resistance is futile meme

[kareina]

I’ve asked a few people for questions in the current round of question game. If you’d like to play, let me know and I’ll ask you questions. If you’ve got questions you’d like to ask me, let me know, and I’ll write them up too. Here are the questions I’ve got so far:

from learnteach

1. What's your favorite song to sing, and who did you last sing it with?

I love best singing songs in a group. 10, 20, 50 or more people all singing the same thing, at the same time. I don’t mind if some people choose to sing harmonies or get fancy with it, so long as those of use who aren’t particularly good at carrying a tune are welcome to sing, too. To my mind the magic of *everyone* present participating and sharing in the same activity is what makes it wonderful. Performance art doesn’t hold as much appeal for me (neither as performer nor as an audience member); I’m into participation of one and all. Therefore my favorite songs are those which everyone knows, or which have an easy enough chorus that those who don’t yet know them can sing along, anyway. The high-energy ones are the most fun, of course. (I’ll come back to my thoughts on the word “favorite” below.)

As to who last joined me in such singing… Well, we had a small group of us doing singing nights for a while in Tassie, but I think that 8 people on one night was our record, so it didn’t really achieve the feel of what I describe above (we were mostly doing period tunes, and it was fun to actually learn them from the sheet music). The last decent sized bardic circle I attended was at a Rowany Festival in 2006 (there was a small one at Lochac November Crown shortly before I left Tassie—one of the Royals was from Calontir, and he was quite surprise when I knew many of the same songs he knew, since they aren’t known in his part of Lochac), and the last one I made it to before that was Kylson’s memorial party (which was an amazing bardic/tribute, but had a *very* different energy than do bardics held for joy of life, rather than in shared sorrow at the lost of life).

2. Where do you think you'll go after Italy?

I strongly suspect that it will be somewhere on Earth ;-)

I’d like to stay in Drachenwald, for the short term, but would like to get further from the equator and closer to mountains. Scandinavia would be nice. But it will all depend on what universities are hiring when this contract finishes. If I can get my student loans paid off I’d have the freedom to travel a bit between contracts, but I’m not so certain that is going to be doable in the one year I’ve got left here.

3. What's your favorite position in yoga?

I’ve never been good at “favorite”, tending to like many different things for many different reasons, and not really putting one over another in a priority list (a *large* part of why I’m poly, really). That said, I love doing headstands, because I can!

4. Couchsurfing: can you tell me how it works best?

At its best it helps people who will like one another’s company find new friends in far-distant parts of the planet and then go visit them, or host them when they come to visit. Therefore it works best when the users put enough information about themselves into their profiles to let “kindred sprits” recognize the ways in which they are compatible. Some people come to couch surfing *only* to get a free place to sleep for the night, and they probably are reasonably happy with their results. Those of us who are here to meet interesting people *and* get a free place to sleep for the night are probably happier with their results. I am more likely to say “yes” to couch requests written by someone who includes a sentence or two replying to something on my profile, saying why they found that interesting, as well as including a sentence or three about themselves and why they think I’d enjoy their company. I’m much more likely to ask for a couch from someone who has compatible interests with mine, or who managed to make their profile look interesting. When pressed for time rather than search all profile for a given area I check the listing of members in a couchsurfing group (such as polyamory), and then use the browser’s search function to find those members which are in the city to which I’ll be traveling, and then look only at those profiles to see which ones, if any, sound like people I’d enjoy knowing. So far this has worked out well. One of the people to whom I wrote looking for a couch in Stockholm, saying only that I’d been in town for a medieval music-dance event, wrote back to say that he’s a friend of the autocrat. This got me to say “I thought your profile looked like a member of my circle of friends…”

5. What would you take back to Italy from California, if you could?

Enough SCA people and their camping gear to get local camping events happening. I miss the camping culture of the West and An Tir.

from vittoriosa

1. What has surprised you most so far about living in Milan?

I think the single most surprising thing is how very many people still smoke here. The number of people I see on the streets smoking makes me feel like a little kid again—as a child of smokers in the 1970’s it seemed like all adults smoked (and I hated it). As an adult very, very few of my friends have been smokers, and that class of people has been largely looked down upon by most of the people I know as “stinky people doing damage to themselves and to others”. Here a very high percentage of people do it. (Fortunately, it isn’t legal to do so indoors here, so not so many of them are doing it inside, but walking past them on the streets is annoying.)

2. In terms of SCA, what's the most striking difference so far between the West and Drachenwald?

Well, I’ve been to only one Drachenwald event since moving here, but the thing that really stands out so far is that weekend events here seem to be held on sites with cabins, and food is provided for the full weekend. This was a common thing in Lochac, too, and it isn’t one I’m normally happy with, since I much prefer camping events and providing my own food, so that I can eat what I want, when I want it, and not have to wait for anyone else. However, since it is often necessary to fly to events here, and budget airlines don’t really want us travelling with anything heavier than a toothbrush (and they’d make us leave that at home if they could), I will cope with this difference. I didn’t eat nearly as well at Crown as I would have if I’d have brought my own food, but at least I ate. (Note: I didn’t eat the feast at all, much of which looked quite tasty, because it was served too late in the evening for me to be hungry, which is the case for 90% of the SCA feasts I’ve ever attended or seen advertised. If not for my weird quirk of losing interest in food at night, I’d probably like being fed at events more.)

3. What inspired you to pursue a career in geology?

Hah—an easy one, I’ve already got an essay on this topic.

4. Hai già letto della letteratura italiana? Si dici di sì, qual è il tuo libro favorito?

The only Italian literature I’ve ever read was Dante’s Inferno, back in my freshman year of uni, and then only the English translation. I have, however, purchased a copy of Anne of Green Gables in Italian, and am enjoying the fact that I know the story well enough that even though I don’t have the vocabulary to understand all of the words written, I can understand enough words to tell where in the story I am, and what is happening.

5. What did I ask in #4? :-)

hai (verb): 2nd Person singular present indicative of the verb 'avere'
avere: (verb) have/get/own
già (adverb): already
letto (noun, masculine): bed
letto (verb): masculine singular past participle of the verb 'leggere'
leggere (verb): read
della = di + la: of the/about the/some
letteratura (noun, feminine): literature
italiana: Italian

si (pronoun) you (formal)/him/her/itself/oneself
sì: yes
dici (verb): 2nd Person singular present indicative of the verb 'dire'
dire (verb): say/tell
di (preposition): of

qual: which
è: and/she/he/it/is
il: the
tuo: your
libro: book
favorito: favourite

“Have you had a chance to read any Italian Literature yet? If you say "yes ", which is your favorite book”?

(I love having access to a good on-line dictionary!)

from jupiterorbit

1) What is fascinating to you about rocks?

They are pretty, they are fun to climb, they record so much information. Igneous and metamorphic rocks tell us at what temperature and pressure they formed, and when in the compositions of their minerals. Sedimentary rocks record things like the source of the sediment, the method of transport, and the weather conditions which took place during the process. Taken together the story recorded is the entire history of the planet, including the movements of the continents. The more one studies, the more one discovers just how much more there is to learn about the planet. And they are pretty!

2) If you were asked to create a work of embroidery for world peace, what would you make and how would you go about it?

If it were to truly bring about world peace then it would be needful that most people on the planet participated in the project, so it would have to be *huge*. I think that I would have every community on Earth (each village and each neighbourhood within a city) do a drawing of how they see themselves. I would then have each drawing sent to another part of the planet to be stitched, in a random, computer-generated distribution (set up so that the drawing would have to go at least 100 miles from where it originated). I would then have every community work together (really together, homeless and rich people side by side, stitching on the same large cloth) an hour or so each day to stitch the art showing the story of some other people. There would be a web page set up, showing the progress of the original art for every community, and the progress on the stitching in each location, with maps showing the connections between the source of the design and the local place. The supplies for doing the projects would also be provided by each region, but sent in a random direction. So the colour schemes and fibre choices popular in, say, a small village in Mexico, might be sent to a small town in Finland, but their art to a community Tibet to be stitched, while the Finnish community might have gotten their supplies from Italy and their art from Panama, and so on… A joint project, worked upon by everyone on Earth, mixing it up like that would help people to realize that we truly are one people, and that there are things in common between us no matter how far apart we live, nor how different our communities are set up.

3) If an Italian friend wanted to visit Alaska/Oertha with you on your upcoming break and had only four days to see things in, what sort of itinerary would you set up?

Day one: arrive Anchorage, drive up to Hillside to enjoy the view, go for a walk along the trails there (or x-country ski, depending on the weather and their sense of adventure). Spend the evening soaking in a hot tub and enjoying a bardic circle.

Day two: drive to my cousin’s house in the Copper Center area, stopping to admire the views of the mountains and glaciers along the way, enjoy the good home-cooked food and chaos of a houseful of Alaskan bush kids. Watch the northern lights.

Day three: drive to Fairbanks, admire more mountain views. Attend a contra dance.

Day four: drive back to Anchorage, admiring the different mountain views on the other road, feed them pizza & beer from Mooses Tooth before flying out.

I’m tired just reading that—good thing I’ve got two weeks this time!

4) What do you see as the benefits of having living in multiple countries and on several continents?

I know, having seen it with my own eyes, that people are the same everywhere; that we are truly one people, no matter where we live. I know that I can be happy anywhere, and that there are wonderful people to be found everywhere. The adventure of it all is a big benefit, and the fact that one always has something interesting to “write home” about.

5) If you were marooned on a South Sea island, which three people would you want with you, and what would be in your handy PDA (which you would have) as far as books, music and other useful media?

You know, I don’t think I ever realized just how poly I am till I saw this question. Sure, I’ve always known that I wouldn’t wish to be restricted to having only one person with whom I could be in a romantic relationship, since there are so many loveable people out there, but, honestly, trying to limit myself to only three people to have in my life in any capacity (and choosing which three) seems to be just as hard as it would be to select one “favourite” person.

Taking “marooned” as “won’t ever be rescued, you are going to have to settle here for the remainder of your lives”, I’d want the pda (someday I want to own one of those!) to contain all of the sci/fi fantasy (and other genre) books I’ve already read and love, plus all those written by the same authors, and those written by other authors who are loved by people who loved the ones I love. I’d want a variety of science/engineering/math/medicine textbooks so we could look up anything we needed to know about the plants, animals, geology, etc. And so that we could look up any information we needed to help us to make anything we decided we needed. A good collection of history and archaeology resources would be good. For music I’d want a good mix of things to dance to, to listen to, and to sing along to, in most styles (don’t need to keep any rap, nor the winy sorts of country).

Rather than selecting my three companions by name, I’ll hope that they are intelligent, affectionate, full of a sense of adventure, capable of enjoying life anywhere, so won’t get depressed about being here, have the ability and inclination to make things we need for survival and for comfort, and a willingness to work well with the rest of us.

from baroness_eilis

1. Of all the places you've lived, which is your favorite?

All of them:

Japan for the confidence one obtains by being a small, cute, white-haired, first-born little girls surrounded by loving family and friends in a place where total strangers are always wanting to take one’s picture every time one goes out.

Germany for the music and dancing which was such a common part of my parent’s life there

Crete for the joy of being taken out to the “deep” water of the Mediterranean and held up to “walk on the waves” by dad

Michigan for the fun of having lots of cousins to play with

Texas for the fun I had learning to climb onto the roof of the house

Alaska (the first time) for the smell of the woods at my Aunt’s house and more cousins to play with and love of the mountains and the joy of finding a home of my heart at Steller and again with my introduction to the SCA, and bardic circles

Arizona for the introduction to SCA camping events and going hiking

Alaska (the second time) for the opportunity to get out into the mountains hiking, and learning to climb, for the friendships strengthened in the SCA and more bardic circles

Oregon for getting “active” in the SCA, with 52 events a year, many road trips, lots of fun camping events, many loving friendships developed, and lots of hiking adventures in my free time, in addition to the fun of studying geology

Alaska (the third time) for the fun of watching Winters Gate wake back up from one of its slow periods with lots of new blood joining us for dance practice, and the introduction of contra dancing to my life and for the new friends made when I moved back to Anchorage and then out to Kotzebue. And more bardic circles.

California for the joy of immersing myself in the West and the camping culture, for friends made, and the opportunity to live the semi-nomadic lifestyle of putting up my pavilion each weekend and arranging my things just so before performing the magic of putting it all back into tiny space to take it home again. And for the different perspective on the bardic arts by spending time helping the writers polish their pieces.

Tasmania (the first time) for the delightful people met and the beauty of the mountain, and the opportunity to reconnect with my mother and my step-dad before we lost him

British Columbia for the delightful people I met, and the lesson that even when I’m not working and don’t have a partner who is working a full time job I can still support myself with my skills

Tasmania (the second time) for the wonderful geology department and the opportunity to obtain that PhD, and some more wonderful people met

Italy for the joy of being truly self-sufficient for the first time ever—not being supplemented by whichever partner(s) I happen to be living with, and for the closeness of the Alps, and the easy access to history and potential to travel to so many interesting countries for so little outlay of cash.

2. What is your favorite song? Why?

I don’t think I could have one favorite song any more than I could have one favorite person or one favorite book—there are so many I love. As I mentioned to John’s question above, I love best the group singing, and one song in an evening isn’t enough. I want hours of song, one after another, with lots and lots of people all singing together. I love those which I already know the words, or which the words are easy enough to pick up on the first hearing (fortunately, for me, I’ve got a good memory for words/timing, and am very quick to pick up new one).

3. Who has been the biggest influence on you?

That is a tough one, I think that lots of people have been huge influences on me, but Kylson has to be pretty high on the list. His love of sex and comfortableness with talking about it helped me learn that despite my upbringing, it isn’t really “gross”, and it is an acceptable way to express love for someone. His example, in the early days, when he thought it easier to get forgiveness than permission, taught me that I didn’t ever want to be in the common sort of “monogamist” relationship, where, eventually, someone would come to me and say “do you know what your partner has been doing?”, that instead I wanted to only have open relationships wherein my loved one(s) and I always told one another which people we admired, and if we hoped that the admiration had any chance of going on to a physical expression thereof. I want to know, preferably in advance, if my lovers are going to take a new lover (or even just going to spend some time cuddling and kissing a friend). Kylson taught me I wasn’t alone in finding multiple people attractive, and he helped me to set my standards of communication. He was also very much a father figure in my life (which may be why he was never one of my lovers).


4. Why did you go into geology?

I’ve written about this one before, but the short answer is “I like rocks, and didn’t want a job”.

5. What is your favorite virtue?

I guess that would have to be love. It is one of those wonderful things that the more we give away, the more we have to give. It comes in so many different forms, and bring with it so much joy, strength, and harmony.