From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V12 #459 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, December 11 2003 Volume 12 : Number 459 Today's Subjects: ----------------- plowing through the resumes ["Fortissimo" ] Re: Reppiz on My Spine ["Maximilian Lang" ] Re: a few more job songs [grutness@surf4nix.com] In case folks forgot... [Eb ] Re: Regional conflicts [Capuchin ] Re: films and missed opportunities ["Matt Sewell" ] Re:looking for jobs ["Matt Sewell" ] RE: In case folks forgot... ["FS Thomas" ] Re: Regional conflicts ["Fortissimo" ] Re: a few more job songs [Michael R Godwin ] Re: a few more job songs [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: Regional conflicts [Christopher Gross ] LAPD (Los Angeles Pirate Department) ["Jason R. Thornton" ] Something completely different ["Marc Holden" ] RE: In case folks forgot... [Eb ] Re: Regional conflicts [Miles Goosens ] bizarre new lyric interpretation [grutness@surf4nix.com] Re: Regional conflicts [Capuchin ] Re: Reppiz on My Spine [Miles Goosens ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:02:31 -0600 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: plowing through the resumes Thanks to all for their suggestions on the "job" song thing. I have way more than enough to do a decent mix now - if you have any absolutely compelling suggestions, pass them along. Here are the few I thought of that I don't believe have been mentioned (sorry, Rex - I'm too lazy at the moment to reread all the posts I saved): The Clash "Career Opportunities" (did I miss this one?) Momus "Finnegan the Folk Hero" (surprised Miles didn't mention this one!) The Smiths "Work Is a Four-Letter Word" (*really* surprised no one mentioned this!) Sparks "Occupation" (not at all surprised no one mentioned this) The Police "Dead End Job" Nothing Painted Blue "Career Day" (I'm looking at you, Aaron...) And possibly, "A Little Priest" from _Sweeney Todd_ Likely many of these work more at the level of title - but hey. ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb :: --Batman ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 23:14:52 -0500 From: "Maximilian Lang" Subject: Re: Reppiz on My Spine >On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > > "Rex.Broome" wrote: > > > And nobody ever talks about how American book spines have the left of > > > the text at the top, continental European books have the left of the > > > text at the bottom, and the English, per "la vice Anglaise", appear > > > comfortable going either way. I would think the American fashion to make far more sense. When laying a book down with the cover up, the text on the spine would be right side up. Max _________________________________________________________________ Dont worry if your Inbox will max out while you are enjoying the holidays. Get MSN Extra Storage! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 17:48:58 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com Subject: Re: a few more job songs while driving around town, my sweetie and I started bandying around a few more work songs. Many of them are lost to me now (difficult to write while driving), but I don't think anyone has mentioned various armed forces related songs from WWII (like "Boogie woogie bugle boy", f'rinstance). I'm pretty sure none of the following have been mentioned yet: The milkman of human kindness - Billy Bragg Cleaning Windows - George Formby Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison Piano Man - Billy Joel Temporary Secretary - Paul McCartney I am a DJ - David Bowie I dream of wires - Robert Palmer Shayla - Blondie The hardest part - Blondie Pearl's a singer - (dammit - who did that one?) The businessmen - Blam Blam Blam A thing well made - Muttonbirds Do policemen sing? - Robert Hinchconk Nina pretty ballerina - Abba Manic Monday - Bangles This sporting life - Godley & Creme Steel monkey - Jethro Tull Working John, working Joe - Jethro Tull Bankrobber - Clash (possiblly the best IT song around) Networking - Warren Zevon (dare I mention it?) Convoy - C.W.McCall Please Mr. Postman - Beatles (can't remember who did the original) >On Dec 10, 2003, at 2:29 PM, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > >> Or even for _US_ ;) >> >> XTC also have: Making Plans for Nigel; Love on a >> Farmboy's Wages; Paper and Iron > >Plus Leisure, Andy's demo Work, and Day In, Day Out. if we're digging that far into them chalk hills, we should add "Work away, Tokyo day"! >>>I mean, it's not as weird as the last years of NEWHART, or as surreal as THE >>>YOUNG ONES or the 2nd year of the sadly ignored JOHN >>>LARROQUETTE SHOW, > >Oh ho, Miles pulls another one out of the Broome Family Guilty TV >Pleasures closet. FWIW, I though he was great in "Night Court" (one of my guilty pleasures) >> You kn bi laik Dzhordzh B. Shau and spel evrythyng fnetykli, but yr wrdz >> wyl bi mch hardr for pipl t rid. um sorry, you lost me. Which lake are you by again? 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: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 23:00:14 -0800 From: Eb Subject: In case folks forgot... ...I just glanced at that album poll on the Web. 47 voters? Come on, that's not even *half* of RH's remaining fans. ;) The top 10 rated albums: Underwater Moonlight (1980) A (96.8%) I Often Dream of Trains (1984) A (96.1%) Eye (1990) A- (94.7%) Element of Light (1986) A- (94.4%) Moss Elixir (1996) A- (93%) Nextdoorland (2002) A- (92.4%) Fegmania! (1985) B+ (91.5%) Black Snake Diamond Role (1981) B+ (91.1%) Queen Elvis (1989) B+ (90.9%) A Globe of Frogs (1988) B+ (89.9%) I'm not exactly sure how my own top 10 would go, but I'd probably drop Black Snake Diamond Role and Queen Elvis, and substitute Respect and A Can of Bees somewhere. Though I'm a bit fuzzy on Black Snake Diamond Role -- I'm due to give that another listen. From Jeffrey: >I'd be very surprised if anyone actually reads this sentence... I read this one. I skipped most of the previous ones, however. ;) Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 23:25:47 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Regional conflicts On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Fortissimo wrote: > I don't think "December 7, 2003" is an exception to any grammatical rule > - if only because the order of elements isn't a question of grammar but > of idiom (as you note). That is, writing "December 7" shouldn't be > notable at all - since it is (at least in the US) a standard way of > designating the date. (Note that I'm talking about writing, not > pronunciation - lest we raise the recently interred corpse of "December > seven" again.) It's not the writing or speaking of "December 7" that's a problem, but the use of the warped "December 7 2003" and the like. That ordering is probably the LEAST useful. And I believe the real discussion was about using cardinals instead of ordinals to identify dates. > I'd've written that last sentence as "If you really mean nothing other > than the literal date, then you should use the most common construction > of that date." Commonness, or standardization, trumps logic in > determining the most transparent language usage. OK, so the most common would be then "7 December 2003". And the one you suggested would still be weird. It's an uncommon idiom -- more common perhaps than "2003 7 December", but only that variant. J. - -- _______________________________________________ Capuchin capuchin@bitmine.net Jeme A Brelin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 10:32:44 +0000 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: Re: films and missed opportunities Indeed - I've also heard Canadians putting on American accents! Shocking... Cheers Matt >From: Devin Lee Ens > > > >Canadians put the date first, although many people tend to forget they're >Canadian and spell colour "color", organise "organize", and put the month >first. The media is only abetting this infiltration by foreign manners. > >devo pravda - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stay connected whilst on the move. Now you can get Hotmail sent directly to your mobile phone. Click here for details. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 10:36:25 +0000 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: RE: Working for the Weakened Absolutely Monday is, if unofficially, a weekend day, in almost exactly the same way as Friday... and um... sometimes Thursday! Cheers Matt PS Lobstermen get weekends now? >From: John Barrington Jones > >I'm a hard worker but I ain't workin on a Monday >Monday's still the weekend to me. > >=jbj= - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Have more fun with your mobile - add polyphonic ringtones, java games, celebrity voicemails and loads more! Click here for phone fun. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 10:38:58 +0000 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: Re:looking for jobs Yes, mass murder is less of a job, much more a vocation! Cheers Matt >From: Jeff Dwarf > > > I Don't Like Mondays -- Boomtown Rats -- no, that's > > school > >Nah, that's about killing people!! - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Have more fun with your mobile - add polyphonic ringtones, java games, celebrity voicemails and loads more! Click here for phone fun. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:43:24 -0500 From: "FS Thomas" Subject: RE: In case folks forgot... Sprachen Mein Eb: > > ...I just glanced at that album poll on the Web. 47 voters? Come on, > that's not even *half* of RH's remaining fans. ;) (Warning: geekspeak) I forgot to mention that if you have a dynamic IP you can re-take the test once your address changes. D'oh! Anyhow... Check it. http://www.ochremedia.com/Robyn_Poll - -Ferris "I Shouldda Done A Cookie" Thomas ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:25:51 -0600 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: Regional conflicts On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 23:25:47 -0800 (PST), "Capuchin" said: > On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Fortissimo wrote: > > I'd've written that last sentence as "If you really mean nothing other > > than the literal date, then you should use the most common construction > > of that date." Commonness, or standardization, trumps logic in > > determining the most transparent language usage. > > OK, so the most common would be then "7 December 2003". But not in the US, where far more people say "December 7th" than "7th December" or any other variation using cardinals or ordinals. Speaking of cardinals, who do you think's going to be the next pope? (desperate attempt to change subject) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: Solipsism is its own reward :: :: --Crow T. Robot ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 13:32:23 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: a few more job songs On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 grutness@surf4nix.com wrote: > Cleaning Windows - George Formby * Good one! You beat me to it by 24 hours. > Pearl's a singer - (dammit - who did that one?) * Elkie Brooks > Do policemen sing? - Robert Hinchconk * Haven't you heard the Welsh? They really do excel. > Please Mr. Postman - Beatles (can't remember who did the original) * The Marvelettes, 1961. Here are my submissions: Captain of your ship - Reperata and the Delrons Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man - Rolling Stones Mr Bus Driver - Bruce Channel I'm in love with the new teller - Jonathan Richman (maybe someone got this already?) If I were a carpenter - Tim Hardin Gamblin' Man - Lonnie Donegan Chicago Bound Blues - Bessie Smith ("It was a mean old fireman and a cruel old engineer" - this lyric may even go back before Bessie Smith) I'm an old cowhand from the Rio Grande - Johnny Mercer (did Dan Hicks do this one, or was it Commander Cody?) Toreador - Bizet Hotel Chambermaid - Graham Parker Human Error - Graham Parker (mordant about Bean Counters) Willin' - Little Feat ("Driven ev'ry kind of rig that's ever been made") The daring young man on the flying trapeze - George Leybourne, 1868, apparently - - MRG n.p. A brass band doing Stille Nacht outside my office window. Whoops, they've gone on to As with gladness men of old... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 05:57:57 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: a few more job songs grutness@surf4nix.com wrote: > I'm pretty sure none of the following have been > mentioned yet: > > The milkman of human kindness - Billy Bragg I don't really think this is a work song; it's just a song that uses a particular occupation as a metaphor for being a caring and attentive lover. > Please Mr. Postman - Beatles (can't remember who did > the original) The Marvellettes!! And wasn't "Work is a Four Letter Word" done by Cilla Black before Morrissey forced Johnny Marr's resignation by having The Smiths record it? ===== "Senator John McCain recently compared the situation in Iraq to the Vietnam era -- to which President Bush replied, 'What does Iraq have in common with drinking beer in Texas?'" -- Craig Kilborn "I don't think the Bush administration lied to us about Iraq. I think it's worse than that. I think they fooled themselves. I think they were conned by Ahmad Chalabi. I think they indulged in wishful thinking to a point of near criminality. I think they decided anyone who didn't agree with them was an enemy, anti-American, disloyal. In other words, I think they're criminally stupid." -- Molly Ivins __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 10:53:23 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: Regional conflicts On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Capuchin wrote: > On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Fortissimo wrote: > > > December seven and seven December are both common. I don't know why > > > folks like Chris and Miles claim to have never heard it. Could be > > > that folks in the East are more limited in their date expressions. > > > > I rarely hear either of those as well (here in the Midwest). > > Could be that you, like Chris mentioned, hear it and assume the "th" was > intended, but not strongly vocalized... And it could be that Chris's assumption is correct! Stranger things have happened. (Well, equally strange.) If anyone out there on the west coast is *really* interested, I'd suggest an experiment: ask a random group of people who seem to say "December seven" if they think they're actually saying "seven" or "seventh." (And again, you might also ask them if they say "December one" or "December first." If they use an ordinal number for the first day of the month, I'd think they'd probably if not definitely use them for the other days too.) - --Chris ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 09:06:53 -0800 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: LAPD (Los Angeles Pirate Department) http://tinyurl.com/yn8w - --Jason "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 11:32:17 -0600 From: "Iosso, Ken" Subject: Best Songs of 03 Well as half the people on this list are putting together their mixed cds I must ask - in case I've missed something great what are your top 5 songs of 2003 (they could be things you discovered in '03 even though they're from another year). 5 of mine are: So Says I - The Shins Westby - Kathleen Edwards Wrapped in Books - Belle & Sebastian Bad Day - REM By the Time It Gets Dark - Yo La Tengo Ken Iosso - -----Original Message----- From: ross taylor [mailto:protay5@eudoramail.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 1:54 PM To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Subject: Re:looking for jobs I swore off list emails but I'm weak willed. At My Job -- Dead Kennedys Found a Job -- Talking Heads Career Opportunities -- Clash Call My Job -- Albert King Lost My Job -- Alex Chilton Job's Tears -- Incredible String Band -- no, drop that one Let's Work Together -- Canned Heat Birth School Work Death -- Godfathers Why Paddy Can't Come to Work Today -- Traditional Sixteen Tons -- Tennessee Ernie Ford Take This Job and Shove It -- Johnny Paycheck Earn Enough for Life -- XTC Step Into My Office, Baby -- Belle & Sebastian You Never Give Me Your Money -- Beatles Frankly, Mr. Shankley -- Smiths Here Comes the Weekend -- Dave Edmonds Welcome to the Working Week -- Elvis Costello Taking Care of Business -- Bachman Turner Overdrive 5:15 -- Who (if people remember the movie) A Secretary is Not A Toy -- Frank Loesser ("How To Succeed In Business w/out Really Trying") Government Center -- Modern Lovers Working for the Corporation -- M Factory Girl -- Rolling Stones I Don't Like Mondays -- Boomtown Rats -- no, that's school Maybe 1/4 of all rock songs? Ross Taylor Need a new email address that people can remember Check out the new EudoraMail at http://www.eudoramail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 13:00:14 -0700 From: "Marc Holden" Subject: Something completely different In case your week hasn't included enough Laibach or marching/dancing kittens... http://www.rathergood.com/laibach/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 12:26:43 -0800 From: Eb Subject: RE: In case folks forgot... >Sprachen Mein Eb: >> >> ...I just glanced at that album poll on the Web. 47 voters? Come on, >> that's not even *half* of RH's remaining fans. ;) > >(Warning: geekspeak) I forgot to mention that if you have a dynamic IP >you can re-take the test once your address changes. Why would you encourage folks to take the test more than once, thus warping the accuracy of the results? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 16:51:07 -0600 From: Miles Goosens Subject: Re: Regional conflicts At 06:20 PM 12/10/2003 -0800, Capuchin wrote: >On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Miles Goosens wrote: > >> At 05:28 AM 12/10/2003 -0800, Capuchin wrote: >> >December seven and seven December are both common. I don't know why >> >folks like Chris and Miles claim to have never heard it. Could be that >> >folks in the East are more limited in their date expressions. > >I do (and did) kind of see how >someone could take the word "limited" to be a dig... I knew it wasn't and >was kind of purposely leaving it there as a joking dig (a joke because >it's a stupid thing for a person to consider a point of pride) but still a >secondary meaning. It didn't scan as a joke to me. As much as I get tired of emoticons, they have their purposes. But I was more bothered by the apparent suggestion that neither Chris nor I know what we know. It was as though you had gone beyond simply telling us what to do, and had moved on to telling us what's actually in our heads. >First, I don't see what I wrote was any kind of proscription. I was >writing about how something IS DONE. I did go on to write about how one >way of doing things makes a whole lot less sense, but I don't see how >stating an opinion is any kind of prohibition. It's tone. Jeme, practically everything you write comes across not as an opinion, but as you *telling* people what to think, say, and do. You're not just proscriptive about language, you're proscriptive about *everything* from software to department stores to whether humans should inhabit the greater Los Angeles area. You're always too ready to generalize from your own experiences, and you're so convinced of your beliefs that you seem to have a very hard time understanding why anyone else would see things differently. You come across not like a guy just stating his own point of view, but as a condescending know-it-all. If this is not how you want to appear, then I suggest that you rethink how you express yourself to other people. Of course, your fellow Fegs have been telling you this for *years* to little avail, so I'm not sure why I'm taking a shot at it now. But I just did. tilting at windmills, Miles ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2003 12:05:20 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com Subject: bizarre new lyric interpretation >Birdshead grow on my shoulder >And when I'm older wither and die > >Birdshead, on the horizon >I've got my eyes on some other sky > >Birdshead, under volcanos >What does the day know? Why does it try? > >Birdshead, with your round black shiny eye >Birdshead, what do you know about the sky? > >Birdshead, tiny white fingers >Archaeology lingers under my eye > >Birdshead, with your round black shiny eye >Birdshead, silhouetted on the sky > >Birdshead grow on my shoulder >And when I'm older wither and die I've just been reading a book on palaeontology which mentioned the fact that the first name given to the pterodactyl - before anyone realised that it was a reptile - was ornithocephalus ("Bird's head"). Given the popular artists interpretations of these creatures, several of the verses make a lot of sense... could it be? oh, and the book also shows a picture of an expert on pterosaur flight called Stephen Winkworth - any relation? 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: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 15:36:48 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Regional conflicts On Thu, 11 Dec 2003, Miles Goosens wrote: > It's tone. Jeme, practically everything you write comes across not as > an opinion, but as you *telling* people what to think, say, and do. Well, that's exactly how it always breaks down. The problem is that folks can't express to me what words convey that meaning... how is this "tone" conveyed? > You're always too ready to generalize from your own experiences, and > you're so convinced of your beliefs that you seem to have a very hard > time understanding why anyone else would see things differently. Well, my own experiences are really all I've got to generalize on... and when someone else shares their experiences, I certainly take them under advisement. That said, I will tell you that I'm first going to attempt to reinterpret their statements of experience within my own frame of reference. If I can find rationale beyond the facts that differs from that of the person relating the experience and is consistent with my own beliefs, I'll take that as truth more readily than the other person's. It's not that I have a hard time understanding why other people hold their opinions. I don't think that's it so much as I have to have some kind of solid reason to change my opinions beyond the knowledge that someone has a different opinion. I want to know WHY these other opinions are held and what reasons the other person has for holding those opinions. If there is something that directly contradicts my current beliefs and can be interpreted no other way, I'll try to find a new understanding of things that isn't contradictory, of course. But I'm genuinely interested in trying to find out what other people believe and why. When I disagree with someone, it's pretty much always in an attempt to bring the both of us to a better understanding that would naturally be agreement. Either we have different factually experiences or different interpretations of similar experiences and the reasons for those differences need to be ferretted out so we can see if one of us is making a mistake (acting under flawed reasoning) or if we just have fundamentally different assumptions about right and wrong, good and bad (but that also usually means we need to figure out why and work toward better understanding and agreement). I DO firmly believe in my opinions. I don't see how a person could live otherwise. But that doesn't mean I don't think they COULD be wrong. Heck, I've been proven wrong lots of times... but then I change my view and I'm not wrong anymore. In fact, I get to believe in the new thing much more strongly because it has withstood very strong attacks of skepticism. > You come across not like a guy just stating his own point of view, but > as a condescending know-it-all. But everyone's just stating their own point of view all the time! When something's the matter of opinion, you can't possibly take it personally, can you? > If this is not how you want to appear, then I suggest that you rethink > how you express yourself to other people. I'm working on that, of course! I mentioned that on this list a few weeks (months?) ago. But I need more than just "it's tone" in order to do that. I need to know what's coming across that shouldn't be. When I explained why I wrote that you "claim" to have never heard that one expression, did that make sense? Do you understand now? I mean, lots of folks on this list have written that they've heard the expression on television and you and Chris talk about watching more television than pretty much anybody on this list, so it just doesn't make sense that you've NEVER heard it. More likely, you don't remember hearing it. It never registered. That means something, though. It doesn't mean you're wrong or crazy. Your memory is relevant to the discussion. But I don't think it makes sense to take the claim as absolute fact. It seems to me that you're wanting me to take greater pains to show that statements are subjective, but you're upset with me for taking pains to show that statements are subjective. J. - -- _______________________________________________ Capuchin capuchin@bitmine.net Jeme A Brelin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 17:40:34 -0600 From: Miles Goosens Subject: Re: Reppiz on My Spine At 03:18 PM 12/10/2003 -0800, Rex.Broome wrote: >>>I mean, it's not as weird as the last years of NEWHART, or as surreal as THE >>>YOUNG ONES or the 2nd year of the sadly ignored JOHN >>>LARROQUETTE SHOW, > >Oh ho, Miles pulls another one out of the Broome Family Guilty TV Pleasures >closet. To this day we still quote the "Laroquette Dates a Chick in His >Writing Class Only to Realize He's the Subject of Her Character Study" >episode. To wit: "Yes, yes, she was a psycho bitch. A real, real >psycho... (turns page)... bitch." Errrr... guess you had to see it. That was excellent. My favorite two moments were: * the bit o' business where we discover why Oscar says God is commanding him to bring God coffee. * when Alison LaPlaca broke character to mention in her litany o' woe that she co-starred in not just one but *two* Tom Arnold sitcoms. Poor Alison. I guess Paula Marshall has become the Alison LaPlaca of this generation. Joanna Gleason's run of bad sitcom luck (i.e., funny & talented lass always stuck on a show that's bad, low-rated, or both) has them both whipped, though. Anyway, LARROQUETTE... funny, funny show. >>>>>Especially since the hardcore DA crowd felt that their show was sacrificed >>>>>to Joss Whedon as a political move on Fox's part. > >>>If true, that must have been quite the passing fancy, given that they canned >>>FIREFLY after only half a season. [other true things snipped] > >Absolutely, it made no sense, but these are nerds I'm talking about. I >think it had to do with the fact that the cancellation of DA happened at >waaayyy the last minute and around the same time that Fox was courting >Whedon. I was enough of a DA fan to be checking up on the renewal status >and see the uproar, but by no means do I think it held any water. I'm sorry if you read that as me arguing with you -- I was arguing with that silly theory. I didn't see you as advocating that view at all, and I'm glad to see I was right. >>>I'm counting the days until you get hooked on BUFFY. I share your dislike >>>of High School As Easy Trope, but there are exceptions, y'know. > >Prolly won't be long. An increasingly close friend is going to require this >of me very soon, I think. Again, Buffy 'n' me, it was mostly timing. I >know fans have differing opinions of the various seasons, but at about the >time I was willing to bite the bullet, all the fans I know said it was going >to hell and not to bother. So I skipped another season only to have >everyone get back on board more enthusiastic than ever. Always jumping on >the wrong train, me. Chris Gross is absolutely, positively right about starting at the beginning. We really started watching it at the end of Season 3, and somehow got hooked even without a lot of context, but when FX got the BUFFY rights, oh my, those Season 4 & 5 first-run episodes we had just watched got even better when we could now "get" a lot of the references, motivations, and additional implications of what sounded to us like innocent throwaway lines the first time. Retrospectively, I'm not as keen on Season Seven (the final season), which in turn has put a dent in my defense of Season Six, which in turn rested on me believing that a lot of the lonnnng arcs of the Season Six were setting up the dominos for Season Seven, which in turn never got around to knocking most of them down. But even with those complaints, Seasons Six and Seven whup up on most other things and are packed with absolutely essential moments. Plus Season Six has the musical episode and starts 'n' ends really well. >but... umm... and not to be a fegnazi, Weren't they signed to DischOI!d? later, Miles ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V12 #459 ********************************