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June 18th, 2009
03:15 pm - CTP work and an ambush by the Creative Commons license
Not long ago (in fact, about two weeks ago), I got re-involved with my IP/CTP work. Something's been tripping me up, though, and I realized that it's a combination of two things:- Time to look up sources when I'm at home, and
- Some weird notion that I've done all the "easy" stuff.
Really, there's nothing in the CTP that's easy, and nothing in the CTP that's hard. It just all is. I just need to take the time to do it, and soon. Clock's a-tickin'.
I also discovered (and was somewhat appalled to discover this) that some of my work has been released under the Creative Commons license. While I'm about as kopyleft as you can get with my work, I am rather opposed to it having anything to do with Creative Commons, particularly without my permission. The restrictions on the CC licenses bug the crap out of me, honestly (of course, with my pleasure at working in a kopyleft framework, I should point out that it only bugs me because the Attribution tag means that people have to say they got it from me, while the ShareAlike tag means that derivative works must also be under the CC license, both of which I feel are unfair restrictions).
Amusingly, all work is automatically copyrighted, so one must go through and de-copyright it to make it kopyleft. I rarely get around to that. I do occasionally use the "©" symbol, more because there is no reversed symbol available in regular HTML, and it really is just simpler to type "all work © MJD" than saying "all work copyleft by MJD". The © you see on my site is left over from before I knew about kopyleft, actually: I just haven't changed it (mostly because I'd have to do it by hand on every page. . . poor planning).
Still, the CC license annoys me because it insinuates things about my work that aren't true. At least with copyright, people will ask if they can use it or ignore the copyright altogether (both of which are cool by me). With CC, they think they're free to use it but have to use it in specific ways, which is not cool by me.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/angry.gif) annoyed
Current Music: "Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)", -JB
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May 26th, 2009
10:04 am - Projects, and a small haircut. A trim, really.
Wellspring [review] has me back in the swing of spirituality, I think. I've got two study programs to finish my own work on (there's an odd, sudden urgency to finishing Trance 2. . . I wonder why?), as well as numerous projects that are in a stage of complete-or-almost-complete that just need that last little bit of work to create the report. Putting the Clergy Training Program to bed is liberating, but it also brings me back around to the next project, which is the completion of the Liturgist Guild Study Program, which needs to be written.
Oh, and as some have noticed, my hair is now cut a tad shorter.
( Donation Photos )
I've sent my hair off to Wisconsin for redistribution into a wig. It's a bit odd, sending hair off like that (the magician in me cringes at the thought), but it's good hair: thick, long, and never, ever treated with any sort of chemical or dye. I picked Pantene mostly due to the fact that they accept hair as short as 8 inches, which meant that more of my hair was likely to be used. They give hair specifically to women who have cancer, though that didn't factor much into my decision: I don't really care if it's a woman or a child, or if they have cancer or have just gone bald.
I just hope that someone enjoys the hair, and that it helps get them through what they're facing in life.
And for the record, no, I do not miss long hair (I actually hated it with a pretty intense passion), nor will I be doing this again in the foreseeable future. I loved doing it once, but I don't know if I'll ever be up for another round.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "God's Own Drunk", -JB
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May 25th, 2009
09:49 pm - Wellspring 2009: Moving Forward
I have to say, as festival years go, this one seems to be the one with the best feelings and generally the best weather I've ever been involved with so far.
Coming off Wellspring now, I'm starting to see patterns: 1) This year's festivals are smaller, more intimate affairs. 2) The festivals have a different energy, one that has been better across the board. 3) I've seen things getting resolved instead of complicated. 4) Each festival is bringing us closer to resolution on particular items that are organization-wide.
I was happy to hear of a couple of particular patch-ups between people that occurred, actually, and to see some change in activity (though on Sunday night I realized that bad gossip may never go away. . . which is okay, since I created some good gossip of my own. . . ask about how I created electricity in my pants!).
The Annual Meeting was particularly good: it was nice to hear about all the things being done for ADF, as well as hearing solutions presented for issues that have been raised over and over. I look forward to completing several of the items I got to personally address, as well as many items others addressed.
Of course, it's clear to me that I simply haven't done enough with the SP's of ADF: that point is drilled back into me all the time (I actually felt that I wouldn't have anything to say when Raven asked for my report, but fortunately, he didn't ask for a report: instead, he allowed me to elaborate on changes that are in place and that will occur). As Jimmy relates from a bar stool in Captain Tony's Saloon: "There's still so much to be done." It's clear to me that we have a long way to go, no matter how visibly excited I may be about what we have accomplished.
The main rite on Sunday night was powerful and deep, possibly one of the most powerful I've ever been to. Right now, I'm ranking it around #3 in my ADF experience, with the Belenos Rite at Summerset 2005 as #1, and my Consecration as #2.
The best part, though, was the note I found on my windshield just before I left, addressed to me but really for the Cranes as a whole. It seems that we had made one member's experience with ADF brighter simply by being who we are: open, outgoing and hospitable. I'm so proud of my Grove and all we've done, and reading the note made my heart burst with pride.
I read the note to the Cranes at lunch when I caught up with them in Erie, PA. I think they were as touched as I was.
All that said, this year is a year to go to festivals: if you can manage it, please, please do yourself a favour and get to one. And if it's Summerland, so much the better :)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) cheerful
Current Music: "Tryin' to Reason with Hurricane Season", - JB
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May 9th, 2009
07:56 am - Passing Div2, and a review of my work for a change
 Wow. I got an e-mail about a week and a half ago from ![[info]](http://www.chronarchy.com/images/userinfo.gif) Ian Corrigan saying that my Divination 2 papers were "exemplary" . . . I admit, I had no such thoughts myself. I thought they would be somewhat average.
Among the comments he returned to me were these:
- I should write a booklet on runes based on my answers to Req 5
- A short article such as "Are the Runes a Magical Alphabet?" should be submitted to OL
- The creation of a bind-rune I did for one reading was, and I quote, "good cunning-work." This is an awesome phrase to me
- He and I go in completely opposite directions when it comes to public ritual, though: while you'll rarely hear me offer the names of runes, often giving only an interpretation, Ian only gives the name and translation and lets folks figure out the meanings on their own.
I thought his final comment was best, though, as when speaking about a rune reading that we did in public that had a major affect on ADF (that one truly cold Yule when the Grove was first founded; some of you may recall it), he said:
- Almost like there was something wyrd going on, innit?
Just. . . wow ;)
Over the last year or two, I've become a lot more in-depth with my reviewing, returning positive comments along with negative ones (should they be necessary) and trying to help the student flesh things out if they'd like to. It's nice to get a response like this one, because it helps to verify that the system I've been developing is something worth doing.
I don't really feel that I can just say, "Oh, you passed." I find it important to highlight certain parts of the piece that I really liked, and discuss what I liked about them. By the same token, we can't just say, "Oh, you didn't pass. Re-write it." If something doesn't pass, I always explain why, and offer suggestions for passage if I can.
This sort of reviewing takes a lot more time, though, and sometimes it's downright hard: I've occasionally come across something so bad that I didn't know what to do with it and had to struggle to find some positives to return. Rare as that is (it's probably happened twice in the past several years), I've believed it important enough to ensure that I've done all I can to make it happen.
Attempting to do this little thing is part of what I do to make ADF a bit brighter, and receiving a review back that's along those same lines makes me feel great about what I'm doing with reviews.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: creative
Current Music: "The Wino and I Know", -JB
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March 23rd, 2009
05:03 pm - Busy life, lots to do. What's sleep?
Holy crap, I've been busy. Busy, busy, busy. It's not lettin' up, and is (in fact) getting worse.
Yesterday was a great ritual, though I've got that usual sneaking suspicion that I oughtn't try new things at ritual, because sometimes when I do so, I can muck up a perfectly good rite without any help.
On the bright side, though, I got my first light sunburn of the year and I'm happier for it.
We both know we live in different orbits
Different islands different worlds
Though we really are the same
I'm just glad, glad we started talking
Finally realize no one is to blame
I'm working very hard to keep up on my email recently, and doing a fair job of it. Of course, I'm only going on about three or four days of "keeping up," so it's not really worth much.
I've been watching a lot of movies and TV shows in what little down-time I have. Maggie and I are currently in the middle of re-watching Firefly (Grr-Arg). I'm amazed that I have any free time at all, and I often feel like I'm wasting it, getting virtually nothing done when I should be getting craploads done in all cases. There's so much to do, and I just can't really prioritize as well as I used to be able to. I'm pretty sure that I'm neglecting nearly everything I need to do in favour of work.
I want to do what's right, I want to do what's fair
I sent my dad a copy of the HBO John Adams mini-series recently, and I hope he enjoys it. More to the point, I hope he got the DVD player he got last year hooked up to his TV.
Here's hoping that the ADF Clergy Training Program Third Circle will be approved soon. I need to try and get it sent out for wording and discussion on the Clergy Council, but dunno if I'll manage it tonight. . . too much to do, as usual. But, if we get it approved, it'll be the first time since the mid- to late-90's that ADF has had a program of study that could take someone from new member all the way through ordination as an ADF Priest.
This excites me immensely. Immensely.
Yeah with a tin cup for a chalice, fill it up with good red wine
And I'm a chewin' on a honeysuckle vine
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Tin Cup Chalice", -JB
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February 4th, 2009
07:27 am - 1,500: Reviewing my vocational statement
( Here is a basic timeline of my tenure in ADF. It's relevant, I promise. )
Not so long ago, I started thinking back on the work I've done as ADF Clergy, and began re-exploring the vocation I have for it.
I started down this path in college: old journals turn up statements like, "If I were Catholic, I'd be in seminary right now." I know now, looking back on it, that I was feeling a call to lead services and help others for a very long time, even before I'd graduated high school.
I remember when the Universal Life Church put their ordinations online and opened up access to the entire world. I also remember making the conscious decision not to obtain ordination in that way. I didn't make that choice because I felt it was an invalid method of becoming clergy, or because I thought it was beneath me; rather, I felt it was not the right path for me to take.
What was important to me was not ordination. It was not the powers conferred by the state or by other priests. It turned out that I didn't see ordination or priesthood in that way.
What I wanted was recognition of status achieved by the body of my chosen spiritual community.
I remember feeling shocked and somewhat embarrassed that the ADF Unity Rite I was consecrated in was so much about me. Every invocation and evocation mentioned me, with the Kindreds being addressed and asked to support me and give me strength during their invitation. I didn't know what that meant at the time, but I do now. It wasn't about the various Priests recognizing me, but about the fact that I'd done things within ADF to the point that the recognition was just right. It just came naturally to them. I don't believe any instruction for those invocations was ever given to those who participated in the rite: they just did it.
That thought, by the way, humbles me even more deeply, and makes me even more embarrassed in retrospect.
It has been, now, nearly three years since I took my oath that day, and dedicated my head, my heart, and my hands to this journey that we call ADF.
The other day, I went back to my Clergy Vocational Statement, and re-read it for the first time in over two years. I wanted to see what was still relevant, and get at why I chose to go this route in the first place. I know that I still struggle with being clergy. I know that Priesthood in ADF is still something that I sometimes question. I know that I still feel like a rookie apprentice among learned old wizards. But much about what I thought was calling me has changed.
( I made some astute statements. )
( I also made some rather. . . un-astute statements. )
A lot of what I thought would be the focus of my clergy work simply isn't the focus. The things I love to do, including the training program development, the ritual, and the simple joy of being a part of this experiment that is "Our Own Druidry," are still vibrant. But my expectations have changed so much. My own struggles with relating the GSP work to Clergy training were complicated enough: I felt untrained and underdeveloped when I started, but I have realized that I will always feel like that (and, should I stop feeling like that, I'll know I have a problem!).
The thing is, I'm a very different person than I was before my Consecration. It changed me, and time has changed me further. Despite that, some people will not see me as changed, but as the kid I was when they knew me before that ritual. Some will not see me as the kid I was before, but only who I am now.
And some, those closest to me, I think, will know the change deeply, and will understand it better than I do myself. And with the changes I have undergone, they will find that it is not me that changed, but it is my true self that emerged and began to develop itself. I know this because I am more at home with myself than I was three years ago, struggling through a hard breakup and really experiencing what it was like to be scared and alone for the first time; more at home with myself than I was ten years ago, struggling to find meaning in college coursework without a clear goal in sight; and more at home than I was fifteen years ago, stumbling onto Paganism in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico and praying for the first time to divinities I found in my Latin class.
And this, my friends, is what excites me about the prospect of Ordination within ADF: if Consecration can change me in such beautiful ways, what changes are in store for me when I am a fully Ordained Priest?
This is my 1,500th LiveJournal entry, and I want to thank those who have read this journal since 2002. My longest readers are the most special to me, and I often think about what you must have seen as you've followed this blog. Don't worry, there is much more to come.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: "Landfall", -JB
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November 21st, 2008
10:41 am - Some marketing amusement, and an update on things
I picked this little bit of razzle-dazzle on the Crummy Church Signs blog, always a good read. What if Starbucks marketed like a church?
I have finished Trance 1, and am working my way through my last unanswered question of Divination 2. . . Or, I was until I realized that I had somehow entirely missed a 600-word essay summarizing the results of divinations I did. Oy. Now, instead of a single, paltry 1,000 word essay, I have to write two essays that total at least 1,600 more words.
Yesterday was not a good day. Today, so far, is shaping up much nicer. Tomorrow, of course, is The Game, which means that football season at Ohio State begins and ends tomorrow, as it does every year. And tonight, I think, will be a night at Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo.
The Grove has also (thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) seamus_mcnasty's inspiration) decided to run our own World AIDS Day event, since apparently there are no WAD events in Columbus that I have been able to find and get attached to. Now I get to figure out how to make it work :)
I've been fortunate that, since Samhain, I'm not as busy as I was all summer and all autumn. At the moment, I'm spending a lot more time relaxing, getting in some Diablo 2 and finally completing two Clergy Training Program courses. I'm almost a month ahead of schedule on my CTP work at this point, but staying on that course requires that we pass the remaining four courses in CTP Circle 2 before Jan. 1, 2009. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, I have more software to release today. . .
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: "Fins", -JB
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November 13th, 2008
01:06 pm - Trance induction difficulties
H. P. Lovecraft's The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath begins with a trance induction that I cannot help but think about as I struggle with this last question in Trance 1:
"In light slumber he descended the seventy steps to the cavern of flame and talked of this design to the bearded priests Nasht and Kaman-Thah," Lovecraft tells us. Hearing the dangers and warnings of the priest, he decides to go on, "asking a formal blessing of the priests and thinking shrewdly on his course, he boldly descended the seven hundred steps to the Gate of Deeper Slumber and set out through the Enchanted Wood."
Indeed, this is classic trance induction, often described as the "staircase method" of induction.
The more I think on this requirement, the more I find myself drawn back to the Dream Quest. I remember Randolph Carter's adventure in the dreamlands of our world and others, his encounters with the Cats of Ulthar and the war with the Zoogs, his betrayal by the dark merchants as they stole him away to the moon, and his wanderings through the Gugs' kingdom with Pickman's ghoul friends.
I find myself thoroughly focused on this induction, on the paths it follows and leads. I am having difficulty refocusing on an induction that does not follow the masterful Quest for the Sunset City of Lovecraft's dreamlands.
Perhaps my early work in the Mythos was deeper than I had originally thought.
I'm sure this is temporary: I simply need an intent for this induction, one that makes sense and that will allow me to think freely outside the bounds of the inductions I have known and experienced before. But until that intent makes itself apparent, I might just be stuck wandering the dreamlands, seeking the Sunset City as Randolph Carter did.
Fortunately, this is one Lovecraft tale with a truly happy ending.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/blah.gif) blank
Current Music: "False Echoes [Havana 1921]", -JB
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November 12th, 2008
12:49 pm - World records aren't written down for ADF study program material: this is for the best
Last night, I finished the ADF Structure, Customs, and Policy course, four days before my self-imposed due-date. I decided to clock the total amount of time I spent writing it, since I'd actually heard people say that it can be done in two hours. I admit to not being overly happy at the dismissive nature of that, especially since people hadn't actually done it at that point.
It ended up taking me 3 hours and 15 minutes, all told. I hit two hours when I finished question 7. I'm pretty convinced that two hours was a bit of an exaggeration: even with the advantages I had (I wrote the course and knew the subject matter really well). (Besides, it may expand if this gets returned to me for further work, as often happens with submissions.)
I'm happy that I haven't been recording the amount of time I've spent on some other courses: the amount of time I spent on Magic 2 and Divination 2 alone is frightening.
I do need to thank Red Earth in Atlanta, GA; Silver Birch in Australia; and Ocean's Tide in Rhode Island, as well as Brandon in Japan and Jeremy in Chicago for their help on Requirement 9.
I am remaining right on schedule, however. The important thing, I suppose, is to stay on my schedule: it'll be a while before it gets graded and returned, I have a feeling.
Next up? Trance 1, due at the end of the month. I'm really struggling with the last requirement.
Well, it seems it's been since March that I've done a LiveJournal meme, so I figure it's about time for another:
36 miles per gallon Created by The Car Connection
Very few memes catch my eye (and I rarely have time to waste on most of them), but I can appreciate this one.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Music: "Truckstop Salvation", -JB
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October 30th, 2008
03:35 pm - Setting the plan in motion
Part of being open and honest about my process through the Clergy Training Program has led me to an update of Chronarchy.Com. The front page now includes some of my smaller updates to the DP, as well as a chart of Study Program work (and due dates). More amusingly, it also includes a recently declassified government "Report on Discordian Cleansing Rituals" I've stumbled across that some might find interesting.
Finding ways to meet your goals sometimes takes some creative self-bitchslapping, I find. For me today, it's updating the page I see 10 to 20 times per day with my schedule, just to keep myself on track!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "Cheeseburger in Paradise", -JB
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October 27th, 2008
04:35 pm - Clergy Training, and my credential renewal
My Dedicant Priest status expires soon within ADF (Dedicant Priests expire each Samhain or Beltaine, depending on when they were consecrated, and need to renew yearly, showing progress in the Clergy Training Program). I have submitted my renewal information, and I'd really like to share it with everyone else.
- For the CTP circle I am enrolled in, I have successfully completed the following courses in the past year: (list this year's course completions to date and dates completed below)
- I am currently enrolled in CTP circle 2. In the past year, I have completed:
Magic 2, 04/01/08
- Remaining courses that I need to submit are: (list remaining courses for this Circle)
- ADF Structure, Customs, and Policy
- IE Studies 2
- IE Myth 2
- Trance 1
- Ethics 1
- Divination 2
- Leadership Development 1
- The obstacles that have kept me from completing these courses over the past year include:
- There have been few obstacles, outside of my current job situation, which is rather stressful and overly annoying. I was also doing a bit too much in ADF itself.
- My plan for overcoming for these obstacles is:
- I have made more time for myself [ed. note: sounds trivial, but I've actively started working toward this, and it really is my entire plan
- My detailed plan for course completion (course titles and deadlines) is:
- I will complete the following courses on this schedule:
- ADF Structure, Customs, and Policy (11/15/08)
- Trance 1 (11/30/08)
- Divination 2 (12/31/08)
- The following courses, if they are approved by the CC and the CoL by Yule, will be completed as follows:
- IE Studies 2 (01/01/09)
- IE Myth 2 (01/15/09)
- Ethics 1 (02/01/09)
- Leadership Development 1 (02/15/09)
- Trance 2 and at least some CTP 3 courses should follow closely on the heels I hope, by Samhian 09. That is not currently a "firm" completion date, however. If I were to give a "hoped-for" date of ordination, it would be Summerland 2010, though Summerland 2009 would be pretty cool (and remains an idle dream in my mind).
- My support system will consist of:
- My local Grove. I'm CC:ing this to them to let them know of my schedule, as I see it. Also, I'll ask druidkirk to give me a friendly push, and I have a winter where things are less hectic coming up to catch up. More importantly, though, I hope to be a part of the support system for anyone who might need it, because working together is, I think, the best form of encouragement for both the people encouraging and the people being encouraged.
I am, however, and individual student at heart, so the amount I can rely on (or be part of) a support system is limited by my natural tendencies.
- Other work I have done as an ADF Priest in the past year includes:
- My work as an ADF Priest has been limited mostly to my Grove. I have published few articles (though one large article of 6,000+ words went in to OL for the Nov. 1 '08 issue, if they choose to print it).
I have worked pretty hard on getting a skeletal exit standard group for CTP Circles 2 and 3, and placing them into coherent documents. Those documents have been submitted to the Council for approval, and have been returned to me for additional work. I have (at the same time) worked hard to provide the second and third circles of the Liturgist Guild Study Program, but these have not been submitted to the LG yet, or the CoL.
My work with the ADF Prison Ministry has been limited: I have received one letter from my inmate in the past year. While disheartening, it's not something I have much control over. I continue to send off letters every now and again.
The Grove has published a book (which I compiled) of our past liturgy and prayers. In addition, I am continuing work on two other books, at least one of which I hope to have out this coming April again.
- Should I not meet this year's self-imposed standards, the consequences should be:
- There are few current consequences in my position: I don't need to do more than show advancement per the bylaws; however, by committing to completing Circle 2 of the CTP, I am also committing to cutting back on another position on the Organizational level, should I not manage to complete CTP 2 by Spring Equinox, 2009.
It's important to me to get this out. Now ya'll know my schedule, so you can watch my progress, and keep me honest with myself and the Org.
Well, now I've got a plan. Time to execute.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Music: "Fins", -JB
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August 5th, 2008
02:58 pm - Summerland
Coming up in a few weeks, we have the Summerland Gathering. For some of you, hopefully this post will remind you to register before the deadline (online registration ends on August 15th, yo, though you can also register at the gate). For others, maybe it'll spark an interest.
Summerland is a great festival. . . it holds a very special place in my heart. And this year, our Grove, Three Cranes, is helping to sponsor the festival (so, ya know, if you come, it supports our Grove, too!), which means that we'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the festival, as well as running registration and a couple of rituals. In a lot of ways, we see this mostly as a chance to give back to The 6th Night Grove, ADF, who we affectionately remember as our very own "mother grove."
The schedule is shaping up nicely, and I know that a lot of people are coming, too, from all over the country (and possibly beyond, from what I hear). There's a meal plan for those who would like to purchase one, and fast food within about ten minutes of driving for those who don't.
Mostly, though, I'm looking forward to hanging out with folks I haven't seen in a while. There's too much time between Wellspring and Summerland for me, but it's to be expected. While I feel like I've been running pretty ragged recently with ADF stuff (Oh, you can't *imagine*. . . well, some of you can. . .), I know that Summerland is where to go to get it all back.
I hope to see as many of you there as possible (you can register here!). . . I'll be at registration on Thursday, wearing my brand new pocket protector and probably working on study program questions, which is what I ought to have been doing recently, anyway!
I simply cannot wait to get back into it all!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/energetic.gif) bouncy
Current Music: "Livingston's Gone to Texas", -JB
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July 8th, 2008
02:01 pm - Getting back to divination
I stumbled across some of the mails I wrote just following the COoR discussions in late 2006, and I'm somewhat amused by my own attitude toward the whole process. The more I go back and take another look, the softer I become on a lot of it.
Anyway, that's another subject for another time.
I'm still in the process of completing the various divinations people asked me about. I've gotten through some of them, but not many at all. It turns out that my frustration with the process was hitting a boiling point (at least partially) because I was hitting the end of my "free-time" period before everything blew up.
As it stands, I'm still running pretty hard.
I've done a couple of divinations today, though, and those should be going out, too. I'm *trying* to do them in chronological order. We'll see how that goes.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: "In the Shelter", -JB
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June 23rd, 2008
09:37 am - Good response!
Thanks to those who have offered questions for divination up to now: so far, six people have sent things in, which is about perfect.
I will get to them starting tonight, and will start sending out notes in order received as I finish them!
Thanks (and if you still want a divination but haven't sent questions, I'm still able to do that).
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: "Island Fever", -JB
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June 22nd, 2008
10:52 am - Divination anyone?
*grins*
What are LJ friends for, if not there to respond to a feeling of frustration with assertions of support and friendship?
So, I asked in my last entry, "Frustration", if folks needed divination done. Looks like some folk are in need of it.
I'm not worried about quantity: I need five more, at minimum (I got one last night), but it's not so much about filling the requirement (though last night I just wanted to hit the nine and be done) as it is about getting experience doing readings for others. So, feel free to drop me a line and let me know what I can do for you.
You can use the contact form on my website* or you can email me direct if you have my email addy (I don't want to post it here) if you'd like a reading. Here are the simple things to note in the request:
1) a couple of questions, particularly questions that lead into each other. I prefer non-yes/no questions, though I can sometimes work with a yes/no. Examples might be: "What's my relationship with Tim like now?" "How does sleeping with Tammy affect this?" "What if I sleep with Brutus, instead?"
2) any background you might want to offer me (note: I won't pass this on. . . divination work is confidential, so far as I'm concerned).
3) How in-depth you're hoping to get with this. I can do a simple rune spread, with one rune for each, or I can do three runes per question, or something in between. You can also just leave it up to my discretion.
4) A note that it's okay if I include this in my CTP materials, which (as you may know) get posted on my website. All identifying information is removed, and I write these things in such a way that there's really no way to know who asked the question.
I hope to get back to folk within about a week or two (though ComFest is this coming weekend, which is hell). I'll get back around to everyone, however.
I use runes pretty exclusively, but for _crow365__, I'll only use the Necronomicon Tarot.
* - Yes, it asks for measurements. . . It's an old joke, that I'll explain later. Fill it in however you like or leave it blank, but I get the best responses to that little question. . .
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Volcano", -JB
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June 21st, 2008
05:03 pm - Frustration
Some days, I get frustrated with my progress through the ADF Clergy Training Program. It's hard (and it just gets harder as it goes on). I just stood up, my brain hurting from trying to manage answering a question, and walked around in a circle, not really knowing why I got up in the first place. There's a specter of fear in my mind telling me that I just can't answer them, and that I'm simply not good enough.
Right now, I'm stuck on Divination 2. There, I need to provide nine divinations I've done for others. Right now, I only have access to notes for three. I cannot find others (though I know I've done others).
So, if anyone needs any sort of divination work done, please let me know. It would aid me greatly to do some divination for you.
I'm within two questions of finishing Divination 2 and one question of finishing Trance 1. I have nearly all the information I need to finish the biggest question in Trance 2, as well, but actually doing it is really hard for me. It's so hard for me to see the end but to feel like I simply cannot get there. I feel like Zeno's frog.
Well, back to work: complaining about it doesn't make it finish itself. I really, really want to finish Trance 1 today, and get a solid start on Trance 2. Perseverance is the virtue of today.
(If I could choose two "moods" for this post, it would be "frustrated, hopeful." But, alas, I cannot.)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: frustrated
Current Music: "The Captain and the Kid", -JB
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May 16th, 2008
11:08 am - Easing on down the Path of Study in ADF
Over the past weekend at Desert Magic, I was fortunate to sit around and banter about a variety of things with some great minds within ADF. And, because you all know me, no one will be surprised that we spoke about the current state of ADF's study programs.
Now that we have people working on Second Circle Clergy Training Program courses (and by Wellspring there will be at least one more person, with several more shortly after that), it's becoming more pressing to make sure that the courses are ready to go.
The CTP Outline shows how many classes need to be approved for Second Circle: four out of 12 are listed as "unwritten," though that word doesn't really indicate the fact of the matter.
There are completed requirement sets undergoing fine-tuning before presentation for three of those four, meaning that, really, only one class is still outstanding in the second circle of the CTP.
When Kirk and I sat down to revisit the Liturgist Guild Study Program last Sunday (and others joined us, notably Ceisiwr Serith, whose input was/is invaluable when it comes to liturgy), we hammered out five new courses, three of which should transfer directly into the Third Circle of the CTP as well (should the Clergy Council wish to go that route). We're also revisiting the structure of the original LGSP, which had a few issues. Fortunately, it won't affect current students at all.
It looks like only one course is left for the LGSP second Circle, and druidkirk is working hard on that one. We may have a lot of stuff done for our students by Summerland.
I'm excited to see where we can take this program, and where other programs will go as well.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: "Lucky Stars", -JB
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April 28th, 2008
10:46 am - Grove Blog, Books, and Pride
The new version of WordPress is a tad different, so I'm forgetting to actually "publish" the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) 3cg_blog posts after writing them on occasion. I caught it earlier this time than I did last time. Still, it just showed up on LJ.
I ordered a book the other day from Miami University of Ohio, called Ecstasy: Trance, Dance, and Transformation. I thought this would be a great resource for my Trance 2 work, figuring that a book like that would be wonderful for more information about trance.
Well, it's not about trance. Or dance. Or even transformation. It's about the damn drug ecstasy. Quite honestly, I can't figure out why anyone would want this particular book. The author is trying to be some sort of Tim Leary and not doing a very good job of it at all. I find myself shaking my fist at MUOhio and thinking smoldering thoughts in the direction of Oxford, as if it's somehow their fault.
 Last Thursday, I attended a Pride organizational event. Three Cranes Grove, ADF, has been asked to help with the intertraditional service before Pride this year, and I'm very excited about this. As a result, I find myself with a dire need to accessorize my ritual gear (no, I'm not kidding at all). I was thinking that I need either a rainbow stole or perhaps a rainbow sash to replace my usual belt, but something with the ADF sigil on it. Anyone willing to give me a hand and help me by making it (or keying me into where I can get such a thing)?
I really enjoyed the Pride meeting, by the way. As I reflected back on the meeting, I wondered if I should have felt out of place, or if I had felt out of place. I really didn't, and I suspect that because there was a representative from Green Faerie Grove, I didn't feel as out of place as I had in the initial meetings I had during my last interfaith foray for World AIDS Day (where I was the only Pagan in the room and service, though my discomfort cleared up quickly in that setting). I've always really liked the Pride movement, but involvement isn't always easy for allies. I'm very happy that I've been offered this particular chance to show my support (and my Grove's support) for the movement.
It's clear to me that I'm going to have to get over my general discomfort with certain terms, though, particularly "queer," which is a term that I've known most cleary from its use on the playground during my primary education in Kentucky, really, so those connotations still stick in my head. I'm not sure that the word had passed my lips since at least 1999, when I last mentioned playing the game "smear the queer" on the playground to my girlfriend (who was appalled I had played it: I'm pretty sure I hadn't thought of the socio-political impacts of the game's name before that). This is an entirely different community with a very specialized vocabulary that I'm not at all used to, and I'm pretty darn sure that the vocabulary isn't agreed upon by the entire population.
Ah, well: it's an adventure, and one that I'm very eager to take part in.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: "Bama Breeze", -JB
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April 25th, 2008
08:53 am - Dreaming the CTP
This morning, I awoke to a dream that I had been working on the ADF Clergy Training Program.
Now, if only I could remember what I wrote, because I think I finished Trance 2 in the dream. . .
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "First Look", -JB
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January 27th, 2008
09:51 am - Adventures in Linux (or, Saving Six Study Program Documents from Certain Doom)
Not long ago, I actually got "real" internet access at home. This consists of the cheapest possible DSL connection that I could possibly obtain: $15/month, which I split down the center with Tina. Since it's on my phone bill, it's not an extra bill, just more like an extra feature.
I also received red_sput's computer from my parents at about the same time. He had run into the classic confusing issue of "Windows just shuts down before fully booting," which indicated that there was some sort of issue with his WinXP installation. I offered to look at it, but he bought a new computer back in November, so it wasn't really urgent.
When I pressed the power button, the computer sprang to life, and I watched in amusement as the entire thing booted and popped into Windows with no problems at all. "I have it working," I told my father, who had seen it not work before. "What did you do?" he asked. "I turned it on." "Huh, nothing else?" "No," I said, "nothing else. There's a magical aura that tech support people have that makes it impossible to replicate an issue once the computer is in their hands. I have that aura."
It turns out that the issue was a combination of spyware, viruses, and (as I soon found out) a faulty hard drive.
Since then, I've been playing around with the machine (and am currently typing on it). I've used it for all sorts of things, from gaming to updating the Three Cranes site. But two days ago, I heard that ominous clicking on boot.
The hard drive had gone. Gone, daddy, gone.
While there was nothing of actual importance on this machine, I did have some ADF Clergy Training Program work saved on this machine and it was not yet backed up. While I can always re-write some of this stuff, I was kicking myself for falling victim to something I've told many, many Dedicants over the years: back your work up!
As a result, I went back to a solution I used last time a hard drive died: Linux.
( Geeky stuff ahead, but interesting )
In short, I think that the older versions of Knoppix are what I recommend and will probably stick with if I actually have to do anything in the future.
For the really short term, though, I'm just going to get a new hard drive for this bad boy and use my flash drive to back everything up until this one finally craps out. While it's on its last legs, I did manage to get back into Windows and boot from the hard drive. I noticed yesterday that the hard drive had appeared in Knoppix, meaning that it's working temporarily. So for now, the machine is intact. Sorta.
Did I mention there's also a c-clamp holding the monitor together?
I love computer repair and support. It can be so. . . ghetto.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Mac the Knife", -JB with Frank Sinatra
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