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THEE:
>While on this sad topic, it occurred to me to ask if the case
>of the little girl who was killed in the Las Vegas casino rest room...
I remember that very disturbing case, and no one that I know of has even
mentioned it. A lot of my online friends are still discussing the JonBenet
Ramsey case, recent revelations of the similarities in style of the Christmas
greeting this year and the stun gun video have heated it up again. I'm
afraid the poor little Las Vegas girl is all but forgotten.
I went to a Beatle Convention in Philly with friends a couple years
ago and saw Cynthia Lennon and actually got to chat with her a few minutes
about wildflowers and her place in Isle of Man. She mentioned that she's
still close to Patty Boyd-Harrison-Clapton from the old days, and I asked her
when Patty was going to write a book. She answered, "NEVER!" She seemed like
a very nice charming English lady, I liked her immediately.
ME: Subject: honorifics [Washington Times opinion column]
Hi Deborah [Simmons],
I enjoyed your article today. I agree there is way too much
rudeness nowadays and agree with most of the examples you gave.
I disagree on honorifics, though. I believe they're good for nothing
and cause confusion and trouble. If there was a time when it was
considered rude to call a person by his first name, it's a simple
matter of declaring a new rule:
It shall henceforth be considered the ultimate in respect
and politeness to address a person by his first name.
About the above greeting, it's not any sort of a jab -
even after reading your article, I honestly don't know how you would
like a stranger to address you. Still, nice article.
THEE: Subject: All my friends are boppin' the blues
I am distressed about yesterday's passing of Carl Perkins. Richard
Harrington partially redeemed himself for numerous sins in the past
with his well-written tribute in today's "Post."
We had intended to go to the Sunday concert after I read a
piece about it in the "Post." Your message merely reemphasized the
event's status as a potential happening. We did go and were slightly
disappointed. Firstly, we arrived too late for the discussion part
and I'm sorry we did. I think we missed seeing Mitch Miller. As for
the concert, we enjoyed the John Cage piece, which featured a woman
playing records on a turntable on stage and two men doing the same at
turntables in the audience. We thought it could be louder. I slept
through the second piece, and don't remember who wrote it. The third
piece, a Ravel, was nice enough. Alas, the intemission was so long
that the show extended past 6 p.m. and we had to leave before the
finale, the Elvis impersonators. Today's "Post" has a review of the
concert and doesn't mention the Elvis piece, so I'm wondering if they
even did it. I also wonder if Mitch Miller was there. Thus, we
didn't get all we expected.
THEE: I read the "Times" radio column yesterday. Ellen was ahead of the
trend in that she's been boycotting the morning WHFS DJ for a couple
of weeks now. She heard his first show, in which he railed against
D.C. residents, and he later played some goofy country song that went
something like, "I wish I was a lesbian instead of a hetero." Ellen
wondered, "If he wants to play some lesbian music, why can't he just
play Phranc?"
THEE: It's not final yet, but we could be having another "big event"
with the club. How about a re-creation of that first concert in the
Washington Coliseum? I'm trying to get the Invasion to play a benefit
concert in which they would play the same setlist with some of the same
choreography/dialogue that the Beatles did on 2/11/64. I've already got a
commitment from Russ Lease to bring the original drumskin (for exhibit
only) plus I'll get local D.C. rock & roll historian, Bob Embree to talk
about that first concert.
ME: re: scrabble game
Alison and I were running neck and neck and I knew I was going down the
tubes because I had a Q from the very first draw that I could never
unload. I figured Alison would go out and I would eat my Q. Well,
when their racks were down to 4 letters, they started claiming they
couldn't go. That was hard to believe because the board had plenty
of available vowels *and* consonants. I was saving Q I T just in
case somebody played a U in the open. (I knew they had some, because
they both made plays with Us - which I could have used! - that had to
come off because they were no good. (Alison tried NEURO; Diana, VUE.)
Alison eventually played a U for UP. So, it goes around and everybody
passes and the game stops and they show their racks and lo and behold
they *do* in fact have a bunch of amazing garbage. Diana had U V K K,
Alison had U V V. Three Vs! Two Ks! And they both had Us while I'm sitting
there with Q I T! Anyhow, since Alison didn't go out, that saved
the day for me - my 20 point lead survived.
ME: Do I understand that you have an Upwords game,
but not the rule sheet? I don't have the game myself, but
I've had a very good time with it in the past. I asked a friend
to refresh my memory on the scoring.
Each cube (is that what they're called) is worth 1 point.
If a word is all on the first level, you double the score for that word.
(That rule encourages spreading out some befoer before going up.)
If a word has a cube above the first level, you count a point per
cube - *including* all the cubes which are covered up.
It's like scrabble in that if you make more than one word, you
score them separately, and add them all up.
The rules said that the Qu cube is worth a bonus of an extra 2 points
IF the word formed is all on the first level.
I hope that helps.
ME: Subject: hang the deejay....
Glad to hear that somebody else has at least some problems with
WHFS deejays. Based on some recent discussions, I was highly
concerned. I'd be hard pressed to name anything on earth more
consistently revolting - and I know it ain't me...
Th Point, that's the kid's video with a Nilsson soundtrack? Whether
it is or isn't, I've never seen it and have always been vague on it.
Had a chance to invite a Times writer to my honorifics web page
after reading an article on the subject a couple of days ago. The
writer bemoaned their decline.
Good game at scrabble last night. I ate Q I T. Alison ate V V U.
Diana ate V K K U. I was waiting for their Us.
THEE: Subject: Clinton
There is to be no mention of Bill Clinton in this message. Oh, OK.
I'm mad at him. I was amused, however, that the "Times" missed the scoop.
ME: Sorry to hear about the problems with Imthejason - you guys seemed
to hit it off so well in the interview. As long as I live, I'll
never figure out why people are so intent on taking the fun out
of things for other people.
There was some sort of big feud between WHFS and DC101 down here
over the new Pearl Jam album. I guess you know about that?
ME: Subject: Robert B. Reich on the Web.
Dear Mr. Reich,
I've always wanted to invite you to a web page of mine which
immortalizes you. If it seems at all mean-spirited, it's
precisely in keeping with what you deserve. Stop on by
when you have a chance:
http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/Lobby/7049/north.htm
Feel free to sign my guest book, too. Thanks!
THEE: I did hear about the DC101/WHFS feud...we listen to WHFS at work
in the afternoon. WHFS played a lot of the new YIELD album--ignoring
Epic--and claimed that DC101 SAID they had the new album--but never
played any of it. I've heard WHFS call DC101 "Feces 101". Oh, there is
a Pearl Jam billboard on 395 coming into Baltimore...near the Raven stadium.
ME: Regarding Bob Dylan, did I mention a WMUC deejay telling a very nice
story about an encounter with Bobby. He asked him where he got
all those old folk songs, and Dylan was pleasant and loquacious
(probably wrong spelling *and* usage). If I understood right,
there is *an* album out there - from the 40s, maybe earlier - that
had 'em all.
Regarding H6R, I'd watch out for the line "I never engaged in this
kinda thing before."
Regarding BC [president], not only do I not want to hear anything about it,
I feel like giving up news completely. When my subscription runs
out, instead of moving over to electronic news, maybe I'll just
wash my hands of it all. I know people have done that and carried
on just fine - if not better.
THEE: Amy just got a weird phone call.
"We are taking a poll," said the caller. "Can the president survive?"
"Who's 'we'?" Amy asked.
"The press," was the mysterious answer. Amy rang off immediately.
It's a town on edge today, Donald. Let me interpret the huge headline
on the "Washington Post" front page: "It's the weekend, so not much
happened in this story."
ME: I've put up a new Beatles page on my site - a tour
de force in Beatles research (but what do I know.)
Anyhow, when you've got a few free hours (haha), click on
http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/Lobby/7049/yob.htm
See yas.
Don/Donald (depending)
P.S. Ok, VVVFF, it's not Pearl Jam - but I still swear that first
Pearl Jam song I heard ("Clearly I remember...") uses the backing track
from the Beatles' Rain.
ME: Hope everything's going good. It's been the mildest winter ever
down here (according to my memory banks.)
ME: If you want to make any use of the material in my new Beatles page
in the DMC newsletter - feel free. How about a scholarly study on the
social impact of the Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones from primary sources? haha.
When you stop by, make sure I show you my Mahoney Brothers record.
ME: I got a weird one on my anwering machine today, too. Some man from
College Park Honda left his name and number and asked me to call back.
Did I win a new car do you think? I've never gotten a phone solicitation
from a car dealer before.
A spin through Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited verified my memory - overall,
it's one of the lowpoints in my Dylan ouvre. There are a bunch of
long monotonous songs on that one. (Was Dylan the first rapper?) Maybe
the most painful for me (except Percy's Song) is that one about "up
on housing project hill". That was a real problem spot on Greatest Hits
Vol. 2.
THEE: Pearl Jam sings part of the Beatles "Rain" on one of their Oakland concerts...
11/18/97 I think. I have the audio boot. AND on their new album YIELD,
ALL THOSE YESTERDAYS sounds TOTALLY like something from Sergeant
Pepper!! All the critical reviews mention this Beatle sound. Tubas, etc.
THEE: re: Washington Guitar Society (WGS) meeting.
Don mentioned some disappointment with what happened at the meeting
but we haven't had a chance to discuss it. I suppose I had great
expectations of "accomplishing" something, don't know what now. From my
perspective, I was able to articulate my ideas for possible directions for
the WGS but I think everyone had different notions. Mostly (again, from my
perspective), I think it was good that folks articulated their own ideas. Some
specific items were addressed, on which we want to take action: (1) getting some
resolution on acquiring non-profit status (or dropping incorporation altogether)
and (2) getting a clear method for distributing the newsletter in bulk, so as to
relieve you of some of this responsibility. On the later, we're going to work
on a list of folks to whom we'll mail out bulk copies of the newsletter (schools
& music stores). Don figures we can send packs of around 15 for $1.24 postage.
Another good idea was for John to ask, at meetings, for volunteers for specific
tasks--such as someone who might want to establish a website, or help with
distribution, etc. As you've mentioned before, we rarely get volunteers by
posting a request in the newsletter. I'd also like to see more volunteers
writing for the newsletter, to get a variety of voices & opinions. All in all
it was good to spend some time with the new folks.
THEE: You know, your assessment of "Highway 61 Revisited" does not
correspond with "Rolling Stone's," which bestowed the full five on the
LP. Alas, I must agree. Maybe I approached it with negative vibes; I
told Sheila that my secret to enjoying Dylan is to NOT read his liner
notes. I still like, uh, "ITaltoL,ITaTtC," though.
See you this evening. No need to set up both speakers. I think
the album of the day is in mono.
ME: So far, I've gotten one enthusiastic accolade from the beatles group
regarding my yobyalp page.
"A monumental undertaking... historically important... Good job, man!"
I'm not used to such talk. (Did I mention the daggers that were drawn due
to my tablature articles? Steve Q's was just the *beginning*...)
ME: Subject: featured page
Hi Dmitri,
I'm still trying to get consideration for my site as a featured
page. There are some good things there.
http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/Lobby/7049
I *did* receive nationwide coverage in the 1996 presidential campaign...
THEE: From: mitya@usa.net (Dmitri Smirenski)
Subject: Re: featured page
Are you sure this is the right page? The link goes to a text-only page,
which rules out featured-page status. While it is an interesting page,
featured pages are the best of the best. While they have to have a lot of
original content, must be updated frequently and must seem inviting to the
general public, it also has to be visually appealing.
Please let me know if this is a right page. If it is, then I would
recommend that you spice it up and then try again. I'm sure that with a
little work it could be a featured page.
Dmitri S. Smirenski
Geocities Capitol Hill Liaison
ME: re: Washington Guitar Society
First comment is, why weren't these matters nailed when we were all together?
Regarding objectives, i tried to verbalize my vision of monthly guitar
parties where guitar people do guitar things - mainly playing with and
for each other. There was no expressed agreement with this, but neither
was there disagreement or any alternative visions presented.
About decisions, I'll propose again - simple majority vote of all
interested parties. Bylaws, shmylaws . . .
Again, I plead for letting dead dogs lie. Former members who want to
rejoin know where we are.
About the next meeting, I would propose a longer wait than just a few
weeks. If we meet at too short of intervals, it won't be clear whether
new ideas don't work because they haven't had a chance,
or because there's a problem (or because not much constructive came out
of the previous meeting.) It might make sense, though, to time bimonthly
meetings just before newsletter production.
THEE: As for guitarist bios and photos, I think this is important. We must
support live performances and professional performers. These people dedicate
their lives to our instrument and deserve recognition. They certainly don't
always get the money they deserve, so any little bit we can do to promote
careers is important. That's how I feel. I do agree that sometimes the
newsletter is bio heavy and the only thing that is offered in contrast are
Don's contributions. More variety should certainly be encouraged.
There are three main things that I think the WGS needs.
1) A business phone number with a listing in the yellow pages. If there was
a phone number for people to call, I think membership would grow dramatically
and easily cover the cost of the phone bill. There should be an answering
service of some kind giving information about the guitar society.
2) A web page. I was inspired by Don's web site devoted to tab. He is
evidently posting his thoughts for free. I personally would like to see more
graphics and have something nice like the Baltimore Society, but whatever we
are able to do, we should do.
3) An e-mail person. I have been serving this role. I'm often getting and
responding to e-mail concerning information for the WGS. I would like to step
out of this role. I'd like to see someone who would be willing to respond to
information seekers. Typically, someone will write to me asking about the
WGS. I tell them a bit about our activities and ask for a mailing address so
I can send them a newsletter. We've actually gotten several new members this
way.
THEE: Subject: The Booza-Choba Twist
Our album of the night was a fine one. Now I've moved on to
Astrud Gilberto/Walter Wanderley Trio's "A Certain Smile-A Certain Sadness."
It's good but doesn't have that air of the unusual that Bob Harrington had.
Speaking of our Bob, I found no references to him on the web.
An odd technical glitch caused me to be a day late with this
message. I forwarded your message to work yesterday morning but it
didn't get here until after I left. It took about 12 hours to make it
down the street. I sent it again this morning and that version has
not yet shown up.
THEE: Your Beatles newspaper page is awesome! I just read it...all.
(One note, you have the quote: "52 Beatle recors.") I want to start a
publication called "Gaynorfan." I need to see that footage!
THEE: This is the Year of the Tiger too...in case you did not know...you SNAKE.
1953--year of the Snake. 1950--year of the TIGER. My motto--"I win"...
so, yeah, I'm special!!! Glad you noticed =)
ME: One thing I have to say is how dumb I think that business of Eve
[mitochondrial dna] is (was). What was presented in the media was such
nonsense that there was absolutely no reason to suspect the researchers
themselves knew what they were talking about. And it took *3 years* or so
for other members of the scientific community to come forward and say,
you know, this is really stupid.
ME: I have another Beatles page ready to go. It's a
slightly revamped article that's been lying around for years after being
rejected by all the most-respected Beatle zines, boohoo :~( . That
emoticon works best if your tilde ~ is placed at the top of the
character space. I think computer makers have changed that in recent
years.
Quickie bio: M-- is a first cousin of mine. I was gabbing about the 'net
at Thanksgiving and she got interested. The next thing I know, she's
e-mailing and chatting and bopping around the web like an old pro.
It took me *6 months* to choke out my first email!
ME: Regarding "structure", I really liked Bev's words: "common sense
and everyday propriety." That, combined with simple majority
rules - and the skies the limit! Sez me.
The Washington Guitar Society is already a good thing, so there's no
reason to let myself get so upset or impatient if improvements take
a time. I can't help wondering, though, why we aren't bursting at the
seams. It's such a good thing for guitarists at every level - and
practically free!
ME: Recors is correct, if you know what I mean, BUT... thanks for making
me double check - it was 900, not 90, Beatle cards for dumping rite
on the poor columnist's head. Whew, that would have gone years without
correction, if not forever.
Booza choba - that's a masterpiece. But what percentage of the population
do you think could get it? [Even I don't, fully, at this point.]
Bob Harrington brings to mind Les Kinsolving - the guy who interviewed
me on Baltimore talk radio. He was a famous religious figure in the
'60s. I stumbled on a fairly big spread on him in an old Life.
THEE: I'm sending you an audio bootleg of the Oakland 11/18/97 PJ concert--
where they sang RAIN after Daughter (Eddie usually tacks on something
after this song). The sound isn't great--remember, someone brought
a little tape recorder into the huge Oakland Rolling Stone thing...and the
audience is screaming all around.
Oh, I also included a song I recorded at Hershey Park a couple years ago...
essence of Puff Daddy...
THEE: What percentage would get "Booza-Choba?" Donald, that was tailored
just for you personally, an audience of one. I care not if anyone
else gets it.
This morning, Howard Stern featured Monica Lewinsky (it might not
really have been her) singing "I Want to Use My Mouth" to the tune of
"IWtHYH." You'll probably be relieved to learn that I only got the
last 15 seconds for you.
Just to make my world a little colder, Clara and I have adopted the
slogan "Pearl Jam is Hootie." Comments?
THEE: Subject: Wonders de web
Right after I composed my last message to you, I did a search for
Mitzi Gaynor on the web! I haven't found any photos yet, but I did
find something you need to file somewhere! It's from a 1996 interview
with Bill Murray:
First adolescent pop crush?
"Mitzi Gaynor! You know that big 'Ed Sullivan Show' when he had the
Beatles? Mitzi Gaynor came on, and she was wearing this low-cut dress,
and she bent over, and she had OILED BREASTS! I wasn't part of this
industry then -- I was only 9 -- but even so, I'm sitting there and
I'm aware that Mitzi Gaynor has just pulled off the biggest upstage in
history. She has 20 million people saying 'Ay, caramba!' I didn't know
her work then, 'South Pacific' and all the shows, but...."
Ever meet her?
"I'd LOVE to meet her. I'd love to work with her. She's still got
it. I know she does. I KNOW she's still got it."
-- Roy Blount Jr., "Why would a sweet, elephant-loving guy like
Bill Murray tip over a man in a wheelchair?"
Men's Journal, August 1996
ME: I used HotBot to find 429 matches on "bob harrington". Hie thyself
on over to
http://www.thechaplain.com/meetbob.htm
Is Pearl Jam = Hootie an insult, I guess? I am baffled about PJ.
I thought they were BIG, but they didn't show up in that top 100
survey you copied - and it had entries for every act in the current
top 20.
The Bize/Schickele [Joan Baez] album is pretty darn good. Laurie Anderson had
nothing on this act.
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