Subject: A brief look at the upscale suburban neo-pagan.

From: "Rabbi Shankar" <me@privacy.net>
Newsgroups: alt.slack
Date: Tue, Mar 25, 2003 4:32 PM

On my return from the Winterstar happening at Atwood Lake resort, I found my
preconceptions regarding the definition of 'Pagan' have been tossed out the
window. Or, at least altered.

I went to this event looking for nothing more than a few days away from my
telephone and e-mail. The pictures of the place seemed to paint a picture of
peace and quiet. And believe me, I needed some peace and quiet.

I got there Thursday evening, ahead of most people. It wasn't until later
Friday, when most everyone else had arrived that I noticed many SUVs and
minivans. I can't really say too much, as I have a Caravan myself.

Something else that caught my attention was the volume of STUFF that some
people brought with them. I brought clothes, a few books, a small radio and
soap/shampoo etc. That's it. I had no idea what to expect. One of my cabin
mates brought enough clothes and stuff for WEEKS. She brought dozens of
colored scarves, and hung them from the walls and ceiling of her room. The
effect was really cool, though. But, it seemed like so MUCH. Eh, what do I
know.

Without exception, everyone there was terrifically friendly and outgoing. It
was fun, all the way around. There wasn't a whole lot of people there, but I
had a good time.

It was good to see Wavy Gravy, who is still alive and apparently doing very
well: "When you're walking a fish in New York, people don't ask you for
money." He's very bright, and has a natural ability to teach.

The Pagan ritual Saturday night was a lot more fun than I expected. I
actually let myself have fun. I'm sure I made a fool of myself. The
producers went to a lot of trouble with costumes and 'set' decoration. The
whole effect was organized and coherent (something I didn't expect!)

And of course, it was good to see the Stang and extended 'family' there.
Speaking of volumes of STUFF, Chas brought a TON of it. It was GREAT. Chas
does a fine arrangement of Tom Waits' tunes. Very sensitively performed.

Stang mentioned Halim El Dabh earlier. His epic world-premier of "Obsessions
for Oil" was monumental. ESO (as it was) flawlessly supported Halim
throughout the 45 minute to one hour jam. Halim started with a somewhat
stilted theme on the piano which supported three-word lyric phrases ("Bathe
in oil... sleep in oil... I am peace"), and punctuated these with vast
frenetic assaults on the keyboard, which gave ESO a chance to show how
insane they could be (Very.) Truly a memorable performance for a man of 83
(so I hear Halim is.) I ate it up!

Anyhow, I was pleased to meet some more freaks (An understatement.) It gave
me a smile to see them loading up their Minivans as we all packed to go
home, back to the day job and suburbia. Good to know there's still room for
being comfortable.

Oh, and YES. Stang was his usual self behind the podium. There were some
congregants that were hanging on his every word. His rants are more coherent
than most sermons I've heard from actual Seminary graduates. On top of that,
he and Wei are actually REALLY NICE PEOPLE. Go figure.

Monday morning, I drove to the Vet to get my dogs out of 'jail.' On the way
there, I picked up a cup of coffee at a quickie mart. I am fairly sure the
cream was badly tainted. I spent the next 16 hours balled up on the couch,
and darting to the can. So, I'm a day late with the report. Meh.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: A brief look at the upscale suburban neo-pagan.
From: "Rev. Ivan Stang" <stang@subgenius.com>

Rabbi Shankar wrote:

> On my return from the Winterstar happening at Atwood Lake resort, I found my
> preconceptions regarding the definition of 'Pagan' have been tossed out the
> window. Or, at least altered.

And remember, Winterstar is a teeny little "comics-con" compared to the
relative Woodstockery of Starwood.

> It was good to see Wavy Gravy, who is still alive and apparently doing very
> well: "When you're walking a fish in New York, people don't ask you for
> money." He's very bright, and has a natural ability to teach.

I got a very good recording of "The Coyote's Big Penis"... thinking
about posting the MP3 to a.b.s. since the story involves fucking giant
beehives with the giant penis, getting the tip bitten off, extreme
interspecies bestiality etc.

> The Pagan ritual Saturday night was a lot more fun than I expected. I
> actually let myself have fun. I'm sure I made a fool of myself. The
> producers went to a lot of trouble with costumes and 'set' decoration. The
> whole effect was organized and coherent (something I didn't expect!)

Those are good friends of mine who put that on, but you'll notice that
I remain on the outside of the circle, documenting it. I am the Jane
Goodall or Dian Fossey of the Pagans. I have been around them so long
that they behave normally even when I am there filming.

> Stang mentioned Halim El Dabh earlier. His epic world-premier of "Obsessions
> for Oil" was monumental. ESO (as it was) flawlessly supported Halim
> throughout the 45 minute to one hour jam. Halim started with a somewhat
> stilted theme on the piano which supported three-word lyric phrases ("Bathe
> in oil... sleep in oil... I am peace"), and punctuated these with vast
> frenetic assaults on the keyboard, which gave ESO a chance to show how
> insane they could be (Very.) Truly a memorable performance for a man of 83
> (so I hear Halim is.) I ate it up!

This recording came out PERFECTLY. My rant was also decently recorded.

The long jam on Saturday night did NOT come out perfectly. The
night-vision video I shot LOOKS interesting though because that
infra-red apparently does a bit of a see-through, x-ray-specs routine,
so that there's high titty visibility in the video. Maybe those titties
were equally visible in normal light and I just didn't notice because
I'm too polite to do direct titty-staring LIVE.

> Monday morning, I drove to the Vet to get my dogs out of 'jail.' On the way
> there, I picked up a cup of coffee at a quickie mart. I am fairly sure the
> cream was badly tainted. I spent the next 16 hours balled up on the couch,
> and darting to the can. So, I'm a day late with the report. Meh.

The war extends even into our tummies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: A brief look at the upscale suburban neo-pagan.
From: "Rabbi Shankar" <me@privacy.net>

"Rev. Ivan Stang" wrote:

> And remember, Winterstar is a teeny little "comics-con" compared to the
> relative Woodstockery of Starwood.

So I hear. It was a perfect intro for me. Kinda like a sampler platter. But
without the herpes.

> I got a very good recording of "The Coyote's Big Penis"... thinking
> about posting the MP3 to a.b.s. since the story involves fucking giant
> beehives with the giant penis, getting the tip bitten off, extreme
> interspecies bestiality etc.

Yeah! All my favorites! I really wanna transcribe that, k?

> Those are good friends of mine who put that on, but you'll notice that
> I remain on the outside of the circle, documenting it.

Ever the scribe, I see... Well, it was very cool. It was very clear that
they actually WORKED HARD at getting all that together.

The Atwood people sure were very good for putting up with the affair. I
should write them a letter. Some person stuck with a desk job there might
appreciate it.

Oddly enough, one of the nicest moments I had there was the least pagan:
sucking down a scotch in the lounge at sunset, looking out over the lake.
What a perfect view. Felt like heaven.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: A brief look at the upscale suburban neo-pagan.
From: "Rev. Ivan Stang" <stang@subgenius.com>

Rabbi Shankar wrote:

> > Those are good friends of mine who put that on, but you'll notice that
> > I remain on the outside of the circle, documenting it.
>> Ever the scribe, I see... Well, it was very cool. It was very clear that
> they actually WORKED HARD at getting all that together.

I would not be so sure about that.

> The Atwood people sure were very good for putting up with the affair. I
> should write them a letter. Some person stuck with a desk job there might
> appreciate it.

By all means. ACE has been using that hotel for like 10 years now,
though... Atwood makes good $ off it.

> Oddly enough, one of the nicest moments I had there was the least pagan:
> sucking down a scotch in the lounge at sunset, looking out over the lake.
> What a perfect view. Felt like heaven.

The pagans would say that IS pagan.

I'd say it was the scotch talkin'! Prascotch.

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Original file name: A brief look at the ...Winterst - converted on Monday, 21 July 2003, 13:41