Interesting, I'd say that's just about right for most of the people I see in sessions. (and most of the people who type in internet chat rooms.
But not where I play. We never talk about strings and keys and tune names and stuff. And we're always getting hassle for just nattering or smoking and not playing.
When I was kid we used to have a picture on the wall with a small red light in front of it. Looked very like that gentleman without the bodhran of course.
Myself and my session mates recently had a pizza party and house session for a friend dealing with cancer, sent a bottle of Bushmills and a card to a friend who's just lost his mother, and played a benefit concert for a battered womens assistance organization. Further proof that psychiatrists are boobs.
I agree, music is not a language. It shares many similarities with language, enough so you can make analogies useful enough to explain many things about music, but it is not a language.
Languages exist to communicate useful stuff. Music is way way to abstract to do that.
Some people think it's not though. Some people reckon they can communicate what it's like to be out on the ocean by playing a jig. Or what it's like when a large, long eared rodent is steeling your crop by playing a very very similar jig. Eedjits.
Playing music certainly is low level social interaction. However, when it's good, it's a very high level of visceral interaction. Which I may well deem to be just as important.
I guess you could call all the tunes gan aimn, or give them numbers based on something or other.
I don't think the thread consideration is about whether music per se is low level social interaction, implicitly, if not explicitly, it seems to be about whatever communal music making refers to, in this context, sessions I suppose.
I see where this is coming from. Visitors are often surprised and remark to us that our session seems very friendly and welcoming. We often lapse into "So Bob, did you ever get the roof fixed?" and so on. I know some sessions don't have a lot of camaraderie and it's more of a getting down to business feeling. Maybe it's the egos involved or that subtext of competition sneaking in, I don't know.
I do know this head-shrinker obviously has not been to our sessions.
"...The only topic under discussion is what fiddle strings, what key the tune is in, or most often, no discussion..."
Interesting that the people who are least successful in the session environment are those whose social skills are least developed...which suggests to me that the interaction is actually a lot more sophisticated than the psychiatrist says it is...
The bodhran playing brought back obscure memories of the engine sounds of some vehicles it's been my lot to drive / be driven in. It's particularly evocative of sitting in these while waiting for the lights to go green.
But it's a whole lot better than anything I could do on it.
- obnoxious drunks
- bodhran players who cluelessly don't pick up on people who glare at them when they're playing too loud
- noodlers who don't realize that other people are trying to hear what tune someone is starting
- people who come in and play and don't say a word or make eye contact with anyone all night
- multi-instrumentalists who leave their instrument cases on chairs that other people want to sit on
- good players with enormous egos who don't leave room for other players to join in
- people who interrupt other people's conversations to ask the name of every single tune played in a night
People like that---basically those who find themselves not really being welcomed because they've either been inconsiderate or they're so socially inept that they don't know how to carry on a conversation with another person.
Sessions are just social settings with music. All the same rules for social interations and conversations apply, *plus* the etiquette that is particular to playing music. It can be quite a social minefield for people with low-level social skills.
Depends on which psychiatrist we're talking about, doesn't it?
The psychiatrist who monitored a session just up the road from here achieved a significant breakthrough utilizing portable electro-convulsive equipment on that session's leader. Those sessionistas will never have to endure "The Mason's Apron" again, praise Cerletti, all blessings be upon him.
However, a Freudian-throwback psychiatrist met with less success at a session just down the hill from here. If he said, "Sometimes a flute is just a flute" once, he must have said it a thousand times. And his suggestions that folks at the session "make occasional eye contact" and "bathe regularly" were needlessly provocative.
Oh yeah, people who don't bathe regularly. I had that happen to me once---had to sit next to this person for hours with my head turned in the other direction when I wanted to breathe. I was glad to go home that night!
Because a) I didn't want to embarrass him, b) he's been going to that session a lot longer than I have, and c) everyone else knows him a lot better than I do. And generally, I'm convinced that if someone doesn't know that they smell bad, they're not going to do anything about it when you tell them anyway. It wasn't like I could just give him a breath mint and have it sorted, unfortunately.
these words people are coming from a psychiatrist. unless the person has a wide understanding of specific social activities that are unique to certain cultural movements, ie: unless he is an expert in sociology or actually plays music than why should we take notice. Also is he an expert in traditional music? Has he studies sessions closely? How does he know what people discuss? Has he sat and listened to lots of sessions and what people talk about between sets? I know in any session ive played in we havnt talked about fiddle strings, keys of tunes, etc. there is actual conversation and believe or not mr psychiatrist it could be about anything.
of course there are intances where people who dont know each other play together but what about the sessions that have been going on for years. i know that the sessions i go to mainly in the cobblestone and hughes' in dublin, everybody knows everybody and if there is someone new who isnt making a nuisance of themselves (haha) then people certainly make conversation with them.
The psychiatrist has obviously made unfounded and general remarks based on nothing but hearing that people play together in pubs. I think what people should be saying on this thread is that the remarks should be discredited.
It's unrealistic to think you can go in cold to any group of people and expect them to become bosom friends there and then. That takes time, patience and affinity- not dissimilar to the music in fact. So, OK, it may be low level interaction at first, but not necessarily because people are socially challenged. They just don't go there primarily to share their innermost secrets with strangers.
We have the need to interact both more and less intimately with people. So choosing to keep things "superficial" does not necessarily mean that one is running away from profound contact at all times. In that sense, I think the "shrink" was totally wrong. On the other hand, I think they were right because I do think that people are abusing the abundancy of opportunities for superficial communication in order not to have to face the shortcomings of their personalities and their lives, because the "politeness" of such communication guarantees them that (or a specific code of desired "impoliteness" within a group). Political correctness is draining the juice out of our civilisation because of that.
I think that's an interesting topic there, Ray. Seems like an interesting take on sessions from the psychiatrist, at first glance, I suppose.
However, on second thought, is it really a breakthrough that many sessions are not "high level" social interactions? Are we talking about IN THE SESSION itself? Because, it shouldn't really be surprising there. Not if you consider that many people sit down at the session primarily to PLAY MUSIC with others, which precludes interacting in other, "higher level" ways, such as conversing. You may as well observe people playing hacky sack, or water polo, and say, "Well they're not really interacting at a high level, socially speaking. There isn't much conversation." The observation is true but unremarkable.
As for social interaction at the outskirts of sessions, when people are not actually playing, that would be more interesting.
One of my session chums works at the dole office in a run down part of town. We were having a laugh the other day roll playing the gormless gimps he has to deal with every day.
As with any "communication-situation", m_gavin, you can play music with someone and play music alongside someone. The difference is huge, yet often neglected/unappreciated.
It sounds as if the psychiatrist is making these assertions from her experiences of one patient, not from her own participation in communal-music-making or even from empirical observations of lots of different interactional situations of musicians playing. There is a possibility that someone seeing psychiatrist isn't feeling mentally balanced and may well have low-level social skills. I suppose it isn't a great leap of logic to see how your patient functions in this setting and how hiding behind an instrument may help them cope with or compensate for their low level social skills. However, applying the experiences of one individual to everyone, ever, who participates in that activity is dodgy, methodologically, to say the least!
I've certainly encountered fellow sessioneers with what could be described as "low-level" social skills. I find that at most sessions, there is a core group of people who have fairly high level social interaction and oftentimes, you will observe other people at the same session with a much lower level of social interaction, very clearly outsiders. This may be because of repertoire, of culture, of being a newcomer, of musical skill level -- lots of reasons. In some cases it is apparent that it's related to the person's low level social skills. I've seen people who have been attending the same session for YEARS, week in, week out, but remain totally unengaged with the social dynamics of the group. Luckily it's the exception rather than the norm (unless you are dealing with the population of psychiatric patients?).
>......actually, I'll completely revise my stance here and say >there are probably a smaller number of people with lower >developped social skills at sessions than in the general >population. But a higher number than in the educated >articulate bracket of the population...if that makes >sence....
Cosmic Ray,
If by "educated & articulate" you mean people that have attended higher education.
Then I'd need convincing that such people have on average a higher level of social skills than the rest of the population.
I'm not saying that the opposite is necessarily true, that such people have on average lower social skills. But I've met plenty of people from all sections of society with poor social skills whether working class, middle class or upper class. And if I'm being honest my impression is that academia is hoaching with individuals possessed of poor social skills, but then of course I could just be biased
We don't want to be confusing class with social skills now. Mind, I'm not saying you necessarily are, but that your post could be interpreted that light.
social skills depend on social settings. For example, you'd be considered a right numpty if you couldn't swear like you had torrets on a building site.
When I was younger I used to hitch hike a lot. I enjoyed the game of pretending to have the same social graces of whoever picked me up. One moment I'd be pretending to be posh and having conversations about philosophy and quantum physics. And then next, I'd be swearing about tits and totty with a lorry driver. It's a hoot
"But a higher number than in the educated articulate bracket of the population...if that makes sence...."
According to this logic plus mine and Chris' observations, the most socially awkward thing in the world would be a session full of PhDs, post-docs, and doctoral students.
Oh wait, they have those. It's called an academic conference. There's just no music, usually.
Nothing puts the crimp in a session made up of ironworkers, plasterers, laborers, electricians and carpenteres like a few PhD candidates whowenttoWillieWeeklastyear, dontchyewknew.....
I used to work construction in the summers. The guys building the houses didn't socially interact at a very high level while they were hammering, sawing, etc. Mostly grunting and swearing.
I think they used home-construction as an excuse to hide behind their hammers and power tools, so that they wouldn't have to interact with others in a "full-scale" way.
OR, it could be that they had a fr****ing JOB to do!
Oh, jaysus, try living in a Midwestern USA college town that seems to consider itself "The Athens of the West". Yup, I've read phrases like that in the local media more than once.
Llig - it's not a hoot, it's a survival skill - especially if you work in industry - but it's great to just be able to get along with people, and shoot the sh*te, isn't it?
The worst ones around here are the Contra-dance crowd. I swear to God that they go out of their way to make newcomers/outsiders feel unwelcome - and then wonder why there aren't many new faces showing up.
Surely social skills at a session include making people feel at ease and have a good time. I've seen architects, firemen and teachers all be abnoxious and put other poeple distinctly ill at ease in sessions. OTOH I've known dentists, taxi drivers and lecturers who would make nayone feel at home & welcome.
A session where everyone talked about football (or any other topic) all night every night and thus excluded anyone who wasn't interested would indeed be rather challenged in terms of social skills.
Although the longest conversations (which generally take place on the way home) after our largely working class session are more often about books (the golden ass/The Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius being highly recommended to me this week by two session mates) , politics, history, old friends etc than they are about football. Granted that might be partly in deference to myself being a (lapsed) Partick Thistle fan, which obvuiously renders fitba a painful topic And there has been the odd discursion on e.g. the glorious merits of the deep fried mars bar (If I became interested "the Golden Ass", I became convinced that I have to try this king of the desserts for myself). Not to mention the occasional inebriated relapse into sibling arguementiveness ("Naw, why should I get out the motor just cos you want me to and this is where I live") . Sometimes of course we'll just be talking about music
Low Level Social Interaction
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Interesting, I'd say that's just about right for most of the people I see in sessions. (and most of the people who type in internet chat rooms.
But not where I play. We never talk about strings and keys and tune names and stuff. And we're always getting hassle for just nattering or smoking and not playing.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
...and just look where the ex-bodhran player at llig's session ended up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcwFiPbOi0U
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Oh dear ... the poor old dregs of humanity
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
But, llig, he's out there interacting with the world on you tube, while you're closeted in your pub and session.org!
Go on, do a you tube.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I'm on there
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
When I was kid we used to have a picture on the wall with a small red light in front of it. Looked very like that gentleman without the bodhran of course.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Free Reed
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
You're on there, llig? What, not playing bodhran?!
Where then?
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Myself and my session mates recently had a pizza party and house session for a friend dealing with cancer, sent a bottle of Bushmills and a card to a friend who's just lost his mother, and played a benefit concert for a battered womens assistance organization. Further proof that psychiatrists are boobs.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Steve L
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
The only problem with your pyschiatrists theory is that music is a form of language - just one that s/he doesn't understand.
Or maybe they don't understand the dialect or accent of communal music.
Tell 'em to go educate themselves.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by the wounded hussar
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
>Further proof that psychiatrists are boobs
witness anaylsts & their succour of the childish
-chris
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I agree, music is not a language. It shares many similarities with language, enough so you can make analogies useful enough to explain many things about music, but it is not a language.
Languages exist to communicate useful stuff. Music is way way to abstract to do that.
Some people think it's not though. Some people reckon they can communicate what it's like to be out on the ocean by playing a jig. Or what it's like when a large, long eared rodent is steeling your crop by playing a very very similar jig. Eedjits.
Playing music certainly is low level social interaction. However, when it's good, it's a very high level of visceral interaction. Which I may well deem to be just as important.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I guess you could call all the tunes gan aimn, or give them numbers based on something or other.
I don't think the thread consideration is about whether music per se is low level social interaction, implicitly, if not explicitly, it seems to be about whatever communal music making refers to, in this context, sessions I suppose.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
"Tell 'em to go educate themselves."
Wrong verb.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by hotsauce
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I see where this is coming from. Visitors are often surprised and remark to us that our session seems very friendly and welcoming. We often lapse into "So Bob, did you ever get the roof fixed?" and so on. I know some sessions don't have a lot of camaraderie and it's more of a getting down to business feeling. Maybe it's the egos involved or that subtext of competition sneaking in, I don't know.
I do know this head-shrinker obviously has not been to our sessions.
"...The only topic under discussion is what fiddle strings, what key the tune is in, or most often, no discussion..."
Session observation FAIL!
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Interesting that the people who are least successful in the session environment are those whose social skills are least developed...which suggests to me that the interaction is actually a lot more sophisticated than the psychiatrist says it is...
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by kennedy
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
The bodhran playing brought back obscure memories of the engine sounds of some vehicles it's been my lot to drive / be driven in. It's particularly evocative of sitting in these while waiting for the lights to go green.
But it's a whole lot better than anything I could do on it.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by nicholas
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
What does that mean: "least successful in the session environment"?
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Socially successful. There are loads of examples:
- obnoxious drunks
- bodhran players who cluelessly don't pick up on people who glare at them when they're playing too loud
- noodlers who don't realize that other people are trying to hear what tune someone is starting
- people who come in and play and don't say a word or make eye contact with anyone all night
- multi-instrumentalists who leave their instrument cases on chairs that other people want to sit on
- good players with enormous egos who don't leave room for other players to join in
- people who interrupt other people's conversations to ask the name of every single tune played in a night
People like that---basically those who find themselves not really being welcomed because they've either been inconsiderate or they're so socially inept that they don't know how to carry on a conversation with another person.
Sessions are just social settings with music. All the same rules for social interations and conversations apply, *plus* the etiquette that is particular to playing music. It can be quite a social minefield for people with low-level social skills.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by kennedy
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Depends on which psychiatrist we're talking about, doesn't it?
The psychiatrist who monitored a session just up the road from here achieved a significant breakthrough utilizing portable electro-convulsive equipment on that session's leader. Those sessionistas will never have to endure "The Mason's Apron" again, praise Cerletti, all blessings be upon him.
However, a Freudian-throwback psychiatrist met with less success at a session just down the hill from here. If he said, "Sometimes a flute is just a flute" once, he must have said it a thousand times. And his suggestions that folks at the session "make occasional eye contact" and "bathe regularly" were needlessly provocative.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by NEW Pure Drop® Ear Canal Oil
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I always have trouble establishing eye contact,.
My big nose gets in the way, and the the attempted contactee always acts unsettled.
- chris
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Oh yeah, people who don't bathe regularly. I had that happen to me once---had to sit next to this person for hours with my head turned in the other direction when I wanted to breathe. I was glad to go home that night!
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by kennedy
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I don't understand? Why didn't you just tell him?
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Rambling, Kennedy--
Psychiatric Outcall stands ready to help: "A White Coat at Your Session's As Good As Confession."
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by NEW Pure Drop® Ear Canal Oil
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Because a) I didn't want to embarrass him, b) he's been going to that session a lot longer than I have, and c) everyone else knows him a lot better than I do. And generally, I'm convinced that if someone doesn't know that they smell bad, they're not going to do anything about it when you tell them anyway. It wasn't like I could just give him a breath mint and have it sorted, unfortunately.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by kennedy
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
these words people are coming from a psychiatrist. unless the person has a wide understanding of specific social activities that are unique to certain cultural movements, ie: unless he is an expert in sociology or actually plays music than why should we take notice. Also is he an expert in traditional music? Has he studies sessions closely? How does he know what people discuss? Has he sat and listened to lots of sessions and what people talk about between sets? I know in any session ive played in we havnt talked about fiddle strings, keys of tunes, etc. there is actual conversation and believe or not mr psychiatrist it could be about anything.
of course there are intances where people who dont know each other play together but what about the sessions that have been going on for years. i know that the sessions i go to mainly in the cobblestone and hughes' in dublin, everybody knows everybody and if there is someone new who isnt making a nuisance of themselves (haha) then people certainly make conversation with them.
The psychiatrist has obviously made unfounded and general remarks based on nothing but hearing that people play together in pubs. I think what people should be saying on this thread is that the remarks should be discredited.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by fiddleruairi
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
It's unrealistic to think you can go in cold to any group of people and expect them to become bosom friends there and then. That takes time, patience and affinity- not dissimilar to the music in fact. So, OK, it may be low level interaction at first, but not necessarily because people are socially challenged. They just don't go there primarily to share their innermost secrets with strangers.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by Here Lyeth
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
We have the need to interact both more and less intimately with people. So choosing to keep things "superficial" does not necessarily mean that one is running away from profound contact at all times. In that sense, I think the "shrink" was totally wrong. On the other hand, I think they were right because I do think that people are abusing the abundancy of opportunities for superficial communication in order not to have to face the shortcomings of their personalities and their lives, because the "politeness" of such communication guarantees them that (or a specific code of desired "impoliteness" within a group). Political correctness is draining the juice out of our civilisation because of that.
# Posted on February 24th 2009 by deFacto
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I think that's an interesting topic there, Ray. Seems like an interesting take on sessions from the psychiatrist, at first glance, I suppose.
However, on second thought, is it really a breakthrough that many sessions are not "high level" social interactions? Are we talking about IN THE SESSION itself? Because, it shouldn't really be surprising there. Not if you consider that many people sit down at the session primarily to PLAY MUSIC with others, which precludes interacting in other, "higher level" ways, such as conversing. You may as well observe people playing hacky sack, or water polo, and say, "Well they're not really interacting at a high level, socially speaking. There isn't much conversation." The observation is true but unremarkable.
As for social interaction at the outskirts of sessions, when people are not actually playing, that would be more interesting.
# Posted on February 25th 2009 by m_gavin
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
One of my session chums works at the dole office in a run down part of town. We were having a laugh the other day roll playing the gormless gimps he has to deal with every day.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
As with any "communication-situation", m_gavin, you can play music with someone and play music alongside someone. The difference is huge, yet often neglected/unappreciated.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by deFacto
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
...and that, deFacto, makes ALL the difference.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
It sounds as if the psychiatrist is making these assertions from her experiences of one patient, not from her own participation in communal-music-making or even from empirical observations of lots of different interactional situations of musicians playing. There is a possibility that someone seeing psychiatrist isn't feeling mentally balanced and may well have low-level social skills. I suppose it isn't a great leap of logic to see how your patient functions in this setting and how hiding behind an instrument may help them cope with or compensate for their low level social skills. However, applying the experiences of one individual to everyone, ever, who participates in that activity is dodgy, methodologically, to say the least!
I've certainly encountered fellow sessioneers with what could be described as "low-level" social skills. I find that at most sessions, there is a core group of people who have fairly high level social interaction and oftentimes, you will observe other people at the same session with a much lower level of social interaction, very clearly outsiders. This may be because of repertoire, of culture, of being a newcomer, of musical skill level -- lots of reasons. In some cases it is apparent that it's related to the person's low level social skills. I've seen people who have been attending the same session for YEARS, week in, week out, but remain totally unengaged with the social dynamics of the group. Luckily it's the exception rather than the norm (unless you are dealing with the population of psychiatric patients?).
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
"............the gormless gimps he has to deal with every day"
On which side of the counter, Michael ?
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by murfbox
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
>......actually, I'll completely revise my stance here and say >there are probably a smaller number of people with lower >developped social skills at sessions than in the general >population. But a higher number than in the educated >articulate bracket of the population...if that makes >sence....
Cosmic Ray,
If by "educated & articulate" you mean people that have attended higher education.
Then I'd need convincing that such people have on average a higher level of social skills than the rest of the population.
I'm not saying that the opposite is necessarily true, that such people have on average lower social skills. But I've met plenty of people from all sections of society with poor social skills whether working class, middle class or upper class. And if I'm being honest my impression is that academia is hoaching with individuals possessed of poor social skills, but then of course I could just be biased
We don't want to be confusing class with social skills now. Mind, I'm not saying you necessarily are, but that your post could be interpreted that light.
- Chris
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
social skills depend on social settings. For example, you'd be considered a right numpty if you couldn't swear like you had torrets on a building site.
When I was younger I used to hitch hike a lot. I enjoyed the game of pretending to have the same social graces of whoever picked me up. One moment I'd be pretending to be posh and having conversations about philosophy and quantum physics. And then next, I'd be swearing about tits and totty with a lorry driver. It's a hoot
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Academics and social skills.... Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Sorry about that.
What I meant to say was that there is probably a negative correlation between the level of one's degree and social skils.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
"But a higher number than in the educated articulate bracket of the population...if that makes sence...."
According to this logic plus mine and Chris' observations, the most socially awkward thing in the world would be a session full of PhDs, post-docs, and doctoral students.
Oh wait, they have those. It's called an academic conference. There's just no music, usually.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Nothing puts the crimp in a session made up of ironworkers, plasterers, laborers, electricians and carpenteres like a few PhD candidates whowenttoWillieWeeklastyear, dontchyewknew.....
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by Seosamh Ui Sinan
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
I used to work construction in the summers. The guys building the houses didn't socially interact at a very high level while they were hammering, sawing, etc. Mostly grunting and swearing.
I think they used home-construction as an excuse to hide behind their hammers and power tools, so that they wouldn't have to interact with others in a "full-scale" way.
OR, it could be that they had a fr****ing JOB to do!
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by m_gavin
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Oh, jaysus, try living in a Midwestern USA college town that seems to consider itself "The Athens of the West". Yup, I've read phrases like that in the local media more than once.
Llig - it's not a hoot, it's a survival skill - especially if you work in industry - but it's great to just be able to get along with people, and shoot the sh*te, isn't it?
The worst ones around here are the Contra-dance crowd. I swear to God that they go out of their way to make newcomers/outsiders feel unwelcome - and then wonder why there aren't many new faces showing up.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by tomw
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Oops, a bit of a cross-post with m_gavin, I'm afraid. Will we see you on Saturday, m_?
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by tomw
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Fair play to you Cosmic.
And there has been the odd discursion on e.g. the glorious merits of the deep fried mars bar (If I became interested "the Golden Ass", I became convinced that I have to try this king of the desserts for myself). Not to mention the occasional inebriated relapse into sibling arguementiveness ("Naw, why should I get out the motor just cos you want me to and this is where I live") . Sometimes of course we'll just be talking about music 
Surely social skills at a session include making people feel at ease and have a good time. I've seen architects, firemen and teachers all be abnoxious and put other poeple distinctly ill at ease in sessions. OTOH I've known dentists, taxi drivers and lecturers who would make nayone feel at home & welcome.
A session where everyone talked about football (or any other topic) all night every night and thus excluded anyone who wasn't interested would indeed be rather challenged in terms of social skills.
Although the longest conversations (which generally take place on the way home) after our largely working class session are more often about books (the golden ass/The Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius being highly recommended to me this week by two session mates) , politics, history, old friends etc than they are about football. Granted that might be partly in deference to myself being a (lapsed) Partick Thistle fan, which obvuiously renders fitba a painful topic
- Chris
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
In case no-one has come accropss that particualr word before:
"abnoxious" = displaying abnormal levels of obnoxiousness.
Just thought I'd clear that one up - chris
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Survival Skill? Oh come off it. It's not like it's a jungle out there. It doesn't make me wonder how I keep from going under.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by ...
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
OK, Llig, I guess "Survival" isn't quite the correct word. It must be an engineering thing.
Cheers!
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by tomw
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
Glad to see I'm not the only one dropping Grandmaster Flash quotes on here. Uh-huh-huh-huh. Don't push me 'cuz I'm close to the edge.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
What is a Grandmaster Flash?
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by AlBrown
Re: Low Level Social Interaction
It's when the mason lifts his apron
# Posted on February 28th 2009 by ...