December 2001 - Sinister

Sinister: bowling a maiden over
by R.Playforth＠sussex.ac.uk 11 Dec '01

11 Dec '01

<smut summary> incidence of the word 'sex' and its cognates in the following post: 3 incidence of the word 'pornographic': 1 incidence of the word 'dirty': 1 incidence of the word 'twat': 1 <end of smut summary> my first post in my alternate identity of a real working person, joining the massed ranks of skiving dogsbodies posting from the far edge of boredom. i feel guilty already. so much has happened on sinister lately, passing by in front of my eyes as i sit at my little desk and point shy foreign students in the direction of grammar books and non-pornographic websites. i can't remember half the things i wanted to respond to. but has anyone else noticed that although ken chu gets mentioned in nearly every post, and never in less than glowing terms, he still complains about no-one loving him? some people don't know they're born. (which always struck me as a bizarre expression, but i feel i should use it.) or is it just that cyber-adoration doesn't translate into real-life begging for sex? in which case he deserves our sympathy, of course :) despite ken's obvious personality disorder, i like his idea of going bowling over the festive season. the big lebowski makes it quite clear that it's the slacker's sport of choice, and therefore especially appealing to lazy post-slackers such as myself. however, there's still far too much potential for making a twat of yourself. you know how when you bowl properly you sort of stick your leg out behind you in that particular way - just looking at that move makes me despair. some of you, unfortunately, have seen me dancing (and so you all know i'm soft) and therefore also know that i have the grace and co-ordination of a dead camel. so, i can't go bowling. or not until i've signed up for the exciting new 'street dance workout' offered by the sports centre at this noble university. i'm sure that once i've had a few sessions, you won't be able to get me away (i'm dying) from the ddr machine. so look out, sex-starved young men from milton keynes... the peerless princess madeleine wrote: "and I fear I may have missed my chance to swap mittens for sexual favours, or whatever the sinister kids did back in the day." it was scarves, actually - an initiative spearheaded by myself and jenowl if memory serves. and i've just got a new lot of wool from my gran... while i was at my gran's house i also trawled through the old children's books and 7 inch records in her spare room, coming back with joan aiken, ursula le guin, brambley hedge, aretha franklin, dusty springfield and donovan. listening to the b-side of 'atlantis' by the latter was SPOOKY - it's called 'i love my shirt' and is the exact same sort of hurdy gurdy whimsy as 'i love my car'. someone else pointed out that stuart's odd new singing voice is actually in a donovan style. this can't be a coincidence, surely? speaking of the new single, idleberry *really* doesn't like it, huh? glad to see strong opinions, sensibly expressed, on the list again - but surely, m'lud, some leniency for marx and engels? in all fairness, b&s produced worse than that (or more mediocre if you like) even in their supposed golden age. i'm never too happy about suggesting a straight downward trajectory in the work of any band, anyway - it's hardly ever that simple. callow mistakes can darken the most glorious debut, while moments of brilliance might still appear in the most limping, decrepit effort. or to put it another way, marx and engels is better than, say, modern rock song. or the boy done wrong again. or rollercoaster ride. or (obviously) before the sunrise. um, so there. oh look, i've wasted a whole hour. better go and assist some resources. (hi liz!) !viva rachels (though i'm having an identity crisis now our name has been taken in vain - lucky i'm really an archel, a very different thing i assure you.) luv archel xxx ps. sorry astrid - struan's definitely taken. he mentioned his girlfriend when he emailed me (perhaps to stop me getting any funny ideas?) ps. i *would* crush on you, rachel pancake, but i'd feel like a dirty old woman :) ******************* Rachel Playforth Resources Assistant Sussex Language Institute University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QN ++44 (0)1273 678006 ******************* +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: White Noise, Belfast, Soul Music
by Dirty Vicar 11 Dec '01

11 Dec '01

I went to a reggae club on Friday. It was pretty good, but I liked it best when one of the DJs dropped in the occasional soul classic. You know, R.E.S.P.E.C.T or Really Sayin' Something. Or something. So now I think that soul music is better than reggae. I'm glad the B&S bus has been booked to take people up to Belfast, however I hate buses and will travel up by train. I do want to meet people in Belfast though. A wise person advised me that meeting in the Botanic Gardens would be foolish, on the basis that it is December and they will be very parky. Since then I've had two different pubs suggested to me - The Menagerie (on University Road) and some other one, the Botanic Inn or something (near the Botanic Gardens). I have no preference. There is a part of me that fancies being a tourist and saying 'let's meet in The Crown!'. However that would probably be full and is I think miles away from the Mandela Hall. Do people fancy an afternoon meetup or one just before the gig? I'd prefer an afternoon first and then maybe a pre-gig one too, unless that's a bit too meetup-tastic. Why, incidentally, do people all was talk about committing list abuse when they post in about forthcoming meetups? I thought that's what Sinister was for. Meanwhile, the Rachel OJ scandal has left me reeling, and I feel that I should make a clean breast of something before I too am exposed - I am not really a vicar. I am however very dirty, having not washed since last May, on my birthday. I had loads of fun yesterday, photocopying up the zine thing I publish. It's hyper-elitist, only available to those who write for it. There's nothing like the smell of photocopy toner to make you feel nice and healthy. And today I went to my first mulled wine party of the season, showing that it has arrived. I find the whole liking/not-liking Christmas argument a bit pointless really, it's a bit like saying that you hate wet weather and going into a sulk whenever it rains. Er, what I mean is, whether you like Christmas or not it's going to come around so you might as well make the best of it. That said, I am very aware that for various life-not-going well reasons people have a bad time of it at this time of year, which is very sad. I enjoyed Rener's post in which she revealed that we might go to the Athens Sinister meetup. I've long fancied visiting Greece, mainly through an interest in ancient Greek culture and all that. It's strange the way I grew up thinking of Greece as somewhere you would visit to have a fascinating high-brow holiday of looking at ruins and statues and visiting places where fantastic battles took place, while now Greece is somewhere people go on holidays to to neck pills, drink till they puke, and try to pick each other up. Shame. Having said that, I'll probably not get round to the Athens Sinister Meetup, as I never get round to doing things. I think I'll go to tubbybed now, hope you all are well. Big shout out to Corduroy Boy, Laura Llew, Astrid, David Moore, Grainne, and the whole get mental crew. blessed be, DV +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Top 2 Princesses
by Madeleine McNeil 11 Dec '01

11 Dec '01

As I lounge elegantly in my green bath robe and seductively smoke Sovereign Lights (for non UK people: cheap scummy cigrettes), the delicate light from the 60 watt bulb of the bedside lamp (yes, I know it's 11.35 am and I should really open the curtains) casting flattering shadows on my finely sculpted cheekbones, I trawl the Sinister archives for fun and frolics. I now know why we all called a legion of bedroom saddo devotees. I read the funniest email in the world... EVER (part 7) written by Honey. Tears rolled down my cheeks and the housemate hastily revised her opinion of me from "odd" to "mad as a bucket". Also, there was a lot of smut back in those days. I only subscribed to the list in March this year, and I fear I may have missed my chance to swap mittens for sexual favours, or whatever the sinister kids did back in the day. Speaking of Honey, which I was, sort of, did you know she's now in my top two favourite Princesses of all time list? My other favourite all time Princess is Princess Madeleine of Sweden. I love her, although we have never met, of course. The reason I love her? It's because of her that my housemate (the nice one) calls me Princess Madeleine. I used to think it was because he saw me as something of a prima donna (first lady? Pah!) but now everything is clear and thanks to the original Princess Madeleine, I love my housemate more than ever and things are happy and harmonious chez nous. Christmas coming, fat geese, goodwill, etc. I can now listen to my "It's a Cool Cool Christmas" cd again. Isobel is at her asthmatic hamster best in O Come O Come Emmanuel, I think. I can also tangle myself up in fairy lights (I occasionally do this for fun, but we shall not speak of it) and battle with sellotape and wrapping paper. My signature scent is now marmite and clementines (instead of just marmite as it is during the rest of the year. Although some people would argue with that and say I taste of beer and cigarettes). I have already given in to my selfish needs and opened a present I bought for my sister and played with it myself. One of the worst things about getting old is looking forward to Christmas because it means a rest, rather than it meaning food! and presents! and more food! Maybe I'll turn into one of those evil people like my parents who spend hours and hours faffing about on Christmas morning doing nonessential things like eating and getting dressed and claim they're "savouring the day". If I'm not careful I'll start getting up and opening the curtains before noon too. Then where will the madness end? I have desperately tried to think of content for this post. I love B&S. They make my heart melt, make me feel as if I'm wrapped in a duvet, or standing on top of a mountain with a bracing wind blowing into my face, or like I'm soaking in a hot spring in Iceland or like I'm eating all the mince pies in the world without gaining any weight or feeling sick. Favourite song of the moment is "Miraculous Technique" I think. I listen to it on the way to work and it (almost) makes everything perfect. I say almost because I'm still me and I still have to go to work and there's still a crust of toothpaste in the corner of my mouth, so it's not entirely perfect, is it? I'm hoping to meet some of you soon, you know who you are. I'm much looking forward to it. Don't forget to save your pennies between now and then so you can take me out and treat me like a princess. Three pints and a bag of chips should do it. Bulk smut, Madeleine xxx _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: dolly rockers ...
by Katrina House 11 Dec '01

11 Dec '01

hello all just to say that we have a **NEW** tshirt design at the shop, i think it has to be my favourite ever - yes it's even better than the 'study at stow' masterpiece from a few years back! it was designed by marc baines, a long time friend of the band and is a caricature-type picture of all eight band members as those russian doll thingys. my description isn't very good so you'll have to see it to believe it ... we will be selling merchie at the glasgow & belfast shows, but to those i won't see there - i wish you all a merry christmas :) cheers, katrina. banchory press - management - merchandising po box 25074 glasgow g2 6ld scotland email: shop(a)banchory.net http://www.banchory.net +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: curses, foiled again!
by erin 11 Dec '01

11 Dec '01

As I am one of the great un-religioned masses, I had to become a missionary for someone other than Christ. I chose Belle & Sebastian. I must be the world's most unpersuasive missionary, however, as my last attempt ended not in making the boy a fan of B&S, but rather making him an enormous fan of Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It and the idiosyncratic line You only did it so that you could wear terry underwear... I did, however, try my very best, and perhaps the fact that he adores Carriage Clock possibly more than his Horowitz plays Chopin sonatas CD (which is saying quite a lot for this particular boy) is reward enough. I came home on Friday to find someone new living in my room. All I asked for Christmas was a new roommate who likes good music. I dont know what Ive done this year that was so unspeakably heinous, but I got a roommate who listens to nothing but rap and owns an incredible amount of shoes. No, quite literally -- theyre all neatly lined up in several rows, Imelda-Marcos-style, under her bed. She owns the same white pair of Adidas with two colored stripes on the side in six colors alone (1 pair = $50 [on sale] 6 pairs = $300 -- *for the SAME shoe!*). If a riot ever broke out in the dorm, we could ride it out behind a make-shift bunker of roommate-shoes. Or, more likely, if we come close to killing each other, she may come home to find a wall of shoes neatly cemented down the the center of the room. Kieran mentioned getting hit by cars. I have been -- in a crosswalk, as a pedestrian, with a green light, in a school zone, at 8 am. It still bothers me that *I* was blamed for it by the CHP (figure that one out). It does, however, make a pretty good party story, but mostly only because I wasnt hurt seriously. ...So theres no Belle & Sebastian content here... or much content in general, but I needed a reprieve from finals and my as-yet-unfinished, due-tomorrow-morning sociology paper. I shall returning to lurking after wishing you all a happy holiday -- So Happy Hollandaise, Everyone! ` erin _____________________________________________________________ Are you lazy? Get your Free E-mail at http://www.Lazymail.com +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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RE:Sinister: Softer than her face would suggest...
by Astrid Wiezell 10 Dec '01

10 Dec '01

Christina wrote: "Saying that....it was fun though. A certain Struan Murdoch was there with a certain band called Camera Obscura (The lead singer is his girlfriend I think...well...they seemed to be getting it on rather a lot anyway). That boy sure can dance and so can the girly from Camera Obscura too." And this, I must deny. Of course, I was not there, even though I really wanted to, but I *do* live in Sweden :) Anyway, I thought it was a known fact that Struan had been in.. er.. celibacy for ages.. that he, er, stopped believing in love.. yes.. stopped believing in love. I though that you all knew that when we meet (it´s not if, it´s when in my head) he´ll fall in love with me and say that I am the girl of his dreams and that he wants to be with me forever and forever and then we could live happily together forever, we could start playing music together and everyone would think that we were grate and then when we got married the whole of sinister would be invited to witness it, because you are all such marvellous people. Well, better phone Murdoch and ask him if he would like to send out the invitations early, and what music we are settling for... Oh, I just remembered. It´s not reality, it won´t happen, and I don´t think that I really would marry a man 18 years older than I. Or would I? (Wait, don´t answer that!) I guess It´s time to realise that Monesieur Murdoch probably never will get to know the.. er.. what were the good sides of me again? Do I actually have any other sides than being paranoid/ being stupid/ being lazy? Sorry, this has gone more out of hand than usual. But remember, I am fifteen, I´m supposed to be like this. Or am I? No, wait, i don´t want the answer that question either.. Love and stars, Astrid x P.S. I got a new duvet today. I think it´s called that in english, I´m not sure. The kind of blanket you have in bed, eh. My room is scarely cold at night so this may mean that I actually won´t wake up and shiver in the middle of the night anymore. Hahaa. Hmm. True. P.P.S Today on the bus I saw, possibly, the most beautiful boy I´ve ever seen. We gave eachother some shy and nervous glances, and then I had to go. Just when I was ready to get off the bus, I really looked at him and he was really looking me in the eyes, and he smiled. And I just smiled back, looked down at my feet and went off the bus. I wish I was cool. Maybe then I´d had the courage to say something. P.P.P.S For all of you who saw "tillsammans" or "together" as it was called out of Sweden, it might be in your interest to know that this year´s annual dramatized christmascalenderstory on tv has the little cute boy who says "Bloody fascist!" to the boy who say that he is wearing girlshoes have the leading role, and can I say, IS THERE A CUTER KID? I want to adopt him or something. And then, the gay guy with the blonde hair with a fringe, is the narrator. P.P.P.P.S I´´m awfully sorry for this post. i will now go to my room and hide in my bed under my new fluffy bedblanked,duvet, what the hell. I´m going to HIDE. Ah, i am so embarrassing. But I´ve been writing for more than 15 minutes now so i feel that it is my duty to send out a dull e-mail that you with relief will delete from your inbox.. _________________________________________s_p_r_a_y_ Här börjar Internet! Skaffa gratis e-mail och gratis Internet på http://www.spray.se Spray Jul 2001 är här! Roligaste julen på webben. http://www.spray.se/jul/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: the b&s set list
by dougal shaw 10 Dec '01

10 Dec '01

Now that new gigs are coming up in Glasgow, I'm reminded of the most ingenious feature of the shows on the last tour. The band saw fit to intersperse Isobel Campbell's songs throughout the band's set. The result: convenient toilet breaks, or a chance to re-visit the bar. On the Isobel note, a friend of a friend says she is recording a solo album in Glasgow at the moment. Apparently she visibly wears a G-string to work: a nice visual counterpoint to that sweet, rasping, innocent voice. I'm currently trying to hire (or perhaps sew for myself) a fox outfit to wear to the Glasgow concert. (Well someone went as the Major in the last Glasgow gig...)If it snows (which is not unlikely)that would be a massive coup de theatre, and I'll be the belle of the ball. On a practical level it would also keep me pretty warm. On a less practical level it would almost certanly get me beaten up as I scurry back through Glasgow. And knowing my luck I'd probably get lost and turn up at a 'So Solid Crew' gig, or a fox-hunting rally... On a bitter note, why aren't they playing Edinburgh? It just seems vindictive now. They've made their point, Glasgow's miles better, ok we agree: it's time they played the capital of their home country. dougal _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Fellow Skeletons, etc.
by Timothy Meskers 10 Dec '01

10 Dec '01

Imagine my surprise when I found out that another boy dressed like a skeleton and danced around at his friends' band's performance. I thought I was the only one. I just have a mask though, no bone suit or anything. And I dance the whole time, not during when they play. Only my friends' band is called Vincent Price's Orphan Powered Death Machine. And they are quite good. (http://www.xvpopdmx.cjb.net) At least, I think they're fun. The real reason I posted was for a bit of a holiday present for all of you that play your guitars in the E flat tuning like myself. A transcription of B&S's cover of O Come O Come Emmanuel, for your strumming pleasure. It's in E flat, so if you play standard, just move it back a fret. You'll get the hang of it. The timing is unusual, too. Verse: D#min O Come O Come Emmanuel Gmin Dmin And ransom captive Israel Gmin C That mourns in lovely exile here A# F Until the Son of God appear. Refrain: F Rejoice, rejoice- Gmin Dmin Gmin Dmin Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel. O come o come great Lord of Might, Who to thy tribes on Sinai's height. In ancient clouds once gave the law in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain. O come thou day spring(?) come and cheer Our spirits by thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight. Refrain. O come thou key of David come (Pause with chords) And open wide our (resume) heavenly home Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Refrain. Dmin O come Emmanuel, A# F and ransom captive Israel, Gmin C that mourns in lonely exile here A# F until the Son of God appear. Refrain. p.s. I am looking to spend the holidays in Japan with a friend. Can anyone recommend any hostels or regions to visit? I've been once before, but it would be cool to get an insider's recommendation. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups
by Kieran Devaney 10 Dec '01

10 Dec '01

Dear Sinister, Today I wrote 'Internet Love Gone Awry' on a desk in school. Such things appeal to my sense of humour, though I doubt anyone else gets it I remember at the end of last year, the school organised this 2 day business course for us all, the premise being that various business type people came into school and told us all about marketing and designing and management and so on and then we used the skills they had taught us in a mini project of our own. Our project was making a mug, and my own design (rather ironically) stated I *heart* Ayia Napa, my friend saw it and fell about laughing, not at my rapier wit and cool sense of irony, but because he thought someone had seriously designed a mug like that because they loved Ayia Napa. I wonder what itd be like to be an indie kid in Ayia Napa; terrible I imagine but there must be some. Anyway, Im digressing. I wrote Internet Love Gone Awry with a similar sense of irony obvious only to myself, Im getting quite addicted to scrawling odd things on school desks, I do it in pencil so it can be gotten rid of easily enough, or replaced and I live in hope of the day when some lovely band title their lovely album after a piece of my own pencilled graffiti. I know one internet couple, they met on the internet and live a fair distance apart, but I dont think theyre right for eachother at all. They are meeting in person soon and I fear the worst, but perhaps theyll prove me wrong and live happily ever after. Stranger things have happened, and sometimes being proven wrong is the best thing that can happen for everyone, not very often though. Its boring when people you only vaguely know talk about relationships between people that they only vaguely know isnt it? Ill shut up about it now. The school I go to is unfortunately located in a rather violent area of town. If you are a fan of football then youll be pleased to know its within walking distance of the Aston Villa ground, snappily called Villa Park and if you are a fan of HP sauce youll be happy to know its within walking distance of the HP sauce factory in fact you can smell the sauce when you get off the bus if the wind is blowing in the right direction. An idyllic scene you may think. Well not really, because earlier on in the year there had been quite a lot of muggings on one particular route to school (not the route I normally use happily, the only time Ive ever heard of anyone being threatened there was my friend Naz, in the first year who had his wellies stolen but that was ages ago, and a funny rather than scary story). However, after over zealous parents coupled with a dictatorial headmaster and a police force concerned with figures and the aesthetics of policing rather than actually catching criminals, disaster ensued! Not disaster! I hear you cry, well yes, disaster Im afraid. The police and the headmaster agreed that people should no longer use the routes where there had been muggings, and a Safe Route was planned. This safe route would then be patrolled by smiling bobbies before school and in the evenings, and nobody would get mugged. But didnt you say disaster ensued? I heard you cry again This doesnt look like much of a disaster to me! well let me temper your haste and explain a bit more. The thing with this Safe Route is that firstly it isnt safe. The police seem to think that just saying that they will patrol it makes it safe. It doesnt. And now the would-be muggers know where to find everyone. So there have been two muggings in the two weeks the safe route has been operational on the safe route. Thats more, statistically speaking (and Im no mathematician) than there ever was before. Also, the route is longer than any other route to school, since the subways which go under the Aston expressway are out of bounds this bit is the only part of the route the police patrol, they guard the subway entrance. This seems silly to me for a couple of reasons firstly, since were not allowed to use the subways; we now have to cross the expressway somewhere else. Far more people die as a result of road accidents every year than do of muggings (incidentally have you ever seen someone being hit by a car, I have; it was quite traumatic actually, I had nightmares for weeks. Luckily the kid that I saw being hit escaped relatively unscathed). So because you have to go around the subways and then cross the road further down, the route is much longer; wouldnt it make sense to choose the shortest possible route to the school, because then it would take less policing? Well evidently not. The reason I mention it (its not just because Im in the mood for a rant) is that I used this Safe Route today; this was because I came through town to school. Why did I come through town? Well, if you are an upper sixth former at the school I go to, one of the things you have to do is prefect duty, which more or less entails standing in a doorway in the cold pretending to make sure nobody goes inside - thats how I do it anyway. Unfortunately this years prefect rota has me doing a duty before school on a Monday morning, which isnt very pleasant at all, especially in the cold weather like now. If I travel to school through town I can get to school pretty much just as the bell is ringing (a little after actually, because of the stupid safe route), and avoid the duty. So thats why. If you come through town to school you have to use the safe route now, so I did. Nothing happened, but I fully experienced the silliness that happens when police and headmasters combine. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. Do you know what happens if the police catch you taking on of the quicker, alternative routes to school? They take your name and report you to the headmaster, who puts you in detention. It all seems rather unfair doesnt it? It is. The other day my friend and I went to town during school time (which in itself is against the rules), to buy strokes tickets (Im not much of a fan to be honest, but anyone who is anyone will be there so it should be a good night out). After we bought the tickets, my friend stayed in town (he had frees for the rest of the day), but I had to get back for double English. Not only was I unnecessarily nervous walking back from the bus stop to school on my own, because of the culture of fear created by this police intervention in our travelling to and from school, but it also occurred to me that Id rather be stopped by a mugger than by the police at that time other than the strokes ticket which was hidden in my French book I only had about £1 on me. If I was stopped by a mugger Id have to give them the pound, but I could then move on. If it was the police then not only would I be reported for being out of school during school time, but if I was caught using the subway (as I did) then theyd report me for not using the safe route as well. Oh the tribulations of school life. But still, itll all be over in under a years time. I realise this lengthy diatribe wont be of much interest to anyone except myself, but its catharsis you know? Letting it all out. If you email me and ask nicely Ill send you a token reimbursing however much time you have wasted reading all that. If I had something of interest to say about belle and sebastian then I would, believe me. But my numerous attempts to woo friends with the bands multitudinous charms have yielded little. Most disappointing. Peace and love - Kieran _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: New Orleans, LA, USA
by Daniel Cederberg 10 Dec '01

10 Dec '01

Hello everyone! I´m packing my bags and leaving for a two month stay in New Orleans (in february) and i´m just wondering if there are any good indieclubs (someplace they play B&S and you have enough room to dance to it) in that jazzing city? Any cool hangouts/café´s where you can meet nice tweeish people? Thankful for any and all suggestions and info. Cheers, Daniel +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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