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Diana <dleeg9@yahoo.com>
Cindy~
Regarding:
"BETTER TO BE an old man's darling than a young man's fool"
I agree. If the guys weren't listening we could get all graphic and tell Ms Zoe about some of the reasons one wants to sing the praises of older men. But you were preachin' to the choir as far as I'm concerned.
As for me taking on the lumber industry, leading a pack of hopeful and dedicated enviornmentalists behind me? Although the notion is an appealing one in fantasy, (I had a brief vision of me making like Joan of Arc in spandex & overalls...) in reality...heh heh.
I'm a natural
born second in command. I'm bright enough, and passionate, and enthusiastic. But I'm sometimes easily distracted by shiny objects and thunderstorms and such, and at the most inopportune moments too. In fact it's rare for me to ever be entirely focused in the moment. It takes a genuine emergency to get me to do that. And among
other things, a leader needs to
stay focused, and have
the ability
to keep his or her follower's focused. That's not something I'm good at.
Thanks for the compliment though. It was nice to have you thinking I could do somewthing like that.
It
definately sounds like you've had similar experiences with the Right To Life movement. That's another one of those subjects which, understandably, people feel strongly about. It's so easy to get carried away over things, but that
can end
up being counterproductive when
people let that happen.
Anyway, my PC is acting wierd, I think I need to turn it off and let it sort it's memory chips, or whatever it does.
Bye for now. :=)
Diana
DTS: Unh, isn't _Crisis in Time_ based on "Vintage Season" by either Catherine Moore or Catherine Moore and Henry Kuttner, and not anything by Cyril Kornbluth? Or is there another Jeff Daniels time travel movie that I'm confusing _Crisis in Time/The Grand Tour_ with?
Cheers, Jon
Diana,
I was thinking about that Earth First business and it sounds a whole lot like my experience with the Right to Life movement.
There came a point when I realized they had begun to foam at the mouth and lose touch with the purpose. I used to send them money-- now I shudder that I did. They are extremists with a tunnel vision view of how matters should be handled. People's feelings and lives are not their concern. Common sense took a back seat and the infliction of pain on others became the norm.
Once a group loses its ability to reason the cause is lost for them. Once others are hurt-- physically, mentally or emotionally the message becomes bleached and damaged.
Now when the time is right I try to hit the salient points on the issue as I see it.... but I do not align myself with the Right To Life Organization. It's overrun with lunatics and lunatics cannot be trusted with even a noble and viable message.
You clearly have resolve and purpose along with boundless energy. Did you ever think about forming your OWN group under a new flag? You might think about it... the best way to sit down with the powers that be in the logging industry is to find a common ground and you could do that on your own without having to wrestle with the cloud of conflict and violent aggression that hangs over Earth First.... the same way it does the Right to Life Organization.
:)
Get after it! You could do it!
Cindy
CHUCK..
I need rest and you aren't helping with bedtime stories like THAT.
:(
Cindy
Hey Brian,
You want me and Lynn to go through your list and figure out which ones are culls?
We would do that for you... if that mountain of information gets too overwhelming. We'll give 'em the gate so you don't have to.
yer pal,
:)
Cindy
ALEX JAY BERMAN,
Yer BEAUTIFUL!
In FACT were it not for your despicable.. uh I mean democratic predilection you'd be PERFECT.
ZOE--- HEY ZOE!!!!!! You seen this kid's picture? Hmmmmmm-- in about four years if he's still on the market you might think about lookin' him up.
This is the sort of guy who orchestrates birthday wishes for his buddy.... and COOKS... FRIGGIN' COOKS!!!! HE'S not gonna last long on the open market. HE'S BRILLIANT, WITTY, FUNNY, gifted AND HE COOKS GOURMET!!! What could your parents NOT like about him... so he's a little older.. BETTER TO BE an old man's darling than a young man's fool-- I got that from a 66 year old Mexican buddy of mine who got it from her grandmother.
It's right too.
AAAAAANYWAY... NOT that I'm pushin' anything here. For every hand a glove.. maybe it's Alex.. maybe it's NOT.. but you better make up yer mind quick 'cause he's not gonna last.
:)
Did you ever see Crossing Delancey? Amy Irving and Peter Riegert? I LOVE that movie.
Just call me Bubbie.
:)
yer pal, with only your best interest at heart.
>
Cindy
Brian,
Your posting about Strangelove and the parallels to real life reminded me of another item the movie got right: The Soviet doomsday machine. It was never built, but some ghouls acutally designed one. It was to take up the entire hold of a ship which would be perpetually at sea. It would have had sensors to pick up radiation and fallout in the air. The bomb would automatically detonate - humans would be permanently kept out of the loop when it came to that decision. The super-nuke would vaporize a huge chunk of ocean that would create a radioactive cloud that would kill everbody.
Premier Khrushchev killed the project while it was still only on paper. The idea horrified and repulsed even him. I remember a retired Soviet general quoted as saying he and his colleagues often wondered about the kind of people they were employing to design this stuff. I think he called them ghouls.
There, now doesn't that make you feel all nice and warm inside?
Pleasant Nightmares.
Mwahahahahaha!!
Chuck
LOFTUS: Bet the interview with Twohy was interesting. He also wrote "Terminal Velocity," which is a really fun thriller. And "The Grand Tour" (as it is now known again) is out on DVD -- I found a $7.99 cent markdown copy at a nearby music/video store last week. And watched it again for the first time in a few years. It's still a nicely done piece of SF work (based on work by Cornbluth, of course).
BEN: Hang on a sec...let's see...testicles, two of 'em (check and check!), one penis (check!), one TV remote with my name and (only!) my fingerprints on it (check!), and one list of reasons why I'm always right...taped to the refrigerator (check!). Yup, I'd say I fall into the male category. Glad you were "hipped" to the new Twohy flick, "Below." I like it so much I bought a copy.
--DTS
>Most did, and they were actually _friendly_. Now I'm worried about overextending myself, should these ever turn into actual _dates_<
Brian, go for it. You'll regret it if you don't.
Slow night tonight, so back into the Ellisonian fray...
I'd like to mention that Alex Berman came by this past weekend, and it was like finding a long-lost brother; we got on splendidly, and it was helped by his flabbergasting birthday gift for me. And if any Webderlanders come to Philly, we have a few local bistros that have been Berman-tested, Berman-approved.
Re the remakes of _Willard_. Why? The original was a mild curiosity, worth watching once, and it gave Ernest Borgnine and Bruce Davison some exposure. But really, they might as well remake _The Blood Waters of Dr. Z_.
As for attacking North Korea's nuke-making capabilities, here's my position: If it could be done without reprisals against South Korea, if the Chinese were willing to keep mum about it, and if Kim Jong Il could be taken out as well, I'd be in favor of it. Lots of ifs, of course.
Okay, as for Horrible Pics... well, I mentioned that I was using an online match service, right? (No? Well, I am.) I played around with my camcorder, and finally snapped a couple of pictures that don't make me look _absolutely_ horrible. The ones I got only make me look rough and unmanaged (I hadn't shaved that day), and in one I actually look a little like Stanley Kubrick circa _Strangelove_ (mostly in the eyes), which is a nice surprise.
I think I might've bitten off more than I can chew on the service, though. I sent a number of short notes to interetsing women, figuring that this'd work like real life: most wouldn't respond. I was wrong. Most did, and they were actually _friendly_. Now I'm worried about overextending myself, should these ever turn into actual _dates_. So I tell myself to stop worrying, this is just Internet chatter, and my romantic life will soon return to its usual arid self.
Remakes can serve a purpose if the material transcends its times. Shakespeare is consistently remade on stage and screen with success (and failure). So is Dickens.
Willard, however, was a cheap 70s horror movie that, while having a certain panache all of its own, hardly calls to be remade, except for the fact that retro-obsessed forty-somethings seem to be a huge market these days, and are willing to watch anything that cashes in on their past. I expect this trend to just get worse, as the greying of America continues.
The "classic 60s television" plunder seems to finally be dying out, as producers and writers realize there is only so much grist for the mill. The Brady Bunch project collapsed with the second flick, and The Beverly Hillbillies never got out of the gate. And I think they are starting to catch on that that great 60s sci-fi was great for a reason, and that you can't dump Gary Oldman into a wonderful Jonathan Harris part and expect no-one to notice. Boy, that stinker made the silly series look like Upstairs Downstairs.
But the new "old" movies and television (stuff made in the 70s now, it seems) are now fair game. We've had Shaft, Charlie's Angels, and now we get Willard. Blacula was basically redone as A Vampire in Brooklyn. They all sucked, or will suck, but they will never be short of actors eager to essay a role that brought them happiness in childhoold.
It's almost as miserable a scene as comic book movies, which hopefully the wretched Daredevil will finally sink as a long-term idea. Affleck's certain return to the drunk tank after six more months of J Lo's vagaries will help. Yes, we have to live with one more X-Men (gee, bet they explore character now!), and another cruddy Spider-Flick, but the end is near, fear not.
I've said it before: I think the Hollywood Century is over. Every art form has a half-life, and the full-length feature film, like the novel, is becoming less and less potent a means of delivering a message. It won't go away, of course, but the grand old days are way over.
I for one am looking for a renaissance of the short film. Of course, I've waited for the same thing for the novella, and with the exception of Jim Harrison, haven't seen much...
Following up on Eric's comment-
I wonder what can qualify a remake as a good remake, and a remake as a bad remake. It can be measured by sheer amount of pointlessness, I suppose. Burton's PLANET OF THE APES disappointed and enraged me, but not because it was a re-doing of a classic. It was because there was some genuinely wonderful source material to expand on in a remake (namely Pierre Boulle's novel) that was unforgivably ignored. Cronenberg's THE FLY worked so damn well because it GRABBED the concept from the original and RAN in the other direction with it. Werner Herzog's NOSFERATU was astonishingly similar, yet remarkably different, from F.W. Murnau's first tale.
Then there's the likes of GODZILLA, KING KONG, PSYCHO, and LOST IN SPACE to trash the positive prospect of remakes.
Is there a visible border between what makes a remake pointless and significant? Is it all an exercise in unoriginality, one way or another?
I personally believe that every remake has a chance to equal itself to -or surpass- it's predecessor. But the risks are too great, the criticism too heavy...not to mention they usually suck.
Lynn: Perhaps I am naive to wonder why Dubya is so silent about North Korea. Normally I wouldn't even ask such a question, but when the man goes off on some pissant desert dictator as The Great Evil, while Kim has the bomb and seems willing to use it, one HAS to wonder, doesn't one? It almost makes the whole thing seem absurd, no? Harping on the "threat" posed by Hussein, whistling Dixie about the nutball with the nuke?
So what you're saying is, we can't say jack about North Korea b/c we're afraid of China? Is that really the case? I would be surprised to see China getting involved in North Korea's posturing and threats. They seem to know better. Also, they really like selling us cheaply made stuff we don't need.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe the thought of nuclear exchange makes me revert back to the age of 10, when I first realized that there was a possibility that I might die of radiation sickness, if I wasn't lucky enough to be vaporized.
PAB
DTS reported:
> I hope Twohy begins filming his rework of Harlan's
> "Outer Limits" teleplay soon after his current project.
> He's a terrific director and screenwriter.
He is also responsible for the decent "The Arrival," and the script for "The Fugitive." I met and interviewed Twohy briefly on the set of "The Grand Tour," starring Jeff Daniels, which went straight to video as "Disaster in Time."
> Speaking of Harlan: I can attest to the fact that he IS
> often embarrased by compliments; and that he actually eats
> his meals one bite at a time, just like the rest of us
> (okay, maybe not like me, 'cause I've been known to stuff
> two Hydrox cookies in my mouth at the same time).
Just as long as they aren't Oreos. . . .
To Whom It May Concern,
DISCLAIMER:
(Probably no one's even mad, but just in case...)
I 'm entirely neutral on whether or not Mr. Ellison is actually a pain in the ass. I have no real opinion on this matter one way or the other. Me writing that was extremely funny to all of us here at my house during the moments in which I was writing it, but maybe you had to be here to get it. Anyway, like the late great Sam Kinison often said "These are just jokes folks. They can't hurt anyone" I swear. (*sigh*)
Diana
Remaking "Willard?" There truly is no end to the dearth of imagination in Hollywood these days. What's next, a re-do of "Two on a Guillotine?"
And Frank, WHEN are you going to post your nude photos of Noam? Come on, we know you have them...
I finally got around to completing Stevenson's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE yesterday evening. There was one particular topic in the book ('novella' is more accurate) that stuck in my head.
Many critics have cited JEKYLL & HYDE as an example of a schizophrenic mind, but on analysis I honestly don't know how Jekyll would fit into that category. For one thing, both Jekyll and Hyde share the same memories; the good doctor himself states such is the case. Real MPDs don't share memories all that well, if I recall correctly. Sometimes they can't get any further than small dream-like snippets and fragments. For another, the only mental aspect of Jekyll that truly changes is his temperament and outlook on everything and everyone around him. Could this still be classified as schizophrenia? In my opinion, JEKYLL & HYDE is more about spiritual duality than an extreme case of MPD, and Hyde serves as Jekyll's excuse for catharsis. A man seen through different filters, like a colour spectrum.
DTS,
I can't BELIEVE I haven't yet seen BELOW. I recall hearing about it ages ago, and I remember palying with the idea of seeing it...then it just kind of vanished. I needed that wake-up call. Thanks, man. (You are a man, right?)
Harlan,
My apologies. The last comment was merely in jest and not meant at all to be disparging. I've been in attendance on more than one occasion (e.g., Gaiman's surprise presentation of the Sandman statuette) to note that you speaketh the truth.
michael
ALL: Took an unscheduled break from my work day (my daughter was home with an injured hand -- she's learned NOT to punch the workout bag so hard for such a long time), and got a chance to watch "BELOW," the last movie out from David Twohy. It is an _excellent_ suspense thriller (with a lot of moody, supernatural undertones...and more) set on a WWII submarine. Yeah, I know: this type of thriller has been done before; but Twohy, and his cowriters Arronofsky (probably spelled that wrong -- he wrote/directed "Requieum For a Dream") and one other (whose name I don't have in front of me) did a bang-up job, adding a LOT of original stuff to this (by now) standard formula. I hope Twohy begins filming his rework of Harlan's "Outer Limits" teleplay soon after his current project. He's a terrific director and screenwriter. Speaking of Harlan: I can attest to the fact that he IS often embarrased by compliments; and that he actually eats his meals one bite at a time, just like the rest of us (okay, maybe not like me, 'cause I've been known to stuff two Hydrox cookies in my mouth at the same time).
--DTS
GRAND RAPIDS MICHAEL:
The disc arrived today. Susan has it. Thanks. (I guess.)
As for being embarrassed and unmanned by compliments, well, believe it or not, as you choose. I said it was so, and would have no reason to lie about such a picayune thing; but if it seems unlikely to you, there's not much I can do (or care to do) to convince you that I was telling a fact. You might ask those who know me personally, however, if it seems so improbable a concept.
Otherwise, all best, yr. pal, Harlan
Scott: I'd add _The Big Snit_ to your list of nuke movies, even though it's a short. Scrabble playing, indiscriminate sawing and nuclear war go together nicely.
Cheers, Jon
I know you all have missed this, so here you are. :-)
"The US has always been ambivalent about European unification. It has obvious advantages for US economic and strategic power, but there has always been concern that Europe might move towards an independent course. Furthermore, the social market system in Europe has always been regarded as a threat, rather in the way that Canada's health care system has been feared: these are "viruses" that might "infect" the US population, to borrow the terminology of US planners when they moved to crush independent social and economic development throughout the third world. These concerns have motivated US policies towards Europe (and Japan, and elsewhere) since World War II, constantly taking new forms. They were, for example, expressed by Henry Kissinger in his "Year of Europe" address in 1973, when he instructed Europe that it had only "regional responsibilities" within an "overall framework of order" managed by the US government. NATO was conceived, in part, as a way to ensure US control over Europe -- not without support from sectors of European elites, who despise the social market system, and fear European independence, for much the same reasons as their counterparts here."
---Noam Chomsky.
Earth First renounced tree spiking in 1990, so on to something else.
----------
Bern, forgive me for being pissy, it's just that I am not a happy camper when it comes to censoring speech. But it would be wise to re-think your position. Private property doesn't overstep the public good.
------------
Bombing the north Korean munitions factory would not be out of line, as long as full scale war could be averted.
------------
This weekend, Norman Mailer was on C-Span, speaking about his new book, The Spooky Art. Thoughts On Writing. He made a great point when he defended black basketball players who made millions of dollars, because if bad writers could make millions selling shlock, then why not give the same kind of cash to people who at least are the best in their given field. He made the point that writers who are the best at what they do are usually broke. Food for thought.
------------
They have re-made Willard, with the great Crispin Glover as the rat boy. Might be neat. Glover has been put on ice way too long. Ever since Back to the Future I've loved the guy. Eccentric people fascinate me.
You all agree that Harlan is a bit eccentric, right?
It seems very odd to be trying to hustle sales on a book when the country is poised to go to war (I just finished reading Kenneth Pollack's big old herky _The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq_, which didn't change my mind about the war but did teach me a lot about the geopolitical and historical context), but that's how the schedule played out.
I probably already told you guys this, but my do-it-yourself book tour starts tonight, at my neighborhood bookstore: Powell's Books of Portland.
I'll be talking about (and possibly reading from) _Watching Sex: How Men Really Respond to Pornography_ at 7:30 p.m.
This Saturday I'll be in Roseburg, Oregon at While Away Books at 2:00 p.m. (with a one-man show of songs, poems, and stories from and about Ireland in a community theater where I used to act, at 8:00 p.m.), next Saturday at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle at 2:00 p.m.
I speak at Southern Oregon University in Ashland on April 14, then back in town at the Multnomah County Library on May 6, 23rd Avenue Books on May 8. Coos Bay Public Library on June 14.
Still working on other potential venues and towns. Wish me luck, guys.
SCOTT: No, I disagree; the "Alien Day" is an excellent idea. Do you realize how much that guy's district benefits from Area 51 and Roswell tourism? Any more publicity he can drum up is all to the good and benefits his state. And, H&R Block and their slightly shady business practices aside, I am firmly FOR making money off the delusions of morons.
LYNN: I'll see your Carlin and raise you a Bill Hicks: "And that Gulf War. Well, it wasn't a WAR, really. Seems to me, and I may be wrong, but *I* remember that a "war" is when ...
...TWO armies are fighting."
(And Lynn--I sent Cindy my horrible pics, so when do we get to see the supervillainess costume?
[hey, I even found the nekkid pic from a few years ago of me that was floating around the Internet and which made it onto at least ONE semistalker's desktop wallpaper ...])
RICK: As always, we thank you mightily.
Jay~ Negotiations are underway. The first stage is invariably a prototype, which sets the basis for cost and time. The second stage is a second prototype, with improvements and refinements on the original concept. My bat wings are still in second prototype, as we've discovered a few more bugs as wear & tear take their toll. (Steel tubing next time for the cables, not aluminum, which are being eaten through, and things like that.)
And I'll hereby register my distress that the Gulf War (I & II) isn't a "war" by some messy last century standards. (A little ditty from Carlin springs to mind, the commentator doing the world conflict run down like the evening sports results.)
Cindy~ Natasha wishes she could approach the level of my super-villainy. Come on, sister, can we just get away from the little black dress and the cheesy accent? Costumes and cheesy accents are perfectly acceptable. Embrace your villainy. It will ultimately set you free. (Or get you a vacation in the Arkham Asylum, one of the two.)
Scott~ The link you posted isn't unusual for New Mexico. Remember, these people are second and third generation after nuclear testing. ::wink:: You have to take that into consideration. Plus, have you ever been to New Mexico? (No, offense, Mr. & Ms. Blum, but you do live in Albuquerque, the place forever immortalized by a cartoon's inability to navigate.)
No one in particular~ I'm gonna get a tshirt made, says "I'm subversive. Ask me how!"
L.
From what I'm reading, China's not so willing to get behind the antics of North Korea and certainly not supporting their threats of nuclear death. Perhaps because they know if NoKo goes nuclear China becomes a cauldron of liquid mag-u-muh, too. I just like saying "Mag-u-muh"
Troops, however...they won't mind replaying 1952 with manpower, but will if NBC weapons are deployed. China needs the world's support and they won't be seen as a criminal power. I think China is quietly telling NoKo to shut the hell up about that type of war if it wants help from the savage western hordes.
But the main reason NoKo is rattling sabre is that they know the US won't get into a land war unless it has to. Bush knows a war in Korea would be a political and cultural nightmare and his name would be forever linked to a war he was unable to avoid. His reputation as the negotiator of World War III would be set forever.
While using planes and troops to cross empty desert, level villages and pacify towns issomething relatively easy to manage, invading NoKo involves the death of tens of thousands of American troops and civilians. It's a WAR no different than 50 years ago.
YOUR TAX DOLLARS AND POLITICANS AT WORK:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-310aliens,0,4277442.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
And folks wonder why I think our elected officials are all brain-dead idiots...
Scott
Nuclear War: (Homer Simpson: "That's Nu-cue-lar") I look at it more in the effect upon the people, rather than the issue of how it will be fought. "Dr. Strangelove" is truly magnificient, probably the best nuclear war film ever made (I've tried to like "Fail-Safe", but its self-righteousness somehow annoys me); not surprising that it found its humour out of the complete illogic and asinine childishness of the military machine that could trigger a headlong rush into oblivion for us all.
I might suggest "Webs", a good British production about nuclear holocaust, or the animated "When the Bough Breaks". While "Bough" does seem at times oversimplistic, it does detail how the collapse of community would occur in near perfect detail. I also recall Jane Alexander's strong performance in "Testament". The scene where Alexander displays the calm serenity of her character as she sews the burial shroud for her daughter chills me.
Martin Amis' "Einstein's Monsters" can still rattle me, especially its introductory essay..."Shadow on the Hearth" by Judith Merril.
Scott
Harlan:
Just returned from a much needed vacation and noticed your response to my March 3rd posting (50 Greatest SFBC). No problemo - glad to be of assistance.
I'd also like to follow-up and inquire whether you and Susan received the "electronic archives" CD disc? It was mailed several weeks ago and addressed to the HERC PO box. Just want to make sure that it was received. Hopefully it'll illustrate it's usefulness as another archival medium.
And by the way, you embarrassed?!! Yeah, right.
yours
mc
Tony~ And To Whomever Else It May Concern,
I'd hate to come off sounding like I support the practice of tree spiking. I don't, but...
And I'm not sure I can entirely explain my point of view the way I want to, but...
And I don't imagine I can change anyone's mind, but...
If you'll please pardon me for being gross, there's an expression I've heard that goes,"Don't shit where you eat". I think that's kind of a disgusting expression, but it says what I believe to be true pretty clearly.
We need air to breath, for starters, and clean water to drink, and unpoisoned earth to grow our food in. No air + no water + no food = no life. At least not human life. Most of the biological entities living on Earth will go down with us too, if we manage to render this planet unlivable.
With that belief in my mind, I figured I would try and deal with first things first. So I began looking into what I could do, and what organizations I could find that were really DOING something about what I saw as an increasingly worsening problem.
Earth First! isn't an accidental appellation. I'm convinced, and a lot of other people are too, that it HAS to be Earth first. We need to protect and defend the environment. It needs to be our primary priority, or all the other noble considerations, like human rights, and abortion issues, and similar such ills that are plaguing humanity will become irrelevant concerns. None of the rest of it will matter if we're all extinct.
Environmental issues are vital issues. It just seems obvious to me that they need to be addressed FIRST. Not exclusively, it's not like that's all that matters, but like I already said, nothing *else* will matter if we're all gone, choked to death or poisoned, or starved out of existence. See?
It seems to almost always be the rule that radical edges have lunatic fringes, so to speak. Earth First! is no exception. In this case though we can't afford to let the actions of a few nuts stop the work from going ahead. It's just too important.
Bye for now.
Diana
NATASHA--- ERRR, I mean LYNN WROTE;
"Oh and the next person that naively asks about North Korea needs to get out the big atlas and open it up to Asia. Then notice the proximity of CHINA, that really big mother-lovin' nuclear power with an axe to grind about us already, to North Korea. I have a friend who's deploying to the DMZ in less than a month as a linguist. I'll let you know if I hear any good recipes for roast long pig."
Well,
And didn't THAT just shut my mouth.
THAT is a conundrum I hadn't considered! I hadn't considered that the boil we were all itching to lance is on the ass of CHINA. THAT certainly puts a new spin on things. NO WONDER we haven't heard W. come back with any snappy repartee about the ass whippin' that is going to commence right after we take care of this first insignificant pustule.
THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.
Which ALSO explains why I am relegated to cheerleader while YOU are the supervillainess who gets to dispense with the foes of production.
SMART choice Jay. Yer a peach for aligning me with my compadres in your future feature-- I don't know how much work we'll get done but we'll have one HELL of a time.
:)
Cindy
Hey y'all,
Did you see what was written by Tony in the Dining Pavillion?
The bar's been raised-- this one is lovely.
:)
Cindy
So what would Mr. Hatfield charge for a suit of female body armor?
Oh, one nice thing about the Sc-Fi network; they're not just doing Dune movies for TV.
On the 22nd, they're doing _Riverworld_.
Doesn't make up for giving us John Edward's Crossing Over, but it's neat.
[ignoring the war]
Jay~ That's alright sweetie. You just made my husband ask the very pertinent question, "Does this mean I get to make you black leather body armor with a cowl?" He's been wanting to make form fitted female body armor for awhile. I'm thinking, let me lose another twenty-five pounds and we'll talk. Meanwhile, I'm saving up for that Russian G-Suit down at Supply Sergeant Army-Navy Surplus in Hollywood. Imagine a corset that goes from your ankles to your neck, in a tasteful and provocative olive green. It really looks good on the manikin.
Signed Yours in Cosplay,
L.
[/ignoring the war]
Remembering what Barney said about "Don't Get Distracted" and what I know about magician's force or the power of misdirection, I have my own set of worries to ignore.
Oh and the next person that naively asks about North Korea needs to get out the big atlas and open it up to Asia. Then notice the proximity of CHINA, that really big mother-lovin' nuclear power with an axe to grind about us already, to North Korea. I have a friend who's deploying to the DMZ in less than a month as a linguist. I'll let you know if I hear any good recipes for roast long pig.
L.
PS. Jay, thanks. Now the husband is calling me "super-villainess." Just great. How's that for one to live up to?
To P.A. Berman: I think we're all worried about Kim Jong Il's ownership of nuclear weapons. But this is one of those situations where doing _anything_ runs a helluva risk. If someone were to assassinate Kim, the North Koreans would regard that as an act of war from the United States-- and if they can't hit the U.S. directly, they have Seoul and Tokyo within striking distance.
Don't suspect that they'd be glad to be rid of the little fuck. The country really _is_ as mad as he is, and they _do_ worship him as a religious figure. I can't _imagine_ what'll happen if the regime falls, and suddenly North Korea realizes just _how much_ they've been held back from the progresses of the century.
Fifty years of lives wasted for the greater glory of the Kims. Imagine having to face _that_. It'd be like living in Orwell's Oceania for all of your life, working for the Greater Good of the Motherland of North Korea.
Then you find out that the outside world is NOT a decadent hellhole, struggling in an existential void because it's deprived of Kim's benificence. You find out that everyone else has been living like pashas, with cars, vacations, unrestricted travel and so much food that _obesity_ is a problem. Their life expectancy is twenty years longer than yours, they have all their teeth and they don't have wracking coughs, they're better educated, they have access to the sum total of the world's great music, literature, and art, that their kids can design computers and paint and write and create new art forms like comic books and sampled music. And because YOU were born in this shitty little backwater country run by a squat little psychotic, your life, and those of all of your loved ones, has been a complete and utter waste.
God, I hate Kim Jong Il, and I sincerely hope that his death is protracted, intense, and so terrifying that even Dante couldn't encompass his despair. If there wasn't a risk of nuclear war, I'd applaud _any_ effort to destroy his regime, if only to give the people in that country a chance to have worthwhile lives. This is a monumental evil.
Re nuclear war: C'mon, guys, you have to take a much broader view of the propsect of nuclear armageddon. It's not for nothing that the greatest film ever made about nuclear war, the one film whose likelihood has never been seriously doubted and whose accuracy has only grown in the intervening years (as failsafe procedures became declassified), and which remains one of the great statements about the human condition, is also my very favorite movie of all time:
_Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb_. Outside of Steve de Jarnatt's _Miracle Mile_, it's still the best word on the subject.
Yes, it's a comedy, but it's _accurate_. Every fail-safe system described was used in the real world. Every theory of deterrence presented in the movie for laughs was exactly what nuclear-war planners were saying at the time. And all it took was a handful of crazed imaginations to turn the Extinction of the Human Race into one of the greatest comedies of all time.
The U.S. and the Soviet Union were ready to incinerate the world over political differences which, five hundred years hence, would seem as remote and meaningless as the issues behind the Wars of the Roses. And if the superpowers managed to keep the "balance," why, there's always some crackpot like Kim Il Sung who'll be handed the ultimate loaded revolver. If Douglas Adams can joke about whole alien civilizations being wiped out due to clerical errors and cosmic flukes, doesn't it make sense to joke about the eradication of humans from the planet?
>who else is giong to be injured by a booby-trapped tree than a logger<
The insurance company. And only then does anything actually change. Our world is run by premiums.
Cynically yours, Eric
Jay: Of course you're right, but I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that I have a phobia about nuclear war. I can remember the first time I ever seriously considered my own mortality, and it was during the early Reagan years. Remember The Day After? Fodder for nightmares for years to come.
Do we really think that Hussein has and plans to use nuclear weapons?
Why aren't we more worried about disarming North Korea?
PAB
"who else is giong to be injured by a booby-trapped tree than a logger?"
A very hungry beaver?
Paula,
All it took was the Return of the Reagan-Bush machine to the White House to restart the entire fear-of-doom-so-let's build up a wall and kill outsiders mentality.
Nice to know we have nuclear powers to fear again. Keeps the economy running with all those defense contracts and extra jobs building new and exciting explosives that kill lots of people from thousands of miles away. With our level of tech, nukes are somewhat outdated. Just drop a half-dozen daisy cutters and you have all the damage, but none of the radioactivity! Same civilian kills, same radius of devasation...same godly might flexed from on high!
Bush's speech... We MUST act against Iraqi aggression NOW! He's had 12 years to disarm... must act!
Wag Journalist: What about North Korea?
"We see this as a regional issue." WHAT?!?!?!?!?!
Lynn,
Let me put it another way... if *I* weren't married. And not asking you to wear it for business doesn't translate to my wanting you to never wear it or take it back to Whipsalot Fashions.
But hey, if you're game, I'll hire you to scare the hell out of the crew in a Batsuit. Let me see if I can rustle up the airfare. :)
*** Lorin O *** You might enjoy a novel by T.C.Boyle called A FRIEND OF THE EARTH. It has it's bias but it's a really good novel and most views are represented. T.C. Boyle has a really nice body of work. Try WATER MUSIC and the short story collections as well. I see I am currently two behind in the canon. If anybody has read DROP CITY or AFTER THE PLAGUE and wants to opine feel free. You're not free but go ahead and feel it anyway.
Eric,
An exploding logging machine when it hits a spike is not something to sneeze at. No matter how much these terrorists claim they are "warning" loggers by putting paint markings on trees, people will be injured by manevolence and by indifference. As for the analogy, it's an apt one - who else is giong to be injured by a booby-trapped tree than a logger?
Joseph
>Am I justified in vandalizing the company offices? Sabotaging any of their equipment? Burning their buildings when nobody's inside (I hope)? And if I regard their employees as no better than Nazis am I justified in endangering their lives in the course of my moral (by my perception) actions? Just wondering.
It's a matter of legality, Tony. If you find abortion clinics immoral, then by all means, picket them. Do whatever is available to you in the law. Burning buildings, trashing equipment...not legal. Spiking trees? Well, who owns a tree? Especially one that's 500 years old? That's where the tricky part of this question comes in.
I was arguing against the "poor little logger just trying to make a living" canard. Someone compared tree-spiking to putting bear traps in mailboxes, which is not apt: a bear trap in a mailbox is only intended to injure mail carriers. A spiked tree, if done right, should just trash logging equipment (illegal, but now it's indirect action...the tree didn't HAVE to be logged, and they are usually marked with paint after being spiked), and thus discourage harvesting trees that are centuries old.
I'm not advocating violence...I should have made myself clearer. Sorry.
Thanks, Ben, and pass the spiked Kool-Aid. That is a very depressing thought and I hope you're wrong. Fear of dying of radiation sickness is a phobia I thought I'd shucked off with the Reagan years; apparently not.
::shiver::
PAB
I've just had a terrible epiphany.
Many people consider it a miracle that nuclear weapons, genetically-engineered viruses, chemical warfare, and any other kind of massive genocidal assault has not yet been triggered by Mankind's inherent Beavis and Butthead-ness.
But it's all a matter of time. It's only been half a century since we've had this kind of malicious technology at our fingertips. The Cuban Missile Crisis will look like peanuts in the near future if we don't sit back and CHILL for once. And with George W. having set a March 17 deadline for Iraq to disarm, bad vibes may well become radiation waves in another week.
Hmmm --
>There's a huge gaping world of difference between loggers and soldiers in the wehrmacht.Which is not the issue. The issue is if someone is doing something you perceive as immoral, no matter what their own reasons may be (to feed their kids, etc), then you should not let their apparent innocence stop you from action.<
Am I the only one who finds this just a tad unsettling?
Suppose I perceive the activities of an abortion clinic as immoral? Suppose I perceive the activities of Greenpeace as immoral? Suppose I perceive the evil secular humanist education at the high school as immoral? Am I justified in vandalizing the company offices? Sabotaging any of their equipment? Burning their buildings when nobody's inside (I hope)? And if I regard their employees as no better than Nazis am I justified in endangering their lives in the course of my moral (by my perception) actions? Just wondering.
--tr
Lynn:
Cool...I always knew I had a bit of Goth in me...
"Take the Skinheads bowling, take them bowling..."
Yours Sincerely, Beautiful Nightmare (S.R.)
On the question of tree spiking, take a good gander at this:
http://bari.iww.org/iu120/local/Spike.html
I knew Earth First was in the clear, but thankfully have the goods.
And my Judi Bari info was from a Jello Biafra spoken word album. I never really followed the case much after that. Hope Brian has the right info.
------------
Brian, insects are pretty sleek creatures, so calling Coulter an insect is in a way a compliment. But good one anyway.
---------------
Liberal woman rule! I seem to have a crush on Katrina Vanden Heauvel. Yum.
My apologies, Eric; your statement about the loggers seemed vague enough about what kind of action you were advocating that I made a bad conclusion. Mea culpa.
But still, I think taking any action against individual loggers just seems to me to be fairly worthless. It's like harassing a worker at Starbucks because you don't like the company's policy on "organic" beans. Action against the companies themselves would seem to be more called for.
Regards,
Joseph
::mewl of disappointment:: Why the *fuck* would I have to be *single* to wear the black leather body armor and the cowl?! According to your world view, half my wardrobe has to go back!
::pouting now, and you know how dangerous it is to upset a super-villainess::
L. aka "Deadly Whispers"
{insert blatant plug for www.deadname.com here}
Zoe -
Oh, if I could, I'd have Lynn as Lex Luthor. Pretty much, it would be Cindy to cheerlead for the whole production, you to be super Production Assistant, information gatherer and facilitator and Lynn as the faceless demoness who swoops down in dark of night to make problem items and people disappear. Now, if she were single I'd suggest black leather body armor and a cowl. But that's just me being a sexist pig...even though I know it would throw fear into the superstitious and cowardly lot I would hire to work for me.
Of course it couldn't POSSIBLY be a Union shop.
>There's a huge gaping world of difference between loggers and soldiers in the wehrmacht.<
Which is not the issue. The issue is if someone is doing something you perceive as immoral, no matter what their own reasons may be (to feed their kids, etc), then you should not let their apparent innocence stop you from action.
I'd grant that the ACTION itself is mitigated; obviously one responds differently to Nazis than to loggers. But to not respond at all, because they're just "poor Joes trying to make a a buck" is dishonest.
And let's not get TOO weepy over the logging community. These guys are not dummies, and they've known for years, decades, that the actions of logging companies are some of the most unethical and anti-environmental in this country, second only to the oil industry. That they continue to work there is their problem. This "jobs over ideals" attitude is exactly the kind of short-term idiocy that gets us into trouble ever time.
Read Julia Butterfly Hill's book about her two-year tree-sitting stint in the redwoods for a fresh look at those hard-working men of the earth, and the wonderful companies that employ them.
Yours in tree hugging, Eric
Eric,
Really. There's a huge gaping world of difference between loggers and soldiers in the wehrmacht.
Joseph
Thanks to Scott for the news on loggers' conditions in the Great Whitish North.
Oh, I heard a decent joke the other day. Here it is.
Q: What's the hardest part of rollerblading?
A: Telling your dad you're gay.
Jay~ I prefer the term "Fixer." Or maybe "Cleaner" but that's not your line of work is it.
Zoë~ You wrote: "I think Lynn's an *excellent* choice for firefighter. And President. And perhaps the genius super-villian. She could play all three flawlessly, I bet."
You flatter me but my Illuminati contacts tell me I'm ineligible for the second post. Apparently my skills are needed behind the scenes. I'm still working up to the genius super-villain, but you know how it is in Corporate Amerika. Have to go. There are opportunities calling, and I have to be online, bring something to the table, get dialoging with the synergy, prove myself as a valuable resource, and generally, incent the project plan into the next phase.
Fnord,
L.
Brian:
Got many friends who work in the forstry industry, logging trucks and crews are usually running all over up here. Toppers and loggers are all generally unionized; full health benefits, the lot. As for safety, well, the Tories rolled back the Ontario Labour Health and Safety Boards, letting the owners and unions of the companies enforce the laws concerning employee safety standards rather than a government bureaucracy. The result is that injury rates are pretty much the same rate as it was under the process of government inspection, but we pay a bit less in taxes.
Companies generally use the logic that it's hard enough to keep skilled people around to do what is at times hazardous work, so pay well and make sure that compensation for time off injured is good.
Scott
>In other words, why go after (and potentially kill or maim) the poor guy out in the forest who's just trying to make a living? <
Never a good excuse for inaction. The German wehrmacht was filled with poor guys just trying to make a living.
Alex Jay: I couldn't access your picture. I guess Eric got the same message I did. Is there another way you could let us all see pictures of your gorgeous mug? I'm curious.
Joseph: I am immensely flattered that you think I'm a reasonable person.
PAB
Alex Jay - *pout* My computer won't let me see the link you posted... it sends me to a page that says it's expired or something. Hmph! I was getting ready to print a picture and post it around the base and towns. I was thinking of a really great ad, too...
Jay Smith - I get to be an ADVISOR?! Cindy, we're gonna rock. Hey, can we also hire and fire people too? ;) And I think Lynn's an *excellent* choice for firefighter. And President. And perhaps the genius super-villian. She could play all three flawlessly, I bet.
--Off to do my taxes,
--Zoë Rose
Actuially, Lorin's comment raises another interesting question. Lorin refers to the prospect that "the poor guy out in the forest who's just trying to make a living" will be killed or maimed because of the actions of tree-spikers.
Not a nad concern. But when I hear this sort of thing, I wonder: have we also been hearing about the risks imposed by the _logging companies_ upon these guys? What sort of health bennies do they get? Treetopping's a risky job-- what's their health coverage like? If they're maimed or incapacitated, do they have some kind of income security? How well-maintained is their equipment, and does the industry have a history of lobbying against safety standards? Does the company offer half-pay, or alternate-job training, for when the logging gets thin?
What about pollutants: do the logging companies dump their effluents into the local streams and ponds, contaminating the water table? Do the companies fight unionization, which'd help the loggers a _lot_?
CINDY
That's very kind of you...I still worry about that backhoe, though...like Uncle Otto’s Truck, I think it's a little closer to the house this morning…
To Lorin O, who wrote:
"In other words, why go after (and potentially kill or maim) the poor guy out in the forest who's just trying to make a living? How is that likely to sway public opinion to your cause? Why not go right to the source of the problem--the corporations, etc., that are responsible for the decimation of the environment? Why not take a look at our apparently insatiable need for these resources? To me, tree-spiking and other acts of that nature just seem counterproductive. I have plenty of respect for activists who put THEIR OWN bodies on the line. I have none for those who'd harm others for their cause."
I'm not cure I agree, because this argument sort of rests on letting the logging companies hold those "ordinary guys" _hostage_.
If an envirommentalist spikes a tree, he or she is effectively saying "If you cut down this tree, you risk destroying your equipment." And if the logging company doesn't cut the tree down, fine: the tree thrives.
But, if a logging company says, "You spike trees, you risk forcing us to hurt the livelihoods of dozens of loggers," that's a little different. Like I said, it's a bit like holding people hostage. And even if the tree-spikers desist, there's no guarantee that the logging company _won't_ hurt the lives of the loggers for some other reason (say, "No more trees").
Lorin D~
Since you may have missed it:
Alex Jay Berman
Philly, - Sunday, March 9 2003 17:56:35
"Large railroad-type spikes are driven deep into trees, the heads are cut off, and then the spike is driven dep into the wood with a punch to conceal it.
The aim of this is to ruin the log for commercial use and make it not cost-effective"
"Many tree spikers are careful to put their spikes high above where a logger would put his chainsaw, and
so only the saws in sawmills are destroyed by this practice, and still others will label the trees they have
spiked to warn loggers off
"Diana
- Sunday, March 9 2003 18:24:19
"...the purpose of spiking the trees and blowing up the earth moving equipment is to discourage and prevent
the cutting down of old growth trees, not to kill and maim the innocent loggers just trying to earn a living"
Diana
JOSEPH,
It's okay, JJF. You shouldn't take back your comment about my post being 'needless and rude', because, well, it was, and you were the first to really get the point across. I was shocked and somewhat enraged when you lashed back with such ferocity, but now I know we were on two COMPLETELY different planets at the time. I publicly declared my retirement from the 'Lil' Washu' moniker a little while ago and I made the boneheaded assumption everyone would recognize me off the bat. It's all about communication, communication, communication. Or lack of it.
And yes, I still own HULK: THE END, and I am still enjoying the hell out of it.
To me it's analagous to putting a bear trap in your mailbox because you don't like the way the U.S. Postal Department works.
In other words, why go after (and potentially kill or maim) the poor guy out in the forest who's just trying to make a living? How is that likely to sway public opinion to your cause? Why not go right to the source of the problem--the corporations, etc., that are responsible for the decimation of the environment? Why not take a look at our apparently insatiable need for these resources?
To me, tree-spiking and other acts of that nature just seem counterproductive. I have plenty of respect for activists who put THEIR OWN bodies on the line. I have none for those who'd harm others for their cause.
Just a thought!
Lorin O.
P. S. Oh, I know this topic has probably passed but I'm running at about a five-day lag on this board! Darn you prodigious thinkers.
>http://tinyurl.com/767x<
Dead link.
My dream is to one day have enough money to launch a full-scale film project and hire Zoe and Cindy as advisors. If there was money left over I'd hire Lynn as my firefighter.
Lynn~
So you're the one responsible for my internal injuries...I showed the joke to a couple other people already. Thanks for the laughs.
Bye for now.
Diana
Cindy~
Thanks a lot, I hurt some of my inner parts when I was laughing at that stuff.
I must say I admired Saddam Hussein's arguing technique in there. It's one I use all the time. It drives the other person crazy, and requires so little of my mind that I can usually do a couple of other things at the same time as I'm arguing with them.
Diana
Alex Jay~
You look totally normal. I thought you were a really really tall old guy, with male pattern baldness, and a old guy's pear shaped body. And a scruffy little beard. And one of those annoying deep falsely hardy chuckles that those types of guys usually have. See how wrong a person can be? (not that if you were like that it wouldn't be normal too) Why would anyone laugh?
Good luck with your hunt for love...
Bye for now.
Diana
0
Cindy will have you fixed up in no time; you'll see.
Please don't be drinking anything when you read this:
http://tinyurl.com/7681
L.
CINDY: Just for you, darlin'.
(And just so everyone else can have a good laugh at my expense--hey, I'm treatin'!)
http://tinyurl.com/767x
(Click on "More Photos" for, well ... more photos.)
Dammmmit -
I just realized that Ben was good'ol Lil'Washu.
Scheisse.
Sorry abotu that, Ben. If I had known it was you, I would have restrained myself a bit more. You know I'm a good guy - who else sent you a copy of "Hulk: The End?"
Regards,
Joseph, who knows he's in the shit now....
PA Berman,
You, I was a little hard on Ben. Frankly though, I don't especially regret it. He made a mean-spirited comment about someone's personal appearance and linked it to his opinion of Ebert's show. It was needless and rude. Had you said it, I would have cut some slack, as you have a history here as a reasonable person. This Ben, though, made a mean-spirited comment that cut me the wrong way. So sue me.
Regards,
Joseph
Hey Washu,
Is that YOU????
I get IT!! Okay, Ben.. now that I know WHO YOU ARE!!!!!!
I must say that you threw me for quite the loop there. I was thinkin' "what"..... 'FIGHT'????? If y'all are fightin' you are SOME kinda that subtle.
HELL me and Diana tear up more turf than THAT when we're sleepin'!
Next time y'all throw down for a range war we want to see feet and fists and teeth!!!!! No more subtle SCRAPPING-- IT AIN'T NATURAL!!!
:)
You guys are great. Gentlemen the pair o' ye.
See why I love men?
Cindy
Alex Jay wrote,
"CINDY & ZOË: Hey, if you really DO want to beat the bushes to find me that lovely Levantine, I can point you to some pics on the dating service I AM on. (I clean up real good ...)"
YES!
Point me where and I will go to bat. I'll find you the perfect little bride... your mama will even approve.
yer pal,
Cindy MATCHMAKER Jones
JOSEPH,
It's late, I'm tired, and I have no time or patience for the inner asshole you've decided to unleash. I was genuinely apologetic in my previous post, and I can only assume you somehow failed to comprehend that. In any case, goodnight, and I hope morning sees the both of us a better person.
'Regards',
Benjamin A.A. Winfield
Alex,
Your idea sounds like a grand one-- but uhh, look closer at that picture.. I think "she" is a man! Check out that paw on her!
YIKES!!
Cindy
It was like a drug trip. Bad television about bad television...okay, maybe not "Galactica 1980" or "Earth Final Conflict" bad, but...
I wonder how Batman would've worked with episodes by Harlan.
Hey Gary,
Tell me this-- CASE, JOHN DEERE, NEW HOLLAND?
Go to the dealer tell 'em you lost your key. They have universal keys... at least I THINK they do... a Caterpillar key will start maintainers, bulldozers, track loaders-- pick yer poison.
Whoa, wait-- my husband just said if you steal it it's a felony and I am now an accessory- maybe it's not such a good idea at that.
Maybe when the bluebonnets head out here I'll gather you some seed for that bare strip you were talkin' about. Would that suit you?
:)
Cindy
Actually, call off the Webderlander Lonely Hearts Club Band!
I've had a brainstorm:
You know about Russian mail-order brides, right?
And you know how more and more people are finding spouses among the huge pool of singles in incarceration, right?
Well, why not COMBINE the two?
Here, take a look at the winner of this year's Miss Captivity Pageant in Lithuania:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_709915.html
We could make MILLIONS brokering this stuff!
We could be as rich as, say, expat Nigerians with e-mail accounts!
DTS: Well, *I* am VERY offended at not getting onto your "intimidating women" list.
What's that you say?
... why, you SEXIST!!!
Ahem.
On another issue, wholly divergent from the usual film and politics discussions that hit this board--do any of you other guys out there shave with a brush and shaving soap, as opposed to shaving cream?
I just started, and I have to say, I rather like it. The motion itself brings something of a nostalgic feeling, and as someone prone to the occasional pimple, the feeling of soapy-clean on the skin is a good one.
(Yeah, I'm still just putting frothy chemicals on my face and scraping them off with a blade, but I like it nonetheless.)
CINDY & ZOË: Hey, if you really DO want to beat the bushes to find me that lovely Levantine, I can point you to some pics on the dating service I AM on. (I clean up real good ...)
Hi Cindy,
I'm glad you enjoyed playing dao ball.
Wisdom from the Tao! I got different messages, relevant to me. More along the lines of things like "A sage looks like: a block of ice at the point of melting, easily moved" & "A wise man (person) acts like a guest, polite in all environments" Stuff like that.
I don't think the spikes hurt the trees. It would make no sense for an environmentalist to spike them if the spikes hurt the trees. Right? No the spikes hurt the loggers when they try to chainsaw the trees and their saws hit the spikes. Not that that's a good thing, but the purpose of spiking the trees and blowing up the earth moving equipment is to discourage and prevent the cutting down of old growth trees, not to kill and maim the innocent loggers just trying to earn a living.
I found out about Earth First! when I was involved with looking into Paganism & Earth relgions and such. They advertised in Selena Fox's Circle Sanctuary newsletter. Maybe they still do. I believe they're international. Kind of like Green Peace with an edge and a bad attitude. They're activists. Meaning they are ACTIVE. They move. They try to DO something about what they see is wrong. They, literally sometimes, put their bodies on the line, like chaining themselves to various types of things to get in the way, and having parades and marches and demonstrations and putting on concerts to bring attention to all kinds of environmental issues.
Bye for now.
Diana
P.A. BERMAN: Damn, I KNEW I was forgetting lotsa names. You were intended to be on the list, of course. And you're welcome. My pleasure (I hope my efforts counterbalance those of less enlightened men).
CINDY: What's that OTHER email address of yours (I tried to email you at the one listed and got the "mailbox full" error.
--DTS
JOSEPH: Considering the fun defamations of celebrities that go on all the time in this here space, I think you were a smidgen hard on young Ben. Not that you weren't RIGHT, mind, but the reaction was a little much.
CINDY: Large railroad-type spikes are driven deep into trees, the heads are cut off, and then the spike is driven dep into the wood with a punch to conceal it.
The aim of this is to ruin the log for commercial use and make it not cost-effective--unfortunately, when a chainsaw band traveling at 13000 RPM hits a spike, it can literally explode. Many tree spikers are careful to put their spikes high above where a logger would put his chainsaw, and so only the saws in sawmills are destroyed by this practice, and still others will label the trees they have spiked to warn loggers off.
(Hardy trees can usually survive the shock.)
Not everyone is so benign, however. It's a very dangerous thing to do.
Interestingly, spiking is either being considered or is currently being used in Indonesia legally, by the government, to stave off the rash of ILLEGAL logging going on in their national forests.
(Spiking and caning and jails, oh my!)
With yer boy in the White House rolling back environmental restrictions and safeguards and wanting logging done in nature preserves and national forests, though, I can only imagine that spiking in America will soon be on the upswing.
(Though I have respect for those who treesit as protest, I have to say that human rights offenses right now take precedence over environmental offenses for me. Also, it's easier to prosecute a corrupt administration for messing with people than it is for messing with nature. And money's even easier than that ...)
GARY: Hotwire it? Feh! Sell it on eBay.
INTIMIDATING WOMEN: It's not that I don't find women intimidating because I'm such a great and charmingly open-minded Alan Alda kinda guy--rather, it's simply a benign effect from a larger personal stupidity:
I don't know fear.
At least not personally. Maybe it's tied into the stubbornness I've exhibited all my life, but there's nothing I fear of happening to myself. An example: Just had a colonoscopy. a week or so ago. Polyps were found. Someone asked if I was worried. I replied that I wasn't; if it was cancer, it would be too small and too young to have metastasized, and can be cut out with little muss and fuss.
As "cancer" is the dirtiest word which can be spoken in 21st-century America, my friend was shocked: "Don't you CARE what happens to you?!?
I replied that of COURSE I cared--but that I would face it and handle it and deal with it, whatever "it" might be. I'm stupid that way.
The only thing in life I truly fear is bad things happening to people for whom I care. And the strongest aspect of that is that I fear bad things happening to people about whom I care which are MY FAULT.
I USED to have a fear of rejection, but I've grown past that, really. I still have a HATRED of rejection, but that's entirely different, I fear.
Call me Matt Murdock or whatever, but I just don't have those feelings.
Oh, and Joseph: Any time I see a celebrity who looks weird, I don't go and do research to see if that person *happens* to have a dread disease. Give ol' Ben a break. Not everyone has time to research the drooping of a movie reviewer's lip.
PAB
DTS: Can I just say THANKS to you for your rebuttal to recil? I know you've already taken a lot of grief about it, but as an "intimidating" woman (who you left off your list, but I'm forgiving), it was nice to hear a man say that he could appreciate such things. Intimidating=too smart=bitchy for too many people, I find. As Bette Davis said, "When a man gives his opinion he's a man. When a women gives her opinion she's a bitch." Or intimidating.
I loves ya, Dorman.
PAB
There’s something dinosaurish about a backhoe in action, anybody agree? Sitting right outside my living room window, larger than life, chewing a surprisingly precise line through my yard.
I lost electricity around 10:20 this morning. A Mass Electric truck showed up in pleasantly short order and a gentleman started tinkering with the transformer at the foot of my driveway. Then another truck pulled up. And another. These babies are big and bright yellow.
It was after the sixth truck, when the backhoe trundled up, that I started to get really interested. I took a picture.
I soon had my power back, but my neighbors had a thornier problem. Turned out there was a nick in the buried line where it ran in front of my house. I stood on the spot for a moment, before they asked me to step away, feeling the thump in my feet at the fault, whenever they pumped a test through the line. I’m a percussionist. It felt good.
My neighbors are again juiced, all the trucks are gone, and they promised to be back come spring to seed the remarkably precise strip they carved. I’ll believe it when I see it.
They left the backhoe. Anybody know how to hotwire one?
Hey Diana,
You're right that IS fun!
Here's what I got...
"Intelligent people know others.
Enlightened people know themselves.
You can conquer others with power,
But it takes true strength to conquer yourself."
So TRUE-- SO true!
Thanks for sharing that one.
Hey! On that tree spiking thing.. how do they do that? Is it harmful to the trees? I have a fence that an Oak tree grew up around-- it's like it swallowed it. The fence doesn't seem to hurt the tree any but I would think a spike might not be so good.
Do you know anything about it? As I said I don't know much about Earth First either.. how'd you find out about them. Maybe it's a regional thing.
:)
Cindy
DTS WROTE;
"CINDY: Texas wimmen are such flirts. I'm gonna take you up on that hug next time I hit Baja Oklahoma. Think you can maneuver around my huge beer gut and man-titties? (Last time I checked the scale, I weighed about 212 and one-quarter pounds -- it's mostly muscle, of course). Thanks for the compliments, M'am.
--DTS"
Dorman,
You kiddin'?
NO problemo! My friends come in all sizes, shapes and colors. I'd think you were darlin' if you weighed 600lbs!
It's all about the charm factor. I still think Peter Ustinov has game.
:)
Cindy
An entertaining game, and related information.
http://www.thetao.info/index.htm
http://www.nawwal.org/jrgoff/dao/playGame.html
http://www.taosearch.com/
Bye for now.
Diana
Ben,
An internal monlogue...
"Hmmm...Ebert looks really weird this week. Maybe he's been ill. Maybe I should actually look at informed sources. Nah, I'll just make a mean unsubtantiated comment that had no connection to my opinion of him as a movie critic. That'll do the trick."
It has nothing to do with whether you knew or not, Ben - you just obviously made no attempt to educate yourself, resulting in an undignified & uninformed attack on someone who's never attacked you. And that's asinine.
Joseph
DIANA: Okeydoke. Gotta take a break from writing and get back to the real world anyhow. I WILL try to feel better about myself (don't know if I'll ever recover).
CINDY: Texas wimmen are such flirts. I'm gonna take you up on that hug next time I hit Baja Oklahoma. Think you can maneuver around my huge beer gut and man-titties? (Last time I checked the scale, I weighed about 212 and one-quarter pounds -- it's mostly muscle, of course). Thanks for the compliments, M'am.
--DTS
DTS~
Would you p-u-u-u-u-l-e-e-ze stop bothering me?. Whyn't you go read the nice stuff Cindy had to say to you and feel better? This always helps me.
Thanks
Diana
Good, Diana!
I wouldn't want to let you down.
:)
Cindy
Cindy~
Regarding:
"
WELLLLL,
As Harlan reportedly once wrote -- " It ain't brag when you-"
AW-- HELL Y'ALL , WHAT WAS THAT QUOTE OF HARLAN'S? SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT HERE?????
Cindy"
I believed you when you said it anyways,
And ha ha I KNEW you were going to say something like that (I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't, it was kind of the obvious response)
Diana :=)
HEY SCOTTY!
I thought your redneck definition was well thought out and accurate.
:)
Cindy
ALEX JAY BERMAN WROTE
"CINDY: Maybe it's me. But there's no such thing as a woman who's too intimidating. You put me next to a woman dressed as Ilsa the She-Wolf, and I'll strike up a conversation with her. Not because I'm hitting on her, per se, but just because I like to engage people."
Which explains your charm, Alex Jay.
:)
Cindy
BARNEY WROTE;
"*** Cindy ***
"You really are loading the deck by listing so many post-menopausal women you know. It looks like M. Albright might have had a helluva rack in her day and Janet Reno's uncontrollable shaking must be good for something in the sack, no?"
THAT, my friend is HILARIOUS!!
:)
Cindy
MEL,
Danielle, Joel and Cassandra are the lucky ones-- to have so much love and so much warmth at home.
You really did get the brass ring with Scotty-- whatever his past he has taken the pain and turned it into something beautiful and lasting.
:)
Kiss the babies for me
AS FOR YOU EDWARD--
What fun to hear your "voice"! Stay, STAY!!!!!!! You are among friends here.
:)
Cindy
OHH AND HEY BRIAN,
I really LIKE your vampire story! I think you should go back and re-evaluate it. It has legs.
:)
Cindy
RECIL WROTE;
"Most women, and I would emphasize the MOST here (not all), who are told they are too intimidating are really quite obnoxious. It's the polite way to say, "you really annoy me." It runs parallel to "I'm just shy" in the book of personal personality delusional affirmations. Some are really intimidating, though, and it's usually their looks, because some women are just too damned good looking to remain calm around."
Well, AAAACTUALLY-- it was that last thing you mentioned to which those I cited were referring.
Now my best Walter Brennan voice, " No brag-- jis' FACT."
:)
Cindy
DIANA WROTE;
"Recil~
Cindy's already told us how spectacular she is. She'll probably want to say she doesn't want to brag but...
But well she already has.
I'm sure it's all true.
Diana"
WELLLLL,
As Harlan reportedly once wrote -- " It ain't brag when you-"
AW-- HELL Y'ALL , WHAT WAS THAT QUOTE OF HARLAN'S? SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT HERE?????
Cindy
Finder
- Thursday, March 6 2003 9:4:56
Cindy - I'm in our Marketing group - ad copy, product planning, documentation format and publication; they had me there to see what the applicability of our product (wireless antenna packages and communication networks to carry the data) would be within the Homeland Security universe."
FINDER,
This sounds fascinating! You got to go out there and see everything first hand... I'm GREEN.
:)
Cindy
DTS WROTE;
"CINDY: I'll bet a LOT of men find you intimidating. (and the same goes for quite a few of the other women who visit this board -- LYNN and COOKIE come immediately to mind). Anyone as whipsmart and outspoken as you will always make an insecure man's testicles retreat back into his pelvis. Not to worry, baby. The rest of us guys know better.
Yrs in love of smart women and great (live) music,"
-
Dorman,
Yours is a sterling compliment made even more profoundly moving because it came from one as whipsmart and brilliant as YOU.
:)
Cindy
DIANA: Jeeeez lighten up!
-DTS
DIANA: By the way...I'M insecure about some things...sometimes. The WHOLE WORLD is insecure about some things...most of the time, and some of the time. It's only human. Not necessarily derogatory. You really should take things a little easier. You seem tense. Can I get you cushion or something?
Yrs. in obsequious groveling,
DTS
DTS~
Just in case I wasn't clear about it, I was NOT saying those nasty things about you, I was just giving you an example of the kind of so called "helpful" remark a person could make that is actually not helpful or truly meant to be helpful at all. (Kind of like prefacing something nasty that you're about to say with the phrase "No offense but..." Which translates to: "I'm about to say something offensive, and I don't give a shit if you're offended, and in fact I hope you ARE offended, but I'm saying "no offense but" before I say it so I can later say "But I SAID I meant no offense by that remark" so I can get away with it") (heh heh)
I realize this is pointless to go on about though, so I'm not going to past this. You didn't get the point. You're obviously not going to get the point. You obviously just want to start shit, and argue. But I DON'T. So I'm not going to. I will REITERATE that I wasn't actually saying those things about you, just trying to give an example of something. If you (or anyone else) instead choose(S) to take the remark as if I actually intended them for you, and thus get all offended, you're on your own as far as I'm concerned. I hope you understand.
Bye for now.
Diana
DIANA: Personally (even though I know you think we're not supposed to get personal -- which means I wont ask what sort of day you're having), I prefer unctious and step-n-fetchit as descriptive terms. On. Off. On. Off. Whew! My fingers are getting tired. Think I'll call it a day. (Is that okay with everyone -- CINDY? LYNN? ZOE? RECIL? BARNEY? LOFTUS? HARLAN? --not that I'm worried about disappointing anyone or anything -- can I get you guys a beverage, or an orange...how about a nice orange, while I'm out shopping for a backbone?).
Yrs. until I find a low-priced spinal column,
The Human Jellyfish (aka, DTS)
DTS~
Regarding:
"DIANA:..You seem a little insecure about some things"
The above would qualify as a PERSONAL and derogatory remark. But, as you've demonstrated already, this isn't the kind of thing you'd hesitate to do.
Which was pretty much my point to begin with.
If I were, for example to say, "DTS, you seem a little obsequious, and toady-ing about things; try to develope a little self respect and back bone and stop sucking up;life will flow easier for you then" or something similar, wouldn't you feel I'd made a personal attack on you?
But I'm not going to say anything like that, because I've reformed my evil ways.
Diana
ZOE: Thanks (he said, wiping sweat off his brow, remembering the lady in question is an airplane-flying, gun-toting, karate-trained wildcat).
DIANA: For a person who isn't interested in addressing or reiterating, you sure like to address and reiterate a whole lot. You seem a little insecure about some things. Relax. Get comfortable with yourself. The rest of life will flow naturally from there.
Sincerely,
--DTS (part-time yogi & guru)
Cindy & Alex Jay Berman - No older sister, sorry. But I DO have an older brother! My parents didn't do the rabbit thing, Cindy, but there are two of us, and my brother is smarter than I'll ever be. He went to college at St. Johns in Maryland, this tiny liberal arts school. Judging from his stories, it was HARD. Don't think I coulda made it through - things like writing a paper on some classic or another (Greek writers, etc) and then having to stand in front of a board of people and debate with them abou yoru paper, defending it. WHEW!
So, just me an' m'bro. And he's taken, sorry. ;) (I had to look up Levantine also, Cin. ;) )
DTS - I'll let it go this time.... ;)
--Zoë Rose
DTS~
P.S. All I was saying was that I felt your post got kind of PERSONAL. As I'm trying to refrain from turning my arguments into personl attacks from now on, and am going to, instead, try and offer reasoned arguments with those I choose to even bother to disagree with at this forum, I guess I'm just sensitive to a case where it looked to me like someone was being a little less scrupulous than I would want to be about their methods of debate. I wasn't really interested in reading a reiteration of your previous post. I didn't (and don't) choose to address the contents of your posts beyond the point I already have.
But thank you for taking the time to answer me.
Diana
DTS~
Regarding:
"DIANA: Perhaps I didn't type clearly enough. Obviously, everybody categorizes and judges to some extent. But what I was typing (and trying to get across) in the note below was that men who call smart, decisive women "intimidating" or "obnoxious" are threatened by them. (So the phrase you pulled out from my post should have, when kept in context, communicated that guys who categorize smart women as obnoxious -- as Recil did -- instead of intimidating, were just as threatened, if not more, as those who labeled them intimidating -- make sense now?) If you think I'm judging or categorizing Recil, yeah, you're right. I judge him to be threatened by smart, decisive women; I categorize him as insecure. And it's been my experience -- from the sandlots and footballs fields of my childhood, to the bars and construction sites of my young adulthood, to the barracks and training fields of my Army days, to the gyms and locker rooms I often inhabit these days -- that a great many men _are_ insecure, and DO feel threatened by a woman who knows more (even if it's on just one subject), or who are more experienced, or more capable than them. They don't always tell the women to their face, prefering to "joke" about it amongst themselves. But the insecurity remains. I'm sure it has something to do with the lizard-like, primal parts of our brain that tell us we must PROVIDE and PROTECT and PREVAIL. Nevertheless, I find it a base characteristic -- demeaning to the majority of women -- especially nowadays, when we should be so much more enlightened. And when more of us men should be happy to have a partner who is equal to us in so many ways. If she happens to be superior in others, so what? I say revel in it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of men don't necessarily feel this way. (Otherwise, we would've elected a woman to the office of President a long time ago).
--DTS "
'Kay.
Diana
Well, in spite of the looming war, the endless violations of civil rights, the never-ending round of rehearsals, and the incessant harping over bad movies, there is one bright spot on my personal horizon...
I'm off to the Fiery Foods Show today!
HARLAN AND SUSAN: hope you're resting up...want some HOT sauce?
Best to all,
Michael
Ebert's still a bad movie critic, lip or no lip.
BEN: You're right, our nation HAS gotten waaay to PC (I blame it on "Dubya" and the Republicans -- what the hell, they're in charge, so they gotta take the heat). But don't sweat it. As you said, we're only human. But if you try to engage in affable conversation with the checkout girl at the local SAM'S (a very skinny girl you've known, say, for several years), and say something stupid like, "when is yoour baby due?" only to have her tell you she's not pregnant, THEN you can kick yourself for weeks afterward (months even). And learn a lesson to never (EVER) ask a question like THAT (no matter how good the intentions) of any woman again -- as long as you live.
--DTS
HEY! THE WGA Awards were announced. "The Hours" and "Bowling For Columbine" took the movie honors; and episodes of "the Education of Max Bickford" (which canceled, of course) and "Band of Brouthers" (probably one of the finest miniseries ever) won some of the TV honors. Cool.
--DTS
For crying out loud, how the hell was I suppose to know Ebert had thyroid cancer? Every human being is cursed to be ignorant in one field or another. For all I knew, he could have been stung by a hornet right on the lip. Gawd, I hate this politically-correct anal-retentive world of ours. I recall some SENFIELD episode where George made an off-hand joke about a man's wife (in bad taste admittedly), only to be told that she was in a coma. I mean, HONESTLY, how was George suppose to know that?
I'm sorry, I'm just angry at myself right now. I'm gonna work on my term paper on BEOWULF and sulk.
JOSEPH,
Thank you, sir. I am rightfully and deservedly spanked.
Ben,
Hate to burst your mean-spirited comment, but that drooping lip on Ebert is due to his recovering from having a lump removed from his neck two weeks before as part of his thyroid cancer treatment. See? Information really is power!
Regards.
Joseph
DIANA: Perhaps I didn't type clearly enough. Obviously, everybody categorizes and judges to some extent. But what I was typing (and trying to get across) in the note below was that men who call smart, decisive women "intimidating" or "obnoxious" are threatened by them. (So the phrase you pulled out from my post should have, when kept in context, communicated that guys who categorize smart women as obnoxious -- as Recil did -- instead of intimidating, were just as threatened, if not more, as those who labeled them intimidating -- make sense now?) If you think I'm judging or categorizing Recil, yeah, you're right. I judge him to be threatened by smart, decisive women; I categorize him as insecure. And it's been my experience -- from the sandlots and footballs fields of my childhood, to the bars and construction sites of my young adulthood, to the barracks and training fields of my Army days, to the gyms and locker rooms I often inhabit these days -- that a great many men _are_ insecure, and DO feel threatened by a woman who knows more (even if it's on just one subject), or who are more experienced, or more capable than them. They don't always tell the women to their face, prefering to "joke" about it amongst themselves. But the insecurity remains. I'm sure it has something to do with the lizard-like, primal parts of our brain that tell us we must PROVIDE and PROTECT and PREVAIL. Nevertheless, I find it a base characteristic -- demeaning to the majority of women -- especially nowadays, when we should be so much more enlightened. And when more of us men should be happy to have a partner who is equal to us in so many ways. If she happens to be superior in others, so what? I say revel in it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of men don't necessarily feel this way. (Otherwise, we would've elected a woman to the office of President a long time ago).
--DTS
Hmmmm...
Alex: I know, the idea of our minds, so definitively different, converging in a moment of brilliance to sieze upon the same thought at virtually the same moment is indeed terrifying to me as well. What is more frightening is we're wasting this power in discussion of pitting pundits one against another, expecially when a Duh-Bull-Ya is loose, and who knows what nefarious deeds it is engaged in?
Brian: I've been running searches and have yet to discern whether the Coulter eats the male after mating. Will report any relevant results.
BTW, has your Clarke-Nova been talking to you again? Bill Lee is a solid exterminator of all rational thought...
Scott, who loves the tasty dark centipede meat...
Alex's comment re Ann Coulter and Elizabeth Wurtzel reminds me of something I'd been thinking of about right wingers. When you read a book like Eric Alterman's _What Liberal Media?_, you understand that the right wing is exceptionally well-organized and overwhelmingly in control of the news media. This means that thos eof us on the progressive/left end of things may have to be just as radical and uncompromising.
That is why, in order to maintain some balance against the extremism of the right wing, I have decided that most famous and influential conservatives are _not really human beings_. They are, in fact, a kind of strangely involved insect.
For example (I said to Alex), let's imagine that we have Ann Coulter in the dinner table here, right now, thorax exposed and properly restrained. If we where to make an incision in her stomach, I'm almost certain that a thick, yellow fluid would emerge, containing chunks of material bearing only the slightest resemblance to actual human organs. By this time, sensing danger, her head would be attempting to separate itself from the rest of the body, perhaps following an eons-old insect-memory to embed itself in some rotted wood where her egg-sac can be hidden from predators.
I understand that these ideas are not popular. But then again, I've never believed in blindly following the current fashion to gain popularity.
Looking forward to the Bug Hunt, Brian Siano
Just saw a segment of EBERT & ROEPER this morning. Is it my imagination, or is Roger's increasingly droopy lip making him look more and more like the Elephant Man?
In the meantime, I've begun to cease watching the show altogether. Too many times I keep finding myself saying directly to the television, "You know, guys, who gives a f*** what you think?" That can't be healthy.
Regarding:
"When a man says a woman is intimidating, what he really means is that she is too smart for him...when they meet a woman who is obviously intelligent..well, she automatically becomes "intmidating." Or, if the guys categorize like Recil -- obnoxious...In my experience, men who find intelligent women "intimidating" are often the same guys who categorize secure, assertive women as "bitches" ...always make an insecure man's testicles retreat back into his pelvis"
My god, that's pretty damned insulting and unfair to Recil DTS. Speaking of "categorizing". That sure looks to me like just what you were doing to him.
Jeez.
Diana
UM, before my big mouth (keyboard) gets me in dutch, I should say that it was (and is) fairly early, so if I neglected to mention lots of other (Webderland visiting) women's names below (like Zoe), it's only because I'm still sleepy. Gotta remember to get to bed a bit earlier. Now...I'm off to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast (before the wife and daughter wake up and start slapping me around for not delivering breakfast in bed).
Not at all whipped. Really (no, REALLY),
-DTS
If I may interject one more bit of information in the musician's union strike in New York (heh - I almost wrote "magician;" more coffee for me), that 25-person miminum is only for the largest theaters. There is actually a sliding scale depending on the size of the venue for what the minimum amount of musicians are in the union contract. From the NYT:
"For the last half-century, the contract between musicians and producers has dictated the minimum number of musicians required in each Broadway pit, ranging from 3 to 26, depending on the size of the theater. In 1993, the union agreed to grant some exceptions; producers apply to a committee composed of two union members, two producers and up to three people from an agreed-upon list of music directors and arrangers.
Shows that have been granted exceptions include "Chicago," "Aida," "Mamma Mia," "Movin' Out" and most recently, "Urban Cowboy." "
Sounds to me like the Union of American Musicians is being perfectly reasonable here. They know some shows don't require that many musicians, and they're willing to work with the producers on exceptions.
Also, speaking as a musical lover, the thought of a digital orchestra, or live musicians backed by synthesizers, sickens me. I go to theater for the joy and energy and the immediacy of LIVE work by everybody involved, not just the actors.
Regards,
Joseph
COOKIE: I hope the musicians in NY win...and win big. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I recently learned that with most of the tickets to big Broadway shows averaging something over $75, a mere seven to ten bucks goes for the cost of the orchestra. Now, I know producers "need to make money" (as someone stated below), but, as is usual with big-money guys, I believe their greed outstrips their actual need.
RECIL: Respectfully, you are full of shit (as are a lot of other men, so don't take it too personally). I'm speaking of your comment about women (who describe themselves as "intimidating") being obnoxious. I can't tell you how many times I've heard women tell me that men find them intimidating. And -- in EVERY case -- these women turn out to be intelligent, witty and egaging. When a man says a woman is intimidating, what he really means is that she is too smart for him (and "too smart" for the average American male means any woman who refuses to always acquiesce to his point of view). Most guys -- let's face it -- always want to be right. And when they meet a woman who is obviously intelligent, and knows what she is talking about...and (worse!) dives into a conversational subject about which the man she is speaking to knows nothing...well, she automatically becomes "intmidating." Or, if the guys categorize like Recil -- obnoxious (don't you women know that you're supposed to hang on arms -- and every word -- nod your head in agreement, and tell us we are _so_ smart -- and later, scream our names in uncontrolled ecstasy, because every one of us men are such grrrrrreat lovers?) In my experience, men who find intelligent women "intimidating" are often the same guys who categorize secure, assertive women as "bitches" (especially in the workplace, when the women are in the drivers - or bosses -- seat); of course, men who know what they want and what is needed to get the job done are seen as decisive. Ah, the great double (male-invented) standard.
CINDY: I'll bet a LOT of men find you intimidating. (and the same goes for quite a few of the other women who visit this board -- LYNN and COOKIE come immediately to mind). Anyone as whipsmart and outspoken as you will always make an insecure man's testicles retreat back into his pelvis. Not to worry, baby. The rest of us guys know better.
Yrs in love of smart women and great (live) music,
--DTS
Regarding my last post I think that came out kind of bitchier than I meant it too. Sorry Cindy.
Also regarding Recil (and Cookie) and being sober...You guys should be proud of yourselves daily, I know it's not easy. I gave up my wild ways myself a number of years ago and am the better for it. And although I haven't been one to embrace the whole sub culture of recovery, I believe *whatever* it takes for someone to "just say no", they should do that. Whatever litanies, chants, mental processes of reasoning, whatever prayers it takes (some moments it takes all of that) to deal with your own (what I call) "Bullshit Factor" I'd say go for it.
One of the BIG reasons my friend Mark and are now JUST friends is because he's still steadily continued drinking and using cocaine and smoking dope like a rastafarian chimney. There are occasions when I get tired of him calling me a la-dee-dah little goody-two-shoes, I must say...other times I realize it's ridiculous. And of course I totally enjoy no longer waking up with that "Oh my GOD what the fuck did I DO last night?!?" feeling anymore. No more dry-heaving my guts out and swearing I'll never do THAT again. I finally decided being a drunk asshole really only seems funny when you're drunk, or maybe it seems funny to some people when they see it in a movie. Othewise it pretty much sucks.
Anyway, I've been meaning to mention all of this to Cookie for a while now and since I can't sleep and read that thing Recil wrote, and since one of the reasons I started drinking was I suffer from insomnia and a couple of glasses of wine helped me sleep, so I was remembering again tonight (this morning actually) how I got started drinking so much, as well as thinking about why I decided I needed to stop, I thought I'd say something about it now. 'Cause eventually the two glasses before bed ended up as being two cases and three-four days drunk as hell 'cause it also seemed to help me deal with the housework, and the fact that I live HERE (I really HATE this town) and various other things, until I'd end up wondering time and again where the hell did the month go, or those last two years for that matter. That was four years ago, and it's good to always know what day it is now.
Bye for now.
Diana
Recil~
Cindy's already told us how spectacular she is. She'll probably want to say she doesn't want to brag but...
But well she already has.
I'm sure it's all true.
Diana
Most women, and I would emphasize the MOST here (not all), who are told they are too intimidating are really quite obnoxious. It's the polite way to say, "you really annoy me." It runs parallel to "I'm just shy" in the book of personal personality delusional affirmations. Some are really intimidating, though, and it's usually their looks, because some women are just too damned good looking to remain calm around. Fortunately for me, I have historically been too drunk to notice my own inadequacies in these sitcheeashuns; now that I'm off the sauce, and with a permanent mate, there's no need to care any longer.
--recil
I think this article makes good points about both sides in the Broadway strike and explains the positions of both adequately:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/09/arts/theater/09LABO.html
Remember:this is Broadway. If millions of dollars are being thrown around in the name of Art and Entertainment, why shouldn't producers pay the piper. The people who play in Broadway pit orchestras are highly-trained professionals and among the best players in the country because the competion is very intense. It *is* about preserving musicians jobs and as a musician, I can't be anything BUT supportive of the union's position on this one. I am completely biased and I admit it. :)
AJ: The article said that the musicians' union has made exceptions in the past when the show doesn't truly need the minimum requirement. They're not being ridiculous (truly they aren't). The issue is the fear that the producers really would rather do away with musicians all together. That's the subtext.
Maybe some of you don't care as much whether your music is played by people or by machines. I'm kind of old fashioned in that regard and musicians are my people. I want to see them eat.
SCOTT: Interesting--your comment about a desird catfight between Ann Coulter and Naomi Wolf echoes something I said to Brian today, when we were talking about our disenchantment with those who take BOTH extreme sides of the issues--I said I'd want to take Coulter and Elizabeth Wurtzel, glue them to one another and trap them in an airtight latex sheath ... after filming it of course.
When your thought patterns begin to pace mine, it's time to run screaming toward the hills.
JIM: Ever hear Prine's duet with a young Bonnie Raitt on his song "Angel From Montgomery"? Heaven.
CINDY: Maybe it's me. But there's no such thing as a woman who's too intimidating. You put me next to a woman dressed as Ilsa the She-Wolf, and I'll strike up a conversation with her. Not because I'm hitting on her, per se, but just because I like to engage people.
Cookie: And what would the Musicians' Union have done with something like, say, the original run of Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS, which was staged in a room so small, they could only fit THREE musicans? I'm assuming there's a sliding scale with regard to seating areas ... or is it only Broadway, not the off-broadway halls, that they're taking to task?
Allow me to just write a little more about this. A 25 person orchestra isn't really all that large. Your standard big band consists of 15--20 players. For a pit orchestra of a show like say "Cabaret" or "Chicago," you need a big band (due to the nature of the music) plus strings and woodwinds (It may be possible for members of a sax section to double on other wind instruments thereby saving personnel). There are all kinds of arrangers' tricks to make smaller ensembles sound bigger than they are, but in the end, you need to have a certain instrumentation in order to achieve specific ensemble effects.
I've noticed that with the economic downturn, places that hire music locally have been hiring smaller ensembles. There are still occasional big band gigs, but they tend to be sponsored through institutions and grants. Where clubs used to hire quartets, they're hiring duos and solos: or rather, they're offering the pay that should go to duos or solos. Sadly, this pay is sometimes split by trios and quartets that are simply desperate to pay at all.
But we're not talking about upstate bar gigs here. We're talking about Broadway which is supposed to be the height of American musical theatre. These should be the best staffed plays there are. I enjoy seeing local productions of Broadway musical with scruffy local pits or just piano accompaniment. But if/when I go see a Broadway play, I want to see (and hear) something spectacular, even if it means paying A LOT for my ticket.
PS: that paragraph was excerpted from a NYTimes article.
Lynn: This paragraph explains why the issue of minimums is important: "The producers have argued that the minimums take the control out of the hands of the creative team. At the same time, most composers, orchestrators and music directors seem to favor maintaining the minimums. More than 40 prominent music people recently signed a petition in support of the union, including John Kander, the composer of "Chicago," and "Cabaret," and Don Sebesky, who orchestrated "Kiss Me, Kate," among other shows.
In this contract negotiation, the musicians are also seeking a wage increase of 5 percent; their current base salary is $1,350 per week."
The WRITERS, the people who orchestrate the notes the musicians play believe that they need the minimum of 25 players in order to write satisfying scores. That is the minimum human resource they need to have available to construct their musical visions. With 15 members in the orchestra, your choices are more limited. Can you make acceptable music this way? Yes. Can you make the sort of high-production value music expected by Broadway ticket holders with these resources? Maybe, but it's much harder and may involve using synthesized rather than real instruments. Synthesizers are really cool, but I don't believe they should replace real live orchestra players.
And yes, of course the producers MUST make money. I take no issue with that, but they shouldn't make it by replacing humans with machines.
Cookie~ I am glad to see the solidarity between actors & musicians, however, the 25 person limit seems an interesting reason to strike. (For those who haven't been following the story, the Musician's Union have a clause in their contract that puts a bottom limit of 25 players in an orchestra. The producers want this limit removed.)
You wrote: "...the producers need to think beyond profit margins."
If a business stays in business by making a profit, and if the profit goes away, doesn't the business go away as well? How are they supposed to pay any of the required 25 musicians if they aren't making a profit? Now if they're making a ton of money and are just being stingy, I could see holding the line, but if they have to choose between keeping a show open with say 18 people in the pit or closing the show, which is more fair to the production (and all the people on the production)?
Just curious,
L.
Cookie~
What are they striking for? I mean what are they asking for, what are their complaints and such?
Diana
Bravo for the Broadway musicians who are striking and for the actors and stagehands who won't cross their picket lines. IMO, a Broadway musical should have a full complement of LIVE musicians in the pit. A Broadway musical is supposed to be the zenith of production quality(I've yet to see one on Broadway, but I hope to some day). I think people who go to see them deserve to hear a full, professional orchestra. I understand that times are tough and it's hard to pay musicians, but I think that the producers need to think beyond profit margins.
Anyone else have anything to say about that? I'm not usually a big fan of the musicians' union, but I think this is an example of a local doing the right thing for the right reasons.
There is no doubt.
Cindy
P.S. Also, if I were being honest about things, I'd have to say that I would vastly prefer having Mr. Ellison respect and affection than his passing fancy. THOSE things,I think, would be way more worth having, and are no doubt, a great deal harder to come by.
Diana
Cindy~
Regarding that "no mere mortal woman" remark, it was funny but...
You want to know a part of that " extraordinary defenses" thing I mentioned? I've learned to never over-estimate myself.
Really, I figured THAT man was more than I could handle. I don't know what men think they see when they're looking at me sometimes, but I'm pretty sure I'm not that...whatever it is. This attitude works very well for me. Keeps me safe.
Bye for now.
Diana
Diana,
I LIKED your "no mere mortal woman" remark.
:)
Cindy
DIANA WROTE;
"Cindy~
All joking aside? I've been hit on so fiercely so many times in my life, and with such regularity and (sometimes) by so many truly amazing men, that I've had to develope extraordinary defenses. (My mom's told me for years I should think about growing a moustache or something) I can hardly even go to the
corner store for bread & cheese or something, but what some local lothario doesn't drive by and offer to take me for a ride in his truck, or out to dinner.
No offense to YOU but if this isn't the way things have gone in your life than you really wouldn't
understand."
AAAAAACTUALLY,
It really HASN'T been that way in my life at all.
I've been told I'm too intimidating.
:)
Cindy
And Cindy?
Just one more little thing, and I'll drop the subject if you do, I didn't say Mr E. hit on me (I didn't say he didn't either, I'm NOT saying) I can see how you might have infered that from what I wrote, but I didn't say it. I was actually just tweaking his nuts a little, metaphorically speaking, on account of his post in The Pavilion, which made me smile, 'cause if you used to want to see a commotion, you *shoulda* seen the man that he used to be..he WAS trouble in perpetual motion, and etc..."Those were the days my friend"
Bye for now.
Diana
Cindy~
All joking aside? I've been hit on so fiercely so many times in my life, and with such regularity and (sometimes) by so many truly amazing men, that I've had to develope extraordinary defenses. (My mom's told me for years I should think about growing a moustache or something) I can hardly even go to the
corner store for bread & cheese or something, but what some local lothario doesn't drive by and offer to take me for a ride in his truck, or out to dinner.
No offense to YOU but if this isn't the way things have gone in your life than you really wouldn't
understand.
Diana
P.S.
Just kidding about that "no mere mortal woman" thing.
CIndy~
I am no mere mortal woman
Diana
JIM DAVIS,
Sounds like you have exquisite taste in music. I've been a fan of Loudon Wainwright III too-- since I was a kid in Austin.
Have you listened to any Robert Earl Keene? My grown kids turned me on to him-- he's amazing... right up there with the other too.
For another one that'll knock you down-- Casey Chambers. But don't let your kids listen to her-- they'll rip off your CDs.
:)
Cindy
Diana,
ABSOLUTELY NO OFFENSE INTENDED-- but he musta been out of the notion.
On a Richter scale of irresistible-- he's a nine when he's not even tryin'.
I don't THINK there is a mortal woman in her right mind that coulda passed on the chance-- if sincerely offered.
Just my 2.
:)
Cindy
RICK: I double-posted in the Pavilion (is that like double-dipping?), so feel free to delete one of those suckers.