20-Dec-91 18:33:54-GMT,15033;000000000401 Received: from athos.rutgers.edu by aramis.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA13514; Fri, 20 Dec 91 13:21:22 EST Received: by athos.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA07859; Fri, 20 Dec 91 13:21:18 EST Date: Fri, 20 Dec 91 13:21:18 EST Message-Id: <9112201821.AA07859@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 #89 ecto, Number 89 Friday, 20 December 1991 Today's Topics: *-----------------* hi vagabond report 1 catching up They still got nothing on us An appeal to fill in a gap... ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 13:47:53 CST From: steveve@ecs.comm.mot.com (DX573 Steve Veeneman) Subject: hi >From: vickie@chinet.chi.il.us (Vickie Ann Mapes) >Big FUZZY BLUE WELCOMES to Gray Abbot and Steve Veeneman (a long-lost gaffa >lurker, Twin Peaks fan, Indian expert and all around nice guy!) >What's your birthdays and addresses? I'm impressed! Err, no, I'm Steve Veeneman. My birthday 7JUN51 at sunup has me a double gemini with moon in cancer but I have a saturn trine mercury to balance things off. I am over 40 this past year and am now legally crazy thereby but wear a tie to work every day for the effect (!). Vickie didn't mention that I'm more humble than probably anyone you know or that I'm a solitary practioner of quasi-tibetan buddhism or even my wife and I tend horses occasionally on weekends. Friendship and stories are my biggest thrills but I cry at the weirdest times anyway. All I know about Happy is what Vickie has told me over the years, but ecto, now that reminds me of ectoplasm and that reminds me of spirits so I wonder. I promise I'll buy Warpaint soon and see what gives. Musically I'm the only male in an all-female tenor section of a Unitarian choir. I don't sight read but I do have a midi interface and a Casio HT-700 plugged into my home pc ( try veener@ntmntm.chi.il.us as my home mail address). I practice harmonic overtone singing a'la Mongolian Humi in my car and also sing a standard series of Lakota sweatlodge songs at appropriate occasions--i.e. sweats. When I'm trancing a rattle seems handier than a drum. So now you all know something about me. I'll be watching for who you are, eh? May all your sufferings be worth the effort else minimal, and may your joys be like the air, like your blood, like the hissing you can hear in your head if you listen... steveve@ecs.comm.mot.com Steve Veeneman (steve of the fen folk) ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 18:15:09 EST From: spix%sparc6a@harvard.harvard.edu (Claudia Spix) Subject: vagabond report 1 Alright, some more time now. The old proverb says: "Take a jumbo `cross the water Like to see America" It turned to out to be a DC-10 and not a 747, but I finally made it to Boston; only 30 minutes delayed. To my surprise I haven't suffered from jet-lag so far, maybe because I'm used to going to bed and get up late (although not by 6 hours). Actually I don't have to write that much about what we are doing in Boston, as Greg and Meredith are keeping you up to date. ;) Footah-man wrote: > caught in traffic. nonetheless, we managed to meet up and spend a > very pleasant evening (from my point of view, anyway :) talking about It surely was a pleasant evening for both of us as well, and we hope to meet you again next week! As our meeting was a spontaneous decision I was not wearing my Ecto-shirt. :( Soon-to-be-in-Florida-Meredith wrote: > Klaus called me from Boston last night. It was nice to be able to attach > a voice to the name! He mentioned getting together with Greg, and he was > on Chapter 4 of _A Wrinkle In Time_, which, as I'm sure Jessica will also > be glad to hear, he is enjoying immensely. :) Well, I could attach the voice to the name earlier, as a tape of one of her shows was waiting for me when I arrived in Boston. But it was great to talk to you Meredith, although we forgot to speak German. ;) Meredith, your "Champagne Jam" show was great. I mean, Jane Siberry, Clannad(?), Rainbirds and Eurythmics in one go (although not that order) is something I've never heard on the radio. I've finished "A Wrinkle in Time" yesterday evening (and will start with "Gnome Man's Land" by Esther Friesner this evening) and it's a beautiful, immaginative, intelligent and moving book. Not only is Boston a place for Ectophiles, but for Love-Hounds as well. Here I've found KaTe's "Rocket Man" single (as an import), saw some bootlegs and books I haven't seen before, and WFNX is playing "Rocket Man" every day, as well as some other songs from her. Additionally you get "holiday greetings" from her. Unexpected but most welcome. :) Boston is a paradise for european CD shoppers as well. Greg and Meredith played me some music from artists which have been mentioned in Ecto quite a bit, and you can find most of them in the record shops. The same goes for book shops. Yesterday we've been to the movies, and finally saw "The Fisher King", which is out of the cinemas in Wuppertal, but still running in Cambridge. What a great film (but you all know that :) ! We also won't miss "Star Trek VI" and "Hook" to get a sneak preview, as these films will come to Germany in the middle of '92. So we are enjoying this visit very much !!! Oh yes, some Happy topic: we were on a christmas party (the 3rd one already) this afternoon, I was wearing my Ecto shirt, and guy was asking me about it. So I told him about that talented singer/song writer from Albany and he had problems to understand that I, from Germany, knew an artist from Albany (his hometown) he's never heard of. :) Well, that's it for today. Let's try to call some more ectophiles. There are two more numbers on my list. Let's see if anyone is at home or if I get answering machines again. 'till later ... Klaus (& Claudia) PS: Sorry, I left my signature at home. :) PPS: we don't only visit book & record stores, there are also some nice museums as well. :) ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 18:56:52 EST From: spix%sparc6a@harvard.harvard.edu (Claudia Spix) Subject: catching up Claudia here. well I knew I wouldn't have much time to write much for you on the list, I hardly manage to read the stuff as fast as it comes in! But lately so much has come up I really would like to add my humble opinion. This thing will probably be written in short bits over more than a week, so it might get to be a little bit incoherent. Freddy Mercury: Yes, news of his death also shattered me a lot. I was never a major Queen/FM fan, but I liked them on the radio it's just one of those bands where you think they will be around forever. For two days I kept telling people here "Have you heard Freddy Mercury's dead?" but after several "Freddy who?"s (most people here are older than me, although I don't consider this an excuse) I gave up and worried in silence and to Klaus. About this, does Happy's music appeal more to people who have experienced pain? Well, I wouldn't quite put it like that, but I agree fully with what many of you made of that. Sensitive, thoughtful music necessarily appeals more to people who are like that themselves. And having had to struggle for recovery from a painful experience (mental or physical) or fight for one's acceptance in society helps there. But I think that's only half of it. What many of you have said and what I think is the really important bit is: we have coped with our problems! None of you sound like self-pitying whinnies who spend their time contemplating their navels and crying over spilt milk. It is very good to think about ones problems, but what is much more important is to work on them and do somthing about it and get on with life and the things that have to be done. Happy makes wonderful music from her painful experiences and THAT is what it's all about! Incidentally, I am absolutely sure psychological pain can cause bodily pain, maybe the people who say it doesn't have never have belly cramps before an exam (they are quite real!) or felt that hard rough edged lump in their throats when having to part with someone you care for. Right now I'm feeling splendid, Klaus came a few days ago. For a report on "Europeans in America" or "Legal Aliens" see Klaus' messages, practically everything he says holds true for me too. Greg, it really was a nice evening, good food, good music and good talking, what more do you want! Meredith, I know exactly what you mean when you talk about having problems with people to whom music is not important. Someone else mentioned it too (Martin?). I feel completely lost and cut off without my radio and cassettes with my own stuff are very important too. And Klaus brought a portable CD-player and a pile of CD's (growing a lot since he's here). I found this thread on "early musical influences" and "growing up with pop culture" very interesting. Many of you mention groups and singers I've never heard of, most of what I liked as a teenager is british stuff. And I wouldn't say I grew up with pop culture, my parents tried to keep as much of this 'trash' away from us (no comic books (no kidding!), no movies, very few cartoons on TV) and looking back I'll say they succeeded somewhat. I got a radio at age 16, and since then I've begun to find out what I liked, and when I moved out at 18 I caught up fast on the rest of it. I remember, when I was a teenager me and the people around me disliked a lot of the stuff that was on the charts at that time (late 70s... don't say it!!), like Abba, Sweet, Smokie, Bee Gees etc. We preferred "oldies" and albums, like Stones, Beatles, Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd, Al Steward, Doors and such. Also very popular (though not with me) were Uriah Heep, Status Quo and Deep Purple. At 19 I got to know Klaus and his view of music was a lot broader, it's influenced me since, we disagree on very little. [Klaus: why doesn't she like my B-52s and DEVO records???] [[Claudia: Well, I don't mind them in small amounts]] Well, so much for now, more some other time, Claudia P.S.: Vickie, I just LOVE your "chains" !! ======================================================================== Date: 19 December 1991 15:33:26 CST From: Subject: They still got nothing on us Monday's _Chicago Tribune_ had an article by Dave Barry about his Holiday Gift Guide for this year. He states that it includes "only real items that you, the holiday shopper, could actually purchase if you wanted to, probably as the result of a brain malfunction." Be that as it may, some of the featured items are: "Officer Culp": the perfect low-end security device, a cardboard cutout photo of a security guard. "Model of Defective Nuclear Power Plant": Three Mile Island immortalized in plastic. Quoth Barry: "We are wondering if this will be part of a whole new line of Defective Educational Toys, including a model of the Hubble Space Tele- scope, or a Vice President Quayle Action Figure." "Creative Uses for Dead Sportsman's Ashes": Cremated hunters can be loaded into shotgun shells and fired at the ducks and deer, or into duck decoys to float among what they once stalked. "We can't get you to heaven, but we can get you to the Happy Hunting ground." "Giant Fiberglass Goose:" Human-sized goose blind, good for observing geese in the wild or hardbodies on the beach. "They were just walking up to us... they reeally liked the goose." "Rude Noise Slippers:" a whoopie cushion is attached to one heel. "Do-it-yourself Gift Idea: High Fashion Jeans." You get a pair of inexpensive jeans, then slice them up yourself to match the latest designer holes, for less than the genuine article. "Richard Nixon Birthplace Replica Birdhouse:" "babies would be tended by the mommy blue jay while the daddy flew off to peck on the heads of suspected Communists." "Spined Soldier Bugs:" Tiny natural pest controllers, also good for companion- ship in close quarters. "They seem to perk up when we enter the room, and we think ...if a felon were to attack us, they might find their way out of thei r container and try to suck out his bodily fluids. Or possibly ours." In a marketplace such as this, the Ecto Gift Catalog items could actually stand a chance. BTW: The same paper contains a review of a biography of George and Ira Geshwin, which notes: "Both Rhapsody and song depended on blue notes." If you can get them on original 78's, I suppose the fuzzy part of our universal equation for these things would take care of itself. The moral: CD's are not always the be all and end all. :-) Mitch ======================================================================== Date: 20 December 1991 12:02:42 CST From: Subject: An appeal to fill in a gap... In going through my ecto stuff, I was just reminded that I accidentally lost al l my files containing the postings sent out on October 14, 15 and 16 of this year, inclusive. Does anyone have a full set of these (or some larger collec- tion that includes such a full set), that could be emailed to me without it being too much of a bother? (There is nothing timebound about this; it can easily be done after the holidays if that's the earliest anyone gets around to it.) Thanx alot. Have yourself a groovy little solstice, to quote the song by a band whose name I've forgotten, from an album called "The Dark Side of the Tree," or words to that effect. (Anyone else heard of it? I'm sure the Druidophiles among us would love it.) (Speaking of which, BTW, National Public Radio is doing a two-hour, live concer t of music for the Winter Solstice, starting tonight at 8 PM Chicago (central standard) time, check for time where you are.) Mitch Pravatiner U15289@uicvm.uic.edu ======================================================================== 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)