December 2003 - Sinister

Sinister: *READ THIS BEFORE YESTERDAY'S BANGLADESH POSTS*
by Amy Skelton 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

Hello again Sinister, For some reason my first post to the list as a returnee has gone into a black hole. I tried to send something similar this morning but that doesn't seem to have worked either. Anyway, let's hope for third time lucky. This was supposed to be my re-introduction post so that you weren't thrown head first into my Bangladesh updates. It was supposed to ease you in gently just like top quality vaseline. I'm now getting on the internet enough to keep up with Sinister goings on without my inbox overloading and let's face it I missed being here... Anyway, for those of you who are new/forgot I'm volunteering in Bangladesh for a year on VSO's Youth for Development scheme (see the archives). I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences from Bangladesh with you all - hope you don't mind! To those of you that I've been emailing independently you will already know the juice from the missives I've posted to sinister (and then some) so make like skippy the kangaroo by all means. Any sinisterites that want to email me off-list with any comments/questions/gossip or whatever are heartily encouraged. It's good to be back in the fold. I've really been enjoying your tales of gigs and your views on the new releases. My flatmate brought a copy of the new album back from England recently so I've only listened to it a few times when she's had it on in the living room (yes, Mark I now understand your email subjects). When someone gets a new toy you have to wait a while before you can ask nicely to borrow it. I'm one of these people that likes to retreat to my own space when I want to listen to something properly for the first time. She keeps dropping not so subtle hints that another copy might wing my way next week. That way I can form a decision properly - but I liked what I heard and I think it may be a grower. I'm not getting exposed to much new music here so when I get back to the UK I fear that I'm going to be stood in the middle of an indie disco wondering what the hell is going on. Half an hour of John Peel on BBC world service is good but not enough. I never get a connection decent enough to listen to live digital radio but I can listen to recorded ones so long as I don't do anything else on the computer. Some lovely UK people have been making me mix CDs to listen to - it cheers me up to get these in the post (thank you again to those Sinisterites that have done this). I went minimilistic when I flew out here, just bringing one CD - a compilation with the Flaming Lips, Violent Femmes - won in a competition. I'm gradually listening to more Bangladeshi music and should be making some mixtapes/CDs of tunes from this neck of the woods eventually. It's my first time away from home for Christmas and I'm holding it together well so far by getting in the festive spirit. Take care peeps... ...Amy _________________________________________________________________ Send a funky Messenger Christmas card http://www.msn.co.uk/christmascard +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: The Return Of The King
by Simon Fallaha 19 Dec '03

19 Dec '03

Hello everyone For some reason I've gained the urge to post again, after a few months away. I'd be very pompous if I declared that the "King" in the title of this message was myself, even though I am returning to post after a while. No, the title doesn't refer to what I said in the last sentence. It just (predictably) refers to the film which I am going to see tomorrow. The countless critical praise surrounding it means that even those who know little about the Lord of the Rings will find it difficult to avoid. I have to admit it took time for me to fully appreciate the first film, but I'm glad I did. The Two Towers really got me into the whole saga, and now I am really looking forward to seeing this film. I've been browsing through some of my previous posts, as well as some of your own, and a couple of the things I said in a certain post a year and a half ago are of a little interest: "I'm not saying (Fold Your Hands Child) is a bad album, it just hasn't stuck in my memory. Seems a bit bland and dragged out." It's funny I should say that. After repeated listens to it I have suddenly grown to really like it, especially Woman's Realm, The Model and There's Too Much Love. As for Dear Catastrophe Waitress, from what I've listened to of it so far, it sounds really good (I especially like Piazza New York Catcher). In some ways I still miss Isobel, though. "It was inspirational to choose the title track of (The Boy With The Arab Strap) as the theme to Teachers, even though I never watch it." How times change. These days, Teachers is one of the few things I actually do watch. Furthermore, thanks to the wonders of DVD, I've now seen every episode. And even though the third series doesn't quite match up to the first two, it's still very good. I'll finish by naming a few terrific gigs I was at recently - Ocean Colour Scene's acoustic set in Derry, Paul Weller at the Waterfront in Belfast (you didn't have to be a fan to appreciate it), the Future Kings of Spain in Derry (are their any fans of theirs on the list) and Feeder, back at the Waterfront. Now there's a band I didn't get into until a little while ago (by listening to Comfort In Sound, which is allegedly their worst album). The highlight of this concert was probably Buck Rogers. Oh, and a big shout to Dirty Vicar and every other Sinisterine I met at the Belfast B & S gig two years ago (long time ago, I know, but I'm sure you know who you are). Take care, and Merry Xmas Psi ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: B&S christmass album?
by angela _ 19 Dec '03

19 Dec '03

i was looking up B&S on ebay , and i found a christmass album listed. is this real? or just some fake thing? can it be bought anywhere besides ebay? if some one knows about this please let me know. thanks Angela _________________________________________________________________ Grab our best dial-up Internet access offer: 6 months @$9.95/month. http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: more news from Bangladesh...
by Amy Skelton 19 Dec '03

19 Dec '03

Hey there Sinister, Yes, just what youve all been waiting for my second big update. The idea is that I aim to write them at the start of a new month. My track record at that hasnt been so good yet but thats because its all busy, busy here. SIX-DAY WEEKS As I finished off my last message not saying much about my work placement, Ill start this one going into it in a bit more detail As part of my work induction I went out to visit some of the slum areas of Dhaka, as this is where my main project will be concentrated. It was so eye opening to go and see the areas where so much work has yet to be done to make sure that slum dwellers can have clean water and sanitation against the odds. In case you were wondering, the deal is that my NGO motivates the slum community to participate in getting access to legal water supply and hygienic latrines. The community are keen for this progress and are willing to fully pay for the installation. This is achieved by my NGO outlaying the initial money on a micro-credit scheme and providing technical input. The community are involved in all of the planning, getting construction labour etc. and they manage the water points etc. themselves. To go with this the community participates in hygiene education. There is a lot more I can say about all of this but softly, softly Another great part of this field trip was going to visit slum areas where my NGO has already worked on installations (now fully owned by the slum community payback takes about two years). It meant that I got to see the positive effect of the project first-hand and speak to some people in the community. Thankfully I had another engineer from work to translate for me my Bangla certainly isnt fluent yet but its improving. Of course, not everything is plain sailing. I also visited sites where the water points etc. had to be permanently closed due to the authorities evicting those particular slums. Starting work during Ramadan meant that things got off to a very slow start. After the Eid holidays the pace and responsibility picked up tremendously and Im really enjoying it! Ive got a good mixture of doing documentation & information systems stuff along with chemical engineering work such as setting up a chlorination procedure for the NGO. The people at work are great which makes all the difference. You get to meet all sorts of additional people involved in water and sanitation. Its an ongoing education for me meeting staff from donor and partner organisations etc. My favourite visitor of the last month has got to be the journalist who came to get the low-down on Bangladesh as part of the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) campaign. Its great when you meet someone with interesting viewpoints. His parents turned out to be the founders of the New Internationalist which explained a lot. SHELF LIFE People here are still trying to marry me off! I now live with a young Bangladeshi couple (who are great and so is the flat) and I spent Eid with their families. You learn a lot about Bangladeshi families by going to these gatherings and I enjoyed them. The Grandmas of both houses have earmarked cousins that I should meet as they dont want me to be left on the shelf (I like to think Ive got a couple of years before my expiry date). Eid although enjoyable, made me a little homesick. Being at big family gatherings obviously made me think of my own loved ones sniff! FOR THE LOVE OF SPORT As Im sure youre aware the most loved sport in Bangladesh is cricket. Some of you will also be aware that Im not terribly keen on it. Still, I thought it was absolutely necessary to take one of the afternoons off work to go to the last one-day international Bangladesh v England. It has to be said that it wasnt the most exciting game in the world due to team tactics (and of course England slashed Bangladesh he he) but the atmosphere was phenomenal! The energy of the Bangladeshi fans is something to aspire to, with non-stop bouncing, clapping, and singing etc. for hours on end. Theyre a bit too quick with the old Mexican wave though and theyre SO HARSH to the Bangladesh team if things go horribly wrong. No wonder Bangladesh never do well on their own turf, theyre under so much pressure! I should also add that Im not too keen on the crowd pyrotechnics. People with flares in crowded spaces ggrr. (ASIDE TO ENGLISH FOOTIE FANS) Are those two pathetic Shef Utd fans still in prison? I went to the Boro v Shef Utd pre-season friendly and every time I looked at the part of the stand that is shut down (for the whole season) because of them idiots I growled. Being the girl that I am I did gush when the whole of the England cricket team turned up at the BAGHA (British pub in Dhaka) when I was there with some other volunteer mates. Just, there to you know chill and watch the game. So yes, in case you were wondering, I did manage to keep up to speed with other important sports events over the last month or so. I supported England through the footy and Rugby all the way (when I wasnt working), watching other matches as well when possible. Ive even managed to catch Boro on the T.V. a few times. Although, its not why Im here Im finding that people and events at BAGHA are a good support system to keep me going. I certainly dont live in there but its good for relaxing at times. TRAVEL AND VISA Im having visa complications so Im confined to Bangladesh for another two months. Ive now got myself set-up so that I can travel around Asia more than just here and India lets hope Ill be able to do some crossing borders soon. So much for catching my mate in Dubai before Christmas boo I do have a lot of travelling left to do in Bangladesh though. Visitors are welcome to come and see me so I can show off the countryside here. Please send me news! I check my emails most days Amy _________________________________________________________________ Send a funky MSN Messenger Christmas card http://www.msn.co.uk/christmascard +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: First impressions of Bangladesh
by Amy Skelton 19 Dec '03

19 Dec '03

Dear Sinister, These were my thoughts after just over a month in Bangladesh. It started off with hree weeks of VSO induction training (I'm on their Youth for Development scheme - see the archives) and two weeks in my placement I'm pretty settled and definitely still glad to be here. So much has happened and although this letter is long I havent gone into even half of my experiences during October it just gives you an idea. ATMOSPHERE After taking a few steps out of the airport, Dhaka city certainly leaves a lasting impression. If you thought London was a hustle and bustle kind of city then I can assure you Dhaka is at least ten times as busy. The combined noise of rickshaw bells, car horns (drivers here certainly arent afraid to use them), street vendors and call to prayer from the nearest mosque is a little bit crazy at first but it doesnt take very long to get used to it. The first call to prayer of the day starts at 4.50 am and in Ramadan its about an hour earlier. Bright and early then and in the couple of abodes I have had since I got here the mosque (speakers and all) has always been very close. It used to wake me up before I was ready but I'm gradually attuning to it. I am now used to the noises of Dhaka so much so that it was very peculiar when I went away to Koitta (an hour or so outside the city) last weekend with all of its relative silence (although it was blissful) and lack of pollution. As for the heat and humidity I've been acclimatising by walking for at least an hour each day. Now that I feel okay with this I'm joining the local mixed hash club (the nearest equivalent to a hiking club in Dhaka). I'm going to start off by walking and build up on my running so I can eventually run full hashes (hopefully). RELIGION Now that were in the holy month of Ramadan, I've been invited to a few Ifta (breaking the fast) parties over the coming weeks by work colleagues. The singing coming from the mosque loudspeakers is extra stunning at the moment and the special decorations all around the city look marvellous. So, I am getting to participate in a fair few Muslim traditions at the moment. I was a bit disappointed that I couldnt get to Old Dhaka for Durga Purja (Hindu festival) to see the statues and ceremonies. As the flight here got put back it ended up being just after I arrived when my Bangla was so poor I wouldnt have been able to manage properly. I've even gone back to my roots and attended a presentation evening in a local Catholic school. I went along to watch the traditional dancing etc. when much to my surprise I ended up on Bangladeshi television as part of the audience. As for other religions such as Buddhism they are not as prominent in Dhaka city but when you get out to the Chittagong Hill Tracts theres more variation. I'm very keen to learn more about the indigenous people of Bangladesh that live in that area. Although I dont want to get into the topic just yet (Ill probably wait until I've been to that part of the country myself) LANGUAGE My Bangla is improving fairly quickly. Formal classes at language school were just during induction so I'm doing some self-learning at the moment with books/tapes etc. I intend to take some evening classes when I think I've exhausted the DIY effort. I've got a bit of a deal with a few members of staff at work for mutual language learning which works pretty well. If all else fails I resort to body language. This came in very handy when the cook at work and I tried to have a conversation with each other. Technical meetings at work are generally all in Bangla but I can understand about 10-30% of it and every now and again someone will get me up to speed with what is going on. Its good practice for my listening skills meetings here are a bit mental with people talking in raised voices over each other (very quickly). I can follow the meetings well enough to interject with my opinion/suggestions and thats good enough for me. ABSORBING BANGLADESHI CULTURE Food and Clothing As one of my supervisors at work put it I'm well on my way to becoming an honorary Bangladeshi. I'm getting well practiced at eating using my right hand. Although I do still make a fair bit of a mess! I'm really enjoying the food here there are a lot of different types of fruit and veg here that you cant get back in the UK. These along with meat (yes including pork - I've discovered where the special market for pig products is) fish, rice and dhal (contains lots of lentils and spices) is keeping me well sustained. Come to think of it my stomach now feels that something is missing if I dont have at least one big portion of rice in a day. I'm also becoming quite partial to Sunggara, recipes vary but includes veg, nuts with lovely spices wrapped in deliciously fatty batter I must get the recipe. However, for a girl who has a sweet tooth I've discovered something that is just too sweet for me. Misti is pretty much just pure sugar and I cant say that I'm too fond of it. As I expected, I'm really getting into wearing Shalwar Kameez here. It consists of along tunic over baggy trousers with orna (scarf) to cover the chest. Having said that there are a few occasions when a desire for western clothes sets in. Exhibitions During the last couple of weeks I've started my quest to go to museums and art galleries for exhibitions to learn more about my new found home. The Liberation War Museum really brings home the tragedies that came about in the formation of the new independent republic of Bangladesh. Its such a new country in the governance respect (30 years) that I have a lot of belief that major changes will happen to reduce the amount of corruption here. How long it will take to educate enough people to make it so is anyones guess. On a completely different note I attended a superb textile traditions of Bangladesh exhibition. It had everything from antique (several hundred year old) Samdani (rated as the most desirable material over the years) saris through to contemporary designs using various traditional methods along with mixtures of jute, cotton and silk. There are a lot of other things going on that I hope to get to. TOURISTY STUFF I'm not planning on taking much holiday for the next couple of months until I feel like I've really got to grips with my placement work. An opportunity too good to miss comes around next month I'm going with work to Chittagong city so I plan to take a break afterwards to explore the hill tracts, Bandarban etc.! My Bangladesh tourist hit list includes many other places but particularly Sundarban (beautiful mangrove area in the south-west with rare monkeys and plants) Coxs Bazaar region (south-east) and Sylhet area (north-west). I plan to go to India a few times as well. As for other parts of South Asia it depends on money and time Ill see what I can manage. EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN ISNT ALWAYS ROSY BUT BAD SPELLS DONT LAST LONG Things that I hope I dont get used to during the year include (as I feel I would lose some of my engineering/personal integrity if I did) are the problems with human rights here, pollution, along with the lack of health and safety practice. My mind has been fairly calm with regards to staring. As its not considered rude in Bangladeshi culture then you just have to tolerate it, after all its not threatening but just pure curiosity. As you would expect over the month there have been a few minor mishaps learning things the hard way. Hey, no-one said living in a developing world city was always going to be easy and I'm still in one piece! A few accommodation issues are now being sorted. I wasnt v. happy in the guesthouse that my boss put me in after induction finished access to kitchen and in/out building proved extremely problematic. I'm now going back to the joys of a shared flat in the not too distant future hurrah! Where it will be yet again easy to welcome visitors. The negative things all float into the background compared to all the positive things that have already happened and what I think is just round the corner. Expect another missive in a few weeks. In the meantime please let me know what youre up to. As for WORK I'm enjoying it so far. Ill let you know more about it next time! CONTACT DETAILS As an alternative to my email address(es) should you desire to send post then please use the following postal box address: - Amy Skelton c/o VSO Bangladesh GPO Box 406 Dhaka 1000 BANGLADESH Note that letters usually take about a week to get here and they generally get through okay. Parcels are subject to customs checking and hence in this country things can go into a (not so) mysterious void. However, the best way to get round this seems to be to get the post office to not only staple the package but to WAX SEAL it so that any tampering would be very obvious. Things are a lot less likely (if at all) to go missing with wax seals. Parcels can take anything from (the norm of) a week to a few months (unusual) to get through. Dont be put off by this too much though as the majority of things do get through. I'm just telling you how it is make your own mind up. As for a telephone I'm considering getting a new mobile here with the help of a Bangladeshi friend to make things easier/safer for me with the time difference etc. plus convenient for keeping in touch with my newly found friends in Bangladesh! PHOTOS The first of these will be online soon I will let you know as soon as I get round to doing this! Take care, Amy _________________________________________________________________ Send a funky Messenger Christmas card http://www.msn.co.uk/christmascard +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: la la la dum de dum de dum
by robin stout 18 Dec '03

18 Dec '03

Oh god, the perils of the modern office environment. I was walking back from the toilet with a well-thumbed copy of the DTI News, when I accidentally stumbled across an office party. I ended up drinking LOTS OF PINTS OF BEER and BALLOON MODELLING, and now i am QUITE DRUNK. I've had to meet lots of important people this afternoon and they keep looking at me funny. Ughhhhhh! One of my friends even threw me out of her office when I began to do an impression of a nude lady climbing out of a cake. It was a very good impression, too. Lord, what have I done?? I'm just going to hide in my office from now on and make a den from books and paperclips and become a HERMIT. So, anyway. Hullo, how are you? Marvellous. How's the old problem? Ah, that's grand. I was going to send you something. Hmmm, let me see. Look: http://www.belleandsebastian.com/diary.php http://www.belleandsebastian.com/store.php Lots of diary entries from Stuart on the B+S website, and new B!A!D!G!E!S! and other stuff. The letter to his brother's really great. I do enjoy reading his diary. I bet he knows how good a writer he is, though. I bet he sits writing his diary thinking, yeah, I RULE!! Like Ken does, I reckon. Uff, I was going to REPORT BACK, as well, but it seems like it's a bit too late by now. Save to say that B+S in Londonk were G*R*A*T*E*. I spoke to the Swedish man who tried to molest Struan and rolled up his trousers. His name was Simon. Me: Are you the man who tried to attack Stuart? Him: YES I AM!! Me: Oh, right. Him: I TRIED TO GRAB HIS COCK!! Me: Ah, but you failed, did you? Him: DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY TATTOOS? Me: Ah, hum. You know, I'd rather not, actually. Oh! Well! Is that a monkey? Him: THIS IS THE MOST PAINFUL PLACE TO GET A TATTOO! Me: Oh, is it really? I'd better be going, you know. Him: I GRABBED STUART'S NIPPLES! LIKE THIS!! Me: Ouch! Erf!! BYE!! I beat a hasty retreat. The rest of the weekend was fun, too. On Saturday my friends and I met an old man in a pub. His name was Bob Godden, but he said we could call him God. Hmm, I'm off for a bit of a lie down. Bye! Robin xxxxxxxxx _________________________________________________________________ It's fast, it's easy and it's free. Get MSN Messenger today! http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: forwarding incident.
by Kevin Holzer 18 Dec '03

18 Dec '03

Shit. That 'forwarding incident' was an accident. I didnt mean to forward the letter at all. Im sorry Paulo. I was going to reply....and then I sent my message to sinister, and accidentally didnt delete your message, screwing things up. I feel like a bull in a china shop now.... -kev +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: Santa Claus is coming....
by idleberry 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I was going to write to you, about the Usher Hall gig, but I couldn't be bothered, and decided "someone else will do it". So it's my last week at work, before we break up for Christmas. I thought this week was going to be chaotic, and it has, a bit, but not in the way I thought it would be. O me, O the Pessimist. I find it works out better that way though. I can really feel Christmas descending rather rapidly upon my life. I've been casually ignoring it, but I feel unable to do so anymore. My boyfriend is more organised than I am, having already done some of his christmas shopping. I think he surprised himself too - he nearly bought more presents for the people he'd already bought presents for, becuase he forgot he'd bought presents for them already, and wasn't used to being so organised. As for me, well, I think I'm going to have to blitz it. Go out for a day and bang bang bang, run from shop to shop like I'm on Supermarket Sweep, only remembering to pay for things. I'm not that fussed about Christmas as I used to be. Christmas when you're a kid is great. Santa was a bit scary though. I didn't really understand why my parents were comfortable with an old man creeping into my bedroom to put things into my socks when I was asleep. I didn't totally believe in him, but there was always the nagging doubt that he did exist. The doubt that had me hiding under the duvet at 2am, when I'd woken in the middle of the night, too scared to come out, and sweating with fear incase I saw him. Or at 3am, when I was too scared to go down stairs, even though he'd filled my stocking, in case he hadn't finished his delivery. I would often sit and go through my stocking presents, and look and play with the toys. And then I'd creep into my little brothers room, have a nosey through his stocking, and swap my tangerines with his chocolate bars, before waking him up, so he could "officially" open his stocking, and I'd feign surprise as he'd show me the cool toys he'd got. I don't know if he ever worked out why he always got 6 tangerines and no chocolate from Santa. Still, I did him a favour. He never ended up with fillings in his teeth. I'd go and wake my parents, around 4am, to take me down stairs and start opening my presents. One year, I woke every hour between 1 and 7am, and went to see my parents and woke them up and asked "can we go and see if Santa's been yet?". Impatient child that I was. When I got older, around 10 or so, I worked out that if I set my dad's alarm clock an hour forward, then he'd get up earlier. That was the year he said "I'm not getting up until 7am". I was so tired, I ended up going back to bed. And dad? Well, he woke at what he thought was 7:30am, and felt horribly guilty for sleeping in, and came to wake me and my brother, to open our presents. It was boxing day before I told him that I'd set his alarm clock forward by an hour. I hope I never have a child like me, when I'm older. Snogs and mistletoe, idles x ===== http://groups.yahoo.com/group/corduroysmoke/ starting playground gossip and passing notes __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. http://photos.yahoo.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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: she's oozing shit (New Album Review)
by kenneth.chu＠uclh.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dido - Life for Rent 6.3/10 Release Date: September 30th, 2003 Review Date: October 6th, 2003 Reviewer: James Laczkowski Confession. I like Dido. I don't know why a guy like me should be shamefaced about owning her last record, No Angel. Sure, it's sandwiched in my CD collection in between Black Sabbath and Fugazi, but there's nothing wrong with diversity, damn it! Especially when you're a music devotee like me. I also have no qualms with having mutual respect for the lyrics of both Joni Mitchell and Marilyn Manson. I just want to make that clear to all those who may question my wide range of taste in music. For some reason, Dido is pleasing to these ears. I liked her latest record, No Angel, the same way I like a cold Coca-Cola on a warm summer day. Part of me does become conscious of the fact that I'm essentially drinking sugar water, devoid of any nutritional value whatsoever, but I enjoy the taste. Both of Dido's records serve as terrific background music for hanging out on the porch or at the local coffeehouse. Granted, I'm not a big proponent of "background" filler. All great art demands your attention and moves you in mysterious ways. Dido doesn't do that, but at the same time, I never shriek in terror whenever I hear one of her songs. Like Pink, she's a "guilty" pleasure for me. It's nothing that really jumps out at you, but it never annoys or interrupts the evening, but instead, complements it quite nicely. Dido never wails. She sounds as if she's trapped in a dreamscape; drifting effortlessly over the horizon. She's no Janis, but her voice suits the style quite nicely. The first two sounds that merge on the new album are that of a Moog-style synth orchestra that quickly bleeds into real violins that set the tone. It's a lovely amalgam of both the real and the synthesized. Dido builds her niche in that sound and by not evolving; it all blends together in what's essentially a continuation of the No Angel style of songwriting. The same lyrical profile takes shape with the subject of love being both inescapable, as well as in question, and finally, in jeopardy for the singer. But as unenergetic as she can sound, she still sings from the heart and not her wallet. In other words, she keeps the content and the romantic structure simple, and it works, especially in the hidden track that features the familiar acoustic strum in the key of D. No one expects the woman to reinvent herself, but of course detractors will continue to flame her for being "bland" or "boring." I beg to differ. She is relaxing without being invigorating. She doesn't make you want to rock out, because every track is consistently (and unfortunately) mid-tempo. The trip-hop ambiance full of floaty phaser keyboard with groovebox beats play themselves out over time. Beth Orton, however, has perfected that genre a little bit better and more audaciously than Dido. Still, her honesty keeps the music pure despite the obvious redundancy throughout. It's clear that she's striving to prevail, with more hit singles because some tracks sound too much like "Here With Me" and "Thank You," two songs that I enjoyed even if they were overplayed. The best tracks like the confessional "Who Makes You Feel" make her sound invitingly sensual, and the relentless melody of both "Don't Leave Home" and "Sand In My Shoes" force their way into your head and take up residence. Life For rent is, to put it simplistically, appealing and pleasant. It's well-produced and immaculately polished without ever really sounding spectacular or new. In other words, you know what to expect when you pick up a Dido record. I think if she were to branch out beyond the trip-hop conventions and lean more towards the acoustic appeal of her hidden track, then she very well might prevail over time as a stronger recording artist instead of a two-hit wonder. Whether you're a fan or not, there's no denying the sincerity in her voice when she's singing a line like "The closer you get/the better I feel/the closer you are/the more I see." There's nothing wrong with accessible plain-sounding FM pop when it's done honestly and with a sense of purity. Dido may tread familiar waters, but the weather is nice all-around. - James Laczkowski jim(a)music-critic.ca ---------- As I sat on the fading sunset of a December evening, i felt a lot of pain rising from below, however, the pain eased as the sunset continued to fade and the heat is sucked dry by the cold breeze of the Winter night. Now the sky is darkened, there are no stars, and my loneliness is reflected on the vast black wall of silence. That is, before the silence was broken, by the sound of the handbrake of a car, i could see from the distance it was the girl i used to love, and another man, talking, she looked impressed. I guess he must be talking about indie bands, she is impressed by indie bands, even if they're boring as hell. His music knowledge couldn't have been that vast though as soon afterwards there was no more talking, and i felt even more alone. I turned back towards the sky, no longer silent, disturbed by the noise from the badly oiled suspensions of the car. I hummed "She's losing it", but I don't know who lost. I didn't win, that man might have won, she's conceived. Ken P.S.: Hope you guys don't mind me posting crazy random stuff to here!! ********************************************************************** This email is confidential and intended solely for the person or entity to whom it is addressed. If this email was not intended for you please notify the UCLH Mail Administrator at mail.administrator(a)uclh.org. This footnote confirms that the email and attachments contained no viruses when they left UCLH. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: New EP review
by Dallams Organ 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/review.asp?id=83154 Oh Honey, We�re Ridiculous Pas/Cal Le Grand Magistery by Nate Cavalieri 12/17/2003 Like every kid fueled by sugary cereals and social dysfunction, I sometimes had a hard time sleeping. Occasionally, I could talk my mom into staying up and watching the night dramas with her. It wasn�t just trysts of entangled lovers on �Dallas� and �Falcon Crest� that confused my preadolescent mind; the adult commercials were equally mysterious. The most memorable of these was for shampoo. A beautiful, floating head, larger than life at the center of the screen, softly offered a honeyed plea: �Don�t hate me because I�m beautiful.� And then � in a few seconds � she faded out and was gone. I didn�t have an inkling of such a concept at the time � one that made a beautiful thing into an object of hatred � but in the 20 years since, the idea has come into focus. When I try to justify my utter hatred, my curdling spite, my embittered repulsion at the music of Pas/Cal, there might be no other reason except that it is too beautiful. The darling Detroit outfit�s latest, Oh Honey, We�re Ridiculous, follows the blueprint of their tuneful debut with a cache of brilliant hooks, bookish observations and blissful sentimentality. Oh Honey springs to action with hands clapping a cheerleader�s cadence and vocalist Casimer Pascal�s falsetto posing the questions: �What happened to the sand? What happened to the men who would stay up so late?� Unable to contain themselves, it takes the sing-songers just over a minute to prance buoyantly into pitch-perfect �la-di-das.� The squeaky-clean playing and attentive arrangement are almost too perfect. Imagine their shiny pink faces! Imagine them jet-setting with designer attach�s! Throwing back highballs at the club with their legs crossed at the knee and an �80s cosmetics model on each arm! You almost have to hate it. >From the perky handclaps to the final fade, Pas/Cal�s aural sunshine never finds a cloud. The subject of �Poor Maude� may be a garishly dressed granny with suicidal tendencies, but the band�s airtight pop seems to frolic through the narrative giddily. When they do wax misty for an Asian cutie with a �slurry curry voice�(how Anglo is that?!) in �What do the American Girls Have On Jennifer Jo Jo?,� the record is still on the verge of exploding in a hail of happy pills. By the time the EP joyfully spins round a handful of times, Pas/Cal�s super-chic happiness proves itself just as addictive as it is immaculate. It reinforces the band�s place as one of Detroit�s most stylistically refreshing up-and-comers. In the end, maybe the only real reason to hate the 20-minute offering is that � like the floating head � it�s a beautiful thing that disappears too fast. Pas/Cal will celebrate the release of this record on Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Lager House (1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit). Call 313-961-4668. E-mail Nate Cavalieri at letters(a)metrotimes.com. contact PAS/CAL at www.pascalgoespop.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. http://photos.yahoo.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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0