From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #204 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, May 26 1998 Volume 07 : Number 204 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Fwd: Re: Concept Albums (was: a pair of pants) [Stewart Russell 3295 ] Re: czeching in ["Edward Meegan"] Re: VH-1's 100 Greatest [KarmaFuzzz ] partytime, etc [Danielle ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #199 [Ed.Doxtator@ssa.co.uk] Fegfest 98: a totally truthful account [Natalie Jacobs ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #202 [Ed.Doxtator@ssa.co.uk] Re: czeching in [Gofuserect ] Cotton Mather ["Chaney, Dolph L" ] Re: czeching in [Christopher Gross ] VH-1 Greatest.... [Marshall Joseph Armintor ] Oxford-American [Sumiko Keay ] Re: another celeb death (+Britfeg report) [M R Godwin ] Re: another celeb death (+Britfeg report) [Terrence M Marks ] Wizards/Ralph Bakshi [hal brandt ] After the Party [The Great Quail ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 09:07:54 +0100 (BST) From: Stewart Russell 3295 Analyst_Programmer Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Concept Albums (was: a pair of pants) >>>>> "Ross" == Ross Overbury writes: Ross> It's obvious the man doesn't actually speak English. He's from Accrington. What did you expect? - -- Stewart C. Russell Analyst Programmer, Dictionary Division stewart@ref.collins.co.uk HarperCollins Publishers use Disclaimer; my $opinion; Glasgow, Scotland ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 12:25:34 +0200 From: "Edward Meegan" Subject: Re: czeching in Christopher Gross mentioned: >I think a lot of Fegs, even you unfortunate non-Czech-speaking Fegs, would >like Uz Jsme Doma. Their CDs are distributed in the US by Skoda Records, >and they tour North America occasionally. Seems like a good time for me to bust in here with my .02 in support of Uz Jsme Doma (golly, was I surprised to see that name come up around here). They are far-out jumpy punk/jazz and I can't think of many groups to compare them to, in fact I can't think of any right now - oh, except the minutmen! I don't know if that fits alot of fegs tastes, but what do I know. Their cover art work is very cool - in fact, their new album comes in a specially packaged version with a pop-up book. I think this year they are touring the States more that the Czech Republic. They also make a cameo appearance in the best Czech film of the past five years - Knoflikari ("the Buttoners"), which I will also recommend enthusiastically - great set of interwoven vingettes - earthy Czech humor and a philoshophical meditation on technology and the atom bomb to boot. It should be coming out somewhere in the US by now - it was at last year's Cannes. On a more introductory and RH note: I have been listening to Rob since the Rolling Stone article about Element of Light which I purchased immediately and never looked back. I find him to be extremely enjoyable. Really extremely. Nevertheless i go for long periods without listening to him only to be newly socked by his brilliance year in and year out. I saw him live in Prague (I'm not czech, just visiting for a long time) a few years ago when he played a big beer hall for a Bosnian refugee benefit. It was the balls - the um-pah version of balloon man is a must-hear. I have yet to be so blown away again so much by a solo guitarist. I have been jonesing to see him again or hear some live tapes (dubs of Uz Jsme Doma (of course you should buy the records. They need it.) and a myriad of Guided by Voices stuff (live and otherwise) available to trade. Please e-mail me privately). Will Robyn return to the Old World for a visit? Chow, EJ PS - Hi G. Quail. The Barthelme pages are still but a dream. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 06:29:55 EDT From: KarmaFuzzz Subject: Re: VH-1's 100 Greatest nicastr@idt.net writes: > I know this was discussed before, but I'm not sure if anyone posted the top > of the tops. Here they are: > > 1. Beatles > 2. Rolling Stones > 3. Jimi Hendrix > 4. Led Zeppelin > 5. Bob Dylan > 6. James Brown > 7. David Bowie > 8. Elvis Presley > 9. The Who > 10. The Police > 11. Stevie Wonder > 12. Ray Charles > 13. Beach Boys > 14. Marvin Gaye > 15. Eric Clapton > 16. John Lennon > > The two here that suprised me most were the Police being so high up there, > and that Bob Dylan didn't make #2, or at least #3! the article i read about this when it came out was that the police were skewed up very highly by the younger artists polled. as for dylan being 5 rather than 2 or 3, my guess is that it's because there are far fewer legitimate guitar heroes than singer-songwriter heroes. so while most guitar wonks are going to go either Hendrix-Page or Page-Hendrix (and then Clapton and Van Halen etc), singer-songwriter wonks might put Dylan-Lennon-Neil Young-Elvis Costello-Lou Reed (who only made with VU which surprise, but not as much as Vu only being in the 60's or 70's; i blame Babyface) et cetera in a far greatere number of random orders, which might given dylan more 15th (or whatever) place votes, etc and Zeppelin or Jimi might get. np: Seam Am I Driving You Crazy? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 22:35:01 -0700 From: Danielle Subject: partytime, etc James called to me from the Mainland: > Danielle wedi ysgriffenu Thanks to Susan Cooper's The Grey King, I know how to pronounce that. However, I have not a clue what it means. > >PS Have a nice party, people... and James, don't geek out too much at > >the sf convention... > heh! You've bought into the media "let's find someone who looks like a > dweeb" image! James, you done me wrong. The verb 'to geek' has very little in common with the noun 'dweeb' - at least in my universe. One uses the former with fondness (it gives me the impression that someone is obsessive/knowledgeable/skilled, but in an endearing manner) and the latter with derision (it's just *not* complimentary. A dweeb is someone whose geekness has tipped over the edge into incredibly irritating mania). 'Music geek'? Adorable. 'Music dweeb'? Bloody annoying. I was giving you a compliment, if only you'd known... some of my best friends... ah, forget it. ;) > No, I'll probably be one of the 90% propping up the bar, then > finding a floor that doesn't move around too much when I lie down on it. An admirable aim, especially for Queen's Birthday weekend. Think of me in Whangamata with my grandfather, narrowly avoiding the drunken hordes of riotous surfie teens. Marcy attempted to placate Dave: > >Try to think pleasant thoughts--stamps without the queen's head on > >them,flowers blooming in the desert, a sweet koala stroking your hair > >>gently as you swing in your hammock.... Lovely thoughts, but am I the only one hoping Dave doesn't get syphillis from the koala? They're all *riddled* with it. > as for me seeing James. well I don't see how I can help him out > in any way, he's a New Zealander and beyond all hope. I take it back. I hope you *do* get syphillis from that koala. And may a plague of Rolf Harrises (a la the classic Goodies episode) infest your armpits. woj sprach: > a compilation > called _czeching in_ on skoda This wins 'most perfect record label name' of the week. :) Danielle, who has a friend who owns a Skoda. He has christened it Cedric. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 14:28:43 +0100 From: Ed.Doxtator@ssa.co.uk Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #199 Concept album? Planet P's "Pink World". Honestly. From what I gather, the album was prompted by European reaction to US nuclear stockpiling with NATO allies in the early 80's. Pink World it's a goofy post-apocolyptic saga wherein a guy falls in a pool of radioactive water and has a dying vision. He sees the planet getting nuked, and a young boy named Artemis what manages to save some of the human race... for a short time, until the people he's protecting get just as greedy as the ones who nuked the planet in the first place. (The planet turns into a police state, etc.) Artemis disappears and well... people are left to fend for themselves. Most of the album sounds like Floyd's "Vera", but with more guitar solos. ("Pink guitar solos" it says in the liner notes.) It was mostly done by one man, Tony Carey, with loads of keyboards and jimcracks and geegaws, and some side men. (Whose names escape me.) The whole think was done at ROKOKO studios in Hamburg, I think. The vinyl release was a two disc set, and there was an elaborate video on MTV as I recall, but the subject matter was a bit depressing. I only saw the video once. I think it was for "What I See". Anyway... enough of that. Moving sucks. Look after yerselves. Hope all's well... - -Ed, Doc, ~~...don't play games, come back...~~ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 09:31:11 -0400 From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: Fegfest 98: a totally truthful account I awoke in a hospital bed, head and sides covered in bruises. "Where.... am I?" I feebly croaked to the nurse, who explained that I was in the University of Michigan Hospital, Metempsychosis Unit, having been unconscious since Sunday afternoon. Apparently, throughout my coma, I had been babbling in an Australian accent, claiming to be someone named "Day-lang." "Can you tell me what happened?" the nurse asked. I furrowed my brow as I tried to reconstruct the events... Saturday afternoon, and I reclined in my super-keen hyperspace private plane, sipping some neutral milk and preparing for take-off. Suddenly, my ibis-headed pilot thrust his head into the main cabin and explained in his twittering avian voice that departure would be delayed while the ground crew hunted down some Grateful Dead albums to help fuel the Eb-engine, which had run out of things to fume about. Since we were, after all, mere miles from Ann Arbor (Deadhead capital of the Midwest), I expected only a short delay, but the ground crew forgot that I-94 was under construction and it was nearly an hour before we could get underway. Milliseconds later, we burst into the air over Harrisburg, a glittering metropolis on the banks of the sunny Susquehanna. As the plane dipped low over the glowing hulk of Three Mile Island, Captain Thoth announced over the PA, "Attention: we are now entering Quailspace." "Deflector shields up," I replied... I stepped into the Harrisburg Airport with a deep sense of apprehension. I could see neither hide nor feather of the Quail. I hardly knew what the Quail looked like - maybe I was overlooking him? Maybe he had gone to the wrong gate? Then I saw the cone being enthusiastically waggled over the heads of the crowd, and I knew I was in the right place. "I can't believe you're actually here!" the Quail screeched with glee as the car hurtled along the highway and LJ detailed the exact effects of the cone being driven through her chest in the case of an accident. ("I'll be able to smoke cigarettes through it!") I too could hardly believe that I was in the presence of people I had only known as semi-mythical beings hovering in the pixelated void - The Great Quail! LJ! Chris Gross, squid pornographer! It was almost too much to bear. We reached the Quail's domain, a modest-looking three-story house that nevertheless seemed overlaid with a curious taint, as if transplanted from gloomy Innsmouth. I followed the others inside and started introducing myself and passing out Thoths. (These later started turning up in very odd places - poking out of a sock, hanging from the chandelier, etc. - and seemed to multiply overnight. But I digress.) Nobody looked the way I expected them to look, but I was expecting that. Eventually everyone gathered on the back porch to eat, drink, and schmooze. It was here that Woj heard Neutral Milk Hotel for the first time. (Tom Clark later gave him a copy of the album, lovingly inscribed "Woj - this sucks. - TC") It was here, too, that I was forced at camcorder-point to create images of Elder Gods and Victorian playwrights out of tinfoil. I wanted to try Brewer Tom's beer, but was warned away by LJ who claimed that Liam had had his head blown off by tampering with the keg. (He was sleeping off his decapitation upstairs.) A blunder while creating the tinfoil Oscar Wilde resulted in a perfect portrait of the headless Liam. Around nightfall, the Fegs trickled, slithered, and staggered downstairs for the serious party action to begin. Mike and I massacred some Neutral Milk Hotel songs (well, I massacred them, anyway), we had a cheery singalong of "Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus" and other Robynsongs, and then it was time to bust out the party favors. Scary Mary brought an incredible array of small plastic reptiles and amphibians, tiny British flags, and inflatable plastic eyes. Nick Winkworth sent some frets. I can't remember what Eddie sent, because the envelope was so hilarious (Quail, could you scan it, maybe?). Steve Schiavo sent all sorts of things, including a box of genuine Cheesy Poofs (tm); he also sent me some XTC paraphernalia (Thank you, Steve! BTW, where did you get that sticker? Did you raid Mark Strijbos's stash?). Jon Fetter sent Lonely God (tm) potato twists and some dried cuttlefish, of which we all partook in a sort of Feg communion - although I don't think Catholics generally run to the sink after communion to wash the taste of the Eucharist out of their mouths... or do they? Then it was time for James' Feg Game. The gameboard was a beer-soaked piece of computer printout, and our gamepieces were Scary Mary's cold-blooded creatures. Unfortunately, the instructions and cards were written in Kiwi, which we were unable to translate, and so the game had to be abandoned. Sorry, James... :) More drinking and schmoozing followed. From the porch, the charming sounds of "Metal Machine Music" could be heard echoing down the street. (Quail, which of your neighbors is a Lou fan?) At the suggestion of the Quail, we decided to head down to Ye Olde Swimmin' Hole (though it was too cold for swimming), so we all trooped off to stroll by the banks of the muddy Conna-whosis. It turned out that some ex-students of the Quail had already built a fire in the Quail's favorite spot, so we hunkered down and stared hypnotized at the flames while Brewer Tom showed amazing facility in keeping the blaze going, and a sozzled Quail told us the spleen-chilling tale of "Polkadot, the Indian Hand." By the time we got back to the Quail's house, it was three in the morning and even the ghost of coherent conversation had fled. I curled up in a corner of the couch and tried to sleep, but was kept awake first by Woj snoring, then by Brewer Tom snoring, then by the two together, then by the Quail's hungry cats, who apparently didn't find Liam enough of a feast for them. Somehow, I did manage to get some sleep, and woke to a sunny morning and the threat of pancakes. After breakfast, I went around taking photos to use up the rest of my film (the photos will appear on my website as soon as I get them developed and scanned - probably in a week or so). Then I went up to the porch where Mike was strumming away, and joined him for a few songs. After a rendition of "She Doesn't Exist" (with Stipean "la la la's" from the assembled Fegs), it was time for me to go, before I turned back into a pumpkin. I gathered up my things and prepared to depart. It was at this point that the unfortunate incident with the statue of Cthulhu occurred. As I slumped to the floor, bleeding profusely, I felt another terrific blow to the ribs and a familiar, Woj-like voice shouting, "That one's for Tori!" And that's all I remember, Nurse... n., who really did have a great time, despite the stitches ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 14:36:15 +0100 From: Ed.Doxtator@ssa.co.uk Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #202 >>>I think INXS were together with the ame line-up for close to 20 >>>years, too, weren't they? >>Midnight Oil STILL is, in australia... >Midnight Oil changes lineup when they leave Australia? Midnight Oil replaced their rhythm guitarist between "Diesel And Dust" and "Blue Sky Mining"... but I can't remember his name and I can't be arsed to look it up on the web. - -Doc, who's having to referee an ugly fight between a secretary and a shopkeeper. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 09:48:39 EDT From: Gofuserect Subject: Re: czeching in In a message dated 98-05-26 06:28:32 EDT, EMeegan@iews.cz writes: << Their cover art work is very cool - in fact, their new album comes in a specially packaged version with a pop-up book. >> I recently purchased this item thru Ralph Records, the book is fascinating and I quite enjoy the music, very lively....Uz Jsme Doma.... (have no idea how to pronounce the name though).... don't know if it would appeal to all Robyn fans, but some for sure, I originally bought it because I am a large Residents fan as well as A Fegmaniac! new to the list! ===== greetings! Evan G, ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:16:17 -0400 From: "Chaney, Dolph L" Subject: Cotton Mather Nice to hear that Cotton Mather's made another record. I had their '94 CD entitled _Cotton Is King_. At the time, I thought it was the Squeeze record that Squeeze just couldn't make anymore -- the singer's a ringer for Tilbrook. I still get the opening song, "Lost My Motto," running through my head now and again. But I found that it lacked emotional resonance (the over-clever lyrics kept wanting to MEAN something, but they just didn't) and staying power. But, it's often in cutout bins, and it's perfectly fine pop. Here's hoping _Kon-Tiki_ makes that little leap and stands up over time. I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish I'd gone to Harrisburg. Just call me Captain Kanga-Rue... Dolph ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:24:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: czeching in On Tue, 26 May 1998, Gofuserect wrote: > I recently purchased this item thru Ralph Records, the book is fascinating and > I quite enjoy the music, very lively....Uz Jsme Doma.... (have no idea how to > pronounce the name though).... That'd be "Oozh smeh doema." The Z in "Uz" actually has a diacritical mark over it (like a little greater-than symbol turned point down) that doesn't exist in ASCII. And the J is silent. I had planned on playing some UJD at the Feg party, but never quite got around to it.... No, I can't keep up the pretense any longer. Folks, we just made up the Feg Gathering. It was a joke intended to make Aussies and New Zealanders feel envious. No hard feelings, guys.... don't know if it would appeal to all Robyn > fans, but some for sure, I originally bought it because I am a large > Residents fan as well as A Fegmaniac! new to the list! ===== greetings! > Evan G, Welcome aboard, Evan! (And thanks -- now I'm less of a newbie in comparison.) - --Chris ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 10:58:07 -0500 (CDT) From: Marshall Joseph Armintor Subject: VH-1 Greatest.... While channel surfing, my fiancee and I ran across the broadcast, and the artists featured were, in this order (I think), Curtis Mayfield, the Velvet Underground, and Muddy Waters. This was somewhere in the #70s...my thought was, "Who's AHEAD of these people?" Their priorities are obviously fucked up. Marshall ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:05:59 -0500 From: Sumiko Keay Subject: Oxford-American A few days ago somebody (Ross?) mentioned the new Bill Berryless REM song that is going to come out in the next issue of the Oxford American. This will be a cd -- part of the Oxford American's annual music double issue. I just bought an issue of the Oxford American to see if I could figure out when this might be available and it has no dates!! Just a volumne #. Oh well. I also note that in the new (July) issue of Musician it mentions that in the next issue there will be a piece about videos (probably video-making) with Robyn and Jonathan Demme. Sumiko ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 17:48:23 +0100 (BST) From: M R Godwin Subject: Re: another celeb death (+Britfeg report) > On Fri, 22 May 1998, tanter wrote: > > Well, we were all wrong. It's John Derek. On Sat, 23 May 1998, Terrence M Marks wrote: > Who? I had the pleasure of catching 'Prince of Pirates' on TV yesterday, a 1953 C-movie starring the aforementioned. Apparently a lot of the battle scenes were lifted from a film of Joan of Arc, which seems a bit cheap in view of the fact that (a) the costumes were out by 3 centuries and (b) it involved adding a castle siege scene into a film about boats. Oh, by the way, Britfeg '98 was a raving success, drawing a massed crowd of JT, Tony Blackman, Nick Winkworth et moi (Gary, where were you?). Filled with the creative spirit for which fegMANIAX are known throughout several continents, we supped a few pints and then went for a pizza. A Dan Bern minidisk circulated amongst the participants, photographs were snapped and unsuccessful attempts were made to contact Harrisburg. I understand that pictures of the event will be displayed for your edification and entertainment in the near future. - - Mike Godwin PS to Nick: I caught my last train! I arrived 5 minutes after time, but fortunately the (self-styled) High Speed Train was running 10 minutes late... PPS re Kinks: All my info comes from the Mojo report which has already been posted. PPPS re concept albums: I am surprised that all you Moodies fans out there haven't mentioned Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds', which not only sold stacks (in the UK at least) but also generated Justin Hayward's hit single 'Forever Autumn', which has quite a nice tune (not that I've got a copy). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 13:55:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: another celeb death (+Britfeg report) > > On Fri, 22 May 1998, tanter wrote: > > > Well, we were all wrong. It's John Derek. > > On Sat, 23 May 1998, Terrence M Marks wrote: > > Who? > > I had the pleasure of catching 'Prince of Pirates' on TV yesterday, a 1953 > C-movie starring the aforementioned. Apparently a lot of the battle scenes > were lifted from a film of Joan of Arc, which seems a bit cheap in view of > the fact that (a) the costumes were out by 3 centuries and (b) it involved > adding a castle siege scene into a film about boats. That's not half as bad as "Wizards". The villains are nazi mutants with no particular resemblance to humans. The battle scenes were lifted from "The Lord of the Rings" and coloured to look funny (eg. red people on black background). The rest of the movie was no particular improvement, mind you. I could go on about just *how bad* this movie is, but I won't unless someone prompts me. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 14:13:20 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: VH-1 Greatest.... > While channel surfing, my fiancee and I ran across the broadcast, and >the artists featured were, in this order (I think), Curtis Mayfield, the >Velvet Underground, and Muddy Waters. This was somewhere in the #70s...my >thought was, "Who's AHEAD of these people?" Their priorities are >obviously fucked up. > > Marshall I'm not suprised that Curtis didn't rank higher, after all he is still sort of a "major cult artist", although you would expect most artists to be aware of (and appreciate greatly, how can you not!) the work of Curtis Mayfield. One inclusion that was interesting was John Coltrane. I wonder how many of the artists they polled were *really* influnced by him, and how many just put his name down to include a jazz artist. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 14:37:40 EDT From: MARKEEFE Subject: Re: VH-1 Greatest.... In a message dated 98-05-26 14:14:05 EDT, Ben wrote: << One inclusion that was interesting was John Coltrane. I wonder how many of the artists they polled were *really* influnced by him, and how many just put his name down to include a jazz artist. >> . . . or how many just *wish* that they were truly "influenced" by him and maybe really just greatly appreciate Coltrane as an artist and/or human being. I love John Coltrane immensely, but I don't really see him as having had a great an impact on rock music; Miles, of course, but not Trane. Yeah, I'd guess he got votes based either on genuine appreciation or because the artists were making sure that everyone knows how varied and cool their tastes are. - ------Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 13:22:54 -0600 From: hal brandt Subject: Wizards/Ralph Bakshi The Artist Formerly Known as "The Human Mellotron" wrote: > That's not half as bad as "Wizards". > The villains are nazi mutants with no particular resemblance to humans. > The battle scenes were lifted from "The Lord of the Rings" and coloured to > look funny (eg. red people on black background). Impossible. Wizards was released in 1977 and LOTR was released in 1978. In reality, Wizards was a test-run for LOTR. The process of the battle scenes was called roto-scoping and involved filming real scenes and tracing over them with animation, a technique used extensively in Bakshi's films (see the just released on video "American Pop"). > The rest of the movie was no particular improvement, mind you. I could go > on about just *how bad* this movie is, but I won't unless someone prompts > me. Ralph Bakshi...you either love or hate him. R. Crumb hated what he did with Fritz The Cat, the aforementioned Lord of the Rings was a disaster, Cool World was crap. On the other hand, you gotta credit the guy for introducing personal, adult themes into what was exclusively Disney territory at the time. And, the fact that he even attempted LOTR has to be applauded. Personally, I liked Wizards. A lot of good people worked on it including Mike Ploog who did the b&w transitional stills. If the movie "lifts" anything, it would be the fact that it borrows heavily from the look and style of the late, great cartoonist Vaughn "Cheech Wizard" Bode. One character in Wizards looks exactly like Vaughn's creation "Cobalt 60" (it was featured on the movie poster/front of video box). And (this was discussed earlier) how can you not love Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse cartoons? My fave Bakshi projects: Wizards, Heavy Traffic, Hey Good Lookin'! /hal ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 May 98 14:49:06 -0500 From: The Great Quail Subject: After the Party Hello, Fegs! A rousing big THANK YOU to all of you, to all the Fegs who attended the party, who sent us things in the mail, and who called up and filled my voicemail with oddly but cheerfully accented voices. Overall it was a delightful success, and I for one am pleased to finally make the acquaintance of many wonderful Fegs. I have thrown a lot of parties in my life as a gallinaceous bird, but rarely have I ever seen such a group of kind, helpful, generous people. Thank you so *much*! As a matter of fact, the next day Bayard mentioned throwing a winter cabin Fegparty in Virginia, sometime in Decemeber. We also talked a lot about making FegFest an annual event, perhaps rotating around the country . . . For instance, FegFest 99 might be held in Chicago, at Susan Dodge's grandmother's house. I would love to write a full account of the event, and perhaps in a few days I will, if I get the time. But for now, let me jusy say a few things: 1. Someone left a grey longsleeved shirt. It smells vaguely of squid. Chris? 2. Someone also left the fragments of their sanity. Oddly enough, they look just like tinfoil sculptures of Cthulhu. 3. And EVERYONE left *all* the L. Ron Hunbbard books I handed out as party favors! Really! Did you all have to follow Dave Lang's warning so closely? L. Ron is our *friend* -- say it over and over again. . . . And in regards to Mr. Lang's warning, surely none of us saw strangely T-shirted drunkards with tape decks, now did we? 4. Those Fegs who went to the Thoth Fire Circle by the Miskatonic River - -- check yourself for ticks. I found one on my clothing the next day! (If you do find a tick, sent it to Scary Mary. She collects them.) 5. To the callers -- Mr. Dignan and the BritFestFegs -- thanks for calling! I'm sorry we didn't get to the phone, but things were, um, a wee bit chaotic throughout May 23-24, and apparently someone had unplugged the ringer on my phone! But here's the really strange thing, Mr. Godwin - -- seriously! -- all next day I was humming "The Gnome" BEFORE I heard your message! Weird, innit? And Nick -- was that really your accent, or were you just pretending to be a football hooligan to fit in? (And for the record, James Dignan does say "G'day mate!") 6. Tom -- My potted plant misses you, and wants to know when you'll be back for another dance. And I would also like to thank you for installing that secret 456 MHz processor into my Macintosh! And tell your friends that they are welcome in Fegworld anytime, they were wonderful. And Gene, I'm sorry if I said you looked like Morrisey. I meant, um, MorriSON, yeah, as in Jim Morrison, the sexy virile youthful rock and roll god. . . . . 7. Momento Department: LJ has taken on the solemn duty of scanning in certain objects of partyphernalia, such as a few letters and Eddie's Enigmatic Envelope, which was quite the unexpected attraction. Doug has already posted some of his pictures, and Natalie has promised another group of scanned in pictures to follow. Mike Runion took more video footage than Pamela and Tommy Lee, and God only knows what he'll do with that. . . . . 8. The Mixed Tapes: So . . . .who got whose mixed tapes? I know that Natalie got Mary's, LJ got Gene's, I got Woj's, and Professor Fane got Jon Fetter's. I'm personally curious who snagged the others? 9. To those who mailed in things, listed in order of receiving them: (a) James, your Kiwi served us in good stead, and we made sure that it was always at the heart of the party, beaming its antipodeal benevolence at us. Um, the game seemed really really interesting and, er, complex -- which is why we *should* have played it at the BEGINNING of the evening when we all understood the rules. Next time we will play this while the majority of us are still in a shape to recall who Robyn Hitchcock really *is* and why we are playing a game about him! (Killer question cards, though! I say we get little cones made up for December!) (b) Nick, although no one brought a minidisc player, your frets were passed out to all the Fegs in attendance. LJ pointed out that they make really good pipecleaners. LJ also seems to have absconded with your totem effigy, that cute little orange quail. I just home she doesn't have a box of pins and an intimate knowledge of voodoo. . . . (c) Steve! Steve, no one could believe the amount of party favours you sent, and they all went to very good homes! Thank you again! And you will be very happy to know that the box of Cheesy Poofs were, in fact, worshipped. (Actually, several things were alternately worshipped at various times during the evening: the Cheesy Poofs, Natalie's tinfoil creations, Mike Runion's glowing bunny, Bayard's Taper Monolith, and Utility Tom.) (d) Eddie, people *fought* over who got your mixed tape. I mean, their was blood and hair flying everywhere! Additionally, you will get something very strange and vaguely edible in the mail within a week. . . . (e) Jon Fetter -- I don't know what was more surprising, that Bayard actually recognized "Lonely God Potato Twists" and ate them all, or that we all -- ALL of us -- formed a circle and passed around some of your dried Tastee Squid. And. Then. Ate. It. You may also be pleased to know that, thanks to Doug, there was a whole CASE of Yuengling Porter available. We tried to throw the beer bottles at passing members of the law enforcement community, but they were too busy making Natalie late for her plane, and all the empty bottles seemed to vanish rather quickly, anyway. Hmm. Who didn't want any empty bottles hanging around --? (f) Glen Uber -- A lovely letter and picture! Your image was never far from James the Kiwi, and we made many a toast under your happy smiling face! I just hope that we didn't get you drunk enough to fall back into that cavern. . . . and that look on Carol's face: "Why is that giant stuffed Kiwi staring at me, and is it hungry?" Also thanks for the tape - -- it's great! (Nice cover, too.) (g) Dave Lang -- I passed around your wonderful postcard, and the general consensus was that the one with the brain helmet was probably the real you. We also looked for you to incarnate as an inanimate object, but if you did, you were prpbably either tossed into the fire by Brewer Tom or twisted into Oscar Wilde by Natalie. Sorry, mate. Well, there you have it, and again, thank you very very much to all who helped out in mind, body, and spirit. Especially thanks to LJ, who was an unspeakably wonderful co-host and even wore a tie-dye shirt; to Bayard, who tended the Monolith as if he were truly the Chosen One; to Woj, for picking out such great beer and getting the propane; and to Doug for figuring out how to use my tool-set. Thanks to Natalie, Mike, and Tom, for coming so far to see if we were really as weird as they are; to Chris for the Czech lessons, to J Kat for bringing music *none* of us have ever heard of, to Gene for showing us all a Feg can indeed find a non-Feg mate who will put up all of us (Yaaay April!); and to Scary Mary for knowing who the Ozric Tentacles are. And one last special thank you for Mike Runion's amazing friend Tom, without whom we would have all been more sober and a lot colder by the river. . . . A wonderful time! I hope we have many others. Next party is at Eb's! - --The Great Quail - ---------------------------------+-------------------------------- The Great Quail, K.S.C. | Literature Site - The Libyrinth: TheQuail@cthulhu.microserve.com | www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth www.rpg.net/quail | Vampire Site - New York by Night: riverrun Discordian Society | www.rpg.net/quail/NYBN 73 De Chirico Street | Arkham, Orbis Tertius 2112-42 | ** What is FEGMANIA? ** "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #204 *******************************