From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V5 #36 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Wednesday, February 16 2000 Volume 05 : Number 036 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: Question on my guestbook... [andyjmail@cheerful.com] Alloy: RE: alloy-digest V5 #35 [jonathan.chiddick@nokia.com] Alloy: Welcome / GOTHIC / Sitting in a room [Theo.GREEN@orange.co.uk] Re: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... [Robin Thurlow ] Alloy: Tim Dunn, reader of minds [Robin Thurlow ] Re: Alloy: Thieving scumbags [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... [Lazlo Nibble Pertaining to a recent question about the Gothic soundtrack: I have let my vinyl copy of Gothic go to Theo and he's a happy boy now as apparently he has been searching for it for 12 years! I've actually started to get rid of all the non-solo releases that I have from our illustrious leader and am now concentrating my collection to solo-material only. I get much more out of that side of the music anyway and my solo-collecting fetish has firmly taken hold now so I also need the cash/space... I'll probably be putting them up on ebay in the near future. (there's not that much actually) If any alloyite bids and wins an auction please let me know who you are and I'll give a discount where appropriate. > I hope you enjoy your time here with your fellow Dolby fans :) I'll second that. Welcome to you and don't forget, if you the last one to leave put the cat out. > Back in November, when Jonathan "Cube2000" Chiddick joined Alloy, he > inquired after a PAL copy of the Golden Age Of Video. Here's one I > found on eBay (listed in the wrong category): Thanks for that. I had already seen it and there's already a bid on it from someone who doesn't realise that bidding early means high prices. I think I have privately found a copy now anyhow. Fingers crossed. Can you believe that I have NEVER seen this video? Can you believe that I own a copy of it already but can't play it... NTSC LD... Crazy I know. Maybe in a few weeks time I will have witnessed all those vids finally. I've seen 'science', 'hyperactive' and 'Airhead' and that's it... oh how deprived I am. >Good luck with that, Jon. And tell us, if you would be so kind, >about that Israeli Golden Age Of Wireless LP you recently won. Is >it VIP-1001 with The Wreck of the Fairchild? I'm glad you asked about that as it gives me an opportunity to apologise for bidding against you. (that goes for you too Melissa for the Flat Earth items!) As I already mentioned I seem to have morphed into a 'completist'. I *have* to get every copy of every release in every format. It hurts, my wife only barely understands... The Israeli GAOW was Israeli pressing number two for me as I already had the Flat Earth. I called the label and made some enquiries and it seems that as the copy that I recently obtained is indeed VIP1001 with 'The Wreck' which means that there is yet another Israeli GAOW to be had with the re-hash of the tracks including 'science'. Groan.... 'yet another one to find. Where will it end I ask myself. That makes 33 versions of GAOW that I know about and I've only got 11 so far... I think I may draw the line at getting all the CD re-releases as it's getting out of hand! My, to the best of my knowledge, complete TMDR solo discography is shaping up nicely now but it will be a while before I will open the web-site to the public. You'll be the first to know. Everytime I'm sure that all the stones have been turned over I find a new one... Matron! The pills, the pills!!! Jon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 13:11:19 +0000 From: Theo.GREEN@orange.co.uk Subject: Alloy: Welcome / GOTHIC / Sitting in a room Hi, thanks for such a warm welcome! I'm hot on the heels of the "Gothic" soundtrack now, thanks to Jon Chiddick.... which ends a very long search! i was interested to read Andy J's extract from his guestbook, about the experimental "sitting in a room" recording. this definately rings a bell with me, i'd have no idea whether this is TD or not, but seem to remember John Peel or someone playing it on the radio way back.... would be good to find out... all the best, Theo Robin Thurlow on 02/14/2000 07:01:25 PM Please respond to alloy@smoe.org To: alloy@smoe.org cc: (bcc: Theo GREEN/CS/HTLUK) Subject: Alloy: Welcome new members! & GOTHIC soundtrack Please let me start by welcoming our newest members; thanks for joining us!! Pertaining to a recent question about the Gothic soundtrack: one of the best places for locating this is through eBay (www.ebay.com) I've seen it come up for auction there from time to time. I also recomment looking into the hard-to-find cd/record sites, some of which are referenced in the Alloy FAQ: http://members.aol.com/RThurF/AlloyFAQpage.htm I hope you enjoy your time here with your fellow Dolby fans :) If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me personally, I'd love to help out. Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 08:51:03 -0500 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Re: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... Andy, if you do find out about this recording outside of Alloy please let us know! I'd love to know if it was one of Thomas' works - spoken pieces always amaze me when done creatively. Especially if it happens to be Thomas who's doing it! :) Robin T andyjmail@cheerful.com wrote: > > Hi folks, > I found a question today on my site's guestbook, I > wonder if anyone can shed any light on this please... > > "Do you know anything about an expiremental recording that (I think at least) Dolby did called "I am sitting in a room"? I heard it a couple of times on a university radio station in the mid-80s. It is a recording of him reading a short paragraph. Then the recording was replayed into the room and re-recorded and the process was repeated over and over. The sound changes from a human voice to a distorted voice to various bell and glass-like ringing sounds as the various natural harmonics are picked up and reinforced by the process. " > > Thanks in advance... > +AndyJ+ > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 13:50:37 -0000 From: tim dunn Subject: RE: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... You're thinking about that upper body strength again, aren't you Robin!! Try and keep your mind on the music!!! - -----Original Message----- From: Robin Thurlow [mailto:rthurlow@binghamton.edu] Sent: 15 February 2000 13:51 To: alloy@smoe.org Subject: Re: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... Andy, if you do find out about this recording outside of Alloy please let us know! I'd love to know if it was one of Thomas' works - spoken pieces always amaze me when done creatively. Especially if it happens to be Thomas who's doing it! :) Robin T andyjmail@cheerful.com wrote: > > Hi folks, > I found a question today on my site's guestbook, I > wonder if anyone can shed any light on this please... > > "Do you know anything about an expiremental recording that (I think at least) Dolby did called "I am sitting in a room"? I heard it a couple of times on a university radio station in the mid-80s. It is a recording of him reading a short paragraph. Then the recording was replayed into the room and re-recorded and the process was repeated over and over. The sound changes from a human voice to a distorted voice to various bell and glass-like ringing sounds as the various natural harmonics are picked up and reinforced by the process. " > > Thanks in advance... > +AndyJ+ > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 11:54:51 -0500 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Alloy: Tim Dunn, reader of minds But Thomas is, after all, mathematically perfect! - as you'll recall from my estimate of his geometric proportions (taken only for artistic purposes you realize) Recent photographic evidence suggests that Thomas' physical mathematical perfection is not solely confined to his upper body (**clothed** of course, silly!) which was all I'd been able to estimate previously via the video close-ups... Robin T Looking forward to working on that painting again, and oh yes keeping my mind on the music :) tim dunn wrote: > > You're thinking about that upper body strength again, aren't you Robin!! Try > and keep your mind on the music!!! > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:50:35 +1000 From: Paul Baily Subject: Alloy: OT: [humor] About Australia Hi y'all, Sorry for the noise but I just had to forward this. Occasionally I've been asked what it's like in Australia. In that context I decline to comment on how accurate the following may be. ;) I will point out a few of inaccuracies though: 1. Quite a few Australians are, in fact, more than happy to share a kind word with Americans, 2. Hawaiian shirts are becoming semi-fashionable again here. But only on the beach or at 'barbies' you understand, and, 3. Real Australians cannot stand The Man From Snowy River. :) stay well, Paul. This message powered by Jastamba/York featuring Jamilla. ------- [This is reportedly by Douglas Adams.] The Confusing Country Australia is a very confusing place, taking up a large amount of the bottom half of the planet. It is recognisable from orbit because of many unusual features, including what at first looks like an enormous bite taken out of its southern edge; a wall of sheer cliffs which plunge deep into the girthing sea. Geologists assure us that this is simply an accident of geomorphology and plate tectonics, but they still call it the "Great Australian Bight" proving that not only are they covering up a more frightening theory, but they can't spell either. The first of the confusing things about Australia is the status of the place. Where other land masses and sovereign lands are classified as either continent, island, or country, Australia is considered all three. Typically, it is unique in this. The second confusing thing about Australia are the animals. They can be divided into three categories: Poisonous, Odd, and Sheep. It is true that of the 10 most poisonous arachnids on the planet, Australia has 9 of them. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that of the 9 most poisonous arachnids, Australia has all of them. However, there are curiously few snakes, possibly because the spiders have killed them all. But even the spiders won't go near the sea. Any visitors should be careful to check inside boots (before putting them on) under toilet seats (before sitting down) and generally everywhere else. A stick is very useful for this task. Strangely, it tends to be the second class of animals (the Odd) that are more dangerous. The creature that kills the most people each year is the common Wombat. It is nearly as ridiculous as its name, and spends its life digging holes in the ground, in which it hides. During the night it comes out to eat worms and grubs. The wombat kills people in two ways: First, the animal is indestructible. Digging holes in the hard Australian clay builds muscles that outclass Olympic weightlifters. At night, they often wander the roads. Semi-trailers (Road Trains) have hit them at high speed, with all 9 wheels on one side [actually more like 19 wheels on one side -P.], and this merely makes them very annoyed. They express this by snorting, glaring, and walking away. Alas, to smaller cars, the wombat becomes an asymmetrical launching pad, with results that can be imagined, but not adequately described. The second way the wombat kills people relates to its burrowing behaviour. If a person happens to put their hand down a Wombat hole, the Wombat will feel the disturbance and think "Ho! My hole is collapsing!" at which it will brace its muscled legs and push up against the roof of its burrow with incredible force, to prevent its collapse. Any unfortunate hand will be crushed, and attempts to withdraw will cause the Wombat to simply bear down harder. The unfortunate will then bleed to death through their crushed hand as the wombat prevents him from seeking assistance. This is considered the third most embarrassing known way to die, and Australians don't talk about it much. At this point, we would like to mention the Platypus, estranged relative of the mammal, which has a duck-bill, otter's tail, webbed feet, lays eggs, detects its aquatic prey in the same way as the electric eel, and has venomous barbs attached to its hind legs, thus combining all 'typical' Australian attributes into a single improbable creature. The last confusing thing about Australia is the inhabitants. First, a short history: Some time around 40,000 years ago, some people arrived in boats from the north. They ate all the available food, and lot of them died. The ones that survived learned respect for the balance of nature, man's proper place in the scheme of things, and spiders. They settled in, and spent a lot of the intervening time making up strange stories. Then, around 200 years ago, Europeans arrived in boats from the north. More accurately, European convicts were sent, with a few deranged and stupid people in charge. They tried to plant their crops in Autumn (failing to take account of the reversal of the seasons when moving from the top half of the planet to the bottom), ate all their food, and a lot of them died. About then the sheep arrived, and have been treasured ever since. It is interesting to note here that the Europeans always consider themselves vastly superior to any other race they encounter, since they can lie, cheat, steal, and litigate (marks of a civilised culture they say) - whereas all the Aboriginals can do is happily survive being left in the middle of a vast red-hot desert, equipped with a stick. Eventually, the new lot of people stopped being Europeans on Extended Holiday and became Australians. The changes are subtle, but deep, caused by the mind-stretching expanses of nothingness and eerie quiet, where a person can sit perfectly still and look deep inside themselves to the core of their essence, their reasons for being, and the necessity of checking inside your boots every morning for fatal surprises. They also picked up the most finely tuned sense of irony in the world, and the Aboriginal gift for making up stories. Be warned. There is also the matter of the beaches. Australian beaches are simply the nicest and best in the entire world. Although anyone actually venturing into the sea will have to contend with sharks, stinging jellyfish, stonefish (a fish which sits on the bottom of the sea, pretends to be a rock, and has venomous barbs sticking out of its back that will kill just from the pain) and surfboarders. However, watching a beach sunset is worth the risk. As a result of all this hardship, dirt, thirst, and wombats, you would expect Australians to be a dour lot. Instead, they are genial, jolly, cheerful, and always willing to share a kind word with a stranger, unless they are an American. Faced with insurmountable odds and impossible problems, they smile disarmingly and look for a stick. Major engineering feats have been performed with sheets of corrugated iron, string, and mud. Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the 'Grass is Greener on the other side of the fence' syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence. They call the land "Oz", "Godzone" (a verbal contraction of "God's Own Country") and "Best bloody place on earth, bar none, strewth." The irritating thing about this is they may be right. There are some traps for the unsuspecting traveller, though. Do not under any circumstances suggest that the beer is imperfect, unless you are comparing it to another kind of Australian beer. Do not wear a Hawaiian shirt. Religion and Politics are safe topics of conversation (Australians don't care too much about either) but Sport is a minefield. The only correct answer to "So, howdya' like our country, eh?" is "Best {insert your own regional swear word here} country in the world!". It is very likely that, on arriving, some cheerful Australians will 'adopt' you, and on your first night, and take you to a pub where Australian Beer is served. Despite the obvious danger, do not refuse. It is a form of initiation rite. You will wake up late the next day with an astonishing hangover, a foul-taste in your mouth, and wearing strange clothes. Your hosts will usually make sure you get home, and waive off any legal difficulties with "It's his first time in Australia, so we took him to the pub.", to which the policeman will sagely nod and close his notebook. Be sure to tell the story of these events to every other Australian you encounter, adding new embellishments at every stage, and noting how strong the beer was. Thus you will be accepted into this unique culture. Most Australians are now urban dwellers, having discovered the primary use of electricity, which is air-conditioning and refrigerators. Typical Australian sayings "G'Day!" "It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." "She'll be right." "And down from Kosciusko, where the pine clad ridges raise their torn and rugged battlements on high, where the air is clear is crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze at midnight in the cold and frosty sky. And where, around the overflow, the reed beds sweep and sway to the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide. The Man from Snowy River is a household word today, and the stockmen tell the story of his ride." Tips to Surviving Australia Don't ever put your hand down a hole for any reason whatsoever. We mean it. The beer is stronger than you think, regardless of how strong you think it is. Always carry a stick. Air-conditioning. Do not attempt to use Australian slang, unless you are a trained linguist and good in a fistfight. Thick socks. Take good maps. Stopping to ask directions only works when there are people nearby. If you leave the urban areas, carry several litres of water with you at all times, or you will die. Even in the most embellished stories told by Australians, there is always a core of truth that it is unwise to ignore. See Also: "Deserts: How to die in them", "The Stick: Second most useful thing ever" and "Poisonous and Venomous arachnids, insects, animals, trees, shrubs, fish and sheep of Australia, volumes 1-42" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 17:02:23 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Re: Alloy: Thieving scumbags In article , you wrote: >I just got back from a week away to find that I'd been burgled. The >buggers took about >3,500 quid's worth of electronics goods - including the portastudio that >I'd bought to do >my BDayIII bid. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ Now that sucks, especially the theft of the CDs since out of print CDs can be very hard to come by. How comprihensive is your insurance? Hope you don't get reamed by them too. Same thing happened to a friend of mine. It was his landlord who did it too. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ >Needless to say, if anyone spots either Alloy recording up for sale on EBay, >or in a second hand shop here in the UK, I'll be only too happy to tell the >police. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ Definetly something to keep an eye out for on Ebay. Hope you catch the theif(ves) and they get strung up by the fleshy bits. CRACKERS (@#@$@#!!!! Bastards from hell!!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan * http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base * * http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo/index.html | Hozer Video Games * Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 20:06:12 EST From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Thieving scumbags In a message dated 2/15/00 5:04:29 PM Eastern Standard Time, crackers@hwcn.org writes: :: Same thing happened to a friend of mine. It was his landlord who did it too. :: The same thing happened to a friend of ours in Boston - it was her landlord!! I wonder how common this actually is... Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 22:05:14 -0700 From: Lazlo Nibble Subject: Re: Alloy: Question on my guestbook... On Tue, Feb 15, 2000 at 04:56:02AM -0500, andyjmail@cheerful.com wrote: > "Do you know anything about an expiremental recording that (I think at > least) Dolby did called "I am sitting in a room"? I heard it a couple of > times on a university radio station in the mid-80s. It is a recording of him > reading a short paragraph. Then the recording was replayed into the room and > re-recorded and the process was repeated over and over. The sound changes > from a human voice to a distorted voice to various bell and glass-like > ringing sounds as the various natural harmonics are picked up and reinforced > by the process. " It's not TMDR, it's Alvin Lucier. He did a very cool installation at Winrock Shipping Center in Albuquerque many years ago called "Music On A Long Thin Wire". It was basically just a long wire stretched taut across a stage with the vibrations amplfied and (in this case) played live over the local college station for several days running. "I Am Sitting In A Room" is out on CD courtesy of Lovely Music: http://www.lovely.com/titles/cd1013.html. - -- Lazlo Nibble - lazlo@studio-nibble.com - http://www.studio-nibble.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Everybody's doing weblogs and I conform! http://www.studio-nibble.com/weblog -- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 23:09:14 -0500 From: "D'Arcy Salzmann" Subject: RE: Alloy: OT: [humor] About Australia Just Priceless. From someone with a long history of crossing paths with "those-from-where-the-tub-water-goes-the-wrong-way-down-the-drain" this is accurate. Especially the bits where Australian's belief that Australia is the finest &&%*)@*#)_(*#@ place on earth. Thanks Paul -------------------------------------------------------- D'Arcy Salzmann Strategic Partner Manager KL Group Inc. 260 King St. East Toronto, ON, Canada M5A 1K3 e: darcy@klgroup.com v: 416 643-3593 f: 416 594-1919 w: http://www.klgroup.com The mysteries of Partners explained, mailto:partnerQ@klgroup.com Software Development Productivity! --------------------------------------------------------- What's Normal? Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. -----Original Message----- From: owner-alloy@smoe.org [mailto:owner-alloy@smoe.org]On Behalf Of Paul Baily Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 3:51 AM To: Alloy Subject: Alloy: OT: [humor] About Australia Hi y'all, Sorry for the noise but I just had to forward this. Occasionally I've been asked what it's like in Australia. In that context I decline to comment on how accurate the following may be. ;) I will point out a few of inaccuracies though: 1. Quite a few Australians are, in fact, more than happy to share a kind word with Americans, 2. Hawaiian shirts are becoming semi-fashionable again here. But only on the beach or at 'barbies' you understand, and, 3. Real Australians cannot stand The Man From Snowy River. :) stay well, Paul. This message powered by Jastamba/York featuring Jamilla. ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V5 #36 **************************