[Sca-cooks] A & S question

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach DeeWolff at aol.com:

>I don't need to "win". And I don't like what I become when I get coerced into
>that mind set.   (Master A knows what I mean...sometimes a particular person
>can lead me in a direction I don't want to be in, but   I can't stop going
>anyway....)

Simply put, war is all hell. And yes, I know what, and who, you mean; 
it's kind of like being Casey Jones, knowing you're heading for a 
train wreck but fascinated by it all, too.

>This is why I only do exhibitions now. I have been in competitions, archery,
>food oriented, brewing, poetry, writing. I love to cook! To take this to a "I
>need to win"   mindset ruins my fun.   This is my passion. I like to
>experiment with food, and methods, and and the art of presenting 
>food. I like to share
>my stuff. I don't like to be put upon to make "mine is better than yours" so I
>can win some silly token of a prize.
>I do what I do   for "fun" and to appease my soul. It's a hobby,where I learn
>something. I can create something beautiful. And if I did it right, I can
>pass on what I learned to someone else who shares the same interest.  
>
>I have alot to say about this subject. Some here have heard it before. Feel
>free to   volley forth privately if you wish.

Well, I think it all comes down to one inescapable point. Some people 
like competitions, and some don't. But I've never heard anybody, in 
the five years or so we've been doing exhibitions, say, "Now that was 
an unpleasant experience I don't intend to repeat. Man, those 
exhibitions really suck!" And most people who had doubts about the 
format seem to be won over almost immediately; there's an electricity 
in the air at exhibitions, and a totally positive one, at that, that 
is very different from the atmosphere of big A&S competitions.

It should be noted that recently, others in the East more dedicated 
to the competition format have also tried to address some of its 
inherent weaknesses by changing some of the more traditional aspects. 
Examples would be recent changes to the setup of the Northern Lights 
pentathlon, and the annual Northern Highlights thingy (which I gather 
is a competition calling for face-to-face, one-on-one judging). I 
haven't been to Northern Lights in a while, and have never been to 
the Northern Highlights event; maybe someone else with more 
experience can comment on my perceptions of change to the Whacking 
Great A&S Events of the Eastrealm, now that AEthelmearc, and Ice 
Dragon, are no longer connected with the East.

Either way, it does seem that many of the competition horror stories 
are becoming a thing of the past.

Adamantius