Blocking Cookies

I just saw a notice that EU laws require Blogger to tell people that they use Google Analytics and AdSense. It's not something I can block on my blog, but if you don't like them, you can block them yourself with a script filter. I use NoScript, which is a script filter for Firefox. I've used it for years and don't get viruses anymore. The only downside is that you have to allow pages you want to see and that gets tedious when a page needs multiple scripts to run properly, but you aren't sure which ones they are. That happens most for pages with pictures embedded from elsewhere or videos.

New Grave Find and Iranian Nomad Social Media Group

A new group of Sarmatian kurgans has been found with at least 29 graves! They opened one up and found a double burial of what they are assuming to be a married couple.

And since my dissertation struggles have meant I've avoided spending time doing SCA stuff, Holly Herda over at Sarmatian in the USA was kind enough to set up that Iranian nomad social media group I talked about a while back. I got an equal number of votes for Facebook and Google Groups. Since there's already a good and relevant group on Facebook, Mongols and Russians and Scythians, Oh my!, we went with Google. She found out that Google is planning to phase out Google Groups, unfortunately, so SCA Iranian Steppe Nomads is a Google+ community.

Solid Gold....Bong? -_-*

Well that's one aspect of steppe nomad culture I will not be recreating. The news outlets have been calling it a bong, but they were cups used to drink a brewed opium drink while cannabis was burned nearby.
That is some awesome repousée work, though.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/solid-gold-scythian-bongs-cannabis-opium-discovered-russia-1503725

Storytelling at a Museum

Follow the link to read about another SCAdian's storytelling gig at a Hungarian museum's Sarmatian day. Includes short blurbs on some of the Nart Saga tales she told.
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.hu/2015/06/storytelling-in-sarmatia-archaeology.html

Horse Archers

Briefly popping in to share a video recently posted to YouTube. I'm still too deeply embroiled in dissertation and career stuff to play in the SCA at the moment.

Every fighting style has its pros and cons. Here's a video by Lindybeige discussing the cons of mounted archery in battle. Sarmatians mostly raided small villages with no fortifications, so the main point he discusses wasn't a frequent concern for them.

The Face of a Saka

Quick linkshare- The Pazyryk mummy with the awesome tattoos has had her face reconstructed.
http://www.ryot.org/frozen-mummy-tattoos-princess-ukok-siberia-taxidermy-reproduction/919290

Life Update and Nomad Games

My last Ph.D year continues to be insanely busy. I have no time to attend SCA events and when I take a break from work, I need to actually give my brain a rest, not do a different type of research. I haven't even felt like picking up the book I mentioned in the last post. When I've read anything, it's been a fantasy novel that lets me immerse myself in someone else's world for a bit.
It won't let up anytime soon. I'm fully expecting it to continue until graduation (and beyond, as I continue my thus far unsuccessful job search). Which means I won't be completing my Persona A&S Challenge by the deadline set by the organizer, though I may still be able to do it by the time the SCA's actual 50th birthday rolls around a year later. It also means I won't be doing any persona research for quite some time (or posting those very belated posts from my travels).

But I did run across one thing today that I'm sad I didn't know about before and wanted to share.
http://worldnomadgames.com/en/