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duane_kc(For whatever reason, I'm not getting comment notifications from LJ, so, sorry this took so long...)
EDIT: I'm lousy at asking questions, but if anybody's got some for *me*, I'm willing.
1. What has been your favorite role over the years at all the Ren Faires you've worked and why?
If I had to pick, I'd choose the one I've kept for all these years, Master Charles Henri Beaufort. I originally "built" him as a way of overcompensating for certain perceived lacks in my own character, (most notably a complete lack of self-confidence...) and he's evolved to fit me like a well-worn glove.
2. Conversely, what was the most sh*t job, Faire-wise and why?
The year I spent working as a "music apprentice" under Joe Simunak (sp?). From a complete lack of attention by our erstwhile "teacher", (we saw him exactly once, during Academy, since we wanted to be folkies and not madrigals), to the defection of half my group mid-season because I was a *lousy* (completely untrained) bandleader and Charlie was willing to pay them, it had to be the lowest spot I ever hit in 17 years of doing faire. And even then, it was better than my "real" life, which says something.
3. You've won a fabulous, all-expenses paid cruise to _____!
Crete and Thera, to explore in the Minoan ruins there; alternatively, Mexico, specifically the Yucatan peninsula, to explore the Mayan ruins.
4. With the recent developments in the Middle East, do you think that the totalitarian theocracy is on the decline, or is this just a temporary setback? One could say that it is indeed in repose, but until you remove the ayatollah-era apparachiks, there will never be real change. But on the other side, there has never been a blueprint for rule by the common people there and there's bound to be mistakes.
The totalitarian regimes in the Mid-East will never be eradicated until the people of the region decide they've had enough of theocracy. Bush Jr.'s intervention in the region is a complete failure, because the majority of people in Iraq *do not want* to change their form of government. And with education and the media in the region firmly in control of said government, there is not likely to be a change in the people's thinking in the foreseeable future. The only thing which would even have a chance to uproot the theocracies would be to sweep in with overwhelming force across the entire region, destroy the entirety of the current governments (including Israel; it's just as much a totalitarian theocracy as any other government in the region), and replace them with Western-style democracy and education in the hands of a garrisoning force. Then, after staying for twenty years or so to educate (and indoctrinate), we might have a generation in place willing to accept self-rule in a Western form of government.
But I ain't holdin' my breath.
5. When/where/how/why did you find yourself drawn to paganism? As a side note, I see many people being asked this question and it fascinates me that there seem to be very few people born into it. Perhaps it's such a recent phenomenon that the passed-onto generation isn't old enough to comment yet. Or they're all in California. Not sure. Thoughts?
Paganism, for all it's propaganda, *is* a remarkably recent development. No current Pagan movement can accurately trace it's development back further than about 1950, when Gerald Gardner started making waves with his revival of Wicca. (The OTO is a special case, being more of a philosophy than a religion, and descending from the Order of the Golden Dawn in the late 1800's. But it is the exception, not the rule, and even it is less than 150 years old.)
As for being born into the religion, the teen rebellion years are going to have a major effect, especially since the basic tenet of many Neo-Pagan religions seems to be "Make up your own feeble mind." Pagan parents are difficult to shock, after all, and the basic triad of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll simply doesn't work when your Mom catches you with the babysitter and just says "You know where the condoms are kept, dear; don't stay up too late," or Dad is teaching you to roll a joint properly. Pagan kids either go along and don't talk about it much, or they look at their parents and say, "Mom, Dad; I've disowned you and I'm joining the Society of Jesus. I leave for the monastery tomorrow."
I took an odd route into the Pagan movement in my late teens, (what, me? No, nothing *at all* odd about me, never...), starting from a standpoint of investigating psychic phenomena. Nothing in current science could explain them, and as I was experiencing a few very strange things at the time, I needed answers. That led me into non-traditional philosophy, and I discovered that I really could not support the basic tenets of Christianity. (Not that I *had*, mind you, up until that time; Mom is an utter atheist, and Dad being Baptist, we had some lovely fights about religion...and nothing else.) At any rate, I started floundering about looking for Purpose and Meaning in life...and found none. Nothing I looked into made any sense at all...so I started building my own philosophy and world-view. On the way to my current "me", I dabbled in Eastern religion, ceremonial magick, Greek philosophy, and Robert A. Heinlein. I don't utterly agree with any of the Neo-
Pagan religions, but I count myself firmly in their camp because the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religions simply fail to make me *believe* at all, and seem to actively discourage their adherents from thinking about...well, much of anything really. When all the answers will come (or have already come) from Big Daddy in the sky, and are *never* to be questioned, well, I don't surrender that much of my brain to any Authority, anywhere.
EDIT: I'm lousy at asking questions, but if anybody's got some for *me*, I'm willing.
1. What has been your favorite role over the years at all the Ren Faires you've worked and why?
If I had to pick, I'd choose the one I've kept for all these years, Master Charles Henri Beaufort. I originally "built" him as a way of overcompensating for certain perceived lacks in my own character, (most notably a complete lack of self-confidence...) and he's evolved to fit me like a well-worn glove.
2. Conversely, what was the most sh*t job, Faire-wise and why?
The year I spent working as a "music apprentice" under Joe Simunak (sp?). From a complete lack of attention by our erstwhile "teacher", (we saw him exactly once, during Academy, since we wanted to be folkies and not madrigals), to the defection of half my group mid-season because I was a *lousy* (completely untrained) bandleader and Charlie was willing to pay them, it had to be the lowest spot I ever hit in 17 years of doing faire. And even then, it was better than my "real" life, which says something.
3. You've won a fabulous, all-expenses paid cruise to _____!
Crete and Thera, to explore in the Minoan ruins there; alternatively, Mexico, specifically the Yucatan peninsula, to explore the Mayan ruins.
4. With the recent developments in the Middle East, do you think that the totalitarian theocracy is on the decline, or is this just a temporary setback? One could say that it is indeed in repose, but until you remove the ayatollah-era apparachiks, there will never be real change. But on the other side, there has never been a blueprint for rule by the common people there and there's bound to be mistakes.
The totalitarian regimes in the Mid-East will never be eradicated until the people of the region decide they've had enough of theocracy. Bush Jr.'s intervention in the region is a complete failure, because the majority of people in Iraq *do not want* to change their form of government. And with education and the media in the region firmly in control of said government, there is not likely to be a change in the people's thinking in the foreseeable future. The only thing which would even have a chance to uproot the theocracies would be to sweep in with overwhelming force across the entire region, destroy the entirety of the current governments (including Israel; it's just as much a totalitarian theocracy as any other government in the region), and replace them with Western-style democracy and education in the hands of a garrisoning force. Then, after staying for twenty years or so to educate (and indoctrinate), we might have a generation in place willing to accept self-rule in a Western form of government.
But I ain't holdin' my breath.
5. When/where/how/why did you find yourself drawn to paganism? As a side note, I see many people being asked this question and it fascinates me that there seem to be very few people born into it. Perhaps it's such a recent phenomenon that the passed-onto generation isn't old enough to comment yet. Or they're all in California. Not sure. Thoughts?
Paganism, for all it's propaganda, *is* a remarkably recent development. No current Pagan movement can accurately trace it's development back further than about 1950, when Gerald Gardner started making waves with his revival of Wicca. (The OTO is a special case, being more of a philosophy than a religion, and descending from the Order of the Golden Dawn in the late 1800's. But it is the exception, not the rule, and even it is less than 150 years old.)
As for being born into the religion, the teen rebellion years are going to have a major effect, especially since the basic tenet of many Neo-Pagan religions seems to be "Make up your own feeble mind." Pagan parents are difficult to shock, after all, and the basic triad of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll simply doesn't work when your Mom catches you with the babysitter and just says "You know where the condoms are kept, dear; don't stay up too late," or Dad is teaching you to roll a joint properly. Pagan kids either go along and don't talk about it much, or they look at their parents and say, "Mom, Dad; I've disowned you and I'm joining the Society of Jesus. I leave for the monastery tomorrow."
I took an odd route into the Pagan movement in my late teens, (what, me? No, nothing *at all* odd about me, never...), starting from a standpoint of investigating psychic phenomena. Nothing in current science could explain them, and as I was experiencing a few very strange things at the time, I needed answers. That led me into non-traditional philosophy, and I discovered that I really could not support the basic tenets of Christianity. (Not that I *had*, mind you, up until that time; Mom is an utter atheist, and Dad being Baptist, we had some lovely fights about religion...and nothing else.) At any rate, I started floundering about looking for Purpose and Meaning in life...and found none. Nothing I looked into made any sense at all...so I started building my own philosophy and world-view. On the way to my current "me", I dabbled in Eastern religion, ceremonial magick, Greek philosophy, and Robert A. Heinlein. I don't utterly agree with any of the Neo-
Pagan religions, but I count myself firmly in their camp because the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religions simply fail to make me *believe* at all, and seem to actively discourage their adherents from thinking about...well, much of anything really. When all the answers will come (or have already come) from Big Daddy in the sky, and are *never* to be questioned, well, I don't surrender that much of my brain to any Authority, anywhere.
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Date: 2006-08-02 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-03 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-03 10:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 05:51 am (UTC)Oh my god YES. I'd kill to check out the Minoan society and dig at the ruins at the center of Thera. KILL.