aha! dear sinister but life is good, and i've had this warm feeling of wanting to tell you all about it for a while now, and today i will indulge myself! (so if you would please bear with me...) life is good because: a) I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!!! (finally, after 24 years of waiting and hoping and starting to feel rather sorry for myself). sure, she is in another city and i only really see her on weekends, but still, it IS the best feeling ever to love someone and know they love you back - and all the other things of course ;) i remember someone once posting a rather cynical interpretation of "there's too much love", about it being, well, about people being insincere and using the word love too much and too lightly and too insincerely, but for now i listen to it, and to those glorious strings and those glorious ah's in the coda, and there IS too much love to go around! b) it is autumn, and while most of you are rejoicing i spring, well, for me, autumn IS my spring! those long clear days with its endless powder-blue skies, the always-so-slight chill in the air which means even an african boy can jump into a cardigan or, well, a jumper, the nights which are finally cold enough so you pull thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssss many blankets over you and literally sink to sleep beneath their weight [or cuddle up with someone ;) ] yet not cold enough that you don't feel like jumping up, refreshed and energised in the mornings, and... well, it's all just wonderful, the crunch of leaves under your feet, but still there are enough to rustle in the late-afternoon breezes, flocks of birds ganging up and swilring as they gather for their long flights north. i could go on, but probably shouldn't, right? in short: the feeling you get from listening to "nice day for a sulk" c) i was sorry to see ian watson feeling like he should apologise to the list. even though i live far far away and will in all likelihood never get to how does it feel, his mails about it have inspired to me to such a degree that i am now (as from monday last - a fitting birthday present, ian?) the host of my own, shamelessly derivative night at a small club in stellenbosch (the samll town where i study), called "is 'derby' pronounced 'dirby' or 'darby'?". not knowing of ANY indie nights/clubs in the WHOLE of south africa, a friend of mine and i decided to be pro-active rather than the usual whingeing, and organised. monday night saw a massive rent-a-crowd, BUT everyone seemed to have a great time, we kept on playing till an hour after the bar had closed, and to top it all, the owner was so impressed that instead of the voluntary monthly night we had initially envisaged (on monday nights, because they are usually the most quiet), we now are getting PAID to play every wednesd! ay (also known as "little saturday" in stellenbosch)! of course the biggest thrill was seeing people actually dancing for the whole extended version of fool's gold, then coming back to ask for more, interrupting conversations to dance to "electronic renaissance" and "string-bean jean" and swaying gently to mogwai and trembling blue stars. so, for a little while at least, indie is alive and kisking in s.a. again, and i for one would like to thank ian and all the other hosts of similar nights who have contributed to this. so, that's it for my life. then i've been thinking of a few ways of disseminating the gospel (in south africa, where no radio station has ever touched b&s, and you have to order even the albums especially on import as no record stores stock them, this is very important!) so here are a few tips, which have actually worked for me (i am proud to say that as a direct result of the following, at least 3 people i know of have actually gone out to buy albums!) 1.) make mix-tapes, and lots of, as birthday presents, congratulations on all kinds of things, when people are feeling down etc. load them HEAVILY with b&s numbers. not only will this introduce people to new music and make our heroes rich and popular, but is also a good way of showing friends you care with a personalised gift and give you the opportunity to spend housr sorting through your record collection and listening to your favourite songs, while being credibly able to maintain that you are "doing something useful" 2. whenever you go on a long road-trip with someone, make a special road-trip tape (see above) and then 'forget' in car at the end of the trip. i even did this once when using a rental car. of course i don't know how that turned out, but i can dream can't i? 3. take your by-now filthy b&s shopping-bag everywhere, being at all times careful to have the logo visible and on your outside, even when said bag is in a state of repose on the ground. wear your b&s ampersand (or, where applicable - which would probably mean you were lucky enough to be assigned the lovely katrinastrator as you xchangee - sinister xmas xchange custom-made t-shirt and/or badges obessively, and of course be ready to shoot your mouth off about the band the list etc at the slightest provocation (eg. discussions about the above, scotland, "7 steps to storytelling" etc) bear in mind the motto: "lose a friend but gain a fan"! soon, if you are in an isolated part of the world, and feel you cannot share your love of the band with anyone, you'll only have yourself to blame! (well, sort-of...) well, i shall retreat to my lazy lurkerdom now, to emerge when next i feel the need. stay well, sinister, and as always, thanks for brightening every day just a little! lotsa love JohaN +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. 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