I resisted the Demon of Sinister Negativity for as long as I could, and fought him when I need to. And I had him pinned at one point. And then I ignored him, and even though he followed me around with oatmeal raisin cookies and a glass of whole milk, trying to get me to give in to his wily, self-defeating ways, I wouldn't do it. "Noooo way", I said, when I'd gotten tired of ignoring him. "The Sinister list is for fun and knowledge and love of a common band, not for little negative tykes who think that negativity equals rebellious knowledge." But those cookies looked good, and when I let my guard down, he got me in a headlock, and now I'm gasping for air (still eating the cookies, though). I've joined the Dark Side of Sinister. All I want to do is write in telling listee after listee where they can cram it. So I'm gonna do that now. I hate having to thumb my nose at Paul's rule of not talking on the list on the list, but this is what it's come to. First off, if this isn't a list where people can blather on about how much they adore Belle and Sebastian, what good is it?! The notion that we shouldn't be obsessively in love with Belle and Sebastian ON THE BELLE AND SEBASTIAN LIST is so ridiculous that I don't even know where to start. My dukes are put up and waving angrily in defense of Lesley who rightly pointed out that just because there are those of us who are star-struck by the unbelievable talent of this incredible, "life-affirming" (David's very true words) band does NOT mean that we'll be jetting to Glasgow on the weekend to rummage through Mick's trash. Like Lesley said, don't take it so damn seriously. Next up: News Of The World. To put it mildly, I'm very, very upset about recent world events, especially the impeachment hearings. I walk around muttering to myself in imagined arguments and feel rock-bottom depressed every time the subjects come up. But to suggest that we're apathetic just because we aren't talking about the bombings ON THE BELLE AND SEBASTIAN LIST is almost as ridiculous as (see above). Very simply, this isn't the place for it. And if you feel inclined to say, "We shouldn't feel like we can ONLY talk about Belle and Sebastian", then you obviously haven't read Paul's FAQ. Which is the next point of order: READ THE FAQ <http://www.majordomo.net/sinister/faq.html>. I know this is a very Honey-like thing to say, and maybe I'm stepping over the boundries, but the importance of this was underlined when I had to re-subscribe to the list, and when I got the welcome mail that had the FAQ on it, I realized how many people obviously hadn't bothered looking at it. In my opinion (and a lot of others', too), Paul is a master at clear, patient writing, and if you're still confused as to what is acceptable on the list...<sigh> I don't know what to say. The next "too ridiculous for words" point is the sudden rash of people complaining about the acronyms. It's very simple: TBWTAS is a lot shorter than The Boy With The Arab Strap. And then it became TWATTYBUS and TIGGERJAMMIES because it's *funny*, something that this list used to be. I'm sure that it annoys people. There've been time when the names have become so bastartized that I can't even figure out what song is being discussed. But it's all in fun...just let it go, please. And while I'm already on your bad side, let me just let something out: There are those of us who are very proud of the places we live and the places we're from (rare for most Americans), and we don't particularly appreciate having our hometowns and states and countries dragged through the mud. Maybe you think this is an overly sensitive thing to ask, but please...just keep in mind that people live in the places that you hate, and some of them may be on this list. In no particular order, other things that need to stop: 1) ragging on Jeepster. These people have been nothing but gracious and passionate and caring about the bands and their fans. Why the sudden need to align them with uncaring corporate labels? It doesn't take more than a passing interest in the music business to know that there's a world of difference between majors and indies. If you want more details than that, let me know. I'd be glad to tell you. 2) ragging on anyone on this list, especially the ones who have been nothing but happy bunnies, like we're all *supposed* to be. 3) the rise-up of the "this B&S song is horrendous" camp. Criticize as much as you want. Most of us (not me) have B&S songs that we don't like. BUT don't call it unlistenable, or whatever. Either say "it doesn't do much for me" or something as equally non-confrontational, OR say WHY you don't like it. Look, we all love Belle and Sebastian, otherwise we wouldn't be here (in theory). But it just seems that lately, some of the posts seem to have taken on an AOL message board-style "You suck!" tone. Knock it off. There. Email primal screaming finished. I know I've over-stepped my bounds, but consider it temporary insanity. I hereby pledge to be the happiest bunny there is. I won't be forced out of my rightful place in the happy bunny lands. I will stay here, and be an example of the kind of lovey-dovey, B&S-obsessed, "send" button-pondering, wit and wisdom listee that Honey always wanted us to be, forcing out the grumblers and frowners. Or some shit like that... Not even Christmas, Reid +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". 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