Metal Kilts

In between working at Powerhouse and my film, I've found a little extra time to spend with my girlfriend at the local Texas Ren Faire. Texas as you might imagine has some of the largest Ren Faire's in the United States, the one we recently attended was the Sherwood Forest Faire.  My girlfriend Kaye adorned her gypsy garb as I proudly displayed my family colors, black and gold.  The depth and seriousness of this was somewhat lost on Kaye, who continued to refer to me as Sir. Lemon, or the Lemon knight, during our entire stay at the faire.  Below are some pictures to wet your curiosity.  

 I sat at the round table and conversed battle plans with lord blueberry....

We posed for pictures...

 ..as I rocked the handlebar mustache and beard jewelry...

...and generally let my badass-ness speak for itself. 

In related news, I have also been during extensive internet research to find some proper and functional female armor.  Kaye has expressed interest in SCA and Archery, as well as the desire to own a protective cuirass of her own.  You'd be surprised (or not depending on how familiar you are with geek culture) to know that the majority of armor for women is nothing but glorified corsets and leather bras. It seems women need only protect their nipples and not their vital organs from swords and spears and other sharp metal objects. 

However dismayed I was, determined I remained to find some proper protection for Kaye.  During my searches I stumbled upon one of the most bad-ass ladies on the internet.  Long Sword tournament winner Samantha Swords.  Below is a picture of her in a custom made cuirass, done by a friend/coworker from the Weta Workshop.  For those of you who don't know, they are an FX company who specializes in props and set design, and have worked on such amazing films as the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. 

Seriously, too bad-ass for words. 

  You can imagine my surprise when she responded to my email.  Not only did she let me know how she came across her stylish and functional cuirass, she also put me in contact with the lady who made it!  Now I am in talks with the designer and working on saving up some cash to get one for Kaye.  

It's amazing how life can surprise you sometimes, and sometimes the best surprises in life come in the form of heavy armor and sharp swords.