July 26th - Knattleikr

We have set the next Knattleikr date - July 26th, 2008. The location is still to be determined. The current thought is to either have it at Nick's (Jotun One) house or, depending on weather, at a random field and camp out after. You will be updated as we know more.

Thanks,

-Colpitts

Professor Winston Napier has Died

Many of you may know Professor Winston Napier from Clark University. He has died. He was a professor of English and he means a lot to those who had the privilege to be one of his students. An interesting, funny, strict, fair and eclectic professor, he pushed his students very hard. Despite - and because of - the pushing his students came out better students on the other end. I am confident that I can speak for most of his past students when I thank him for what he has done for us.

Below, I have pasted the full notice that Clark University has posted on the University's website.

-Colpitts

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University Communication

May 19, 2008

In Memoriam: Winston Napier, E. Franklin Frazier Chair and Associate Professor of English

Winston Napier, Clark University's E. Franklin Frazier Chair and associate professor of English, died Sunday, May 18, after a sudden illness. The Clark community is saddened by his loss. A memorial service is being planned. Details will be shared as they are finalized.

Professor Napier earned a bachelor's degree from William Patterson College in 1974 and a master's degree and Ph.D. at Howard University in 1977 and 1991, respectively. He taught at Howard University, Purdue University, George Washington University and Bates College before joining the Clark faculty in 1995 as the E. Franklin Frazier Professor. In this tenure-track professorship, Napier created and taught innovative courses on African American literature and critical theory. In addition to the traditional African American canon, his courses explored recently published works by African American writers, particularly contemporary novels of satire.

Professor Napier specialized in critical theory, 20th-century African American literary culture, and African American philosophical thought. A former editor of the Howard University Journal of Philosophy, he published in Literature and Psychology, The Massachusetts Review, New Literary History, and The Village Voice Literary Supplement. He was editor of the acclaimed book "African American Literary Theory: A Reader." In his research, Professor Napier explored the intercultural dynamics responsible for the unique structure and configuration of black expressive discourse. He examined the theoretical foundations of African American intellectual culture. In his most recent work on the satiric novel, he analyzed the ways in which contemporary African American writers adopt a distinctively postmodern reaction to racism and other forms of social injustice through a campaign of disparagement qualified by the force of contemptuous laughter. He invited members of the Clark and Worcester communities to explore these issues as well through the African American Intellectual Culture Series, a lecture series sponsored by Clark's Higgins School of Humanities that Professor Napier helped organize each year.

"Winston's passing is heart-breaking for the Clark academic community. He made a profoundly thoughtful contribution to the intellectual life of students and faculty here. Dozens of students have told me he was their most stimulating teacher in college. I was honored that he asked me one year to lead a discussion in his course on the Harlem Renaissance. I will miss him very much," says President John Bassett.

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Mobile Blogging Test

This is a mobile blogging test. This could be use to submit info about our bouts as they happen.

-Colpitts
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

The Last Two Bouts

There have been two knattleikr bouts since the last posting. One occurred on Sunday, January 27 in Oakham. While we did not play on a frozen lake (there was a recent warming spell and the lake may not have held us), we did have an interesting game out on a field near on of the player's houses in Oakham. We followed up the game with some food, fellowship, and general fooling around. It was cold, snowy, and glorious. With an luck - and a little detective work - I should be able to find some photos from that event.
We also played on February 10 at Clark in Worcester. While the group was small, we got a good game in and even experienced some winter thunder claps during the game (a sign from Odin, perhaps?). We then went out to Monyhain's for some refreshment and then to Saigon Vietnamese for dinner. Good times all around.
As for the next bout, I will look into it and get the date, time, and location posted here.

-Colpitts

Our Knattleikr Videos

Our regular readers may have noticed that I removed the video feed on the sidebar. I did so because that sidebar is an auto feed from Youtube that will show Knattleikr videos from other groups so, I embedded some of our videos in a blog post.





-Colpitts

Next Knattleikr Bout Date and Location - Jan 27th - Oakham, MA

It is my pleasure to announce our next date and location for a Knattleikr bout. We will be engaging in glorious battle on January 27th in Oakham, MA. We will shoot for a 12 noon start time.

If the weather cooperates and we get a substantial cold snap in the weeks and days leading up to the event we will likely play on an iced lake (this will depend on ice thickness, we need at least6 inches or so to do this with any amount of safety). Otherwise, we will play on a frozen field, which will still be awesome.

Make sure to bring lots of layers and maybe even a change of clothes to change into when we are done (whiskey may also be advisable). Please feel free to bring friends, family, or whoever to play. As always, if this would be your first time, you are welcome.

Pay attention to the blog (and feel free to leave comments) for more updates, news, an general ramblings. Feel free to contact any of the blog administrators if you know them, if not, please feel free to contact me (mcolpitts@gmail).

See you in Oakham. Knattleikr!

-Colpitts

The Viking Tower

          Nick, Bryan, and myself had the fortunate foresight to go on a wild adventure today. While the first part involved crawling through a tunnel beneath the earth, the second part has pertinence here. The Norumbega Tower was built around 1987, on the supposed site of Norumbega, also known as Vinland, a supposed Viking (Norse) settlement in New England. This is the settlement supposedly started when the Norse sailed up the Charles and settled. Eben Horsford claimed he found the only site that this settlement could have existed in, and therefore that he had found the settlement of what was once supposedly 10,000 Norsemen. He of course, made this claim based on a few scattered rocks he discovered, and not the tons of rock structures that most likely would've been left behind. Given his fervor for the quest to locate the settlement, once "discovered" he built a tower on the location as a monument to the Vikings who sailed there in 1000 A.D. Despite this whole "discovery" being a big sham, the tower is still pretty neat, and the surrounding grounds look nice and flat from a top-of-the-tower vantage point.


          A large flat expanse? Next to a tower erected in honor of the hard-sailing Norse who crossed a vast sea to make settlements in a new land? The prospect is grand, the idea of playing knattleikr on this ground seems good and right. A proposition for the future: knattleikr at the base of the tower erected in the name of those Norse who touched this land before their culture manifested itself in the since-founded american imagination.

Niflheim

I'm so very for this blog that I think I'm out pacing it. So before this turns into something as inward and absorbed as me taking a picture of myself taking a picture let's get to a point: Knattleikr in Winter...probably a thought that should be number one on our agenda. Playing in the snow and ice should be damn accurate and as fun as whupping on each other in the bitter cold can be. We'll just have to drink lots of handy stimulant to keep warm is all, plus that way when our thinned blood is let out on the snow it'll look fucking marvelous. Also, what about playing on a frozen lake, as might have also been done in the past? I'm for it, but my reckless and hearty stupidity isn't everyones. On the other hand, we're all dumb enough to be playing Knattleikr, especially while horrendously out of shape, so why the fuck not add another hazard to all of this? Just think of our game on the tidal bar as a prelude. We've played in the water--on sand--and now we can play on frozen water. Maybe we can even scrounge up some hoary kelp to have Matt brutally and joyfully whip Urso with. You know, make us all feel nostalgic. Imagine this two ways:

1) Snow will help pad falls, create more chaos, and spurn on your activity so you stay warm.

2) TWELVE DEAD AFTER VIKING REENACTMENT GOES WRONG ON THINLY ICED LAKE

Remember, you have to die in combat to get to the halls of Valhalla. And getting there with all your pals at once will give you a feeling of solidarity.

Possible Future Expansions

           Hey all. Unfortunately this Winter we will be losing Pat and Becky to Portland, Oregon. In addition Randy and Paul have made plans (as dubiously solid as plans that Randy is involved in ever are) to move there in the Spring. Given this efflux of almost half of the regular contenders, East Coast Knattleikr needs some new recruits. Yes, as they start forming a West Coast contingent, we'll be hard pressed to keep the numbers up.

          That being said, there is good news from the North. Jason Doo, our most recent new player suggests that he may try and get some Culinary School people involved in our great sport. Assuming this happens, not only will we get a boost in the upcoming months, but we may, before half our players leave, get to have a competitive Central MA/Clark vs. Culinary School game. Let's hope Odin helps us out with seeing this one through. Will post again soon with details of the next game, which may be a Sunday to accommodate Justin's working schedule (assuming it works for everyone else).

Remember, before a giant, it was all fire and ice.

From The Pain:
This is copyrighted and belongs to Tim Kreider. And his work is good, so go enjoy it.