Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Morning Tom: Thank you for your carefully thought out response to what turned out to be a tomb of a remark on my part. I am flattered that you and Ashbarns took the time to read the whole thing and in doing so did not find it necessary to shoot the messenger. I know what I have written here is controversial on many levels and there are some that would and have, argued that it is off topic. I happen to think it is a critical issue.
I have had discussions with some "Old Timers" that make the assertion that very few old and experienced bonsai growers don't go on the Internet. That may be true, but I have followed that argument with my own observation that probably a majority of the newer bonsai growers, especially the just getting started crowd do. It is in their sort of cultural back-ground to utilize the Internet to find information before they do anything else. Because of this I think it is important to avoid sending mixed messages where on one hand they are told to get good material and on the other that this material is too advanced for them; and all out of the same mouth. It become increasingly difficult for these individuals to come up with suitable trees in light of this. According to prior discussions the good trees are too good for them and the other sources of material are all inferior. Where are they supposed to go? It's like trying to find a good job when just starting out where the job requirement says prior experience necessary.
I have had discussions with some "Old Timers" that make the assertion that very few old and experienced bonsai growers don't go on the Internet. That may be true, but I have followed that argument with my own observation that probably a majority of the newer bonsai growers, especially the just getting started crowd do. It is in their sort of cultural back-ground to utilize the Internet to find information before they do anything else. Because of this I think it is important to avoid sending mixed messages where on one hand they are told to get good material and on the other that this material is too advanced for them; and all out of the same mouth. It become increasingly difficult for these individuals to come up with suitable trees in light of this. According to prior discussions the good trees are too good for them and the other sources of material are all inferior. Where are they supposed to go? It's like trying to find a good job when just starting out where the job requirement says prior experience necessary.