[Bards] Time well spent (was RE: First Principles.)

Gerald Norris jerryn at houston.rr.com
Mon Nov 6 21:04:32 PST 2006


It almost sounds like a separate "board" of bards; your co-op sounds
suspiciously like my community... And they both begin with "C"!

You were the one who spoke first of offering up their house for writing a
charter.  The rest of the conversation fell into place and we started argu
... Debating about the charter and what the college would and would not be,
could and could not do.  Notwithstanding the "nobles were aginst us"
portions, we have gravitated around what we (as performers) want whatever
organization comes of all of this, at whatever time that is to be, to do for
us, selfish lot that we are.

Michael is just trying to act as a scribe .... "Is THIS what you want
m'lord?"  "No, you lout!  More feeling!" <scribble> "Is THIS what you want,
m'lord?"  "Not THOSE words!  THESE words!" "Oh dear...."

On top of that, Michael, myself, others, think we have something to
contribute to this effort, and so some of this is reflected in the offerings
for the charter.  Though, as I think on it, I wonder if we shouldn't call
this first settling of dust (when it finally does settle), the agreement.
We can work on a charter after we agree with what we are all trying to do.

I've noticed a tendancy of "Us" and "them" in some of the posts going on
here, and I wonder if we're ready to debate, when we can't seem to agree
that we're all trying to work together.  I think it is important for this
discussion to continue under the regime of possibilities rather than
certainties.  I think a BardMoot at Eistedfodd would be a wonderful way to
bring this discussion into a possibly wider forum, but it will require many
to beat the drum, to bring up the discussion in bardic circles, during the
day at an event.  To encourage others to join in the discussion (and that
means that you have to be willing to have an opinion, offer it, and have it
rejected or picked apart and added to (Yah, I like to use parentheses.  So
what!)).

How many of those lurking in the shadows, watching the arena, are just
hoping to winnow some actual useful knowledge out of the chaff of words that
we've generated so far?  How many of them will take the pains to go to a
bardmoot?  Not that I need or WANT to know, it's rhetoric.

So. There's another half hour spent on my hobby.

Don Robin wrote: 

By contrast, I hope to set up a co-op -- a group of people agreeing on their
own to band together for mutual support.  This would not be something that
the kingdom gave to us; it would *be* us -- owned and operated by bards, for
bards.

Before we can begin to discuss how a charter should be written, we need to
address this specific issue.  Michael's and my disagreement on whether the
kingdom deputy officer should be an officer of the college is clearly merely
a consequence of this crucial decision.  If it's a part of, or directly
responsible to, the KMOAS structure, he's right.  If it's a group of bards
choosing to band together for mutual support, then I'm right.





More information about the Bards mailing list