Why oh why do I feel I must always leap into the fray when we have some controversy a-brewin'? I don't actually hear you asking for my two cents but I feel compelled to throw them in anyway. First off, in defense of Ruvi: No matter what you think of the ideas put forth in his little Valentine's message I think there is a quality present that is undeniable and therefore I cannot stand by and see it criticized. It ached and longed and was self-deprecating and honest and smart and genuinely quirky without jumping up and down saying, "ooh, I'm so eccentric, look at me." Besides, you don't really think he wants to get freaky with the dearly departed now, do you? As for the pretty girls != smart girls thing, I'm sorry but it is true in at least a limited sense. Exceptions will always exist but for people (boys and girls) with certain gifts like exceptional good looks, musical talent, athleticism, extreme wealth - whatever - a certain laziness often kicks in and they choose not to work so hard at other things thus allowing their brains, emotions, social conscience - whatever - to atrophy. God knows I would've studied harder if I didn't think good looks and charm would get me everything I want. Conversely, look at people who are naturally gifted at intellectual pursuits who hole up with books, computers and role-playing games and allow their social skills to wither away. Same principle. Okay, enough with the controversy, the rest is much more benign. Speaking of benign, how about that Coldplay? It strikes me that this debate is not very relevant over here in the states where we generally don't know much about the UK bands until they reach a certain level of success. After that, the indie cred issue becomes a bit pointless (or more so), and we have to simply evaluate them on the tunes. It seems that some are having a hard time with how the band's career is developing more than anything else. My opinion? I like them, the songs are pleasant and while not brilliant, are at least not embarrassingly dumb. I'm also always happy to see the return of mediocre musicianship. It's funny, I was talking with my roommates about how much Britpop (yeah, i guess we still say that sometimes) is starting to sound more like American indie. Probably the influence of Blur, who always talked about how much they love American indierock and were probably a big part of the bands coming up today's musical diet. Now some personal stuff: This dating business is rubbish. Can you believe I'll be 26 soon and I am only just now doing it for the first time? Until now it was always just end up in bed with someone and depending on how that goes or your mutual level of regret afterwards you start spending more time together (or you don't) and there you are with a girlfriend. This has always been the way it has been for me until now. Just recently I told a friend that I'd always been attracted to her and she said the same and now we're seeing a little more of each other but it's weird: we go out on dates complete with coming up with activities, one of us paying for the other and the walk home and kiss at the door. That's the weirdest part, the incremental physical intimacy thing. It's so awkward. I much prefer just sleeping with someone right away. I wouldn't mind hearing your perspectives on this sinister-inos, in fact I very much want to. Rinaldo Also, I don't remember who said it but whoever mentioned David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, I fully endorse that recommendation. It's the only 1500 page book you'll want to read three times. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+