The MacBitseach

Treehouse clubs wars

2009-07-19T12:00:00.002-07:00

Enough is enough!
There are two main, (the largest), kilt forums. XMarks the Scot, (XMarks). and Brotherhood Of The Kilt. (BOTK.)

XMarks has been around longer and BOTK was founded and joined by those unwilling or unable to put up with the rather strict moderation at XMarks.

Follow me so far? The past month has seen bannings, warnings, threads locked ... all because these two sites are battling for membership and dominance.

Soooo ... As near as I can tell, it's all about which boy's treehouse club is better.

If you try to get my members I'll ban you from X treehouse. And if you try to talk about the rules at X treehouse, We will close the thread.

And B treehouse will wear badges of pride when banned from X treehouse.

And both treehouses will proclaim their superiority and have members that call their chosen treehouse 'Home.'

GROW UP!
What a bunch of adolescent BS!

I have been told that I represent all men in kilts when I wear a kilt; that I should comport myself with dignity and pride when kilted, so as not to besmirch the fine name of those who don a kilt.
I've been told that as a casual kilt wearer, I am besmirching the kilt and spitting on tradition.

If 'Real Men Wear Kilts,' then they don't run kilt forums. All I see these days is childish sniping on both sides.
And the real testament to the childishness? Most of what is happening isn't talked about openly because both forums do all the real talking in private messages.

These kilt forums are often a gateway for more men to wear kilts. And what do they see when they get a chance to meet other men who wear kilts? A bunch of childish, sniping, treehouse clubbers banning each other and calling names at the next tree over.

What a wonderful example! Instead of the image of a kilted man striding proudly across the hills of Scotland, we now have the image of two treehouses throwing pinecones at each other and sticking out their tongues.

Just grow up and treat your forum members like adults that are able to censor themselves, instead of children that need to be told what they can and cannot say or think.
Treat people like children and you'll get what you ask for.
And that's the way it is.

Cadpat Fabric

2009-06-12T18:20:00.002-07:00

I know, I know; this is a blatant sales post but this stuff ain't gonna last long, so first come first serve. And I want to give my readers first shot at this stuff.
Click the pic to go to the Bear Kilts In Stock page.

Fashion

2009-06-01T21:34:00.003-07:00

A kilt is an undeniably male garment. One of the few male garments left in the world these days.
There's a lot of male bashing these days. Anything that's purely male is frowned upon and labeled as unsightly.
Kilts, for some reason, are an exception to this.

What's a fella to do?
I wore a pair of grey sweat shorts to go play catch with my son today. When we got to the park, I took off my tee shirt in the hopes of tanning my "lily white belly." (I used quotes because that was said to me the other day ... in the spirit of a friendly challenge, of course.)
I've lost a lot of weight in the past few years but I'm not lean, yet. I just don't care what people think of me anymore.
It was very refreshing to go shirtless, to feel the sun on my skin, the wind whispering through my back hair.
That's right; back hair.
"Back hair! Eeeeewwwww!"
Shaddap!
I'm 50 and hairy. It's called being a man and I won't apologise for it, any more than a woman should apologise for having boobs.
Guys are hairier than women. That's just the way it is. It's not gross, or nasty, or eeeewwwww! It's only thought of as gross because society has taken such a feminine turn lately.
Burt Reynolds is a hairy guy. So are Tom Selleck, Chuck Norris, and yes ... Sean Connery. All sex symbols.
It's not the hair that's objectionable on the average, non sex symbol guy. It's the maleness.

Real men wear kilts. A lot of us don't feel the need to shave anything but our faces, if we even choose to shave those. It's not macho, or defensive, or defiant. It's biology or it's a preference.
How could the biology of one half of the human race be gross when the other half is all about beauty?
Beats me. Things are getting hairy around here.

It's about living naturally for me. Fashion is not my interest.
I have hair on my body. I'm starting to treat my body better with diet and exercise. I choose to wear a kilt.
I do these things because I feel better, more naturally myself, when I do them.
Why on Earth would anyone think maleness is repugnant? Or femaleness, for that matter?
Aesthetics? The anti-male aesthetic has been growing since the start of the women's liberation movement. More and more guys are shaving, not just their backs, but their entire bodies, because women keep telling them that they prefer 'smooth' men.

Whenever someone is grossed out by any large group of people for reasons that go against nature, it says a hell of a lot more about the person who is grossed out than the person behaving naturally ... and about that society.
We're all subject to unnatural societal likes and dislikes. I happen to prefer women with shaved legs because it was ingrained in me throughout my life. I understand that. But I also like bushy eyebrows.
That's a preference I can't explain.

It's Time

2009-05-20T00:33:00.001-07:00

You've probably heard the old Chinese blessing/curse, "May you live in interesting times."
Has there ever been an uninteresting time?
It's the person that makes what he can of the time he has. Some of us decide we're going to wear kilts, or play poker, or ride a unicycle to work, write a book ... or carry a whoopie cushion.
It doesn't matter! We're the interesting part of our time!
Time is a theory. We live.

I know people from all walks of life. I've had a hundred different jobs from the tech industry to ditch digging. I've sharpened skates, planted trees, sold my own oil paintings, written stories, and at times, gone hungry. I understand the joy of lifting a boulder way too heavy for me out of a hole and I understand how mass curves space.
I've been in love and I've been alone.
For most of my life I've had a part of me that is childlike in wonder of it all.
There has never been an uninteresting time. Ever!
I don't get people that stay in a job they hate because they're too afraid to leave it; they're unable to take a risk, even for their own happiness.
Drones.

I've never met a person that didn't have some interesting characteristics.
The people that I like to be with are the most interesting people, willing to take a calculated risk and do what they love to do. The people I don't understand are the people that chant the mantra of the drone.
"I'm bored."

Kilts and Poker

2009-05-17T16:59:00.003-07:00

I can't help thinking there's a lot in common between guys who wear kilts and poker players.
Both like to see a friendly hand. Ha!

With kilted guys and poker players, there's a mindset there that says, I can't be beaten; a certain risk factor ... no, a bit of derring-do that challenges others to do what so few can do. Sometimes it's a bluff and sometimes it's real and you just can't tell with either kind of guy unless you call the bluff.
Kilted guys and poker players can both look you in the face with a twinkle in their eyes, smiling and ... you just can't tell.
A guy in a kilt is usually bluffing when some guy makes a rude comment about his kilt. There's some danger of physical violence there.
Poker players have a similar level of violence in many of the games they play, though not on the higher echelon tables.
It's learning to live with risk. It's gambling that you'll be around to play another day.

But none of us are fools.
Smart poker players don't go into seedy back rooms with a roll of cash in their sock expecting to walk out with two rolls.
Bad planning.
Smart kilted guys don't go into biker bars and order a virgin Rob Roy with a twist.
Also bad planning.

Life is fractal: the large things in life resemble the small.
In poker or in kilts ... in life ... patience and well timed aggression are everything.

But don't forget the chaos theory that goes with fractals. Sometimes a fractal will morph into something unexpected.
Every plan, even patience and well timed aggression is susceptible to chaos.
Just ask any poker player who's had his pocket aces busted or any kilted guy on a windy day.
Busted or gusted? You can do either or both ... I'm busting a gut doing both.
Ooh! And I have the ultimate poker shirt coming soon. Once I find a place to sell it, these are going to be popular!
(Needs better exposure than my kilt site.)

Forum Fodder

2009-05-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

It's a long weekend? Whodathunkit?
Victoria Day.
For those of us who are struggling to make a home business work, (read struggling to pay rent), there's not even regular weekends off.
Long weekends are a myth, like three headed dogs ... or a photo of yourself that you're really happy with.
I have a large order of kilts I'm working on and will be finished soon. Then, I'll be trying to catch up on old orders and put more kilts on my In Stock pages. I'm hoping to add some women's kilts soon.

I'm still taking orders, too.

I found a kilt forum I really like. It has the feel of the now defunct Tom's Café but it's larger and more strictly kilts. It's called Brotherhood Of The kilt.

It's a fun forum and that's been lacking for a long time. Caption contests, haiku contests ... and there's stuff here that would be banned on other sites. Nothing too awful, as it is a family friendly site. It's a site that allows the fun of wearing a kilt to be expressed freely.

I still visit The Bravehearts Forum but sadly, it seems to be almost forgotten these days. It was once one of the top forums. I've mentioned before that it was one of the reasons kilts caught on in North America. And I still get a lot of hits from there. It's always been one of my top referral sites.

X Marks The Scot was a good idea in the beginning; a forum that prohibits talk of religion, politics, and weapons. It was civil and well, if abruptly, maintained.
It's still the biggest of the kilt forums but the advertisers are starting to run the place and attack other, non-advertising kiltmakers. I spoke up in defense of the kiltmaker being, (very unfairly), attacked and the thread vanished into the electronic ether with no explanation. I wanted to know why but all my private messages to the Mods went unanswered.
It's too bad. I have a lot of friends there. I personally like the Mods, and the owner, too. It just seems as if they have gotten used to the way things have continued to develop towards a censored membership and have stopped questioning what's right, in favour of what is most profitable.

Just you never mind, laddie!

2008-08-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

For reasons that are (politely) none of yer damned business, I’ve been writing reams lately. I sit and the pages fill effortlessly.
I had a thought about ‘traditional’ kilt styles.
I’ve had guys very nearly start fist fights when they’ve seen me in casual kilts. Sometimes I talk to them and make them understand it’s a garment to me.
Sometimes I smile and they go away.
But I thought of something just now while sewing.

It’s not the style of the kilt, but the wearing of the kilt that maintains the tradition.

Having said that, I’m enjoying wearing my higher waisted box pleat kilt in the MacDonald tartan lately.

Why? One reason is that it’s very comfortable. Box pleats are great!

The other reason is (politely) none of yer damned business.

4am

2008-08-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

It’s almost 4am and I’m awake.
There are lots of things that could cause me to be sleepless. You see, I’m in a weekend of change. Almost everything in my life is changing within a few days, but which of those changes is causing me to lose sleep?
It could be the late meal I had. Chicken strips and KD.
It could be that 10pm coffee.
It could be the nicotine patch or the reason for the nicotine patch.
It could be the stiff muscles.
It could be the new kilt design bouncing around my head.
It could be the old kilts I haven’t made, yet.
It could be home schooling my son.
It could be the usual money woes.
It could be that I fell in love 30 years ago and never got over it.

It could be any or all of the above.
All I know is that it’s almost 4am and I’m awake.
So, why am I smiling?

Think you're tough?

2008-08-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

There is a common thread in the winning of any Olympic event.
Toughness.
It isn’t always the best or talented in the sport that wins. Sometimes ... a lot of the time ... it is the toughest, the athlete that wants it most, the one willing to take more pain than the rest of the field, that wins.
Success in everyday life is much the same.
I just saw Simon Whitfield come from 15 metres behind to catch the three leaders in the triathlon, then pass them in a sprint for the finish.
He was caught and passed by the German for the gold but I am amazed at the toughness of Whitfield. (The German also gave him an accidental black eye in the swim.)
Simon sprinted to the gold in Australia and to the silver in China. In three Olympics he has been on the podium twice.
So who do I think of when I feel a little overwhelmed by life? What person do I use for inspiration when I’m feeling sorry for myself?
Simon Whitfield?

No, actually.

Simon is an incerdibly tough athlete and I feel very proud of him as a Canadian but there is someone else I think of to give myself a kick in the ass when I think I’ve got it bad.

There’s a hill that runs up a long way along Marine Drive in Vancouver that causes a lot of bicyclists to get off and walk. It is a long and hard climb.
I was getting a ride home in a truck from my construction job. I was miserable after a day of digging, covered in mud, 48 years old, feeling very tired and sorry for myself.

We passed a couple of young guys walking their bikes up the hill, puffing. Then we passed a good looking girl in her mid twenties powering up the hill. She had two prosthetic legs and one prosthetic arm. The road grime streaked her sweaty face and she was smiling.
Then we passed her and she was gone.

That’s who I think of to kick myself in the ass; an anonymous woman who has been through some heavy shit and came out swinging.
I only ever saw her that one time. I never talked to her and she doesn’t know the impact she had on me but in a strange way, she had more to do with shaping my current view of life than almost anyone else in my past.

I just added myself as a fan of Simon Whitfield on Facebook ... but I love that woman.

Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes ...

2008-08-18T16:17:00.002-07:00

I noticed something today. Changes are afoot.

All my chosen pursuits, (kiltmaking, writing, art), are lonely tasks.

Before you start feeling sorry for me, I enjoy all these things very much. It’s just that sometimes, I wish I was able to get out more, do some of the things I see friends doing.

I’m trying to build up Bear Kilts again, so it’s taking a lot of time and money is always tight. I am handcuffed to the sewing machine to pay rent and eat an occasional meal. (This is my second go-around at building this business. At least this time I know it will succeed.)
And, as a single parent who home schools his son, I’m further tied to the home.

I’m thinking about starting a daily walk, leading into a daily run. The Olympics always inspires me to get more exercise but this is something I’ve been considering for some time. I have a few routes worked out. Oddly, the far point of the routes seem to have coffee available. Serendipity?

Every now and then I re-invent myself to some degree. Often these changes are life changes. The last big change was becoming a kiltmaker and that was more accident than plan.

Maybe it’s time for some small steps, leading to a larger change in lifestyle. I bought some nicotine patches and I’ve been antsy for some exercise since quitting construction.

Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m giving up Guinness or coffee! These are positive habits.

And exercise will increase my energy level, allowing me to make more kilts.

I guess I’m aiming for balance. Socially/physically/mentally/spiritually ... and frakkin financially!

Now, where did I leave the handcuff keys?

Um ...

Little help here?

Golden Girl

2008-08-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

For me, the Summer Olympics has always been about the combat sports. Decathlon, pentathlon, wrestling, fencing, etc.
The Olympics haven’t been good to Canada so far but as I write this, Carol Huynh just won a Gold in Wrestling.

Carol’s parents came to Hazelton, B.C. from a refugee camp on a church sponsorship. She was the first born Canadian child of her Vietnamese parents.
Hazelton really stepped up in their support of Carol, doing car washes, and many other fund raisers to get her the training she needed to win gold. Well done Hazelton!

I watched with blurry eyed pride as Carol cried in joy and sang Oh Canada on the podium.

That’s what Canada is all about, isn’t it? The first Canadian born child of immigrants wins a gold medal and bursts into tears in Canadian pride.

I tried to go to Carol’s web site but it crashed my web browser. Then I tried to go to the CBC page about Carol. Another crash. Ya think Canada is proud?

I think we may have broken more Canadian records and personal bests in this Olympics than any other Olympics but have won very few medals. Armstrong lost the bronze in the shot put by 1 centimetre! Yes! 1 centimetre!

As I write this, Tanya Verbeek just won a Bronze medal in wrestling! Nice!

Our first medal was also today. A silver in double sculls. Well done lads!

Canada is not an Olympic powerhouse and may never be, but the few medals we win are treasures.

What does all this have to do with kilts?

SFA!

Kilts are garments, not Olympic medals!

Natural is the Key

2008-08-09T22:19:00.001-07:00

What is natural?

A kilt is natural. Any guy who has worn a kilt can tell you the same thing. You notice the freedom of movement right away. The lack of constriction allows you to move as you were meant to move.
When guys around my age discover kilts, they invariably say, “If I’d only known this when I was younger! All those wasted years in pants!”
We’re not born to be constricted. Our bodies are built for kilts.

Consider the computer keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard is the standard for the English keyboards. Why is that?
When typewriters were first being used in by secretaries, (before the QWERTY keyboard), they typed so fast that the typewriter keys always jammed. So what stroke of brilliance did the manufacturers come up with? They invented the QWERTY keyboard. It was the most awkward and slowest keyboard they could come up with to slow down the typists. They couldn’t find a way to make the typewriters work fast enough to keep up with the typists, so they purposely slowed down their secretaries’ abilities to work fast!
Now that we have computer keyboards without keys to jam, we still use the QWERTY keyboard, instead of something like the Dvorak keyboard, which maximizes typing speed by placing keys in order of most used letters.
QWERTY keyboards are unnatural. Even worse, they are intentionally unnatural! Dvorak keyboards are naturally faster because they are designed for the language, not the inadequacies of an obsolete machine. They are designed for minimal movement and maximum speed.

Natural things augment the human form. They can be so natural as to seem part of us, unnoticed until we choose to notice them.
Unnatural things restrict natural movement. They are constantly felt and noticed because they are uncomfortable and their design does not compliment the human form.

Pants are the QWERTY keyboards of male garments. Few people know why we are stuck wearing them but even fewer know how much more free and natural are the Dvorak keyboard of male garments; kilts.

Lately, I’ve been taking a long look at the natural aspects of women and brassieres.
At least that’s the story I’m going with if I get caught staring ... um ... again.

A Multicultural Kilts Night

2008-08-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

Kilts Night started on a good note this month.
I’m about sixty feet from the bus stop when the bus, (of course), pulled up to the stop.
I don’t run for busses. I just don’t. Too many time the driver will pull away just as you get to the doors.
So, I keep heading for the stop at my usual pace when a few people run past me, trying to make it. The bus pulls out from the stop and the people moan and stop running.
Then, surprisingly, the bus pulls up to the curb where I’m walking.
The people who were running for the bus get on ahead of me, thanking the driver for stopping.
“Don’t thank me,” he said. “I stopped for the guy in the kilt. Thank him!”
I look at the driver, a large Sikh man with a turban and wild, impressive beard.
“You just wanted a better look at the kilt?”
“Yes sir. I couldn’t help myself!”
We laughed and I went to find a seat.

Kilts have occasional perks.

There was some new folk at Kilts Night, who were very welcome. Some were relatives of regulars and they seemed to have a good time. Others have been trying to get to Kilts Night for a while but have never made it. It was very nice to finally see them there, (even without the flirting and the ass patting.)
The Halifax Wharfrats were in fine form and had some of the gang dancing and the rest of us stomping our feet. Things got a little drunk out as the night wore on and we stayed later than usual.
Doolin’s is an Irish pub but the people that find their way there are always an eclectic bunch.
We had some Swiss on one side, a couple of Irish guys and a Turk, (my buddy Erman), at our table, a Scot who stopped to talk kilts, and a few Aussies at a nearby table.
Of course, there are always lots of Chinese guys and gals at our table who are members of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team.
I got home around 3AM ... I think.

The Chieftains play

2008-07-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I saw the Chieftains at the Surrey Fusion Festival. I would have gone just to say I'd seen them but, having seen some TV shows about The Chieftains, I knew I'd have a good time.
When I arrived after an hour's bus ride, The Halifax Wharf Rats were playing. They play at every Kilts Night but on the outdoor stage, they seemed to be even better than normal.
I grabbed some chicken and rice from the Phillipino tent, (it is a multicultural festival), which was very tasty.
I found it odd that at a concert for the most famous Celtic band in the world, (Paddy Maloney started The Chieftains 47 years ago), I was the only person I saw, outside of performers, wearing a kilt. (And received all the kilt flirts for the evening! Not two, or a few, or several, but ALL the flirts!)

The Chieftains show was amazing! It had all the appeal of Riverdance with the feel of a ceileigh. Aside from the Chieftains, (musical mastery, humour, and it looked like they were actually enjoying themselves), there was some great stepdancing, and some kids from a dance school doing Irish dancing who must surely remember the night for the rest of their lives.
There wasn't one part of the show that wasn't highly entertaining.
Near the start of the show, Paddy Maloney kicked a cameraman off the stage for blocking the view of the crowd. He asked him nicely the first two times, then got up and told him, "Get off the stage!"
John Lennon kicked Red Robinson off the stage when they played here in 1964. "Get off the fucking stage!"
16,000 people cheered when Chuck Berry stopped the show to let a young girl dance in the aisle when he played here in the eighties. "I said, let her dance!" (A security guard was making her sit down.)
Must be something in the water.

I didn't get to see The Beatles, but I saw Chuck Berry and B.B. King. And now I've seen The Chieftains. Three great performers with a lot of history.
I can remember each concert very clearly and they were three of the best concerts I've seen ... but The Chieftains put on the most entertaining show.
Somehow, The Chieftains made the concert personal. I'm trying to think of a way to describe what it felt like.
It was like a 12 year old, for the first time not being sent to bed on a Friday evening at his normal bedtime. He is sitting in a corner of the kitchen, drinking a root beer, watching the ceileigh, wide eyed, amazed at the talent, simultaneously feeling himself a spectator and part of it all.
And knowing that as much as he is enjoying the show, the real joy is is felt by the players.
The Chieftains didn't perform. They played. Like kids play ... just for fun. And it rubbed off on all the artists. And the audience.
A good band makes you want to hear them play. The Chieftains make you want to play.

Enjoying what I (don't) see

2008-07-17T02:19:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a kid, I liked to take things apart and figure out how they worked. Still do.
While I don't take people apart, it's still fun to try and figure them out and people watching is a must for any writer.
Sometimes though, it's enough just to watch, enjoy, and not wonder.

I'm walking home from the grocery store, wearing a restored wool MacDonald kilt.
(I know ... but if I don't say what I was wearing, I'll get emails wanting to know!)
It's dark and I'm about to cross at a sidestreet when I hear a car slowing to turn in front of me. There's two guys in the front seats and two people in the back.
I stop and wave the car ahead of me and I hear a woman's voice from the dark inside of the back seat. I can't tell you anything more about her than she was a woman. No looks, age, or anything else was revealed to me.
"Woohoo! Sexy kilt!" she yelled.
Then from the front, one of the guys said, "Shut up, slut," in a manner of fact tone that meant he was to be obeyed.
A bare half a second later came a resounding SLAP, followed by the guy, "Fuck!" That hurt!"
I'm guessing she got him on the ear, judging by his position when I saw him and ... well the sound of an ear slap is a little different that a face slap. Less flesh over the bone? Maybe the cartilage in the ear?
Then the car was down the road and I heard no more, other than the muffled voices of what I assumed would be a bad night for both of them.
Stuff like that ... a people watcher's dream.
It's good to be alive.

The other day, Raph and I were shopping for camouflage fabric at a huge fabric store. We searched the place 5 times as we picked up other stuff here and there. Finally, I asked a clerk where to find camouflage in the store. She led us to a table in the middle of the store, where it was sitting just below eye level!
That camouflage stuff is amazing!
We picked up some Cadpat AR (Arid Region/desert) and a very cool limited run of Cadpat in blues and black.
The line forms right over there.

A single thought

2008-07-07T18:52:00.001-07:00

As a writer, I often hear things that I question, things that most people would shrug off as inconsequential. I thought of one of those things while walking with Raphael to his place from the Highland Games.
I was once told that I shouldn't wear my denim jacket with my kilt because it reflected badly on other kilt wearers, whom I was representing.
At the time, I probably said something like, "I'm not representing anyone but myself!"
I was telling Raphael this story as we walked and I thought of the answer I wish I'd had back then.
"I'm not trying to tarnish the reputation of kilt wearers. I'm trying to raise the reputation of denim jacket wearers!"
There have been swings in the kilted communities. At first kilts were a 'movement'. Wearing a kilt made you part of the movement for men's fashion freedom.
My response was, "When I have a movement, I don't want a bunch of guys around. Just some paper."
The trend lately has been to wear kilts according to a newer set of rules that tell you how to accessorize properly for each occasion.
I follow my own guidelines for kilted wear and they change with the function I will be attending. I did much the same before I started wearing kilts.
My motto from the start has been, "Kilts are garments, not costumes!" While there are certainly times where 'proper' kilt etiquette must be observed, that same etiquette doesn't apply in everyday wear. I've seen guys in Prince Charlie jackets and bow ties show up to the pub for Kilts Night. Sometimes they've been to a formal function. Other times they just felt that a kilt should be worn formally, or not at all.
To each his own.
I often wonder why people think they can tell another how poorly they're dressed while kilted, when those people are inevitably wearing brown shoes with a black suit, or the dreaded socks and sandals. (Socks and sandals are fine with me. I don't understand the fuss!)
Kilts started out as everyday wear for the Scottish Highlanders. After too much history to list here, kilts have become overly romanticised to the point where you can get into trouble just for wearing one. I know a fair bit about the history of kilts and the Scots and Irish, including some of the widely believed myths that some are willing to fight about.
Kilts are popular in the movies at the moment. Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Sean Connery, and Samual Jackson have all somewhat recently been in kilts in movies orin the public eye.
For whatever social reasons, people think a thing is suitable to wear if a celebrity wears it first. Many fashion fads have started with celebrities. (Remember all those bras without shirts in the pubs? Thank you Madonna!)
Kilts are not widespread enough to be called a fad but interest is slowly and steadily growing. People of all cultures and races are starting to wear kilts, because they are comfortable and a lot of women like men in kilts. Personally, I think a lot of guys would wear spiked underwear inside out if so many women thought it was sexy, but I'll stick with the comfort of kilts.
So here I am, representing myself, an creative, odd man in a kilt, pushing fifty, making kilts, telling sometimes unpopular truths, with a humourously skewed way of looking at the world, wearing what I please, (and doing as I please.)
Is it any wonder I am amazed to find myself single?

BC Highland Games

2008-06-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick notice:
Saturday, June 28th

•Whiskey tasting
•Beer garden
•Vendor booths
•The Games
•Highland dancing
•Lots more!
Fun time!

http://bchighlandgames.com/

Here's a little tune ...

2008-05-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a little tune that I heard from a friend. Her father taught it to her when she was a wee lass. (I'm told he always had a bit of funny up his sleeve.)
It made me laugh, so I thought I'd pass it on to you.

Tickle me, tickle me, you know where
Under me kilt and through me hair
And if you don't tickle me in the right place
I'll lift up me kilt and piss on your face

The top 10 alternate Bear Kilts slogans

2008-04-29T21:44:00.001-07:00

I came up with the Bear Kilts slogan 'Go Bear!' months after naming the company after the cave art logo. I laughed when I thought of it.
Some of the following brought tears of laughter to my eyes. Most of them were just written for this blog entry.
Some of them have been tee shirts. Others will be.

Here are the top 10 alternate Bear Kilts slogans.

10 - Go Nuts!
9 - We aim to pleats!
8 - I'm cooler than you!
7 - Can you feel it?
6 - Swinging into action!
5 - They're blue from the cold!
4 - Because the wind doesn't complain when it blows!
3 - Guaranteed: no shrinkage
2 - Easy access!

And the number one alternate Bear Kilts slogan:
1 - Because guys are sluts, too!

Pleats yourself

2008-04-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

Kilts Night. March 2008
I'm there with all the regulars and some Poker friends from Facebook. We're all into our cups nearing midnight and I'm talking to a non-kilted Turkish friend (FB Poker) and his wife and friends, when I notice a draught and feel my pleats fall back down to my legs.
I look behind me and everyone is looking occupied, either talking or listening to someone else.
I go with the model thin beauty who seems to be watching me peripherally and point at her. I know she was that thin because her jeans were skin tight. (This will come into play later.)
"It was you," I said.
She smiled and said, "I couldn't help myself!"
I grinned and went back to my conversation.
She must have lifted my kilt 7 or 8 times, flirtingly, when I wasn't looking. Always the pleats in the back and always a smile.
Then, later in the evening, or morning by now, I saw the person I was talking to look over my shoulder. I waited for his eyes to drop a little lower, knowing he would be watching her hand reach for my pleats.
Without looking, I grabbed her wrist tight enough to hold her but not tight enough to hurt her, and turned to face her. She was smiling.
I smiled back, "are you interested getting personal with what's under my kilt?"
Her eyes widened.
"No!" she said, a little shocked.
I gave her half a spin and a resounding spank on her ass. A real loud one. Her tight jeans gave little protection. My hand stung.
She did a little jig because of the sting as she went back to her friends.
Two minutes later she lifted the pleats again.
I laughed. Some girls just won't quit.
I'd say she liked the spank but she backed up very quickly after the first one, so who knows?
Thursday, May 1st is the next Kilts Night and I'm looking forward to it. There's always something odd at Kilts Night.
Maybe it's me.

A Forest Memory

2008-04-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

I wrote a poem.
I started to write what it felt like to wear a kilt, then the words laid themselves down and became something more, probably something better than I had planned.
Writing is like that for me. I try to stay out of the way and let my fingers do the work.
I like this poem. I think I captured part of the feeling of naturalness, of the free feeling of wearing a kilt. But it's not exactly what I started out to write.
I think I'll continue with kilt poetry and see what happens.

A Forest Memory
In the filtered green light of the deep forest,
my steps guided by game trails,
caressing leaves as I stroll alone,
I am encompassed in the fullness of life.
It moves over me, through me,
my head swims hazily with it,
and I revel giddy in the misty joy,
holding it loosely with open arms,
for it will pass into memory,
as pain can be remembered,
but not felt anew.
Terry Varga
April 23rd, 2008

Human Nature and Kilts

2008-04-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

We, as humans, have a natural need to discover the new, to propogate at an insane rate, create tools that are ever more complex, and to communicate our artistic ideas to as many people as possible. We are curious and we have an insatiable need to explore new places.
All of those attributes combined will eventually take us to other worlds. Humans are the natural explorers of planet Earth.
We live in an incredible time in human history!
New metals are being made. Titanium hammers are found in carpenter's tool belts.
Sports drinks are designed to replenish lost nutrients and keep athletes playing longer.
Pills are made to prevent sexual dysfunction. (The term 'hard to swallow' takes on a whole new meaning!)
New martial arts are still being invented. Aikido was possibly the greatest invention of the 20th century.
New fabrics are being woven. Goretex is breathable and waterproof for rain gear. (Imagine! It keeps water out but lets air through!)
Socks stay up without garters. (Elastic! An amazing invention always overlooked!)
And, I believe, poly viscose is the best fabric for active wear kilts.
I know of a customer that has walked the big three North/South trails in the United States in a 4 yard Bear Kilts poly viscose kilt. It is worn on one of the belt loops where the backpack rode on it and slightly faded from months of humidity and direct sunlight, but I'm told the pleats still hold and it is as wearable as when it was new.
I don't know of another fabric that could have taken that much of a beating for that long and still been in one piece, let alone hold its pleats and look reasonably wearable.
Wool, cotton, or hemp would have lost its pleats after the first humid day in Tennessee. Polyester would have been far too hot to wear. (Body Glide can take you just so far!)
Kilts are not a new idea but they're not as old as you might think. The Model T has evolved into a Porsche. It didn't stop as a Buick. It kept evolving.
Nature's law is adapt or die. Kilts are adapting. It's just natural.
The kilt I wear most often in my daily life is a wool MacBitseach tartan grizzly cut kilt. It's comfy and my favourite tartan.
But if I am going to go hiking, for a long walk, or out in the rain or snow, I'll usually wear one of my poly viscose kilts. (Though I did put on a heavy wool kilt for a snowstorm recently. Wool is warm!)
One of my favourite aspects of poly viscose is its weight. At 11 ounces per yard, it is more likely to blow up in a gust of wind.
Consider again at the human characteristics at the start of this blog entry.
•Propogation rate increasing
•Creative tools.
•Artistic communication.
•Exploring new places.
•Curious nature.
All can be, (at least loosely), linked with your kilt blowing up in the wind.
What could be more natural than that?

What kind of guy wears a kilt?

2008-04-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

Why do we write? Why do we draw, paint, and sculpt? Why do we do art? For the same 2 reasons we drink.
To get laid.
To communicate.
Alcohol is a vocal laxative. We can say things we dare not say when sober.
Art is as powerful as sex. We can say anything to our art and through art, we speak to everyone.
Thinking on it, those reasons are pretty much why we do anything, including wearing kilts.
How we dress is part of how we face the world. Similarily, we tell the world a lot about us with the clothes we wear. We can dress in hoodies and pants around our knees, jeans and a cowboy hat, or a three piece suit from Saville Row. Each will tell you about the man behind the clothes.
What does a kilt say about the man who wears it?
Is there anything aside from the points we always hear about, like confidence, alpha male, etc?
I have found that in many cases, men who wear kilts are creative. They have careers or hobbies that involve some form of art.
They are also intelligent, for the most part. They realise the societal pressures brought by friends, family, and strangers, but have decided they'd rather be different than a drone.
Often, it comes down to willingness to lead, which is different than being an alpha male. An aplha male requires followers. A person willing to lead will do so, even without followers. It is his own behaviour, not the behaviour of others, that is most important to him.
I noticed another thing about these guys. They don't need alcohol to say what they choose to say.
Wearing a kilt requires a lack of fear for societal pressures, or at least a defiance or indifference to them. So does speaking your mind.
Speaking your mind is one of the worst things you can do in today's world.
And the most important.

My Ass

2008-04-19T17:12:00.001-07:00

Lately, when I feel like going to the grocery store, or 711, or just out for a walk, I'll likely wear a pair of hiking boots with grey, wool work socks, or runners with low cut socks. Comfort and function are my goals for everyday wear.
But not yesterday.
Yesterday it snowed 2 inches in an hour. Big, white flakes the size of silver dollars. Random, bastard winds gusting all over the place. This is when I decide I want to cook some burgers and it's time to go get groceries.
I put on my 'Loud' Macleod, heavy wool kilt, my Aran sweater, and a rain jacket. I wore hiking boots for traction, (falling on your ass in snow whilst kilted is more awake than I like to be!) and high wool kilt socks.
Half way there and I realise it was snowing on my ass. I don't mean that as slang; the wind was lifting my pleats and it was snowing on my ass! I've worn a kilt long enough to be ambivalent about randomly flashing in the wind. (Besides, in this weather, there wasn't a whole lot to see!)
I got there, bought some hamburger and some fresh buns that were warmer than mine, and headed back into the weather. Just outside the door a guy in a tee shirt was waiting for his ride.
We looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Global warming my ass!" and cracked up.
Then I pulled on my hood, put my head down and showed everyone on the way home how cool my ass truly is!

As I'm cooking the burgers, I realise something that might be viewed as trivial by some and drop the jaws of others. I thought I'd like some mashed potatoes with my burger and thus the realisation.
I have never cooked a potato.
Never.
There's a lot of things I haven't done in my life. Some I intend to get to; others I'm thankful for missing. But cooking a potato seems like something just about everyone in North America will have probably done at some point in their lives.
Although, (I'm told), it is nicely shaped and symmetrical, I keep noticing how odd my ass is!
And I'll leave you with my participle dangling in the snowy wind!

Old Meat

2008-04-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

In other words, a few day's worth of beefing.
(Thought I was going a whole different route, didn't you?)

It seems some people think I should have defended 'men's rights' and mentioned that if the genders were reversed in yesterday's blog, the young 'boys' would have been dealt with severely.
Rubbish!
Men and boys have been saying things like that as long as women and girls have been saying things like that, and that's been for as long as there have been people on this planet. The only controversial thing about these comments is the puritanical nature of North American culture.
Men are men and women are women. I'm happy with this arrangement.
Let's move on.

I've been told that while wearing a kilt, I am representing all kilt wearers and should act like a gentleman at all times.
First, I try not to 'act' like anything but the person I am. I have my own personal honour and values.
Second, I don't represent pantsies when wearing pants; why should I represent kilties when wearing kilts?
Let's move on.

"Caring for a wool kilt is difficult."
Well, it's not as easy as poly viscose, but it's easier than some would have you believe. I wash mine in Woolite, in the washing machine. Yes! In the frakkin' machine! Then I brought them upstairs to my apartment to HANG DRY! The Woolite bottle said to lay flat on a towel but that didn't make sense to me, so I hung 'em up. There are a couple of dents where the hangars grabbed the kilts but they ironed out.
When I ironed the pleats, I basted them first, to hold everything in place. When I removed the basting, I could see thread marks in the wool, so I pressed the kilt again ... and they disappeared in under a minute!
Again, caring for wool kilts is not as easy as poly viscose, but in my opinion, it's preferable to dry cleaning. I just don't like giving my kilt to a stranger's care.
Let's move on.

Oh, wait. That's all I have for now.
Drop by anytime you want some old meat.