From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #299 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, August 10 1999 Volume 08 : Number 299 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: more mysteries [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] Re: yes, souvlaki [Christopher Gross ] Re: somebody ring the KaTe alarm [Eb ] Eb witch shut [digja611@student.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan)] joining in on an old conversation about critics [digja611@student.otago.a] Re: Ebwitch with pickles and peanut butter and cottage cheese and vegemite [Mark_Gloster@3com.] the quicktimelessness of souvlaki ["JH3" ] oblique robyn content ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: MIBies. ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: Great Robyn Hitchcock Pix ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) ["Capitalism Blows" <] Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) [Terrence M Marks ] They call me the Music Miser [Vivien Lyon ] Re: Great Robyn Hitchcock Pix ["Chris!" ] R.E.M. (no RH) [Griffith Davies ] Re: Naked Chicks. [Capuchin ] Re: his circle and hers meet [Tom Clark ] Re: the timelessness of qualification ["JH3" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 19:49:26 -0700 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: more mysteries Apparently not that part of north america which is north by north america, where they say "aboot" and "eh" a lot. It could just be a Toronto thing. Speaking of Canada, I'm really hooked on "The Newsroom" and "The Red Green Show." One last Canadian bit: Randi even in unfathomable pain is incredibly sweet and wonderful and would probably like to hear from y'all. Happies, - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 23:01:03 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: yes, souvlaki On Mon, 9 Aug 1999, Andrew D. Simchik wrote: > >I deleted the message, but Susan was unsure of her spelling when she > >mentioned Taco Bell's current mascot. It is, in fact, spelled R-A-T, rat. > >The thing is a rat. People should just admit it. > > Little dogs are people too. Sure -- in general. But in the case of this particular Mexiphobic little CGI-enhanced corporate shill, he's not a person, he's a fiend from the lowest pits of Hell.[1] Most other dogs, large or small, are cool.[2] - --Chris [1]Actually, I don't mind the little rat; I just enjoy making fun of him. [2]Has anyone else here ever bought computer equipment from Small Dog Electronics? Not only do you get free small dogs with every order, they have a Dog Cam on their web site! ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 20:31:07 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: somebody ring the KaTe alarm Dr. Sticky: >Who can forget Laurel and Hardy's piano scene? A couple of years ago, I read about the exact little block in L.A. where this sequence was shot, but I've driven through that area like three times and never quite found the location. The area DOES have a lot of steep hills facing the street...maybe the spot was built over? >>Eb, who adores The Dreaming and Hounds of Love but agrees that Bush's >>videos are generally unbearable, and who also would rather slit his throat >>than ever preciously call her "KaTe" >Heh. I did my time on rec.music.gaffa, and later on ecto. >That's why I don't *always* listen to...Kate, Tori.... "Kate" -- no capital T. OK, you're over the first hurdle. But in order to make a full recovery from Ectoweeniedom, you'll also have to start referring to female artists by their first AND last name. Take it one step a time. Easy does it.... And just think: If you do put it behind you, perhaps you can even act as sponsor for poor Woj! Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 16:14:14 +1200 From: digja611@student.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Eb witch shut >>Hey! I wanna see that! When's it coming out? > >Dave and Hal are going into pre-production. all this talk about Kubrick, and now you've managed to get his two most famous protagonists back working together again! James James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 16:31:06 +1200 From: digja611@student.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: joining in on an old conversation about critics >>But I feel it is safe to say that most people today accept that criticism >>is *not* merely a stream of "opinions" placed in a "transparent" medium >>of language. . . . >I completely disagree with this. Criticism to *most* people is "Siskel and >Ebert gave this two thumbs up," or "Rolling Stone gave that album 4 >stars." It's just a ratings system of opinions as far as the general >American public is concerned. Granted, this "ratings system" is very >influential. Many people look to Rolling Stone and MTV and other >mainstream places to find out what they should and shouldn't like...and >they don't care *why* they should or shouldn't like it. silly old me has always regarded film critiques primarily as the starting points to arguments on mailing lists. No, seriously, I assumed that the purpose of the review was to give one person's opinion of a movie - albeit the opinion of someone who has seen a lot of movies and has some idea of what he or she is talking about. As such, they make a great comparison against which to explore your own eelings about a movie. If S&E said "It stinks" and give a reason why, and I liked the film, then I'm far more likely to ask myself why I liked it, why they didn't, and maybe get a more objective view of the thing by comparing the two different views. I realise that a lot of the time reviews are merely a way of increasing the critics own ego by saying "I can write really long words and compare this movie with obscure films you've never even heard of", and that another major purpose of them is to give some indication as to whether the critic thinks people should waste their money going to see the movie, but to me their primary use has always been the new angle they give on my own and other people's thoughts about the movie. As such they can indeed lead to lively discussions - as I'm sure TGQ, Eb, Hal, Mark, and all the other happy campers on this list will agree. >Or, as perfectly parodied in Clerks by a woman in RSG(?) Video reading the >back of a vhs box, "They say so much, but they never tell you if it's any >GOOD!" hmmm. You can get an idea, though. The more often the word "hilarioous" is used, the less likely the film is to be funny. And if it features a sticker saying "featuring the songs of Better than Ezra", then you know you've got problems. >Crash was one of my top three movies of 1997. I loved Crash. Don't let the >naysayers scare you away. It was one of the most original and disturbing >movies made this decade. And only Cronenberg could have pulled it off. FWIW, I saw eXistenZ at the Film Festival the other night. Disappointed - I'd pretty much guessed 90% of what was happening after about five minutes (although I must say - to echo the EWS argument - that the last sentence you hear makes me wonder whether I did work it out right...). How the hell did the excellent Christopher Eccleston get himself mixed up in a movie like this*? As for Eyes Wide Shut, it opens in NZ this week, and I haven't been put off by all the arguments in Fegmaniax. I want to decide for myself. James * now *he* would make a good Aragorn! On second thoughts, Ciaran Hinds would be even better... James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 21:39:30 -0700 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: Ebwitch with pickles and peanut butter and cottage cheese and vegemite James dixit daftly on a dilapidated dictaphone: >>>Hey! I wanna see that! When's it coming out? > >>Dave and Hal are going into pre-production. >all this talk about Kubrick, and now you've managed to get his two most >famous protagonists back working together again! I don't think that this was accidental. I think that they were funded partially due to their choices of musical director: the dead (in so many ways) Jerry Garcia, and Ralph Bakshi for special effect dream sequence "director." I'm still trying to get in as cat wrangler, but there's an octopus and Koko the gorilla in the running. I'll keep ya' posted. What you point out is just another reason that even when they try to be "outside," Hollywood money just "don't go there, girlfriend." Variety reports that upon hearing about this HBO, ABC, and The Comedy Channel have started a bidding war for competing movies based on the same subject. Our own The Great Quail and Danielle seem to be shoe-ins for the first two and I've heard that Terry Marks figures highly for the animated comedy series. - --- I forgot to report in on the question about the Kershaw Sessions CD: Buy it. I really like it, and there are some twists on some songs we all know and a coupla' ditties he doesn't play often. That's enough out of me for now. 'ies, - -'arkg' ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:18:45 -0500 From: "JH3" Subject: the quicktimelessness of souvlaki Randi rites: >Has anyone made a Robyn screensaver? I've long since given up on the idea that I'm ever going to finish that project. I just can't find decent maskable squid, crab, and vegetable graphics. Besides, as Livia herself once wrote, we can all "go to http://www.stardustsoftware.com/, download the free trial edition of the Screen Saver Toolkit, and make one in about five minutes flat." Anybody? >Heck - I couldn't even open JH3's robyn lettering font. :-} What went wrong? There's a Type 1 version floating around here someplace, but if you're using Windows 9x you shouldn't have any trouble with the Truetype version. I'm always here if you need help with that sort of thing. Terry wrote back: >Well, there isn't a monolithic "The Church" (unless you count >the rock band.) Now that you mention it, Steve Kilbey & co. have never been known for their sense of humor... and they do tend to stand somewhat rigidly on the stage. >So, John, what are the really good Afghanistani comedians that we >haven't been able to hear about? You should be ashamed of yourself for a comment like this! Are you implying that there's some sort of physical or biological reason why Afghans couldn't become good comedians if their incredibly stifling Muslim-fundamentalist culture didn't prevent them from doing so? Not very P.C. of you, is it? But as long as we're on the subject, don't forget about Abdul "The Mad Arab" Alhazred, pigeonholed by the critics for his work on the "Necronomicon" while being unjustly ignored for his hilariously quirky early stuff such as "The Elder God Who Shagged Me" and "There's Something About Cthulhu." >...I think that limits on content don't adversely affect humor... >American radio reached its best during WWII, when it had the >strictest limits on content. Yeah... and before the most talented writers in it were siphoned off by television! (Along with lots of performers and most of the audience.) Then again, I'm not saying you're wrong, especially if you're going to make blanket statements about entire mediums... but you could probably come up with a better example. (I know that sounds patronizing, for which I apologize.) Andrew Simchik writes: >You guessed 'er. My god, my god, it's [Souvlaki] EXQUISITE. >Are the other [Slowdive] albums as good? I wish I could say yes, but in my opinion they're not even close. The first one is OK, and so are the two Mojave 3 albums if you like quiet/sedate stuff. But by all means avoid "Pygmalion," a classic example of a throwaway contractual-obligation album. Zzzzz! (And I'll definitely check out The Autumns - thanks for the tip! And yes, this could have been sent as a private e-mail. You'll just have to sue me, I suppose.) John "I put tape over my decals to stop you from licking 'em off" Hedges ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:00:57 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: oblique robyn content . . . . . _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:16:24 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: MIBies. how many movies has sonnenfeld directed now? anyway, the only one i've seen is Get Shorty. i feel somewhat unoloyal in that, as he's a coen alum. hmm...apart from raimi, sonnenfeld, and buschemi, have any long-standing coen accomplices directed their own movies? From: Capuchin Reply-To: Capuchin To: Nerdy Groovers Subject: Re: MIBies. Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 16:50:39 -0700 (PDT) On Mon, 9 Aug 1999, Capuchin wrote: > > Of course, these are probably the same people that liked Men in Black. I forgot my whole reason for mentioning this. I loved Men In Black. How could you not? How could any feg anywhere not love a movie with the line "Congratulations, Reg. It's a ... squid!" Huh? Riddle me that. J. - -- ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:31:31 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: Great Robyn Hitchcock Pix what does this mean, exactly? if you download it to your hard drive, they'll know who dunnit? what if you went to the library and downloaded it to a floppy, then went home and put it on your hard drive? and is downloading it to your hard drive "impermissable" in the first place? _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:49:17 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) not sure i understand this comment, terry. are you saying the taliban *isn't* repressive? that fundamentalist regimes in general aren't? _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 04:19:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) On Tue, 10 Aug 1999, Capitalism Blows wrote: > > > haven't been able to hear about?> > > not sure i understand this comment, terry. are you saying the taliban > *isn't* repressive? that fundamentalist regimes in general aren't? To summarize: John: There are dozens of comedies we can't see because The Church is stopping us. Terry: Where? John: Afghanistan Terry: Name three. Terrence Marks Unlike Minerva (a comic strip) http://grove.ufl.edu/~normal normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 08:20:10 -0400 (EDT) From: normal@grove.ufl.edu Subject: Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) On Mon, 9 Aug 1999 ultraconformist@mail.weboffices.com wrote: > > >I disagree. I think that limits on content don't adversely affect humor. > >The Goon Show could be produced under Green Book standards. > > Maybe the "Goon Show" could have. "Beyond The Fringe" surely could not > have, and they were (roughly) around at the same time. I'm not familiar with "Beyond the Fringe". Anyhow, my point isn't that there's no such thing as a funny dirty joke. It's that good artists can work within reasonable restrictions and that great artists can work within unreasonable ones. (cf. the patronage system of the Renaissance. Quite contrary to what Eddie has said, the artist was a servant of the patron and when the patron requested a specific piece, he generally got it.) It's of note that the current plotline of my comic strip has really reinforced the above (and caused me to think about the specific definitions of "reasonable", "unreasonable" and "work"). The fact that some of them have chosen not to work within various restrictions is neither here nor there. I don't think that relaxing said restrictions results in better art or that tightening them (to a point) automatically results in worse art. Terrence Marks Unlike Minerva (a comic strip) http://grove.ufl.edu/~normal normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 06:06:53 -0700 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: the timelessness of quality (even longer still) blah blah blah.... By the way, I meant to say "deftly," rather than "daftly." Sorry, James. >> >I disagree. I think that limits on content don't adversely affect humor. >> >The Goon Show could be produced under Green Book standards. > >> Maybe the "Goon Show" could have. "Beyond The Fringe" surely could not >> have, and they were (roughly) around at the same time. ><...>< >It's that good artists can work within reasonable restrictions and that >great artists can work within unreasonable ones. (cf. the patronage >system of the Renaissance. Quite contrary to what Eddie has said, the >artist was a servant of the patron and when the patron requested a >specific piece, he generally got it.) It's of note that the current >plotline of my comic strip has really reinforced the above (and caused me >to think about the specific definitions of "reasonable", "unreasonable" >and "work"). I'll concede some of this. That said, art, music, literature, and comedy do not serve society well if they are restricted to a point of keeping people comfortable. Society progresses when our sacred cattle are sacrificed on the holy altars of laugter, lit, music, and art. In all things, I think there is a huge danger in comfortability and control of the breadth of expression. Case in point, look at the work of Ernst Lubitch (sp?) after the intense censorship. Look at the Marx Brothers after censorship. Some people do better at pushing the walls of decorum. Some do fine to stay within, but even those should be grateful of those who give them enough breathing room within the auspices of "acceptable" expression. >The fact that some of them have chosen not to work within various >restrictions is neither here nor there. I don't think that relaxing said >restrictions results in better art or that tightening them (to a point) >automatically results in worse art. I agree, but even if I agree to stay within the rules established by my censors, I would much rather have Eddie "F*ckin'" Tews as that than have Rev. Lovejoy. I don't think any form of art (man, I get to see this every day in engineering- and that isn't even about issues of morality) is served very well by having decisions for the review of a committee. I bet I'd find comedy in Amsterdam funnier than in Islamabad. Of course, in either it assumes that understand what they are saying- a challenge for sharkboy in any language, let alone one he doesn't speak. I could also find something else there with which to entertain myself if the comedy was bad. Happies, - -Markg remember: Terry Marks is your friend ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 09:11:07 -0400 From: "Thomas, Ferris" Subject: RE: a quick robyn question I can't promise anything too extravagant---and I can't make it for a Mac, but I could do a little something for the PC. Suggestions? > -----Original Message----- > From: **twofangs** {randi} [mailto:twofangs@sympatico.ca] > Sent: Monday, August 09, 1999 8:22 PM > To: rls - *fegmaniax-digest* > Subject: a quick robyn question > > > Has anyone made a Robyn screensaver? > > I would love one -- but I don't have the computer knowledge > to make one. > > Heck - I couldn't even open JH3's robyn lettering font. :-} > > > fading back into yesterday, > > Randi > > > *what scares you most will set you free* ~~ Robyn Hitchcock > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 06:35:55 -0700 (PDT) From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: his circle and hers meet > From: Capuchin [Ryder and Shields in South Park] > I don't think it helps the joke too much that we know who > these people > are. In the case of Winona Ryder it actually hurts the joke for me. To the point where I still don't get it. > From: shmac@ix.netcom.com (Scott Hunter McCleary) > > Was anybody else waiting for Bill Macy to put the > harmonica in his mouth > and blow his brains out at the end of that Gap ad? I don't know which Gap ad you mean, but what the fuck is up with that "Dress You Up" ad? Here's the scene: a phalanx (or is it a brigade?) of teens/20somethings, slightly slouching, in staggered formation, all wearing these really homely Gap vests. The camera pans slowly along the ranks, and these kids, very slightly embarrassed but otherwise expressionless, lip-sync passionlessly to (one of) Madonna's (most underrated singles) "Dress You Up." The tagline at the end is something like "EVERYBODY IN VESTS." What is this about? Does the Gap imagine that we are all prone to identify with sedated, conformist youth? *Are* we? Is there some layer of irony I don't understand? Why must we all wear the same clothes? Can't we please just sell clothes with sex? What is this, _Brave New World_? > From: Capuchin > > I am fucking sick of talking about movies on here. Sorry. :( > From: Jeff Dwarf > yerp. whatever happened to Kevin Seal anyways? Oh, who cares? I couldn't stand Kevin Seal. Smug little creep. No, Dave was the only one I ever liked. A bit too earnest but he obviously knew his shit, and kind of cute to boot. > hell, i > remember > the one very scary time Adam Curry hosted 120 minutes (i > guess > seal was on vacation). 'twas a mystic trip. That frickin' imbecile who's hosting it in Matt "not such a great VJ, but a music trivia compendium" Pinfield's absence makes Adam Curry look like Thomas Edison. This woman practically moves her lips reading the teleprompter, and her gushing over Anthony Kiedis this past week was fingers-on-chalkboard irritating. (And not just to me... he looked really put out.) It doesn't help that they played maybe 4 videos I didn't fast-forward through (Portishead, Refused, Sinead O'Connor, and RHCP, if you must know). And do you remember Lewis Largent? Oy. > From: Capuchin > I loved Men In Black. How could you not? Me too! > From: normal@grove.ufl.edu > I disagree. I think that limits on content don't > adversely affect humor. They do adversely affect content, however. But if it's just funny you're looking for, a good comedian can always find a way to say what the Moron Majority doesn't want her to say. Drew === Andrew D. Simchik, schnopia@yahoo.com _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 07:35:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Vivien Lyon Subject: They call me the Music Miser - --- "Dr.Sticky" wrote: > This is me. 100%. I took me years to sink my teeth > into the Church's > "Sometime Anywhere". And I will purposely not buy > discs that I'm quite > certain I'll love for a couple of years for the sole > reason that I know > there will be a dry spell of music that will > interest me. Then when that Moi aussi. Actually, what I do is buy the disc, but not listen to it until the 'time is right.' This can be anywhere from weeks to months to...over a year. Par example, I still haven't listened to Queen Elvis. Ever. Not once. The man can't crank them out fast enough for me, and I like to have one ace up my sleeve. Vivien _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 08:10:03 -0700 From: "Chris!" Subject: Re: Great Robyn Hitchcock Pix Capitalism Blows wrote: > > prohibited. To see more of his work, go to www.room101.com. Digital tags > have been placed in the image above to trace and prosecute impermissible > use.> > > what does this mean, exactly? if you download it to your hard drive, > they'll know who dunnit? what if you went to the library and downloaded it > to a floppy, then went home and put it on your hard drive? and is > downloading it to your hard drive "impermissable" in the first place? > Most likely there is a watermark on the image. A common practice for images on the web. He could log all the requests for the image but would never be able to sort through them and make any legal connection between the access and the illegal use if any. Basically, it is a forceful request to not do any wrong with the image. wanna read my copyright statement, .chris ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 08:54:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Griffith Davies Subject: R.E.M. (no RH) Saw R.E.M. last night at the Greek Theatre. It was a good show, with a diverse set list (from "Cuyahoga" to "The Great Beyond"). Check out www.murmurs.com for a fanatical look at the show (and a complete setlist). I basically wanted to drop a note to the list for the all important StarFucking. What a list. First we saw LA news anchor Paul Moyer - who we thought was going to sit next to us. Brian Wilson strolled right in front of us - No Shit. Saw the singer from Live cruise by. We also saw Jane Pratt argue with security - - it took four of them to move her out of the orchestra seating area. Finally, after the show, I bumped into (literally) David Lynch. Weird. griffith _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 10:04:41 -0700 (PDT) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Naked Chicks. On Mon, 9 Aug 1999, Dr.Sticky wrote: > "Tragedy is when I cut MY finger. Comedy is when YOU slip on a banana > peel and die". Mel Brooks. I'm pretty sure the line is: Tragedy is when I cut my little finger. Comedy is when you step into an open manhole and die. J. - -- ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 10:11:16 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: his circle and hers meet On 8/10/99 6:35 AM, Andrew D. Simchik wrote: >I don't know which Gap ad you mean, but what the fuck >is up with that "Dress You Up" ad? Here's the scene: >a phalanx (or is it a brigade?) of teens/20somethings, >slightly >slouching, in staggered formation, all wearing these >really homely Gap vests. The camera pans slowly along >the ranks, and these kids, very slightly embarrassed >but otherwise expressionless, lip-sync passionlessly >to (one of) Madonna's (most underrated singles) "Dress >You Up." The tagline at the end is something like >"EVERYBODY IN VESTS." > >What is this about? Does the Gap imagine that we are >all prone to identify with sedated, conformist youth? >*Are* we? Is there some layer of irony I don't understand? >Why must we all wear the same clothes? Well, apparently we'll all be wearing vests this fall if The Gap and Old Navy have anything to say aboot it. Old Navy has enlisted Jerry Hall (reportedly now dating Paul Allen!) to shill their "Tech Vests", which look amazingly like the Gap vests. The GAP ad can be viewed in all it's QuickTime glory at http://www.gap.com/ Check out the last girl (in grey) - isn't that Keanu Reeves? - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 12:10:57 -0500 From: "JH3" Subject: Re: the timelessness of qualification Hmmm, Terry, you know you're one of my favorite fegs and all that, and I especially appreciate your ability to maintain a proper historical perspective on things, but I think you may be resorting to a little e-mail revisionism here... >To summarize: >John: There are dozens of comedies we can't see because >The Church is stopping us. Actually, I said that until the latter part of this century, the church (or as I corrected myself later, religious authorities in general) and the oligarchy repressed comedy because they saw it as a threat to their control. I'm not saying that the works are out there and the powers that be are preventing us from enjoying them; I'm saying that in lots of places those folks did a fine job of preventing those works (mostly written) from being produced, or even conceived of, in the first place. >Terry: Where? >John: Afghanistan You actually said "what has the church repressed lately?" Afghanistan was the best example I could come up with of religion-based cultural repression that's taking place right now. Of course, if that was your way of saying that religious repression isn't as bad as political repression, especially in the modern era, I might not necessarily agree, but I wouldn't go out of my way to disagree. Even with respect to pre-Taliban Afghanistan, I'll concede that years of guerrilla warfare with a neighboring superpower armed with advanced weapons probably doesn't do much for one's sense of humor either. I mean, c'mon, just look at Eb's experience on COSTELLO-L... >Terry: Name three. That's a catch-22, because the whole point of cultural repression is to prevent those "three" from ever coming into existence. That doesn't mean people in repressed societies lack a sense of humor; but it does mean that their *public* humor isn't allowed to get very far beyond the "look at the way that silly nomad rides that fat old camel" variety. And even if someone over there came up with a truly hysterical joke anyway, who would publish it? Or translate it for western audiences? Those people don't have Internet access, y'know. But there's still hope for future Afghan humorists! After all, we're only now finally starting to hear some of the zingers people came up with in Russia during the Soviet era, for example. Like the one about the guy who got fed up with the long line to buy cabbage, and stormed off yelling about how he was going to go to the Kremlin and shoot the entire Politburo. And then half-an-hour later he comes back, rejoins the line, and when they ask him if he managed to wipe out the Politburo he says, "the line for that was even longer." Ha ha! John "I DO look a bit silly on that old beast, actually" Hedges ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #299 *******************************