Five questions
This is the most interesting form of meme I've ever come across. Thanks aussiedave for the list of 5 topics.
If you want something to waffle about, just ask for your 5...
1. Tattoos as spiritual experiences
Hmm. It's a tricky one. For the majority of people now, tattoos are no more than a fashion accessory. It's a copy of something that Beckham got, or a cartoon character. There's no real depth to the experience, any more than there is depth to tagging your name on a bus stop in magic marker. These tattoo collectors are missing half the trick. Then there's the rest of us. If a person takes the trouble to plan their ink - whether it's their first or their thirty-first - they already have a connection to it. That design has occupied a place in their mind and their imagination, no matter how fleeting. They will always remember what they were thinking, and where their inspiration came from for that particular piece. For those who even design their own ink, I truly believe that they put a part of themselves into it. I still remember what I was thinking for every piece of ink I designed. I remember what sinpired me, what it means and why I got it done. If you know how to read them, you can see part of my "soul", part of the various factors and fears that drive me. It's why I can talk for hours about them - because they are part of me. And all this is not even getting to the point of needle meeting skin. To have something that you gave part of yourself just to draw then ripped into your skin in pain and blood (and anyone who says they don't hurt is lying) is almost to re-bond to that part of you that inspired the ink. Spiritual? I don't know about that - Charlie always says that I'm the spiritual equivalent of a rock - but I certainly feel a little more complete with every design that goes on me.
2. You've been in the Jhereg even longer than me. What do you think of the changes it has gone through over the years?
I think it's been fascinating. When I first joined the Jhereg, it was in it's heyday. We had some serious ming - the Beasties, The Zomms, The Temple and various other groups made us a force almost unparalleled. I remember the FC singing The Big Gay Dark Elf in front of the tavern one year at Overstone. Literally 10 minutes later, only their healers were standing. Now that was some serious firepower. Over subsequent years, the Jhereg got, if no weaker, at least less forceful. Where we could previously get our own way through force, we now had to negotiate it. However, we learnt as a faction to negotiate form a position of perceived strength. I think we have now come to the point where that perceived strength is, at least in part, back in reality. I think the physically and numerically lean years have made the Jhereg possibly the most resourceful faction in CP. Yes, we can hold our own, but why if we don't have to? Everyone has a place in the faction now - there's no dead weight at all. Yes, we're smaller than other factions, and we don't have a big clanky core, but we use every skill and every spell and every person in the faction - and it's all due to the changes we've been forced through.
3. Fatherhood
For me it was a real eye-opener. I was a little unsure at first - I have a child by a previous relationship, although contact was broken off at the mother's instigation over a decade ago. However, I never really knew Evan as a full time dad - and there was a certain degree of uncertainty over the parentage there anyway. But Lili has really turned me on my head. Every little thing that she does is a triumph, and I find that I revel in it almost as much as she does. I find myself watching her and welling up something rotten. I also find that if she gets hurt or threatened by other kids, i seriously see red. Talk about overprotective. In short, I never thought I'd be a good father. Now I can't imagine being anything but.
4. Western society doesn't have "rites of passage" anymore, in the way tribal cultures still do. What effect do you think this has on us?
I think it's incredibly detrimental. A rite of passage gives a young person a boundary. Before it, they know they are purely children - after it, they know they have responsibilities, although not always full adults. I think that the use of the word tribal can be misused, though. I actually come from a (non-practicing) Jewish mother, and I think Judaism still has certain rites - the main one being the Bar-Mitzvah and Bat-Mitzvah. I don't think it's a conincidence that the Jewish people, on the whole, still have a very strong culture, a very strong family bond and a lot less of the problems we seem to be seeing in other Western societies. In the UK, on the whole, families are secular, but kids are increasingly more confused as to their place in the world. They get told to "grow up" and "act a bit more adult" from the age of 10, yet they still get treated as kids incertain aspects until they are 18 - or even older now. There is no clear demarkation. There are no clear rights or responsibilities at almost any age between 10 and 20. In more "primitive" cultures, older cultures where rites and customs have been established for millenia, those roles (child/youth/adult/elder) are marked by various rites, and are clearly defined. In the really primitive cultures, they are even physically marked by piercings and tattoos. And they don't have half the problems we have. In Western civilisation, it seems we have tried to let law take the place of lore - to let legal ages take the place of rites of passage - and we have then ignored those legal strictures, meaning that there are no rites. It's no wonder to me that kids are "running wild" (in feral gangs, if you believe the Daily Hate). They've got nothing to aspire or look forward to. It's also striking that cultures with a strong religious aspect (Islam, Judaism, even strong Catholicism) also seem to have less problems with undisciplined youth - but I think that's a whole different argument, as religion also enforces a measure of control - and not, IMO, a healthy one.
5. Why Alianore? And why Fae?
Ah - a simple one. Alianore for 2 reasons - Firstly, it's the 13th C version of Eleanor, which as my grandmother's name. Secondly, Charlie and I got married in Caldicot Castle. From 1158 to 1376, the Castle was in the hands of the de Bohun family. The last member of this family was Alianore de Bohun, who's name changed when she married Thomas of Woodstock and became aunt to King Richard II. It's partly becuase of the name link to where we got amrried and also because it's such a rpetty name. As for Fae - 3 or 4 syllable first names sound better to the ear with single or 2 syllable middle names. In addition, with Fae it was almost a nod to Charlie's and my pagan leanings. The whole thing about Fae being good luck if you get on their right side. Plus, again, the shallowest of reasons - it's a beautiful word.