Ed's note. Due to a massive server outage at NETCOM's end, this post never quite made it to the list. Parts of it were included in the next post.
Well, it's a bit of a time since I introduced myself. Old timers may wish to skip this bit. Hi, I'm Iain, your friendly digest-waving chap from Codsall, Staffs, England. 24, into chop, paste and dating people in St John's. Habits that no-one should grow out of.
Skeie growls in the direction of ABCSNWBCOX (or whoever it was that televised the Grammies)
it's a bit sad! they cuts out part of Paula's set but keeps ODB and SoyBomb:(
Yes, of course they would. They only want to show an entertaining version of rebellion. Not real, interesting, rebellion. Hence why they show Bob Dylan, really.
Josefa ponders
IMHO, Judy has checked into a health farm for a mega-extended stay, as she has become SERIOUSLY
Tedious is the word you were looking for here, I think. But then she's been dull since the show started in the days when Wilma and Betty watched it.more...
The whole Titanic screenplay. A work of Genius! I read it in five minutes, laughing my socks off, and enjoyed it far more than spending 60 times that long and a lot more money to see a film that is not my cup of tea.
50 million Americans have seen the movie. That means 200 million Americans haven't.
Our new correspondent Zarley sends this dispatch.
Some people DO appreciate the movie for what it is - a sheer masterpiece in times when truly meaningful movies are almost non-existant. Would everyone prefer to be watching Home Alone 3?
Now, in answering this, I have to remember that Zarley is a new correspondent, and wasn't around for the discussion 10 days ago about serious and frivolous movies. So I'm going to go gently. I get the impression that Zarley's equating "masterpiece" - great art, and "deep meaning" - carrying a message. Now, I'm prepared to take on trust that Zarley sees this film as great art. And I'm prepared to agree that it is a wonderful spectacle to watch. But I don't see that the status of masterpiece automatically confers a deep meaning.
And would everyone prefer to be watching HA3? Well, it's a comedy, it's funny and it's pretty obvious what we're getting. No-one's ever going to get into an argument that it's a pretentious movie or anything like that. So, maybe I would prefer it.
Young Sandler's astrology. Heck, Psychic Psmith does it better in the Sunday Telegraph. And he's funny.
Kenickie going to see Jason Donovan. So that's what he's doing these days. A band clearly destined for great things paying ironic tribute to an act that used to be happening but has now totally happened. Unlike Brem, I am jealous.
Allisun acts
(BTW, i'm in a play, Pippi Longstocking)
Yay for you! Pippi is, like, uber-cool. Actually, was she the original and first Spice Girl?
Anyway. Do take a look at my website:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/8414/index.htm
There are pictures (well, one) of me, an archive of my posts to the beginning of this year, news, music and words on my home village. And you'll find my answers to Sean's 21 Questions and Nicole's Boundary Breakers posted there.
ON: Someone in alt.tv.my-s-c-life suggests that Brian Krakow was loved by everyone in the Chase household more than by Angela. Well, duh. But it leads me to think. Could we say that Patty & Graham saw Brian as an adoptive son, and loved him more than his own parents? Or as a sort of brother for Angela? Maybe that caused Angela to feel jealous towards him, and deny his emotions.
Enrique wonders
how much doc martens usually cost. cuase alot of people want me to get some for them, and i've heard that they're alot less, but no one knows an exact price.
Officially, between 40 and 60 pounds, depending on size, fashion, place where you buy them, and wind direction. Even by shopping around you'll be lucky to find them much below 30 pounds. The Oasis market in Birmingham City Centre (Corporation Street, behind Virgin) is one good place, especially for more unusual styles.
Laura points out
i've been on the list for a year now! (woohoo) so i think i'm no longer a newbie.
Yeah, I think Laura's won her spurs by now (:
but i am still here. just lurking in digest land.
Ah, so that is who has bought the neat little house down by the river and painted it that nice shade of pink. Good to meet ye, squire Laura.
PRobin from AOHell suggests
Please send digest asap
Here's a digest. In Washington, two men and a cucumber. In Hawaii, an aardvark and a parrot. Now this.
Bob's car wash is great!
And in Paris, a car and a haddock.
Lloyd Low points out
No matter what she says about how she is surprised that people recognise her and all, she defintely is not a low profile actress.
Too right she's not. Our Claire is a wonderfully modest person, but we know that she's a first class actress. And that finally seems to be becoming common knowledge to a good proportion of the world.
Next: ShanaUma for president (or something).
Lloyd again
Anybody knows the name and group of that sang which Angela was playing in her room during Gun's and Gossip. The scene when Patty went to the room toher room to discuss her sex life.
"Dreams" by the Cranberries. From "Whatever you say, say nothing". Elaine will now come back with a rant on how much she hates this band, while someone will clarify that the couple were discussing Angela's sex life, not Patty's.more...
Sara writes
we're in england now! anyone wanna get together? :)
Hey, welcome back. Erm, let me start the ball rolling on this; Sat April 4, usual place, circa midday. Anyone else care to nominate?
So, congratulations to Mr & Mrs Sara and Ross on their marriage. It may be the first from the list, I'm sure it won't be the last.
Lloyd asks of Wilson Cruz
Gay as in homosexual. So is this supposed to be of significance?
Well, it did give him that extra bit of realism to put into Rickie's character. So, I guess, it is of significance.
Sara writes
wow...I love the Titanic song remix.
Hey, folks, guess what. I don't! It is by far the worst part of an otherwise excellent soundtrack album; a pompous, overblown piece of pomp balladeering to start with. Then they throw voices in over the top. Voices taken out of context, and voices that I always mistake for that of the DJ waffling about something very dull.
Everytime I hear it, I want to go and see the movie again.
Every time I hear it, I change the radio station. Isn't technology wonderful (:
D-anon suggests
Titanic is the Lawrence of Arabia of the 1990's. Or, maybe, it's the new Gone With the Wind.
Shall we just say that Titanic was a ship, and "Titanic" (the movie) is a movie? Coz any comparison with movies from another era is always going to be invidious, and probably not worth making.
Andi adds
Cameron did the perfect thing, wanting to make the movie his way. he made it historically accurate, as well as providing an actual story plot.
I will refrain from commenting at this juncture, and merely direct the reader's attention to
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/8414/titanic.htm
[/andi-impression]
Sara suggests
I do think being superficial is a bad thing.
Being superficial while pretending to be deep is a form of moral
misjudgement, even if the only person you're deceiving is yourself.
Being ironically superficial, however, is a whole different ball
game.
and really, besides the spice girls, I can't think of another
female singer, that someone doesn't listen to, and just goes, wow,
she's hot.
Let me open the bidding with ToriAmosKateBushPaulaColeJewelFionaApplekdlangSuzanneVega. And then I'll start thinking about further
names.
who in the world can you think of that always wears sporty outfits?
or sexy outfits? or baby doll dresses? please!
So, who in the world always goes round in full evening suits?
Orchestras do... Who always wears sports kit if not professional
sportsmen? Indeed, who wears collar and tie but professional men.
It's all about image. It's all about badging, helping people to put
you in a little pigeon hole where they think they have you
contained. Orchestra member? Worthy but dull. Sports player? Fit and
dim. Professional man? Selfish workaholic. Sara seems to be falling
into that same trap.
though I heard their last cd was a flop
Ho hum. I don't call five months in the top 20 album lists in the US
and UK a flop by any standards. So it didn't hit a weekly #1? So
what. The critics hated it? Big deal. Lots of people are buying it,
and that's what will pay their way at the end of the day.
Brem responded
In rock history there has never been a group with a girl in it
who`s been credited with being capital "G" great (The closest is
Blondie).
Erm, er, (quickly checks "weaver's book of Great rock acts").
Dammit, Brem's right.
But their new song`s the best thing they've done since "Say you'll
be there". Smalltown motown! Hurrah!
Of the official releases, I'll agree. But then stop to flag up The
Forgotten Spices Track, "Step to me". That was their crowning
moment so far, I reckon.
If all the Lisas, Shanas, Lizs of the world are related, that makes me... an only child?
Courtney
For my deviance in US society class, I need to commit a deviant act.
Ah, they make it so difficult. Here's what you do. Nothing. Refuse
to commit a deviant act, in any way, shape or form. In its own way,
that becomes a deviant act, and bingo! Problem solved, and no-one
gets embarrassed.
And finally. Bill Clinton is a stuffed onion, reports CNN. Further details to follow after the dots.
Whay hay it's Thursday. Shockingly.
The London get together. Count me in, folksies. And don't let me spout on about anything, really. It's not good for you.
Five hours of Titanic on DVD, eh? Well, I guess it's fitting that the technology most likely to sink within minutes will hold an extended version of a movie about a technology that also sank very quickly. DVD is a very dead duck. I want my technology to record. Like, recordable CDs. If I want great pictures to play, I'll go out and buy a laser disc; if I just want to own the movie, I go out and get the VHS tape.
Last time, I pointed out that there was no other Iain on the list.
First Deca wrote
Then you're not alone: you and I must be connected cause I'd be an
only child then, too. :)
Then shim chimed in
certainly makes me one, i guess.
So, I guess there's a club forming, of people with names that are
unique identifiers. Add in Brem and Cheesecake, then look for a
snappy name for this grouping. Ideas? Thoughts? Applications?
It's pretty obvious who wrote
I am not a Mrs. at all. I refuse to be a mrs. I am still a MIss,
and will always be a miss. The same as I am not a wife, and I will
never be a wife. I just don't like those titles.
Well, yay for you. Question: can we still refer to you as the
Hoeckster? That has a snappy ring about it.
when you get married people just change your name to the other
persons automatically.
If they try doing that with my name I will probably have some rather
harsh words to say. And I can safely put in dittoes from ALI.
The same correspondent
wait...can you explain being ironicially superficial? /me doesn't
understand ;)
Pretending that you're being superficial, when in fact you know
that you're being superficial. I reckon that the Spices know exactly
what they're doing, have done so all along, and have manipulated the
media, record companies and other sundry people to achieve their
aims. That part of this master plan involves them appearing to be
superficial people is unfortunate but unavoidable.
what I was saying was, if they didn't sing good, they would in no
way be popular, no matter how good they looked.
A crap female singer, considered to be good looking. Shall I open
the bidding at Mary J. Bilge and leave the rest of you to go from
there?
if these girls want to go on about girl power, etc. then why let
people fit them into a little pigeon hole? that is not what girl
power is about. girl power is about being yourself, and being
strong. not acting like someoen else.
Good comments, and they raise two further issues:
1) How is it possible to stop people fitting them into some pigeon
hole or other. If it's not cartoon characters then it's chicks with
guitars, or waifs, or balladeers...
2) You're asserting that the Spices aren't being themselves when
they dress and act as posh, baby, ginger and such. Can you actually
prove that they're not acting? And isn't there a case to be made to
suggest that the five are taking part in some method acting?
Uh...my point was, it isn't selling. not in the US anyway. I@m
not sure about their first cd, but I do knwo taht the second one
was a dud, and that barely anybody is buying the thing.
OK, let me call up www.billboard.com... Ah yes. #12 (down from 8):
Spiceworld. 17 weeks (four months) on the listings, peaking at #3.
And later, #29 is Spice, now 56 weeks (a year and a month, fact
fiends), and a former #1. Not exactly signs of an album that's not
selling, I think.
nobody dresses the same every day of the week
You never did see some of my teachers, did you. Mr Myatt, the
Chemistry teacher with a glass eye, always wore dark brown courderoy
trousers, and a matching brown jacket with leather elbow patches in
winter, (very dark navy sans patches in summer) with a white shirt
underneath.
um...richard ashcroft? who?
Lead mumbler with Verve, a heinously over-rated, "deep" band,
currently milking their fifteen minutes of fame for all it's worth.
And responsible for some of the most pointless twaddle of recent
history, and for discovering Andrew Oldham's arrangement of "The
Last Time".
Congrats to everyone who spotted my little music quiz regarding the tune used when Patty came to talk sex with Angela. It was all designed to bring out the latent music anoraks in you all. (No, admit it, you screwed up - Ed.) OK, I got it wrong. It wasn't the single or album I stated, and I was probably wrong about Elaine hating the track as well.
.~*
i've been here a year and 8 months, so i'm fast approaching oldbie
status or something. unless i'm already considered that. i don't
know. opinions?
Well, 2 years to join the overlooked oldtymers; but do we want to
imagine a list without the .~*? That's oldbie status.
We hear that
'this university will produce mainstream, family-acceptable theatre
in the summer of 98, or the summer theatre program will cease to
have funding.'
Gee whizz. That sounds so dull. And why does everything have to
pander to the notion of "the family". So, the summer shows will be
of equal interest to WASPs with 2.4 kids, to never-married mothers
with yowling brats, and to couples? Does such a show exist, and can
the rights be bought for under $50,000?
wow, the president of our university is so into the expanse of
the art, the mind, the student, eh? he's also cutting paychecks.
You're assuming he has a mind to expand in the first place. And, of
course, if pay cheques are to be cut, they start at the top...
(hmmm...i don't know about all saints...did they audition or
actually know each other?)
The latter, according to their publicity. Shaznay and wotzerface
split from another band; Nicky and Natalie came back from Canada,
met the other pair and took it from there.more...
why aren't labels auditioning for bands like that?
Partly they are, but the results haven't filtered through properly
yet. And partly because there's been no self-formed female band
hitting the big time, the corporates don't see the megabucks that
are out there, and prefer to spend their money on dull acts.
'why are you going to buy that? it's in french, you can't read it'
'hello? it has a three page spread of leo pictures. i don't
need to read it.'
'point taken.'
...the things that go on near the magazine rack in borders. yay.
As opposed to the things that go on by the magazine stand at
International station.
"Why are you going to buy that?"
"Because it makes me look like a proper businessman."
"Yeah, but it's the Economist. It's boring."
Bronwyn
I discovered a fun hair product today. It's called hair mascara.
Revlon makes it and so does cover girl. i now have purty gold
streaks in my hair. i want to go back and buy red. yay.
Yay indeed. I used some purple glitter flavour of this over new
year, for reasons that are too long to explain here. And I believe
it's available in the UK now. Pity it's not Comic Relief till next
year, though that just might not stop me...more...
Huey
but i think the music should be changed so it represents the
laughing policeman in blackpool, interspersed with quotes from
politicians speeches.
Oh! The Laughing Policeman! Large, fat, chubby cheeked and laughs
uproariously at anything anyone says. Charles Penrose made a famous
song about such a character; a jolly policeman who goes a-ha-ha-ha-
ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, whoa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. And carries on
in this vein for a long time. So, we would wind up with something
like this:
"Read my lips. No new taxis!"
a-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
"You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning!"
whoa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
"New Labour."
wha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
"Go back to your constituencies and prepare for government."
ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.more...
(i found out where codsall is - there's not much to it is there?)
There's enough...
And hello to you all.
Jaime informs us
I just got a forward from Stephanie about a virus but I don't know
how to send attachments, so I'll tell you like this. Microsoft
announced that if you recieve an email with a subject about recieving
a free holiday, it's most likely a virus and DO NOT OPEN IT!
Oh look! It's the return of the old Viruses Through E-Mail scam! Let me
make just one thing clear. A plain old e-mail, like this one, cannot contain a virus. It is a complete myth to suggest that it
can. Furthermore, none of Microsoft, AOL, the FCC, Bill Clinton or
Xena, Warrior Princess have ever issued warnings about viruses. Nor
do I expect them ever to; at least not until it gets top spot on every
network's newscasts. For further details, consult the Virus Myths
page: http://www.kumite.com/myths/
Shana wonders
I mean, if you had the oppurtunity to have 6 days of living life to
the fullest, even though your mother said no, would you still go?
Am I crazy for actually wanting to screw my home life up to be free
for less than a week?
Summary answers: yes, no.
Expanded answers. This isn't just about the vacation. It's about
asserting your independence, and going out and living your life in the
way you want to. And also about recovering your own sanity after
making large decisions.
Cory asks, in response to my club for people with a unique name:
Does Mighty Max count?
Only if no-one knows another one. As I'm aware of a cartoon character
with the same name, I'm tempted to say no. But what the heck, that's
not real, Cory is, so yes.
Lloyd responds to my last post
i beg to differ on this point.
Hey, be my guest.
imho, the dvd is cool technology. cds when they first came out were
non-recordable, dvds initially are that way but soon enough
recordable ones will come out.
This is almost exactly my point. CDs were always marketed as a
replacement for / upgrade to the vinyl LP. Whether one agrees that the
CD is "perfect sound" or not, there's no avoiding the fact that LPs
were not recordable.
Similarly in home video technology. VHS is relatively poor quality,
comparable to the LP / analogue cassette. Laser disc is a superb
medium for playing pre-recorded content, such as feature films.
to me worm media is not appealing. record once, you are stuck with
it forever and ever. i think removal mass storage media is still
the way to go in that area.
Oh, absolutely! But this is a different kettle of fish entirely. A
digital re-usable recording system, such as Mini Disc or DAT, has the
potential to supplant tapes in the mainstream market within a very
short time frame.
[Tangent: it could achieve that breakthrough via the home computer systems. Not a CD-ROM, but a (play only, most probably) Mini Disc attached to your machine, enabling you to have the functionality of an existing CD-ROM, but with less space or noise.]
the dvd has
one plus point that you do not have to flip sides unlike lds for long
movies. that irritating pause when the player flips sides is a downer.
I'll grant that, but it still seems to me that the DVD is nothing more
than a re-hash of existing technology. Microsoft has succeeded by
taking that approach, but I suggest that they're an exception to
prove the rule.
one big bummer for the dvds is the copy protection region specific
nonsense. I can't go back home to buy dvds of asian films and watch
them here. will have to wait for them to make a u.s. version which
will be when i have white hair.
That is probably the biggest flaw in the whole DVD argument, and
thank you for reminding me of it. The "grey import" market of CDs has
proven very profitable for music retailers, and many of them were
hoping that a similar opportunity would exist for DVD. Instead, this
potential plus point has been ruined by the flimsiest of pretexts.
In summary, then, I see the entertainment media moving:
FROM: LP, tape, VHS
TO: CD, Mini Disc / DAT, Laser disc.
Of course, it's only a matter of time before the coding becomes good
enough to allow the laser disc to become the size of the CD, and
eventually down to something the size of the Mini Disc or computer
floppy.
Jaime writes, in connection with Po5's absence from FOX's schedules:
Six Weeks? SIX BLOODY WEEKS?????????? AHHHHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHH.
That's too long. Sniff.
Come to jolly old Britain, where Po5 will continue uninterrupted by
such trivialities as pre-emption, new shows, sweeps months or the
impact of a large asteroid somewhere near Woking. Just because we're
so far behind you north americans that Charlie's only a week into his
treatment shouldn't spoil your enjoyment at all. Oh, and the weather's
nice here, too.more...
Brem contributes
But...the "You`re all I need" with her and the Methodman was
completely fantastic, and is still regulary played in T4.5 post-club
chill sessions.
My point is that MJ Bilge is, technically, a crap singer, and is
considered to be good looking. Admittedly, she has more going for her
music than the first two names I put in that space, but my opinion
remains.
The main problem with their current pre-eminence in culture is that
the Verve-rip-off bands will be terrible beyond all reacoing. I`m
scared.
As and when the Verve rip off bands come through, I will retune my
cultural antenna back to Alan Green's entertaining football
commentaries, and sing them loudly in the bath.
Huey
buy time, the european, the economist, private eye, the guardian, the
indepedent and read the telegraph for boris johnson.
Read Time on its website, leave the Grauniad on the shlef, wait for
the Indescribadlybadlysetout to have a re-launch that you like the
look of, and let the Barclay brothers screw around with someone else's
European. Take the Telegraph for its fantasy football, cricket and
agony aunt. Read Private Eye cover to cover, then turn cookies off
your browser and hit their web site. Stuff the Economist down your
trousers before a long train, plane or car journey.
All trademarks are acknowledged, the omission of Heather Smallfry and Mariagh Cantsing is only to be praised, and in the event of Woking running into a badly-positioned lump of rock, Channel 4 may just think about rescheduling, but not until 6:50.
And a happy budget day to you all.
Laura suggests
I don't think Angela would like Romeo and Juliet...maybe. She would
probably think this girl is married to this guy she's know for less
than a week and she kills herself over him!
I'm not sure. Angela seems to be something of a literary / romantic
type, and the re-make of r+j might just have been directly up her
boulevard. Especially as Juliet's something of a firebrand, in
charge of her own destiny, like Angela's trying to be.
IMHO, I think Claire would like Titanic better cuz Rose didn't
drown herself over Jack's death. She went on, where Juliet didn't.
Are we referring to Angela Chase, fictional character, or Claire
Danes, BAFTA award nominee? We can go up and ask the opinion of one
of these fine people.
Elsewhere, Laura contributes
Well, in the middle of our snowy day, it thundered. About 5 times.
My dad says that is the most least common weather phemnom (sp?).
Hey, New England does have every kind of weather!!
Certainly takes after Olde Englande. Actually, it's not hugely
uncommon to have thunder during a snow storm. It's all to do with
the massive electrical potential differences between the top and
bottom of the clouds, and that's only 2000 feet due up. Hey, where's
Philip Eden when we need him..?
Well, if Liberty were a town, I could well be the chap who lives the
other side of the river from the main town. Our regular post
mistress, Annette Comm, doesn't come this way too often, so she
bundles all my mail up into one large package and shoves that into
my letter box. Sometimes, of course, she's down with the flu and
doesn't come at all ):
I work in Liberty by telecommuting into your newspaper, writing some
pithy summaries of the town news and opinion pieces on the rest of
the world. Some people don't like to read the board where I post my
musings, because someone once wrote graffitti on it, but that's
their loss. Not mine.
Because there's no bridge between my side and the main street, Pike,
I don't go there unless I'm in town for some other reason. Instead,
I spend my time raising my crop of digestive biscuits, riding some
of them to hunt the theiving throstles and devils that plague our
community. And listen, watch and live with some other people who
don't live so much in Liberty town these days.
Nikki Lane wonders
If Angela moved to Lawndale who would she hang out with?
Probably no-one we see a great deal of. At a pinch, Sharon might try
to date Kevin, or one of his chum(p)s. And Danielle might try to run
the fashion club. But Rayanne and Angela are just way too optimistic
to hang with Jane and Daria, and probably wouldn't meet Trent and
Jesse. Ho and in all probability hum.
Sara writes about the Spice Girls
Well...there isn't much else to look at is there? I really don't
know their personalities, and well...I can't be bothered to find
out about them.
Which kinda says it all, really.
All I've heard about it in the U.S. is that it is a dud, and that
its not really selling.
Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story.
But I did hear that on the radio (though all the radio statioins
are prejudice cause they don't like the spice girls)
That is their problem. If they don't want people to listen to them..
but they did say tat it wasn't doing as well as they thought that
it would, and that sales were not adding up for the second spice
girls cd. or something similar to that.
What other way would sales go than up (; But seriously. "Spice
World" is not selling as quickly as "Spice", that's true, but it is
selling better than many, many big name releases. Step forward,
Prince.
but anyway....if its really selling in the U.S., then we have a sad
bunch of people there.
Ya don't say (:
Brooks
My teeth hurt.
Ow. You have my sympathy. Like, totally. Hurting teeth are even
worse than the cold I've got at the moment.
Jaime erroneously reports
LOL means Lots of Love!
But that sets me thinking what other acronyms might stand for.
FBI: Fine, Bright Intellectuals.
CIA: Cretinous Iguana's A**e.
ABC: America's Boring Channel.
NBC: Not Blasphemous? Christ!
CBS: Clinton Bull Service.
FOX: Fortunate, Opportunistic, X-rated.
MTV: Merely Total Videos.
BBC: Brainy Bright Channels.
MICROSOFT: Many Intellectuals Can't Realise Our Sort Of Financial
Totality.
The whole racist banter. Let me point readers towards Richard Dawkin's book "The Selfish Gene", in which he points out that it is genetically beneficial to ensure a wide mix of genes in the gene pool, and hence anyone who espouses racial segregation laws is not acting in the best interests of humanity. Further details, for those interested, from The World of Richard Dawkins.
Hey, dontcha just love going down with a cold. But, that was a good excuse to take a couple of days off work, and this is now.
~Laura suggests
a bunch of rabid Iain's works fans could start a zine with
your comments and banter...
Erm, for "rabid", might we remove the letters "i" and "b", and
replace the letter "r" with the letter "m"? Or something...
Lisa namedrops
my sister's book: "Everybody's talking about Emma Forrest's new
novel,' Namedropper', and will it live up to its title.
Even through a haze of used tissues and patent cold remedies,
this caused my jaw to head sixty degrees south. Emma Forrest
(erstwhile columnist in the Sunset Times, the first person in the
press to agree that Hollyoaks isn't a patch on MSCL, and now
writer in Monday's Grauniad) is, in fact, the sister of much
respected MSCListee Lisa Bing. Goodness, indeed. Though I'm not
giving up my subscription to the Torygraph's sports section just
for Lisa's sister.
I may come to the April 4th GT. I'm just not ready to commit
We would appreciate your presence. And I promise not to eat at
Pizza Hut the day before. Not under any circumstances.
Philip (hello) wonders
Oh well...also anyone else adore Tori Amos??
She does what she does wonderfully, though it's not always my cup
of tea. And she's playing in Wolverhampton in the last week of
May, when I'm out of the country.
And Crissy enquires
What is the best Tori Amos cd?
"Little Earthquakes" is rewarding, but hard work. "Under the
Pink" has the best songs, but doesn't have the depth. "Boys for
Pele" is just weird.
Kate on Natalie Umbrella
Natalie because she's such an outlet.. And the lyrics to her
songs just... Make me strong (in a way).. I totally recommend
her new album.. It's just.. such a liberation.. Of sorts..
I recommend it if you liked the 1995 incarnation of Alanis
Morissette, or you sang "Bitch" all last summer. Or the words
Alisha's Attic mean something to you. Or you like the video to
"Torn" more than for "the most passionate kiss since MSCL", as
CNN's reviewer put it.
Hmm. "Ally McBeal". Any news of this coming to UK terrestrial channels? I know ITV had "Veronica's Closet" kept hidden behind the sofa in case "Ice Warriors" turned into a total flop, but where does that leave it now?
Mae points out
It's the 100th year of Philippine Independence (from the
Spanish) this year! And you know what's soooo great about
that? Even the Spanish Government is helping us celebrate! The
King and Queen of Spain were just here, and might even come back
for June 12th, the actual date!
Centennial year! Yay independence!
Hey, I wish you a happy century.
I'm reminded of Newfoundland's big celebrations last year. 500
years since John Cabot landed at Bonavista and claimed the land
for England. When I popped over last April, there was bunting and
posters everywhere. Later celebrations included a visit by Liz
and Bert Windsor, and a replica of Cabot's ship made the 7 week
journey from Bristol. Sadly, no-one will be making the logical
follow up this year, when a boat laden with all the flags, promo
leaflets and the provincial government will set sail from St
John's in early August, never to be seen again.
There was a point to that tale once.
Mae informs us of
Tips on keeping awake behind the wheel
0) Don't drive. Take the train. (Note: This tip only works in
areas where there is a train service. So that's Britain out of
contention, then)
Eli
As a side note, many people in Israel won't buy german products.
To further sidebar the issue, have a look at voting in the
Eurovision song contest from Israel. Now, it's meant to be all
about the quality of the song, the lyrics, the tune, and how
insufferably rubbish it is. But, for some reason, the Israeli and
German juries never seem to give each other any points. Just as
the Cypriot and Greek juries swap 10s and 12s, while freezing
Turkey out of it altogether.
Celine Dion's Titanic theme song.
There should be a law against writing such kitch.
Too right. Release "Southampton" as a single. Please.more...
Eli also misinteprets my comments relating to Dawkin's stance:
it is genetically beneficial to ensure a wide mix of genes in
the gene pool, and hence anyone who espouses racial segregation
laws is not acting in the best interests of humanity.
By "the best interests of humanity", I'm refer simply to the best
interests of the human gene pool.
Eli wrote
Stating for "interracial" marriages is as bad as stating for it,
because it accepts the concept of a race.
I didn't state anything that could be interpreted as for inter-
racial marriages. I argued against not having them, which is a
subtle difference.
Humanity was developed out of genetic mutations. There is no
reason to accelarte\disaccelarte this process.
The process of genetic mutations can't be accelerated. They will
happen, the ones that prove of some benefit will persist, the
ones that don't will not reproduce. Similarly, it's not possible
to slow the mutations down. They're random events. They happen.
They're needed to give the gene pool a kicking once in a while.
The brits, are former conquerors
Fill me in if I'm missing something, but I'm under the impression
that Britain's involvement in the middle east was to hold
mandated powers under the old League of Nations, and to wind
these down when the UN came into being.
Huey suggests
iain who i still feel embarrassed about upsetting
Stop it. You didn't upset me. You disagreed, with good reasons,
and that doesn't upset or annoy me at all.
Alfredo points out
bigotry is bigotry
Indeed. A closed mind is always a closed mind.
People wanted to reply to my articles, but they were afraid to.
They sent me private email instead.
As you may know, I always make a first reply to a post in public,
and take it off list after that. It's also interesting to note
that Alfredo has not replied to any point of mine for a number of
months.
Sara writes
I'm an american, and I'm proud to be an american. I wouldn't
want to be anything else.
Apparently, I'm British, and European. I'm not proud to be
either. Britain, like other nation states, is a political
construct imposed on a number of previously independent peoples.
Europe is even worse than that; it's an artificial political
constuction that is being imposed on nation states that don't
want it, won't benefit from it, and see no point in it.
I am proud to be me.
the song without the things from the movie is kinda bland
and boring.
I-i-i-i-i thank you.
Ross's dad keeps asking me if I'm going to drive over here, and
I keep saying no, cause I know that I would kill myself.
That would not be good.
But I don't have a UK driving license, and don't intend to get
one till I move to Canada. Partly coz I don't have the time to
pass the test, partly coz the license would become a de facto
identity card, something else I'm dead set against. But mainly
because I wouldn't be confident in crossing from the right to the
left of the road.
I can't understand how to go around roundabouts. I mean...
they're fine as long as I'm just sitting there, but driving
through them? confusing!
Don't drive through roundabouts. Go round them. Fork left when
you enter, then turn gradually right. At least, that's the
theory. I just find them almost as much of a mess as
Wolverhampton's one way system.
Don't slow down.
Ed's note: This post contained much of the content of my previous post, which had been knocked on the head by someone at Netcom deleting the so-called account. For space reasons, I've not included the repetitions.
Hey, dontcha just love going down with a cold. I took a couple of days off last week, and Annette hasn't recovered from hers till now. So, some of these comments relate to things that happened at a similar time to Noah.
In this post, we have Tori Amos, Natalie Umbrellastand, womyn, bigots, driving and Americans. After all that comes a brief note on the whole "Titanic" business from Slate.
On Tori Amos, Courtney asks
know anywhere where I can look up info on this new album?
Check out JAM music
Huey also suggests
destructive discourses must be stopped.
You have met Brem, uber-lord of subtle irony; haven't you?
Sara reports
I'm very um..insomnia hmm..what would the word be?
Insomniac. Can't get no sleep...
Mae wonders
What happened to Bob?
Erm, good question. I can only assume that he met Lord Flashman, and hasn't been seen since. Much to Nursie's chagrain.
In a long discourse about language, Demeter wrote
I thought (and Meredith Brooks might not agree, so this is all IMO)
["Bitch"] was about the multiplicity of images imposed on womyn --
lover, mother, daughter, sister, friend. That the whole song was a
declaration, a manifesto of sorts wherein she enumerated all the
roles imposed on her as a womyn and then asserted that she was all
and none of them, that she was so much more than the total of those
roles.
If I remember the cover interview in Vox magazine last October, this
is the interpretation used by Brooks.
Incidentally, I figure that "womyn" works best as a plural form, leaving the singular as "womin".
Laura enquires
Has anyone else with Geocities been having problems lately?
Everything is so slow!
Oh, I've been having problems with their gratuitous insistence that
users accept cookies, and browse with images on, but no speed
problems. That I upload files around 11am UK time of a Sunday has
nothing to do with that, of course.
Jo remembers when
I was punished for refusing to stand up for the National Anthem
Oh! I didn't think they did that sort of thing in schools any more.
Like, sing the national anthem? Most heavily bizarre. Most totally
non-PC. How utterly imperialistic.
Jaime reminds us that
Men in Black got makeup.
City Smoke, I hope... And will the follow up be Valley Girls In
Black?
Anyway, staying with the Oscars, here's a few words from Slate magazine. $19.95 to subscribers, edited highlights free with this post. Though if anyone wants to send some money...
Anyway. David Edelstein is Slate's film critic, and he wrote a preview last Friday...
When it hands out its Oscars each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cannot be said to be celebrating true artistic achievement, since history teems with examples of masterpieces passed over in favor of dire middlebrow beanbags. Nor can it be said to be celebrating commercial achievement, since it often turns its nose up at blockbusters, even good ones. (Consider 1982, when Hollywood generated two of the finest big-studio commercial entertainments of the last 25 years--E.T. and Tootsie-- and the Oscar went to the fat, square Gandhi.) What the academy actually celebrates is a peculiar amalgam of qualities: artistic, commercial, gaudily inflated, and politically earnest. The Best Picture of a given year is Hollywood's poster child--what a lot of vicious, petty, vulgar, vain, and corrupt people want the world to think of when it thinks of their industry.So, that was last Friday. Tuesday, following the awards, these were David's thoughts:
Titanic
This is likely to win big. When it does, millions of pubescent women the world over will scream and jump up and down, phone lines will sizzle, the Internet will hum, and everyone will want to know: Where's Leo? Any possibility the academy will pass Titanic up because of its commercial success has been overcome by a) the movie's grandiose themes (heroism, self-sacrifice) and knee-jerk class bias and b) director James Cameron's sacrificing his percentage of the box office to get the movie made--the closest thing in Hollywood to true heroic tragedy.
Good Will Hunting
A natural Best Picture winner for all sorts of reasons. The academy loves backward savants (Rain Man), and a working-class savant who emerges from therapy feeling forgiven (it's not his fault, cf, Ordinary People) should be just about irresistible. Plus, it's a decent film--better made than the two others put together although still impossibly fraudulent on almost every level. But can the academy bear to give the Oscar to Harvey Weinstein two years running? Nah.
Supporting Actress
Minnie Driver, Good Will Hunting, or Julianne Moore, Boogie Nights
Two amazing, heart-on-the-sleeve performances; I can't decide. But the academy will give the award to Titanic's Gloria Stuart, who has hit the talk show circuit big time. She was beautiful in the '30s, but she couldn't act; she's still pretty great looking, and she still can't act.
I'll puke if the Oscar goes to: Stuart/L.A. Confidential's Kim Basinger
The morning after:So, that just about closes this post from me. More later...
The crust on the dishes is hardening; the open wine bottles exude a scent both floral and sour; the stereo rumbles with requiems by Mozart, Verdi, Brahms, and Dvor�k. I am in mourning: Robert Duvall didn't win. Finally, it all came down to that.
We knew Titanic would sail off with the Oscars. And what the hell: a fat, square, crudely written, breast-beating blockbuster worshipped by millions of teen-age girls and teen-age-girls-at-heart--its Oscars were earned. I only bridle when people describe it as an "epic." My definition of an epic is a story in which characters undergo prodigious trials and evolve. James Cameron's characters remain as noble or rotten at the end as they were at the beginning, although they're considerably wetter.
"Dreams really do come true, Barbara, they really do," said Basinger, who did a variation of the same line when she won an Oscar for the weakest scenes in L.A. Confidential. Her elation was touching, but a 10-second clip of Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights was enough to remind anyone of the difference between acting and soulful posing.
The Titanic encomiums had a certain consistency. "Thank you for being in a good mood that day," said Horner to James Cameron, of the moment he presented the notoriously disagreeable director with the movie's love song. "Although the seas were rough at times ..." began another winner. "The success of Titanic will give you the self-confidence you need to succeed in this business," joked yet another, eliciting not even a smile from his former taskmaster. Awarded the Best Director prize, Cameron crowed a line from his movie--"I'm the king of the world!"--in a way that came off eerily unironic. Then he capped the night by asking for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the Titanic. A simple, heartfelt reference to the tragedy would have been sufficient, but the newly crowned king of the world was showing off his might by bringing the telecast seen by an estimated billion people to a halt.
But it all came down to Robert Duvall, who gave the most powerful performance of the decade and was passed over for another of Jack Nicholson's Jack Nicholson impersonations. Go with me on this, OK? I want to ask for a moment of silence for a great, unjustly denied actor:
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