From: "Gene Smith" <SmithFrow@worldnet.att.net>
To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Subject: Re: baidarka Re[2]: Inuit Cosmology
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 12:42:55 -0000
>Gene! Buddy! Don't go away mad. I should tell you that
>I've always enjoyed your writing, but really I've just got
>to stand up for anybody who speaks well of good old CBC
>radio.
Let me hasten to say that I have no intention of leaving this excellent and
thought provoking list. I was just indulging my evil sense of humor. I
have even devised a warning symbol for my outbursts. As a non-user of
'smileycons' I invented the first 'grumpeycon' - the irony alert symbol:
(i!) It also covers sarcasm quite well, as there is no cute little
facey-thing that says, "I'm having you on a bit, mate."
>We all have good intentions, and we each get exercised over
>some things that arise in discussions here -- like the time
>I blew a gasket over that damned People Magazine poll about
>banning 'personal watercraft'. Imagine my embarrassment
>when last week I found there was actually a magazine with
>that as the title, referring specifically to jet skis
Oh dear! Even my '71 Blazer can't hold a candle to the merry spewings of
hotrod two-strokes with fun crazed revelers yanking on the twist throttle.
If you live somewhere that you can be unaware of the meaning of 'personal
watercraft', you must count your blessings. Either that, or you've just
found yourself walking along the shore with your hands over your ears going,
'So THAT'S what those damn things are called!'
>Vern Doucette's intentions are good too. As someone
>who has had some enviable experience in the north and worked
>closely with ethnographers, he has acquired a circumspect
>approach to discussions on northern cultures that leads him
>to call an occasional off-side. It won't harm discussions
>here to have someone come out in the open with criticism.
I suspected as much. I have a mother who deeply believes in 'telling like
it is' - which is to say that there is no clutch between the motor of her
mind and the gearbox of her mouth - she believes in this, that is, unless
the impulse is directed at her, at which point she becomes dreadfully hurt
by the 'thoughtlessness' of others. So, I get a little grouse-y when
someone 'tells it like it is' on my time, and I just like to throw some back
to help them maintain perspective.
As for the whole 'expert' business, and whether us mere mortals should
aspire to entertain an opinion, or wait for permission from our betters, I
have spent too much time around colleges listening to 'experts' on things
like Zen Buddhism who wouldn't recognize enlightenment if it came up and
gave them a big sloppy kiss on the mouth. So I'll just stick with learning
to trust my own intuition about reality, hoping that someday I can find the
hot dog vendor who can make me one with everything.
Gene Smith
hungry in Houston