From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V12 #179 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Saturday, May 17 2003 Volume 12 : Number 179 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Matrix Reviews? [gshell@metronet.com] Re: Tintern Abbey ["Gene Hopstetter, Jr." ] Re: Matrix Reviews? ["Jason R. Thornton" ] RE: Matrix Reviews? ["Jason Brown \(Echo Services Inc\)" ] RE: dad nomination assessments ["Michael Wells" ] RE: dad nomination assessments ["Stewart C. Russell" ] RE: dad nomination assessments [Marcy Tanter ] Re: fish passage assessments [Eb ] a note from rosso [broadway jack ] RE: a note from rosso ["Brian Huddell" ] a better link for GF ["Brian Huddell" ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V12 #178 [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Now here's some film news for everyone.... [Eb ] Re: boiling hot [steve ] Re: Now here's some film news for everyone.... [steve ] Re: fish passage assessments [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: fish passage assessments [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: Black commentary on the neo-cons [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Seriously people, the original was a lot of fun. yeah, great movie, except for the acting and character development, and the swarmy script. heck, 'Dark City' blows it away. gSs ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:15:13 -0500 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: Re: Tintern Abbey On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 10:04 AM, Ross wrote: > I thought you were the one who posted the info on the release? It was > on this list, sometime > this year. Circa $25 for one song, plus mailing hassle? Interesting > to think who I would & > wouldn't do this for ... Oh yeah, that was me. Duh. How many American dollars is 25 English pounds, I wonder. It just might be worth it, but that's a lot for a two songs. I'm gonna search around and try to find someone who's bought it. Here's a great Tintern Abbey page I've never seen before: ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 09:13:32 -0700 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: Matrix Reviews? At 05:08 PM 5/15/2003 -0700, Glen Uber wrote: >Not having seen it, I can say with authority that it sucks. Of course, I was >only one of 9 people on earth who hated the first one. I was hoping that the >pill they gave Keanu was a cyanide capsule. I'm betting all nine people in this group are on the list too. Hated it. Especially all that cheesy pseudo-religious messianic crap. If I see another heavy-handed savior motif dominating a sci-fi book or film, I'm going to jam a light sabre into my Maud'dib. - --Jason in a Jason Land "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 09:28:09 -0700 From: "Jason Brown \(Echo Services Inc\)" Subject: RE: Matrix Reviews? Maximilian Lang wrote: > Seriously people; the original was a lot of fun. I'm not seeing the new one until Monday but the original was fun and fairly ambitious for a Hollywood action flick. But I went to see the original again in a theatre downtown last week and it really hasn't aged well. As is often the case with any groundbreaking special effects movie what was cool and new four years ago now seems old and passi. It actually made me less excited to see the new one. It did make me want to reread Vol. 1 of Grant Morrison's comic the Invisibles which the Wachowski Bros ripped off to no end in the first film. The number of plot points are lifted out of there are astonishing: the recruitment of Dane/Neo a new solider in the great battle of free will vs. oppression, Dane/ Neo being awoken to the true nature of reality, Dane/Neo jumping of a building as test, Dane/Neo having two names their original name and their true name, King Mob/Morpheus being a bald sunglasses wearing leader guy that likes to wear long leather coats, King Mob/Morpheus being taken hostage by the bad guys strapped to a chair and tortured while the head bad guy rants at him, and finally Dane/Neo realizes his true nature and uses his powers to over come insurmountable odds and free King Mob/Morpheus. The friend I went with hadn't seen it before really didn't like it. But she did see Reloaded yesterday morning at a "morale event" with work and she liked the sequel a lot better. Apparently, there is some actual character development and stuff. Either way I highly second Eb's recommendation of both A Mighty Wind and The Shape of Things. If Reloaded is half as good as either of those films, then I'll be more than pleased. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 10:57:35 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: fish passage assessments Gene: >>ISTR reading that the entire Dylan catalog is set to be reissued (on >>SACD, I believe) by Sony pretty soon. I had read they were rolling them out in '02, which is why I was wondering. These things are always late, though. And it seems like after the big hoopla over any catalog overhaul, the reissues always end up getting marked down to "Super Saver" prices within a year of two, so you have to wait for that, too. ____ >>ross taylor is widely considered to be the expert on fish passage assessments Cool, now I know who to ask about both Dylan reissues and fish passage assessments. _______ Feg Film Comment: >>The new women-and-men-being-brutal-to-each-other film by Neil LaBute, >>in the mode of his past films "Your Friends & Neighbors" and "In the >>Company of Men." His dialogues about sexual politics are just >>incredibly electric. Or pedantic, didactic, high-school-nihilistic, dull and self-important, depending on who you ask. I shouldn't go farther since every time I state my opinion on this guy I get stuck in one of those circular arguments where someone insists that I "don't get it" because if I "got it" I would understand that it was brilliant whether or not I liked it. Nope, I get it, but I think it's poorly done, and dammit, that's a legitimate point of view. Timothy on The Matrix Reloaded: >>And this is the first movie that I wish that the sex scene been left *out*. Dude, I have a list of those a mile long... I did see and enjoy the first Matrix, but I've never seen why it's considered so "revolutionary" or how it "changed the face of action movies". It was really, really pastiche-y and derivative. It did almost all of what it did better than its antecedents, and deserves props for that, but I just can't go all fanboy over a film where the characters have names that sound like Transformers or something. That said, I'd bet a good 50% of the reviews for "Reloaded" were written before the writers even saw the movie... everycritic seems to have taken it as his/her yearly opportunity to take their axe off the wall and grind the hell out of it. How can it be that I keep hearing the Wachowskis couldn't recapture the "human core" or the first one? Dude, not even the best movie starring Keanu Reeves can be described as having a "human core". I'd bet good money this is a totally enjoyable action film with a less-pandering-than-usual plot, and that's more than I expect from your average summer blockbuster. (Plus I'd bet better money that T3 is gonna BLOW.) But yo, I'm finally gonna see "A Mighty Wind" tomorrow. Beyond that I can't wait to take my daughter to see "Finding Nemo"... she's gonna like that, with the fish and the terrapins and spotted eagle rays and jellyfish and whatnot. And, yeah, I might enjoy that as well. - -Rex, nominating himself for Feggy Father of the Year because his little girl's first 3-syllable word is a crisply pronounced "octopus!" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:23:52 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: RE: dad nomination assessments > -Rex, nominating himself for Feggy Father of the Year because his little > girl's first 3-syllable word is a crisply pronounced "octopus!" Heh. Earlier this week I taught my 4-yr old daughter the words (and a geek dance) to "Rock Lobster." It was /hysterical/...she especially enjoys singing: "Somebody went under a dock And there they saw a rock It wasn't a rock It was a rock lobster" We now sing it just before bathtime when she's tired and silly, whereupon she collapses in a fit of giggles. Beautiful. Michael "everybody had matching towels" Wells ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:30:41 -0700 (PDT) From: John Barrington Jones Subject: RE: dad nomination assessments When my sister and I were in our teens, we would do a mean rendition of B-52's "Strobe Light" - with me doing all the Fred Schneider parts, and my sister doing all the rest. Those were the days my friend. =jbj=, a member of the deadbeat club On Fri, 16 May 2003, Michael Wells wrote: > > -Rex, nominating himself for Feggy Father of the Year because his > little > > girl's first 3-syllable word is a crisply pronounced "octopus!" > > Heh. Earlier this week I taught my 4-yr old daughter the words (and a > geek dance) to "Rock Lobster." It was /hysterical/...she especially > enjoys singing: > > "Somebody went under a dock > And there they saw a rock > It wasn't a rock > It was a rock lobster" > > We now sing it just before bathtime when she's tired and silly, > whereupon she collapses in a fit of giggles. Beautiful. > > Michael "everybody had matching towels" Wells ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 14:39:03 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: RE: dad nomination assessments John Barrington Jones wrote: > > When my sister and I were in our teens, we would > do a mean rendition of [the] B-52's "Strobe > Light" I permanently wrecked my singing voice by singing falsetto along with Kate & Cindy. I can still belt out a cracked falsetto, so I'm considering buying a ukulele. ** SHOCK NEWS: Steve Weber has gone AWOL the day before the Holy Modal Rounders Reunion in Portland this weekend. Conspiracy (and severe illness) theories abound. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:58:04 -0500 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: RE: dad nomination assessments For your consideration: Colin Douglass Huddell, age 4, this week names Yellow Submarine as his favorite movie, narrowly edging out Fantasia in the top spot. +brian (all that acid is paying off) in New Orleans ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:59:03 -0500 From: Marcy Tanter Subject: RE: dad nomination assessments At 01:58 PM 5/16/2003 -0500, Brian Huddell wrote: >For your consideration: > >Colin Douglass Huddell, age 4, this week names Yellow Submarine as his >favorite movie, narrowly edging out Fantasia in the top spot. > >+brian (all that acid is paying off) in New Orleans Sarah Tanter, aged 3 3/4, names Totoro as her favorite although yesterday's purchase of the Muppet Movie was widely accepted. Marcy in (god-forsaken and boiling hot) Texas ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:08:02 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: fish passage assessments > >>The new women-and-men-being-brutal-to-each-other film by Neil LaBute, >>>in the mode of his past films "Your Friends & Neighbors" and "In the >>>Company of Men." His dialogues about sexual politics are just >>>incredibly electric. > >Or pedantic, didactic, high-school-nihilistic, dull and self-important, >depending on who you ask. Don't forget "unrelated to comic books or sci-fi." And, almost as bad, "not nudge-nudge hip and counterculture." Oh well, at least some Matrix naysayers are surfacing. Saw the all-claymation Conan O'Brien rerun, which was shown last night. I was disappointed. The claymation was so crude that the chance for humor was lost. Great idea, poor execution. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 17:39:29 -0400 From: broadway jack Subject: a note from rosso >Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 00:43:20 -0400 >From: rosso@videotron.ca >To: broadway jack > >Fegs: > >I'd like to ask something of a few of you. > >Bayard has put a lot of effort into the Glass Flesh project, hoping >only to break even. As most of you know, any profit from the project >are to be donated to the charity of Robyn's choice. > >So far, Bayard is still in debt. Any of you who have been toying >with the idea of buying a copy but have never gotten around to it >might take this opportunity to help out someone who has been an icon >on this list by virtue of his, um, virtue. > >I was given two copies of GF in exchange for my own premastering work >on the project (well over a hundred hours, kids). I'm sending Bayard >a money order for the price of those two disks. I don't feel right >about letting Bayard lose money on the deal. > >Ask those who have bought their own copies. The consensus is that >both editions of GF are clever, entertaining, and most enjoyable. >Do yourselves and the list's "official nice guy" a favour; buy a copy >soon. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 16:48:33 -0500 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: RE: a note from rosso >Ask those who have bought their own copies. The consensus is that >both editions of GF are clever, entertaining, and most enjoyable. >Do yourselves and the list's "official nice guy" a favour; buy a copy >soon. Word. Here's a link: http://www.fegmania.org/glassflesh/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 16:50:51 -0500 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: a better link for GF http://www.glasshotel.net/glassflesh/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 12:06:47 +1200 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V12 #178 >some Googlisms for Ross Taylor (damn, it doesn't work for Netscape) yes it does. James James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand. =-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= .-=-.-=-.-=-.- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-. -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= You talk to me as if from a distance =-.-=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time -=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 18:46:48 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Now here's some film news for everyone.... Just stumbled upon the news that the upcoming May 23rd remake of "The In-Laws" will include Claudine Longet's old version of "A Man and a Woman" in its soundtrack. Surely, this landmark news will eclipse any talk about the Matrix sequel's box-office clout. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 22:10:29 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: boiling hot On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 01:59 PM, Marcy Tanter wrote: > Marcy in (god-forsaken and boiling hot) Texas Boiling hot? Hey Greg, how long does it take to become Texized? Seven years, I think. - - Steve - ---------- The Himalayan marmot is one of the highest living mammals in the world. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 22:16:23 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: Now here's some film news for everyone.... On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 08:46 PM, Eb wrote: > Surely, this landmark news will eclipse any talk about the Matrix > sequel's box-office clout. Or how about this, The Matrix minus computers, but with vampires and werewolves. http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/underworld/ - - Steve __________ Ultimately, the path Bush has led the United States down is not about weapons of mass destruction, Security Council Resolution 1441, weapons inspections, or disarmament. It has always been about regime change and using America's military power to enforce a world order deemed favorable to U.S. interests. - Charles V. Pena, Cato Institute ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 23:22:21 -0700 From: Barbara Soutar Subject: Black commentary on the neo-cons Here's a link to a Black online magazine http://www.blackcommentator.com/38/38_cover.html with an interesting point of view of the American imperialist takeover of Iraq. Basically it states that we are all rendered powerless if we assume that everything that has happened so far was cleverly intended by the American government. Lots of the chaos has not been a deliberate move, or planned in any way but is the result of clumsiness. The article states that for a time in American history many blacks assumed there was an organized white "conspiracy" against them but it turned out to be just a collection of random acts by separate white people. The most enlightening thing I've read today on the internet. Barbara Soutar Victoria, British Columbia ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 23:26:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: fish passage assessments "Rex.Broome" wrote: > Feg Film Comment: >>The new women-and-men-being-brutal-to-each-other film >>by Neil LaBute, in the mode of his past films "Your >>Friends & Neighbors" and "In the Company of Men." His >>dialogues about sexual politics are just incredibly >>electric. > > Or pedantic, didactic, high-school-nihilistic, dull and > self-important, depending on who you ask. I shouldn't > go farther since every time I state my opinion on this > guy I get stuck in one of those circular arguments where > someone insists that I "don't get it" because if I "got > it" I would understand that it was brilliant whether or > not I liked it. Nope, I get it, but I think it's poorly > done, and dammit, that's a legitimate point of view. Hey, it's at least junior college nihilisitic! :) I don't know that I would go as far as you do, but I definitely think that if you've seen on LaBute, you've pretty much seen it all. Men and women are far too frequently evil and vicious creatures, especially to each other in romantic relationships. Duh. Now we understand the Mormon church fucked up his world view and all, but he really ought to right a different movie one of these days. I do think the guy has talent, but he's pretty damn close to falling into self-parody at this point. > But yo, I'm finally gonna see "A Mighty Wind" tomorrow. It's great. Maybe not quite "Spinal Tap" or "Best in Show," but still terrific. Very funny, but it also have some nice bittersweet meloncholy moments as well. Got dragged to "Better Luck Tomorrow" a week or so ago, and while I liked it, I also think it's somewhat overrated under the auspices "Golly gee, angry disaffected Or-Eye-en'ls!" Still a good nihilistic teenage wasteland popcorn muncher. ===== "Being accused of hating America by people like Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham is like being accused of hating children by Michael Jackson or (Cardinal) Bernard Law." -- anonymous . __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 23:39:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: fish passage assessments Jeff Dwarf wrote: > but he > really ought to right a different movie one of these > days. And of course, he should also WRITE a different movie while righting it. He could also wright one at the same time, but that's optional. Pfffffft.... I blame Ellis Burks! ===== "Being accused of hating America by people like Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham is like being accused of hating children by Michael Jackson or (Cardinal) Bernard Law." -- anonymous . __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 10:15:16 -0500 From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: Black commentary on the neo-cons Quoting Barbara Soutar : > Here's a link to a Black online magazine > http://www.blackcommentator.com/38/38_cover.html > with an interesting > point of view of the American imperialist takeover of Iraq. > a time in American history many blacks assumed there was an organized > white "conspiracy" against them but it turned out to be just a > collection of random acts by separate white people. Not quite: your phrase overstates the "randomness" of what the article instead refers to as "institutional racism." Here's the relevant paragraph: "Then the [civil rights] movement foundered on the real rock of institutional racism, the deeply embedded, shared worldview of whites toward Blacks that causes whites to behave in amazingly similar, generally predictable ways, to the detriment of African Americans. Institutional racism requires no agreement or conscious conspiracy among whites to work its social pathologies in housing, criminal justice, etc. It may look like and coexist with actual, transient conspiracies, but is much more intractable." That is, white racism was (and is) a real thing; it just doesn't work as a conscious conspiracy. That's not at all the same thing as "a collection of random acts," as if it was sheer chance that caused an employer, say, not to hire a qualified black applicant. And it's harder to get rid of: unlike, say, the Ku Klux Klan, whose racial views are overt and clearly offensive (and the KKK knows they are), institutional racism is often furthered by white people who don't have the first clue that any of their actions have racist results, and who will claim they don't have a racially discriminatory bone in their bodies. And in the sense of consciously holding prejudice against blacks, etc., they may be correct. But that doesn't prevent their unawareness from having racist effects. And of course, there were organized racist efforts: Jim Crow laws, etc. Arguably, U.S. urban policy over the last fifty years has worked on the unstated assumption that the blacker and browner cities get, the less worthy they are of federal funding; and conversely, the more funding is funneled toward enablers of "white flight": freeways, suburbs, etc. Finally, the economics of racism are still firmly in place: black neighborhoods are undervalued by lenders (which of course causes a feedback cycle of devaluation), black borrowers are turned down for loans in similar economic circumstances to white borrowers whose loans are approved; and as a result, blacks have a far more difficult time building wealth than whites do (borrowing from equity, saving, etc.) And let's not even get started on law enforcement and the courts... ..Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ADS.html :: it's not your meat :: --Mr. Toad ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 15:56:49 -0400 From: marcytanter@hotmail.com Subject: Support the Freedom to Read! This item was forwarded to you from marcytanter@hotmail.com on the American Civil Liberties Union web site This item is also available on the web at: http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=12607&c=110 Support the Freedom to Read! May 17, 2003 With the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI gained the power to search your library and book-buying records without probable cause of any crime or intent to commit a crime. Furthermore, librarians and others who arerequired to turn over records are not allowed to say that the search has occurred or that records were given to the government.This means that average Americans could have their privacy violated wholesale without justification or proper judicial oversight. Questions from Members of Congress to the Department of Justice about the use of this power have gone unanswered or have received a superficial response.In response to these un-American and dangerous powers, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has proposed the "Freedom to Read Protection Act" (HR. 1157). This act would restrict the key provision of the USA PATRIOT Act -- by exempting libraries and bookstores from thelaws that allowthe FBI toconduct thesesearches of personal records.Take Action! Urge your Representatives to support the Freedom to Read Protection Act!This bill is part of the groundswell against the USA PATRIOT Act. Resolutions against the PATRIOT Act have passed in 104 communities in 24 states -- including one state-wide resolution in Hawaii. These communities represent approximately 11.1 million people who are concerned about the USA PATRIOT Act and its impacts on civil liberties. In response to one section of the PATRIOT Act alone, many librarians across the country have decided to put up signs warning patrons that the FBI may be snooping in their records.This billrestores constitutional protections. The Fourth Amendment guarantees protections from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Freedom to Read Protection Act will uphold the key principles of privacy and limited government power.This bill will prevent invasions of our privacy. The FBI has been aggressively using its new powers without providing Congress with explanations about its activities. A University of Illinois survey shows libraries were targeted at least 175 times in the year after 9/11 -- yet the FBI refuses to explain how or why.TAKE ACTION! Send a Free FAX in 2 Clicks! Enter Your Zip Code orEnter your 9 Digit Zip Code (zip + 4) Click Here to look up your Zip+4 What's This? ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V12 #179 ********************************