MSCList Postings

May 1998

• beltane (May 1)
• be with you (May 4)
• Plaistow (May 5)
• vari (May 6)
• ania (May 7)
• chessy peak (May 9)
• Ode to joy (May 11)
• Self addressed antelope (May 12)
• halibut anyway (May 13)
• contains tv spoilers (May 14)
• the end (May 15)
• Viva! (May 17)
• heavens (May 18)
• intermindable (May 19)
• three lines (May 24)
• happy hour again (May 25)
• enchanted (May 27)
• sheds (May 28)
• twill goon (May 30)

So, happy new season to you all. Today's Beltane, the Celtic festival to mark the start of summer, leading up to the midsummer festivals in mid June.

Kris reports
Oh I talked to Skeie today....get this: She won tickets to Lilith Fair!! isn't that great!!!?? she was so excited!!! she played me the tape from the radio station and she was all freaking out!!
If she'll excuse the blatant copyright infringement, let me say
Well Done Skeie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alfredo
Liberty is Liberty, it's the *people* who make it up.
That is true if you subscribe to the ethos that the MSCList is, in some way, Liberty. I wasn't around when the concept of Liberty arose, and while I can see the comparison, I may not agree with it. If people wish to unsubscribe from this list, that is their business. If they do not wish to re-subscribe following a change of location, that is still their business, and not something that I, or anyone else, should attempt to influence.

Over time, I have subscribed to the MSCList at netcom, and the MSCList at mail-list. If people wish to refer to either (or both) of these lists as Liberty, that is their perogative. I will object to anyone else assuming that I share this view.

Nichole
please don't subscribe me without my permission again
Garrett
Alfredo, You *cannot* "net-legally" automatically e-mail folks coming over to Mail-List and mentioning how to sub onto DW/Netcom. That is called spamming, which could cause you some trouble later on
As I've been obliquely pointing out for some little time now, I view Alfredo's actions in subscribing netcom listees to dreamworld, without their express permission, as being tantermount to spamming itself. It makes a mockery of my standard anti-spam letter if I go around indulging in the practices I deplore.

Sara
I'm not sure how many people there are on mail-list right now, but I believe there is about 60. If not a bit more.
A "who so-called" on Thursday afternoon UTC showed just over 150 subscribers. Assuming that some people have removed themselves from netcom for mail-list, the MSCList as of April 24 would have been around 170. Over 40% were over 24 hours ago.

What's more, I think that about 75% of the active posters from a week ago have already posted to mail-list. Not merely subscribed, but posted. So far as I'm concerned, that means the bulk of the MSCList has already made the leap.

Alfredo again, on seeing the membership list
Right now you have it set on "admins only", and I think you should set it on "members only" so that any of us listies can see who's here.
Let me play devil's advocate on this. Why should any list of addresses be made publicly available? If someone wishes to sub or unsub, that is their decision, and I don't think that they should have to receive any unofficial "welcome" message. The inbox is already cluttered with two messages - five for those on digests - and any more might put people off the MSCList for good.
The solution to this is that people signed up to be in *Liberty*.
Let me put this simply: no, they did not. People signed up to be on a mailing list to do with the tv programme "My So-Called Life". Now, we don't get to see the people who drop by for a week, figure that there's nothing to do with MSCL the show being discussed here, and leave. Those who stay may wish to consider themselves to be part of a community, which may or may not be Liberty under Alfredo's definition.
Liberty is the group of people who love MSCL.
That is Alfredo's opinion. I would say Liberty is a self-defining grouping, centred around an internet mailing list.

Chameleon
This is an e-mail listserv.
No it's not. This is a mailing list, operated by mail-list. Listserv is a registered trade mark of the Listserv corporation, who don't like their trade name being used as a generic name for mailing list software. See also: Hoover.more...

Eli
50 years to the freedom from the British Occupation.
First off, congratulations on the half century. It's a major landmark for any nation, especially one with such a turbulent history as Israel.
But do explain one thing for me. Why is it the British Occupation, when Palestine was a mandated territory to the UK?

According to the dodgy dates machine, I should be getting behind the bike sheds with Neve Campbell and some Di Laine chap; walking down the aisle with Claire Danes and Matthew Perry, and talking with the Tori (or Ben Affleck (who?)) about poetry. So, bad news for Lisa, I fear...

Jill pretends to be Dr Paisley
HOW DO I GET A SIG????
you could always type it in at the end of every message. like
jill: i think, therefore i ham.

Liz
Oh no! Brem is here now. EVERYBODY RUN AND HIDE!!!!!!!!!!
[stepped rise through 1.5 octaves on tinkly piano] [pregnant pause] [whirring and clanking sound] Where have the Teletubbies gone?

Huey
what is the composition of american listees by state
100% of American listies come from a state.
what is the best state, stateside peeps?
Well, given that States are just Provinces In Waiting, the best state must be Newfoundland. Obviously.

~Laura
I HATE DIGESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fine. Be like that. Just don't expect me to talk about you ever, ever ever again.

Elizabeth Angellla-Brem Skeie-Leih Mara Quana Innes Wrigley-Field
/me will bite everyone...on both lists!
Mmmmmmmm, nice.
And if anyone threatens my cuteness, I'll throw up on them too.
MmmmmmMMMMMMMM!!

Bop!

(:

~Laura
the main difference between bob and brem is that i'd sleep with brem.
You don't mean this, do you?

Coming on my web site over the next few days: news articles on women and their place on the web; why the British press are a truck load of hypocrites, and the latest news from the Failways. Plus, our celebrity correspondent reproduces Claire Danes' interview with MSNBC. All this, and a complete summary of my posts to this list.

There's an obvious Star Wars joke for today. Please insert it here. Yourself.more...

Sean quoted me

100% of American listies come from a state.

Kris
I FOUND YOUR TELETUBBIES!!! they were on PBS in my house today!! want me to send them back???
Erm, I think they've made their own way home. Popping up in their usual place Sunday morning, between BBC Cockup 24 and "Treasure Island".
Dear things???? they gave me the Heebie Geebies!!!
Oh wow! Someone else who remembers The Heebie Geebies! You know, the guys responsible for "Singing Ridiculous Songs In Very High Voices" almost 20 years ago. Later went on to do most of the songs for Spitting Image. Philip Pope from the band is now working on BBC Radio 4's "I'm Glad You Asked Me That" with Gordon Kennedy.
but seriously...what the heck are those odd shapes on their heads?
Tinky Winky's triangle is an inverted coat hanger, used to store his handbag on. Dipsy's straight thing provides an alternate interpretation of the uses of his hat. Laa Laa's curl indicates that she's like the little girl who has one curl. And Po's circle shows the unity of purpose behind everything she does.

Some people think that they're just in-built television ariels. Pshaw!
Kris~who has a new found respect for the dorky purple dinosaur.
Oh dear. I think we're going to have to sit Kris down and make her watch an episode end-to-end.
"The new address is So-Called@mail-list.com and this is how you sub"
Do take a look at my web site sometime. But enough blatant plugging.

~Laura
What CD(s)/Cassettes(s)/LP(s) do you own that you hide away when friends come around?
Ha! I have no such qualms about inflicting unfashionable music on my friends.
Who was your initial favorite character from MSCL? Why?
Angela. Reminded me of me a little too much.
well, damn it. will you forgive me? i'm going to have to go back to digests soon. i'm just enjoying reading everyone's seperately.
Aaaaaah. You see? The Digests will get you in the end.....

huey
you could be going along watching it thinking YAY smiley, sunshiney tubby custard but then you *like*, take a *real =* look at their eyes and they're pools of despair, or something. the tubbies are all existing in a world controlled by higher forces, but i don't know what it is yet...
What's the sun doing there? Isn't that the higher power you need?

Brem
But seriously, what makes sleeping with me such a horrendous proposition, Iain? I frown at you and hide in my bedroom crying.
Quite simply, it ruins my image of Brem as the Man Of Mystery. No-one knows where he came from. Or where he's going. Or why he spends so much time here in the interim. So to hear that Brem, International Shag Magnet, has actually lived up to his billing is a major shocker.
Except not really
Oh good. It doesn't suit you, really.

And why does Lauren Laverne remind me of Alice Tinker from Dibley?

Liz finds her
missing transparent blue plastic skirt (with matching belt)!!!!!
okay, so I don't know what kinda plastic it is...but I'm gonna hope it's pVC :)
Ah, PVC. More a state of mind than an actual substance...

It's always good to start a post with a quote from byron.
Now now, Lixz... what did I tell you about buying stuff from those TV programs?
Oh wait, that's QVC.
Ah, evidently the craze that is PVC, The Car Boot Shopping Channel, hasn't reached the US yet. Shame. For the uninitiated, PVC features two salesmen trying to flog the dodgy gear they bought down the car boot sale last week. Yes, you can have these wonderful bone china plastic plates with a hand-drawn picture of the Queen on it for a mere GBP 253,637.99 each! Cheap at twice the price!!

Elizabeth Angellla-Brem Skeie-Leih Mara Quana Innes Wrigley-Field
Even though the expression on my ace in that picture makes me look like a doofus. (:
Oh, isn't this just great. First we have Ben knowing strippers, now Liz flaunts the way she plays poker and always seems to win. Odd, that.
You're tacitly misquoting me and being intellectually dishonest!
/me bites andi.
I dunno about this tactic. If you want to sxare Andi away from doing this again, why... hey... you just keep those fangs to yourself...

So, that "Torn" record. Seeing as how I've heard it 80-odd times this year, and something similar last year, you might think that I know what it's about. I have no way of knowing, but it does seem to follow a familiar pattern:

Look! It's Mr Perfect!
Only, you're not perfect.
And it hurts that you're not as perfect as I thought you were.

It does raise the question of whether Ms Umbrella is prepared to accept that He's Human! He Has Flaws!

Sara's on UK road signs
no, no..the roadsigns over *here* are weird!!!! I can't understand most of them..and you have funny zig zaggylines on all your roads....tres confusing
Now that's bizarre. I don't know of any trees that drive cars or other motor vehicles. Plenty of planks that are behind the wheel, but never any fully-formed trees.

Eli
NO SOCCER! NO GIRLS!!
In which case, let me point out that Arsenal won the Women's FA Cup yesterday. They also won the Premier League Sunday, but that's by the bye.

Ring-a-ring-a-roses. I believe it first came to popularity in 1665, when the great plague was around in London. A pocket full of flowers was meant to stop the disease from affecting a person; while sneezing was the first sign of the plague, from which most people snuffed it.

The next verse when I was young was "Ashes in the water / Ashes in the sea / We all jump up / With a 1-2-3." This refers to the 1666 Fire in London, after which the city was rebuilt at a great speed.

Lauren
I'm also queen of keeping up on celebs--I usually know the new movies they are in, who they are dating...what premieres they were at & with who...
So no doubt you'll have heard about the delays affecting Leo di Laine's latest movie. Apparently, it took him nine days to shoot the Obligatory Simulated Sex Scene. That, my friends, is what happens with Viagra.

Sara advertises Wisconsin
Not to mention the fact that summers are SO hot...like 90-100 (or higher even)
You're meant to be, like, advertising this? That's enough to put me off the state for life.

Huey
i get lost going around airports, especially gatwick and heathrow, in london.
Much as I detest the city, this is one thing that Manchester does very well. Especially Terminal 2. I can recommend that to anyone flying the Atlantic. Now, if Air Canada would care to shift AC 860/1 to Manchester (or Birmingham) I'd be a lot happier. But, they seem to think that the only decent place in England is London. Fools!!more...

Sara
INternational people are in one building...National people are in another...and then there's another building, but I think thats for arrivals...as is the fourth building (can't remember for sure).
You talking 'bout Heathrow? Nope: Terminal 1 is for UK and European flights by BA. Terminal 2 is for European flights by other airlines. Terminal 3 is Intercontinental flights by most airlines; BA and a few others go from Terminal 4. It's all most confusing.
I just go to the international building, go in the line that as my ticket (like United Way), get checked in...go through another thing, where they check me, etc. for metal, etc., and then go in....Look up at the huge board, find my flight, go to that gate...and voila! very simple :)
Indeed it is. No other way of doing things is acceptable, unless you want to have a coffee and cake before passport control. Past it, I reckon you should go straight to your gate. Especially at Heathrow 3. Packed out on Boxing Day!
I was fooling with stuff on Ross's computer, and I found all the posts that he has saved from this list from 95. And so I thought, oh cool..I'll go find my first post, and Ross's, and send them to teh list..and maybe even read some of what we wrote back then.
That could be interesting. Hmm. You've probably seen my debut post, back in the days when I thought three topics was quite enough for one post.
So I was readint them all...and I just can't being sad. not because of the list, but because in every message that Ross wrote hes going on and on about how great Angela/Claire looks, and how he wants to know her, and how if he did meet her, he'd want to give his heart to her...
Ah, how old was the guy then? Sixteen-ish? Heck, the sort of age in which a young man's love lies not in his heart but in his eyes. And other places, but let's not go there.
and I know I'm being dumb and stuff, and it was before he even fell in love with me..but I can't help it. It hurts..and it hurts a lot.
[hugs]
That was then. Ross has grown and matured since. And it's blatantly obvious that he cares a lot about you. More than he does for a well- known award-winning actress whom he'll never meet in real life...
anyway...I think I'll just go bed and die now.
Aw, don't do that. Who's going to take us all round the zoo next time?

Wondering...

Watch out, world. You might be seeing a bit more of me over the next time frame.

As some of you may know, Birmingham is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest this Saturday, and the G8 summit next week. Famous people are coming into town - President Clintern, Boris Yeltsgin, Jean Chretin, Mike Nolan, Johnathan King, and some chap called Dana.

They're accompanied by a lot of journalists. Like, lots and lots. Many of them are carrying video cameras. Including the crew from Austrian tv who stopped me in Centenery Square this morning, and asked me to say "The Eurovision Song Contest, in Birmingham".

Of course, I'm still waiting to be plucked off the street at 7:15 in the morning to do a break bumper for CBC Newsworld. Just so long as I don't get grabbed by BBC News 24. I wanna be famous! (;

So, seeing as how all the world's problems are being resolved within 20 miles of me, let me juxtapose these words of Sara's
And Alfredo...you have *no* right to say anything about this to anyone. I never gave you permission, and I don't want you bringing it up all the time. So stop it. This is *my* personal information, not yours. Have I ever said, yes, you can tell everyone? No, I haven't.

And these of Alfredo's
You told the whole list that only Ali and I had known about your problems, and then -you- told the list what had happened. So, to play it like I'm letting the cat out of the bag is a distortion.

Now, this is interesting. In one post, we have Sara complaining about the existance of the subject. Someone's brought it back from the archives, and she's not happy about it. In response, Alfredo makes the accurate point that Sara was the first to mention the subject.

This, as I see it, is not the point of Sara's ire. She seems to be most annoyed that the topic is back under discussion. And as it's a topic that is really Sara's to discuss or not, I reckon it's her call as to whether it's a suitable subject for list discussion.

So, for anyone who doesn't know what the blazes the underlying cause of this spat is, I can only tell you that it has nothing to do with Too Much Office Furniture.

Eli
I still believe that Brazil can win the WC with the second squad team blindfolded, and with tied legs.
Well, they can win under those onerous conditions. Not to say a one legged, blind team is at all likely to win, but they could. See also: Scotland.

On the subject of the UK government in Palestine, Eli
True, if Britain was following the mandat. However, it didn't. It formed rules that were against the specific mandat, and was even declared in the UN (What was the name before it) as illegal and contradiction the mandat. That's why I call it an occupation.
Ah, you mean the League of Nations. That was something they did teach me in school. Unlike the version of history in that area that Eli pointed out. Thanks for that, all very enlightening.

Shana
okay, so i am in the process of my first listen to tori's new cd.... and i really am liking the funked up, band sound more than i thought i would...
I have to agree with the honourable lady at this juncture. It's a sound that fills the gap between Enya's mystic warblings and the ethnic, worldly sounds of the Adiemus project. Or the Titanic sound track, at a hefty pinch.
i went to get the cd as soon as northern exposure was over
Sounds like you waited till Tuesday. The advantages of living in the UK (;

Personally, I reckon it's her most accessible cd yet. It's a lot more than the piano, voice and microphone style of her early career, but this is the most well-rounded production of the lot.

Sara
I love hot weather...
Oh dear. Just, like, give me a British winter and a Newfie summer. It's great to let me play Spot The Difference.
oh come on!! have a little imagination! we're not going to the zoo next time..I'll have to pick another cool spot!! :)
Thanks. Now I'm interested.
Now..you go to the underground, and having no fresh air down there (like ever) its SO gross
Let's be accurate about this. There was fresh air down there when the tunnels were built. And there's fresh air coming in through the tunnel mouths on a daily basis. It just takes forever to get there.
...and people are SO greasy..I swear, people look like they only take showers once a week or something.
That often? Shurely once a year. It did for Queenie!
for meeting listies its the best place to go!!! :)
Well, there's always Birmingham. Good for me, Phil, Brem, Cheesecake, not bad for Huey. Rotten for Lisa, though, which kinda ruins the whole point.

Cheesecake
I have a date to night. The girls name is Gemma and she has a wonderful pair of eyebrowes. My brother would be so jealous.
He may not be alone there.

And Eli again
My reaction was: "Liz, you have a bloody good scanner". But that's my way. :)
Thank you, Frank Sinatra.

So, intrigued by all this publicity about how Liz is a rather good looker, I check out her slot on the listee photo page. Hmm. They have a point. And I need some new wallpaper for my computer.

Which leads me to a little list project. Wrigley Field Wallpaper. Stick a little Liz on your desktop. Simply get a graphics-enabled browser (sorry, this is not a Lynx compatible project ):, head to Liz's Picture Site and set that picture as your wallpaper. Mail me to say that you've done it, and look for your name, website and message on my place in the near future.

Silly? Yes. Pointless? Most definately. Better than watching paint dry? You bet. Hey, and you get a cool picture of Liz as well.

Watch that web site of mine for more details, soon.

Iain * We Want Wrigley Field Wallpaper!

Well, it would appear that I'm single again. Anyone care to be a shoulder to cry on? Write to me, off the list.

Now, there's a massive influx of horrible flying things around work. They are probably the pits of the earth, and really bugging me of a lunchtime out the office. Yick yick yick.

huey
the qualities of liz's vast aesthetic apppeal should be disseminated to a wider audience wherever possible. but i have decided i am *officially* obsessed.
Good to hear it. Huey's down on my WWWFW page: Go there to get your name in lights.

Sara
its still raining all the time...ugh...I really don't lik eEngland weather.
We're lucky this year, we're going to have two summers. One's coming this weekend. I don't think you were around for Summer #1, back over Valentine's Day, when we were basking in 19 degrees and listening to the Test Match on the lawn. Ah, the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer in February. (:.:O

Deca
"Disco 2000"; a collection of short stories about the end of the millenium
A timely reminder: 237 days till Prince parties like it's after midnight, 968 days till the end of the millennium. By that time, maybe Meddlesome's Folly will have finished. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Jo wonders
Will I get a big bill that I'm not prepared for?
It depends. If you don't prepare yourself for a big bill, then when you get it, it will come as a bill you've not prepared for. On the other hand, if you are expecting a big bill, it won't come out of the blue.
Besides, why should you leave because of the money. You get Brem's running lyrics game, Shana's get Tori Amos into every post campaign, even my push to replace the dancing baby with something far cuter. This is all made possible by the unique way in which the MSCList is funded.more...

Lynette answers
6. Who is the person that you want to kill?
OJ Simpson
So, just how many slashes are there in OJ Simpson's address?

Sara
I look at their weird hair cuts, and their weird style of dressing over here
Oh, that's interesting. I've always found the UK fashion style to be broadly similar to the American influenced stuff. But, each to their own...

Brem
13. Who's your least favorite group?
Ocean colour scene. They are quite, quite evil.
Oh, indeed. They should be cast into the ether of total obscurity even faster than whence they rose.

Until next time's post brings you more news of the Wrigley Field Wallpaper, this is

It's summer. Day 2 of 3. It'll all come thundering round our ears tomorrow night...

Thanks to everyone who's written me off the list about things and stuff. Anyone else who would like to get in on the act, drop me a line.

The Wrigley Field Wallpaper promotion continues; put a little Liz on your desktop. More details from my web site.

Amy Dott, welcome back.

Jo and Sara

Thanks, Sara. Let us know if the cost becomes a problem, won't you?

Cheesecake describes his girlfriend
it was worth it though for a girl with sexy kinked eyebrows.
Oh, gawds. This is going to be messy. Long standing listees will remember how Brem described Kate Winsomelosesome as "Kinked eyebrow girl". Now it appears Cheesecake, his ickle bwuvva, is dating someone who looks like Ms Winalot. There will be rows.
9. Who's the most boring person in the world?
My maths tutor for differential equations
Maths tutors are boring. (Euclid's axiom 3.2, IIRC.)
Differential equations are a pile of pants. (Given the existance of diffyqs... aw, you prove it for yourself.)

Alfredo
Mirroring is a common internet thing.
[Watch out, this section gets a bit technical]
Mirroring of web sites is a common tactic, in order to reduce the amount of traffic passing through the net's bottlenecks (especially Europe <--> US). As a mail list isn't time-critical in the way HTTP access is, there's less demand to construct replica lists. Indeed, I'm not aware of another mail list being duplicated in the way the MSCList on Netcom was.

Furthermore, mirroring is only necessary due to the inadequate infrastructure behind the internet. If everyone had a 1 GB/sec link to everyone else, we wouldn't need mirroring. We don't have that speed of connection, so mirroring is a workround that's acceptable to the end-user, though may not be good for the provider. Heck, the user's not paying for the duplicated server, and the permanent virtual circuit between the two.

To return to the MSCList. We now have a reliable server; it may take minutes to work through the list rather than seconds, but I don't see that as a major flaw. We can't do anything about the bottlenecks of connections, no matter which server we use. So, I see no reason to manually maintain duplicates of the list addresses.

If the server goes down? The server goes down. Live with it. (The voice of someone who earns his keep by talking to people on the phone, telling them that the server's down, that they should live with it and lighten up a little, and ignores their protestations that they want to access www.dodgy.com now.)

Nichole
to just take soemone elses webpage and mirror it without permission, Im pretty sure would violate some copyright thing or something...
Too right it would. It's what's commonly known in the trade as theft. It happened to some sites on British tv a year or so back, and the chap responsible wound up being chucked off a lot of ISPs. Further details at 625: The Television Room, under the "Web Snatcher" link.

Huey
aagghh! i'm on iain's site as "officially obsessed" with liz
Facts on this site are facts. Opinions are my own.

Sara minds the cultural gap
the stuff they have over here that is supposedly 'american' isn't really.
Like, American fast food. Now, those of you in Canada and its south-facing veranda know about fast food. Over here, it's McDougal Kingy burgers and (er) that's it. No muffins, no bagels, not even a decent coffee bar.
oh...and another thing about girls. They wear these black pants things...I don't know how to describe them, but I'm sure you know what I mean, cause like *every* girl i the country wears them...I swear, they must have seven pairs..so that they can wear them every day!!! its so weird...
Ah, very tight, very thick tights. "Leggings" is the very unimaginative name for what is a very unimaginative piece of clothing. Fortunately, they seem to be out of fashion in Birmingham, replaced by skirts and dresses. Maybe you should move somewhere more hip (;
Crap..I forgot to ask Ross where [Stratford-on-Avon] was...so could you explain this to me? hmm... cities I know of over here (and where they are) are almost anywhere betweeen Southampton and Cardiff, birmingham, Colchester :) London!! and a few others, but yeah..the point is I don't know the geography of England very well :)
OK. Stratford on Avon is not to be confused with Stratford, a suburb of London. S-o-A is about 25 miles south of Birmingham, 50 miles NW of Oxford, and 100 miles NW of London. It's known as the home of Bill Shakespeare, and is the residence of the Royal Shakespeare Company. It's also the closest large town to Teletubbyland, and is where you'll find the Ragdoll shop, selling Teletubby goodies before other stores. This, apparently, is Stratford's main attraction to British tourists this year.

Duchess Kristine enquires
awwwww. How many colors does a rainbow have? I forgot.
Actually, this is a question that's been fought over by better minds than mine. The Greeks saw nine colours in the spectrum, while Newton had to be persuaded to increase from six to seven colours (by the addition of orange, fact fiends) by one of his colleagues who thought Charles II would prefer the romance of a seven colour rainbow.

Personally, I see red - yellow - green - aqua - purple. That makes five. Go fig.

And the self-proclaimed Chap Who Knows More Than A Little About the Eurosong Contest was back.

As is Skeie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome back!!!!!

Thanks for your kind comments about my appearance on Austrian tv, Deca. I'll get to present the show one day...

Sara pointed out how quiet the list was over the weekend. Does Eurosong have any connection with that fact?

Now, why would I be the CWKMTALAESC? Well, Billboard Online ran a trivia quiz recently, listing 10 acts and wondering which was the odd one out and why. It's Petula Clark, obviously, coz she's never appeared in the Eurosong finals. And that's enough to win me a Billboard cd. Whoo hoo!

Huey enquired whether I'd go whay-hay for Stoke. Possibly, especially if it's battling against Manchester for something. And did you see any mention of that dump of the north on Saturday's show? Of course not. There's some quality control on Eurosong.

Jo and Eli

Shalom, Salaam, PEACE!

Eli quotes me

and some chap called Dana.

There is a woman who is bigger then life
She has senses nobody else has
There is magic and there are hard days
And a stage, which is all hers
To the angels Diva is an empire
On the stage Diva is hysteria
She is all a love song

[chorus]
Viva, we shall shout in joy
Viva Victoria
Aphrodita
Viva for Diva
Viva Victoria
Cleopatra

There are women, tears of life
They will carry out a prayer with no words
To the angels Diva is an empire
On the stage Diva is hysteria
She is all a love song

[mmm and aah bit]
[missed key change]
[repeat chorus]

Guildo loves you
So even if you're sad
He'll come over and sing you a song
Guildo loves you

[...]

Up where the stars aren't far away
I'll send you tokens of love supreme
Nut biscuits and raspberry ice cream!

Brem
Oh yes: Anyone see Kenickie on the Eurotrash Eurovision tribute.
But of course. Reworking the classic "Save your kisses" in a way that's very similar to the original right the way up to the very last bar. Classic.
Bless.
A verbal tic that the Torygraph suggests is almost exclusively used by womyn. Are you trying to tell us something, Orange Vendor International?

Marguerite
Bananarama clinched it with "Waterloo" (their video was a great spoof on the "Muriel's Wedding" theme).
That load of carp (anag)? Really? Grief, some people have no taste whatsoever. Edwyn's remake of "Ding-a-dong" is way superior.

Goodness. All these Mother's Day wishes. I knew Netcom was running slow, but I didn't expect the delays to be eight weeks...

Elaine
A side note: The English section of the audience at Eurovision. A pack of scumbags, I think. People can vote how they like, and they shouldn't have booed countries for giving them 5 and things. It was very rude and childish and petty and "national pride" at it's worst. And I am so glad they lost, because the thought they deserved to win. Scuts.
I'm not going to defend the small section that murmured dissent when the UK got 1 or 2 points. I am going to defend the loud chorus of boos when Cyprus gave Greece a wholly unwarranted 12. Yes, I know they do it every year, but that doesn't make it right.

Anna
College: My tutors all think I should apply to go to Uni at Oxford or Cambridge, which is great but I'll never get in, I really want to go to Nottingham, but I'l doubt I'll get in there either.
After the way Oxford treated our Lisa, I think the whole list's off going there. And no-one sensible ever went to Cambridge. Save yourself for Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol, Bath and other B- division unis. Not only will you get a degree, but you'll have a life as well.

Ariel quotes eedjits from Florida
"well, you must be happy to get away from that cold weather" or "wow, it must be a real change to be in this heat huh?"
When I've been to Toronto, it's either been bright sunshine or a tropical rainstorm. Never cold at all. I think these Florida types have had their brains melted by shopping at Victoria's Secret (;

So, until next year's Eurosong post refers to next year's Eurosong contest, "Diva" is still #1.

#Say yes, you know the earth is beautiful#

Jo
DON'T go to Birmingham, it's a shitty town. (Sorry Iain, but I was born there - & I went to that horrid snobby school opposite the uni)
Aaaaahhhhh, he said. Do go to Birmingham. It's a high-quality university, with all the advantages of being a major player in the local entertainment scene, as well as being handy for the NIA, NEC, and Ronnie Scott's. As well as the Hippodrome, AVLC, Wulfrun & Civic Halls, Aston Villa, canal walks, the best local radio in the UK and a gazillion other reasons. And if it's good enough for President Yeltsgin and Jean Crehtin, it's good enough for you.

Lawanda Baldwin
Thank you!! I am trying to run a business at this address!!!!!!!
Hey, who subscribed you to this address? It wasn't I, said the fly...

Marguerite
Kenickie got 3rd place,
Shame! Shame!
Terry Hall and Sinead O'Connor got the 2nd place
That is a classic re-working that adds a lot to the original song. See also "Ding a dong", which is why I hoped Edwyn would do well.
As for Mr Shane McGowan - the man has talent, it's such a shame that's he inebriated 24/7.
Yes, it is. Some snide, cynical commentator suggested he'd changed the lyrics to "What's another beer"...
Apparently, there's gonna be a cd available of the featured songs, if anyone's interested.
Or, the CD is available in HMV Wolverhampton (and all good record stores :) and features the songs from the show, plus others. Including a chance for you to impersonate Kevin Greening and talk all over the opening track.

Brem Orange International
Pah! The Kenickie version was draped in teenage ennui (To quote every review of Kenickie on the bleepin' planet), hence separating it from the Brotherhood of man.
Even so, it sounds totally like the Sisterhood's version, down to the last note. Literally.

Huey challenges
sadly, the oxygen of publicity must have gone to your head. explain the eurovision contest to me, someone who cares.
Well, it's all very simple. The Eurovision Song Contest fulfils two aims. 1) To show off the advancements in technology, and explain where your license fee has gone. Witness live video link ups, Ulrika's odd dresses, and more swirly video effects than it's fair to mention. 2) To allow all the nations of Europe to laugh at each other's worst songs, and give points based on which most nearly approximates that country's definiton of total insanity. On the grounds that people aren't going to shoot at people they laughed at last year, it's preserved peace in Europe for the last 40 years.

Those who think it's a contest to find the cream of Europe's song-writing talent are sadly mistaken.

Huey again
what on jupiter's moons is the breakfast club?
"The Breakfast Club" was a 1985 movie about some kids who are given a six hour detention on a Saturday morning, and discover themselves during that time.

Brother Robert
In this week of Seinfeld-mania, how anyone could not know where the Upper West Side is is completely beyond me.....
It's above the Lower West Side. Obviously.
Now, what's Seinfeld, and why should we be mad about it?

Eli
Since we are going to be in England this summer, we beg for details. Can someone retell us the date, the place (London, Duh Square) etc.
Hmm. Good question. When shall we make it, peoples? Or shall we say, Eli, when are you going to be in the country, and work from there. Mark, will shim be in the UK this year? Anyone else popping over? Post now and we'll see what we can do...

Orange International again
I've let this go on far enough. This time...it's war.
The war started when the minister cut the ribbon and declared the war open. Full coverage of the war continues on weaver.radio.fm; on this frequency, Prayer Desk with Monsignor Trabe Lopez.
Everyone watch Stressed Eric. It's moved from hit-and-miss comedy to a physically dangerous laugh riot.
I got terribly confused, wondering why Eric had suddenly turned into this ultra-camp Dale Winton in glasses who goes round putting bits of metal onto other people's cars. Then I figured that I was watching the wrong channel. Still dead funny, though.

Statement of intent: in the remaining part of the post, I am not in any way attacking the actions or motives of the administrators of this list. I am raising some issues that I would like them to address.
We also do NOT want this fighting to continue. There is NO need for it, and it WILL be stopped.
If a heated battle is the only way to reach some form of compromise, then you'd be shooting yourself in the foot by not allowing it to play out.

That said, I do agree that this battle has dragged on beyond the point of reasonableness. It's no longer about where "Liberty" should be. Personally, I don't know what "Liberty" is, and don't much care for it. The battle's degenerated into a base slanging match involving around half a dozen listies. There are no new points being made that aren't being used to demean someone else.

To anyone, that in any way, from now on, affiliates Dreamworld with Mail-List (i.e. mirror lists, subscription addresses, etc.)
Whoa! Hold it right there! You've written
"...affiliates Dreamworld with Mail-List (that comprises exactly the following: mirror lists, subscription addresses. And anything else we care to add.)"
That lays you open to charges that you're defining a crime to fit a punishment. And that makes me a touch uneasy.

The First time you violate these rules that we have set above, you will get a PUBLIC WARNING, which will go to the MSCL Mailing List.
The Second time you violate these rules, you will be UNSUBBED.
So, what is the appeals structure? Where is the guarantee that you won't use these rules to remove someone holding unpopular beliefs, even if 90% of the posts on the matter encourage you to?

You have set yourselves up as administrators of the mail-list list. You have also made yourselves into judges of acceptable behaviour on that list. It is incumbent on you to spell out exactly what constitutes a violation of these rules, by defining those rules in a watertight manner. You've not done that yet. It is reasonable to expect you to provide some form of appeal against your rulings. It is vital that you remain accountable to the rest of the list.

Otherwise, I'll just have to go around making inoffensive little airy-fairy posts.

And hello to you. Last week: Eurosong. This week: Leaders of six of the most powerful nations on Earth (and Italy). Next week: The United Nations leaves New Yawk for Birmingham.

Jo
The only thing I disagree with is, I think if the fight is to be discussed, it should be done OFF LIST to avoid upsetting certain people.
A very valid point you raise, and I'll stop sounding like David Mellor now. I suggested the blood-letting should stay on the list. Here's why.

• It would let people tune in and tune out of the topic far more easily than a separate list.
• People could comment knowing that their words would be seen by the whole list, not just interested parties. This would give protection to contributors against misquoting or taking their words out of context. I would hope that it would also moderate the force of attacks; events on the list seem not to bear this out.
• Any resolution could be seen easily by all listies.

• There are listies who don't want to see any more of this. It's possible to get round that problem by clearly marking posts as containing argument material; this depends on the integrity of the sender and the definition of what constitutes argument material from the reader. Each reader's mileage will vary.

Nichole
oh yea.. something Iain said [waves to Iain]
Hello, over there... [waves back]
about creating a rule to fit the crime... I guess I would see that as a "bad" thing, but at the same time, when a situtation gets out of hand they have a right to find soem way to control it
Oh, absolutely agreed. However, given that the punishments are Draconian, I have severe concerns that someone is going to be threatened with removal from this list for offending one of the admins.

I guess my main concern is that this whole affair is contributing to a less forgiving atmosphere on the list. One that's less than welcoming to newbies.

Eli
NOT THE INTER TOTO!!! God forbid! Don't mention that name here. ;)
OK, then, I won't. Unless I have to.
Which reminds me, is Aston Villa qualified for Uefa cup?
Not right at the moment. They finished one place out of the automatic qualification places when the season ended. But, one of the UEFA cup places is currently held by Chelsea, who will be playing in the Cup Winners' Cup final tonight. If they win, they defend the title next season, freeing up a UEFA cup place for Villa. If they lose, they take the UEFA cup slot, and Aston Villa go into The Summer Contest That You Asked Me Not To Mention.more...
Besides, we are in severe problem in my country. We can not find a good skilled eurovision host.
Required skills: Great look, English knowledge, Francis knowledge, and a special ability to say "Dous Poue " in a sexy voice.

How's your French? Can you count to twelve, and reel off the names of up to twenty-five nations in English as well as French, without any cue cards?

Repeat after me:
Finland, two points. Finlande, deux points.
The Netherlands, five points. Les Pays-Bas, cinq points.
Malta, ten points. La Malte, dix points.
[and the most necessary Eurosong phrase]
Ireland, twelve points. L'Ireland, douze points.
And I'm curious, how did you get the lyrics?
They're up on the BBC's site [link died May 98. Here's another.]

Incidentally, there should be a translation of all the songs in French floating around somewhere. It's one of the more obscure rules of the contest.
Before every country's song, there was a promo section of the country. Croatia's was Juventus. Figures.
If I remember correctly, Croatia's featured stock clips of football matches at St James' Park, Newcastle and Villa Park, Birmingham.

Huey
i like a song with good dynamics, like the pixies were the monarchs of soft loud dynamics in a song, where a song is real quiet for a bit, and then it comes back in a rage, with lots of loud drums and guitars, which is really good, yeah...thanks, laura
Oh, so that's why I like them. I just think they're great. So sue me.
manchester is the finest place to be, birmingham is an utter dump. what is your main claim to fame - the floozie in the jacuzzi?
Odd, I didn't know President H. Roddferherownback-Clintern had arrived yet. (:*
what about that foreseen world cocoa shortfall?
This is just a scam perpetrated by the cocoa makers in a blatant attempt to drive up the world price of their product. See also: Year 2000 "bug". The sky isn't going to fall in, Chicken Licken.

byron mentions
I saw Sliding Doors some time ago
Mmm, good film. Only, there are issues for fans of London Transport. Like, why do the District Line trains look exactly like those on the ultra-short Waterloo And City line? And why, if she's boarding one of those trains at Bank, and hence getting off at Waterloo, does our heroine emerge from Fulham Broadway station, fully 4 miles away? Or the hospital exterior shots are of St Mary's, but the insides are of Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. And, most incredibly of all, the announcements are intelligable. Shome mishtake shurely.

[Thanks to contributors to uk.railway for their help]

Orange International
I also propose I'm allowed to continue my vigourous policy of Hippy baiting (I accidentally did a typo there. It was "biting". I say I'm allowed that too).
Hippy baiting would be a good thing, if it wasn't so damned easy. No intellectual challenge there. Hippy biting is another thing, and one that the list's resident (or not) vampire might want to help you out with.

Aaaaaaiiiiiieeee......

A word to the wise. This post repeats the Boston Globe's reports of what will happen in tonight's episode of Somerfeld, the comedy about nothing. But that comes at the very end.

Jo, she quotes me

Hippy baiting would be a good thing, if it wasn't so damned easy. No intellectual challenge there.

[Incomplete translation from the Newfie --> English dictionary]

Jo, you do remind me rather of my erstwhile Latin teacher. She was the only person to mention the subjunctive in my presence, though she did so rather a lot.

Jo again
(dig the flowers in my hair, man.)
That might be a little difficult. I believe they will have been dug up at a prior juncture.
Take the fight off-list & thrash it out. Iain has volunteered to administer a mini-list for this purpose.
The offer still stands. However, at the moment, it would just be me and Jo on this list. And, nothing personal, but I think using scarce resources to conduct a list between two people is a tad wasteful. If anyone wants to join Jo and myself on this list, speak now, or I'll not set it up.

Eli
Alas my friend, it was juventus. This is not the kind of thing I'm mistaken in ;)
I bow to your superior judgement.
But besides, even if it was Newcastle, how is it related to Croatia?
What flag did the crowd hold up at the end?
The purpose of these "postcards" (as the EBU rules call them) is to provide a 90 second break between acts to change the set, bring the drumkit and other props out from behind the whale's tail, and get people into position. Host broadcasters use it to display something about their country. In Croatia's case, it was football. For Slovenia, jewellery making. For Spain, a hot dog. For Cyprus, a plate of fish and chips. These little displays have nothing to do with the country they're introducing. Except Ireland, whose workers were primarily responsible for building the London Underground (and I never knew their tricolour was on the tube map). And the bad driving that represented the UK.

Andi
favorite colours: blue [#0000FF];
It's a nice shade. Personally, I think #0018FF is that bit warmer, but then that doesn't dither on 256 colour displays.
green [#009900];
Can't interest you in a nice #00CC33? No? Ah well...
and then there's that colour from the shallow waters of tropical waters -- that green-blue?
Oh, you mean #33CCFF? That's a really nice one.

Orange International
Amusingly annoying thing: The chap who wrote to the NME last week defending the awesomely idiotic Kula Shaker, claiming that they "showed agreater understanding of Indian music than imigrants Asian Dub Foundation".
Let's be strictly accurate about this: Chiara, the Maltese entrant in Eurosong 98, showed more understanding of Indian music (and music in general) than Kula Shaker.more...
For those of you who haven't heard them, by the way, you've missed nothing.
Just give me two minutes alone with him with a small piece of cutlery. It's all I need.
If brains were dynamite, that correspondent would be safe forever.

Jo (again), speaks of Anna.
Also, thank you for speaking out against the "fat police". Vannessa Feltz is one of the most beautiful women I know. I wrote to her once, & she WROTE BACK! A *handwritten* letter, not typed by a secretary! Major respect!
Aah, Vanessa! The whole concept of a televised talk show isn't something I warm to easily, for whatever reason. However, I do think 'ness is a good deal better than most of her ilk, mentioning no names Robert Kilroy-Slime.
And, yes, handwritten letters to fans are Good. But, when did Respect get demoted to Major? I thought she was General Respect!

And so to the spoilers. According to the Boston Globe, the cast of heroes will witness a carjacking while going about their lawful business. They will proceed to fail to report this matter to the police, which is a criminal offence in Noo Yawk. Cue a frantic desire not to end the show behind bars.

Viewers in Canada and the US will be able to see this edition tonight. Those of us in the UK will have to wait until October 18, 2003 to observe it.

Good morning.

We regret to announce the death of Frank Sinatra at the age of 82.

The dashing teen idol who matured into one of the premier romantic balladeers of popular music will be best remembered for his 1967 recording of "My Way".

Ol' Blue Eyes, the man who invented the word "swinger", appeared to have ended his career in 1951, following the end of the big band craze. But he branched into acting, winning the 1953 Oscar for best supporting actor, and returned to making romantic ballads.

Copies of "My Way" are expected to be available in all good record stores (and WH Smiths) in the next few weeks.

We'll not see another day like Friday in a long time. Welcome to Shea Leih. An excuse to get some more bunting for Saross' forthcoming issue. The return of Brandy and shim.

And, yes, some less welcome news, and memories of some very unwelcome tidings from three years earlier. But it's the sad happenings that do the most to bind us all together, let us share in each others' sorrow, help each other through the dark valley of despair.

And allow us all to appreciate and celebrate the glad tidings when they arrive.

Hmm, maybe I should have gone into the church... Speaking of which, Eli calls this chap the Lord. Me, I just quote him
I have a job interview-type thing on monday. Erk.
Erk. Indeed. If the thought a few weeks back of the omnipotent type Brem doing the deed caused a certain logical failure, the concept of him actually doing an honest day's work is even odder. Hey, this is the only person in the world who hands out oranges to all and sundry. Still, if Kenickie need a new press officer, he's the chap to ask. Even though all the releases will smell of stale orange peel.

Jo enquires
Is Anyone Else Pissed Off With Demon?
From my contacts, and the problems you describe, I suspect this is going to be a problem for a significant time. Alternate ISPs, then? Work recently went to psinet, which has proven to be effective, though an absolute mare to set up. The folks at home swear by MSN, and I find it acceptable - though the default browser is a pile of dung.

The question's posed
OFF: What is your favorite stupid lame silly but shallow film of all time?
Long serving listies will have shuddered when they saw this, coz they know what recent, lame, silly, shallow film I'm going to say. So, just to be a little awkward, I won't rant on about it.

Stop cheering at the back! No, I merely mention that there's to be a new film made, called "Gigantic". It's about a ship that claims to be unshrinkable, until it runs up against a coral reef. Though set in the modern day, all cast members will talk and act in authentic Edwardian ways. Prospective cast members should form an orderly queue at the Cannes film festival.

Did I connect "orderly queue" and France there? Shome mishtake, shurely.

TV's stereo-enhanced Anon-d enquires
Question: Have Oasis blown it? They never had it to blow, stateside; but I expect you UK listees might have an opinion.
Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: They were a growing phenomenon during 1994, and I think their popularity peaked in the last quarter of 95, with the Mike Flowers' Pops' cover of "Wonderwall". After that, their media presence here began to get larger than could be justified. Sara: you recall how big the Spice Girls were last year? Oasis were even more omnipresent than that. For my money, Oasis finally blew it with their abortive tour of the US in September 96. That coincided with the start of the Spice Girls phenomenon. A third album that can only be described (politely) as abysmal didn't help matters, either.

~Laura asks
I haven't gotten one message since about 4 o'clock....am I still on the list?
You know, we shouldn't get this sort of question any more. The mail- list is closed to anyone except subscribers posting, so if your message doesn't bounce back, you must be correctly subscribed. By the same token, if I see someone else's message, they must be on the list. QED.

[QED: Latin for "Smart ass, ain't I?"]

Kim Carnes sings about some woman with Bette Davis' eyes. Doesn't she want them back, or something?

Nichole
oh, but if you really do buy them to resell here... well, Ive read that theres one beanie babie only sold in the UK and it's ILLEGAL to bring it into the US to resell! And theyre also stopping people at the Canadian border and checking for the things.
Smells like an urban myth to me. Or some cheap publicity from the makers, or the importers, in an attempt to boost the price ten-fold. Now, I'm not an expert on the NAFTA rules, but I'm under the impression that if it's legal to import the goods into Canada, then it's legal to transport them across the veranda gate. If anyone can correct me on the exact NAFTA arrangements, or has experienced this customs activity, please contact me.

Jo's time conversions misses the most important one
8.45 pm British Summertime
17:15 on OZfm. As recommended by Billboard Online. But retrospective leg-fractures anyway.

Deca
It's SUMMER! Well ok it actually is still spring
A pagan rites: Summer began with Beltane on May 1, (May 14 for those still using the Julian calendar) climaxes with Midsummer on June 24 and closes at the end of July. So, we're a couple of weeks into summer already.

Demeter
feeling sad and orphaned...
[hugs]
We're here for you. All of us. Any time.

shim
so oh yeah guys, i'm back. :)
Yay!!!!! #Welcome back, welcome back, welcome b-a-a-a-a-a-ack.#
shimelle, warrior princess who wishes it was a little more alaskaish here cuz i refuse to turn on the ac! i've turned into an adult, haven't i?.~*
No! No!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! © Skeie 1996
Brem getting a job, shim turning into an adult. This Must Not Happen! The Warrior Princess Lives On!!!!!
to...new york city! i'm spending the summer in england
We were already planning to meet Eli over the summer. Now we find that shim might well be there as well. Gee whizz. That is going to be something to look forward to.
and then starting at hunter college in the fall. i'm transferring to the college that runs liz's high school!!
Now, I'm planning to be in the US in mid-October anyway. With the chances of meeting Liz, Emily, shim, Bro Robert and others, NY, NY is beginning to attract strongly.

~Laura
I am off to buy Tori tickets:) Wish me luck:)
Erm, retrospective leg breaks with that as well. I'll be seeing Ms Amos in Wolverhampton on Monday week. Then Kenickie at the Varsity the following Wednesday.

Ross
Anyway, now we have pictures of our baby
Excellent!
[/bill-n-ted]

And Skeie reports
Shea Leih Stone was born today!!!!
Brilliant! Faberoonie! Archived best wishes to the lot of them.

So happy, my .ra file of "Diva" is wearing out

And not inconsiderable greetings to you.

Later: Kenickie, the return of Wrigley Field Wallpaper, London meets, Brem's job, and yet more Eurosongtrivia. And watch out: after the Propellorheads' new album, things get rather nasty. Don't say we don't provide spoilers.

We have Sara trying to wrest control of the Bad Pun Provider Of The List.
oh, I want to go to Alaska so much!! It always sounds so cool there :)

So-Called Help makes me bring out the pseudo-HTML tags. So, [picky]
Despite the fact that the list is a closed group of people
Er, correct me if I'm wrong, but can't anyone subscribe to this list? If so, that makes it an open group.
[/picky]

As I believe that there's a (third) version of the rules in the pipeline, I'll refrain from commenting further. Other than to suggest that reasoned debate is always going to be preferable to pointless name calling. Always.

Eric
That is because they are not analyzing Causes, only Effects.
Wise words. In situations beyond those Eric directly commented on.

Orange Kenickie
Just a reminder that Kenickie, the list's official band if votes be true, have a new single out in the UK a week on Monday.
From this sentence, please delete "if votes be true" and insert the two letters "un" after "list's". It becomes a far more accurante sentence then.

Oh, and the single is great, too.

Elizabeth Angellla-Brem Skeie-Leih Eric Corduroy Innes Wrigley-Field has a name that is too long to fit onto a single line. She writes:
Oh my god. There's a wallpaper with me now? I'm going to check it out in a second

Yes, that's a good idea. Go straight to http://geocities.datacellar.net/Heartland/Valley/8414/wwwfw.htm and add your name to the campaign.
(what I have on my computer is wallpaper of SHimelle, actually).
We would expect nothing less from the President of the shimelle k. laine fan club.

Speaking of whom...
but never fear, if kenickie won't come to you, then you come to kenickie! yay!
Sorry? If Kenickie won't come to you? Shome mishtake shurely...
Nine days and counting (:*

Sara
Anyway, its this coming Saturday. May the 23. We will most likely be meeting at Hyde Park (its the easiest place to meet, seeing as how some of us know exactly where to go :) and I promise that me and Ross won't be as late this time!!! (I don't generally get sick anymore, so that's okay!!)
Oh good. We thought you'd come by British Rail last time.
Anyway...let me know if you can/wanna come!
Ack, alas, and unfortunately, I'm meeting some old Uni friends by the Billary Clintern Memorial Statue in Victoria Square. Birmingham. But the London Web Page is still there; just let me tweak it to show the right date... it'll be done by the time you get to my sig.
these english phone bills are humongous!!!
Yes. They are. Especially if you spend two hours a month calling St. John's.
I always forget that I have to pay by the minute for the time that I'm on (ugh), and yeah...our phone bill has been SO huge.
This, my friends, is what happens when Governments attempt to regulate the telecomms market.
Lovely american telephone lines..I could kiss them right now!
Please don't. We don't want you to end up electrocuting yourself.

Huey
quality reclaim the streets demo yesterday shut down quite a lot of brum
Jolly good. Me, I only ever go in on the train. OK, and the bus when I was studenting at the uni. But there are too many private cars in the city.

It was clear and cool this morning. Bright blue skies all around. Except, over where the city is, there's a distinct yellow haze. Not healthy. Not good at all.

Gawds, more Eurosong trivia. Eli quotes me

What flag did the crowd hold up at the end?

Brem, he writes
Oh don't worry. I'm not applying for anything that society would consider *real* work.
Oh, thank goodness for that. My faith in human life is restored. How'd the interview go, anyhow?
I fear she will continue her slaying fits when the mood strikes her.
Oh good. There will be some sense in the streets of London by the end of the summer.

Hey, you thought this post was just thrown together, right? Wrong.

shim
i'm not an aspiring lawyer or senator (though peopel wish i was, but i'm not. yay me.)
No. shim is, in fact, the real president of the untied states. That womanizing creep currently in London? He's just a figure head. Don't listen to a word he says.

Don't listen to a word I says, either. I may be a smokescreen designed to throw you off the truth as well.

Jaime
And does anyone know any songs by Propellor Head besides that new one?
Er, which new one would that be? The album screws up the formatting of my charts, coz it's called "Decksanddrumsandrockandroll". Blighters.

OK, further warning. I get a little annoyed beyond this point.

Nichole on the beanie babies fiasco
doesn't appear to be a myth
Well, my apologies. I appear to be myth-taken.
[dodges rotten tomatoes, and bumps into Rush Rightwinger]
Seriously, though, why is there no massive outcry over this blatant violation of a nation's civil rights? Where is the online protest? Why are people getting wound up about perfectly legal ways of running their lives, and not objecting to this blatant, outragous act of economic blackmail.

Could it be because these Liberals can't see the wood for the trees? Or because they just want to promote their own causes.
[/rush]

Elaine on the Cypriot - Greek cosiness at Eurosong.
But why did they boo? Not because of sodding cynical voting, but because Cyprus did not give England 12! Simple. Everyone who gave you lot less that 10 got booed.
So, to whom did Cyprus give 10? The UK. No, the crowd booed the Cypriot 12 to Greece because it is a blatant piece of political voting. The Greek song was crap. It deserved nothing. It only scored so well because Cyprus gave it 12 points it blatantly didn't deserve.

Jo suggests
The most worshipped cult in any English university is irony.
Odd. I thought it was beer. And Teletubbies. And tedious bands, rugby, football, pointless activism on puerile causes, and then more beer.

Ironic, isn't it (:

MY problem is currently unsubbed.
And, indeed, has been since just before last Christmas.
So I can name her, good.
This may not be a smart move. No sir it may not.
It's Ali who types her name in capital letters.
Well, I said it may not be a smart move.

[weaver now breaks the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]

Sorry, ms president, but it had to be done.

But I call Ali a stuck CD. She posts only on one, extremely boring subject.
I sense someone who only reads what they want to read. And totally disregards the rest of it. ALI had been a member of this list almost since its inception. She has posted on a multitude of topics, and always made an interesting read. ALI remains the Sharon of the list (in absentia), someone I'm deeply privileged to have shared time with, and someone I'm proud to claim as a friend.

I'm not going to bother saying any more. It clearly isn't worth my breath. And I'm not going to take this to personal mail. There's nothing more to say.

Sara again
before you judge someone, you should get to know them. Maybe this isn't a cool thing to say on teh list right now.
Sadly, it appears not. No, let's all rush to snap judgements on people. Even better. Let's decide what we think of people based only on their use of punctuation.
You don't know Ali..you don't know if she is a self-pitying bitch, or anything else.
I think I know ALI reasonably well. And I could answer this question. But I won't.
There is one kind of woman in the world. The kind which Brem wants in bed.
But what will he do there? No, don't answer.

I'll be back when I'm not kicking cats.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons
for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
Brum: sunny & 20 * David Wells: you did wellmore...

It's hot. It's humid. And there's so much gunk in the air that my hay fever is playing up again. Car drivers, you must die. Preferably before I do.

Jennifer Jacobs (welcome back!)
One thing I've seen quite a bit lately, and it looks like the main culprit is Huey (no offense!) is that a person sends someone else's message and doesn't seem to add anything new.
It's odd. I seem to have that problem with a correspondent from the University of Central Lancashire. If it's you, please remember to indent what other people say.

Huey
i shall be supporting all england's opponents, or alternatively, not bothering with the world cup at all...
Hmm. To ignore Zimbabwe is one thing. To ignore South Africa or India may not be such a good idea. And just 360 days till it all starts...

Jo
We *can* disagree, and still be friends.
I certainly hope so.
I'd like to see [Ross] post more often!
So would I. Now, we know that Sara's at home all day, every day. And Teletubbies is only 25 minutes of that day, and the rest of daytime tv is total trash. So she spends ages reading and replying to email. But, please Ross, post a little more. Tell us what it is you do.
I really cannot suspend disbelief and accept that she didn't know I wanted spoilers.
ALI has been off this list since before Christmas. Does this alter your perception of things in any way?
I only zero in on what I *don't* want to read. And [...] I never read her posts!
Then you missed some sublime contributions. Shame, really.
Ali IS deliberately trying to hurt me.
A dictum from Sherlock Holmes springs to mind here. "When you have removed the impossible, what is left, however improbable, may happen" OK, so I misquoted it. But it applies here. It is plausible that ALI might deliberately attempt to hurt someone. It would be somewhat out of character, and all that, but it's possible. And much as I'd like to, I'm not going to doubt Jo's veracity.

An AOHellster writes
I KNOW MANY OF YOU SUPPORT ME!!!!!! PLEEEEEEEEEEASE SAY SO!
And yet. Without knowing the full facts of the situation, I am not prepared to side against someone who is a wonderful friend, even if that means lining up against someone I respect. So, excuse me while I stay out of this situation.

Or, as byron put it in the next post in the digest:
*snicker* I'm not going to touch that one with a 3-meter pole

Moving on to Party of Five stuff, Jo
I have to say that I didn't like the character of Grace. She was too much of a stereotype.
Mmmm, maybe. Though she got involved with Charlie, the one character who prompts me to fall asleep on the fast forward button. What really bugged me, though, was the way Julia just dumped that builder she was dating for no adequately explored reason. Couldn't be anything to do with the imminent return of G. Holbrooke, could it?

~"I'm kinda partial to liz 98 as it's the Liz I've grown up with. Sure, vintage Liz has its time and place, but Liz98 has the features and talents to take us into the twentyfirst century." ~Matt Peller
But of course. Though, we hear that the Department of Justice, 20 states and the DC have launched a lawsuit under anti-trust regulations. Apparently, Liz98's Embedded Regional Regulatory Operations Regime causes problems to suppliers of other Existance Visibility Clients. And that, apparently, breaches just about every rule under the sun, plus quite a few that are under the moon.

In other words, there's only one Liz.

Sara
I come on here, and people *only* ever ask me about the baby.
Gawds. How annoying. All Ross ever posts about (well, in the past week) is the sprog, and yet people only ask Sara about it. Most bizzare.
I am ME, Sara, the person.
The Green Bay Packers fan. The (former) employee of Claire's Fashion Accessories Store. The member of the Frequent TransAtlantic Flyer's Club. (current on-list pop: 6. Unless you know different.)

I am not and in no way will ever be Mrs. R MacDonald.
Ya know, this is something that bugs me, as well. Why oh why oh why is there this assumption that a married womin becomes an extension of her husband, to the extent that she loses her own name. The one thing she's been able to keep throughout her life is suddenly gone by the wave of a magician's wand. It just doesn't make any sense.

teh stuff is SO dumb...and people actually laugh at it?
American prime time tv tonight: Cop show. Movie. Movie. Comedy. Comedy. Documentary. Unfunny comedy. Teen drama. Teen drama.

UK tv tonight: Travel. Soap. Crime show. Crime show. History. 25 year old "comedy". Soap. Soap. TV awards show. Golf. Soap. Documentary. Documentary. Drama. Nature. Film.

you british people might think that your comedy is funny, but its NOT! not to me anyway :)
It is ex-comedy. It has ceased to have comedic value.more...

people look up to me because I'm American (kids usually) or theylook down on me because I'm american (teens, and older people mainly).
Heck. So far as is reasonable, Sara is Sara first, and an American comes some way after that. Along with being a womin, married, with child, having hair, less than 7 foot...

I'm sick of hearing that you could fit the whole of Britain into one state of the US!
Sorry, all of the UK into the piddling little space occupied by Rhode Island? Shome mishtake shurely.

NO skittles (not really)
Come to sunny Codsall, where the wind is light, the living is quiet, and the shops sell Skittles.

They are missing out on SO many yummy foods!!!!
Fast food has stayed as hamburgers and fries. No sandwich bars, no slushies, not even an ice cream sundae at 10pm.

NO malls over here
Come to sunny Codsall, where we're only 10 miles away from Merry Hill. A day's worth of shopping in the Midland's biggest mall.

their shops close at five here!!
Six in Brum; 8 on at least one night a week. And there are grocery stores in most areas open 7 am - 11 pm.

they're only allowed to be open six hours on Sundays!
Till 94, they weren't allowed to be open on Sunday at all. Indeed, that was the case in Newfoundland till the beginning of this year.

Ross say sthat he knows osme, but not all of what Prince Charles wants, and why!
I could respond to this, but it would probably be treason. ):

I think [Ross'] dad was quite shocked to find out that I certainly intend to work when I get home, and possibly even before I get home!
Yay for you! Though, with due respect to all concerned, maybe he is using the Voice Of Experience. I'm assuming, of course, that he and his wife also went through the whole childbirth routine...

Lixz
Well, I'm off to school. Wish me a good day!
Day. Good. A. Have.
Rearrange these words into an English sentence.

Brum: sunny, sniffy & 22 * Suharto: going, going, staying

...on a shirt. Jules Rimet still gleaming.

No more years of hurt.

No more years of dreaming.

Well, Hotmail became inaccessible for a day and a half, I went off to foreign and exotic places (well, Coventry), but finally came back. With that scoop above, another one later, and these sage words. I know they're sage, coz I removed the onion.

Katie! Hello! Welcome! Hello!
I'll think of something worthwhile to say and then I'll post
That has never stopped me in the past. Say something, anything...

Huey invites me to
fuck john deadwood
just fuck him
I would, but I don't do extra-terrestrial life forms.

Or duvets.

the guy's a fool
No more of a fool than the First Lord President of the Dome.

A passing net.curmudgeon didst contribute
Isn't forcing people to mark messages with "sensitive topics" restricting their constitutionally-granted-and-ain't-it-wonderful right to free speech? (Never mind the fact that a number of the people who have insisted on this so-called right don't even live in the U.S., and are therefore technically not covered by the Bill of Rights.)
Of course, the honourable gentleman for Netcom City raises a wholly accurate point. Yet, although the US Constitutional Amendments stop at that country's boundaries, they are replaced by similar guarantees in many nations of the world. Including Canada, and the whole membership of the Council of Europe. While there may be differences in the details, the guiding principle remains applicable.

Jo refers back to BBC Diana's Dead 24
I couldn't *believe* the whole country came to a standstill on the day of the funeral.
That's what they want you to think. Me, I got the bread and paper at the normal time. Read it while listening to the Kenickie album. Especially track 1.more...
They *didn't* do it for John Lennon or Freddie Mercury though. Those guys, like actually contributed something to the world.
Well, I'm not sure that they did contribute much to the world. But then That Tedious Womin eked out her living as a Media Celebrity of the worst kind.
And I don't think the country should stop for anyone's death. Especially mine.

Sara [quoting me, later]
well..I have never seen teletubbies yet.
Shame! Shame! Go watch them now. It's a more entertaining show than BBC Diana's Dead 24. That said, the test card would be more interesting than BBC Diana's Dead 24. Or most of the daytime tv.

But, please Ross, post a little more. Tell us what it is you do.

All Ross ever posts about (well, in the past week) is the sprog, and yet people only ask Sara about it. Most bizzare.

The member of the Frequent TransAtlantic Flyer's Club. (current on-list pop: 6. Unless you know different.)

[With apologies to Dana International]

And speaking of Eurosong, here's Elaine
Once the UK were topping the leaderboard, every one who gave them less than, like, 10 or 12, got booed.
Were we watching the same transmission? Or were Terry Wogan's burblings so distracting that I missed that? Though Elaine's argument is slightly ruined by the fact that the UK were out of contention for the lead between countries 4 and 24.

And Angie...
Please!Please!Please!
May the irish listees say Yes.
For Peace & Future
"You may say I'm a dreamer / But i'm not the only one" John Lennon
Aaagh! Angie, darling, you missed a wonderful Eurosong there. Let me call up 6th placed Melanie Cohl (Belgium):

Dis oui
Tu sais c'est beau la terre
Dis oui
Quand on est solitaire
Et puis
Le monde est a refaire
Dis oui
Viens pour la vie, viens pour une heure.

The honourable member for Hunter College (Jr)
So I think it's not too good to post things without spoilers, but equally wrong or worse to make it a rule that they can't.
I'm really really sorry if that didn't make sense.
It made sense. And I have to agree. It is ill mannered to say something in the knowledge that it could well hurt someone. But if someone wants to make that sort of impression, that is their matter.

It's the same reason why I never like policies that ban right-wing groups from speaking. Yes, they may be fascist pigs. Yes, they may hold repugnant views. But giving them an air of mystique can only add to their appeal. Letting them speak, letting them expose the holes in their own argument, is a far more effective defence.

Alfredo comments
I'm here at mail-list, and I don't like it, but I'm here to defend our rights, and I'm here because it's more important to stay together than to be apart.
That is your opinion. Other people may wish to dissent from it.

The main - nay, the only - right in connection with any mailing list is the right to be added and removed only at the listie's instigation. Not by some ad man in search of a fast buck at your expense. Not by some admin pandering to the mob. Not by a cheap and lousy corporation who only know how to attract complaints. Not by someone who thinks it is their right to send mail to a list of names collected from some other place.

Cuing up future tense.
The unified list officially resides at dreamworld, I am not the list admin, I have zero power there, Josefa is the list owner, we only have *one* list, we respect privacy, ownerships, and spoilers, we all forget about the fight, and we all forgive each other.
I have two objections to that proposal. I will not discuss them on the list, other than to point out they exist.

Mighty Max, she writes!
Well, I've now been on the list for two years. I guess I'm an official overlooked oldtimer now. Which would prolly be helped if I ever said anything.
Ah, but is not the best way to remain overlooked to say nothing?

Heck, old and still a teen super hero. How do you do that?

I went and got a whole new haircut and highlights.
Whoop! Huzzah! Highlights add a certain (erm) highlight, don't they.

Brem
On the other hand, my english friends don`t understand me either. Ce la vie.
Oh. I thought I was a friend of Brem's. But, seeing as how I understand him perfectly well, clearly I'm not.

Ah! He said English friends. So, seeing as how I'm a Canyuck in exile, I can understand Brem and be his friend.

Kinder Surprise!

Kenickie are playing a special secret gig at the Alleycat on Sunday. It`s so special and secret that no-body actually knows, meaning no-one will actually be going.
Shame. Still I expect there will be at least six there. As well as the road crew.
And Kenickie are the best 3 girl 1 boy band on the entire planet
Isn't the past always a better place.

~Laura
OFF: What is your favorite photo that you have and treasure?
Ooh! An excuse to plug my website! It's the one of me and ALI at the foot of the pictures page.
ON: Do you think that the characters ever took group pictures?
I can see Young Angela being cajoled into posing with Sharon and/or Brian, but not all three together. Angela-we-know might have taken fun pics with Rayanne, but for all we know one (or more) of them might have had thoughts of pictures capturing one's soul forever, and ruled that out.

Brem again
Subject: off: Namedropper
And it turns out to be about Lisa's sister's book. Now, note that this book isn't Emma Forrest's book. It's Lisa's sister's book. Now, that is fame.
Reality used to be a friend of mine
Mmmbaa-daa-baa-daa-baa-daa, mmbaa-daa-baa-daa-baa-daa. :||

Lauren, thank you. The American Academy got something right.

Mark
Quite frankly I'm growing tired of petty tirades in general - I'm not sure I want to stay. I find this sad.
Oh, Mark, stick around. Who else is going to conduct the Learner and Lowe masterclass? Or compare their life to "South Pacific"? Besides, we need one, token, sensible Brit on the list. And you're the closest approximation to that. Unless some lurker would care to prove me wrong (hint)...

Brooks
I like flying a lot... except the landing part...
That's more than a little odd. Coz I find landing the only bad part of the flight. Other than taxiing around Heathrow for twenty hours after landing, and being reminded of all the oil companies in the world.

Credits: Sybil Ruscoe, James, Teletext on Bore, and your eyes.

Codsall: showers & 15 * Say yes, the earth is beautiful

Numbers for today: 6, 14, 25, 36, 40, 44.

Jo, she writes
Neither Alan nor Iain seem to have been online (hey, people with RL, cool!)
I can't speak for Alan, but mine is an outbreak of Dodgy Connection Syndrome. Blah.

Liz
19 poems with the episode titles, but about other stuff
We're in great need of some quality writing on unusual subjects. And four poems a week should see us neatly to the early July holiday. So, care to post them? Otherwise I'll have to inflict some of my ramblings on you all. And that's not a fate anyone should suffer.

ElGreene sends 425K of music stuff. Permit me to get a little annoyed about this: when translated into Digest-speak, it becomes a mass of ASCII garbage. 425K of ASCII garbage, to be exact. 425 K of ASCII garbage that cannot be made into a sensible file. I believe it to be poor netiquette to post such large binaries to a text list. Please don't do it again. Anyone.

Jo
I've been approved on the database for official Birmingham Chamber of Commerce translators!
Whoo-hoo! [/homer simpson]
Well done! The coolest city in Western Europe now has yet another way cool translatrix. Hugely impressive! Now, turn that punctuation mark upside down, pop the cork, and drink the contents.

Garrett
What do you see in that midnight twilight, beyond the little lights twinkling in the pitch black sky?
People's dreams, flying about, meeting up with other people's dreams, tangling themselves up, and returning to their owners. Slightly altered by the experience, and about to make that change to their owner.
What's the one thing in your life right now that you are searching for?
At the risk of being had up for plagarism, it's for someone to return a minute particle of all the love I've been giving out these years.
But I'm running into one problem.
Last names.
Anyone care to try?
Before I have a shot, let me tell you how they resolve it for the train company round here. Because some passengers are vicious thugs, staff are entitled to wear a name badge that is pseudonymous. It means that big brutes can't track them down through the phone book. Always assuming that said brute can understand a phone book (; So, my friend Ross Hamilton has been Ross Abercrombie (another place in Scotland), Hamilton Ross, and Ross McCloud. There was a proposal to standardise the names as the real first name, with the last name of "Hunter". So we would have had James Hunter driving, Ross Hunter and Kelly Hunter selling tickets, and heaven help anyone called Mike.

So, to the names in the play.

• Jamie -- Falconer
• Lauren -- Laverne? No, Green(e)
• Shawn -- Myerson (obArchers)
• Sarah -- Hamilton (see above)
• Devon -- Cadwallader
• Able -- Firth
• Alyx(is) -- Fis(c)her
• Waldo -- Turnberg

So_CalledHelp
we will NOT force anyone to go or stay some place where they do not feel comfortable.
Thank you for making that pledge. I trust you will honour it.

Alfredo wrote a long, detailed essay. It reminded me of one of Tony Blair's election addresses. Make of that what you will.
Not peaceful *merely* because it's censored. Peaceful because our spirits are at rest.
I really don't think it'll work out that way. I've already seen three people stick their heads above the parapet and say that their spirits will not be at peace. Who knows how many there are out there in Lurkerdom who share their views? Who knows how many regular posters don't want to voice their opinion for fear of offending The Thought Police, those who would prefer to bury their heads in the sand and not admit there's a problem on this list?
The last two items are "We all forget about the fight, and we all forgive each other". *Those* are the best parts. Remember to do those parts *first*.
Forgiveness is a necessary condition for there to be peace. I need to accept that whatever has happened has happened, and we need to move on from there.
Forgetting about what happened would be a bad move, I think. This whole debate has brought to the surface issues of privacy, issues of ethical and acceptable behaviour, and issues of when to let a matter rest in peace. While the matters of contention will be resolved sooner or later, I think we need to remember the conclusion. And remembering how we reached those conclusions, and why we needed to reach them, means we can't pretend the whole thing never happened.

And a quickie to people in Britain. Kenickie's new single is out today. How many copies are you going to buy? How many times are you going to ring up your local radio station and ask them to play it rather than that b****y record going on about womyn wearing chimneys?

Codsall: rain & 14. Bank holiday weather * Eat my anchovie

Goodness. I don't check my mail for 26 hours, and find fully 30 items in my in tray. Don't forget: I'm on digests. Eleven of them. That represents about 386K of postings, in just over one day. Over 14.8K per hour. Something around 4.2 characters per second. That's a lot of words.

Anyone would think you had nothing better to do with your lives. (;

Garrett enquires
How do you fall asleep? Like, what's required before entering that dream-stasis? :)
For me, it's been happening kinda early, around 10 pm. Which is just in time for the CBC relay of "The World At Six", or AFN's take on "All Things Considered" when short wave is fizzing up. Listening to the correspondents drone on sends me most of the way over the edge. Nothing personal against these fine programmes, but they are just the right way to drop off.

Huey
redwood is indeed less of a fool than mandelson mandelson irritates me intensly
You do realise that he's going to interpret that as a compliment, don't you?

Digest-meistrel Jenn
Okay, now I go back to lurking. Hopefully for a long time.
Aw, don't! Just when we were beginning to enjoy hearing from you. Do post some more. If only to have your guess on what a "meistrel" is when one's at home, coz I sure don't know (:

Demeter and Jo
>you're not turning into a grown-up on us, are you? :)
Relax, no way!
Thank goodness for that. With Brem taking job interviews, and shim insisting that she's growing up, I was wondering how to keep in touch with someone who is still Not Grown Up. Coz I fear it's happening to me ):

Jo again
Are we all members of the "Mile-high Club" too?
Erm, well, I wouldn't deign to comment on that. What you and Tino do while flying is entirely your business. All I'll say is that I've always flown alone.
I would like to hear your objections, in private if you feel you can't make them publicly.
For the record, I prepared a post to explain these objections to Jo. As she's now unsubbed, there's no point in sending it.

Okay, one final comment on this topic. Sara
I understood when the fight first started. Kristine told Alfredo that she 'owned' other people's e-mails in a private session. Would that not be covered by the privacy rights?
Erm, yes it would, IMO.
So, in essence, Alfredo had no right to say anything about it in the first place.
Weaver's head is now coming into contact with a brick wall. Hard. And repeatedly.

Brem
Kenickie: Of course I know about the two new members. Except they're obviously not *real* kenickiettes. Merely demi-creatures, which makes them far superior to I.
Further details after Saturday's gig at the Varsity.

Laura Krantz, get some squidgy tomatoes ready to throw
I can't wait until the Tori concert...
OFF: What is the best concert you have ever been to?
Throw those rotting fruits. Tori at the Civic on Monday night.

Huey
i hope that the democratic unionist party become increasingly marginalised now.
Ooh, I do hope so. OK, so it means that my infamous Dr Paisley impression becomes totally meaningless, but I JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!

byron
Today I go to Tower Records and look for Kenickie.
Cover me, I'm going in.
We're here, standing outside the entrance, with capsules of glitter gel and bucketfuls of teenage angst in case we need it. How'd it go?

Mark
okay, call me sad
Giving in to such a simple temptation is no fun.
in a 12 month period I have been across the Atlantic eight times so I guess I definitely rate in the FTFC... kick arse!
Oh gawds. I have jet lag just thinking about that. And growlings of airline food. But I'll not go there.
Mark xxx (Who has something else to put in his sig file - yay!)
Glad to be of service (:

Thence to shim
leo couldn't go cuz he'd already committed to going somewhere with me...and he knows i'll scream if he breaks another date.
Ah-ha! So that would explain the loud screeching I've been hearing on and off for some days.
shimelle, warrior princess who now feels she should join amal at the united nations.~*
With humble apologies to Frank Sinatra, the first gentleman of song:

Start spreadin' the news.
shim's gonna make a brand new start of it.
In ol' New Yo-o-o-o-ork!
Coz she can
Make it there.
And make it
Anywhere
It's up to you,
New York, New York.

Scott
What music would be perfect for stargazing? Or is no music better?
Enya's "Box of Dreams" CDs; the "Stars" one is perfect for nights. Though the "Oceans" one is great for long, lazy, summer evenings.

Laura G recommends
The Lion, THe Witch, and THe Wardobe
Oh yes! Classic book. Along with the rest of the series, of course.

Garrett
What do you define "happiness" to be?
The feeling I get when I know that someone appreciates me for what I am. Not what I do, or what I look like, but what I am.

A bit like Jill's sig
"I just want you to know who I am" ~ The Goo Goo Dolls

I can never resist a challenge. Jill keys
I have only made it once.... oh well maybe someday, I will be interesting enough!! ;)
Don't forget, list lovers, the more you post, the greater the chance that you'll spark something in me that wants to reply to you.

~Laura
As some of you already know, the first week of June I will be going into a recovery hospital for two weeks
[hug]
Thinking of you...

The rest of Scott's questions
Any dreams to be found
Plenty. Around every corner lies something valuable. Even if it's a delayed train, there's a lesson for me in there.
lovers to me met
I don't see any flying pigs, but stranger things have happened...
wings to be grown, mountains to climb
Very possibly. I'm seriously thinking about leaving my current job - mainly coz I don't get along that well with my boss, but also coz of the l-o-n-g hours, and (quite frankly) it's just not my culture any more. Too aggressive, too money-oriented, too darned selfish. So, if any of you are looking for a HTML designer, or someone to add zest, enthusiasm and sparkle to what you do, please get in touch (:

Sigmund Garrett
Didneyland.
Would that be the theme park dedicated to Ken Dodd and his Diddymen, by any chance? No? Ah well...

Sara
but when are they on? I looked for them the other day, on all the channels, at ten a.m. the time that Ross told me..and sadly, no teletubbies. well...nothing that I recognized as them anyway ;-)
OK. 10 am, BBC 2 (sorry, B B C   T W O ). You may see some eedjit reading out birthday greetings to young sprats, but stick around and you'll see the Big Five.

Sara wonders if Ross is another sensible Brit who is currently in Lurkerville. Well, he's certainly not posting as much as I'd like him to [blatant hint...] And he does seem to be a most sensible chap; though when all I've had to compare him against is Brem, Deca and Phil, that would make anyone seem sensible (;

Actually, there's Brem, Sara, Phil, Ross, Deca, Iain, Lisa, Mark... Do you have to have a four letter name to make it on this list from the UK? Well, no, there's Marguerite, and Abix. Any more for any more?

Shana on Teletubbies
what is the point to the show? I mean, yeah, they're cute looking and strange in a brem sorta way, but yeah... I just don't understand it. maybe that's the point of it or something, but I find it hmmm... doesn't fit my interest... although, I did watch it the day after, and hmm... the day after that... but that doesn't matter :) [giggle]
Ah. Aaaah. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. We've got another one (:

Garrett
Boy I love knowing contacts first hand. :) ;)
Come to think of it, I love that contact too. :) But hey. We won't go into that. :) [smiles]
Aw, go on. Go into it. Put some nice stuff about.

Betsy
Tell me about the boy/girl of your dreams right now.
Well, the girl of my dreams knows exactly who she is. The boy of my dreams appears to be annoyingly straight. ):
Tell me what you do on Sunday afternoons.
Sunday afternoons is a time to watch the Grand Prix, and listen to Murray Walker's insane screamings. A time to listen to the good Doc Fox with the UK hits. A time to strech my legs and clear my head.

Zeitgeist moment as Jill keys
wait a second, what is snailmail??? I don't think I have it :(

Thanks for the sig suggestions...

What's snailmail? I don't have it! * More hairbrushes!
Codsall: showers & 13 * Paisley is pining for the fjords.

Well I never. The average sexual encounter for a bonobo a) occurs with a member of the same sex and b) lasts a mere 13 seconds. Food for thought, unless you are Brem X Jones, World Authority on the Sex Life of Neo-Human Animals.

To follow: variable verses revisited, lots of Laura, flying elephants, old kids tv, and kris' dream. But first:

Mark Frost, he writes
At last, another Brit who is not ashamed to admit that they listen to Radio 2. Personally, I won't listen to anything else.... Yay Radio 2!!
Yay indeed! I will freely admit to listening to many other stations. The Wolf, the new(ish) hometown station for Wolverhampton. AFN, RCI, RNW for their international perspectives. Radio 4's comedy, and "The Archers", the longest running documentary series in the world. Radio 5, home of news and sport. But, when I'm travelling during the day, or want something entertaining of an evening or Saturday afternoon, out comes good old Radio 2. Home of the one and only Terry Wogan. Of Johnnie Walker, Ken Bruce, Jimmy Not-So-Young, and Stewpot. Where the Organist still entertains; folk, jazz and country rub shoulders; and the News Huddlines reflect life so accurately.
Mark xxx (Who intends to convert the warrior princess who should be arriving in no less that 17 days - YIPPEE!!)
I'll write and tell Tel to put out a shout. (:
And then discuss the finer points of the schedule with the both of you over the summer (: squared.

Elaine
Good thing I won't be here soon, I guess.
Nooooooo!!! Do stay, else we'll have to miss you.

Liz
It's kinda like writing "Laura wrote...", no one would know who you were talking about ;)
Tell me about it. Though all Laurae are fine people, writing some provocative, intelligent and downright fun posts.

Hmm. What's the collective noun for Laurae? Or Lauras?

And Liz, how come Your Variable Name hasn't varied for the past week or so? Has it finally stuck?

Katie enquires
So I was wondering what kind of *unusual talents* do you have?
Me? Oh, I can just name the British number one single for any given date in the last 15 years.

Cory starts the "I Love ~Laura" Club. Here's my sub: How can you dislike someone with a mail address of murmurgrrrl.yahoo@com? I mean, it's just such a perfect place for her. She looks quiet on the surface, but beneath the ululations, there's a heart of gold.

Brem
What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her

Sometimes the sun shines on unkind people
People like you

-Laura envisions a collection
Graham would have to be spices
Ah, but which one first? I think he's a Ginger Spice kinda chap. Probably.

Frequent Trans-Atlantic Flyers' Club business. Tanya
Now wait a second. What about me????? I make it across the Atlantic at least two times a year
Welcome aboard. We're glad you've chosen to fly the Atlantic with us. We're pleased to offer a no smoking environment on all our services, request that all passengers stuff their over-packed bags into the overhead lockers provided, and apply enough force to get the doors to shut. Even if your bag bursts, the door must shut.

For the FTAFC, member shim from Kansas (he said, making the most of it while it lasts) submits
'airline travel is hours of boredom interrupted by moments of stark terror.' -al bolinska.
Too right it is. The calm that settles after the plane's finished climbing. The tedium that starts as soon as the olds broadcast begins. The movie starts, and everyone falls asleep. Then, suddenly, there's this horrible green monster standing right in front of you, asking if you want a packet of peanuts.

From horrible people to the complete opposite, Laura Krantz
I just love the word *plethora*:) Just had to say it!
Hey, I like the word "plethora" as well. There's a lot of it about.

Lixz
my hair also eats people alive. especially when it was long.
Ah! So that is what happened to the C-Monster... Suddenly, it all makes sense...

Garrett
How would *you* define innocence?
Just when you think you've learned how to use it, it's gone.

Sara sends a post with the topic
Subject: elephants
Now, when I saw this in the list of topics at the top of the digest, I thought it was one of mine. How annoying.

But as for what to do when faced with a dream elephant: just pull some cheese out of the bag you're carrying. Cheese attracts mice, you see, so the simplest whiff of the substance will cause a dream elephant to figure that where there's cheese, there's mice, and that's not a hugely tenable place for a dream elephant to be in. So it scarpers.

If you have no cheese, some Dairylea does a similar trick, albeit with small children, not mice.

Deca
cutting down the mail you're replying to (without deleting it completely cos we'd like to know what you're responding to!) wouldn't hurt either...
Indeed it wouldn't. Another list to which I'm subscribed has the rule that you can quote 10 lines more than you add. So 24 quoted lines to 15 original is fine; 34 quoted to 15 original doesn't get posted. Tee hee.

Huey sends me down kids tv Memory Lane. Watch out, it's a BMZ!
when i were a lad there were programmes of the calibre of phileas fogg's adventures,
Shurely you mean "Around the World With Willy Fogg". The softly spoken gentledog from Soho, with a French butlercat, a Spanish(?) pet mouse, and cheered on by Lord Guinness, who was nothing if not a whiskery old goat.
And how come the hero became "Willy Fog" for the sequel?
the mysterious cities of gold,
Oh, don't remind me of that. 39 episodes, and I seem to have seen them all a gazillion times. See also: Heidi.
a decent grange hill
There is nothing indecent about the current programme. Indeed, last year's series seemed to be MSCL revisited in North London. And this year's was fab - apart from the Gratuitously Sickly Ending Scene.
and the unforgettable will o' the wisp.
With the wicked witch Evil Edna.

Fzzzzzzzzap.

nowadays there's a lot of muck.
No, "Common as Muck" is distinctly post-watershed viewing.
where are the latterday rentaghosts?
Good question. Where is a worthy successor to Clodpole & co?
why have the makers (Japanese i think) of thundercats never come up with anything so good again?
Two words. Power Rangers. They went all live action on us ):

Sara on Teletubbies
I don't see how it would help kids with speech. They talk like babies on there...how is that going to help a kid to talk normally?
True, they don't use common English words. But, there is an internal grammar to the speech of the Teletubbies. Though you'll probably have to watch it for a week to pick up on that nuance...

Laura Krantz
Do you consider yourself a morning person or a night person?
Twin peaks at about 10 am and 9 pm. Almost asleep in the early afternoon.

Pooh Bear's HUnny Pot
Ahhh... what am I say... could I actually be that special?
Yes.
i do love glittery makeup though.
Glitter make up is uniquely attractive. It helps you stand out in a crowd far better than crimson glow hair.

If Lixz's name is a variable verse, so is Skeie!!!!!s address
skeieloveslilithfair.yahoo@com
Now, stop hiding your opinion under a bushel, and tell us what you really think...

Kris' DREAM. This is a DREAM SEQUENCE. It did not really happen. It says here.
So in walks Iain. I knew he was going to be here (California) and he mentioned calling me but I didn't know he was going to come and see me
That makes two of us.
so Im all excited and he crawls onto my bed and is reading what I wrote and were laughing
That would be a not unusual response to Kris' posts. They're cool!
and he takes off his sweatshirt, turns it inside out and puts it back on.
Now I know it's a dream sequence. Why should I want to wear an inside-out sweatshirt? It's so not my style. (:
then I look over and he is in nothing but his underwear!
There are reasons why this so would not happen.
for some reason he never put his clothes back on.
Er, erm, I'm not sure I want to hear more of this...
(Iain is leaving emails for the list at this point of the dream)
Mails? Plural?? Why post 16 mails when I can throw them all into the one...
and my hair looked sooooo good!
So no changes there.
The thing is, I dont even know Iain!!
Again, this makes two of us (:
okay where is our dream analyst!!!???
Very good question. What does it all mean?

Betsy
And q101 our rock station played the WHOLE NEW Smashing Pumpkins album in it's entireity as a sneak preview!
[jealous]
Very much so. But, what's a rock station, ma? And what's an album, ma?

Scott
Clothes don't make people look beautiful- people make people beautiful.
Well said, young man.

The Variable Verse is © Animaniacs 1993. And thanks to Shakespear's Sister for their contribution.

Until next time:

Cavities? There's a hole lot more to give you crater enjoyment
Codsall: sunshine, showers & 14 * Boom! Shake the room!

Hip hip hello.

Well, I seem to have overlooked a few digests recently. So I'll play a quick round of Catch Up. Topics before the sign-off: Teletubbies, smokescreens, entertainment news, cover stars, the GTS, tight jeans and TVN. But first...

Nichole
Does anyone have the info for subscribing to the list up on the web somewhere? :)
Yip indeed. A brief look at my list intro page will give the information you need to know. Except you already know it, coz you're already subscribed. D'oh!

shim reports
what is really weird about the teletubbies in america?? it's been americanized.
Weaver mutters something about cultural imperialism. We don't re-dub Barney, we just stick it on at 7 in the morning.
the only thing that hasn't been changed is the opening song when they all say hello (eh-oh!)
E-ho!
we have american kids on the little shows that sing in clearly american voices (and at the end it even said it was shot in florida) and the narrator is soooo not british is like pathetic.
Preposterous. Abysmal. One cannot have Teletubbies without the clear diction of The Voice Of The Perispeaks. Or Toyah Wilcox (yes, Adrian Mole's crush) as the Voice of the Patronising Flowers.
and a question--do they always show the same little short show thing twice? or do some episodes have different things? i know tv goes overbudget, but still...;-)
In the original, the film insert is usually shown twice. Once in a while, there's a six minute story with That Annoying Woman, and that's only shown once. It's actually part of the plot that the film shorts are shown twice.
shimelle, warrior princess who will see both versions and most certainly compare and report.~*
We await your findings with interest, madam President
the only thing that is a smokescreen is the smokescreen comment. as there are no smokescreens in the untied states cuz we are a smokefree nation.
This comment itself may be a smokescreen, produced out of dry ice and stage smoke.

As may the one before this.
shimelle, warrior princess who wishes the silly brits didn't have a quarantine law.~*
It'll change, just as soon as the Powers That Be (and the tabloid press) figure out that there's no chance of rabies being spread with sensible controls in place. Which may be relatively soon.
i prolly delivered some of my most oscar worthy material in that classroom. sadly, my first grade teacher thought this was very out of line, and i was usually sent to the time out box instead of giving an acceptance speech.
Philistine! Doesn't said teacher realise just how damaging this sort of negative reaction to a child's heart-felt work can be?
'the chicago fire,' and even yes...'the titanic'
In first grade? Probably better scripted than the recent movie...

So, it appears that Ginger Spice is set to leave the Girls for a career in television. The phrases "It'll Never Work" spring to mind.

A quick Leo update:
Varitey, via People Daily reports Leonardo DiLaine is distancing himself from reports that he will play a serial killer in a film version of "American Psycho". The quote is

"Leo's handlers went on the offensive Wednesday"
Oh, so that is what they are. Doesn't Mrs D. Laine have any prior claim to be one of his handlers..?

Still on Entertainment Broadwalk, CBS are plugging plans to make a two-hour wrap-up movie of "Dr Quinn". ObMSCL: ABSuck made similar noises on the cancellation of that show. We still await the show.

And news from Alabama. Moments before Huntsville High's baccalaureate service was to begin in the Southwood Presbyterian Church on Sunday, class vocalist Emily McDowell was told she couldn't sing Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," the wistful song about growing older and changing. "The music minister said the leader of Fleetwood Mac is a witch and a Satan worshipper," McDowell told AP. McDowell, who still will be allowed to perform "Landslide" at Friday's graduation, left the church before the service for graduating seniors began.

Knowing all the stars, we brought up the line to Stevie Nicks to make enquiries. "It's all a load of hocus pocus," she told us. "Total mumbo jumbo. Gee whizz, just because I wear these long flowing skirts and look like a witch doesn't mean I am one." With that, she jumped on her broomstick and flew off.

Huey
if you wanna discuss politics in depth, we're not that sort of list really. are we?
With someone who likes John Redwood on the roster? Of course we can't discuss politics seriously.

byron and Eric have been dissing peeps. Personally, I do like hearing a peep. Usually, of course, it sounds right at the top of the hour, and is preceded by five of its little friends, pips. Wonderful creatures...

Scott recalls
Anyhow the first dream I had was about Jennifer Love Hewitt for some strange reason
Which leads me, by tangent, to Neve Campbell. I only noticed the other day that she's put in an appearance on the cover of a "men's interest" [ie sex, cars, beer, curries and girls] magazine for the past month. Sigh. It's gonna do her career no good at all. Readers of that trash don't concentrate on the acting but on the appearance. And I'll say exactly the same if Claire, or any other talent associated with this list pulls the same trick.

Sara's final word on the Teletubbies.
it's just a relaly really dumb boring show.
Oddly enough, still better than most of the fare on the other channels at the same time.

Stormy Shana
My 8th grade history teacher, Mr. Michael Hare, died of lung cancer last week :(
A moment to remember him by.

Katie shamelessly plugs
Ally McBeal
The show starts on Channel Bore in the UK next Wednesday at 10. Straight after ER, UM, AH, IIRC.

Sara
I fell down the stairs today *and* fell on the kitchen floor.
Oh, gawds. That is so not a good thing to happen. Hope you're feeling better now.
not to mention (at least over here) how guys tend to wear their jeans to tight...just like girls.
Hey, what's wrong with wearing jeans that are too tight? And how do you think the British gained their reputation for being sexually repressed if it wasn't for the extreme tightness of their trousers? Or something like that (;

Now, Rachel Barsness claims to be writing at
Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 16:00:18 -0700
22 hours UTC yesterday. As in, four hours after I'm writing this. Hmm. Something sounds not quite right there.

Jill challenges
I rock because.....
Hmm.
I rock because I can. Because I care about people. About what will make them happy. And I do my darndest to make that happen.

Laura Jessup
i think i prefer laurae.
So does Liz. Someone else suggested Laurai. Personally, I don't think that has quite the same aesthetic as Laurae.

Liz
Truly understood. Otherwise the love would be a little cheap. And this way even without the love, that's some sort of closure. And you could love yourself.
[hugs]
It makes a lot of sense. And it prickles majorly.

But finally, a word from
Elizabeth Angellla-Brem Skeie-Leih Laurae-Iain Innes Wrigley-Field
Whoo-hoo! I made it into Liz's name! I am blessed!!!

After 18 weeks, Titanic still leads the classical charts
Where's Karl Jenkins when a nation needs him? Oh, in stores now
Codsall: sunny & 17 * Boom. Shake the room.