Am I a Geek?

Dictionary.com

geek Slang.
–noun 1. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
2. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
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[Origin: 1915- 20; prob. var. of geck (mainly Scots) fool < D or LG gek]


*chuckles*
Well I certainly have never bitten the head off a chicken, but I was wondering about my relative geekieness the other day.

I was attending a parents meeting at my kids primary school, and when chatting to a couple of other mums, mentioned that I spend some of my time in Second Life. After briefly describing the place to them, I got a look of complete bafflement, and a polite smile.
Most 'normal' people I meet and chat to about this can't understand it, and god forbid what they would think if I were to mention dragons, hobbits and elves being friends. My husband would term me as a geek I guess.
I have always thought of a geek as a young adolescent boy, who spends his time quoting Star Trek, doing difficult maths, reading comics and playing computer games. I never considered that I might fit this category too.

I do play computer games and always have, but not obsessively.
I have watched Star Trek in the past, but I cant speak Klingon and have never attended a convention.
I used to read comics, and still seriously respect certain comic artists and writers.
I have read many Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels, although I have read many other kinds of books too.
My maths is awful, although I do have a very logical brain and enjoy puzzles and codes of all sorts.
I am certainly shy and awkward in busy social situations, and have always been a little 'odd' (in a nice way)
and now I spend my evenings playing with Gods and Goddesses, fairies and orcs, in a virtual world.

I blame it all on my mother making me a Wonder Woman costume for my 6th birthday

Perhaps I should be termed Geek, embrace the geek in me and declare it proudly. But I really wish that others could understand and not look at me as if I am not quite right *grins*

The Good, the Bad and the Neutral

Things in Triskele are a bit all over the place at the moment. Bri, the leader of the clerics guild has resigned, and there is a feeling that he was pushed rather than give a golden handshake. I have no idea what it was all about, and I don't really want to know, but I have been plodding along in my UK timezone, working on Parlamay as I go.
From reading Malakytes blog, it seems that Alphonsus will be taking over as leader, so I am sure he will inform us all of the situation once he's 'in post'.

I have used the three aspects idea, and made a note for new clerics about them, which is the reason for the blog. I showed this to someone tonight and we ended having a conversation about how to define 'Good' and 'Neutral'.
Here is the notes on Parlamay and her aspects, sorry if its a bit long, but it informs the debate.

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Parlamay- Goddess of Nature
Favoured Weapon: Longbow
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Forests, Fauna and Flora
Parlamay. The ever changing Goddess of Nature.
Like the cycle of the seasons, followers of Parlamay recognise that nature is fluid, it waxes and wanes, it is born, dies and is reborn a new.
As nature is, so is She.
Beautiful, ugly, loving, destroying, kind and harsh.
Yet without one there is no other, nature in perfect balance.
Followers of Parlamay live in harmony with the world around them, they are in tune with the land, they know its secrets and protect its children.
All those who respect nature can expect help, guidance and protection from the clerics of Parlamay, yet those who would harm the land and its creatures can expect the wrath of the Goddess through her chosen ones.
Clerics of Parlamay reflect the different aspects of the Goddess, and as a novice cleric you will be helped to find the path right for you. You will progress up the normal cleric ranks ie: Acolyte, Subdeacon,Cleric,High Cleric, but your duties will depend on the aspect you are aligned with.
Parlamay cleric aspects are Dawn, Noontide and Twilight, sisters and brothers

DETAILS OF THE ASPECTS
Dawn brothers and sisters
Dawn clerics run like the deer, see like the hawk, and fight like the mother bear. They are the active, protectors of the land. They roam the wild woods with the rangers, and dance with the elves and fairies. When battle is called, they are first to attend, running among the injured and helping where they can. They carry the bow, and will not hesitate to use it to defend the children of the Goddess. They are the keepers of Spring/Early Summer, and lead worship at these times of the year. They also help those who are pregnant or trying to conceive.
Dawn clerics wear blues and greens only

Noontide sisters and brothers
Noontide clerics care like the mother elephant, protect like the polar bear, and teach like the meercat.
They are the mothers and fathers of the order. They work with the peoples and creatures of the Goddess, listening, healing and caring for Her children.
They welcome new clerics, and are always ready to help a stranger. They tend to the land, grow the herb's, and keep the guild and temple well cared for. They take the time to discuss the Goddess with those who would listen. They do not carry weapons, and will not rush into conflict, but are able to protect themselves should the need arise. They are the keepers of Summer/Harvest and lead worship at those times of year. They help those with children or young animals, and preside over weddings.
Noontide clerics wear gold, yellow, orange or red only

Twilight brothers and sisters
Twilight clerics are wise like the raven, secretive as the shrew, and sharp as the peregrine.
They keep the secret knowledge of the Goddess.
They are advisers in times of need and able to judge a situation well. They know what happens in the realm, and may have contact with mages and rulers. They see the dark side of nature as being an important counter balance to the light, and although never evil, they will speak with those of the dark side. They do not rush to give opinions, but watch and choose their timing carefully.
They are the keepers of Late Autumn/Winter and lead worship at those times.
They may carry knives, and will use them if deemed necessary. They understand that death is a part of life, and will help those who are dying or have lost a loved one. They know the secrets of resurrection and are in charge of bringing loved ones back through the veil.
Twilight clerics wear, purple, black and silver only.
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SO...In my mind I had the Dawn as neutral, Noontide as good with neutral leanings and Twilight as neutral with dark (not evil) leanings.
However my friend felt that Dawn was good, Noon was neutral and Twilight neutral/dark.

My reasoning was that the Dawn are like the rangers, protecting the creatures of the land and the land itself from harm, not aligned to political sides, but simply to the Goddess. Go getter's, action types. Therefore Neutral
Where as Noon, are non-combative, nurturing types. Healers and counsellors. Working with the people of the realm more. Pacifist activists. Therefore Good

In a roleplay environment the ideas of Good and Evil are very clear cut, whole races are automatically considered Evil (with few exceptions), or Good. A 'Goodie' would be unlikely to help an evil race, even if they were dying in front of them, where as a neutral character would.

So my friend argues (roughly, excuse me friend if i get this wrong) that the Dawn clerics are much more black and white, going with gut instinct , rushing into battle to defend, more childlike in their viewing of the world, therefore aligned more with 'Good'
Whereas the Noon clerics are more able to weigh a situation, helping whoever comes their way, even healing the evil races. They stand back passively from a fight, not involving themselves. Therefore 'Neutral'

This is something I struggled with in Everwind realm, because characteristics that I would consider in RL to be good, ie: helping all in need or not carrying a weapon, might actually be considered 'neutral', or even worse I might be seen as aiding the Dark side by healing one of their number.

I suppose this happens in Real Life sometimes also. The Quakers who refused to fight in the War, were doing what they felt was good, however many didn't see it that way. Do we sometimes have to do hard things for the greater good? or are we simply justifying evil.

Is 'Neutral' more good than 'Good'?
In roleplay, Good, Neutral, and Evil are much more sharply defined, and perhaps I have to face the fact that Wren the Noontide sister is not such a roleplay 'Goodie' after all.

All comments on the nature of Good, Neutral and Evil are welcomed

Wrens

It has become clear that many people arrive on this blog looking for information on Wrens in general. Below is a rather naff blog on Wrens, however further information on Wrens can be found at the RSPB

or in the US Audubon Baby Wren

So on a very random note, I want to tell you a wee bit about my namesake.

Wren's are one of my favorite birds, they are the second smallest bird in the UK , but that doesn't stop them. Despite their size they are the most numerous bird in Britain.

This is partly down to the enterprising and hard working males in the spring time.....

I tell a story to (primary) school children about this:

The male Wren is a very clever chap, he builds at least three nests, before he has met even one lady Wren.

Once his nests are built, he goes off to find a female. He takes his new girlfriend to one of his nests and shows it off.

He says ...*full of pride* "Look at my lovely nest, I made it myself you know, don't you think it would look nice with some lovely eggs in it?" *wink*

She says ...*none committal* "Hmmm... I don't know.." *points at it* "that side looks a bit loose and the neighbourhoods very noisy"

So he tells her to come and see his other nest... and so on. Eventually she finds one she likes, and she lays her eggs in it and begins to brood them.

Meanwhile...off Mr Wren goes to find another young lady, who might just like his first nest, and so on..

Soon there are at least three females sitting on eggs, one in each nest.

Now this is all fine for Mr Wren.. until.. the eggs begin to hatch. Soon Mr Wren has three squeaking, squawking, tweeting nests full of hungry chicks to feed. You can guess just how much hard work that is! But before long, all being well, the youngsters fledge and leave, off to face the wide world.

Now why does he do this? Because he's very clever.

You see, he wants lots of children, so that the world will always be able to hear and see beautiful Wrens. But if something should happen to one of his nests... like a bad cat finding it... or a big storm bowing it away, he still has two lovely nests full of baby birds left,

and Wrens will always rule the roost and be the most common bird in the country.

......................................................

Its a simplified story, but essentially true, and shows that you don't have to be big to be clever.

If you want to help Wrens this winter, consider giving them a little food. They are insect eaters and as such rarely visit bird tables, but a little grated cheese, sprinkled along the bottom of the hedge (because they are shy) will be greatly appreciated.

Also consider a specialist Wren nest box, as they will roost in it in winter to keep warm, as well as nest in it in the spring. This is really important because they are so small that, sadly, hundreds freeze to death on cold nights.

Did you know the most Wrens ever found to be roosting in a nestbox was 63!

And I thought my house was a squash and a squeeze!

The nature of things

The other night in Triskele, I was having a hard time trying to be inspired by the 'nature' of the place. As mentioned in a previous post, I cant find the 'wildness' there, and being that my Goddess will be looking after the natural side of the realm, its causing me a few problems.

They are constantly adding things and changing things, and my deep desire is that they ,one day, make a wood. There has been some talk of adding more places for the elves, and I am hoping this will be more relaxed and natural, not another hulking great castle.*please*

So I decided to leave it for a bit and be creative in another way and have been working on a symbol for the order.

Its a Dawn, Noontide and Twilight symbol, using the triskel and some Celtic influences.

Let me know what you think.

Parlamay

Well, I've gone and done it!
I really should learn not to let ideas and enthusiasm lead me into more work, but I cant help it.
When I start to think about something that interests me, my brain goes into overdrive and the ideas (good and bad), start tumbling around and eventually want to spill out somewhere.
And being a person who likes to organise things, I invariably end up volunteering to do so.

So, after chatting to Bri last night,I have said I will be speaker for the Goddess of Nature, Parlamay.
She has no backstory and is not based on any actual deity, so I will have to think long and hard about how I approach her. Bri has said I could give the triple goddess idea a go, but I would like to speak to some potential acolytes about how they feel, I don't want to complicate her even further.
If I do go with the triple aspect idea, the clerics will be: Dawn , Noontide, and Twilight brothers or sisters. That keeps it gender neutral, and doesn't carry the Wiccan aspects of the Maiden , Mother, Crone model.

So, trying not to ignore my RL work, but still thinking hard about this, I better get on.
See you all soon!

Some SL Goddess ideas

I was thinking about a conversation I had with Alphonsus and Malakyte last night. We were talking about the pantheon in Triskele and how it would work. One of the things that came up, is how difficult it is to classify one God or Goddess as Good, Neutral or Evil. Malakyte and I wrestled with this in Everwind when thinking about our nature goddess Illustree. She was classed in the 'good' camp, however we had various discussions about her being much more neutral, as nature can be violent and harsh at times, and is not always 'good' in the do gooder way we might perceive.
Alphonsus said he had struggled with similar things with his god Castan, also in the 'good' camp. Castan was a god of honour, loyalty, truth and justice. He represented many good qualities, and was associated with knights and warriors. However, Alphonsus talked last night of how difficult it might be at times to see a god that glorifies those who took part in wars as totally 'good'. He's got a point!

With this all in mind I came up with an idea for a Goddess today, please let me know what you think!
I thought we might approach the triple goddess idea.(fits with the Triskele of the realm too)
So we would have one Goddess (as part of the pantheon) , name unknown yet, who represented all aspects of life and who's followers would choose (or be placed) in three categories.(not age related)

Maidens - who would essentially be neutral.
They would be expected to be without a partner? They would be the active, run around the kingdom types. They would be the ones in the centre of battle, healing the injured. They would be allowed to carry weapons for protection of themselves and the natural environment. They would be expected to work closely withe the rangers in the realm. They would lead the spring festivities, and be associated with the new moon

Mothers - who would essentially be good
They would be the organiser, caring, nurturing, councillor types. They could have partners. They would be in charge of the temples, the healing centres. They would be the guides and welcomers to new clerics, they would be teachers and pastoral carers. They would be associated with childbirth, they would work the land, grow the herbs, tend to the vegetables. They would lead the summer and harvest festivals, and be associated with the full moon

Crones - who would be neutral, but understanding of the darker sides of life (not evil)
They would be the clever, intellectual types. Keepers of the secret knowledge, masters of the spells. They would be more secretive, insular, they would have contacts with the dark realm. they would preside over matters of death, and resurrection. They would probably work closely with the mages, and their secrets too. They would lead the winter festivals, and be associated with the waining moon.

This would allow the different aspects of one goddess to be played by different people. In some churches, priests and clerics fill many different roles, we don't have to all do the same thing just because we follow the same God. One God can have many faces.
I realise this doesn't cover men, and it would be good to have a male voice in this. But I was looking for a male equivalent of Maidens, Mothers and Crones? ....Buck?, Father?,Wise man?

So its just at the idea stage, and has been rolling around in my head today.... I welcome any feelings about if this would work or not, or your input or ideas.
Alternatively just tell me I am completely mad to even consider this!

Some random musing about God

A friend of mine said the other day, something along the lines of "I know your not religious but..."
I think he got this idea from the fact that I said I wasn't a church goer, but he is wrong... well kind of. I nearly pulled him up on it, but changed my mind as I didn't want to get into a deep conversation at that point. However I have been thinking about it a lot, and thought I would jot down a few notes...

I would say I have had the most bizarre upbringing in terms of religion, which might explain some the ways I view the world.
As a child my parents were hippies (in a big way), they followed a Guru, and were part of the Divine Light Mission (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Light_Mission).
We travelled all over the world to hear this man speak, although as a child I rarely went to the actual talks. I do remember one of the ceremonial things however, as it was wonderful to do. We all (hundreds of us) dressed in white, and went down to a huge field. There the Guru would stand on a raised platform and fire huge water cannons (like super fireman's ones) filled with coloured water over everyone. It was like a huge party, and at the end, all the white had turned to rainbow colours, and we all went back, wet, colourful and happy to our tents. You can imagine how amazing this was to a 7 year old girl, and it has always stuck with me.
In stark contrast, my primary school in Scotland was a Christian one, and we stood every morning and said 'The Lords Prayer' before classes, had regular visits from the minister, and held weekly services at the school.
I was a little confused. At night when I went to bed, I didn't know whether to ask the angels to watch over me or the Guru . *chuckles*
I have to say that both brought me comfort though

As I grew up things changed, my parents split and my mother stopped following the Guru.
She became a Quaker, and this became a large part of her life, (if not mine). I did attend some silent Quaker meetings, and found them very beautiful in their own way, and I understood why my mother wanted to be part of this group. But by this time I was ready to leave home, and make my own way. Nowadays, my mother trains as a Church of England minister, and will be ordained in a few years!

I have met Buddhists, Pagans, Born Again Christians, Wiccans, Humanists, Jehovah's Witnesses and others, and one thing that has struck me over the years is that whatever you call yourself, and whatever church you go to, its whats inside you that counts.
Pagans believe that all Gods and Goddesses are one God, and that the icons we use simply enable us to identify, get close to, and understand our own inner spirituality.
People of all religions seek to understand themselves and the world around them better, to make sense of things which are beyond other more conventional explanations.
A person of good heart who seeks, not to glorify, but to understand, themselves better and to 'see that of God' in the world and the people around them, can, for me, be seen as spiritual no matter what religion (or not) they belong to.
I hope that my 'religion' leads me close to being this person everyday, however slowly that may be!

Apologies

Apologies to anyone reading this blog, for my melancholy post over the new year.
A combination of a long day and a couple too many Ciders, were a contributing factor I think. *chuckles*
Things are never as bad in the morning, and I do not seek to pass my worries on to anyone.

Your words and poems help to put things in perspective, both here and on your own pages, and I DO look forward to the year ahead, and all it might hold.

With this all in mind I have signed up as an acolyte in Triskele today, although things are completely in their infancy. It will be interesting to see how they unfurl.
As Alphonsus said, it doesn't matter where you are, its what you do that counts and being a cleric is something that has brought me great satisfaction in the past, and has made me think about some things in a new light. I hope that this will continue.

a poem for the new year

Damaged
There's not a single tree in the wood
that isn't damaged.
Yet they grow tall and old
and when at last they fall they are noticed
not by their malformations
but by their absence, sudden blue
astonishments of sky.

Being is its own achieving.
The fabric of things
mends in spans accomplished and the joy
of particular wounds. Do not ask to be cured
nor pass your parcel of injuries
to others. You were damaged, let yourself
be changed and grow and live.

BY DONALD ADAMSON: