[Sca-cooks] Laurel issues and contests was: 13th Century Icelandic Fish Skin Tanning Techniques

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Laura C. Minnick wrote:


> Ooh, OW! Been there, done that. Another of my sins- I don't enter
> contests. I have been told that was the only way to get 'noticed' on a
> Kingdom-wide basis. (And no, making Coronation garments two reigns in a
> row 'didn't count'. Was insane though- I'll never do it again.)*Personal
> Opinion not meant as slam*: I don't believe in contests, for me at
> least. I agree with Cariadoc's assessments of contests and competitions
> as being counter-productive and encouraging authenticity as something
> not for everyday, but only for special, much like dragging down the good
> china once a year- what is the purpose if we don't do it often, everyday
> even? Our skills sit in the china cabinet and gather dust until the next
> contest? And I have heard the "I know it isn't period, but it's not like
> it's for a contest or anything..." and it always makes me crazy. And I
> think the attitude is a direct result of this Good China Syndrome (TM).
>
> I also have personal problems with contests in that I can't remove
> myself enough from the process- entering contests don't necessarily
> encourage me to do period stuff, but they do seem to bring out the worst
> in me- the bad attitudes, nervendings hanging out where everyone can
> step on them, being catty and rude about other people's work. I know my
> limitations, and rather than give the gremlins in me free reign, I opt
> out. Better plan all the way around.


Yeah, I simply live in a sufficiently competitive environment most of
the time that it's not something I would choose to do for fun. Once
you've swum upstream for a taxi on Madison Avenue at 5PM on a Friday,
who cares who makes better marzipan owls than me? If you want something
that I've got, I'm pretty good at sharing, unless you threaten my loved
ones, in which case you die. Very simple rules to live by.



> Do the work for the work's sake. If you feel like entering it in
> something, to get feedback, or just to show off your doobus, or your
> pie, or your marzipan elephant- do it! If you don't, don't. But I know
> that there are people whose skills are recognized contests or not (His
> Grace being an example) and I see the jones on specific
> event/competitions to be the product of someone's unresolved Junior High
> Science Fair fixations. And if they cannot conceive of another way to
> evaluate your work, it is their loss.
>
> Rude and mouthy persons are certainly not limited to the peerage, and
> frankly, the peers that I know well would pretty well uniformly be
> horrified by what happened to you. Don't let a bad apple ruin your pie,
> if you can. Recognize it for what it is and toss it out.


Well, _I_ was horrified to read that. On the other hand, my new all-time
  favorite bit of ridiculousness comes from an Eastern Laurel of my
acquaintance, overheard at a Laurel vigil within the past year: "You
have to do a masterwork for every award. For a Maunche [The Eastrealm's
  A&S Award/Order of High Merit] you have to put in 500 hours on this
masterwork. For a Laurel you have to put in 1000 hours..."


My brain still hurts from that one...



Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98