Hello, hello, its grand to see your good-time face again. 1: MODEM LIFE IS RUBBISH Various kindly folk have brought quite a blush to my cheeks by saying nice things about papercuts, a little fanzine I put out with my pals Caleb and Taylor. I wouldnt normally mention it here, but as it kind of grew out of the List like a benign tumour, what the hell... Its got lots of smashing stuff in it by venerable old-timers such as Bobby McTaggart, Keithy Watson, Peter Meeller, Magnetic Megan, Steadymike, etc etc. I dont want to besmirch the sacred groves of sinister with vulgar commerce, so if anyone would like to get an issue, email me privately (poetryplace2@easynet.co.uk) and Ill give you the ordering details. The second issue will be coming out in February, so if you would like to contribute something, drop me a line. 2: BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE SANDWICH You could also pick up a copy of papercuts at the next Social at the Poetry Cafe in London on Friday 22nd January. As Large Stu said the other day, it is going to feature an exclusive acoustic performance from those Essex Existentialists, Hefner. Well, in fact, it will just be Darren the singer, accompanied by their new lap-steel guitarist, previewing material from the forthcoming elpee. I will endeavour to put all the details on the jeepster meet-up page. 3: LISPECTOR VS RECTOR The mighty Cynthia Saylasaylasaylasaylasay brought up the subject of the Russian-born, Brazilian writer, Clarice Lispector, confirming my suspicion that sinisterons are the new literati. Two of my favourite books in the world are Soulstorm and The Foreign Legion, both collections of odd snippets of short fiction and well worth tracking down. Avoid at all cost Helene Cixouss demented book about Lispector, however. 4: <ARSENAL> My favourite book at the moment, by-the-by, is Graham McCanns new volume about Morecambe and Wise. Did you know that the chucklesome couple once played second on the bill to a ring-tailed lemur? Ahhh, the Golden Days of Variety... 5: HOLY GREIL Staying on a literary tip, someone brought up the vexed subject of Mr Marcus Greil. I once had a bit of a ding-dong row with Mr Greil in a bookshop in Seattle. I accused him of being a sentimental old singer-songwriter groupie (I was paraphrasing Ian Penman at the time), and he accused me of being a snooty limey ponce because I liked My Bloody Valentine. A crucial moment in pop scholarship, Im sure youll agree. Next week, I might tell you how I corrected Simon Reynolds misinterpretation of Barthesian jouissance. If youre very lucky. 6: WEREWOLVES OF THAILAND Was I dreaming, or did Sinisters favourite bearded footballer of yesteryear, Peter Withe, become the coach of the Thai national team? Has Oooooon been taking advice on footballing matters from Peter Miller or something? This is never a good idea, as the Turks well know. Withe was previously the European scout for Aston Villa, apparently, which is surely a definition of modern futility. 7: POPPIES SAY "SKRREEEEWWHRRRRCCCCSSSZZPPBEEP" I went to see the infernal new Roman Polanski film last week, Pi. Ooooh, it made my head hurt. Its got lots of hard sums in it, and the central character looks like one of them brainy fellers from the old Tefal adverts. The scariest thing about the film is that the very spooky and Aphexy soundtrack was done by Clint Mansell out of Pop Will Eat Itself. Stevie Trousers xxxx +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+