Unity and Brutality
Once again, I don't feel like writing.
I'd rather eat chocolate and play video games, but there's this sad thing where I always tell my students to write every day.
And I've long hated "Do as I say, not as I do."
Soooooo, um, stuff and things.
Fascinatingly enough, actually, one of my students seems intent on taking my advice – what a novel concept!
Usually, the way it goes is that I tell them to do something basic like write or read. I see them the following week. I ask, "Did you write or read?" They respond, "Well, uh, I kinda had to do this one thing where I couldn't spare two minutes since I was so busy with all the things I had to do."
I recently met with a student and asked her if we were meeting at the same time next week. Long story short, she said that she thought the input I gave her was useful, and she wanted to go try to implement it on her own. That's the whole bloody goal: I teach you a thing, and then you go use that thing in your own life without me spoon-feeding you.
If only.
Aaaaanyway, I found something that represents the earthies pretty well. It's called haka. It's a sort of battle chant done by some groups in New Zealand. I think this sort of thing shows up in a number of contexts in a number of countries. I'm interested in learning more.
For a while, it seemed as though the earthies were just badass bros, but I discovered – via the haka – that they are full of passion, almost spiritual passion. Psychotic passion. Physical passion. Warrior passion. I'm not sure how to describe it. I've watched the wedding haka roughly five times now. I need to know more. I remember watching a documentary a while ago. I forget the peoples, but they would welcome home their leaders by throwing spears at them. The connotation was that good leader-warriors could and would catch spears, and bad ones would get weeded out. I have to learn more. There is so very mucho much that I don't know.
I'm glad to learn, however, that the earthies aren't just bros.
I saw another video where many young men were chanting the haka at a man's funeral. I saw another where students were chanting the haka as a farewell to their principal.
I am drawn to the ferocity, the brutality. Good brutality. Brutality that honors a man on his wedding. Brutality that honors a fallen friend. Brutality that honors a departing mentor. And unity. I am drawn to the unity that echoes in their shouts and stomps and slaps and hisses.
Old-fashioned drinking songs seem slightly similar: cacophonous chants by which a group shares a story, by which they declare unity of some kind, with a strong hue of brashness, which somewhat resembles brutality.
I'm still learning about the earth elementals. I respect them more. I admire them more. I want to be more like they are.
However, I'm not sure if they will be primarily subterranean, optionally subterranean, or subterranean at all. There are a lot of things I want them to be that really don't make sense underground. I could possibly just introduce them from another planet; I'm not 100% set on having them start on Earth. I don't know though. Oi, they are "earth" elementals. It's tricky stuff. I'll probably just have to get to know them better before I can decide anything like that.
I'd rather eat chocolate and play video games, but there's this sad thing where I always tell my students to write every day.
And I've long hated "Do as I say, not as I do."
Soooooo, um, stuff and things.
Fascinatingly enough, actually, one of my students seems intent on taking my advice – what a novel concept!
Usually, the way it goes is that I tell them to do something basic like write or read. I see them the following week. I ask, "Did you write or read?" They respond, "Well, uh, I kinda had to do this one thing where I couldn't spare two minutes since I was so busy with all the things I had to do."
I recently met with a student and asked her if we were meeting at the same time next week. Long story short, she said that she thought the input I gave her was useful, and she wanted to go try to implement it on her own. That's the whole bloody goal: I teach you a thing, and then you go use that thing in your own life without me spoon-feeding you.
If only.
Aaaaanyway, I found something that represents the earthies pretty well. It's called haka. It's a sort of battle chant done by some groups in New Zealand. I think this sort of thing shows up in a number of contexts in a number of countries. I'm interested in learning more.
For a while, it seemed as though the earthies were just badass bros, but I discovered – via the haka – that they are full of passion, almost spiritual passion. Psychotic passion. Physical passion. Warrior passion. I'm not sure how to describe it. I've watched the wedding haka roughly five times now. I need to know more. I remember watching a documentary a while ago. I forget the peoples, but they would welcome home their leaders by throwing spears at them. The connotation was that good leader-warriors could and would catch spears, and bad ones would get weeded out. I have to learn more. There is so very mucho much that I don't know.
I'm glad to learn, however, that the earthies aren't just bros.
I saw another video where many young men were chanting the haka at a man's funeral. I saw another where students were chanting the haka as a farewell to their principal.
I am drawn to the ferocity, the brutality. Good brutality. Brutality that honors a man on his wedding. Brutality that honors a fallen friend. Brutality that honors a departing mentor. And unity. I am drawn to the unity that echoes in their shouts and stomps and slaps and hisses.
Old-fashioned drinking songs seem slightly similar: cacophonous chants by which a group shares a story, by which they declare unity of some kind, with a strong hue of brashness, which somewhat resembles brutality.
I'm still learning about the earth elementals. I respect them more. I admire them more. I want to be more like they are.
However, I'm not sure if they will be primarily subterranean, optionally subterranean, or subterranean at all. There are a lot of things I want them to be that really don't make sense underground. I could possibly just introduce them from another planet; I'm not 100% set on having them start on Earth. I don't know though. Oi, they are "earth" elementals. It's tricky stuff. I'll probably just have to get to know them better before I can decide anything like that.
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
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