From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V9 #206 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, July 25 2000 Volume 09 : Number 206 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: teevee ["Brian Huddell" ] Re: Speaking of Bedazzled... [steve ] Re: WOW ["Ben" ] polite tics [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] music question.... [Eleanore Adams ] Re: WOW ["Russ Reynolds" ] Fw: Bush and Gore Make Me Wanna Ralph ["Russ Reynolds" ] Re:teevee ["Russ Reynolds" ] Re: Anglophobic sheep in A minor [Michael R Godwin ] Re: Anglophobic sheep in A minor (fwd) [Michael R Godwin ] Re: oh don't ask why [Michael R Godwin ] Re: show me the way to the next whiskey bar ["matt sewell" ] Re: Two Halves For The Price Of One...Literally! [Eleanore Adams ] Re: polite tics [Jason Thornton ] Re: polite tics [The Great Quail ] Empty V [The Great Quail ] Re: two things [Vivien Lyon ] Taxi Driver (0% Robyn Content) ["Paul Christian Glenn" Subject: RE: teevee > Eb (the "Soy Bomb" gag seems rather overrated, as well) Agreed. And I guess there will be a lot of competition for Most Egregious Omission, but I'll cast my vote for one Eb already mentioned: EC and the Attractions, SNL 1977. That was my Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and I suspect I'm not alone. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 20:46:07 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: Speaking of Bedazzled... Capuchin: >Mr. Spiggott makes one call referencing a Mr. Abercrombie and his partner, >Fitch. > >What's this all about? Is that where the offensive all-image no-substance >poorly constructed billboard-like mall clothes get their name? Is there >an even older reference I'm not getting? They started in 1892 as an outdoors outfitter. I remember them going out of business quite a few years ago. The new company must have purchased the name. http://www.hoovers.com/co/capsule/0/0,2163,53170,00.html http://expage.com/page/abercrombielover http://sportingcollectibles.com/mailordr.htm http://www.fool.com/news/2000/foth000217.htm - - Steve __________ I¹d sit down and meditate but my ass is on fire. - Bill Nelson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:26:24 -0400 From: "Ben" Subject: Re: WOW >> http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=386859719 >> >> Eb > >If this is for real, we can expect the inevitable EARLY WHO REMASTERED >2 CD set coming out rather soon. These were all the tracks that *still* >sounded crappy on the box set, since MCA couldn't get access to the >original tapes. Shel was busy being a pest and wouldn't sacrifice these >tapes for the greater good. > >If we all chip in, maybe we can buy them? Maybe we can buy one track? >Maybe we can buy one of the three tracks of one track? Maybe we can buy >the box that the reel-to-reel is in? Maybe we can buy the pen that >wrote up the reel-to-reel box that... > >Does anyone out there have the Virgin edition of the first Who CD? I >only heard rumours (and saw a catalogue listing). I would like to know >if it sounds any better than the gloriously awful US version. > >And - for the record - you are not going to convince me that Rush has >really contributed to the history or rawk music since 1981 so don't >even try. > >Tim Well apparantly this bootleg: http://allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=A385323 is the best version of that album so far. Not that you'd be able to find it! :) But if this auction is legitimate, how did he get the tapes? Since they were being held on to by Shel Talmy so tightly when the remastering of the Who catalog was done a couple years ago, why would they turn up in this guy's hands? I would think if Talmy wanted to sell them he would sell them to MCA, who would probably be willing to pay the most for them. And if they are stolen, then this guy's not keeping the best cover... Hmmm it all seems fishy to me, but maybe I've been listening to too much Robyn and now everything is fishy... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 21:01:24 -0700 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: polite tics Unless something drastic happens with Wall st., I fully expect Al Gore to be the next US president. I can only imagine that my right-of-center brethren and sistren are even more apalled at their presidential choices than I am at mine. I don't dislike Gore, but I think he will continue to wash out his values to appeal to the right. I think this time it will be quite easy for me to vote for Ralph Nader. I'm hoping he gets 15% of the vote. Bush doesn't seem smart enough to be president, but I said that about Reagan, and he was elected. Pat Buchanan? I think he is the closest thing in American politics to Benito Mussolini ever. I'm reasonably sure that Bush will be getting the comedy writers' votes in the upcoming us election. It could spur an almost QuaYlian political comedy revolution. (NOTE: A "Great Quailian" political comedy revolution would involve some literary content including big words that _actually_ fit the context. Of course, we would have to wade through references to Jethro Tull, Phillip Glass, Oliver Stone, and hmuhs.) George W is like crossing George H. Bush with Dan Quayle, with all of the easy humor-making qualities of both, but without those annoying intellectual capabilities of the senior. > http://slate.msn.com/Features/bushisms/bushisms.asp "Not an opinion- it's a fact" - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:43:03 -0700 From: Eleanore Adams Subject: music question.... This is a long shot.....My mate and I keep hearing that No doubt song on the radio, the "Simple Kind of Life" tune, and we both swear it sounds like a ripp of of someone famous and good, but can't place the artist. I also swear that I heard somewhere that this song was not written by this band, but was given to them by some other artist. Does anyone know anything about this little ditty??? eleanore ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:49:28 -0700 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Re: WOW > Hobbies: Softball, watching Dodgers, Fuck the Dodgers. > Personal Quote: "Get me the manager." Sorry, pal--Dusty Baker ain't leafing SF! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:53:13 -0700 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Fw: Bush and Gore Make Me Wanna Ralph >> > A Letter from Michael Moore to the >> > Non-Voters of America >> [yadda yadda yadda] Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) the idea that the 55% who don't vote all choose not to vote for the same reason is ludicrous. This supposed disgruntled majority couldn't even band together to get "none of the above" on the ballot in California. Obviously the reasons people don't vote are many and I would venture to say that those who abstain due to a lack of choice are not only a relatively small minority but also part of a larger subset of those who are ignorant. After all, there are plenty of other issues on the ballot these people ought to care enough about to cast a vote on, but they don't. If I had any clue what the expression meant I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the number one reason people don't vote is the feeling that one vote doesn't make a difference either way. It's hard to argue that when you consider a margin of 3,000 votes is considered a down-to-the-wire squeaker and your one vote would make the margin 2,999. But then if you can't see beyond that you probably shouldn't be voting anyway. So it seems to me that what Mr. Moore is attempting to do is to first persuade people who think their one vote doesn't count to believe that it DOES count, and then persuade them to cast that meaningful vote for Ralph Nader because he says so. You can't have it both ways. You can't convince people to care and then ask them not to. If you're going to vote, vote your conscience. Jumping blindly on somebody else's bandwagon is and has always been a stupid thing to do. - -rUss ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 01:22:16 -0500 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: RE: music question.... This is hardly definitive but it would be rare (though not unheard of) for someone to sell their song outright (uncredited), and what's-her-name does get the official credit for this song. I even had the misfortune to read an interview in which she talked about writing it, what it meant to her, bla bla bla. Even less definitive is the fact that it doesn't sound like anyone particularly famous, let alone good, to me. But I've been wrong before (17 times today, before I lost count). > This is a long shot.....My mate and I keep hearing that No doubt song on > the radio, the "Simple Kind of Life" tune, and we both swear it sounds > like a ripp of of someone famous and good, but can't place the artist. I > also swear that I heard somewhere that this song was not written by this > band, but was given to them by some other artist. Does anyone know > anything about this little ditty??? > > eleanore ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 23:13:21 -0700 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Re:teevee > The top music moments on television, as selected by VH1 and Entertainment > Weekly magazine: > > 1. The Beatles' debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show,'' 1964 > 2. Elvis Presley's comeback special on NBC, 1968 > 3. MTV launches with first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star'' by the > Buggles, 1981 Everything after these three pales in comparison. Interestingly the top two were seen by millions of viewers, while the Buggles video was probably seen by dozens. Do you remember where you were when that Buggles video played? Me niether. As important a "moment" as it was with regards to the direction music was to take, it was not at all a memorable moment in and of itself. Or maybe I was just too busy listening to Black Snake Diamond Röle to notice. - -rUss. PS How come Smokey Robinson's 23 minute version of the National Anthem at the '82 All Star Game didn't make the list? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 10:56:16 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: Anglophobic sheep in A minor Nice one, Matt! And that Bliss it was to be alive quote comes from William Wordsworth, the English poet, not Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the American Gitchigumi fan. - - Mike Godwin "Don't be ridiculous! How could anybody fall in love with a ... sheep?" Woody Allen, EYWTKASBWATA ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 12:13:52 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: Anglophobic sheep in A minor (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael R Godwin "Don't be ridiculous! How could anybody fall in love with a ... sheep?" Woody Allen, EYWTKASBWATA Oh, all right - Gene Wilder _says_ that line; but the script he was reading was by Woody Allen. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 12:30:30 BST From: "matt sewell" Subject: Re: show me the way to the next whiskey bar Yup, it's a cover, written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht... can't remember for the life of me what it's from... perhaps Threepenny Opera? Matt >From: Eleanore Adams >Reply-To: Eleanore Adams >To: fegs! >Subject: show me the way to the next whiskey bar >Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 22:19:27 -0700 > >Guys, > >You know that Doors song "whiskey bar"? Is this a cover of a german >drinking song? This ain't no original, or is it? > >eleanore > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 12:31:19 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: won't you ever leave off? On Mon, 24 Jul 2000, chris browning wrote: > re: rise and rise of michael rimmer > being a digest bloke i don't know if anyone has mentioned this but the film > was a thinly veiled attack on TW3 mainstay david frost Apparently Cook had a TV satire show planned before TWTWTW went on the air, but he accepted an offer to do 'Beyond the Fringe' in NYC instead. By the time he got back to London, Sir David (as he then wasn't) had cornered the satire anchorman market. Interestingly, Cook had once saved Frost from drowning, so he had only himself to blame ... [snip] > "bedazzled" is an absolute corker. MOJO correctly cited drimble wedge and > the vegetation's "bedazzled" as one of the best psych songs ever. a thing to > die for.. I remember the days on 'Not only ... but also' when they were called Drimble _Weed_ and the Vegetation; they performed a number entitled 'Living in the shadow of the bomb wah wah'. And who can forget the L S Bumble Bee? - - Mike "Big Bathers" Godwin ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 12:38:16 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: oh don't ask why > In a message dated 7/22/00 10:25:42 PM, eleanore@tdl.com writes: > << You know that Doors song "whiskey bar"? Is this a cover of a german > drinking song? This ain't no original, or is it? >> On Sun, 23 Jul 2000 MARKEEFE@aol.com wrote: > "Alabama Song" by Kurt Weill, I believe. Tune by Kurt Weill, words (in German, presumably) by Bertholt Brecht. No idea who translated them. - - MRG ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 13:01:56 BST From: "matt sewell" Subject: Re: show me the way to the next whiskey bar Hmm... next time I know the answer to a question on the list, maybe I'll check down to see if anyone's answered it, rather than waving my hand in the air and shouting "I know! I know!" Matt "not quite as smart as I thought I was" Sewell >From: "matt sewell" >Reply-To: "matt sewell" >To: fegmaniax@smoe.org >Subject: Re: show me the way to the next whiskey bar >Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 12:30:30 BST > >Yup, it's a cover, written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht... can't >remember for the life of me what it's from... perhaps Threepenny Opera? >Matt > > >>From: Eleanore Adams >>Reply-To: Eleanore Adams >>To: fegs! >>Subject: show me the way to the next whiskey bar >>Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 22:19:27 -0700 >> >>Guys, >> >>You know that Doors song "whiskey bar"? Is this a cover of a german >>drinking song? This ain't no original, or is it? >> >>eleanore >> > >________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 05:19:48 -0700 From: mrrunion@palmnet.net Subject: Two Halves For The Price Of One...Literally! Hey all, Well, if there's any grand scheming intelligence running the universe, at least it's got a great sense of humor. I recently traded with a pal in Canada for a pristine vinyl copy of "Two Halves". As you might expect, it came in the mail the other day literally in two halves, despite the huge "Do Not Bend" and "Fragile" scribblings all over the outside of the package. Luckily, he insured it for a nice sum, so we'll see what happens. On other fronts: Saw "The Perfect Storm" this weekend, just to get out of the house and see an action-sorta movie. Basically, we came away hating it. Can anyone who's read the book explain to me how anyone knows even the slimmest of details as to what really went on on that boat, seeing as they lost all communications early on? I mean, I'm sitting there, fairly pumped with adrenaline watching this, and then (sorry for the spoiler)...they ALL DIE! What? Wait a minute? What? I have to say though, I've been haunted by the images of the "wave" for days now. Some of that was very well done, although my memory is making it all seem very dreamlike. Oh well, back to work, Mike - ----- Sent using MailStart.com ( http://MailStart.Com/welcome.html ) The FREE way to access your mailbox via any web browser, anywhere! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 10:01:41 EDT From: "Asa Land" Subject: A&F, insufferable Americans Ahh, Americans, we're insufferable, we will commit generalizations, inaccurracies and absurdities for a good story. Mea Coppola. Abacrombie and Fitch, well before standing for being mall fodder, was perhaps the best sports equiment store in NY, and maybe the world. Hemingway, and just about every big explorer, Buffallo Bill,and outdoorsy rich person shopped there. I think they went out of business in the late 60s or 70s, they were on 5th Ave in NY, near Brooks Brothers. When I was 9 I was really into archery and my Dad took me there for outfitting. It was way cool, with all these autographed photos of big dead white hunters and very expensive leather furniture, sorta like what Ralph Lauren attempts but does too self-consiously to have the proper upper-class fillip. Very bedazzeling. Asa ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 07:30:52 -0700 From: Eleanore Adams Subject: Re: Two Halves For The Price Of One...Literally! I read the book, and saw the movie, and actually, the movie was pretty accurrate. They knew what was happening on the boat for a long time because they had more than one type of communication devise on board. The movie, as all movies do, can't show you every detail, and, yes, this is an importand detail, but there were a lot of (semi) techinical area of the book, and that was one of them. the book went into a speal about the liitle black box boats have and diff types of signalling devices, etc. the femaleboat capt kept in contact with them for a long time. Any, yes, they all died. they made a bad decision at a bad time, mostly for the money. I would highly recommend the book. i could not put it down. and i thought the movie did an excellent job dramatizing it. the characters were accurate, as well as the interp of the details. the only part that was off was the rescue of the helocopter - they condensed that up. the book had a lot more detail on how they did water rescues, and the rescue of the little yacht. i have always been a sucker for boat stories! eleanore mrrunion@palmnet.net wrote: > Hey all, > > Well, if there's any grand scheming intelligence running the > universe, at least it's got a great sense of humor. I recently > traded with a pal in Canada for a pristine vinyl copy of "Two > Halves". As you might expect, it came in the mail the other > day literally in two halves, despite the huge "Do Not Bend" and > "Fragile" scribblings all over the outside of the package. Luckily, > he insured it for a nice sum, so we'll see what happens. > > On other fronts: > Saw "The Perfect Storm" this weekend, just to get out of the > house and see an action-sorta movie. Basically, we came away > hating it. Can anyone who's read the book explain to me how > anyone knows even the slimmest of details as to what really went > on on that boat, seeing as they lost all communications early > on? I mean, I'm sitting there, fairly pumped with adrenaline > watching this, and then (sorry for the spoiler)...they ALL DIE! > What? Wait a minute? What? I have to say though, I've been > haunted by the images of the "wave" for days now. Some of that > was very well done, although my memory is making it all seem > very dreamlike. > > Oh well, back to work, > Mike > > ----- > Sent using MailStart.com ( http://MailStart.Com/welcome.html ) > The FREE way to access your mailbox via any web browser, anywhere! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 09:33:40 -0500 From: Gene Hopstetter Subject: Re: robyn covers nite/cone exhibit > From: "John B" > > You'll find three of my favorites here: > > http://hillstrom.iww.org/~fanshaw > Wow, those are good. Surprisingly tasty, all of them. Please tell Jen Bernard to send me her album of Robyn covers to me asap. I think these people should be on Flesh Cartoons CD III. > ps. NOTE: The Spacecat's "Only The Stones Remain" was another huge > favorite of mine, but unfortunately I had recorder problems during > their set. > Drat, I'd love to hear that. > Jeme, can you digitize their set? > > Pretty please? > I'll have to second that -- I'd love to hear it all. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 11:02:26 -0400 From: "Thomas, Ferris" Subject: RE: robyn covers nite/cone exhibit I have to agree--the three that are available are brilliant--very well done. > > Jeme, can you digitize their set? > > > > Pretty please? > > > I'll have to second that -- I'd love to hear it all. If transfers are a problem for anyone I'll go out on a limb and say I can transfer items...I can do MD and DAT to pretty much anything. And, yes, Peter, I'm working on your discs--I've gotten 1/2 of it converted. I'll get to it by the end of this week...I promise. - -ferris. PS: It looks as though I am going to the Riverboat Cruise-thang....any UK fegs (or from anywhere, for that matter) going who want to meet up let me know. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 11:22:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: two things 1.) Mark Gloster wrote: > I think this time it will be quite easy for me to vote > for Ralph Nader. I'm hoping he gets 15% of the vote. Not me; I'd rather have Gore than Bush as President, and Nader getting 15% of the vote would certainly put Bush in the White House. (Despite Michael "Most Overrated Left-Liberal in America" Moore's fantasy, most of Nader's votes are going to come from people who otherwise would vote for Gore, not people who otherwise wouldn't vote.) BTW, there was an interesting article about the Nader campaign in the New Republic recently. For those interested but unwilling to read more than a one-sentence summary, it's the story of how Nader has seized the Green Party machine to promote his own agenda, not theirs. 2.) I see that there's a city in Vietnam called Bac Lieu. Could this be an alternate origin for the name Buckalew? - --Chris ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 08:18:47 -0700 From: Jason Thornton Subject: Re: polite tics At 09:01 PM 7/24/00 -0700, Mark_Gloster@3com.com wrote: >I'm reasonably sure that Bush will be getting the comedy >writers' votes in the upcoming us election. It could spur >an almost QuaYlian political comedy revolution. Oh, I'm pretty sure the guy named BUSH has solidified the comedy writers' vote by picking a guy named DICK as his running mate. He'll probably sweep the bumper sticker manufacturer and t-shirt maker votes as well. - --Jason "she's uncertain if she likes him, but she knows she really loves him" the Thorntonster "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 11:18:43 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: Re: polite tics Sharkboy nibbles, >Bush doesn't seem smart enough to be president, but I >said that about Reagan, and he was elected. But at least Reagan had two things Shrub does not have -- charisma and vision. (Please *please* please do not take this as an endorsement of Reagan!) >(NOTE: A "Great Quailian" political comedy revolution would >involve some literary content including big words that >_actually_ fit the context. Ah, if I may posit the new paradigm that will emerge from the post-ironical/pre-Quailist dialectic: all discourse would of course be reified into a new praxis informed by a postmodern meta-narrative, supported by a totalizing system of hermeneutics -- a hegemony consisting solely of recontextualized epistemes derived from the canon of Dr. Seuss. >Of course, we would have to >wade through references to Jethro Tull, Phillip Glass, >Oliver Stone, and hmuhs.) Well, of course, given that I would hire Oliver Stone to produce all the documentaries about Philip Glass, who of course will rewrite the national anthem, and Jethro Tull, whom I will appoint as Official Rock Band and Salmon Farmers of the New Quailennium. Ah, picture it now, millions of Americans singing the new national anthem: "Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh Hmuh . . . HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH HMUH...." - --The *other* President Quail - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Quail, K.S.C. (riverrun Discordian Society, Kibroth-hattaavah Branch) http://www.w-rabbit.com/gerbilstuff/gerbilbabies15a.html "People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history." --Vice President Dan Quayle ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 11:24:22 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: Empty V Russ says, >Everything after these three pales in comparison. Interestingly the top two >were seen by millions of viewers, while the Buggles video was probably seen >by dozens. Do you remember where you were when that Buggles video played? >Me niether. Actually, I was in my living room -- I actually tuned in to the first hour or so of MTV's inaugural broadcast. I remember "Video Killed the Radio Star," a Tom Petty song, and a Pat Benatar song, and some stuff I didn't know. I also remember that the reception was terrible, and that the commercials were really long and cheesy, and for some reason were played with the sound either off, or turned way down low. I was 13 years old. At the time, I thought there was something weird, subversive, sexy, cool, and sinister about MTV. But then again, that could have just been Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes." - --Quail - -- +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ The Great Quail, K.S.C. (riverrun Discordian Society, Kibroth-hattaavah Branch) For fun with postmodern literature, New York vampires, and Fegmania, visit Sarnath: http://www.rpg.net/quail "i'm not a critic, though i play one on the internet." -- doug mayo-wells ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 09:19:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Vivien Lyon Subject: Re: two things - --- Christopher Gross wrote: > Not me; I'd rather have Gore than Bush as President, and Nader > getting 15% > of the vote would certainly put Bush in the White House. On the other hand, having a bunch of Naderites in the voting booths would mean a democratic congress, and I think that's a greater victory than a democrat like Gore in the White House. > (Despite Michael > "Most Overrated Left-Liberal in America" Moore's fantasy, most > of Nader's > votes are going to come from people who otherwise would vote > for Gore, not > people who otherwise wouldn't vote.) I agree that Michael Moore is this country's most relentlessly self-promoting 'leftie', but that doesn't make his point invalid. I didn't vote in the last election because there was naught to vote for: the candidates looked equally unelectable to me. I would refrain again from voting were it not for Nader. I can't believe people would rather waste their vote on someone they don't like when there is finally an acceptable option. Voting isn't like playing poker- you shouldn't bluff. And I believe people who rarely vote will come out of the woodwork to vote for Nader, if his campaign gets any coverage. BTW, there was an > interesting > article about the Nader campaign in the New Republic recently. I'll say it's interesting. It's interesting that Jonathan Chait doesn't seem to understand why environmentalists aligned themselves with union workers, and why Nader really does represent green interests: who is polluting and clear-cutting and using child labor? Why, it's the very corporations that Nader wants to rein in. In no way is he compromising the basic green view. Actually, I like this article, because it points out that Nader _isn't_ a pot-smokng hippie wacko, and that he has his own agenda, which has nothing to do with the more sophmoric of the Green Party platforms. I secretly believe that Mr. Chait is a radical who has infiltrated the ranks of the New Republic. > For those > interested but unwilling to read more than a one-sentence > summary, it's > the story of how Nader has seized the Green Party machine to > promote his > own agenda, not theirs. Well, he really hasn't seized anything- he's not even a member of the Green Party. He just accepted their nomination. He's still independent, as he always has been. Vivien __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 11:03:27 -0500 From: "Paul Christian Glenn" Subject: Taxi Driver (0% Robyn Content) With the wife gone for the week and the house all to myself, I decided to indulge in a few films that I've always wanted to rent but she never wanted to see. I rented "Taxi Driver", "Brazil", "Blood Simple", "Your Friends and Neighbors", "Mission: Impossible" "12 Monkeys" and "Kingpin" (yeah, that last one was not a real wise decision on my part - call it a morbid curiosity). Anyhoo, I watched "Taxi Driver" last night and was blown away by it. Of course I've always heard about what a classic it is, blah-blah-blah, but I wasn't ready for how stunning this movie truly is. DeNiro was amazing as usual, and Scorsese's sure hand made this movie into something subtle and horrific and poignant and beautiful. But I have a question and I'm wondering if anyone has an answer. SPOILERS ENSUE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TURN BACK NOW! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (THIS MEANS YOU!) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Okay. Sorry about that. ;) My question is this: what's the deal with the ending? Is it supposed to be real? Given that creepy floating overhead shot that pans the scene of Travis Bickles' killing spree at the end, I got the distinct impression that he was dead. He was shot in the *neck*, fercryinoutloud! The movie could have ended right there. But then we get the newspaper articles about the "hero cabby" and the letter from Iris' parents thanking Travis for saving her and bringing her back to them. Then we see him back in his cab, smiling, with his hair back to normal and no visible scars, and all is well. Here's my take: I think that everything that happened after the shootout is what Travis *imagined* would happen. It is what he envisioned while he was planning to go out and kill the "scum" - he imagined himself emerging as a nonchalant hero, celebrated by the city who has ignored him, admired by the woman who scorned him, and worshipped by a good ol' American family - a normal, healthy, happy guy at last. Didja notice that when the letter from Iris' parents is being narrated by her father, it is read in the same strange staccato that Travis uses when he's narrating the birthday card to his parents? Now, perhaps I'm completely lost or maybe the ending's meaning is common knowledge among it's fans, but I'm curious. Either way, this movie, I thought, was a brilliant and touching look at those marginalized people who don't quite seem to fit in. I know so many of them myself, those people who desperately want to have normal relationships, who try too hard to have friends, etc. Great movie. Yep, I'm gonna watch it again. :) Paul Christian Glenn pcg@mailandnews.com Eon Chamber http://eonchamber.port5.com Currently Reading: "The God Who Risks" by John Sanders "Freedom is the most demanding of all responsibilities. It is something constantly to be worked at if it is to be understood, maintained, and developed. Freedom is not so much the liberty to do what one likes, as the right to be able to do what one ought". - Ashley Montagu ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V9 #206 *******************************