/allocation. Expensewise, between all this stuff, whereever it splits around even, I guess. How the money falls is the least of my concerns but I just want to coordinate so that both camps don't buy pools and nobody got jello/dirt.

Moon

Titus · Post by **Titus** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:46 pm

Now that folks is logistics, things like this need to get planned, and by someone other than Mor-Grendal.