12-Nov-91 18:24:58-GMT,17766;000000000001 Received: from athos.rutgers.edu by aramis.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA20350; Tue, 12 Nov 91 11:12:44 EST Received: by athos.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA21921; Tue, 12 Nov 91 11:12:41 EST Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 11:12:41 EST Message-Id: <9111121612.AA21921@athos.rutgers.edu> Errors-To: owner-ecto@athos.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu From: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #34 ecto, Number 34 Tuesday, 12 November 1991 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: Re- Stuff sf music thread Re: Clarification prints of wales... Weather more on s. king Ecto overload!!! ======================================================================== Date: 11 Nov 91 16:41:03 U From: "Tom Johnson" Subject: Re: Re- Stuff Reply to: RE>Re: Stuff Greg says: > footah! > -greg -- gb10@gte.com -- it's SNOWING out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And jessica adds: >I'm jealous!!!! it's grey and cold here but *rainy*. So I'm simply going to gloat and say that it's 75 degrees out here and sunny. Jessica--thanks for the offer to copy the tapes. I'll be sending off my Ecto:The Newsletter payment soon (promise)....can I enclose a tape with my payment? Tom ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 17:12:27 MST From: dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu (Doug Burks) Subject: sf music thread Greetings, Vickie mentioned the SF and music thread in rec.music.misc, which I also found. I yearned to post something, but, unforunately, CSU's news feed has been screwed up for a couple of months now. Apparently, the disk space management been lax. Though we get all the posts eventually, what I end up seeing are a trickle of posts most days with an occasional deluge of newer posts. The order of the posts is completely screwed up, often with posts sent a week apart right next to each other. Even the deluges don't catch us fully up to date. For example, today (the 11th) I am reading posts from the 7th at the latest. Thus I am forced into a read-only mode until we finally fully catch up. Frustrating! Actually, it's been kind of fun reading the reaction posts on gaffa before getting the original which sparked the latest and greatest flame war! Trying to figure out what is going on is akin to putting a crossword puzzle together without all the pieces! Doug Burks _O_ dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu |< She really is!! ======================================================================== Subject: Re: Clarification Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 20:29:49 EST From: jeffy@lewhoosh.umd.edu Meredith explains: >Jessica, my aunt's favorite story is this: one day in class she asked, "Why >do we write?" After receiving a barrage of answers such as To communicate >ideas, To teach, and so on, she was about to go on to something else when >Stephen King raised his hand. "Mrs. Soychak, you forgot the most important >reason to write!" "What is that, Stephen?" "To make money!" Welcome to the real world, Meredith. There are lots of authors who wrote/write only for the money. Heinlein is one of them. I believe Dr. Samuel Johnson was another (I may have my 18 century literary cannon confused). As I recall (my notes aren't clear and I can't find one of my books to double check), Johnson wrote to make money...and when he was named Poet Laureate of England and started receiving a pension, he stopped writing--there was no need for him to bother, as he was making money anyway. All I'm trying to say is that just because somebody writes to make money is no reason to assume that what they're writing is bad or unworthy simply because the "motive" wasn't "pure." If Stephen King were a *bad* writer, he wouldn't be making money and he would have found another profession-- possibly as a teacher/professor. >Now I knew these stories beforehand, true, but I decided to go into it with >an open mind and see what all the fuss was about. I got through Chapter >3 before I decided it wasn't worth it to torture myself for a book I didn't >have to read for class, and bagged it. _Carrie_ is one of my least favorites by King (along with _Cujo_, _Christine_ (which worked much better as the short story "The Mangler" in _Night Shift_), and...um...do I have any other least favorites?) >I read "Children of the Corn" because >it was the shortest story in _Night Shift_, after which I saw the movie and >neither did anything for me. A friend of mine (hmmm- the one who got me >into Kate, as a matter of faKT :) had _Cycle of the Werewolf_, which has >nice pictures. A few notes. You're right..."Children of the Corn" is the shortest story in _Night Shift_...and one of the least interesting. I remember hearing that a movie was being made and I had to figure out which story they were talking about...and then I wondered how they could make a full-length movie out of it. _Cycle of the Werewolf_ started life as a calendar, but King wasn't able to keep the text part short enough (it was always planned as a Wrightson/King collaboration) so it eventually was published as a book. --------------- Other King stuff: A few people have noted that they didn't care for _The Tommyknockers_, or that they felt King had been going downhill over his last few books. When I first read _Tommyknockers_, I was quite disappointed it. Pretty bad stuff. A while later, _The Dark Half_ came out and I read that...and liked it more than _The Tommyknockers_, but decided it still didn't compare to his older works. Then _4 Past Midnight_ shows up and I decided things were getting a bit better. _The Langoliers_ is one of my favorite "stories," and _The Sun Dog_ is pretty neat. The other two novellas were kinda mediocre though. I did manage to read the book in a day and a half though, so there was definitely enough there to hold my interest. This past Fall, I re-read _The Stand_, _The Tommyknockers_ and _The Dark Half_. I hadn't read _The Stand_ since I was in jr. high school, and while there was quite a bit that I remembered, the truly epic proportions of the novel had escaped me the first time around. It really is stunning--and I haven't even read the un-cut version! The other two books were completely different from what I remembered--and I loved both of them the second time through. While they'll probably never count amongst my favorites, I certainly have much more respect for them than I did 2 years ago. BTW, Vickie...I was a bit confused by your Stand reference--is Franny your favorite character or is it Tom Cullen? I would think the former (she *is* great!) but I wasn't sure... Oh well. Enough literary droning. Vickie mentioned "Suburban Hum" as a song that gives her chills... yes! It's a great song and I feel like I've been hit with something when Jennifer Ferguson starts singing "Onward Christian Soldiers." Oof. Neat song. What's some of her other stuff like? "Suburban Hum" is the only song of hers I have. (heh heh...I got the song on SiG 118 and didn't know the names/artists of the songs for a long time. For a while, I figured that "Suburban Hum" must be by Diamanda Galas, because, other than a non-operatic voice, it seemed to fit all the DG info I'd read on r.m.g!) Count me as another one who didn't start listening to Madonna until well past his musically formative years... I don't think I really have many bands whom I might be embarrased to admit that I still like. I like to think I had relatively good taste even when I first started to get into music in my mid-teens. The first CD I bought was _Glass Houses_ by Billy Joel, and while I have maybe 4 or 5 of his albums, I'm not a raving BJ fan. When I was 15, my favorite album was _Outlandos D'Amour_ by the Police. When I was 16, I was into Sting and Phil Collins and Howard Jones and Supertramp. By the time I was 17, I was starting to get into Jethro Tull, and had started to collect older Genesis (my first pre-Duke Genesis album was _Trespass_, which I got when I was 17 and a half. One month past my 18th birthday, I'd finally managed to get every Genesis album ever released...on CD). I'll admit that I know the words to far too many Neil Diamond songs...but my parents were big fans of his and I was subjected to an awful lot of it. I remember liking some Abba when I was a wee tyke, but remember almost none of it. _Chess_ is one of my favorite musicals, though, and last time I heard some Abba (forced on my by an ex...), all I could do was listen to the similarities between late-era Abba and the music to _Chess_. Okay, okay. I'll admit it. I own an old Bryan Adams CD. There. I got it off my chest. Haven't listened to it for 2 or 3 years though...;-) Jeff ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 00:04:23 -0500 From: gb10@gte.com (Gregory Bossert) Subject: prints of wales... Court walks about with nary a peek from side to side, rubs against the door frame, considers the fringe on the carpet, then jumps up on the couch (with only slight damage to the fabric) and asks: > would someone PLEASE explain to this not-so-computer-weenied blonde > exaclty what a gif is?? and since i THINK i have an inkling of an idea > what it is..and dont think i can get them...is it posible to print them > and MAIL them to me all the way across this lonely sea??? hmm, sounds like you got it figured... one can get software to display GIF files on almost any computer (the format comes from CompuServe, and is pretty wide spread) -- i use a UNIX utility called "xv" to make the backdrop of my workstation one of many KaTe or Happy pictures... hmm, 'twould be no problem to mail you (and anyone else who was interested) printouts of the Happy gifs, *but* it may not be worth it!!! all we have at this point are scans of the tape and CD covers... plus Vishal's "contoured" ecto picture, which looks great but prints poorly. soon, perhaps, there will be more scanned photos and/or art, at which time a mailing would be of much greater interest... any interested, i'm happy to supply more info on GIFs and their viewing... with a foo and a tah! i remain, -greg -- gb10@gte.com -- "I've been to Anglo-land and lived beyond the castle wall" ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 13:32:43 EST From: Caoineag Subject: Weather Our fine astronomical/meteorlogical friend will be Happy to know that it is snowing like crazy up here in the cold recesses of NY state. While I am reveling in the quick accumulation of the beautiful stuff at this rate my poor little lobster of a car will be buried in no time :) Right now I am listening to Rearmament (as usual it seems) and with the snow 'Children it's your turn' reminds me somewhat of a xmas song for some wild and crazy reason. I always loved 'Til the Dawn Breaks but never saw it as a spiritual type of song hehe except in its beauty. I have to say that in the color spectrum of music it is definitely a white song. :) Michy: are you batty sis - comparing Paula Abdul to Kate??? esp. Under the Ivy! maybe they would match up in dancing abilities, but singing and musical style never - I refuse to believe it! :-) (:-P) kIrI _______ __________________________ | \ / | | \ / Kirstin Ann Hargie (kIrI) | | \____suspended in gaffa___/ HARGIEKA@CLUTX.BITNET | | / ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ \ hargieka@clutx.clarkson.edu| | / \ No Solicitors Invited | |_______ / \_________________________| ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 0:59:56 EST From: jessica Subject: more on s. king more people have mentioned a disappointment in "the tommyknockers". I must say that I loved the way the book started, didn't so much like the middle, and liked it again by the end. I overal didn't like the "story" as much as some others, but the *people* in it, especially the main male character and some of the things that happened to the main female character, I could relaly relate to and very much liked the way they were characterized and explained.. Anyway, it turned out to be higher on my list of favorites than i'd expected in the middle of reading it. jessica || jessica || It is this that || Don't try to tell me there's no reason for || || lawrence || brings us || any moment in time, every memory of mine. || || koeppel || together. || Those years are lines of color on my face, || || dembski || --Kate || the past is warpaint. --Happy Rhodes || ======================================================================== Date: 12-NOV-1991 01:07:59.80 From: MTARR@eagle.wesleyan.edu Subject: Ecto overload!!! Hi! I've a feeling this is going to turn into a Vickie, but hey, I don't need to go to sleep and you all don't need those eyeballs anyway, right? ;) Vickie, I have to apologize for the "no accounting for taste" remark, it was, uh, rather tasteless and thinking about it I would've been ticked if someone had done it to me, so chalk it up to late hour and dead brain and forget it, huh? :} I can understand how some people would like King's stuff- he appeals to a lot of people, obviously- he wouldn't be where he is if he didn't! He just doesn't appeal to me. Like I said, lots of things don't appeal to me that other people go nuts over... maybe it's a chemical imbalance. :) Re the Rolling Stone poll: a friend of mine submitted Kate Bush as Best Female Country Vocalist. (This woman doesn't like Kate much, but she likes RS even less... :) Boy, am I glad I bagged the Love-Hounds Digest! If those incendiary posts missed the newsgroup, I missed more frustration. My advice, though, would be to ignore Cynthia COMPLETELY. Pretend you didn't even see her posts- don't tell her to get a clue, a life, or to start posting things with a purpose; don't tell her she's a raving bitch; don't acknowledge her existence at all. It won't be long before she goes away. (This worked for the bullies in fifth-grade, I'm sure it'll work now.) As far as "seeing music" goes, it's true that under certain circumstances you can. The same friend who made the RS submission was ill with a serious ear infection once, and between the infection and the drugs she was in a weird state. She was pumped full of antibiotics, and put on her Walkman to listen to some Zeppelin, which she of course had to crank to full volume, since her ears were so plugged up. She lay on her bed with her eyes closed, and pretty soon she started "seeing" the beat: reds and blues flashed behind her eyelids at every beat. It's all connected up there somehow- it makes sense that your ears would have an affect on your eyes, if you could only get yourself to notice it. Then again, it could've been the penicillin. :) Seriously though, has anyone else had a similar experience? Jessica, if you do end up providing WXPN interview-tapes for Ectophiles, just give me an address to send the blank tape to! :) And finally: I must admit I'm a child of the early-80's. Ah, where have A Flock of Seagulls, Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Howard Jones gone??? Eurythmics are still way up on my list of faves, but I think they're the only survivors from junior-high (although every once in a while _Kissing To Be Clever_ hits the spot). Actually, I'm still into Blondie, too- _Parallel Lines_ was the first album I ever bought, so there's a sentimental attachment there. Two years ago I did a "Best of the '80's" show on WESU at the very end of the year, and it was a blast. Not only did I dig up a bunch of personal memories, I got scads of calls from people who were loving every minute. Luckily my best friend taped most of it, so when I need a good nostalgia-fix I pop it in and go nuts... To those who like ABBA and can admit it: My father has worshipped them since their inception. He has all their albums next to his Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman (he's 59). He got me into them. Sounds from my youth... :) Enough of this- bis spaeter (ask Klaus what _that_ means ;)! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Meredith Tarr "We let the weirdness in..." mtarr@eagle.wesleyan.edu -Kate Bush +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ======================================================================== To join ecto, please send electronic mail to the following address: ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu To have your thoughts included in the next issue, send mail to: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu To subscribe to "Ecto", the printed fanzine, send $8 to: Ecto PO Box 11291 New Brunswick, NJ 08906 Ecto is issued 8 times/year, and will include photos and as much material from non-net members as we can get! Donations above the subscription cost are welcomed - all money goes to bringing you better issues! Your "humble pseudo-moderator" -- jessica (jessica@athos.rutgers.edu)