Posted on 03/03/2006 12:03:56 AM PST by prisoner6
Ray Bowen - Blacksmith and Utilikiltarian - was interviewed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his life as a kilted blacksmith, "Kilt gives blacksmith memorable edge". It is a cool Q&A article with a cool guy.
Unfortunately, the AJC is not cool. I tried to get permission to reprint the article here for your reading pleasure, but the AJC wants 500 smackeroos for it!! After a fairly snotty email on Feb 7th, Joni Zeccola in the News Research department sent me another email that was more carefully worded:
We do not allow use such as this. We would grant you permission to use the article as a pdf. If you would like to purchase a pdf of the article, the fee is $450.00 + $20.00 per page + tax for the pdf. Let me know if you would like to proceed. You can link to the article without needing permission but articles are only available for 7-10 days and free registration is required.
Apparently they will archive (read:dump) the article soon, so click here to read it before it is gone forever!
(Editorial Diatribe: Including Ray Bowen's article in The Utilikiltarian Newsletter would endow the Atlanta Journal-Constitution with the good will of Utilikiltarians around the world. Additionally, the AJC does not provide an accessible archive of their articles, so they will soon delete it. I would have kept it alive on this site in perpetuity. But I am not willing to spend $500 for something they are just gonna toss in the digital garbage bin after 7-10 days. Is any of YOUR garbage worth $500?)
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In stark contrast to the Internet-fearing policies of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Associated Press has a great article by Dan Nephin about the options available to men who have decided to free their boys and join the kilted. This is a permanent link to the article. (See how easy that is, AJC?)
I found this in the latest newsletter from Utilikilts, and it struck a chord for me with the copyright/fair use issues we've had at FR over the years. Thought it might be of interest to some who've been through it with the LAT/WP stuff.
Incredible that the AJC actually wants someone to cough up 500+ bucks to reprint/archive an article that is headed for the trash bin. 500 DOLLARS!
Does anyone every pay up?
I didn't include the article from the AJC or even link to it because that wasn't my point. If you're interested in that you can go to the Utilikilt newsletter in the link and scroll down to the AJC link. (or the AP article mentioned as well)
And yes...as an aside...I wear a kilt whenever I can...here's an admittedly poor photo of me and a coworker in our studio before the Super Bowl.
prisoner6

It's a look I could hang with.
In the same newsletter there's a pretty well written article ...most likley written by a greenie-parents-were-hippies-type ...about growing up linving off the grid in Idaho. I was gonna post it on another thread but figured it wasn't of that great interest. Maybe someone checking this thread might like it though so here are a couple of exceprts.
Rich man, poor man
To say we were poor would be an oversimplification. The IRS considered us horrendously poverty stricken, and tax time was generally a windfall. But being poor in the country is much different and far easier than being poor in the city. We owned everything, including the house and land. The cars were second hand (along with almost everything else), and we never used credit cards. We generated our own power, hauled water until we got a well, and burned wood for heat. With virtually no monthly bills, a newspaper carriers salary was workable for a family of three.
In this situation, sustainable living wasnt something we did to make the world a better place or due to environmental guilt. It was simple necessity. We conserved water because every drop wasted is that much sooner Dad needed to drive the old truck into town and fill up the barrels. You turn off lights when you leave the room, and you watch your power consumption closely.
< snip >
We never wanted for material goods, and the shoestring budget we lived on always was enough. Some years money was tight (medical emergencies were fun without insurance), but I never felt like I was truly poor. I may have wanted for things, but I was never denied anything I needed.
One man's junk
I think the key to this was that when we lacked something, we could substitute for it. We had solar panels and a generator, so I was able to have television, a computer, and other technology. Since power was at such a premium, we used more primitive methods of lighting. Candles were omnipresent, and there were kerosene lamps on the table instead of electric lights (if you really want to hear a tirade, show my father poorly cared-for kerosene lamps in an old Western. Hours, Im telling you).
The fire was the only place where hyper-conservation wasnt the standard. When the wood cook stove is your source of heat in a hard North Idaho winter, it is a bad idea to let that fire die. The consequences arent nearly as dire as they were before the advent of matches, but waking up to a cold house in the middle of a January night is no fun. The insulation was decidedly sub-standard, and it took a long time to heat up once the chill had taken hold.
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Man, can I identify with this guy. Been there, done that....WAY too many times!
prisoenr6
A pair of decent khaki shorts would likely provide similar levels of natural air conditioning. I suppose kilts are pretty cool for the right type of personality, although I don't see pants and shorts manufacturers going out of business anytime soon.
~ Blue Jays ~
Except for the part about the solar panels and the computer that reads an awful lot like my childhood.
Ahhh... The joys of cross-dressing...
Nope. Speaking as a female with experience of both shorts and skirts, I can assure you that the skirt or kilt is way more comfortable on a 95-degree day than a pair of shorts. The point is to avoid all that extra fabric fitted closely around your legs and backside.
You do realize (don't you?) that the kilt is not only dressy, but is also a prime example of men's battle dress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ye/ll note that I always wear my (well-sharpened) sgian dubh in my stocking top when I'm in ma kilt. (Even when I am without my 18" dirk.) Would ye care to step outside and settle the matter, laddie?
'-)
Me too. I wear a kilt whenever I can, and at work as part of my professional uniform ( We have a pipe band at our school.)
Here is one thing you can do in a kilt that cannot be as easily done in pants:
Oh YEAH! I like to wear mine...kinda tough to do now with security everyplace. Because I'm afraid of getting my good one canfiscated, I just ordered a knock off from Bud K. It'll still get the job done though, heheheh.
When I first started wearing a kilt I did have some concerns about it being comfortable and....ummm..modest. In the first hout I knew I was hooked. Even Wife likes it.
I'd like to get a camo kilt next but word is the only really good camo is being used for the troops. Still looking around though.
prisoner6
Being one myself , I thought I should share some latest publication with the thread seekers here: National Geographic, ( March 2006) has a neat section on present Celtic Civilization: [http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature3/index.html] You might want to pick up an issue, it is pretty good, but does not deal with Celts in America.
Utilkilts are 100% American made. Since they can't find a domestic supplier, they won't carry it for long.
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