All right, for those of you that liked my Etsy post from a while back, I’ve found some more to tickle your derby bone.

I was recently looking for some birthday gifts, and I decided to peruse Etsy and see what was new. Holy Crap, did I find some Fantastic Things!!! Here’s a look at a few high lights:

Surly-Ramics:

These pendents are hand painted by the owner of Surly-Ramics. I had a few questions on one in particular, and her responses were always timely and thorough. I eventually ordered something from her, and she was able to change out the cord it came on, and I had it within 3 business days of ordering. It was fantastic! Here are a few images of pendants that might tickle your fancy (and she even takes custom orders!!):

Roller Skate Heart - $15 (includes leather cord)

Crackle Happy Skull Heart - $35

derbyliscious

Custom Star ID Tags - $35

rivetingjewelry

Pivot / Blocker / Lead Jammer -  $40 Each

Wanna see a whole lotta derby for just a little scrilla? Then get to the East Coast Extravaganza in Philly this year.

For serious. There will be teams from all over the East Coast and Mid West - some of which are some of the best in the country (Detroit Derby Girls, Gotham Girls Derby, Windy City Rollers). They are having it over the weekend of June 20th, as opposed to having it in the Winter as they did last year. So no worries on driving through a blizzard to get there! Nor will you have to worry about killer shooting ice from the roof - those of you that were there know what I’m talking about.

Seriously though, if you are able, GET TO PHILLY. It’s a fabulous weekend to get some prime Derby Networking in. I’m very upset that I don’t think I’ll be able to attend this year due to my impending surgery and lack of funds. Last year I had goosebumps watching some of those games. They even have pick up games for fun like North vs. South. Those are always interesting because they put together teams of people from all over, so you get to see all different kinds of derby styles rolled into one team. Plus, they serve Yuengling. What’s not to love?

From WFTDA’s Website:

WFTDA partners with Frozen Codebase to produce roller derby video game  The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), announced that it has partnered exclusively with Frozen Codebase LLC, to bring its Real. Strong. Athletic. Revolutionary. brand of modern roller derby to the world of video games.

As a leading independent video game developer of original intellectual property, Frozen Codebase is excited to enter into an exclusive partnership with the WFTDA to bring flat track derby to life as a cutting edge video game. While further details of the video game’s development are pending, Frozen Codebase invites fans to participate on its user forums (visit www.frozencodebase.com/proto2/ ) and look to their hometown WFTDA leagues for a glimpse of the action that is coming soon.

Full Press Release (PDF)

I know I’ve talked about Etsy before, but here’s a new profile that I didn’t have back then.

efairy is selling her wares in an attempt to raise money to get her to RollerCon. She only has a few months left to raise money, so pop on over to her Esty Store and check her out! 

“Five days of roller derby mayhem. You think Las Vegas in summer is already hot? Just wait till hundreds of rollergirls from across the country descend on Sin City for workshops, scrimmages, partying and a whole lot more.”

-From RollerCon’s Myspace Page

RollerCon is Fast Approaching. It will be held in Las Vegas from July 30, 2008 - August 3, 2008. I’d post all the info here, but there’s just way too much!! Just know that it’s a fantastic opportunity for you to meet Roller Girls from across the country, and mingle with some of the best in the Nation. If you’re able, be sure to go. It will definitely be a great experience!!

Rich-Joseph Facun
Check out the portfolio titled “Rollin’ Revival” on this site. There are some amazing shots on this site.
Rich-Joseph Facun is the husband of Sweet N’ Lowdown of the Dominion Derby Girls and he’s a professional photographer as well. Here’s part of Sweet N’ Lowdown’s message about the book:

His goal isn’t just to capture great action shots, but also to accurately represent the unique culture surrounding the sport, from the mascots and fans to the announcers and referees.
And, being a Widower, he understands the camaraderie developed between derby girls. He sees the resurgence of roller derby as a historic phenomenon and his goal is to represent us in this light. The work focuses on women’s flat track leagues, primarily those of WFTDA.

The images from the website and the myspace page are just a few of the thousands of photos that will eventually be edited down into a photo book, titled “Rollin’ Revival.” The body is a work-in-progress, as he is still continuing to shoot at least through this year.

There’s a myspace page for the book here: www.myspace.com/rollinrevival

This is unfortunately something that I have, that affects my skating at every practice. It sucks, it hurts, and it causes me to drop out of practice. It’s uber frustrating, since most people don’t understand it and think I’m just dropping out from endurance, muscle weakness, laziness, etc. They think I should work through it and build up my muscles so I don’t have to drop out next time. CS (compartment syndrome) doesn’t work that way. It’s not a matter of buidling up the muscle or training through it. And it is NOT shin splints. It’s a biological thing with the way your body was made, and it takes surgery to correct it.

 I’m going to try and explain it here, but if something is unclear, please feel free to ask questions.
What generally aggravates it for me is:

• anything dealing with cross overs (like pace lines, which is why I do not do cross overs)
• Two stepping
• Toe Stop Running/Walking
• Being in a fast paced jam with lots of falling & hitting

Now I’ll try and explain why that happens…

Compartment Syndrome is something that can affect people in various areas of the body. It’s something that is relatively uncommon, but is mostly related to carpal tunnel in the wrists. In athletes though, it generally appears in the lower leg. Compartment syndrome arises when the pressure inside this enclosed space increases to the point where it interferes with the blood supply to the structures. There are two types of CS, one being Accute, and the other being Chronic (this is what I have).

Accute CS is usually caused by some type of trauma to the leg and should be treated immediately, as it can cause permanent damage rapidly.

I’m going to focus on Chronic CS, because that is what I suffer from.
Without getting into all the medical terminology (it just confuses me and most other people), what happens is this:
You have the muscles in your leg. The muscles are encased by a ligament. Muscles can enlarge during activity - from the extra blood flow - And normally, the ligament allows for this expanding. Ligaments, unlike muscles, do not expand. With Chronic CS, the ligament does not allow for this expansion. So the muscle gets larger, but has no where to go.

Think of it like this:
The ligament is a piece of plastic pipe. The muscle is a dry sponge within that pipe. When you add water to the sponge (or blood to the muscle), it naturally expands. In most cases, the pipe is large enough to accommodate the expansion of the sponge. With CS, the pipe is too small and the sponge can only expand so much before it fills the pipe, which causes pressure on the pipe walls.

Does that make sense?

What comes from that pressure, is an intense pain in my shins that is not alleviated by anything other than ice. If I try to keep skating, I eventually lose all control of my feet. I get, what they call “Drop Toe”. Where if I lift my foot up, my toe just drops. I cannot physically lift my foot because the muscle will not allow it. The pain is, at times, so intense that the only way for me to get off the track or to my ice is to crawl.

There is no amount of physical therapy that can treat this. Like I said : Ligaments do not stretch. The only treatment, aside from ice (which cools the muscle, and causes the expansion to go down), is surgery. They will basically go in and slice the ligament, which will open it up and allow the muscle to have the space it needs. It’s a pretty black and white process. You go in with the ailment, have the surgery, and come back without the pain. But, as you know, surgery does have its risks and also can be expensive. Which is why I opt for the ice.

Now, some days it’s worse than others. If I’m tired, it seems to affect me faster. Which I assume has to do with my form while I’m skating. I have tried new wheels which don’t have me sliding as much as before, and that has helped immensely. I still can only do so much though. I just wanted to cover this because a lot of people don’t understand that it’s not something that gets better with more activity. Nor with working out and building the muscle. It’s basically Ice or Surgery.

I hope that helps some people understand it a little better. Again, please feel free to ask me any questions. I’ll try my best to answer them.

For More information, please see this article.

Help a Fellow Roller Girl out!!!
www.helptequila.com

Chicago Filmmakers is located at 5243 N. Clark Street
Charlie’s Ale House is located at 5308 N. Clark
Park once, stay all night long!

Then sign up for Twitter!

 I’m terrible with online technology. I have a blog, but I have no idea what an RSS Feed is. I thought Twitter was out of my league as well, but it really only took a minute to sign up and start Twittering. It basically functions the same as setting your “Status” on Facebook or Myspace. You know, the part where it says “Tom is: _______” and you fill in whatever you’re feeling or thinking. This way, though, people can subscribe to your twitter if they want. And you can subscribe to others. Then, you can set your settings to notify you by text message whenever it is updated.

 Well, Hurt Reynolds of the blog Have Derby Will Travel, A has a Twitter page! So you can have all those scores sent right to your phone as soon as they update their page! Just go to HDWTscores on Twitter and request to “Follow” this page, and turn your notifications On. It’s that simple!