2008.12.14 13:00 - Amidst the celebration...

The guardian at this meeting was Maxine Walden.  The comments are hers.

This guardian meeting seemed multi-layered, part celebration of Storm's rapid rebuilding of the Kira Cafe, celebration of the upcoming 1000th PaB session which will be tomorrow at 1300, but also at least a partial conversation about the tensions and misunderstandings which can arise from different understandings of 'loaded' terms or ideas.  Throughout the first 25 minutes or so the themes are celebration with Storm bringing out at least 3 bottles of champagne, and then later (I believe it was Storm) bringing out at least two espresso machines...with other drinks and cookies and the such moreless flowing through the whole meeting. But under the celebration there also seemed to be patches of discussion about mis-understandings and attempts to heal such tensions.  Likely another thread running through the meeting was the reminscence of 'back when' we first started PaB and the nature of the journey for each of us.    It will be interesting to look over the next several meetings as a whole to see if these themes/threads continue.

  Maxine Walden: hi, Scathach and Gaya
  Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Gaya, Tarmel
  Maxine Walden: hi, Tarmel
  Tarmel Udimo: hell maine scathach and gaya
  Gaya Ethaniel: _/!\_
  Tarmel Udimo: hello
  Tarmel Udimo: still early
  Wester Kiranov: hi all
  Maxine Walden: hi Wester
  Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Wester
  Tarmel Udimo: hello
  Pema Pera: Hi everybody!
  Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Pema, Storm
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Wester, Strom, Pema ^^
  Maxine Walden: I see Storm skating through,oh, here he is
  Pema Pera: including busy Storm :-)
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Riddle ^^
  Pema Pera: (ah, no longer busy)
  Tarmel Udimo: hi pema
  Riddle Sideways: Hi Everybody
  Tarmel Udimo: hi riddle
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Quilty ^^
  Maxine Walden: nice to see you Storm, it has been quite a while!
  Maxine Walden: hi Quilty
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Pila ^^
  Storm Nordwind: Yes! This is often a difficult slot for me
  Quilty Bookmite: Hi
  Pila Mulligan: greetings
  Pema Pera: congratulations, again, Storm, with your rapid rebuild of the Kira Cafe!
  Riddle Sideways: Storm,please explain how fire happened to Cafe
  Gaya Ethaniel: Yes thank you Storm ^^
  Tarmel Udimo: and for me
  Wester Kiranov: Congrats to storm - I certainly did not expect it to be fixed this quick! Wow!

Storm discusses the Kira cafe 'fire' and some of the after effects...as if he had been landed with a 2000 prim jigsaw puzzle

 Storm Nordwind: You are welcome everyone. In the end it only took four and a half hours intense work to restore it
  Storm Nordwind: The 'fire' happened because of land transfer between groups and a usability bug in LL's system
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Adams ^^
  Quilty Bookmite: Hi Adams, Bill.
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey doug ^^
  Storm Nordwind: We lost half the prims in the Cafe and they got returned to me.
  Adams Rubble: Hello Gaya, Quilty, everyone :)
  Storm Nordwind: That's 2000 prims
  doug Sosa: hi all :)
  Storm Nordwind: So I just had to put them back where the's started off!
  Quilty Bookmite: Like a giant jigsaw for Christmas. :-)
  Storm Nordwind smles with relief that it's all over
  Adams Rubble: Quite a shock for you Storm
  Maxine Walden: and we are all so grateful!
  Riddle Sideways: 2000 prim jigsaw
  Storm Nordwind: Yes, just like a jigsaw, except with the aunt to say a weak 'Thank You' to!
  Storm Nordwind: *without
  Quilty Bookmite: Thanks Storm. Did LL say anything about it?
  Storm Nordwind: Yeah...
  Storm Nordwind: LL, they say...
  Storm Nordwind: "we very sorry, but tough %^#%@&#^%"
  Quilty Bookmite: Nice.
  Gaya Ethaniel: Some money back?
  Pema Pera: haha, I called them, and they called it "user error"
  Pema Pera: as if they had built a bridge without railings . . . .
  Storm Nordwind: Imagine a bringe 6 inches wide stretched between to tower 100ft up.
  Gaya Ethaniel: wb Solo ^^
  Storm Nordwind: If you fall, it's your own fault obviously
  Pema Pera: :)
  Solobill Laville: (hi, all)
  Pila Mulligan: ahh, the chaotic anarchy of Second Life :)
  Riddle Sideways: so no fire bragade can to put it out
  Pema Pera: well, anarchy under despotism . . .
  Storm Nordwind: I have other less charitable words for it
  Adams Rubble: Nice to meet you Pila, Tarmel and Wester :)
  Tarmel Udimo: smiles
  Storm Nordwind: But there was no attachment
  Tarmel Udimo: ah adams
  Pila Mulligan: thanks Adams, same here
  Storm Nordwind: I've very pleased it's up and running in such a short time
  Wester Kiranov: same to you adams
  Storm Nordwind: I'd thought it might take 10x as long
  Adams Rubble: It is amazing Storm
  Storm Nordwind: Anyway, please enjoy it as before.
  Storm Nordwind: I've left the ring of chairs outside too
  Pema Pera: so in the end the only session that we had to do "outdoors" (since there were no doors left, a bit of a misnomer) was the debate between Gilles and me

After the appreciation of the chaos and Storm's herculean efforts to restore the Kira Cafe in very short order, there is further celebration 

  Storm Nordwind: And there are two new drinks at the bar
  Solobill Laville: Yay!
  Pema Pera: "transdoors"
  Storm Nordwind: And Gilles tail caught and ember and caught fire!
  Pema Pera: hehehe
  Ethaniel: Huzzah!
  Riddle Sideways: hope the beer did not get switched
  Pema Pera: it did warm up, but he, for a Brit!
  Pila Mulligan: or sans doors
  Pema Pera: :)
  Storm Nordwind: No beer lost. Two extra liqueurs - by special request
  Quilty Bookmite: Oh?
  Tarmel Udimo: I can never seem to access them
  Quilty Bookmite: Did the fire melt the ice in the whisky? :-)
  Storm Nordwind: I think we need a new fridge
  Storm Nordwind: We are installing a fire extinguisher and a sprinkler system

Storm mentions giving a talk about building the Cafe and the topic of where the recordings of these Kira Cafe talks comes up.  I agree to ask Genesis how to access them

  Storm Nordwind: And you are all welcome to my talk this week about building the Cafe - and rebuilding it!
  Solobill Laville: ah!
  Maxine Walden: when will your talk be, Storm?
  Tarmel Udimo: when's that
  Storm Nordwind: Thursday 18th ay 2:15pm
  Gaya Ethaniel makes a calendar entry for the Storm's talk... ok Thursday... ok
  Pema Pera: http://www.kira.org/index.php?option...=83&Itemid=113
  Pema Pera: is the Kira Cafe calendar
  Pema Pera: 2:00 pm I presume, Storm
  Storm Nordwind: There is a live update on the wall of the cafe - the upcoming events direct fom the website
  Pema Pera: ah, no, 2:15 sorry
  Pema Pera: exception!
  Storm Nordwind: I schedule it for when I start!
  Pema Pera: hehehe
  Storm Nordwind: So if you're there 5 minutes late, you miss 5 minutes :)

We then have a mysterious av named Udge join us, who says he/she is a guardian in disguise. The celebration continues.  

  Quilty Bookmite: Hi Udge
  Udge Watanabe: hello everyone
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Udge ^^
  Pema Pera: Hi Udge!
  Maxine Walden: will there be a chatlog of the talk?
  Adams Rubble: Hello Udge :)
  Riddle Sideways: well, this is a large crowd for the 1000th
  Solobill Laville smiles at Udge
  Quilty Bookmite: Of course. We should be celebrating. :-)
  Pema Pera: (the 1000th is tomorrow . . . but still nice to be here!)
  Udge Watanabe: storm, could you rez us a bottle of your fine champagne?
  Pema Pera: It's great to see 13 of us guardians here -- I bet several of you haven't met before yet
  Pema Pera: and Udge :-)
  Storm Nordwind checks to see if he hasn't drunk it
  Quilty Bookmite: Ah. I'm jumping the gun. :-)
  Udge Watanabe is the alt of a guardian whom all of you know, but who doesn't want to be named in the log.
  Storm Nordwind hiccups... oops
  Adams Rubble: Sorry, I jumped the gun and mislead you
  Quilty Bookmite: 'sOK :-)
  Pema Pera: np, Adams -- we both mislead us, back in October
  Pema Pera: okay, 14 guardians, yay!
  Quilty Bookmite: In case anyone is superstitious. :-)
  Riddle Sideways: misled, drunk, jumping guns, altswhat a group
  Gaya Ethaniel: ^^
  Udge Watanabe: finest kind.
  Pema Pera: no wonder we find it hard to count from 1 to 1000
  Tarmel Udimo: Pema is there a log of maxine's talk
  Gaya Ethaniel: I have some cocktails if anyone wants some
  Pema Pera thinking back to sitting in the tea house with Maxine, just to two of us, many mornings, back in April -- hard to imagine what would happen in the rest of the year . . . . .
  Solobill Laville: Earlier Adams speculated that someone was scratching marks on a call wall somewhere counting meetings ;)
  Talisker On The Rocks : Ice Cold mmmmm!
  Pema Pera: ys, there is, Tarmel
  Solobill Laville: *cell wall, sheesh
  Pema Pera: :)
  Adams Rubble: :)
  Riddle Sideways: :)
  Solobill Laville notes that typos make jokes considerably less funny
  Maxine Walden: Where can we access those Kira talks, Pema? I would like to be able to read Storm's talk which I cannot attend on Thurs
  Pema Pera: but I don't know where Gen posted it -- do you know, Maxine, where your talk was posted?
  Pema Pera: we'll have to ask Genesis
  Maxine Walden: I do not know either. I will try to ask her for us all to know.
  Gaya Ethaniel gave you (Tableau) The Flaming Mad Ingrid.
  Bottle of Fremont whispers: Touch the top of the bottle to open
  Gaya Ethaniel: Wear and animate ok people
  Storm Nordwind: Please take one!
  Maxine Walden: Maybe all those talks, like Storm's upcoming one, are posted in the same place
  Gaya Ethaniel: yw ^^ enjoy your cocktails [though not champagne]
  Quilty Bookmite: I love cocktails. They make me look so masculine. :-)
  Udge Watanabe: heheheh
  Maxine Walden: Hey storm, thanks
  Storm Nordwind: cheers !
  Bottle of Fremont whispers: Touch the top of the bottle to open
  Riddle Sideways: ooooo bubbly makes me float
  Maxine Walden: cheers indeed!
  Solobill Laville: Yay!
  Storm Nordwind: cheers !
  Wester Kiranov: cheers!
  Udge Watanabe pokes himself in the nose with the straw and considers switching to champagne
  Pema Pera: :)
  Pema Pera: cheers!
  Udge Watanabe: oops, did I do that?
  Quilty Bookmite: Slante
  Storm Nordwind: Sliante!
  Storm Nordwind: Wassail!
  Maxine Walden: we may be beginning a two day celebration!
  Quilty Bookmite: That too. :-)
  Gaya Ethaniel: ^^
  Solobill Laville: Bottoms up!
  Adams Rubble: :)
  Quilty Bookmite: It's a major occasion. It deserves two days at least.
  Bottle of Fremont whispers: Touch the top of the bottle to open
  Pema Pera: that sounds just right!
  Pema Pera: so we'll party all through the night then?
  Maxine Walden: of course!
  Pema Pera: (my day, so that will be easy!)

 25 minutes into the meeting a serious point about a previous discussion is raised. And here there are some braided threads about understanding, mis-understanding and the tension around different views about the same word/concept.

  Quilty Bookmite: While you are all getting merry, can I inject a serious note?
  Maxine Walden: please, Quilty
  Quilty Bookmite: I have been reading with interest the point made about Pemas comments on PaB and the meeting minutes from yesterday.
  Quilty Bookmite: I have to admit my initial reaction was something of a gut reaction.
  Quilty Bookmite: I have my own practice and I reacted to the suggestion that PaB was somehow better because it built on all these practices.
  Quilty Bookmite: However...
  Quilty Bookmite: I was listening to a song earlier today which summed something up for me.
  Warm Cookie whispers: Ahhh, Fresh from the oven. Yumm!!
  Quilty Bookmite: The lyrics go "I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.
  Gaya Ethaniel: Hey Crusty ^^
  Pema Pera: yes, the Animals, if I remember :)
  Solobill Laville: The Animals, I believe, Quilty...
  Quilty Bookmite: It's easy to be misconstrued. In the end PaB was set up with the very best of intentions.
  Gaya Ethaniel: ah... that one...
  Quilty Bookmite: Nina imone originally. And many others. :-)
  Bottle of Fremont whispers: Touch the top of the bottle to open
  Quilty Bookmite: This version, appropriately was sung by Yusuf Islam who used to go by the name of Cat Stevens.
  Pila Mulligan: :)
  Pema Pera: As for "the suggestion that PaB was somehow better" -- I sure never intended to give that impression -- if I ever did, Quilty, I'm really sorry!
  Quilty Bookmite: No problem Pema. I know that wasn't your intention.
  Riddle Sideways: not sure that the singer, writer or various artists is your point
  Storm Nordwind: I never took that meaning, so it may have been ambiguous
  Riddle Sideways: prolly the phrase itself
  Tarmel Udimo: neither did I
  Pema Pera: all I have intended was to provide something in addition to ancient practices, appropriate for the times
  Quilty Bookmite: My point is that there are many people here from different backgrounds, spiritual and non-spiritual.
  Quilty Bookmite: That is really quite an achievement.
  Storm Nordwind: It just sounded like a standard description of tantra to me
  Pila Mulligan: isn't the 9 seconds a threshold -- an entry to the discussion?
  Riddle Sideways: hi crusty
  Solobill Laville: Can you integrate it into your practice somehow, Quilty?
  Tarmel Udimo: an entry to dropping everything including all our practice
  Quilty Bookmite: Yusuf Islam is obviously Islamic and he released the album as an attempt to bridge the gap between the Islamic people in the UK and the general population.
  Pema Pera: what really delights me is that a philosopher like Gilles thought we are doing phenomenology, Buddhists think we are doing a form of Buddhism, and so on :-) I think they are all right!
  Solobill Laville: And he can still sing (a great voice that one)
  Quilty Bookmite: Yes. :-)
  Tarmel Udimo: agreed its an entry point one of many but one that seems to fast track the process somewhat
  Solobill Laville: Me too...(and on that note I must go...) :)
  Riddle Sideways: Yes, we bring ALL of our selfs to this table
  Udge Watanabe: bye solo, take care.
  Quilty Bookmite: It brings home that many of the arguments and disagreements between religions are really just that - misunderstandings.
  Tarmel Udimo: bye solo
  Storm Nordwind waves to Solo

The various 'influences' of alcohol, how it may lubricate, but also perhaps dim the senses is raised in jest of course, but perhaps the thread of personal responsibility begins to wend its way into the conversation (tho to mention it may seem like a wet blanket, given all the celegratory comments and references to fine wines and the good things in life). 

  Crusty Goldshark: hi guys - will be flying later so no champagne for me ;)
  Tarmel Udimo: flying?
  Quilty Bookmite: Ah. Too much drink flowing for serious philosophical discussions. :-)
  Crusty Goldshark: Yeah never done that in SL?
  Quilty Bookmite: Or maybe not enough. :-)
  Crusty Goldshark: :)
  Riddle Sideways: In my personal practices alcohol helkps
  Storm Nordwind remembers his flying days: "8 hours from bottle to throttle"
  Gaya Ethaniel: It does Riddle?
  Riddle Sideways: :)
  Gaya Ethaniel: ah... me being gullible again...
  Pema Pera: 9 seconds from whiskey to wisdom
  Cherry Fluster whispers: The finest French Champagne, the sweetest honey, the fieriest Brandy, the bitterest Campari.... Storm Nordwind, your all about contrast…and the finest things in life!
  Udge Watanabe chuckles
  Storm Nordwind chuckles

Again, a couple of threads of conversation seem to obscure clarity for a bit, one about a false error message but also terms and perceptions which can lead to differences (perhaps another sort of false error message)

  Quilty Bookmite: There is text in front of me that says "no guardian". I can't help feeling it's a bit misleading.
  Adams Rubble: I appreciate the fact that we can fall back on other traditions when we do not understand something
  Tarmel Udimo: smiles
  Gaya Ethaniel: ah! chuckle brothers
  Pema Pera: Solo's question to Quilty can be addressed to all of us: whether we can integrate our practice, if we have any, with the PaB explorations
  Gaya Ethaniel: [sorry... too much cocktail]
  Pema Pera: I'd love ot hear from y'all
  Udge Watanabe: Wol has been informed, she says she'll deal with that this evening. The recorder is working though.
  Quilty Bookmite: OK. Thanks for passing that on. :-)
  Udge Watanabe: :)
  Crusty Goldshark: rhanks for the root beer ;)
  Pila Mulligan: :)
  Maxine Walden: Wol will be informed about what, Udge?
  Quilty Bookmite: The text saying "no guardian".
  Udge Watanabe: the proboem that Quilty mentioned, that the recorder is giving a false error message
  Udge Watanabe: (above the fountain)
  Maxine Walden: oh, right, thanks
  Storm Nordwind: Perhaps the recorder is getting water in it and needs resealing
  Quilty Bookmite: /hide
  Udge Watanabe: lol
  Adams Rubble: The champaign is too close
  Riddle Sideways: Many of already have multiple practices,personalities, lives that inttegrate between successfully
  Crusty Goldshark: muxical cushions . .
  Quilty Bookmite: Still mulling on multiple personalities. :-)
  Riddle Sideways: that flowing cape is amazing
  Storm Nordwind: Integrate is often a loaded word, with its own baggage. I prefer to observe that one practice informs the other, in both directions
  Riddle Sideways: yes, much better
  Maxine Walden: Agree with Storm, if both parties can be open to being informed
  Crusty Goldshark: I think it is free - so I can give you a copy - too drunk on root beer at the mo . . .
  Riddle Sideways is never sure which loaded wordwill shot me in the foot
  Adams Rubble: :)
  Maxine Walden: yes, Riddle, and for whom a word may be loaded
  Quilty Bookmite: Last week introduced a very loaded word for me and I think I didn't react well.
  Gaya Ethaniel: Worship..
  Quilty Bookmite: That's the one. Hissssss........
  Adams Rubble: :)
  Udge Watanabe: seems to have been loaded for many people, actually, for good and ill
  Crusty Goldshark: I am to loaded to be loaded but I worship worship . . .
  Maxine Walden: maybe we are playing with the notions that our different perspectives may perceive the same word/concept very differently...yes, such as 'worship'
  Adams Rubble: yes maxine
  Maxine Walden: and so vast differences may appear because of these different perspectives
  Quilty Bookmite: And for all it's visual loveliness, SL is still a limited communications medium.
  Pema Pera: it is a challenge to see good sides too in any controversial word -- and to see drawbacks as well, both
  Wester Kiranov: i do think words can be a big problem with any kind of practice, because they're so easy to reify and probably nobody means the same thing by them anyway

Crusty cracks a pun/joke which may in part be to ease the tensions which may have arisen around the notion of 'worship' and soon we are back into the wine and whisky and coffee

 Crusty Goldshark: If you wish to go to war - you need a warship . . .[falls in fountain]
  Quilty Bookmite: And that's after a root beer. :-)
  Pema Pera: yes, Wester, very much so!
  Wester Kiranov: plus when you have practiced for a while the meanings change
  Pema Pera: yes
  Crusty Goldshark: I get drunk on the company - It is a Sufi thing - Wine is a metaphor
  Wester Kiranov: such things like opposites starting to mean the same thing
  Quilty Bookmite: But in SL words are pretty much all we have.
  Quilty Bookmite: And coffee makers of course.
  Pema Pera: and drinks :)
  Riddle Sideways: most interesting what words we react to strongest
  Pema Pera: and burn-downable-cafes
  Udge Watanabe grins
  Pila Mulligan: I'm a non-drinker, so I've never done a wine tasting, but by analogy it seems to me the 9 seconds is the wine that serves as the basis for the party (discussion) -- to me these are discussions about our personal mythologies (be it science, religion, philosophy, etc.)
  Riddle Sideways: ooooo expresso
  Wester Kiranov: words and things we can decribe pretty exactly (in SL)
  Crusty Goldshark: . . . and dancing bears (Moon sang for me this morning)
  Udge Watanabe: an interesting analogy, pila
  Quilty Bookmite: The Talisker tastes a little more smokey.
  Espresso Demi Tasse whispers: Now THAT will open your eyes!
  Pema Pera: nice image, Pila, 9-sec as tastings
  Crusty Goldshark: . . . plus some of us got high on cookies - what did he put in those things?

The image of tastings, and clarity and what triggers getting stuck arises

  Tarmel Udimo: and isn't what's it all about - seeing those word triggers and getting a clearer picture of where we are still    stuck...
  Riddle Sideways: and that wine tasters always have to qualify the words they pick to use
  Wester Kiranov: we could try the other senses in PaB as well (apart from seeing and tasting)
  Pema Pera: done that, Wester: http://playasbeing.wik.is/index.php?...smelling+being
  Crusty Goldshark: Welcome to our 1000th bath nite
  Wester Kiranov: three senses down, two (at least) to go
  Riddle Sideways: in a 1000 chats we have smelt nearly everything
  Wester Kiranov: :D
  Riddle Sideways: we have touched on much
  Pema Pera: we got a good taste :-)
  Gaya Ethaniel: ^^
  Quilty Bookmite: I'm a noisy coffee drinker.
  Pema Pera: and as they used to say in California "I hear you!"
  Riddle Sideways: a touch of appearance
  Maxine Walden: seems like we are all hearing each other in a mosaic of ways today
  Maxine Walden: hearing and perhaps at times not hearing...
  Crusty Goldshark: its the wine talking . . .
  Riddle Sideways: in a sence :)
  Riddle Sideways: ah, inocents
  Quilty Bookmite: :-)

I am aware that during the session I was not as aware of the possible nuances in the air, I am more 'awash' as it were with the celebratory aspect...

  Maxine Walden: it does feel that this may be the first installment of several in a celebration...just feels that way to me
  Quilty Bookmite: I'll drink to that.
  Pema Pera: Monday 1 pm will be the actual 1000th session, Maxine :-)
  Pila Mulligan: Riddle, my favorite loaded pun: tanscend asphyxiation :)
  Quilty Bookmite: I'll try and be there.
  Riddle Sideways: ah the appreciation of play
  Maxine Walden: it may be nice to see in overview how the next few guardina meetings go...yes, Pema, I was aware of that...we my just be starting our celebration of that
  Pema Pera: :)
  Riddle Sideways: thanks Pila
  Quilty Bookmite: Bedtime for me I'm afraid.
  Quilty Bookmite: Thank all and bye.
  Udge Watanabe: 'night quilty, take care
  Riddle Sideways: don't be afraid
  Storm Nordwind waves
  Adams Rubble: Good night Quilty
  Gaya Ethaniel: Good rest Quilty and have a good week ^^
  Pema Pera: bye Quilty!
  Maxine Walden: (have to go in a minute or so, as I have another meeting at 2pm SL and will take the chatlog. If anything should be added after I go, maybe someone could send it along)
  Scathach Rhiadra: night Quilty
  Wester Kiranov: goodnight
  Tarmel Udimo: bye quility
  Riddle Sideways: nite quilty
  Pila Mulligan: bye Quilty
  Maxine Walden: bye Q
  Crusty Goldshark: bye
  Maxine Walden: me too, bye all
  Pema Pera: How about extending the celebration to the Kira Cafe, in a minute?  
  Udge Watanabe: bye maxime, sleep well