Brand new, hot off the presses, here’s the new cover art for The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book.
Archive for June 24, 2006
The Sao Paulo Diaries: Illustration
Here I am with my wonderful translator Lulu (right) and Raoul (left). I love these people, but Raoul wouldn’t fit in my luggage!
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Friday Kittenblogging: Clever Hiding Place
As we’ve discussed, Mingo likes this one particular spot in the bathroom.
This morning I hung my sarong pants in the bathroom to steam out the wrinkles. This did not dissuade Mingo.
Which James Bond are you?
Your results:
You are Timothy Dalton
|
A more realistic, gritty and angry James Bond. Suave but serious. |
The Sao Paulo diaries, #2
My most popular lecture was on Gardnerian Wicca. Because there had been some controversy in Brazil’s Wiccan community on that very subject, people were eager to hear what I had to say. The organizers put me in the big main room for that one, and I’m sure I had over a hundred attendees.
In that big room, we used a microphone, and since we had only one, we handed it back and forth. Which was a pain in the ass. (Next year, Claudiney, two mikes!)
Not surprisingly, we spent some time discussing the issue of fraudulent claims. I talked about how Gardnerians network and know one another and how rare it is for someone no one knows to be a true Gardnerian. Nonetheless, people try to establish claims based on unknown or unavailable connections. ‘For example,’ I said, ‘Within a month of Doreen Valiente’s death, there were at least 4 or 5 people who emerged from nowhere to claim initiation by her.’
I handed the mike to Lulu, who translated and handed it back.
At this point, I was about to say “What a surprise” when I realized I knew that phrase in Portuguese.
“Que supresa” I said dryly.
I got the biggest laugh of the day and a huge round of applause.
The Sao Paulo diaries
So there I am in Brazil. I’m lecturing with the help of my wonderful translator Lulu (who is very sweet and pretty; I’ll have to post a picture).
She is having fun with me. When I get lost in my notes, I tend to say “ba-ba-ba-ba” which, when typed, makes me look like a drooling idiot, but in person, is just a more bouncy version of “ummmm…”
So I’m lecturing. I say something, Lulu translates. I say “ba-ba-ba-ba”. Lulu says “ba-ba-ba-ba”. She got a big laugh too. Who knew that was a cognate?
A movie prop worth having
If I had thirty-three grand to blow, this would be a good way to blow it.
The steel-rimmed derby used by the villainous Oddjob in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger” has been auctioned for $33,600.
…The hat was from the estate of Harold Sakata, who played the villain in the 1964 Bond movie. The buyer, Anthony Pugliese III, is a collector of Bond memorabilia in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He wants to display the hat in a pop culture museum…
One of the great movie props of all time; up there with the ruby slippers.
More on Sacred Marks
So, here’s a picture of the new tattoo.
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The more things change, the more they become Brazilian
The Wiccan community in Brazil is about 9–10 years old. Interestingly, it seems about exactly like the Wiccan community was in the U.S. when it was ten. Okay, not identical. It’s 2006. They have more Internet and less hippies. But more or less.
Traveling the country as I used to do a lot, and still do some, you see that the cliches are true; California is five years ahead of New York, which is ten years ahead of the rest of the U.S.. And it turns out that the rest of the U.S. is ten years ahead of Canada. And now I see that in Brazil, which is another twenty years behind, the pattern holds true.
“Behind” sounds insulting, and I don’t mean it to be. Trends are trends, neither good nor bad. The Brazilian Wiccans have remarkable unity. Everyone knows everyone else. They have a small repetoire of chants and songs, and they all seem to know them and really sing out. They have more Wiccans and fewer Pagans of other paths, as well as fewer solitary eclectics. They’re in the midst of some ugly Witch Wars, and are figuring out how to respond to and recover from those.
All of this is extremely reminiscent of the U.S. coasts (East and West) in the early 1970s. (Maybe throw Minneapolis, a.k.a. Paganistan, in there.) As their community grows, I anticipate Brazil will be more diverse and less divisive. They’ll also be less connected to one another.
Days like today I wish I was an anthropologist. I don’t think this is about any one specific community. It’s about the ways communities in general grow and change. Some parts of Paganism “growing up” haven’t felt very “up” to me. Being in Brazil I realize how much I miss the optimism and intensity of our own community when it was younger.
Visit to Maryland
The events page has been updated.
I’ll be at The Crystal Fox (two locations) on August 12 & 13. See you there!
