From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V3 #72 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, March 17 1998 Volume 03 : Number 072 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: For Suzanne! ["Stephen M. Tilson" ] Alloy: Musicians of Alloy ["Stephen M. Tilson" ] Re: Alloy: Musicians of Alloy [CJ Mark ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:33:21 -0500 From: "Stephen M. Tilson" Subject: Alloy: For Suzanne! Dear Ms. Sakamoto, Happy happy birthday from /\/\iles and the lovely /\/\ary! Many happy returns of the the day to you. Mary prefers to give a hug, , and thinks that birthday smooches would be a better institution, . Sorry we're tardy, /\/\iles the |-|eretic Europa T. /\/\ary ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 02:33:19 -0500 From: "Stephen M. Tilson" Subject: Alloy: Musicians of Alloy Mark (CJMark) shared: > "Boom Boom Boom, Let's Go Back to my Room" You *admit* this? But really, that's great! Thanks for sharing. > So.. .add me to your list.. Stephen.. of retired pros.. I guess.. > and please excuse the long winded approach to my life story, > folks! Duly noted and so appended, Sir. So Mark, how about contributing to this year's TMDR tribute with a cover (and an original too, if you like) of one of his songs you might like to wrangle? /\/\iles the |-|eretic ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:05 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: The Cube is Welcome Here! > May the Cube be with you all, > > John > It's kind of nice to be somewhere where everyone can use such an expression without others going "Huh?" isn't it? And Hello! And Welcome! ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:41:09 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Re: census My favorite Dolby piece? Don't have one; never did. Currently, I'm on a stint with Beauty of a Dream but thats mostly because it's my contribution this year on the tape and it has a philosophy behind it that is directing my life as of late. See below. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:32 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: The Kane Gang > PPS Has anyone ever heard of the Kane Gang ? The TMDR link, albeit > tenuous is that TMDR worked with Newcastle band Prefab Sprout, > arguably the finest name for a pop group, and erstwhile Dolby prodigy > Paddy McAloon of the Sprouts was mentor to the Kane Gang, a trio who > only made two albums, but were magnificent all the same. Yes, John, I have heard of the Kane Gang. They had a video on MTV called "Motortown" or something that inspired me to buy their album. Unfortunately, only that one song found itself appealing to me. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:39:08 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Angelina Jolie and Hackers I wrote, >> HEY! I love that movie! Practically obsessed actually. >> >> Well, maybe it's just the girl. (Wow!) Ms Sakamoto wrote, >Oh, I know that feeling...I love that movie, too. The soundtrack is >great, too. > >Incidentally, have you seen any other movies with her (Angelina Jolie) in >them? I can only think of about three: "Playing God" (with David Duchovny, >yum!), "Gia" (made for HBO, I think), and "Foxfire" (girl power flick). I've >seen all three, and she's much better in them than she was in "Hackers". Sorry, I havn't. I'll have to see if I can find them! ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:39:44 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: El Nino > We're getting that here in Portland, too. I was reading the paper a few >days ago, and in an article about the effects of El Nino, a state >climatologist was quoted as saying that for all intents and purposes, it's >spring. They aren't expecting any more winter weather. Personally, I'm >hoping this doesn't mean that we're going to have a hotter-than-usual >summer. > > Robyn We've hardly gotten much snow here in Denver and it's been unusually warm, but spring is usually our wettest time. That's when we get all the big blizzards, so well see. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:39:36 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: California PANIC >Just to let you know that I haven't had a football field of mud come in my >door yet.. though I did drive alongside one last weekend. Yes.. It has been >raining .. raining.. raining.. but at least when the sky clears everything is >nice and green! > >Still kicking here.. Thanks for asking!! > >Ciao for now.. > >Mark > I was out there (San Jose) on the 20-21st and from the airplane, it looked like a fourth of the San Joaquin valley was flooded! (about the area my parents live) It looked bad. When I left, I got a fantastic shot of the sunset from all the multilayered clouds coming off the ocean from more than one elevation. Incredible! And all the vegetation was a deep purplish green! Wonderful! ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:39:53 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Manchester Sand Revisited >Couldn't the seemingly inevitable war in the mideast become a worldwide >catastrophe, if any weapons-grade bacteria or poison is spread the same way as >the Saharan sand & Chernobyl fallout? Just how virile are these (would they >travel to far away places via fallout, retaining any potency?) Bad enough that >they should even affect those living in nearby towns. Are any of Alloy's >experts able to comment on this? > >Robin I've heard a number of nutritional experts say that, avoiding any major disease is impossible. Whether through weaponry or even natural sources, every person will eventually be exposed by at least one major disease (bacteria or virus). I've also heard them say that, as long as you keep your immune system as strong as possible, by lowering stress, increasing your nutritional support and avoiding all bad foods (Yeah right! Who can do that?), you can usually withstand just about any disease, often avoiding their symptoms at all. Example, I believe is was the Spanish influenza that killed 3/4's of the earths population. How did the 1/4 survive? Only one way, good immunity. - - my 2 cents As far as radiation goes, I don't know, other than, you will most likely get sick and/or die, depending on the amount of exposure. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:08:20 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Help! And Hello! Sorry I've been gone so long. I have been overburdened with taxes, my business, my job, my crashing computer., etc, etc, etc Regarding my computer: I took my Juno to work so I could catch up on my emails. Hope I don't get caught! If you know nothing about computers (technically) skip this next paragraph. Help! 95 wouldn't boot, SoundBlaster AWE error. So I removed the soundboard, rebuilt 95 (not new, just reinstalled over the top), now, no serial or parallel ports!?! 95 and Norton Utils see nothing wrong with the serial ports though the loopback test fails, and physically, it can't be the motherboard as I tried the same hard drive on 2 different motherboards! I have noticed, that when I 'install a modem' in 95, the Transmid LED on the modem lights, but that's it. I've been tearing through the registry as well to no avail. I eventually formatted a hard drive, put it on one of the motherboards with a bare minimum of components, installed 95 (b) on a FAT16 partition. Still, nothing. When I disabled the ports on my motherboard, 95 found a set of ports anyway! I reenabled the ports and now 95 finds 3 sets of ports! I even tried a brand new serial/parallel card and got the same results. I've tried Norton Utilities, First Aid and RealHelp. Everything thinks there's no problem at all but nothing will find my modem, UPS or printer (all PNP). Ideas? Suggestions? I'm really embarrased about this one as everyone at work thinks I'm the techie from heaven. If anybody could offer suggestions, I'd appreciate them. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:40 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Trains don't collide on a regular basis >To be brutally honest, it is quite possible that Thomas will never again >regain the mass appeal he had in the early 80s. He may well be destined >to be known by the masses as "The 'Blinded By Science' Guy". and doomed >to being imprisoned on Hits Of The 80s compilations. Maybe. I've been hearing a lot that the 80's are coming back as cool. Kids must've gotten too much of grunge and ska. There are a number of stations here in Denver that play a lot of 80's as a part of their format. One thing about the 80's was that there was an awful lot of variety everywhere and as maybe a way to recap the century, everyone is dusting off the good stuff of the last 100 years. - - my 2 cents. >Thomas also has the respect and admiration of many, many fine musicians. >I've said before that Thomas is very much a musician's musician. Just look >at how many musicians there are on this list. If Thomas were to give up >on making music not only would he be letting down his many fans, but >most importantly he'd ultimately be letting down himself and his own >potential. Yet another musician to back that one up! >I can understand him keeping Headspace as a dayjob, but I hope it won't >stop him from creating the kind of music we've all come to admire him >for. It's just another avenue for his creations. He has not stopped writing music. There is a lot of Beatnik out there with is name on it! > CRACKERS > (Fingers crossed from hell!!!) > ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:48 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Elaine stands up! I 2nd. And I 3rdly. > > And on a related note, I would like to add that I think it might > > be sometimes unfair of some Alloyeds to insist on nothing but > > specifically TMDR-related threads. Since he's not recording music > > for the masses, and until recently we weren't even promised a > > list of the latest out of Headspace (and/or his speaking > > schedule), what exactly were we supposed to discuss repeatedly? > > "AAMB is the worst album he did." "Is not." "Is too." He's > > obviously moved on to other things, so I see no reason why we > > would want to dwell in the past all the time either. > > > > Since I've begun pissing off Alloy members one by one for a few > > weeks now, I'll go ahead and say what I think, and start from > > scratch later if I can. :) > >Excuse me, but right the on! I cannot agree with you more Elaine, >and I am so relieved to know I am not the only one who feels this way. This >is our livingroom, so to speak. We are together because we share an affinity >for the music of TMDR, but that is only a beginning. Why then should we not >explore what else we might, or might not, have in common with each other? >If we were literally in the same room that is certainly what we would do. > >Thomas gave us the gift of bringing us together; it is up to us to take it >from there. After all, it's not like there are 2000 people on this list all >hungering for the latest big Dolby news. So let's take his gift for what >it's worth, and see what we can make of it. > >Most sincerely, >/\/\iles > Here here! As long as we mind our manners, we should be free to discuss things openly. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:58 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Alloy Musicians > ...which set me thinking.. > > all of you lot seem to be musicians, could somebody provide me with a > summary of whom is whom in Alloy; if they're in a band or work alone, > pro / semi pro / beer money or whatever ? Anyone famous ? >The Semi-Pros: > Chris (Crackers) Cracknell > Tim Dunn > Ian Gifford > Louise Ulfstedt > John Neil (He's in two bands according to Mary, and may be a Pro) > Keith Dawe (status uncertain) > and myself > >(please forgive and correct me if I've left anyone out) > >Stephen I'll correct you, you lousy lot! (With all jesting) With a handle like *JAM*ac! I hoped there'd be a hint in there. Remember, it was I that suggested we attempt writing a song together. I gave it a stab and it's still on one of my web pages, just waiting for anyone to see what they can add to it. Remember, it's the one that sounds a bit like Metro by Berlin. I believe the address is www.idcomm.com/personal/jamac/alloy.html Either that or maybe just www.idcomm.com/personal/jamac But, you're forgiven. I grew up on the piano. I started playing by ear at age 3 and my parents started me in piano lessons at age 10. When I was 22, I finally bought my first synth and drum machine and since have been adding one expensive piece of gear at a time. I finally (almost) have my computer up to par for digital audio so maybe I can finally lay down an album (I'm 30 now). I was never satisfied with the quality of my mutitracks. I've never done a gig or played in a band, per se. But I've collaborated with a number of musicians and singers on a dozen songs that we never finished. I wrote a couple of unfinished tunes with a guy who loved Hawkwind and was at one time in a band with the lead singer of the band that did "Mexican Radio" (what's their name? I'm terrible with names, you'll find) I wouldn't say I'm pro, but I find it hard to say I'm amateur either. I took great comfort in finding out that Thomas isn't very skilled in his chops and relies on his sequencer about as much as I do, so there's still hope. Of course, I don't think I could do a backflip while still playing a strap-on synth. Shoot! I can't even do a backflip! I cover mostly some strange mixture of classical, jazz, hip-hop, grunge rock that I've never figured out a clasification for. I'd probably be best suited for movie soundtracks I suppose. Unfortunately, I'm not famous for anything with music (so far) except for that time I cracked that top note in Aladdins (what's the name of that song!?) at a friends wedding. (Honest! The air was too dry! Really!) Stick around and you'll get to see what some of us sound like on our next B-day project. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:38:59 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Electronic Music On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 12:09:05 -0800 Eclipse writes: >But we're definitely getting off topic here. Not that computers and >Dolby are especially far seperated. Speaking of music and computers >(well, sort of), a question for all of you musically inclined people >who can actually compose pieces and stuff... does it "feel" really >different bringing a piece of music to being primarily through >technological means versus using "real" instruments? Hopefully this >isn't too far off base either, but it seems like it has a fair amount of >bearing on Our Founder's works... > > -- E(lipse For me, nothing beats acoustic. I still love siting at a piano or playing my acousitc guitar. Yet, with my synth and keyboard, even though everything is synthetic, from the weighted "piano feel" keys to the AM modules, its my fingers that actually 'make' the music. By my natural unquantized timing, the variation in how hard I strike each individual key to how much pressure I put on them to change the sound in whatever way I programmed, it all comes from me. Does it feel different? Not really. Not unless I get a patch that doesn't have the flexibility I want, that wont let me change it's expressions in the way I feel they need to be changed. Technology has just given the average musician the ability to play a much broader range of sounds than they were able to play in the past. In the past, for instance, if a guy had this fantastic symphony that he kept writing in his head, he would have to write it down, often with the assistance of a piano so he could hear the notes he wrote, just to make sure, and breaking it all down for individual instruments 1st string, 2nd, etc, then 'rent' a symphony to learn and play the piece to see if it really did sound right. Usually it didn't, so it was back to the drawing board for tweaks. And so on. Now, you play your keyboard and have the computer memorize each note, you get to hear the end result with synthesized instruments and you can do all the tweaking you want without wasting all that time and money. In the other light, doing synth music, ie: sounds that don't exist in the real world, it's still just the same. It can be as if you have an instrument to play and yet, you can change how that instrument sounds. (I need another filter there, or lets add that sample in this range) Sometimes (usually) technology creates more problems than it solves, requiring other technologies to take care of those problems which in turn have their own problems. But, usually in the areas of the arts, technology seems to make things so much better. So it goes for music. I love my synths. I can't imagine going back to just an upright piano. I wasn't able to get out of it what I was hearing in my head. I needed a band and the piano couldn't fit that bill by itself. Now, I direct the entire arrangement. It's much more satisfying. ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:40:20 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Trains don't collide on a regular basis >> I've read elsewhere that some people wish that TMDR would go back to >> the recording studio. I do, and at the same time, I don't. I am of the >> "quit while you're winning" school, and a part of me feels that if he >> did go back, then he might struggle to recapture the freshness and >> originality of Science, Hyperactive, Pulp Culture and Cigar; instead >> he might carry on with bland stuff like "The Beauty of a Dream". I don't agree with your school even though there are many prime examples; Elton John, Rod Stewart. But there are others who *can* continue to go on and sometimes get better; Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd. >> >> TMDR has made three mighty albums, A & H is a flawed masterpiece too, >> and that would be hard to follow. As for making ambient music, or >> computer generated music, I don't want to know. Strikes me as being a >> bit nerdish. > >I take it you didn't really like Gate then? Be warned: A handful of >resident alloids consider being nerdish a bit of a virtue. I am nerd and proud of it! Ok, I think I would rather prefer geek than nerd. And The Gate was just as good as any of his other works. On top of that, I'm covering Beauty of a Dream for the B-day project, because, it is most exquisite, in its message and feel. And that coming from a guy who likes grunge! >IMHO, A & H was his best work (and happens to be one of my absolute >all-time favorite albums)... If I'm not mistaken, the man himself seems >to have a certain fondness for that particular album.. as it were. >If he did more along the lines of "The Beauty of a Dream", I at least >would be perfectly delighted.. besides, (okay, this is probably more >appropriate for the female Alloids), who else can make the words "spam >tin" sound sexy? ;) Indeed! >Even so, can any of us really see TMDR sticking to any -one- style? One >of his greatest strengths and one of the most appealing qualities of his >work is its brilliant diversity, while still somehow maintaining his own >particular style. That's why he didn't last in the pop world. He was too creative, like David Bowie. But rather than please different genres, Dolby did what was artistic and complete, rather than lucrative. >Likewise, it wouldn't seem to me that the "quit while you're winning" >sort of advice would apply, unless the artist considers his works a >craft, or a product... something to produce, albeit to try to make fun >and appealing and meaningful... but if it is more of an art, something >that comes from the heart, then to stop creating would be like deciding >not to breathe any more... Granted, he could very well keep playing and >composing on his own time and not bother trying to record or especially >share it with the rest of us, but that would strike me as wildly >improbable... Even busy with Headspace, he's managed to do new pieces >to be used with Beatnik (which of course, I haven't gotten to hear yet, >*sigh*.. maybe this summer I can upgrade my computer..) As a musician myself who is too busy for my own music, I still never quit and never will. I can't imagine it. Its not something you just let go of. Oh, and E(lipse, you're missing out! Beatnik is awesome! Sorry if I'm driving you to madness. >> Who knows, unpredictability is one of the perks of being an artist, so >> with TMDR anything can happen, and I hope that it does. Meanwhile we >> can all share what he has done, cos it's bloody well worth enjoying. >> >> John > > -- E(lipse > ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:41:22 -0700 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: The 30's and 40's and beyond! Slarvi wrote, >I'll admit that I often find some younger women attractive, but then I find some older women attractive too. What I DO try to do is refrain from tasteless, sexist or possibly offensive remarks about women. I cringe when I hear a group of 'lads' making what they think are humorous remarks within earshot of women. Call me old fashioned if you like, but that's the way I feel. I cringe when they do this, even when NO woman is around! >I always try to treat EVERYONE equally. I'm sure I sometimes fail (some of our users definitely seem like nimnoes to me), I'm only human like everyone else, but I do TRY to treat people as I'd like them to treat me, however hard it might be sometimes. Behaviour breeds similar behaviour. If you treat people well, they'll usually reciprocate; not always, but usually. So do I but unfortunately, I usually end up treating them the same way they treat me. Does that say I'm vengeful? Probably. ___________ Keith wrote, >On a very related note, > >There was a meeting of three Alloyites tonight at the Wynkoop(eee) in Denver. JAMac and myself had the pleasure of having dinner with Beth Meyer here in Denver. She was in the area for an interview. A good time was had by all and no illusions were broken (that I'm aware of). Beth shared some great mountain climbing photos with us. >I got a picture of the event that I hope can be included in the >scrapbook some day. ___________ Robin wrote, >I agree, and I also agree that for some people the more you try to please them the more subtly demanding they become. I do love a peaceful environment & will gladly put myself in a position of mediator if I think I can help keep things on an even keel; most people really are able to see someone else's point of view once they know what it is. But sometimes I lose my patience when it's clear someone's trying to be manipulative for their own warped purposes, or if they're not being considerate of others' feelings. Then, even if I stubbornly try to remain cheerful after someone's gone & pissed me off, the things I say start become laced with sarcasm & after I've heard myself sounding like this a few times, I know it's time for me to just shut up & accept the fact that I'm pissed off. I'm the same way, pretty much. As soon as they try to take advantage, I become like a stone wall. This usually makes them think I'm harsh. In reality, I love to help people, as long as they don't go too far. ___________ Slarvi wrote, >>There's something about this form of communication that relaxes inhibitions. Perhaps >that's why I expressed reluctance to meet fellow Allocates a while ago. The magical >illusion might be broken. It was actually kind of nice to meet Beth. She's not quite what I expected. I thought that she was more laid back, the type who just watches and deciphers who you really are. Maybe it was the psychologist thing that took me that way. But she was really energetic, driven! She probably did most of the talking but that's because Keith and I are a little bit reserved in nature. Yet, she didn't control or drown us at all! I thought she was great. Now, I see her emails in a slightly different light, and I actually enjoy them more. I would love to meet every one here, eventually! ___________ Robin wrote, >I do know a lot of people in their 40's who have finally saved up enough to take some extravagant trip around the world, or get that Harley they've always dreamed of, or get a really fantastic boat & go yachting all over the place...financial stability mixed with youthful enthusiasm might *look* like some kind of 'crisis' to conservative folk - could this be partly why 'the 40's' have such a bad rep? I personally know some multimillionaires who ride their Harleys all over the country together. They are all over 50 (maybe 60) and are having the time of their lives. Of course, they've been riding motorcycles since they were in their teens and 20's. With that in mind, I think many people have worked for decades to get where they are and they have a right to enjoy themselves. I think anyone that puts down anothers age in such light secretly knows that they will never achieve the same successes and so they respond to cover up their own short commings by putting others down instead of doing something about it. I will never grow too old for anything. That is something I have resolved and will fulfill! The main key here is attitude. 'Quit whining and get out of the way of others who are doing something about it' I say to them! Never again will I say, "Oh if only Ida..." From now on it's, "Well, maybe I missed that one, but the next one is mine!" (by the way, I'm only 30, so I've got, oh, say, 120 years to go!) ___________ JAMac (Dennis S. Alexander) - www.dennisa.com "The beauty of a dream is you don't let it go, you don't ever let it go." - Thomas Dolby _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 09:45:23 +-1100 From: John Schofield Subject: Alloy: Boom, Boom, Boom - Birthday Greetings & Alloy Shirts Hey Mark thats great ! Nice to hear from another semi-lurker. and now... Belated Birthday Song:- Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to yooouuu, Happy Birthday Dear Suzzaaaaannnnne, Happy Birthday to you. (who said I couldn't sing) John (john@police.tas.gov.au) ps. Stephen have you received my cheque (thats 'check' for US readers) yet? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 00:37:59 GMT From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: The 40's? At 18:09 15/03/98 EST, Robin wrote: > .... I'm still at my wits >end about this extraordinarily manipulative & clueless girl who I finally >maneuvered OUT of my department and into another one, thanks to the >cooperation of the owner of my shop. She complained endlessly about >everything, thought the other person in my department was out to get her (she >wasn't) and was an extremely skilled liar. I had a similar problem with a member of staff working for me when I moved offices last year. No matter what I did, this guy thought my boss and I were out to discredit him. He openly admitted he didn't trust us and nothing I did could make him feel differently. It was an impossible situation and in the end he got a job elsewhere. His old boss, who I took over from but who stayed on the section, also felt unhappy about the reorganisation, and they both tried not to cooperate with what was going on. Hell, *I* was unhappy. I didn't want to move and I didn't want any staff working for me, but I had to make the best of change forced on me. It was a difficult time for us all, with three IT sections merging into one, and two existing systems being phased out. It was uncomfortable for us all, and in the end things only improved when both these guys left. We recruited new staff and there's a good team spirit now. But I'm disappointed that I couldn't maker the team work with the staff we already had. >Which brings me back around to "the 40's"... from what I can tell, age may not >matter when it comes to some people wanting to chuck their responsibilities & >run around on their wives or husbands, drink a lot, etc., and other people >remaining faithful to everything they have and love. People of every age have >to keep in mind who they are & where their responsibilities lie, what they >value, and what kind of person they want to be. > >I do know a lot of people in their 40's who have finally saved up enough to >take some extravagant trip around the world, or get that Harley they've always >dreamed of, or get a really fantastic boat & go yachting all over the >place...financial stability mixed with youthful enthusiasm might *look* like >some kind of 'crisis' to conservative folk - could this be partly why 'the >40's' have such a bad rep? > I guess this is what a 'mid-life crisis' IS. You get to around 40 and wonder what it's all for, so have a 'fling' before it's too late. By 'fling' I mean anything that others might think of as wildly out of character (an affair, take up some dangerous sport, a change of career, etc), but I imagine once you embark on such a path it's easy to lose sight of what's really important in your life, and how it affects your family and friends.. I've thought about it myself. What am I going to do with the rest of my life? Carry on as I am, or make some radical changes? But I DO have responsibilities and I DO think about how my actions affect my family, and anyway, I'm not that dissatisfied with the life I already have. Sure, I'd like to earn twice as much as I do, and have a better house in a nicer part of town, and a newer car, etc. etc. but there are a lot of people living in a mile radius of here who are far worse off than I am. I try to remind myself of this when things aren't going so well. DO we forties folk have a bad rep? Any worse than any other generation? Shazbat!! This topic is getting far too serious. I need a good laugh. Can't we think up something as amusing as the alternative lyrics competition? Slarvibarglhee ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 00:51:18 GMT From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: For Suzanne! At 02:33 16/03/98 -0500, \/\iles the |-|eretic & Europa T. /\/\ary wrote: > >Dear Ms. Sakamoto, > >Happy happy birthday from /\/\iles and the lovely /\/\ary! Many happy >returns of the the day to you. > > > > > Well, OK, but I get to do it with that old keyboard again. I think the waffle iron marks have only just gone down after the Bun Fu affair, and need renewing. >Mary prefers to give a hug, , and thinks that birthday smooches would be >a better institution, . > Achhhhhh, don't say the 'i' word. They're still after me, you know, in their nasty white coats with their horrid jackets that buckle up around the back. 'The Phantom Bun Fu Paddler of old Chorlton-cum-Hardy' is what they're calling me in the media, but it's all lies, I tell you, lies, lies, LIEEEEEEESSSSSS. I am no Phantom, I am the 'Live and Kicking Bun Fu Paddler of old Chorlton-cum-Hardy' and don't you forget it. B U T ...... they'll never take me A L I I I I I I I I I I V E . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slarv ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 20:40:55 EST From: RThurF Subject: Re: Alloy: The 40's v. GenX In a message dated 98-03-16 19:45:41 EST, Slarvi wrote: << DO we forties folk have a bad rep? >> Not in my opinion. <> The 40's rep can't possibly be as bad as the GenX rep, which is what I happen to be lumped in with, lucky me. Even though, from what I can tell, most people in my age group are very different from the media's depiction of us. Personally I hate labels but find it amusing that the media are so dependent on them, to the point of gross inaccuracy. I didn't mean to depress you Slarv! My interest is still piqued about that 'thing or two' you hinted at initially (!!) and it brought to mind a major crush I once had on my over-forty History of Architecture professor from England several years ago when I was at college - - he had travelled the world, spoke fluent French and Russian, and used to dim the lecture hall lights & show slides of romantic far-away places, telling us fantastic stories of the history associated with the buildings there... a combination made all the more knee-weakening for me because I think he liked my mohawk ;) I didn't stand a chance against his onslaught of expertise, I tell you! Robin ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 00:30:40 EST From: CJ Mark Subject: Re: Alloy: Musicians of Alloy Hey Stephen.. Yes.. I admit it .. but in reality.. I had fun singing on Boom Boom Boom. I mean.. there we were .. the lights down. .the four of us, an Italian woman, Manuela, and an American woman.. Damn.. I've forgotten her name.. and my friend Tom. .an American who wrote the song.. and myself.. gathered around the mic.. When suddenly.. the drums pounding the rhythm.. the frenetic disco sound pumping out.. we burst into voice.. giving birth to an anthem (of sorts) .. at least for the dance clubs..as it turned out. But we didn't know.. .we didn't know the song would be so big.. so we just went out to the local disco afterward.. like any other night.. and danced till 3:30.. before wearily finding our way home in the humid Milano night. I enjoy music.. and yes.. the song is absurdly stupid.. ahhh well.. What can I say.. Regarding the birthday tape.. It would give me great pleasure to contribute a song. Even though I've only got half an idea as to how it all works.. However.. the difficulty I face is finding the time to sit down and play.. I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. .and it appears that it will continue for the next few months. (I'm currently in Fort Lauderdale.. back to LA next week) I'm also not so sure that anything I could hope to cover would achieve the kind of quality that I would feel courageous enough to present. (It has been 8 years since I played professionally.. after all!) However, if I can figure out a way to do so.. I'll definitely attempt it. Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V3 #72 **************************