RDTRN Archive - RDT Right Now #1900

RDT Right Now #1900

From: rdtrn@torithoughts.org
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 13:16:20 -0700
Subject: RDT Right Now #1900
To: rdtrn@torithoughts.org

Do not hit reply to unsubscribe. To unsub, send a message to: <rdtrn-request@torithoughts.org> with "unsubscribe" in the subject and body. o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Really Deep Thoughts Right Now Volume 04 : Issue #1900 . o - O - O - O - O - O - O - O - o . o o . o o O "Thoughts right now... O o What will become of me, o o Become of her, become of we?" o . o o . O O O - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - O o . o o o Tori Amos, "Thoughts" In this issue: o-o-o-o-o-o-o 'Still Life with Drug Spam and HDTV' [ Mark Alexander <alexander750@earthl ] Re: RDT Right Now #1898 [ Kerri R Klein <kklein21@student.sca ] a cat ate his bird [ John Bragazzi <utown@worldnet.att.n ] short people on a quest [ John Bragazzi <utown@worldnet.att.n ] Bored to death [ Brian Cooper <byteme@smartchat.net. ] love doll [ Violet <fluffy@annihilist.com> ] Missed a digest? Pick up a copy at the RDTRN archives: http://www.torithoughts.org/rdtrn/archives .-'"'-. / # \ 6 6 6 6 6 : # : # # # # # \ / .-'"'-. _#_#_#_#_#_ \ / / # \ {_` ` ` ` `_} `'*'` : # : ___{_._._._._._}___ ( \ / {_ H A P P Y _} ) \ / ____{_._._._._._._._._._}____ ( `'*'` {_ 1 9 0 0 t h D I G E S T _} ) ) .---{_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._}---. ( ( `"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""` ) ) `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 01:33:23 -0500 From: Mark Alexander <alexander750@earthlink.net> To: "that redhead with the piano" <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Subject: 'Still Life with Drug Spam and HDTV' now on exhibit I get that Canadian drug spam, too, Brian, and while 90% goes "plonk" at my ISP, 9% at OS X Mail's spam filter, and 1% with the good old delete key, it's scary to realize that as far as I'm concerned, I might as well be in Somalia. In other words, my health care plan is: (1) Don't get sick. (2) If you do get sick, make sure you die right off. (3) Move to Canada. The drug companies will of course holler "development costs," but do we really need yet another blood pressure med, ADHD dope, or expensive aspirin substitute for arthritis? (Where's the AIDS vaccine?) Likewise, the insurance companies hem and haw about demographic shifts, fraud, and "poor lifestyle choices" (read, "McDonalds, SUVs, and FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR"). And of course the government is screaming about budget deficits, trade barriers, and the War of Terror. Wasn't that the reason Clinton RAISED taxes? I fight terror every day. I don't watch Fox News ("Ein Volk! Ein Fuehrer! Ein NewsChannel!"). Of course, I don't have cable, so I can't watch it, but that's not the point. I do have HDTV now, with a grand total of two--okay, four--channels. Three of those are really the same channel, though, so I don't count those separately (it's See BS, with two 'sub-channels' showing 24-hour local news and, get this, the weather radar: this year's Emmy nominee for Most Boring Program). The other channel is ABC (Go Hogs Go). PBS is supposed to be broadcasting Real Soon Now, and it's the reason I shelled out for an 'as-is clearance' HDTV box (and a remarkably ugly antenna which I'll call the Channel Monster: a dangerously sharp-edged Yagi intended for outdoor use which looks like an aluminum Christmas tree mashed flat lengthwise and pointed sideways, utterly dominating the bedroom decor) in the first place. At least I'm getting a perfect picture with Dolby Digital sound. Analog TV was pretty much a catch-as-catch-can affair. Such is life in an apartment in the sticks. Oh, and my car got vandalized. Again. Now I might need a new transmission: nothing hurts more than doing a belly-buster onto a sharp chunk of broken pavement, deliberately inserted into a pothole by said vandal(s). Maybe it was the same punk with the box-cutter who ruined the paint job two years ago. Speaking of PBS, did anyone watch Frontline's "The Way The Music Died"? While there wasn't as much 'forensics' as I would have liked, there were several factors cited: Demographic shifts. MTV. Media consolidation. Retail consolidation. Record company greed. Illegal downloads. All of the above. In other words, the usual 'conspiracy of ignorance/unintended consequences' scenario. The careers of two recording acts were followed: Sarah Hudson, singer/songwriter daughter of record producer (and former Hudson Brother) Mark Hudson, and Velvet Revolver, a hybrid of many former G'n'R and STP members. Guess which one got the heavy rotation and made #1 on the charts. No wonder Tori quit while she was ahead. They took the last train for the coast, Estraven. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2004 12:38:59 -0400 From: Kerri R Klein <kklein21@student.scad.edu> To: RDT Right Now <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Subject: Re: RDT Right Now #1898 kerri here. longtimenopost. i'm still in GA, just finished my MFA. My thesis show will be in August. I'll post more info as that comes together. Congrats, Bethany, on your BFA! What's weird is that I remember the old email you posted like I had just gotten it last week. Damn we're all getting old. I'm recovering from a crazy two weeks. Graduation, being swept off by my family for memorial day, flying around the country, etc. Not only that, but I learned my lesson about red bull and vodkas. And taking life for granted. Now it's on to looking for a teaching job, and figuring out where the next chapter of my life is going to settle. hugs to all. kerri renee -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Thu, 03 Jun 2004 05:59:41 -0400 From: John Bragazzi <utown@worldnet.att.net> To: RDT Right Now <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Subject: a cat ate his bird Bethany said: > (have a feeling no matter how much time goes by i will never > live down the whole "Who is Axl Rose" thing) Hey, at this point, a lot of people would probably ask the same question. Brian said: > In regards to drug companies and their profits, as public > companies you can't really deny them turning a profit, but when > does too much profit become morally bankrupt? Well, the major issue isn't the amount of profit, it's the way those profits are obtained. Drug companies spend a fortune cozying up to doctors, taking them out to dinner (seducing them, basically) in an effort to get the doctors to prescribe their products. My mother recently went to a neurologist to get a checkup. He reported that she definitely doesn't have Alzheimers, but then he prescribed a drug which helps memory problems (which she has, a little) and she had a very bad reaction to the drug. I did some research online and everything I could find said that the drug was for people with Alzheimers. She doesn't *have* Alzheimers. So, the bad reaction is not so surprising, and I'm wondering how much the drug manufacturer may have schmoozed up the doctor. Also on the insurance topic, I received a form from my dental insurance company yesterday which seeed to day that they've decided I'm not covered and they're not going to pay for a variety of procedures, including one from January which they already paid for. > Has an insurance company got a right to declare something > is an act of God? Or, as Dirk Gently would ask, "yes, but *which* god?" Bethey asked: > Did I miss something? (most probably) Why does your job end and > why do you seem to want it to? If it ends, what do plan to do > next? No, I don't want it to end (been here 18 years), but it will. My ambivalence is only because the end date keeps getting changed, and it's just postponing the inevitable. I don't want it to happen, but it will, so at a certain point it's like, "do it already, get it over with." Also, as more and more people leave (since the end is inevitable and coming), I'm stuck with figuring out how to patch the holes and keep the ship afloat. As B/4, John -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Thu, 03 Jun 2004 06:23:18 -0400 From: John Bragazzi <utown@worldnet.att.net> To: RDT Right Now <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Subject: short people on a quest Bethey said: > it's fantastic with having the CD also (6 new songs!!!) I like the songs a lot. I already feel more attached to them than I ever did to Scarlet's Sleepwalk. They're much less fuzzy, or maybe it's just that there aren't so damn many of them. > It's like being front row of a Tori concert I'm not big fan of the interviews, but with DVD you can just scoot past them. The music itself is really good, though. The song selection isn't exactly what I would have asked for, but of course that's always going to be true. But there are some real gems, including that incredible version of "Take to the Sky" with some of "Muhammed my Friend" I assume the resurrection of the latter (not played for a long time) indicates that Tori may have re-thought her idea that the US attacking various Muslim countries was like a mother! Defending its young! There are a lot of other high points, too. I still miss Caton, though. > My only complaint is the censoring of Professional Widow. I agree. I thought there might be some "parental advisory" setting which you could change to fix it, but I can't find it. I don't know why this was done, but I really don't approve of it. Does she have a deal with Sony that she can't have a "Parental Advisory" sticker? I should think she'd want one, but maybe Sony has other ideas. > I'm the only person of my bent of mind who > can't stand Middle Earth. I don't know what it is, but I've > given up trying. There are probably two groups who really don't like the movies (broadly speaking), those who also don't like the book (like you) and those who do like the book and who dislike the liberties the screenwriters took with the original story. I do like the book, but I'm not as attached to it as some poeple, so I can appreciate the changes and see the reason for most of them. Sorry to hear about your sulfa reaction. Hope it's better by now. As B/4, John -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Thu, 03 Jun 2004 22:06:36 +1000 From: Brian Cooper <byteme@smartchat.net.au> To: Really Deep Thrusts Right Now <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Subject: Bored to death Bethey proclaimed in digest #1898 that Roger Waters (formerly of Pink Floyd fame was a prophet: >Well, I have discovered something else by Roger than I am thrilled >with. The album is "Amused to Death", which was released 15 years >ago. You must get this, and listen closely to it. I'm prepared to honor >Roger with the same prophet status I give John Lennon. Anybody that has paid any attention over the years knows I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. They were the first band I got into deeply and I still find some of their music to be as fresh and exciting as it was 20 or even 30 years ago. While Roger was a founding member of the band (and still considers it as his to this day), I didn't like the direction he had taken them in at the end. To me, Roger's world weary cynicism was starting to bore everyone to tears. Some would argue (including Roger himself if you've seen the interview on the DVD for The Wall) that he's got a great sense of humour. That may well be, but I certainly miss the joke. I think signs of Roger's cynicism started to manifest itself on "Animals" and progressed into "The Wall". While it fitted perfectly in that album, it went over the top in "The Final Cut". For those not up on Floyd history, Waters got the arse after that, which launched his solo career. While I didn't mind "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" and even "Radio KAOS" to a degree, I couldn't stand "Amused To Death". It's just too downright depressing. I've been cycling through my CD collection while doing work on my house and a few weeks ago I noticed "Amused To Death". I thought about it for a minute and said, "Nah!", then chose one of David Gilmour's solo albums instead. Actually, I thought one of his songs off the "About Face" album was very profound at this time. I think the song was "Near The End". Having seen Pink Floyd and Roger Waters play live, I think in hindsight I actually preferred the Waters show. Sure, Floyd were dazzling with the flying pigs, crashing beds, fireworks and a light show I've never seen the likes of before and probably never will again, but they were very loose vocally and the whole show was a massive sensory overload. While Waters had a very laid back show, it was tight and I loved the fact he played "Dogs" and all nine parts of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". I'll agree with you on Andy Fairweather-Low, as he was a magician on guitar. He did a dueling solo with the other guitarist on "Comfortably Numb" that was just gorgeous, but he's not David Gilmour either - he plays the solo solo. Bethany... who IS Axl Rose? Let's play Jeopardy! Brian -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o [top] Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 11:57:21 -0700 From: Violet <fluffy@annihilist.com> To: rdtrn@torithoughts.org Subject: love doll Hey, I need one of these! http://www.hotadultstuff.com/gladiator.html (Well, as long as it doesn't look like Russell Crowe.) Violet xoxox o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o o-o-o *** But I Have To Get To 2000, Said I Have To Get To 2000 digest *** To POST messages to this list: <rdtrn@torithoughts.org> Can't figure out how to SUB, UNSUB, or CHANGE ADDRESSES? 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