[Sca-cooks] "Trial By Fire" Ad (cooking competition!)

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jun 21, 2005, at 2:06 AM, Truman Barnes wrote:

> Gee Phlip tells us how you really Feel.    "NOT"     Chirhart
>
> Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
>
>
>> Oh for heaven's sake, Phlip. It's their contest, and they can set any
>> parameter they want to. Geez, chill, huh?
>> -maire
>>
>
> Yes, it's their contest, and they can do anything they like, and  
> it's my
> life, and I can attend or participate in any contest I like. But,  
> shall I
> boycott their contest because I don't like their rules, or shall I  
> tell them
> honestly that I don't like their rules, and why?

Okay, guys. At the risk of sticking my oar in where it is not needed  
or wanted, I'm taking five minutes off from an inescapably urgent and  
painful family matter to point out a couple of things. If I offend, I  
pray you will all chalk it up to stress and good intentions and  
forgive me.

First off, as has been said, your contest, your rules. That's a fack,  
jack. Those whose pursuits make them feel the rules
are unwelcoming to their particular interests certainly have the  
option to temporarily change their focus or not participate.  On the  
other hand, it's also a gracious host who considers his/her  
accommodations for maximum good effect for all those they might like  
to see come and play their game. I mention this not so much to change  
anyone's mind about things, but to demonstrate that this is a POV issue.

Certainly Bright Hills Cooks' guild can, and should, do what they  
want. Phlip, OTOH, is an expatriate Midrealmer whose early-period  
interests are often not... shall we say, considered fully when  
contest rules are being set up: the last time I checked, the seventh- 
century early cutoff was something that had worked its way into the  
rule structure for most competitions in the Middle Kingdom (having  
been established at some previous point by one of the Kingdom's A&S  
ministers and repeatedly supported by Crowns), and it has been a  
constant source of difficulty for those with early personas and areas  
of study specialization. I'll bet (although I didn't ask) Phlip was  
caught off guard when she saw this coming from someplace other than  
the Midrealm, and doubly confused when she saw this coming from what  
amounts to a de facto arm of an "Eastern Rite" kingdom.

The bottom line is, again, this is a matter of POV. You guys can set  
up your competition any way you please, and no argument from me, but  
one could also argue with reasonable effectiveness that you've  
essentially built a treehouse and set up a sign on the door that  
says, "No Gurls Alowed! Keep Owt!" And while that's the right of the  
treehouse owner, the owner can't really expect the gurls to be happy  
about it, even if there's a good reason for setting the rules up that  
way.

But, see, there's this about point of view differences: once we all  
understand that there's no ill intent on either side of the coin (and  
I believe that there is not), one can either choose to, or not to,  
get all pi$$y during the exchange of ideas. Believe me when I tell  
you, because now more than ever, I know life is too darned short to  
waste on anger.

Yeah, okay, so that came out sounding sloppier than I intended. Deal  
with it ;-).

Adamantius





"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la  
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them  
eat cake!"
     -- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,  
"Confessions", 1782

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
     -- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry  
Holt, 07/29/04