[bugs bunny]
Of course, you realise this means war.
[/bugs bunny]

Well, maybe not war. Just an intellectual Exocet.

GSAUNC@aol.com:

look quit mailen me all this shit!!!
Melanie, you subscribed to this list. You must unsubscribe yourself. To do this, write to so-called-off@mail-list.com with a blank e-mail message. It really is that simple.

To make it even easier, I've directed replies to this message to that address. All you have to do is hit reply.

(Those of you staying: be very careful with this. I don't want anyone unsubbing by mistake. Change the posting address back to the usual by taking the -off off.)

if you don't stop mailing me this shit my husband will report you to his internet corp. and you won't have a mailing list!!!
Gosh. Such nasty threats. Of course, our beloved admins will be able to point out that, in spite of repeated efforts to indicate and spell out the unsubbing procedure, you've failed to follow it - failed to even attempt to follow it. I think we have a reasonable case.

so quit mailing me all your shit and piss off!
Well, if that's your attitude, what's the address of TOS@aol.com? Honestly, it's as bad a potty mouth as Eric Cartman.

Angela's adds
I suggest that instead of signing yourself up for mail lists you take a remedial English class THIS INSTANT
Angela, have you read the AOHell contract? Clause 24(vi)8.3c says that members must make at least one spelling, syntactical or grammatical error in each 150 characters typed. If our correspondent takes English As A Foreign Language classes, she will rise above this literacy maximum and have to change ISP. Not good.

and then promise to climb onto the broom you so obviously own
Odd, I always thought a tidy house went with a tidy mind. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it.

Jamie Morrison:
I think the real issue at hand is the merchandise of bodies - especially young female bodies. The source of Britney Spears' appeal to the male market is much more unsettling.
Unsettling. Well, let me cast my mind back...

Spears first crossed my radar in mid-November 98, when "Baby One More Time" got its entry onto the Billboard 100, and a play on Gambo's show. "Good tune. Not entirely sure about the lyrics, but good tune."

Fast forward to new year's day, and a three hour version of "The Mix" on ITV2. Including the video for BOMT. It's the textbook male fantasy.

And it's continued; a blow-out of a TOTP appearance owing to a sprained knee co-incides with rumours about augmentation elsewhere, and forces the video to be played instead of a satellite insert. A second single with dubious lyrics. And on, and on.

While the songs are simple yet excellent, the marketing is squarely to the straight male market, which ain't regular pop consumers at all.

people may be affected by things in a different way than me, but in this case I think that it doesn't really work that way
We have a boppy, poppy lass being marketed to a straight male market. There's only one way in to that market, and it's got nothing to do with the performer's vocal range. Of course she's being marketed as a sex object.

The question is what affect this will have on the rest of society? Is it good, bad, or broadly neutral. Indeed, can we trace anything directly to this individual? Anyone?

In the meantime, pass the Macy Gray CD again...

AngelaB:

Howard Stern came on and I was going to turn the channel UNTIL I saw who the guest was: Bridget, the midget porn star.
[snippity snippity snip]
I found myself liking Bridget an awful lot but was still quite perplexed how she went from A to Z with such teeny rapidity. Who says t.v. doesn't offer quality programming?
Of course tv does offer some great shows. Just last night saw itv knock the myth of White Van Man on the head, and the BBC air a 50 minute report on the mathematical "breakthrough" that nearly broke the world economy. Tonight has the Friends finale, while tomorrow [4] investigates the murder of Martin Luther King. (Again. They aired a mock trial of James Earl Ray about 10 years ago.)

Daytime television is a complete load of dross. I'll cast my eye over the breakfast news, then turn the set off until 4. There is nothing worth watching, and I have plenty of things to keep me occupied.

I would rubbish Howard Stern's show, too, until I recall the episode where he exposed Cliff Evans as the whinging poser he is. Good one, Sterny!

paulo:

The main problem that I have with these globalization/free market proselitists is that, despite their Benetton-advertising like rethoric, they seem to defend freedom only in the things that benefits them (read: economy, trade), and ignore everything else.
Good point. One point the protesters in London seemed to be concentrating on was low wages in developing countries. Like a pound an hour. Such a simplistic comparison ignores the different cost of living between countries - it's trying to impose decadent western prices on developing nations. It also ignores the fact that even though the wages are low, no-one is being forced to work there. If people reckon they can make a better living doing something else, they will.

For example, I'd be willing to bet money that Mr. Friedman, who talks so eloquently about a "world without walls", is actually against the Pinochet trial in London/Spain ("we have to respect Chile's sovereign decisions!!").
Please don't get me started on this. Otherwise I would have to point out how this is an internal matter for Chile to deal with, and interference by Western governments smacks of the patronising paternalism that should have been abandoned with independence. And how the case for extradition has been shot to ribbons by some ill-judged remarks from Tony Blair, giving Pinochet's lawyers ample grounds to claim political interference. And on, and on...

In a similar way, all these liberals who get teary-eyed talking about the free market and speak up against anti-trust laws ("government regulation"? Hey, get a clue, as if private monopolies couldn't be against free market) are precisely the same ones that nod approvingly when the government increases the spendings in security and police.
Rampant hypocrisy, anyone? You want anti-trust laws? How come there's only one police force? How come there's only one monopolies commission?

when free market is taken as an absolute value, anything (cultures, values) not backed up by money gets swept away
While I do tend towards a set of solutions based on a free market, this is a major flaw in that concept. There are such things as social goods.

As for the Seattle demostrations, as much as I hate to do so, I have to admit that Jon Katz had a point in his article today at Slashdot:
You sure you're OK? We don't want you falling ill on us now... (:

this wasn't about conventional left and right, or traditional ideologies, but about something more general and arguably vague, like "corporativism vs. individualism", or maybe "greed vs. everything else".
Well, duh. Conventional left and right died sometime around 1992. Corporations against the common man was the attack line of the Marxist groupings when I was at university early in the 90s. Even the oh-so-perceptive Katz might have noticed this by now.

they all had one underlying theme in common, which is the contempt for profit-maximizing corporations and the values that they represent.
As I've said, there are things that worry me about this whole situation. Ideally, there should be space for both sides of the argument to co-exist.

And yet, I think this misses the point of the original article. Not that globalisation is wrong, but that it's happening, and the debate needs to be how we can make the best of it. Sure, there will be a paradigm shift at some point over the next 50 years - could be a lot sooner - but this is going to be the defining economic concept for some time to come.

A beady eye on the corporations is required. The WTO's position should be to differentiate between genuine consumer protection over safety and trade barriers. The WTO flunked their first test, on genetic modification into the EU, but importers then found that no-one wanted to buy their product anyway. That's something that no corporation can easily deal with and hope to avoid attention.

For reasons we won't go into here (generally known as Buggin's Turn), BBC Local Radio will be the prime conduit of information should society collapse in three weeks' time. So, if it all kicks off at midnight - whether locally (rioting, fires, major system failures, slight prang on the A3841 Parebury Parva bypass) or nationally (terrorist attack, nuclear security breach, alien invasion, revelations about Tony Blair and a llama) the BBC's listening figures would get a welcome boost. It also means the station's mobile phones can bypass the network shutdown which would occur in an emergency stopping punters from knowing what's going on. Sorry, sorry, allowing emergency services to respond effectively to any situation. Yes, that's what I meant.

Now, as part of these emergency plans it is a requirement for each person who would be called out in an emergency to provide details of an alternative route to work. Clearly this is in case the tarmac on the roads is infected with the Y2000 bug, and shuts down at the stroke of midnight. One staffer at BBC Leeds lives just 400 yards from the studio. "How will you get to work?" asked the form. "I'll walk." "And if that fails?" The words "Yoghurt pot" and "piece of string" spring to mind, only that's far too advanced for BBC Local. (:

I realise, of course, that all these contingency plans are little more than an attempt to give BBC Local employees something to do to stop them planning Christmas pranks. Such as egging the station controller's car, or planting a firecracker in their commercial rival's studio, or (gasp!) producing some entertaining programming. That would never do.

Dunja Bonacci:

So share those recipes wiht us and teach me how to make really good cup of tea - I really want to know that.

To make a really good cup of tea, you will need:
* A cup or mug.
* A teapot.
* A kettle.
* Some loose-leaf tea. (Teabags are a poor substitute.)
* A tea strainer (Optional, but recommended. Not needed if you're using a teabag.)
* Milk and sugar (Optional.)
* Water.

Then follow these ten simple steps.

1) Take the kettle and rinse it out.
2) Now fill the kettle with enough water to fill the teapot, plus an extra bit to cover the element.
3) Start the kettle boiling.
4) Just before the kettle boils, splash a little hot water in the teapot. Swill it around, then throw it away. This warms the teapot and ensures a fuller flavour.
5) Put the right amount of loose tea - or a teabag - in the pot.
6) As soon as the kettle boils, fill the teapot to the top of the spout with water. Leave the tea to brew for around three minutes.
7) Prepare the mug or cup: if you're taking milk, add it now.
8) Once the tea has brewed, pour it through the strainer into the cup. (Strainer not needed for those using teabags.) If you don't strain it, there will be residual tea leaves, which will stick in your teeth.
9) If using sugar, add it at this point. Stir lightly.
10) Consume at once.

Well, I've done it. Put together the weekly charts to figure out the #1 song of the year, and the one I've heard the most. No surprises for either winner, and I'll let the rest of you know the results in ten days or so.

We had a couple of hours of soft snow this lunchtime. It started as rain, turned to snow, then back to rain before clearing away. That suggests it's heading to Christmas.

Another sure sign of that is the BBC's Sports Review of the year. Boxer Lennox Lewis won the annual viewer's vote for most well-known sportsbod. Mohammed Ali won a special vote for the century's most well-known sportsbod, and turned up in person to collect it. On one level, he cuts a sad figure, with a glazed expression and almost no speaking voice. But just looking into his eyes shows the depth of character and resilience trapped inside a failing body.

With two weeks to go until the Christmas number one single is announced, all the big guns are out this week. New Steps, new Westlife, new S Club 7, new old John Lenin, new old Europe, and the Brendan-AM supported Hamster Dance.

A familiar face seems to stare out of the tv listings for today. It's a young lady, with blonde-red hair, wearing a strappy dress. Only it's not Tori Amos, it's star of some dodgy show on ITV, Katherine Wogan. As in Terry's daughter.

Concerts are expensive. Concerts are often held in places that are awkward to get to. Concerts happen, then they don't. They're ephemeral, unlike a CD.

However. I've been to some over the decade. These are my reflections. All gigs were at the Wolverhampton Civic unless stated otherwise.

90.12.21: Pop Will Eat Itself homecoming gig. PWEI were a group that blazed the trail between guitar rock and beaty dance. Though slightly past their peak, they could always sell out the Civic for the annual Christmas date. The support act went totally over my head, but the Poppies had a defining stage presence.

91.11.9: Runrig. That would be Runrig, the Scots-Gaelic band that sings about life at the edge of the Atlantic. Support was an Irish act called Anuna, who later gained fame as part of Bill Whelan's "Riverdance" team. Donny Monro and his boys gave us a set that was all power and glory, and absolutely stunning.

92.6.23 (?) Crowded House / Voice Of The Beehive. When the tour was booked the previous year, VotB had been a support act. By now, they were stars in their own right. Both acts played a little over an hour, and combined for a finale of the House's "Weather With You." Probably my best concert of the decade.

92.9.26: Bjorn Again, Birmingham University Guild of Students. ABBA covers band were popular at the time, and these Aussies were the cream of the crop. Silly, stupid, with a bundle of people I didn't know from Adam, but a great time.

93.3.19: Rolf Harris, BUGS. Another speculative Aussie booking, who had just had a top 10 hit with "Stairway to Heaven." The man is a born entertainer. Go see.

94.11.1: Suede. I was going to have to give this gig a miss, coz I hadn't been able to get tickets. Then one of my friends won a pair of tickets for the gig, and asked me to join her for the night. They were touring the Not Quite As Good As The Debut (But Still Better Than History Remembers It) "Dog Man Star", but seemed well off peak that night. We stopped after the gig, and wound up going backstage to meet the band. That was a good birthday present (:

96.3.11, Tori Amos. As part of the Dew Drop Inn tour, in support of "Boys for Pele". Piano + singer + powerful lungs + great songs = fine night - though absolutely freezing outside. The cloakroom staff lost my friend's coat for the night, which cast a nasty pall over what had been a good night.

97.2.14, No Doubt. The night that their single hit #1 in the UK, the Doubt delivered a strong set, but one that seemed somewhat flatter than the record. Lead singer Gwen seemed to be a little breathless.

98.5.25, Tori Amos. Touring "From The Choirgirl Hotel", and a far more coherent performance than two years before. It hung together well. Though this was a very difficult week in my life, this concert really helped. A lot.

98.5.30, Kenickie, The Varsity, Wolverhampton. Trivially the worst gig of the decade, as it didn't happen. A fire alarm meant that the fab six (as they were) couldn't take the stage, and I couldn't make the re-arranged date.

99.3.22, Handel's "Messiah", Cabbagetown Community Theatre, Cabbagetown, Toronto. I said I'd never go around the obligatory tourist traps in TO, but Mrs Mark's Mother convinced me that it might be a good idea. I figured I'd not be going to anything churchy while in the country, but a charity donation ticket ($5) changed my mind. A great way to spend a chilly evening, even though the performance was clearly amateur.

AngelaB
Well, not just another year, but another decade is fizzling out and a whoop-de-doo new one is upon is. What are your thoughts:
Thanks to Angela for summarising exactly what this new year is. The end of the 90s. According to Usher, the gratuitously accurate Irish monk who dated the world according to the events in the bible, the turn of the millennium took place on October 3, 1996 at 0900 UTC. That was 6000 years exactly since the dark, damp Thursday morning when God said "Gordon Bennett, it's dark here. Let me try this light thing they're advertising in Deity Monthly. I get it for the mortals on page three, you know..."

So, yes, this is the end of the 90s. We had the end of the Sixth Millennium a few years ago, we'll have the end of the Twentieth Century next year - which will also end the Second Millennium AD - but this year marks the end of the 1990s.

1) How are you planning to usher in the new decade?:
With all the crew at Mark Town. I hope to be at the celebrations marking the millennium (as in 1000th anniversary) of the Norsemen landing in Newfoundland this summer, but a job would be useful first...

2) What world events do you embrace/denounce from the past decade?:
The real good stuff: the popularising of the internet, the shrinking of cultural boundaries, South Africa, and the end to the nuclear cloud hanging over us.

The Four Minute Warning went out on the radio last night, warning of an imminent nuclear attack. It wasn't a mistake, nor a test, but part of a documentary. For those old enough to care, it was a high-pitched wail, with a plummy, late 50s BBC announcer telling his listeners that a strike was on its way, and we should take cover at once.

The bad stuff: wars and violence across the planet, the arrogance of governments, and cultural homogonisation.

3) What are you most looking forward to in the year 2000?:
Whatever happens, happens. I have no fixed plans.

4) What are the best things that happened to you during the nineties?:
Trips to Canada. Getting my degree. Accepting myself.

5) What are the worst things?:
Flu. Flying. Teary calls. Getting my notice.

6) Describe the perfect way to usher in the new year (money is no object):
Mark Town with more of you in attendance. Enough to hire out one of the nice hotels in Brighton all to ourselves.

Side-effect: that would make the list so quiet, we'd all be speaking face to face (: