<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PersonName"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><</span></font>1. Good
Bards. You can make do with OK Bards, but too many BAD Bards can ruin a
Circle.><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Oh, Robert. I was going to stay away from this one, but since you
bring it up….:)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>How do I define a “bad bard” without a) offending someone,
and b) sound like I’m bragging, since I believe myself to be a “good
bard”?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Don’t get me wrong here, I am totally with you. I have a
friend in Caid who is oft-quoted as saying “life is too short to listen
to bad bards.” At GW, my friend Master Efenwealt Wystle (from
Atlantia) and I decided we must hold a “good-bards-only” circle at
our camp (how ego-centric is that?:)). We wanted to keep it small, and dense
with bardic goodness. It was odd how it worked out. The plan
started out as just a 3-person thing (Efenwealt, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Adelaide</st1:place></st1:City> and I) at our camp after
dinner. Just a private thing, and very spur-of-the-moment (planned it at
around 2 pm for that very night). Efenwealt asked if I trusted him to
tell “the right people” to come and join us. I knew instantly
that I could trust his definition of “right people.” What
resulted is what has become known by one particular lady in our barony as “the
bardic that didn’t suck.” And she was right! We had all
the things I described for a good circle. There were only about 10 people
(only 2 non-performers and 6 laurels for bardic performance), it went in order
(without too much in the way of regimentation….good bards won’t
need much guidance), nobody spent more than 10 minutes performing, and the
level of talent was high. What more could you ask? Well, as it
happens, it was FREEZING FRICKIN’ COLD that night. So, I guess
there’s always something;). <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Anyway, there are basically 3 things that make a “bad bard”
in my opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>1) Someone who can’t sing, but insists on doing so anyway. I
believe a tone-deaf person should stick to story-telling and poetry. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>2) Someone who does bad material. This could be bad original
material (poor poetry, story, or song-writing skills), the modern-tune filk I
mentioned, crass “no-kidding-there-I-was” stories, etc. The latter
can be improved by better choices. The bad original material situation
can only be improved with more study and/or practice. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>3) Someone who behaves badly. These are the folks who hog
the airtime, go out-of order, get drunk, loud, rude, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Let me say one thing about the folks in categories 1 and 2 (who are bad
singers, or write poor material). Please, please, please do not shout
HUH-ZAH! And clap wildly when they are through performing their crap.
It isn’t that I want to be mean to people. But if they receive
strong positive feedback on poor work, they’ll never know it was
crap! Oh I’m gonna get flack over that comment I’ll
bet. But its true. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>My next two cents.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Kenneth <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> bards-bounces@lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:bards-bounces@lists.ansteorra.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Robert Fitzmorgan<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Sunday, April 29, 2007 10:50
PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Ansteorran
Bardic list</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Bards] Situations
That Ruin Bardic Circles</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> As Her Grace, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Willow</st1:place></st1:City> has so correctly stated, Bardic
Circles don't just happen, someone has to make them happen. What is
needed for a good <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bardic Circle</st1:address></st1:Street>?<br>
<br>
1. Good Bards. You can make do with OK Bards, but too many BAD
Bards can ruin a Circle. It also helps if the Bards actually STAY at the
event. If everyone is staying off site chances are poor for a decent
Circle. <br>
<br>
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">2. A Place</st1:address></st1:Street>
to have it. Something with a good ambiance is nice but a good group can
make do with any reasonably quiet location. Anyplace near the
drumming is not good. <br>
<br>
3. Time in the Schedule, preferably Time AFTER the schedule. If
Court and Feast run till after 11:00 there probably won't be much in the way of
Bardic. <br clear=all>
<br>
4. Someone to arrange for the above and make it happen. This can be
done formally or it can just be someone hunting up the bards and saying,
"Let's go over here and make a circle".<br>
<br>
Having someone run the circle can be helpful sometimes but a
group of experienced Bards can often just 'wing it'. <br>
<br>
Robert<br>
-- <br>
"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been
much of a day." John A. Wheeler <br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:Fitzmorgan@gmail.com">Fitzmorgan@gmail.com</a><br>
Yahoo IM: robert_fitzmorgan <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>