From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V13 #48 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Wednesday, February 18 2004 Volume 13 : Number 048 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Bizarro-world news? [Eb ] Re: Bizarro-world news? [Tom Clark ] Re: Statuesque [Eb ] reap ["Jason R. Thornton" ] Re: reap [Christopher Gross ] Particle Woman ["The Mammal Brain" ] Not Shaolin, Segway [steve ] You're soaking in it (reap) [Eb ] Re: You're soaking in it (reap) [Sebastian Hagedorn ] RE: Bizarro-world news? ["Matt Sewell" ] Re: oh, and another reap ["Fortissimo" ] Re: Not Shaolin, Segway ["Jonathan Fetter" ] RE: Bizarro-world news? [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: Bunnymen Ripped Off [Jeff Dwarf ] reap ["Fortissimo" ] reap [] REAP - Madge ["Jay Lyall" ] Lobsterman for President! ["Eugene Hopstetter, Jr." ] Re: oh, and another reap [Tom Clark ] Coffin? You're lying in it (formerly Re: You're soaking in it (reap)) [F] Re: Bunnymen Ripped Off [Miles Goosens ] REAP - French [] Re: REAP - French [Caroline Smith ] Re: REAP - French [Tom Clark ] RE: oh, and another reap ["Brian Huddell" ] RE: oh, and another reap [Eb ] Re: REAP - French ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Hm [Eb ] RE: oh, and another reap [Eb ] Re: oh, and another reap ["Palle Hoffstein" ] Re: REAP - French ["Palle Hoffstein" ] Re: REAP - French [Christopher Gross ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 12:43:41 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Bizarro-world news? FAIRPORT CONVENTION star turned soccer coach RICHARD THOMPSON has signaled out ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER's son for some "sadistic extra drills" - because he's a "selfish player". Thompson, who is now coaching a Los Angeles Under-12 team, was unaware one of his players - WOLFGANG - was the son of the TERMINATOR star until the new Californian Governor made a spectacular entrance to one of his practice sessions. The singer-songwriter says, "A thunder of engines and screeching of tyres makes every head turn and play grinds to a halt. A procession of five HumVs, accompanied by four CHP motorcycle outriders, makes it way down the long, sloping approach to our soccer field. "The kids' jaws are agape, and our Governor steps out and lighting up a ROMEO JULIETTA (cigar), strides over. 'I was just passing, so I thought I'd drop off Wolfgang's shinpads,' says Arnold." After requesting permission to stay and watch the practice session, Schwarzenegger - a keen soccer player in his own youth - then tried to exert his influence over Thompson. However, Thompson, already annoyed at the high-profile interruption, ignored the action star's suggestions for his son after noting Wolfgang's ball-hogging play. He adds, "Arnie comes over to me and says, sotto voce, that Wolfie likes to play striker, preferably at old-fashioned centre-forward. I say, quietly fuming, that I'll see what I can do. "Practice is a farce from this point on - most kids being too distracted by pomp and the hype of it all to concentrate. One thing I do learn - young Wolfie is a bit of a ball-hog. "I have a few painful and sadistic extra drills for selfish players." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 12:57:12 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Bizarro-world news? on 2/17/04 12:43 PM, Eb at ElBroome@earthlink.net wrote: > FAIRPORT CONVENTION star turned soccer coach RICHARD THOMPSON has > signaled out ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER's son for some "sadistic extra > drills" - because he's a "selfish player". > etc... Come on, Eb. We all know you made that up. - -tc, tutoring Van Damme's daughter in C programming. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 13:35:42 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Statuesque >"Ton Of Feathers, Ton Of Steel" is from Statuesque's EP Angleterre, which >(like their first album) came out on a Boston label called Cassiel. >Cassiel is defunct and the record is hard to find. Well worth the effort, >though. I have a copy of this which I don't need...if someone wants to send me a few bucks for it, let me know. ;p Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 15:36:14 -0800 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: reap Angel http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=494&ncid=762&e=8&u=/ap/20040217/ap_en_tv/tv_angel_cancelled - --Jason, the human with no soul "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 19:22:00 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: reap On Tue, 17 Feb 2004, Jason R. Thornton wrote: > Angel Here, thanks to the magic of cut and paste, is Joss Whedon's comment on Angel's cancellation, from www.bronzebeta.com: Some of you may have heard the hilarious news. I thought this would be a good time to weigh in. to answer some obvious questions: No, we had no idea this was coming. Yes, we will finish out the season. No, I don't think the WB is doing the right thing. Yes, I'm grateful they did it early enough for my people to find other jobs. Yes, my heart is breaking. When Buffy ended, I was tapped out and ready to send it off. When Firefly got the axe, I went into a state of denial so huge it may very well cause a movie. But Angel... we really were starting to feel like we were on top, hitting our stride -- and then we strode right into the Pit of Snakes 'n' Lava. I'm so into these characters, these actors, the situations we're building... you wanna know how I feel? Watch the first act of "The Body." As far as TV movies or whatever, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I actually hope my actors and writers are all too busy. We always planned this season finale to be a great capper to the season and the show in general. (And a great platform for a new season, of course.) We'll proceed ahead as planned. I've never made mainstream TV very well. I like surprises, and TV isn't about surprises, unless the surprise is who gets voted off of something. I've been lucky to sneak this strange, strange show over the airwaves for as long as I have. I don't FEEL lucky, but I understand that I am. Thanks all for your support, your community, and your perfectly sane devotion. It's meant a lot. I regret nothing (except the string of grisley murders in the 80's -- what was THAT all about?) Remember the words of the poet: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." See you soon. - -j. ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 18:21:46 -0800 From: "The Mammal Brain" Subject: Particle Woman just picked up from the library a copy of last year's ryko comp entitled *Big Star Story*. included in the liner notes is one of those family-tree/timline charts. there's an entry for the soft boys, which reads: early robyn hitchcock vehicle, they recorded a lot, but only a few albums were released during the band's lifetime. the rhythm section backed chilton on his *Live In London* record. that last is briefly discussed in a 1993 interview with andy & morris at . _________________________________________________________________ Dream of owning a home? Find out how in the First-time Home Buying Guide. http://special.msn.com/home/firsthome.armx ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 21:16:15 -0600 From: steve Subject: Not Shaolin, Segway Football playing Segways - On the other hand, the lying Miramax bastards never released this - - - Steve __________ loquat embed panda dane dilogarithm allyn ackerman clime debenture funeral firelight abreact ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:15:55 -0800 From: Eb Subject: You're soaking in it (reap) Jan Miner, who had a long career on the New York stage but was best known as Madge the Manicurist in Palmolive commercials, died on Sunday in Bethel, Conn. She was 86 and lived in nearby Southbury. She had been in failing health for several years and died at the Bethel Health Care Facility, said her New York agent, Michael Thomas. From the 1940's to the 1980's, Ms. Miner was never far from productions on and off Broadway or on out-of-town stages, from New Haven and Stratford, Conn., to St. Louis. She was also on radio programs, including the popular "Boston Blackie" series as Richard Kollmar's leading lady in the late 1940's, and appeared in films and in television plays and series. The Palmolive commercials featured Ms. Miner as Madge, who praised the gentleness of its dish detergent to a customer surprised to find that her hands were soaking in it. She played the character for 27 years. Meanwhile she appeared in repertory productions at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford for six seasons. She frequently shared the stage with her husband of 35 years, Richard Merrell, an actor and writer, who died in 1988. Among her later appearances on Broadway were roles in revivals of "The Women" in 1973, Lillian Hellman's "Watch on the Rhine" in 1980 and "Heartbreak House" at the Circle in the Square Theater in 1983 and 1984. Janice Miner was born on Oct. 15, 1917, in Boston, the daughter of a dentist and a painter. She studied at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and trained for the stage with Lee Strasberg, among others. She made her stage debut in Boston in Elmer Rice's "Street Scene" in 1945 and in New York as Maria Louvin in "Obligatoo" in 1948. She was seen with Rex Harrison in "Heartbreak House" and with Jane Alexander in "The Heiress." Other roles were in "Othello," "Major Barbara" and Franco Zeffirelli's productions of "Saturday, Sunday, Monday" and "Lady of the Camellias." With her husband she appeared in "The Gin Game" at the Missouri Repertory Theater. Her film credits included "Lenny," with Dustin Hoffman, and "Mermaids," with Cher. Her many roles as a guest star on television included a recent appearance on "Law and Order." Ms. Miner is survived by a brother, Donald Miner, of Concord, N.H. She made the Palmolive commercials in French, German, Danish and Italian. The legendary actress Eva Le Gallienne coached her in French. "I'd dip my hands in Palmolive the rest of my life," Ms. Miner once said, because it left her free to pick and choose her theater roles. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:44:59 +0100 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: Re: You're soaking in it (reap) - -- Eb is rumored to have mumbled on Mittwoch, 18. Februar 2004 0:15 Uhr -0800 regarding You're soaking in it (reap): > She made the Palmolive commercials in French, German, Danish and Italian. I had no idea they were internationally produced or even that the slogan existed in other countries! They were such a staple of my childhood: "Sie baden Ihre Hdnde drin!" ... - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156, 50823 Kvln, Germany http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ "Being just contaminates the void" - Robyn Hitchcock ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:45:05 -0800 From: Eb Subject: oh, and another reap Doris Troy. I don't know much about her, beyond that she's "soul," that she released an album on Apple Records and that she's the female voice on Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky." Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:38:28 +0000 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: RE: Bizarro-world news? Eb, have you recently moved to the universe next door? Or even the universe a few universes along? Oh, and it's not soccer - it's FOOTBALL - soccer is just short for Association in the same way as rugger is short for (well, you know what I mean) Rugby... Of course now I'm typing it, it seems utterly bizzare that I find it strange that Richard Thompson is a football coach, but perfectly reasonable that Arnie is governor of CA... Cheers Matt >From: Eb >Reply-To: Eb >To: fgz >Subject: Bizarro-world news? >Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 12:43:41 -0800 > > FAIRPORT CONVENTION star turned soccer coach RICHARD THOMPSON has >signaled out ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER's son for some "sadistic extra >drills" - because he's a "selfish player". > Thompson, who is now coaching a Los Angeles Under-12 team, was >unaware one of his players - WOLFGANG - was the son of the TERMINATOR >star until the new Californian Governor made a spectacular entrance >to one of his practice sessions. > The singer-songwriter says, "A thunder of engines and screeching of >tyres makes every head turn and play grinds to a halt. A procession >of five HumVs, accompanied by four CHP motorcycle outriders, makes it >way down the long, sloping approach to our soccer field. > "The kids' jaws are agape, and our Governor steps out and lighting >up a ROMEO JULIETTA (cigar), strides over. 'I was just passing, so I >thought I'd drop off Wolfgang's shinpads,' says Arnold." > After requesting permission to stay and watch the practice session, >Schwarzenegger - a keen soccer player in his own youth - then tried >to exert his influence over Thompson. > However, Thompson, already annoyed at the high-profile >interruption, ignored the action star's suggestions for his son after >noting Wolfgang's ball-hogging play. > He adds, "Arnie comes over to me and says, sotto voce, that Wolfie >likes to play striker, preferably at old-fashioned centre-forward. I >say, quietly fuming, that I'll see what I can do. > "Practice is a farce from this point on - most kids being too >distracted by pomp and the hype of it all to concentrate. One thing I >do learn - young Wolfie is a bit of a ball-hog. > "I have a few painful and sadistic extra drills for selfish players." - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Find out more about the new range of Premium Web services from MSN. Click here for more information. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 07:23:01 -0600 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: oh, and another reap On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:45:05 -0800, "Eb" said: > Doris Troy. > > I don't know much about her, beyond that she's "soul," that she > released an album on Apple Records and that she's the female voice on > Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky." She also did the original version of "Just One Look," later covered by the Hollies. - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: crumple zones:: :: harmful or fatal if swallowed :: :: small-craft warning :: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 08:47:48 -0500 (EST) From: "Jonathan Fetter" Subject: Re: Not Shaolin, Segway > On the other hand, the lying Miramax bastards never released this - > > Best soccer/kung fu movie ever! ...and maybe Jiou Shing-tz's best, out of like 500 movies. Jon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 05:55:05 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: RE: Bizarro-world news? Matt Sewell wrote: > Oh, and it's not soccer - it's FOOTBALL - soccer is just > short for Association in the same way as rugger is short > for (well, you know what I mean) Rugby... Jeeezus, would you like some cheese with yer whine? > Of course now I'm typing it, it seems utterly bizzare > that I find it strange that Richard Thompson is a > football coach, but perfectly reasonable that Arnie is > governor of CA... I'd rather have Governor Thompson with Arnold coaching his kid's soccer team. ===== "Life is just a series of dogs." -- George Carlin __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 06:08:16 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: Bunnymen Ripped Off Miles Goosens wrote: > While I hate this for fans who ordered things from > bunnymen.com, somewhere Julian Cope is remembering a heap > of cargo netting and laughing his ass off. Perhaps, but somewhere Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant can smile knowing they never fucked up recording "Read it in Books" ===== "Life is just a series of dogs." -- George Carlin __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 08:55:01 -0600 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: reap Howard Dean's presidential campaign - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: crumple zones:: :: harmful or fatal if swallowed :: :: small-craft warning :: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:53:44 -0500 From: Subject: reap [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 08:55 , Fortissimo sent: >Howard Dean's presidential campaign i don't like praising a political party, but i gotta thank the democrats for not nominating dean and for once again not allowing gephardt to think he matters. and of course we can't forget who has helped keep kennedy in a place where his worth is exceeded only by how much he thinks he is worth. gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:28:26 -0600 From: "Jay Lyall" Subject: REAP - Madge Jan Miner http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/18/obit.miner.ap/index.html - ---------------------------------------- Jay Lyall - Houston, Texas "Making people laugh is the lowest form of comedy." - Mike Donohue http://www.johnkerry.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:09:42 -0600 From: "Eugene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: Lobsterman for President! Finally, a candidate we can all get behind: I'd vote for him, if his running mate were a big bowl of melted butter with Tabasco in it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:47:27 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: You're soaking in it (reap) on 2/18/04 12:15 AM, Eb at ElBroome@earthlink.net wrote: > Jan Miner, who had a long career on the New York stage but was best known as > Madge the Manicurist in Palmolive commercials, died on Sunday in Bethel, Conn. > She was 86 and lived in nearby Southbury. > > She had been in failing health for several years and died at the Bethel Health > Care Facility, said her New York agent, Michael Thomas. Having spent my high school years in Bethel, I can see why people would go there to die. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:50:20 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: oh, and another reap on 2/18/04 12:45 AM, Eb at ElBroome@earthlink.net wrote: > Doris Troy. > > I don't know much about her, beyond that she's "soul," that she > released an album on Apple Records and that she's the female voice on > Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky." > She also contributed some outstanding vocals on Nick Drake's "Bryter Layter". See "Poor Boy" for an example. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:54:46 -0500 From: FSThomas Subject: Coffin? You're lying in it (formerly Re: You're soaking in it (reap)) Tom Clark wrote: > Having spent my high school years in Bethel, I can see why people would go > there to die. I lived in Southbury right before moving to Atlanta. While I never mingled with the geriatric jet set, my mother apparently knew her. - -ferris. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:03:00 -0600 From: Miles Goosens Subject: Re: Bunnymen Ripped Off At 06:08 AM 2/18/2004 -0800, Jeff Dwarf wrote: >Miles Goosens wrote: >> While I hate this for fans who ordered things from >> bunnymen.com, somewhere Julian Cope is remembering a heap >> of cargo netting and laughing his ass off. > >Perhaps, but somewhere Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant can >smile knowing they never fucked up recording "Read it in Books" Item #3,921 under "Things Miles Never Knew Before He Got on the Internet": that there were people who disliked either version (Bunnymen or Teardrop Explodes) of "Read It in Books" later, Miles ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:39:37 -0500 From: Subject: REAP - French [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/18/leisure.obrien.reut/index.html this is pretty damn funny, except i think conan might be sincere in his redress. i guess that makes it not so funny. the outrage was apparently directly in regard to these two lines. "You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." "I can smell your crotch from here." Alexa McDonough, a legislator for the left-leaning New Democratic Party, described the program as "racist filth" and "utterly vile." - reuters hell the French might not be half bad if they'd just stop speaking french and talk like the rest of us. it's funny seeing all the french signs in places where probably 99 percent of the french speakers can read and speak english. British Columbia hasn't been infected yet but i believe everything east of there has. how does BC get away with not having to print everything in french? gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 14:08:09 -0500 From: Caroline Smith Subject: Re: REAP - French On Feb 18, 2004, at 1:39 PM, wrote: > > hell the French might not be half bad if they'd just stop speaking > french and > talk like the rest of us. The rest of us? lol That email was a joke, right? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:22:05 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: REAP - French on 2/18/04 10:39 AM, gshell@americangroupisp.com at gshell@americangroupisp.com wrote: > > how does BC get away with not having to print everything in french? > If I'm not mistaken, the only province that is required to be bilingual is Quebec. Everywhere else they do it as a convenience. Kinda like here in the Bay Area, where lots of signs are printed in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Klingon, etc... Le tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:32:28 -0600 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: RE: oh, and another reap > Doris Troy. > > I don't know much about her, beyond that she's "soul," that she > released an album on Apple Records and that she's the female voice on > Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky." Not the soloist, surely? I seem to remember through the dope-fog something about a Claire Torry. Too lazy to look it up but maybe someone knows... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:53:20 -0800 From: Eb Subject: RE: oh, and another reap > > Doris Troy. >> >> I don't know much about her, beyond that she's "soul," that she >> released an album on Apple Records and that she's the female voice on >> Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky." > >Not the soloist, surely? I seem to remember through the dope-fog something >about a Claire Torry. Too lazy to look it up but maybe someone knows... You know, I think you're right. I saw someone elsewhere make the Pink Floyd reference, and it went against my instincts but I quoted it anyway. Phooey. But sometimes I get that vocalist mixed up with whoever that singer is who used to sing with Billy Bragg. I'll go look up HER name now. Poor Lorelei...she had me all dewy last night.... Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 15:00:24 -0500 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: REAP - French Tom Clark wrote: > > If I'm not mistaken, the only province that is required to > be bilingual is Quebec. Oh, I wish that 'Of Montreal' Ross O were here to explain. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province. Beyond that, I wouldn't venture to suppose. As regards cereal ingredients, everyone's bilingual here. The fawning over Conan O'Brien was pathetic. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:04:10 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Hm AllMusic.com lists both Doris Troy *and* Claire Torry appearing on Dark Side of the Moon. Maybe Torry did "Great Gig in the Sky," and Troy is just someone singing in the general backing chorus? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:06:30 -0800 From: Eb Subject: RE: oh, and another reap > > But sometimes I get that vocalist mixed up with whoever that singer >> is who used to sing with Billy Bragg. I'll go look up HER name now. > >Cara Tivey? That's her.... Jeez, no wonder I got her mixed up with Claire Torry! Didn't recall the names being so similar. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:19:33 -0800 From: "Palle Hoffstein" Subject: Re: oh, and another reap Checking this out on www.allmusic.com (my fave web page if there is one) shows Doris Troy listed as "background vocals" and Claire Torry listed as "vocals" on "Dark Side." So I would suppose from that that "Great Gig In The Sky" is Torry. Palle - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eb" To: "fgz" Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 12:06 PM Subject: RE: oh, and another reap > > > But sometimes I get that vocalist mixed up with whoever that singer > >> is who used to sing with Billy Bragg. I'll go look up HER name now. > > > >Cara Tivey? > > That's her.... Jeez, no wonder I got her mixed up with Claire Torry! > Didn't recall the names being so similar. > > Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:36:17 -0800 From: "Palle Hoffstein" Subject: Re: REAP - French > how does BC get away with not having to print everything in french? > > gSs We don't. All road signs, and all government printed documents are in both English and French. All governmant employees (Federal and Provincial) in BC are required to be bilingual, same as the rest of Canada. In fact, the only province where you don't have to be bilingual is Quebec, where putting English on a sign is a legal offence. (Quebec's draconian language laws are listed as Human Rights Violations by many international bodies.) Plus manufactured goods and instructions must all be bilingual in all provinces, so imported goods get stickers with the ingredients in French slapped on them, and all locally made stuff is bilungual. So the bag of potato chips in front of me right now says both "Classic Potato Chips" and "Croustilles Classique." Truth be told though, the tests that one takes to prove that you speak French are really easy, and most "bilingual" speakers in the BC government offices only have rudimentary French. French is mandatory in high school for three years, but most people forget 99% of it in a few years out of lack of use. I've retained a bit of French from studying wine, reading history and watching hockey games on the French channel. It seems a bit crazy to us. In a way I like it - it's one of those things that's just very Canadian. But in BC, French is behind Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi, German, Vietnamese and Italian in total number of speakers. Walking around Vancouver I hear lots of Chinese dialects and a great deal of Spanish. But I almost never hear French, and when I do, they're usually tourists. Palle (born and raised in Vancouver) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 16:11:42 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: REAP - French Is bilingual signage actually illegal in Quebec? I had picked up the impression that it was allowed as long as the French portion was at least as large/prominent as the English part, and that monolingual French signs were permitted while monolingual English signs were verboten. But now that I think about it, that impression is just based on a couple of half-remembered newspaper articles. Personally, I think the whole problem could best be resolved by converting all signage to be monolingual in Welsh. But that's just me. - --Chris, who also enjoys seeing the Amharic store and restaurant signs on 18th St. ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V13 #48 *******************************