Our first real day at Dancing Horse Farm* involved lessons with the Lippizaners as well as writing, and at least as important, talking about writing
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It's interesting which subjects are accepted as safe--or maybe that's an assumption of privilege? For example, in a large gathering of those not there for a specific interest (like cons), the loudest assume that everyone wants to talk about sports, or politics.
It's more interesting to hover around the edges of a big crowd, and listen to those who have no interest in sports, or who have heard similar rants on politics (because very, very few of those are discussions, as opposed to declarations of opinion) sort swiftly through, finding subjects of mutual interest.
One time I attended a very, very posh party with pretty people. (I was, of course, not one, but I was brought by the brother of one, and thus tolerated through the door and thence ignored) and know what all these beautiful, rich people talked about at that party? Past parties. That was it. (Or at least, that's as far as I got before I inadvertently fell asleep, this being back in my waitress days, when to relax inevitably meant my body would try to catch up on my months and months of shorted sleep)
"Accepted as safe" seems to vary. When I met chorale's family, her brother was a Republican and her mother and sister were Democrats, and they had decided to ban talking about politics, because they couldn't take about it without getting angry. Now the cultural meaning of "Democrat" has changed, so both her siblings are conservative and her mother is somewhere in the middle, so politics is open again.
Well, safe might not be what some want--I've been in situations where two alphas of different political paradigms went at it, neither (of course) convincing the other, they just got louder and ranted louder, until everyone around them melted away and left them at it.
It's interesting which subjects are accepted as safe--or maybe that's an assumption of privilege? For example, in a large gathering of those not there for a specific interest (like cons), the loudest assume that everyone wants to talk about sports, or politics.
It's more interesting to hover around the edges of a big crowd, and listen to those who have no interest in sports, or who have heard similar rants on politics (because very, very few of those are discussions, as opposed to declarations of opinion) sort swiftly through, finding subjects of mutual interest.
One time I attended a very, very posh party with pretty people. (I was, of course, not one, but I was brought by the brother of one, and thus tolerated through the door and thence ignored) and know what all these beautiful, rich people talked about at that party? Past parties. That was it. (Or at least, that's as far as I got before I inadvertently fell asleep, this being back in my waitress days, when to relax inevitably meant my body would try to catch up on my months and months of shorted sleep)
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