From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V16 #59 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, February 22 2007 Volume 16 : Number 059 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: I'm Just a Girl... [Tom Clark ] Re: I'm Just a Girl... [Steve Talkowski ] RE: I'm Just a Girl... ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: Evolution of Wikipedia Page [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] Re: fegmaniax-digest V16 #58 [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] Re: I'm Just a Girl... [Rex ] Re: I'm Just a Girl... ["Lauren Elizabeth" ] Re: allmusic.com mention ["Lauren Elizabeth" ] fegmatrix [ken ostrander ] Re: allmusic.com mention [Benjamin Lukoff ] ...though it was rather slow [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found [great white shark <] Re: allmusic.com mention [craigie* ] Re: going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found [2fs ] RE: allmusic.com mention ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: allmusic.com mention [craigie* ] Re: fegmatrix [Tom Clark ] Re: going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found [Christopher Gro] Elvis Costello [The Great Quail ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:26:16 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: I'm Just a Girl... On Feb 21, 2007, at 12:59 PM, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > Hi Fegs, > > Hey, I like all you guys just as much as the next gal, but I have to > say I was very pleased to see this: > > http://www.acm.org/careernews/extras/latimesturingarticle.html > > It's the closest computer scientists get to a Nobel Prize. I would've guessed that Grace Hopper would have received that at one time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper Anyfeg lay claim to a major award? Grammy? Oscar? Merit badge? - -tc (U.S. Patent #6925513) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:46:10 -0500 From: Steve Talkowski Subject: Re: I'm Just a Girl... > Any feg lay claim to a major award? Grammy? Oscar? Merit badge? I animated on the 1998 Academy Award Winning Best Animated Short Film "Bunny" Wow, it's actually up on youTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=I9aa-xSRvsk Music by Tom Waits. - -Steve (is it June yet? iPhone fever over here...) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:00:11 -0500 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: I'm Just a Girl... On Feb 21, 2007, at 12:59 PM, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: >> Hi Fegs, >> >> Hey, I like all you guys just as much as the next gal, but I have to >> say I was very pleased to see this: >> > http://www.acm.org/careernews/extras/latimesturingarticle.html >> >> It's the closest computer scientists get to a Nobel Prize. >I would've guessed that Grace Hopper would have received that at one time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper >Anyfeg lay claim to a major award? Grammy? Oscar? Merit badge? A guy named Tim Skotak used to work at Fanuc Robotics were I work, he left in 1992. His two cousins that lived in LA won multiple Oscars for making miniature models in the days before they were made obsolete by CGI. I think they won for The Abyss and maybe one of the Terminators, as they worked for James Cameron a lot. Interesting note about the the two Skotak's out in LA, their mom was DC Fontana who wrote numerous scripts for the original Star Trek series as well as having other duties with Star Trek. That's the closest I can claim. Uncle "Zip Zip" Stan ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:01:46 -0800 From: Rex Subject: Re: Viv's New Favorite Ice Cream On 2/21/07, Benjamin Lukoff wrote: > > On Fri, 16 Feb 2007, Capuchin wrote: > > > On Fri, 16 Feb 2007, Benjamin Lukoff wrote: > > > On Thu, 15 Feb 2007, Capuchin wrote: > > >> I'm still trying to figure out WHICH five these teachers think are > the > > >> only irrationals. > > > > > > That is so depressing. > > > > Which part? > > Math teachers not knowing math > I avoided commenting on this before, but wasn't the reputed problem here that *elementary* teachers didn't know certain aspects of *higher* math? While that's not, to put it mildly, great, I hardly consider it enormously depressing or woeful, any more that the idea that, say, a literature professor, or an instructor at a cooking academy not knowing about irrationals. It's not what he or she teaches. I admit that while I knew the answer to Jeme's questions about irrational numbers at one point-- like, when I was taught it-- I had completely forgotten it due to never once having been called upon to use or remember it at any subsequent point in my life. I doubt that I would have had much occasion to recall it if I'd become a lit professor or elementary teacher, either. As a self-perceived all-around intellect, I'm a little embarassed to have lost that information, but not extremely so... about as much as when I can't immediately remember what god was whose father in a crossword clue (it came back with about as much prompting). Elementary teachers, of whom I know many, including a large chunk of my immediate family, are resonsible for knowing lots of stuff about lots of stuff, but not, as a rule, specialized knowledge that would not be learned by their students for another ten years or so; meanwhile, they have to know more about the deep, deep mysteries of child development than most people, including parents, ever begin to grasp (and your average academician could tolerate for half an hour), so I cut them a lot of slack. Add to that the nothingness they get paid, the byzantine beauracracy they face, the beligerence of clueless parents, our culture's obsession with standardized tests, retrograde societal tendencies regarding childhood in general, evil oversexualized marketing towards kids, Flamin' Hot Cheetoes, and so on and so on... I'd say we are quite lucky that any sane individuals sign up for the job. Yes, it would be awesome if every 2nd Grade Teacher was an awe-inspiring polymath savant, but even those types of people need to feed their families. Maybe I missed the point. Jeme's stats were not good news, but far from dire as I see them... it may well all hinge on to what degree identifying irrational numbers is considered "common knowlege". I can still do all the computations my life actually requires, and a fair amount of frou-frou algebraic shit, without remembering what half the symbols are called, so maybe my own standards are lax. - -Rex, having just inventied "Frou-Frou Algebraic Theory"... ooops. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:05:54 +1300 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: Re: Evolution of Wikipedia Page >Hi Fegs, > >Recent discussion / interest in Wikipedia led me to this page: >http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/gems/umlaut.html > >I love the understated narration during the vandalism scene. you woul;d be amazed at some of the weird and not particularly wonderful vandalism that gets into (and gets removed from) Wikipedia. There is an ever increasing file of some of the more creative and weird edits - have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:BJAODN and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:DAFT > >Also, I was kind of hoping Wikipedia would choke a la a Turing >Machine, but alas, it handled the request just fine: >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiPedia Don't worry, that's what redirects on WP are for. James (Wikipedia admin ;) - -- 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, 22 Feb 2007 11:08:57 +1300 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V16 #58 > Only some breeds drool, actually. reminds me of the old joke about the man who had two pets - a nervous cat called Slobodan and an old drooling mutt called Claude. Every day the cat was Slobodan and as a result the dog was Claude. 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, 21 Feb 2007 14:04:35 -0800 From: Rex Subject: Re: I'm Just a Girl... On 2/21/07, Tom Clark wrote: > > On Feb 21, 2007, at 12:59 PM, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > > Anyfeg lay claim to a major award? Grammy? Oscar? Merit badge? > > -tc (U.S. Patent #6925513) Won the whole damn West Virginia State Social Studies fair in 7th grade. Grand prize, baby. Still have the trophy. Also got knighted by the State Superintendant of Schools. Um, it's a small state. - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:41:23 -0500 From: "Lauren Elizabeth" Subject: Re: I'm Just a Girl... Hi Fegs, Tom Clark says: > Anyfeg lay claim to a major award? Grammy? Oscar? Merit badge? I won an award that was so rare that I had to name it myself. I was the fastest typist in my 7th grade typing class (a skill which I generally keep on the down-low). They gave me a furry troll-type thing with pasted on googley-eyes which I've always called the "fuzzy typing award." > -tc (U.S. Patent #6925513) Sweet! http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6925513.html xo Lauren - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "People with opinions just go around bothering one another." - The Buddha ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:35:33 -0500 From: "Lauren Elizabeth" Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention ken ostrander says: > fair enough. though allmusic started it (and 'substance' and 'standing on a beach' cannot be beat for new order and the cure). it gets tough with artists like bowie and costello and roxy music who have several albums that might qualify (i'll suggest 'scary monsters', 'armed forces' and 'country life'). 'singles going steady' has to be an exception. and the wire comp just makes sense cramming most of their first three albums onto one disk. for echo i'd go 'crocodiles'. for the furs 'talk talk talk'. and for joy division 'unknown pleasures'. my response to those (from the list the i didn't make) would be: no new order albums pornography by the cure station to station bowie blood and chocolate elvis costello the 3rd roxy music album by roxy music, if only for "mother of pearl" 154 by wire porcupine echo & the bunnymen talk talk talk pfurs closer joy division i only mention it because ken didn't post last night and that was sad. and i even made this post "no caps for ken!" not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise kind of like how one rather assumes certain people love the beatles but when i started asking questions, that was clearly not the case with elvis costello. now i do not claim "blood and chocolate" is "important" as say those first three albums (of which "this year's model" is by far the best imho) but costello is one of those songwriters that "matured" so ridiculously well that some of those barbed lines from the late 1980s still kick me in the teeth: "he's got all the things you need and some that you will never / but you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever / still he knows what you want and what you don't allow and I hope you're happy now" his ability to turn a phrase puts him in the same category as devoto, but howard came and went and costello's was still angry in and at love. xo - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "People with opinions just go around bothering one another." - The Buddha ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:01:03 -0800 (PST) From: ken ostrander Subject: fegmatrix the fegmatrix is not real, but rather a conspiracy of figmented fruit. the x files action figures have already been implanted with the google chip to facilitate soulbonding through a virtual vulcan mind meld. the priceline theosophy has taken the dispossessed and repossessed them for the price of a plate of shrimp. maitreya is not laughing, but sitting courtside with sulu sipping dark rum mixed with ginger beer while gazing with unforeseeing eyes into the smoke. diamond dogs and jellicle cats decry the pernicious nonsense at the latest round of peace talks at killermont. after much scratching and sniffing the anger gives way to transcendental math in an attempt to make ends meet: a virtuoso illustration of artistic pretentiousness. ken "walls impede my progress" the kenster np trans am 'sex change' - --------------------------------- No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:14:12 -0800 (PST) From: Benjamin Lukoff Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention On Thu, 22 Feb 2007, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", > but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that > everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise kind of > like how one rather assumes certain people love the beatles but when > i started asking questions, that was clearly not the case with elvis > costello. now i do not claim "blood and chocolate" is "important" as Hello fellow Elvis fan and "B&C" devotee! > say those first three albums (of which "this year's model" is by far > the best imho) but costello is one of those songwriters that "matured" > so ridiculously well that some of those barbed lines from the late > 1980s still kick me in the teeth: > "he's got all the things you need and some that you will never / but > you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever / > still he knows what you want and what you don't allow and I hope > you're happy now" "I Hope You're Happy Now" is one of the best fuck-you-for-dumping-me songs EVER. What a great album. I'll agree that it's not "important" like "My Aim Is True" or "Imperial Bedroom" (now *that's* a classic)...but "Blue Chair," "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head," "Uncomplicated"....that's good listening. But after B&C it was kind of downhill... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:33:42 +1300 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: ...though it was rather slow James (calamari r'us) - -- 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, 22 Feb 2007 18:24:47 +1030 From: great white shark Subject: going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found fegs ! hear more about dear pres Bush's fuckups on the local front ( as compared to the international front ) boy, can that man fuck up, must have been his major at college ! der commander Tonight on Late Night Live with Phillip Adams - Thursday 22 February 2007 ***New Orleans writer and regular LNL correspondent, Michael Tisserand, has just been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and will talk about the ongoing health, housing and general social problems in the city post Hurricane Katrina. He'll be joined by investigative reporter, Amanda Spake, who'll describe the particular health problems caused by the temporary housing set up by the federal authorities for displaced New Orleans residents. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:02:04 +0000 From: craigie* Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention Until "All This Useless Beauty" which I regard as a highwater mark in a career of raised highwater marks. c* "My name is Craig, and I'm an Elvis Costello fan..." (EC Addicts Anon induction) On 22/02/07, Benjamin Lukoff wrote: > > On Thu, 22 Feb 2007, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > > > not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", > > but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that > > everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise kind of > > like how one rather assumes certain people love the beatles but when > > i started asking questions, that was clearly not the case with elvis > > costello. now i do not claim "blood and chocolate" is "important" as > > Hello fellow Elvis fan and "B&C" devotee! > > > say those first three albums (of which "this year's model" is by far > > the best imho) but costello is one of those songwriters that "matured" > > so ridiculously well that some of those barbed lines from the late > > 1980s still kick me in the teeth: > > "he's got all the things you need and some that you will never / but > > you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever / > > still he knows what you want and what you don't allow and I hope > > you're happy now" > > "I Hope You're Happy Now" is one of the best fuck-you-for-dumping-me songs > EVER. What a great album. I'll agree that it's not "important" like "My > Aim Is True" or "Imperial Bedroom" (now *that's* a classic)...but "Blue > Chair," "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head," "Uncomplicated"....that's > good listening. > > But after B&C it was kind of downhill... > - -- first things first, but not necessarily in that order... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:08:14 -0600 From: 2fs Subject: Re: going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found On 2/22/07, great white shark wrote: > > fegs ! > hear more about dear pres Bush's fuckups on the local front ( as > compared to the international front ) boy, can that man fuck up, must > have been his major at college ! Well, considering that his grade average was about a C - which about as low as you can go without failing, and which traditionally is the grade given to "legacy" students (those whose parents are alumni and, more importantly, actual or potential donors of funds), I'd say that, yes, he majored in fucking up at college (which, had he been George W. Bumblefunck, he never would have been admitted to). - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:13:49 -0600 From: 2fs Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention On 2/21/07, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > > > > my response to those (from the list the i didn't make) would be: > no new order albums I'm guessing Lauren doesn't like New Order... > > blood and chocolate elvis costello not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", > but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that > everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise > I think B&C is a fine record indeed. I don't know that "important" is an important criterion for me - it's largely defined not by how good a record is but by what other people are (or more usually, aren't) doing at the time. "Important" albums tend to be an artist's earlier work - simply because their importance is in doing that other thing which, if they continue doing it, then becomes just "their thing" and no longer "important" in the sense of "wow this is really influential now." I'm going to register a slight disagreement with the "downhill" thing: funny how if a band does keep doing "their thing" they get pissed on for failing to evolve, but when someone like Costello - who's endlessly restless and musically inquisitive - explores things outside of his thing, everyone's all "go back and make _This Year's Model Too_ please." Not everything Costello's done works all that well - but I think people underrate the extent to which sometimes a musician has to make a not-very-good record in order to make a good one later. You can't progress without the occasional false step - nearly every truly gigantic artist (and Costello's one of them) has one or more truly awful releases in their catalog. - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:31:35 -0500 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: allmusic.com mention - -----Original Message----- From: owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org [mailto:owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org] On Behalf Of 2fs Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 9:14 AM To: Not Reg Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention On 2/21/07, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > >> blood and chocolate elvis costello Jeff came back with: >not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", >> but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that >> everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise > >I think B&C is a fine record indeed. I don't know that "important" is an important criterion >for me - it's largely defined not by how good a record is but by what other people are (or more usually, aren't) doing at the time. "Important" albums tend to be an artist's earlier work - simply because their importance is in doing that other thing which, if they continue doing it, then becomes just "their thing" and no longer "important" in the sense of "wow this is really influential now." >I'm going to register a slight disagreement with the "downhill" thing: funny how if a band does keep doing "their thing" they get pissed on for failing to evolve, but when someone like Costello - who's endlessly restless and musically inquisitive - explores things outside of his thing, everyone's all "go back and make _This Year's Model Too_ please." Not everything Costello's done works all that well - but I think people underrate the extent to which sometimes a musician has to make a not-very-good record in order to make a good one later. You can't progress without the occasional false step - nearly every truly gigantic artist (and Costello's one of them) has one or more truly awful releases in their catalog. I have both of the 1986 Elvis albums, B&C and King Of America. I agree with Lauren and Jeff as to B&C's worthiness. I have yet to pick up Almost Blue. Is it worth buying? I was also contemplating picking up the album that has his version of The Other End Of the Telescope, even though Aimee Mann and Elvis did a much better version of it together on Til Tuesday's brillant swan song, Everything's Different Now. Uncle "Zip Zip" Stan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:49:24 -0000 From: Dr John Halewood Subject: RE: ...though it was rather slow grutness@slingshot.co.nz scribbled: > > > James (calamari r'us) Pictures at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6385071.stm Liked the comment "calamari rings made from it would be like tractor tyres." Sounds like a good "all you can eat" challenge... cheers john ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:07:32 +0000 From: craigie* Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention Almost Blue is short, even with the extras. Only worth it if you *really* want to hear EC sing Country. It was an interesting step in 1981, but now it's just a blip between Trust and Imperial Bedroom. You should, though, seek out All This Useless Beauty (which has "Telescope" on it). It's far and away my Desert Island EC Disc. Even without the bonus disc. But what do *I* know - I liked North. c* On 22/02/07, Bachman, Michael wrote: > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org [mailto:owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org] On > Behalf Of 2fs > Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 9:14 AM > To: Not Reg > Subject: Re: allmusic.com mention > > On 2/21/07, Lauren Elizabeth wrote: > > > > >> blood and chocolate elvis costello > > > > Jeff came back with: > >not only do i feel fairly alone in my love for "blood and chocolate", > >> but i rarely meet any costello fans. i thought maybe it was that > >> everyone is a costello and so it's just background noise > > > > >I think B&C is a fine record indeed. I don't know that "important" is > an important criterion >for me - it's largely defined not by how good a > record is but by what other people are (or more usually, aren't) doing > at the time. > "Important" albums tend to be an artist's earlier work - simply because > their importance is in doing that other thing which, if they continue > doing it, then becomes just "their thing" and no longer "important" in > the sense of "wow this is really influential now." > > >I'm going to register a slight disagreement with the "downhill" thing: > funny how if a band does keep doing "their thing" they get pissed on for > failing to evolve, but when someone like Costello - who's endlessly > restless and musically inquisitive - explores things outside of his > thing, everyone's all "go back and make _This Year's Model Too_ please." > Not everything Costello's done works all that well - but I think people > underrate the extent to which sometimes a musician has to make a > not-very-good record in order to make a good one later. You can't > progress without the occasional false step - nearly every truly gigantic > artist (and Costello's one of them) has one or more truly awful releases > in their catalog. > > I have both of the 1986 Elvis albums, B&C and King Of America. I agree > with Lauren and Jeff as to B&C's worthiness. I have yet to pick up > Almost Blue. Is it worth buying? I was also contemplating picking up the > album that has his version of The Other End Of the Telescope, even > though Aimee Mann and Elvis did a much better version of it together on > Til Tuesday's brillant swan song, Everything's Different Now. > > Uncle "Zip Zip" Stan > - -- first things first, but not necessarily in that order... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:02:49 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: fegmatrix On Feb 21, 2007, at 10:01 PM, ken ostrander wrote: > the fegmatrix is not real, but rather a conspiracy of figmented > fruit. the x files action figures have already been implanted with > the google chip to facilitate soulbonding through a virtual vulcan > mind meld. the priceline theosophy has taken the dispossessed and > repossessed them for the price of a plate of shrimp. maitreya is > not laughing, but sitting courtside with sulu sipping dark rum > mixed with ginger beer while gazing with unforeseeing eyes into the > smoke. diamond dogs and jellicle cats decry the pernicious > nonsense at the latest round of peace talks at killermont. after > much scratching and sniffing the anger gives way to transcendental > math in an attempt to make ends meet: a virtuoso illustration of > artistic pretentiousness. Wow, and I was just thinking "plate", or "shrimp"... - -tc "Find one in every car. You'll see." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:31:38 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: going down to n'orleans to git myself lost and found > > fegs ! > > hear more about dear pres Bush's fuckups on the local front ( as > > compared to the international front ) boy, can that man fuck up, must > > have been his major at college ! > > Well, considering that his grade average was about a C - which about as low > as you can go without failing, and which traditionally is the grade given to > "legacy" students (those whose parents are alumni and, more importantly, > actual or potential donors of funds), I'd say that, yes, he majored in > fucking up at college (which, had he been George W. Bumblefunck, he never > would have been admitted to). I'd think his grades prove that he majored in something other than Fucking Up. If that *was* his major, surely he could have pulled a perfect 4.0! - --Chris ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:42:09 -0500 From: The Great Quail Subject: Elvis Costello > I have yet to pick up > Almost Blue. Is it worth buying? Well, I think it's an amazing album. Elvis absorbs a lot of influences from country and transforms them into his own style. My only criticism of this very sad album is that it's fairly monotone -- like Sinatra's "Only the Lonely," it creates a certain melancholy mood and rarely varies from that range. And...I agree with Jeff -- for an artist as diverse as Elvis Costello (and I am hard pressed to think of any quite *as* diverse) there are bound to be a few misfires. David Bowie, who is perhaps my favorite singer/songwriter, certainly has a couple of clunkers, as does Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. In fact, stacked up to those above guys, I think Elvis comes out on top in terms of sheer quality control. I *really* like some of his less-rock oriented stuff, such as "North" and "The Juliet Letters." His recent collaboration with Allen Toussaint is also pretty good.... Also, his last two rockers -- "When I Was Cruel" and "The Delivery Man" -- are fantastic. I am not saying that Elvis Costello is beyond criticism, but I do bristle when I hear fans of his early or mid-period rock simply dismiss over half his creative career. To me, that only speaks of a lack of musical breadth and imagination on account of the listener. (Not that anyone here has done this, but I've been to over a dozen Elvis shows, and you hear some amazing things from the "Allison! ALLISON!!!" crowd.) - --Quail ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V16 #59 *******************************