Sarongs and Bare Feet

I just got back from a four-day pagan festival (KG) in Ontariariario and I needed a couple of days to recover from it. Quite honestly, I didn't want to come back to civilization; there's just something about being able to wear a sarong, walk around in your barefeet, and not be rushing here and there.

This was my second time at KG and already people were recognizing me from last year. It's nice to hear someone say "Oh yes... I remember you. You're Hobbes the storyteller!" I was camped out with the folks from WIPA and they took very good care of me, including a touching show of support when I performed in the Saturday night Bardic (a pagan talent show). They offered plates of chocolate and a bottle of chocolate/mint mead to the judges, hoping to sway their favour towards me. It didn't win me the Bardic, but it gave me a huge boost of confidence when I told my story.

I attended a few workshops and rituals, but I didn't want to be running anywhere. It was relaxing to just head off to see friends, go for a dip in the pond, or hang out at the campsite. I even got to play with some Legos with the KG kids (albeit with a bit of a hangover from the previous night of fire-dancing).

I don't know what it was like in your part of the world, but the Quebec/Ontario region was hit with a bone-chilling rain storm. Parts of the campsite were flooded in no time (including my tent, which forced me to sleep in the car) and it put a bit of a damper on the activities and the people, but we kept right on festing.

Some people were more depressed than others, but this is the price you pay for being closer to nature. You can't take the sun without the rain.

One of my favourite parts of the fest was a Norse Sauna ritual we did Saturday morning. Auz had a small, six-person sauna tent set up near the pond and led a Norse ritual, complete with some Norse mythology. The ritual was very enlightening (it cast a surprising light on a part of my life I need to work on) and the runs from the sauna to the pond and back again were surpisingly refreshing.

Of course, there were the nightly drumming circles around the bonfire and moonlit walks along the beach (we were blessed with a full/blue moon).

Update: I almost forgot to mention (thanks Erin!) that I finally got to do some storytelling for the KG kids. I was supposed to tell tales at a camp-out last year, but just like this year, the night of the camp-out was rained-out. Fortunately this year, the camp-out was rescheduled to Sunday night, so I was able to do it this year (although it meant we had to leave a bit later than expected, but it was still worth it).

I want to give a big shout-out to the folks from the Inner Light coven ('specially Moonlynx, Nathalie, Sandee, Patrick, Luc, and Willow) who filled my evenings with laughter, Belladonna juice, and good company. Loved festing with you folks!

But for now, back to the real world.... *sigh*

Unpacking and Great Reviews

I just got back from KG last night and have started to unpack slowly. I'll have more to say about it later, but all that rain we got on Friday/Saturday was even more unpleasant than you may have believed. My tent got so flooded, I was able to open it as a water park with slides and dolphin shows. Friday night, I slept in the car.

I just noticed that the Fringe guys have put up all the Buzz we received from the show, so here's what people were saying about us during the Fringe:

• Great show. Great storytellers. Go see it. Kids too.
• Bright-eyed and optimistic. Our two storytellers dish up a load of beans and blarney.
• Great stories! Take your kids!
• A wonderfully charming, funny and engaging show! Great for kids and adults! See it!
• **** Wonderful, entrancing and well-told. Hilarious.
• Great concepts. Fresh ideas.
• A funny, whimsical storytelling show. The two tellers draw in their audience. Well worth seeing!
• Great show. Go and see it. Great storytellers. Yea!
• I really liked this show a lot. I recommend these Jack tales storytelling to everyone. I would like to see more storytelling shows & more Dylan & Dave telling. Bravo. Thanks.
• Great show - funny - good for kids, too (school age). Go see it.
• Very fun storytelling. Must see. Don't miss this shows. Jack Goes A-Wanderin' for older kids, too.
  

Nice to know. Now... time to do the laundry.

Truth in Advertising

When I was in Toronto about a month ago, I was taking the subway somewhere with Ms. Carotte when I noticed this little piece of advertising. We have this same style of advertising in the buses in Montreal: each ad is on a banner and slid into a slot that runs the length of the bus/subway car, so the ads appear one next to the other.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the order in which these ads are placed, but I can't believe this is a coincidence. Even the ad guy has a sense of humour.



Rest assured that Ms. Carotte and I will take this under advisement.

Poker face

The Boys have been teaching me how to play Poker and after a year of them taking my money, I'm starting to get better at it.

Of course, we play for money, but more along the lines of 10, 20, and 50 cents. Still... after a few hands, this small amounts can start to add up.

When I started to play, I'd always end up losing anywhere from 2 to 5 dollars by the end of the night. But now I'm starting to either break even or make a bit of profit. Progress!

The only thing I need to really work on is my poker face. Dimitrius can read me like a book and he can always tell what kind of hand I've got. From my end, I can't read anyone, which is deadly 'cause there's alot of bluffing in this game.

And I can't get The Gambler out of my head, except it's an odd rap version...

Yo! Ya gotta know when ta hold'em
Know when ta throw'em
Know when ta walk away like a motha
And know when ta pop d'em inna head

Don't tell me you haven't thought of that already. Kenny Rogers is just a fuzzy Eminem...

Double-sided

Printing a document on two sides of a sheet shouldn't take a Masters Degree in Logistics. If I was using one of those super-duper Laserjet printers, it'd be easy. But with this Inket printer, although it says it can print duplex, executing the job is a bit more complicated. And using MS-Word doesn't help.

No wonder the printer came free with the computer I bought (It's a Lexmark Z55). Sheesh. The HP Inkjet I used to have lasted me 5 years before it broke down. I've barely had this one 6 months.

Paperless society my foot. I still remember the days when we used to carve our CPUs out of wood...

Water Park

This past weekend, I went to Ile St.Helene to catch some of the Dragon Boat races. I've never actually seen them and they looked wild. Unfortunately, I missed the race my friends were in, but what I did see inspired me enough that I want to try it next year.

I brought the kite along (it was in a purple bag on my back, in case you might have spotted me there), but the wind was just not strong enough to get it off the ground. Drat. We had such strong winds in the spring... I'm thinking I might have missed my opportunities there.

Near Jean-Drapeau metro (yellow line), there's a small water park where kids were getting drenched. I'm guessing that the jets in the water park are controlled by computer, but after spending over an hour there, I could not see a pattern.

I took some shots of the kids playing in the water (you can see them in my PhotoBlog), but after an hour or so of envious watching, I couldn't resist plunging my own head into one of the streams (although the streams kept shutting off before I could get to them a few times).

It relieved me of some of the heat and I felt like a kid again.

Expect the Unexpected

I went out last night to meet up with Erick the German to catch up and get some of the latest gossip. It had been a while since I went downtown for pints and music. I got to chat a bit with the band and talk a bit about my upcoming book/CD launch in September. I'm hoping that we'll be able to add some music to the storytelling. I'll keep you posted.

Because Hurley's and Brutopia are so close to each other, many people tend to visit both during the night. I wanted to pop into Brutopia and give my congrats to Jeff who had recently gotten married. I managed to find him and we were talking when I saw the band that was playing that night.

I love this town... Just when you think you've seen it all, somebody comes along and turns you upside down. Evil Dead: The Musical is one such example. This band was another.

Coincidentally, I had been talking with a couple of people about KISS and how they're just not the same without the make-up. As you might have guessed by now, the Brutopia band was a KISS cover band, complete with the suits and the make-up. But that's not what made them stand-out.

This KISS cover band consisted of four midgets in KISS costumes and make-up. There's something bizarre about listening to a cover of I Was Made For Loving You when it's being delivered by four midgets.

I need to start carrying a purse (aka a European Man Bag) with my digital camera. Montreal is always showing me something new and no one is going to believe me if I don't capture it "on film".

Look who's Evil Now?

We caught a presentation of Evil Dead: The Musical at the Cabaret du Plateau last night, and it was a blood-spurting good time. This is one of those Fringe Festival plays that made it big. Although I know of Bruce Campbell, I've never seen any of his work (the Evil Dead series, Army of Darkness, etc). There were a couple of references to those movies in the play, but you can tell which ones are which by the audience's reactions.

We were sitting in The Blood Zone, which is the first few rows of the theatre. This means that we ran the risk of getting bled upon, but unfortunately, although there was plenty of spurting corn-startchy blood gushing off-stage, none of it reach our table. What a gyp!

If you get a chance, go and see Evil Dead: The Musical. You won't be disappointed. It's very funny, the special effects are cool, the singing is great, and the blood washes off.

You might not get this at your table, but our very own Andromeda put on a show involving my reading glasses and a banana. Its erotisticity has inspired me in a whole new way (more news on that as it comes).

I'm Thick

So this weekend, I'll be going to Domaine to LARP. I've only been looking forward to this for, oh I don't know, 8 months? And I had to miss the last one because of work. Grrr.

If you've been reading this blog awhile, I've no doubt you'll have picked up on this emerging pattern. Everytime I start looking forward to a weekend of fun and excitment... BLAMMO! I get sick a few days before and it keeps me from attending.

Two days ago, my fever reached 103 degrees, but it's back down to a degree or so over normal. I still intend to go camping this weekend, but I might be less energetic than usual.

Or it might kill me. As I get older, I see the grim reaper around every corner.

Quiz Time: Name This Country

If this government identifies you as a member or leader of a cult, they have the right to send a government official to your home to seize your property or assets. This can be anything from financial records, to furniture, to your collectable Elvis spoons. And you have absolutely no grounds to stop them.

They are under no obligation to tell you why you are being investigated, they can carry this investigation for as long as they like, and they are under no obligation to present you with the status of this investigation.

This government defines Cult as "any organization that actively seeks members and asks for monetary payment of some kind". That's nice and vague, so they have the leisure to interpret this in any way that they like (ie: you could say that the Cathoic Church is a cult under this definition).

So... Name this Government (or Country).

July 11th: The answer is -- France! Who knew?