Wednesday, July 25, 2001

Breakfast

At Satori Camp, there are a number of battles that wage eternal: food vs. stomach, pool basketball vs. wallyball, togas vs. medieval costumes, Red vs. Yellow... None, however, is waged more fiercely than the battle between alarm clocks (allied with the counselors) vs. campers each morning. Although your wonderful children always get to bed promptly at 11PM, getting up seems more and more difficult as the week progresses.

Wednesday morning is always a turning point at camp, as it marks the point at which campers start to think about how much longer they'll be at camp instead of how long they've already been here.

Before we forget: the outcome of the above-mentioned battle? The alarm clocks may have won today, but tomorrow is always another story...

Morning Session

According to Tyler Burnett, the instructor teaching Acting class this year, "Acting is the best class at Satori!" Although not the most popular class at camp this year -- a situation that has arisen "...only because of treachery," according to Tyler -- it's still a class that continually manages to cause the most commotion. Today, the Acting class started plotting its next "guerilla improvization" that will likely hit tomorrow sometime.

Meanwhile, in Hypnosis class, instructor Gayle Muir introduced her students to the idea that hypnosis can be used for local anaesthetic purposes. That sort of numbing would definitely come in handy for those in the Photography class as they spent another day stumbling around in the dark, playing with noxious chemicals. The Programming students learned about "Memory Arrays" and the magic they can do while the Chess class continued to recover from their surprise yesterday. The Harold, as always, checked their facts three times so as to guarantee the accuracy of their slogan: "If Harold says it, it must be true!"

Midday Session

Never one to miss an opportunity to promote his classes, Tyler Burnett (who teaches the Dance class as well as the Acting class), gushed about how amazing his Dance class was: apparently they learned three dances in just two hours (fox trot, waltz and rhumba). Tomorrow, they move from ballroom to Latin dancing. Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, the Physics class expressed great consternation about instructor Nathan Collins' suggestion that all matter is simply a collection of waves. Before long, though, Nathan managed to return the discussion to the more mundane topic of "boundary conditions", using his favorite pair of earphones in his demonstration.

In Sculpture, campers continued working on their week-end show and the discussion continued in "Road To Nowhere". In the Humour Writing class, campers worked on their Top Ten lists (that are typically presented at the end of camp). There's a rumor that this year's topic concerns Mike's 50th birthday, although details a sketchy.

Lunch

A special treat today: mediocre food in the out-of-doors! Today, Eastern's Food Service was nice enough to set up a BBQ lunch for us. There were hamburgers and hot-dogs, as well as baked beans and salad. It was certainly wonderful to eat outside, under the trees outside the PUB. Today is a day of social treats, since tonight we'll be enjoying our Medieval Feast!

Afternoon Session

Definitely deserving of an award for "Coolest Toys Used in a Class", the Genetics class continued its introduction to the lab equipment that they'll be using for their week-end investigation. Today, several students from that class could be seen walking around with small vials. When asked what they contained, it was found that they had successfully isolated and extracted DNA from e.coli bacteria and had put it in those vials.

In the Philosophy class, there was a heated discussion about the role of "Mens Rea" (literally, "Guilty Mind", meaning criminal intent) in the modern justice system. Also covered briefly were the idea of a "social contract" and "natural law". After the break, the discussion turned to issues surrounding personal identity: how do we judge whether something is the same thing as something else? (Am I the same individual I was when I was born, or am I someone else?)

In Parapsychology, campers explored the idea of "remote viewing", where thoughts are supposedly transferred between two people at physical distance from one another. They watched a video on the subject and performed their own experiments. Meanwhile, in the Harry Potter class, they discussed the current backlash against Harry Potter.

Recreation Time

A group of dedicated campers were seen pouring through an Encyclopedia of Philosophy during Rec Time while playing Crib, while another large group played "Magic", a trading card game. Most of the camp, it seems, were most interested in playing wallyball, which was a chaotic affair partly because Tyler Burnett (who keeps coming up alot today) suggested they play with as few rules as possible.

Free Time

After Recreation time, campers scurried back to Morrison Hall to get ready for the Medieval Feast being held this evening. Those that brought costumes got into them while the rest bartered and haggled for the supplies to improvise a costume, be it an actual medieval costume or just a toga. Anticipation built for the sword-fighting demonstration that was to begin at 6PM. Dressed to the nine's and coifed to perfection, they then made their way to the PUB...

Evening Activity: Medieval Feast

It's a scene that's been played out every year since 1993: King Mike and his lovely wife, sitting at the head table, surrounded by members of the royal court. A sumptuous feast laid out for the enjoyment of all, with all sorts of interesting entertainments. Campers in a wide variety of costumes, ranging from medieval to Jedi Master. Such is the typical Medieval Feast, held annually at Satori Camp.

It all began with the pomp and pageantry of King Mike and his entourage entering the dining hall and taking their seats. King Mike then blessed us with a few words of wisdom before we were invited to line up for food. Although we've made disparaging comments about the food service at Eastern, they deserve incredibly high marks for their handling of the unique requirements of our annual feast. Beef ribs, a huge bone-in ham, a medieval-style soup and veggies and dip were among the culinary highlights. In true medieval style, no cutlery was provided, just cups and plates. Absolutely delicious!

After dinner, we were treated to several wonderful entertainments. First we were treated to a soliloquy from the end of "The Taming of the Shrew" followed by a rousing rendition of "The Drunken Scotsman". We were then encouraged to reconvene outside to enjoy a medieval fighting demonstration that was going to be put on for us. We shuffled outside and waited in anticipation for the battle to begin. Before long, one of the three fighters came out and provided us with a brief explanation on how they simulate medieval sword-fighting. All their armor is home-made, although it has to be well-designed if it is to actually protect them from the blows they receive. Instead of real swords, they use rattan poles which, we've been assured, are still quite painful to be struck by. After saluting King Mike, each other, and the person for whom they fight, they began their fight. It was quick, brutal and highly entertaining. Often, in an act of chivalry, a fighter would purposely disable one of his own appendages after disabling the appendage (be it an arm or leg) of his opponent, in order to even up the fight. After quite a few rounds of fighting and many simulated deaths, we began the highlight of each feast: dancing!

For the first time ever, we danced outside instead of inside, and what a pleasant change it was! Not only was there much more room, but the night outside was absolutely perfect. All told, we learned two separate dances: the first was called the "Karabushka", a gypsy folk dance, and the second was "Hole In The Wall", an authentic royal court dance from medieval times. In the latter dance, there's the opportunity to cut-in on others, which is called "sharking". Although very well-behaved in the beginning, the dancing quite degenerated into chaos with all the "sharking" going on. Everyone had a good time, though, and that's the most important thing. Before long, it was getting late and a "last dance" was called. When that was over, campers returned to residence...

Free Time

A hush fell over the camp shortly after they returned to Morrison Hall. Had we managed to exhaust our campers, or were they plotting something? As one counselor put it: "It's quiet... too quiet..."

Fortunately, though, the former seems to have been the case. See you tomorrow!