How to tell if you are a nerd and ADF is not the lists...again.
1) You pick up a tome of metamythology and a new notebook so you can take notes while you read.
2) You declare that you need a new dictionary and the prospects for shopping around for one are exciting.
3) While reading said book, a college-level book on comparative mythology that you are reading for fun and personal knowledge in preparation for an ADF study program, you look up the word "philology" and laugh out loud at the irony of it.
I posted a suggested way to tackle these books that are difficult for the inexperienced anthropologist today and was blatantly told it was bad advice because I suggested skipping over the lengthy in-line citations at first to help make the meaning of the sentence more apparent and clear. I in no way meant to shun the authors of any cited works, nor did I mean that they were completely irrelevant. I meant to instruct the readers of these difficult books in a literary device that has helped me to understand. It is sometimes helpful to set the citations aside and go back to the ones that are relevant later to verify source material and source integrity, you know, so you're not caught later quoting a "whack job." (I like that. Whack Job. I know some folks who fit that description, and I fear I may be one of them!)
While I in no way wish to censor or disallow any comments and criticisms to be made to posts on the ADF lists, I do find them very disheartening at times. I completely understand why many folks lurk. It has a great amount of appeal! If I didn't have such a drive to help people, specifically those solitaries who are trying to work their way through their DP's, I would probably lurk myself. There are very few lists to which I will initiate a post anymore, and several from which I have unsubscribed. I don't think I am an idiot, I don't think I am a completely inexperienced moron, and I certainly DO think that I have plenty to offer. In order to preserve these opinions of myself, I have been refraining from initiating any threads at all until recently.
I began posting my thoughts on some questions I received from folks on the Dedicants list in order to promote conversation and to offer guidance to those in need. So far, things have been going well, I must admit. The omens conversation got a little hairy, but I *was* playing the devil's advocate there. I like making people think about why they feel the way they do, getting them to look at things from another point of view and helping them to grow. I know that oftentimes when I do these things I end up making myself look bad. It seems I contradict myself or that I "waffle." Truth is, I doubt most folks know what I truly believe about anything. I keep much of my own beliefs and opinions to myself. I have a lot of reasons for doing this, and my true beliefs are only manifested in print when I see a need that doing so will fill.
I will be taking a break from the Dedicants list discussions after this thread. They are starting to undermine my confidence and my opinion of myself, and that just cannot be allowed to continue. For now, I will plug along at my GSP stuff in preparation for IP stuff. I know I have a long way to go, but I think I have earned the right thus far to call myself a Druid, and I know that I am not an idiot. Hey, if I can call myself a musician and loosely refer to myself as a Bard, then I can certainly call myself a Druid, even if a Druid-in-training. But then, I doubt I will ever cease to be "in training." Just part of the path...
2) You declare that you need a new dictionary and the prospects for shopping around for one are exciting.
3) While reading said book, a college-level book on comparative mythology that you are reading for fun and personal knowledge in preparation for an ADF study program, you look up the word "philology" and laugh out loud at the irony of it.
I posted a suggested way to tackle these books that are difficult for the inexperienced anthropologist today and was blatantly told it was bad advice because I suggested skipping over the lengthy in-line citations at first to help make the meaning of the sentence more apparent and clear. I in no way meant to shun the authors of any cited works, nor did I mean that they were completely irrelevant. I meant to instruct the readers of these difficult books in a literary device that has helped me to understand. It is sometimes helpful to set the citations aside and go back to the ones that are relevant later to verify source material and source integrity, you know, so you're not caught later quoting a "whack job." (I like that. Whack Job. I know some folks who fit that description, and I fear I may be one of them!)
While I in no way wish to censor or disallow any comments and criticisms to be made to posts on the ADF lists, I do find them very disheartening at times. I completely understand why many folks lurk. It has a great amount of appeal! If I didn't have such a drive to help people, specifically those solitaries who are trying to work their way through their DP's, I would probably lurk myself. There are very few lists to which I will initiate a post anymore, and several from which I have unsubscribed. I don't think I am an idiot, I don't think I am a completely inexperienced moron, and I certainly DO think that I have plenty to offer. In order to preserve these opinions of myself, I have been refraining from initiating any threads at all until recently.
I began posting my thoughts on some questions I received from folks on the Dedicants list in order to promote conversation and to offer guidance to those in need. So far, things have been going well, I must admit. The omens conversation got a little hairy, but I *was* playing the devil's advocate there. I like making people think about why they feel the way they do, getting them to look at things from another point of view and helping them to grow. I know that oftentimes when I do these things I end up making myself look bad. It seems I contradict myself or that I "waffle." Truth is, I doubt most folks know what I truly believe about anything. I keep much of my own beliefs and opinions to myself. I have a lot of reasons for doing this, and my true beliefs are only manifested in print when I see a need that doing so will fill.
I will be taking a break from the Dedicants list discussions after this thread. They are starting to undermine my confidence and my opinion of myself, and that just cannot be allowed to continue. For now, I will plug along at my GSP stuff in preparation for IP stuff. I know I have a long way to go, but I think I have earned the right thus far to call myself a Druid, and I know that I am not an idiot. Hey, if I can call myself a musician and loosely refer to myself as a Bard, then I can certainly call myself a Druid, even if a Druid-in-training. But then, I doubt I will ever cease to be "in training." Just part of the path...