Dude! Joe's Jottings, Mostly Junk

For all the media attention that the "Northern Virginia Road Tax" vote got 2 years ago, I'm surprised that the raise in the Virginia Sales Tax to 5% has managed to get through so silently. I had absolutely no idea it was going to happen until WTOP mentioned it as a one-liner this morning between stories of a Maryland politician and the DC school that's still closed.

In fact, they emphasized the tax increase on cigarettes (a negligable 2.5 cents per pack) as if it was FAR more important than the overall sales tax rate, even though cig sales only affect 1/5th of the population.

16 million people affected by something they probably wouldn't have supported and all it warrents is one line? Hell, even the 'Post doesn't think it warrents a front-page of Metro. Searching their site, the only mention is a VA specific section, on Page *4* at that, titled "As Taxes Increase, Seeing More Shrugs Than Hot Collars".

*sigh*

how did people get so apathetic about their own money?

This is not to say that I don't think the increase will help, both the state's budgets and in calculating it (5% is always easier to deal with than 4.5%), and in fact during the 90s I thought it was a good idea in and of itself.

I just wonder why, when it did happen, it happened so silently?

1.) What sparked your love of Morris dance?

Upon having my thursdays surprisingly free in my single 90s when I could (and did) dance pretty much every single day of the week, mostly Scottish, I finally followed a college buddy to the Foggy Bottom practice. The contrast between the simplicity (the basic patterns are variations of the playfords I'd already been doing in 3LF), combined with a power, were already an attraction.

Now add in very good company, an appreciation for other folk arts among the team members, and a bond of good beer drinking, and it sort of exploded within a month.

The general impression is that the Morris takes the dancer, not the other way around.

2.) Your engagement was beautiful...I was standing in line nearby when I saw the crowd gather, and did my best to look over the shoulders of taller people to hear and see what was going on (missed a lot, but what I caught had me in tears). How surprised were you? And, what were your thoughts/feelings at the time on having the "traditional" roles reversed (Good on ye, Cyd, by the way. I'm all for a little tradition thrashing once in awhile)?

Surprised? Shocked and Stunned. Absolutely Shocked and Stunned. Needed serious drink afterwords (to whit, the Order of the Drunken Sots Germans gladly provided at Ze Vine Gardon).

The "pants in the family" joke continues, but really it stays humorous because it didn't phase me at all, either then or now.  Each of us has our lazy side, and usually we're good about prompting the other through it to get stuff done.  That time was her turn.

3.) When did you start taking the time to really educate yourself about politics? I.E.: was there an event that shook you awake and made you feel as if you had to, or was it a gradual process?

"We're only immortal for a limited time".  Its a lyric from a Rush song (author, Neil Peart).

I'd always been educated about it, but my cynicism and apathy 'cause "both sides suck", which I inherited from my father, overwhelmed any other feelings of activism or interest.  I was part of the great 1980s and 1990s middle class, the immortal, the timeless, the ones destined by history to dominate, regardless of the actions of the rich or the numbers of the poor.  The class that saw no end to its growth except the day when we're all that way.  Comfortable, content.

Greed could be seen, recognized, chastized, and ridiculed out of importance (a-la commedians like Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldburg and the whole Comic Relief scene, and of course Doonesbury which I followed religiously since the 1984 return to operations).

Laughter, logic, reason, and education should have been enough to keep this country going well, and in 1993 the final idiot in the way of progress (Bush Sr.) was gone and my parents generation, whom I'd always respected, finally got the chance to steer this country right and stop the freeze caused by the WW2 generation.

( things changed... )

4.) William Larkin? Is there anything behind the choice of the name?

My middle name (named for my dad's father), and my brother's middle name (named for a surname on mom's side, first arrived in the colonies in 1634).  Both names are period well before the renaissance, which was a Markland / Three Left Feet requirement I had to keep in mind, that being my first performance dance group.  Part of me (the part of me that keeps getting called "Joe" at least 20 times a day on site) is thinking of retiring the name in favor of something with Joseph in it, similar to what Bob Garman did.

5.) How do *you* perceive the average perception of you? What do you think the average Joe sees when they look at "Joe"?

I really have no idea.  I know nobody really sees the whole thing, because each thing I do or am part of, is done to a considerable depth.  The faire crowd certainly doesn't see just how scientific and geeky I can be; I leave it out of faire now (didn't used to, and annoyed people that way).  Even in the historical setting, they don't see just how much history I have in me.  They know I'm "smart", but (no egotism here, really), they have no idea just how smart or just how much *stuff* is in my head.  I'm incredibly arrogant, but as I put it arrogance means being able to back it up.  (note, that doesn't mean being right, that just means being able to back it up -- governments are arrogant because they can back it up with the rule of law and a police force).

As a result, I'm sometimes misinterpreted.  Arrogance doesn't necessarilly mean having an ulterior motive or a constant prejudice, but it can be perceived that way.

One of the reasons my faire persona is more foole-like / child-like (not the extremes of an O or Stupina, but you get the idea; its just a mask, not a character) is because that arrogance combined with my short temper can piss people off.  Better to keep those parts of my life hidden.  Playing for kids has worked (they're still Cat&Fiddle's core/target audience) in helping me build that mask.  But that mask in a sense exists for their protection rather than mine.  "Silly-boy" as Cyd calls it, is much more enjoyable/comfortable to be around than "Cranky-boy".

* no, I don't have a kid yet, but its in the plans.