"Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
<<Steve forgot to mention the traditional "Invent or Reinvent the Wheel"
Contest held at EACH stage of the route,...>>
(That IS funny!)
Well, ahem, Piotr, I was actually trying to avoid mentioning that whole wheel
issue.
You'll remember what happened last year, when the Mesopotamian re-enactors
showed up uninvited on that onager-powered "band wagon." (It WAS interesting
that they could make all those rude, barnyard expletives at us in nearly
perfect Sumerian.) And then there was the unruly behavior of some of our own
participants who kept insisting that "rota/rotha" was a Celtic innovation,
which really put a damper on the "spoked wheel" semi-finals.
So, you should know, the Events Committee is thinking of changing
the Wheel Contest to the Best-Early-Cross-Within-A-Circle-Symbol and
Put-Some-Logs-Under-A-Megalith-And-Roll-It-Somewhere Contest, with the idea
that this might avoid any more controversy.
<<And ... shh, this is confidential ... the best thing about the Festival is
that the package tour price CAN'T exceed 999.99 indo-euro, since the
organisers have not yet agreed on a standard word for "1000">>
It's gotten worst. The Ancient Dane re-enactors are now insisting that a
"hundred" = 120 and want 20% off. And the Early Greek contingent are saying
that "hekaton" actually just meant "a lot but not too much," so they should
only pay what they feel like. The whole thing is now in sub-committee.
<<...and the fact that each participant who survives the Festival events will
receive an ABSOLUTELY FREE Certificate of Imperishable Fame.>>
On the other hand, you should also know that some of last year's participants
are asking for a Certificate that says that their language's only
relationship to IE is due to "early and extensive borrowing." These
certificate are also available, however they are NOT free. Certificates of
Early and Extensive Borrowing cost US$50. To be paid in advance. Sorry, no
exceptions.
Steve