There has, of late, been considerable talk of Belle and Sebastian's impending releases and tour, which is hardly surprising, and which I, too, am excited by. In fact, excited is too listless a word; the sort one may use to describe a fun fair atrtactions, a little one trill ride, an artificial rub with death. Was it exciting for Siegfried Sassoon to go over the top, deafened by the sound of machine guns and sickened by the smell of the blood of his dying friends? I doubt it. Let us condemn the word excited to be used to describe shallow, meaningless pleasure, and select another (I apologise for using the Royal form of address, but I consider it to be the writer's domain no less than that of an ill-educated so-called ruling family). Paroxysms of delight. How's that? Yes, I think it shall suffice. Nevertheless, despite all this talk of Belle and Sebastian, what about the AC/DC concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl in June? How about that for excitement? Angus in his schoolboy outfit, the chap who isn't Bon Scott in a flat cap screeching about American thighs, the explosions, the Highway to Hell! My heart flutters at the prospect. There, that is my preamble out of the way. It is not without some trepidation that I begin, you see. I was somewhat cowed by the rather unpleasant response to my observation regarding pretty girls. I found it interesting, however, that no one declared with pride that they weren't blessed with good looks or other such intrinsic attributes, but have striven, pained themselves, for a little shred of decency, intellectual prowess and emotional sensitivity. Nobody declared that these are things far more important than this flesh of ours, which is rotting even as we preen and powder ourselves in vain attempts to retain its rosiness. But I do not want to open yet another can of nasty little worms with more inflammatory remarks. However, I shall thank Mr. Thatchez for his kind words and for bothering to understand what I had written. I fear that, once more, I have said too much. I should take Thomas Hardy's advice and resolve to say no more but, I think, it was easier for him to do so as a man in his eighties, regretting mistakes, enfeebled by the ravages of time and unable to rage against the world he lived in with the vigour he still felt beating in his old heart. Besides, people do not easily give up on life, struggle and the weight of words still unsaid. I would like to tell a little anecdote which bears far wider relevance than merely struggling to evade the mantle of the apologist, that speaks about the depths of human resolve. Henrik Ibsen, in his dotage, suffered a catastrophic stroke which deprived him of the capacity to read and write. His son, who was also his nurse of sorts, went in to see him one day, and found he was seated in the conservatory, wrapped up in a blanket to protect his frail body from the cold. Before him, on a tray, were pieces of paper and a text book intended to teach children literacy. Henrik Ibsen, on the verge of death, robbed of everything, reduced to the level of child, was beginning again. He was trying to re-learn everything he had lost. He looked up at his son and said, "I used to be a writer, you know". Since suddenesss can be the breeding bround for ambiguity, and ambiguity fuel for imagination, and imagination the gilt of life, I shall end with leaving more unsaid than said, Ruvi. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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. 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 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+