Question:

Anybody have an opinion on these reels?  I have the ability to buy one at a significant discount but don’t know a thing about them.  I’m looking at a model 11/12 and would like to use it in the salt along the east coast. Thanks, Bill

Response:

Anybody have an opinion on these reels?  I have the ability to buy one at a significant discount but don’t know a thing about them.  I’m looking at a model 11/12 and would like to use it in the salt along the east coast.

Redington makes a fine product.  I have a large arbor in a smaller line weight and really like the reel.  The big concern now is the fact that Redington will soon discontinue manufacturing these reels for a new line.  Parts and service have been a big question with the old reel lines.  Redington was owned by Orvis at one time and apparently that partnership has dissolved and Redington is out on their own.  Smart move, IMHO. — remove all x’s for reply email. To worry is folly so let us be jolly.

Response:

The drag mechanisms get a bit rusty if not looked after properly. I used one in the salt for a few hours and it had started to rust before I even got out. But with care they can last for a helluva long time. I’ve got customers who’ve certain of the reels for three or four years of incessant saltwaterfishing with no problems. Ari Anybody have an opinion on these reels?  I have the ability to buy one at a significant discount but don’t know a thing about them.  I’m looking at a model 11/12 and would like to use it in the salt along the east coast. Thanks, Bill

Ari & Gaelle Bert                                   +27 (0) 83 232 9903 & +27 (0) 83 236 5308 +27 (0) 11 443 9984 / +27 (0) 11 882 8537 (fax)                 www.troutfishing.co.za www.africanfishing.com Physical Address: 72 Swemmer Rd, Sunningdale, 2192 Postal Address: P.O.Box 79067, Senderwood, 2145, South Africa

Response:

Redington makes a fine product.

    Redington doesn’t make anything. They are a marketing company that "outsources" all of their products. Not that it matters in this case, Redington reels have a good reputation.

Response:

I was told by a local fly shop owner that these reels are made in Korea.  He also said they have an unconditional lifetime warranty. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     Redington doesn’t make anything. They are a marketing company that "outsources" all of their products. Not that it matters in this case, Redington reels have a good reputation.

Response:

Redington don

Question:

minutes explaining my business in Canada (work trip to my company’s YWG facility; the word "work" must have triggered the big red alarm).

Yep. That is a big no-no, especially when a canadian self employed goes to the USA. "Going to a meeting" is a much more acceptable reason for travel.

Response:

Canada) through Chicago.  Air Canada services us from all other major cities in Canada, Except the second largest one… but that’s AC’s fault, not yours. Air Canada does link Winterpeg with Vancouver with at least one non-stop per day.

But to come back to the question, AC lists two connections/day SFO-YWG. Morning one thru YVR indeed, and afternoon one thru YYC.  Thru YYC is shorter; and there are four nonstop flights to YWG.

Response:

fishing, one of the greatest areas in the world for lake fishing is about a two hour drive east of Winnipeg, just over the border into Ontario. No ! Don’t risk your life on highway 17. Stay in Manitoba. just before the ontario border where the trans canada highway narrows into a country road, there is a nice park to the right. I think it it is on the shores of lake of the woods.

I don’t think they will be riding bicycles.   Besides, 30 miles on a two lane highway is no impediment to people who really like fishing.

Response:

Yes, its bloody cold outside. You get used to it.  It’s nice in the summer though, for those 4 months. 4 months ?  I guess if you define winter as temperatures below -20, spring and automn as temperatures below 0, then summer could be 4 months long …. In Montreal, true summer is about 4 weeks (when you can go outside in short sleeves and not have to worry about being cold during the day).

Yes, I remember my one and only (so far) trip to Canada which was spent entirely in Qu

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before? Thanks very much, Dan Please reply to group

Dan, This time of the year you want to fish very early or very late in the day….most trout I know take long siestas when the water warms up during the day. The patterns you are using are fine…I might add a black ant and a yellow sally to your arsenal. Good luck…. –Walt

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have very good luck with elk hair caddis. I fish Tremont usually in the afternoon but not always. And don’t forget those wooly buggers! Bryce I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before?

Hi! Tremont should be good early in the morning or late at night. I stay away from the lower portion of Deep Creek this time of the year, due to all  the tourists and tubers. Go above Indian creek. Also try West prong of Little River while you are over in that area. Go backcountry away from Laurel creek rd. Try a Thunderhead dry, it’s a NC pattern that’s very similar to an Adams Wulff. Hans

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have very good luck with elk hair caddis. I fish Tremont usually in the afternoon but not always. And don’t forget those wooly buggers! Bryce I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before? Hi! Tremont should be good early in the morning or late at night. I stay away from the lower portion of Deep Creek this time of the year, due to all  the tourists and tubers. Go above Indian creek. Also try West prong of Little River while you are over in that area. Go backcountry away from Laurel creek rd. Try a Thunderhead dry, it’s a NC pattern that’s very similar to an Adams Wulff. Hans

I fished Deep Creek a coupla years ago and ran across a native of the area who was having great luck on a parachute Adams morning and late afternoon.  I might add that he was quite stealthy and could read water very well.

Response:

I have very good luck with elk hair caddis. I fish Tremont usually in the afternoon but not always. And don’t forget those wooly buggers! Bryce – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before?

Response:

Thanks to all who replied to my original post.  Your advice will be very helpful.  I plan to spend the next couple of days on Deep Creek, so I will try to give you a report (to the group) next week.   Thanks again, Dan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have very good luck with elk hair caddis. I fish Tremont usually in the afternoon but not always. And don’t forget those wooly buggers! Bryce I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before? Hi! Tremont should be good early in the morning or late at night. I stay away from the lower portion of Deep Creek this time of the year, due to all  the tourists and tubers. Go above Indian creek. Also try West prong of Little River while you are over in that area. Go backcountry away from Laurel creek rd. Try a Thunderhead dry, it’s a NC pattern that’s very similar to an Adams Wulff. Hans I fished Deep Creek a coupla years ago and ran across a native of the area who was having great luck on a parachute Adams morning and late afternoon.  I might add that he was quite stealthy and could read water very well.

Response:

I have only been flyfishing for a few months, most of my trips have been in the Townsend area of the Smokies.  I have fished the Tremont (Middle Prong of Little River)  area several times with limited success.  I have the opportunity this weekend to fish Deep Creek (Bryson City, NC) and I have decided to swallow my pride and ask for advice here so I hopefully won’t get "blanked" and ruin my vacation!  For Tremont, I have used 6X tippets and patterns of caddis, adams, black gnats, beadhead phesant tail nymph. My specific questions:  What time of day should be the most successful in either of these areas (Tremont or Deep Creek)?  What patterns are most effective for Deep Creek?  Any advice on presentation to these skittish mountain trout?  Any particular areas of Deep Creek that anyone has had experience fishing before? Thanks very much, Dan Please reply to group

Response:

Question:

Well, fortunately, I found that 1%! Thanks to everyone who’s responded so far!

Some useful information and links can be found at Aviation in BC http://www.totavia.com/BCaviation/

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for places to fly, things to see, etc?

Campbell River is a nice town. They have a golf course near by and the salmon fishing is excellent…..although I am not sure about May. There are some very nice lodges. Joiner Cartwright, Jr. Houston, Texas

Response:

Hello , I have done a lot of flying in that area including my multi and instrument rides it is a beautiful area. The thing I remember most about my flying there was (actually in may) one day between Vancouver and Victoria closer to Victoria I found myself over a large group of killer whales. I was in the process of trying to build time for my next rating so I continued watching them for a while it was very beautiful. Hope you get that lucky. There are a good number of float planes around but you will never find that to be 99% maybe 30% the farther north you go you will find lots. The sights there are great and the weather not too bad.  Good luck if you have any questions I’ll try to help Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – From my 3 week holiday in BC, it seemed to me that 99% of light (and not-so-light) aircraft had floats. Aircraft with wheels were as rare as floatplanes are in UK. Well, fortunately, I found that 1%! Thanks to everyone who’s responded so far!  –G —  Gordon Dewis             |  WWW Virtual Library Geography Section is now at:  BA Hons Geography        |    http://www.icomos.org/WWW_VL_Geography.html

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is a cryptographically signed message in MIME format. This is a multi-part message in MIME format. Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all… I’m going to British Columbia at the beginning of May and I’m taking a day to do some flying out of Victoria (CYYJ).  I’ve already made arrangements for a plane from noon to dark with the obligatory check-ride in the morning.  Does anyone have any recommendations for places to fly, things to see, etc? Thanks!  –G —  Gordon Dewis             |  WWW Virtual Library Geography Section is now at:  BA Hons Geography        |    http://www.icomos.org/WWW_VL_Geography.html

From my 3 week holiday in BC, it seemed to me that 99% of light (and not-so-light) aircraft had floats. Aircraft with wheels were as rare as floatplanes are in UK. –Colin

Response:

There is an airport at Naniano, Campbell R., Port Hardy, Tofino,(Long Beach) Nice in fair weather. Also Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Powell River, Sechelt, On the mainland. Also on the mainland side Sqaumish, 3/4 hr drive to Whistler, Pemberton, about the same to Whistler. If you have flaots you can go any place you like. Most BC air ports outside of Vancouver are not in towns but 10-15 min away, I guess due to lack of flat ground. Hoe you enjoy your visit!! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all… I’m going to British Columbia at the beginning of May and I’m taking a day to do some flying out of Victoria (CYYJ).  I’ve already made arrangements for a plane from noon to dark with the obligatory check-ride in the morning.  Does anyone have any recommendations for places to fly, things to see, etc? Thanks!  –G —  Gordon Dewis             |  WWW Virtual Library Geography Section is now at:  BA Hons Geography        |    http://www.icomos.org/WWW_VL_Geography.html

Response:

Question:

OK – Now that I have you attention. I looking at buying a new flylline,  the guy  in the shop reckons Mastery flylines are the way to go – are they better than the 444 cortland? If you have any other recomendations I would appreciate it. In addition I am considering buying a  5-6 weight  5 piece , 8′6 Shakespeare  fly rod-  they aren’t a sage but for the price (around $NZ 165) they seem OK.  Does anyone out there own one – if so what do you think of it? PS could you reply to my email addess as my News Feed is sporadic AT BEST. Cheers Steve Christchurch NEW ZEALAND- The place where the BIG   trout live.  

Response:

I bought Cortland Lazer Line last year, for $50 it made me a pro!  No memory, just great.  I recommend it! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – OK – Now that I have you attention. I looking at buying a new flylline,  the guy  in the shop reckons Mastery flylines are the way to go – are they better than the 444 cortland? If you have any other recomendations I would appreciate it. In addition I am considering buying a  5-6 weight  5 piece , 8′6 Shakespeare  fly rod-  they aren’t a sage but for the price (around $NZ 165) they seem OK.  Does anyone out there own one – if so what do you think of it? PS could you reply to my email addess as my News Feed is sporadic AT BEST. Cheers Steve Christchurch NEW ZEALAND- The place where the BIG   trout live.  

Response:

ASS to removing the hook,simply freeze the area with ice,then pull it with a piece of monofilament at the bend of the hook while pushing the eye of the hook down.hope this helps!!!  :0

Response:

ASS to removing the hook,simply freeze the area with ice,then pull it with a piece of monofilament at the bend of the hook while pushing the eye of the hook down.hope this helps!!!  :0

One can only hope the hook was debarbed. And I think perhaps we can all agree that in this case C & R is the best approach….unless you want to give it a good whack to dispatch it…. ohh man I must really be bored

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Question:

I am looking at the possibility of starting a fly tying group/club in my area.  Has anyone had any experience with this that could give me some pointers so that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel??  Thanks! Dan

Response:

I am looking at the possibility of starting a fly tying group/club in my area.  Has anyone had any experience with this that could give me some pointers so that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel??  Thanks!

Hi Dan, The Federation of Fly Fishers has a package for starting clubs.  It includes everything from sample by-laws to applying for 501C3 status.   Contact them at 406-585-7592 and ask for their affiliate club package. Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (96 catalog)

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Question:

Curt:  I use a 2 wt. for bream and small bass all the time on creeks here in TX.  Jack Ellis used to only use two rods (3wt. and 10 wt.) when I first met him.  The main problem with light rods for bass isn’t the fish, it’s the size of the flies.  My favorite rods are 5 wts. I only go for the 8wts. When I know I’ll be after big bass and using big flies.         All the reports I’ve had on St. Croix rods are positive.         If you really get into warmwater FF, send me your mailing address and I’ll mail you a couple of my newsletters.  Ellis an I publish one exclusively for the warmwater crowd.                                         Brian

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Howdy folks,    I have a question about rods for panfish, bass, etc.    I just moved to S. Dakota (the eastern end away from the trout streams in the black hills).  It’s pretty obvious thus far that the majority of my fishing will entail warm water fish.  As an avid small stream trout fisherman, my only rod that I own is a nice little 7′6" 3wt. I think I may be a little undergunned for bass    I have no idea what rod to get (yeah, I could look in books, but all my stuff is still packed away in various places….).  I was thinking about a St. Croix, since funds are a little tight and I’ve heard great things about ‘em, but what size, 7wt, 9wt ??  What would a good all around warm water rod?    Any advice would be appreciated, and any offers to sell me a good used rod would be even more appreciated thanks,    curt Curt Anderson Post-Doctoral Research Fellow University of South Dakota School of Medicine Dept. of Anatomy & Structural Biology Vermillion, SD 57069

I’d go with a 7 or 8 for bass…. for a good all around warm water rod(s), I would get a 4 | 5 and a 7….. -Dan-

Response:

Howdy folks,         I have a question about rods for panfish, bass, etc.         I just moved to S. Dakota (the eastern end away from the trout streams in the black hills).  It’s pretty obvious thus far that the majority of my fishing will entail warm water fish.  As an avid small stream trout fisherman, my only rod that I own is a nice little 7′6" 3wt. I think I may be a little undergunned for bass         I have no idea what rod to get (yeah, I could look in books, but all my stuff is still packed away in various places….).  I was thinking about a St. Croix, since funds are a little tight and I’ve heard great things about ‘em, but what size, 7wt, 9wt ??  What would a good all around warm water rod?         Any advice would be appreciated, and any offers to sell me a good used rod would be even more appreciated thanks,         curt Curt Anderson Post-Doctoral Research Fellow University of South Dakota School of Medicine Dept. of Anatomy & Structural Biology Vermillion, SD 57069

Response:

Hi Curt I’d recommend a 9′ for a 7 weight.  It could also be used for trout if you should happen to get near a western river.   Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (96 catalog)

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy folks,         I have a question about rods for panfish, bass, etc.         I just moved to S. Dakota (the eastern end away from the trout streams in the black hills).  It’s pretty obvious thus far that the majority of my fishing will entail warm water fish.  As an avid small stream trout fisherman, my only rod that I own is a nice little 7′6" 3wt. I think I may be a little undergunned for bass         I have no idea what rod to get (yeah, I could look in books, but all my stuff is still packed away in various places….).  I was thinking about a St. Croix, since funds are a little tight and I’ve heard great things about ‘em, but what size, 7wt, 9wt ??  What would a good all around warm water rod?         Any advice would be appreciated, and any offers to sell me a good used rod would be even more appreciated

Hi Curt, I use an inexpensive (not *cheap*) Cortland 6 wt rod and reel on bream and bass with good results.  With 6 wt line I sometimes have a little trouble throwing highly wind-resistant deer hair bugs, though.  I’m about to try loading my reel with 7 wt to see if it improves.  If you want some more detail on my combo, e-mail me.  I’ll be happy to tell you where and how much. By the way, you don’t want to sell your 3 wt, do you?  It’s still an excellent bream rod. -Barry Barry Layfield Huntsville, AL        http://ro.com/~blayf

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Howdy folks,    I have a question about rods for panfish, bass, etc.    I just moved to S. Dakota (the eastern end away from the trout streams in the black hills).  It’s pretty obvious thus far that the majority of my fishing will entail warm water fish.  As an avid small stream trout fisherman, my only rod that I own is a nice little 7′6" 3wt. I think I may be a little undergunned for bass    I have no idea what rod to get (yeah, I could look in books, but all my stuff is still packed away in various places….).  I was thinking about a St. Croix, since funds are a little tight and I’ve heard great things about ‘em, but what size, 7wt, 9wt ??  What would a good all around warm water rod?    Any advice would be appreciated, and any offers to sell me a good used rod would be even more appreciated thanks,    curt Curt Anderson Post-Doctoral Research Fellow University of South Dakota School of Medicine Dept. of Anatomy & Structural Biology Vermillion, SD 57069

I California we use #6, 7 or 8 for warm water fisheries.  If you are using larger bugs, get a larger outfit.  I would get a bass bug taper and use short (7 1/2′), large butt (.023"+), heavy leaders (3x to 0x). William Kiene Kiene’s Fly Shop Sacramento,CA,USA

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Question:

Can anyone give me any tips on what kind of containers to use while applying beads to a piece of work.  After I have them out of the baggie (where I store them in thier little plastic containers) I find that if I leave them in the little plastic containers they spill all over the place.  If I pour them out of their containers into the baggies and then try to get one at a time…well lets just say my carpet is well beaded.:-)  Any suggestions greatly appreciated. TIA Doris

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I keep my beads in camera film containers.  When I’m beading, I put them on the top lid of a plastic shoebox.  The higher sides keep the beads from rolling off and I don’t have to put the beads away at night because I can just sit the shoebox on the floor with the lid until morning. Pamela CALVIN: "You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don’t          help." HOBBES: "Well, you’ve done all you can do." Pamela A. Jones

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Can anyone give me any tips on what kind of containers to use while applying beads to a piece of work.

I think everyone has a different preferred storage method.  However, when I am working with them, I use a tray from LoRan that has six large compartments with built in pouring spouts and each compartment has it’s own clear lid.  Along the two long sides of this "tray" are troughs for use in laying out beads when you are doing a row of different coloured beads.  (Anyone who has done earthdancer knows what I mean by this and this tray was wonderfully handy while I was doing her.  *grin*)  I paid $4 for it at my local cross stitch shop.   Susan H. Simko

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I use the lid of my Craft-Stor tote.  It has several raised lines to hold the beads in and the area is large enough to let them spread out.   Meg in Los Angeles

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This is a good place to use those pretty small crystal or porcelein ash trays that most people are not using now for their intended purpose (of course, I am not one of those!).  Otherwise, any small lid – a 35mm film canister, a small plastic (Rubbermaid?) container, etc. – should work as long as it has a rim that is high enough to keep the beads from rolling out onto the floor.  HTH…Ellen – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Can anyone give me any tips on what kind of containers to use while applying beads to a piece of work.

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| I keep my beads in camera film containers.  When I’m beading, I put them | on the top lid of a plastic shoebox.  The higher sides keep the beads from | rolling off and I don’t have to put the beads away at night because I can | just sit the shoebox on the floor with the lid until morning. Great idea, Pamela, but you must either have a locked craft room or no small kids or pets!  Most of us couldn’t possible leave such things out overnight.   How do you mark the film containers, or are they the transparent type? — My opinions are my own; if IBM shares them, they haven’t told me.

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Can anyone give me any tips on what kind of containers to use while applying beads to a piece of work.

I use little metal tart tins.  They are fluted for making *little* cakes actually.  My finger fits the flute and I am able to pull one bead at a time.  Also, the sides are high.  Similary and almost as good (except for the flutes) are little dishes for "on the side" foods, like soy sauce or salt cellars.  I find most of my gadgets either in the fishing or cooking sections. Keltia — "And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more"                                 -Erica Jong

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Great idea, Pamela, but you must either have a locked craft room or no small kids or pets!  Most of us couldn’t possible leave such things out overnight. How do you mark the film containers, or are they the transparent type?

I (for the next 4 weeks) do live alone!  I mark the film containers with small white labels (1/2" x 3/4") which I also use the mark my homemake magnetic needleholder cards. Pamela

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I lost the attribution of who wrote this comment.  Very sorry! applying beads to a piece of work.

Since my beading projects so far have been small (Mill Hill bead kits), I put the whole project in a small tin with handles (I got the tin at Michaels and it shows an old advertisement for Singer.  They had another tin with handles of Hershey’s kisses, but I wasn’t too fond of the picture).  Thus, I can tote around my project when I am not working on it and when I *am* working on it, I just put the beads I want to use in the lid.  If I were working on a larger project (i.e. MLI or TW), then I could always use the tin to carry stuff like floss, scissor, needles, etc. and just pop the whole thing in my project tote and I would still be able to use the lid.  Then again, I may come up with a different method for those…I don’t know yet! — Bekki Lyn Conqueror of 2,7,10,13,12,15,16,18 "Tangled threads seem a stronghold/But illusions can deceive."   +++Fates Warning: The Ivory Gate of Dreams+++ "All acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals."

Response:

This is a good place to use those pretty small crystal or porcelein ash trays that most people are not using now for their intended purpose (of course, I am not one of those!).  Otherwise, any small lid – a 35mm film canister, a small plastic (Rubbermaid?) container, etc. – should work as long as it has a rim that is high enough to keep the beads from rolling out onto the floor.  HTH…Ellen Can anyone give me any tips on what kind of containers to use while applying beads to a piece of work.

hi! coming out of lurkdom :0   i use a chrysanthenum <sp? tray that’s made for watercolours.  the porclain ones are nice, and i can put it into a padded carrying case, and carry my beading with me! happy beading, tree

Response:

To store them (the ones that come loose or in hanks), I use those stackable plastic containers (buyable in craft stores) OR mini ziplock bags OR my new "discovery": mini glass jam containers, you know, those that they serve in hotel breakfasts… While working, I tried the plastic multiple compartments container, but my preferred method is cream cheese plastic lids. Simone BeadNet http://www.mcs.net/~simone/beadnet.html

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I have just discovered the multiple drawer small tool containers in the computer store. Each drawer is clear see through. With optional clear dividers, you can put 3 separate hanks in related colors into the same drawer.. You can pull the drawer out completely (there is a safety catch so you won’t dump the beads unintentionally) and pour out loose beads. They come in 15 to 36 drawer sizes. This is the first time I have found something to be excited about for organizing beads. Until now, I was doing the jars/spice jars/ film containers/ screw top stacking containers without a good organizing solution. I found these drawers at Frye’s which is a computer discount store in California. Similar computer stores or electronic stores should carry these drawer sets where Frye’s do not exist.

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Something else good to keep beads in—I once bought a whole box of rubber-stoppered vacuum tubes from a scientific apparatus remainder company.   (The kind a clinic might use for biiiig blood samples—-about 6 or 7" long) They are clear and hold gobs and gobs of seed beads each.  (They also make a fun little "pop" when you first open them. 8 ^ ) I can’t remember exactly where I bought ‘em, but they were cheap or I wouldn’t have bothered, I’m sure…   I know there are several such odd-lot companies around. Monique in Bryan

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 Until now, I was doing the jars/spice jars/ film containers/ screw top stacking containers without a good organizing solution. I found these drawers at Frye’s which is a computer discount store in California. Similar computer stores or electronic stores should carry these drawer sets where Frye’s do not exist.

Don’t laugh I have been using my Dads empty Skoal cans.I put tape on the bottom and lid with the #.(wintergreen smells nice.I do wash them be for using.:-  Sheila

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Until now, I was doing the jars/spice jars/ film containers/ screw top stacking containers without a good organizing solution. I found these drawers at Frye’s which is a computer discount store in California. Similar computer stores or electronic stores should carry these drawer sets where Frye’s do not exist. Don’t laugh I have been using my Dads empty Skoal cans.I put tape on the bottom and lid with the #.(wintergreen smells nice.I do wash them be for using.:-  Sheila

My husband (also a stitcher) came home with some very cool clear plastic containers from the fishing department, perfect for beads. The are about 1-1/2 inch diameter and one screws onto the bottom of the other.  You can stack as many together as you want (each is about 1 inch tall).  When I want to use a certain bead,  I simply unscrew the container I want, and the rest remain closed!  I have taken small adhesive labels to put the bead numbers on each container.  They didn’t have any kind of brand name on them, so I can’t share that with you… but look in the tackle dept.  I think they are made for storing fishing flys!          ** Anne in Oregon                       ~ So many projects, so little time ~

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There’s a nice little system called the Bead Hive made out of little interlocking plastic drawers.  They get sold in sets of 12 for ~$10.  What is nice about them is that you can detach the drawers and just have the drawers filled with the beads you need for your project.  I’ve seen them in the CS&CC catalog and my favorite local needlework shop here in the Silicon Valley sells them too. Happy stitching, Cynthia

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I use the stacking screw top containers that screw on top of each other. The small ones are for the beads(I clip out the brand name and catalog number from the package as a label and slip it into the container with the beads), and there are slightly larger ones..I use these for my growing confetti collection.  These work fine for me…but will be kind of confusing as I start to stitch pieces calling for more similar beads. Mari

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My husband (also a stitcher) came home with some very cool clear plastic containers from the fishing department, perfect for beads. The are about 1-1/2 inch diameter and one screws onto the bottom of the other.  You can stack as many together as you want (each is about 1 inch tall).  When I want to use a certain bead,  I simply unscrew the container I want, and the rest remain closed!  I have taken small adhesive labels to put the bead numbers on each container.  They didn’t have any kind of brand name on them, so I can’t share that with you… but look in the tackle dept.  I think they are made for storing fishing flys!         ** Anne in Oregon                      ~ So many projects, so little time ~

I have found that our fly fishing shop has the best prices, by far, and better quality stackable containers (some bead shops have ones that don’t screw together very well after you get them apart).  Also, when I go to buy them, I get great service — usually I’m the only woman in the shop and all them men let me go first when ringing up the sale!  Chivalry lives! Karen

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Something else good to keep beads in—I once bought a whole box of rubber-stoppered vacuum tubes from a scientific apparatus remainder company. I can’t remember exactly where I bought ‘em, but they were cheap or I wouldn’t have bothered, I’m sure…  

    Monique, wasn’t that American Scientific?  With their really goof catalogues?  Martha Beth

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ryan(& rec.outdoors.fishing.fly), Note: This was a hoax a year ago and still is. You can not introduce a virus into your system by reading a Usenet message. For DOS it must be an executable file and must in fact be opened. Never rally thought about these things propagating over and over as new folks come online. Urban Myths have now become Cyber Myths. I have no intent to waste bandwidth but I felt I neeed to post this as well as contact Ryan directly. regards, Joe Webb Atlanta Mac User Group (AMUG)

Joe, your statement is not altogether true. Do you remember a few years ago of a virus spreading on a UNIX machines across the Internet ? As I recall the virus was spread in a ‘mail’ message and took advantage of an application bug which utilized gets to read the input. Understanding how stack frames are built and their relationship to buffers of automatic scope, it is easy to see how this was done. My apologies to the readers for deviating from FF’ing ! -Dan-

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Hi Group, A friend just advised me that a new virus is on the net which is supposed to have come from someone on AOL.  If you receive e-mail titled "Good Times" DELETE it immediately.  DO NOT read it.  If you do, your hard drive will be wiped clean. The virus can also damage your processor. It’s frustrating to have people out there doing this kind of stuff but at least we’ve been warned. Good Luck and don’t read Good Times Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT

The Goot Times Virus is a hoax. You can only get a virus if you download an executable file and run it. You won’t contract a virus by simply viewing e-mail

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This Good Times crap is just that-Pure BS. You cannot get any kind of virus through an email message. —

"A Bad Day Fishing Is Better Than A Good Day At Work" Web Page:  http://www.tiac.net/users/macaw

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A friend just advised me that a new virus is on the net which is supposed to have come from someone on AOL.  If you receive e-mail titled "Good Times" DELETE it immediately.  DO NOT read it.  If you do, your hard drive will be wiped clean. The virus can also damage your processor.

It’s a little known fact, but you can counter the effects of the "Good Times" virus by mailing a get well card to Craig Shergold. Be sure to include the recipe for Nieman-Marcus Toll House Cookies. Mike Rophone I never gave a fuck about the ‘net until I met Senator Exon

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Hi Group, A friend just advised me that a new virus is on the net which is supposed to have come from someone on AOL.  If you receive e-mail titled "Good Times" DELETE it immediately.  DO NOT read it.  If you do, your hard drive will be wiped clean. The virus can also damage your processor. It’s frustrating to have people out there doing this kind of stuff but at least we’ve been warned. Good Luck and don’t read Good Times Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT

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Hi Group, A friend just advised me that a new virus is on the net which is supposed to have come from someone on AOL.  If you receive e-mail titled "Good Times" DELETE it immediately.  DO NOT read it.  If you do, your hard drive will be wiped clean. The virus can also damage your processor.

This is a well known hoax.  Here’s some additional info for the curious. -Dave  email virus is a hoax!       If anyone repeats the hoax, please show them the FAQ.             G o o d   T i m e s   V i r u s  H o a x        F r e q u e n t l y   A s k e d   Q u e s t i o n s                             by Les Jones                         Febraury 6, 1996      This information may be freely reproduced in any medium,             as long as the information is unmodified. February 6, 1995 Update The Good Times virus hoax keeps on going. I receive almost daily reports of hoax activity. I’m reposting the FAQ to relevant newsgroups, and I’ve set up my own web pages: http://www.usit.net/public/lesjones/goodtimes-faq.html http://www.usit.net/public/lesjones/goodtimes-mini-faq.html http://users.aol.com/macfaq/goodtimes-faq.html http://users.aol.com/macfaq/goodtimes-mini-faq.html The FAQ has been updated with current URLs and a new section discussing the Word macro virus. A call to educators and translators If you teach classes or write books about the Internet, I encourage to educate people about Good Times. The Good Times myth is not going away anytime soon, so we should start including it in Internet curriculum now. The FAQ is free for redistribution in any medium, so feel free to integrate it into any class materials or published works. Good Times has spread to many countries, and has been translated into many languages. If you are bilingual, you can help debunk Good Times by translating the FAQ into another language. If you do translate the FAQ, please let me know the URL so I can include it in the FAQ. Is the Good Times email virus a hoax? Yes. It was a hoax in November of 1994, and it’s still a hoax in February of 1996. America Online, government computer security agencies, and makers of anti-virus software have declared Good Times a hoax. See Online References at the end of the FAQ. Since the hoax began in November of 1994, no copy of the alleged virus has ever been found, nor has there been a single verified case of a viral attack. Why should I believe the FAQ instead of the hoax? Unlike the warnings that have been passed around, the FAQ is signed and dated. I’ve included my email address, and the email addresses of contributors, for verification. I’ve also provided online references at the end of the FAQ so that you can confirm this information for yourself. I’m new to the Internet. What is the Good Times virus hoax? The story is that a virus called Good Times is being carried by email. Just reading a message with "Good Times" in the subject line will erase your hard drive, or even destroy your computer’s processor. Needless to say, it’s a hoax, but a lot of people believed it. The original message ended with instructions to "Forward this to all your friends," and many people did just that. Warnings about Good Times have been widely distributed on mailing lists, Usenet newsgroups, and message boards. The original hoax started in early December of 1994. It sprang up again in March of 1995. In mid-April, a new version of the hoax that mentioned a FCC report began circulating. Worried that Good Times would never go away, I decided to write the FAQ. These worries proved valid when the hoax began popping up again in October of 1995. What is the effect of the hoax? For those who already know it’s a hoax, it’s a nuisance to read the repeated warnings. For people who don’t know any better, it causes needless concern and lost productivity. The virus hoax infects mailing lists, bulletin boards, and Usenet newsgroups. Worried system administrators needlessly worry their employees by posting dire warnings. The hoax is not limited to the United States. It has appeared in several English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries. One reader sent me an English transcription of a radio broadcast in Malta. ‘infection’ I came across all tended to result from the message getting into the hands of senior non-computing personnel. Those with the ability and authority to spread it widely, without the knowledge to spot its nonsensical content." Some of the companies that have reportedly fallen for the hoax include AT&T, CitiBank, NBC, Hughes Aircraft, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and dozens or hundreds of others. There have been outbreaks at numerous colleges. The U.S. government has not been immune. Some of the government agencies that have reportedly fallen victim to the hoax include the Department of Defense, the FCC, NASA, the USDA, U.S. Census Bureau, and various national labs. I’ve confirmed outbreaks at the Department of Health and Human Services, though they had the good sense to question the hoax, and ask for more information on Usenet, before passing the hoax along to their employees. The virus hoax has occasionally escaped into the popular media. Tom Sullivan show on KFBK 1530 AM radio in Sacramento, California, a police officer warned listeners not to read email labeled "Good Times", and to report the sender to the police. Other radio stations, including Australia’s ABC radio, have also spread the hoax. There are scattered reports of the virus spreading via Faxnet, that low-tech network of secretaries and bored knowledge workers that traffics in cartoons and dumb blonde jokes. What was the CIAC bulletin? On December 6, 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy’s CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) issued a bulletin declaring the Good Times virus a hoax and an urban legend. The bulletin was widely quoted as an antidote to the hoax. The original document can be found at the address in Online References at the end of the FAQ. Note that the document went through several minor revisions, with 94-04c of December 8 being the most recent. Like all quoted material in the FAQ, it includes the original spelling and punctuation. Because some of the lines in the CIAC report are rather long, they will appear broken. —-Begin quoted material—- THE "Good Times" VIRUS IS AN URBAN LEGEND In the early part of December, CIAC started to receive information requests about a supposed "virus" which could be contracted via America OnLine, simply by reading a message. | Here is some important information. Beware of a file called Goodtimes.    | |                                                                          | |  Happy Chanukah everyone, and be careful out there. There is a virus on   | | America Online being sent by E-Mail.  If you get anything called "Good    | | Times", DON’T read it or download it.  It is a virus that will erase your | | hard drive.  Forward this to all your friends.  It may help them a lot.   | THIS IS A HOAX.  Upon investigation, CIAC has determined that this message originated from both a user of America Online and a student at a university at approximately the same time, and it was meant to be a hoax. CIAC has also seen other variations of this hoax, the main one is that any electronic mail message with the subject line of "xxx-1" will infect your computer. This rumor has been spreading very widely.  This spread is due mainly to the fact that many people have seen a message with "Good Times" in the header. They delete the message without reading it, thus believing that they have saved themselves from being attacked. These first-hand reports give a false sense of credibility to the alert message. There has been one confirmation of a person who received a message with "xxx-1" in the header, but an empty message body.  Then, (in a panic, because he had heard the alert), he checked his PC for viruses (the first time he checked his machine in months) and found a pre-existing virus on his machine. He incorrectly came to the conclusion that the E-mail message gave him the virus (this particular virus could NOT POSSIBLY have spread via an E-mail message).  This person then spread his alert. As of this date, there are no known viruses which can infect merely through reading a mail message.  For a virus to spread some program must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute the mail message.  Yes, Trojans have been found as executable attachments to mail messages, the most notorious being the IBM VM Christmas Card Trojan of 1987, also the TERM MODULE Worm (reference CIAC Bulletin B-7) and the GAME2 MODULE Worm (CIAC Bulletin B-12). But this is not the case for this particular "virus" alert. If you encounter this message being distributed on any mailing lists, simply ignore it or send a follow-up message stating that this is a false rumor. Karyn Pichnarczyk CIAC Team —-End quoted material—- Note: Karyn is now with Cisco. Her new email address is The CIAC report was wrong when it stated that the hoax was started by "a user of America Online and a student at a university." See "Who started the hoax." What’s the first version of the warning (FYI)? I have an early version of the hoax … read more »

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drive will be wiped clean. The virus can also damage your processor.

A virus cannot damage your processor. It’s frustrating to have people out there doing this kind of stuff but at least we’ve been warned.

Agreed Tight lines, Jay Whitworth

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Regarding the good times virus: I just received an FYI forwarded through the university admin here at MSU-Bozeman, stating that the GOOD TIMES virus is a farce. Evidently, warnings about it were posted from an AOL user who was intentionally crying wolf. But, before that, I received a warning notice about the virus. My latest info says its a fake, but I’ve heard both sides. Anyone know the TRUTH about GOOD TIMES? Better safe than sorry till then, don’t read any mail which promises good times… Ryan Jordan J&J Flies http://www.erc.montana.edu/~ryan_j/jjflies/jjflies.htm & Center for Biofilm Engineering http://www.erc.montana.edu/~ryan_j/

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This Good Times crap is just that-Pure BS. You cannot get any kind of virus through an email message.

If there were such a thing as a Good Times virus, it would probably be a lot more dangerous if it were renamed the WARNING!!! virus. — Keep your stick on the ice.

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: It’s a little known fact, but you can counter the effects of the : "Good Times" virus by mailing a get well card to Craig Shergold. Sorry bud, Craig Shergold died about 3 years ago.  Guess he didn’t get enough cards.  This time it’s Biff Maloney, but the card still goes to the same address.  I guess it’s just a bad luck bed. : Be sure to include the recipe for Nieman-Marcus Toll House : Cookies. Yeah, because everyone has the Mrs. Fields cookie recipe.   : I never gave a fuck about the ‘net until I met Senator Exon                  ^^^^ Brought to you by the letters ACLU and EEF. — Rick T. Rick Fletcher   –   http://www.chem.uidaho.edu/~fletcher/ Assistant professor of chemistry  |  That’s Idaho, not Iowa.    | ad hominem University of Idaho               |  Upper Left Hand Corner.    | ad hominem Moscow, ID 83844-2343             |  No, I don’t grow potatoes. | ad hominem

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Regarding the good times virus: I just received an FYI forwarded through the university admin here at MSU-Bozeman, stating that the GOOD TIMES virus is a farce. Evidently, warnings about it were posted from an AOL user who was intentionally crying wolf. But, before that, I received a warning notice about the virus. My latest info says its a fake, but I’ve heard both sides. Anyone know the TRUTH about GOOD TIMES? Better safe than sorry till then, don’t read any mail which promises good times… Ryan Jordan

Ryan(& rec.outdoors.fishing.fly), Note: This was a hoax a year ago and still is. You can not introduce a virus into your system by reading a Usenet message. For DOS it must be an executable file and must in fact be opened. Never rally thought about these things propagating over and over as new folks come online. Urban Myths have now become Cyber Myths. I have no intent to waste bandwidth but I felt I neeed to post this as well as contact Ryan directly. regards, Joe Webb Atlanta Mac User Group (AMUG)

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Question:

         My view on people who have sold out is someone who used to make good,    innovative, sometimes dangerous music who signed to a major and now seem intent    on making enourmous amounts of money playing dull, uninteresting music made with    a safe formula and relying on media hype to boost their income.             My list of major sell-outs would include:-                  the Rolling Stones, Genesis, M.Jackson, Madonna, Guns ‘n’ Roses           (you get the message) To the ones underlined (using "^"): I do not recall that they _ever_ pretended to be "alternative" at any time. They were _always_ mainstream from the outset. By this technicality and by your reasoning, they cannot be sellouts, since none of them were ever "innovative" or "dangerous" by your (and my own) criteria at any time in their carreers, in my opinion.  

        I stand corrected, on re-reading what I had written I can see that I had      slipped out of context for a while. I think I went away from the subject      (i.e. "alternative" music) and instead lingered on the sell-out topic.         What I tried to say (not very clearly) is that these people had made a      large quantity of good music that amassed them a very large fan-base, but when       their music quality dropped to a sub-standard level their record sales        (and hence their income) stayed at a high level due to media hype.

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        Personally I think Nevermind was pretty much a sellout album, with me it hasen’t stood the test of time, or maybe it was just overplayed too much. — Richard Stride… ‘Master Myoclonis Meets Mephisto’

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[Stuff Deleted ...] To the "alternative" loser,   I was listening to alternative music before it was grouped into a catagory     -Isn’t this a contradiction, surely you’ve categorised alternative music.     I can’t speak for people in America, but in England "alternative" music is just   that – an alternative. It’s not a type of music, you don’t listen to a song and   think "Oh yeah, that’s alternative". It’s a category into which you can slot   many types, styles and fashions – i.e. Punk, Metal, Grunge, crusty, indie etc, etc.

Same here in Canada. And I get annoyed over such interpretations of "alternative" for the same reasons.          My view on people who have sold out is someone who used to make good,    innovative, sometimes dangerous music who signed to a major and now seem intent    on making enourmous amounts of money playing dull, uninteresting music made with    a safe formula and relying on media hype to boost their income.             My list of major sell-outs would include:-                  the Rolling Stones, Genesis, M.Jackson, Madonna, Guns ‘n’ Roses

          (you get the message)

To the ones underlined (using "^"): I do not recall that they _ever_ pretended to be "alternative" at any time. They were _always_ mainstream from the outset. By this technicality and by your reasoning, they cannot be sellouts, since none of them were ever "innovative" or "dangerous" by your (and my own) criteria at any time in their carreers, in my opinion.  Sure, the Stones began their carreers with much controversy and were known as "the Bad Boys of rock and roll" and still are; but IMO, they were merely attracting attention to themselves for commercial gain and success based on the free publicity of the news media. Their "cock-rock" musical style hasn’t changed in the past 30 years, qualifying them as probably more "conservative", and less versatile, IMO, than Frank Sinatra. Same for Madonna’s "cunt-rock" style. The unchanging nature of her music kind of ranks up there with Marie Osmond. BTW, you can also add Paul Simon, and most "resurrected" ’60s rock groups, like Starship (the most extreme example), The Greatful Dead, CSN&Y, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton (all playing it safe to a lesser extent), and Elton John (another extreme example — recall 11-17-70, Empty Sky, Yellowbrick Road & compare with ANYTHING he’s done since 1980). —

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Hiya, Could someone help me make an informed decision and post the track listing for the latest Pavement album. Thanks, E. |                                 Eric J.                                     |

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        Where the hell has anyone seen a ripped sweater for $300 for crissake!?!?  This I gotta see…js

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How do you think I must feel? I’ve been listening to snotty nosed little dweebs whining about poser’s since grade 10. Ten years ago.

wow, you were in the 10th grade in ‘83, me too.  do you remember the really bad post-punk bands of the day.  too bad i missed out on the poser bashing.  you know what’s really funny:  i still were the same clothes i did then.  then i was called a dirt-boy, now you can buy a ripped sweater for $300.  go figger. —                                   Jeff Scott

–

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To all the "alternative" losers,         I have a little news for you.  You all seem to think that you are just the coolest calling bands sell-outs and making fun of all the ‘grunge’ dressers.  I’ve been sitting here reading your little arguementative articles and I think you’re all full of crap.  I was listening to alternative music before it was grouped into a catagory and just because some of my favorie bands happen to have had maybe one album hit mainstream doesn’t mean that now I should change my taste in music.  It also doesn’t mean I won’t be attending Lollapalooza’s anymore.  Those were some of the best times of my life and will be for years to come (hopefully).  It really turns my stomach to read about your opinions.  Maybe if you weren’t so close-minded you’d realize how stupid you really sound.  I didn’t post this to get a hostile response, only to make you think.  Really, you do sound like a bunch of losers. Sorry.         -Joanna

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – To all the "alternative" losers,    I have a little news for you.  You all seem to think that you are just the coolest calling bands sell-outs and making fun of all the ‘grunge’ dressers.  I’ve been sitting here reading your little arguementative articles and I think you’re all full of crap.  I was listening to alternative music before it was grouped into a catagory and just because some of my favorie bands happen to have had maybe one album hit mainstream doesn’t mean that now I should change my taste in music.  It also doesn’t mean I won’t be attending Lollapalooza’s anymore.  Those were some of the best times of my life and will be for years to come (hopefully).  It really turns my stomach to read about your opinions.  Maybe if you weren’t so close-minded you’d realize how stupid you really sound.  I didn’t post this to get a hostile response, only to make you think.  Really, you do sound like a bunch of losers. Sorry.    -Joanna

yes!!! i posted an article to this effect a little while ago. i thought the whole idea of the mindset that this newsgroup is supposed to represent was being open to new things. lets stop bitching about who liked what groups when, and what groups have sold out because they need to make a living. lets start discussing music for what it is… music. its not grunge, its not alternative, its not rock, its not punk, and its not even disco. its fucking music. those terms are good as catagories for easier identification. kind of like male and female. that is all they are. what matters is the music. burnt

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How do you think I must feel? I’ve been listening to snotty nosed little dweebs whining about poser’s since grade 10. Ten years ago. —                                    Jeff Scott

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – To all the "alternative" losers,    I have a little news for you.  You all seem to think that you are just the coolest calling bands sell-outs and making fun of all the ‘grunge’ dressers.  I’ve been sitting here reading your little arguementative articles and I think you’re all full of crap.  I was listening to alternative music before it was grouped into a catagory and just because some of my favorie bands happen to have had maybe one album hit mainstream doesn’t mean that now I should change my taste in music.  It also doesn’t mean I won’t be attending Lollapalooza’s anymore.  Those were some of the best times of my life and will be for years to come (hopefully).  It really turns my stomach to read about your opinions.  Maybe if you weren’t so close-minded you’d realize how stupid you really sound.  I didn’t post this to get a hostile response, only to make you think.  Really, you do sound like a bunch of losers. Sorry.    -Joanna

To the "alternative" loser,     I was listening to alternative music before it was grouped into a catagory      -Isn’t this a contradiction, surely you’ve categorised alternative music.      I can’t speak for people in America, but in England "alternative" music is just    that – an alternative. It’s not a type of music, you don’t listen to a song and    think "Oh yeah, that’s alternative". It’s a category into which you can slot    many types, styles and fashions – i.e. Punk, Metal, Grunge, crusty, indie etc, etc.          What it’s an alternative to is the "mainstream". This is nothing more than     an enourmous financial institution providing financial security and massive     wealth to many "rock stars". Corporate back-handers ensure radio and TV play     to boring, and safe music makers. These bands are of course not all guilty     many just using the extra spending powers to produce better music (mostly former     indie bands who have signed to majors).           My view on people who have sold out is someone who used to make good,     innovative, sometimes dangerous music who signed to a major and now seem intent     on making enourmous amounts of money playing dull, uninteresting music made with     a safe formula and relying on media hype to boost their income.              My list of major sell-outs would include:-                   the Rolling Stones, Genesis, M.Jackson, Miss Madonna, Guns ‘n’ Roses            (you get the message)            Bands who I think are getting dangerously close to sell-out time                    (their records are getting more and more boring):-                            U2, REM, and Simple Minds         There are countless bands I could add, but I’m not going to (so there).             I don’t think people can be critical of Nirvana yet as they haven’t        released any new material, everything they’ve released since Nevermind was        recorded before Nevermind. They could go on to write better songs      (like Mettalica have) they could progress back to their old (and less popular)   style which is more likely or they could come up with some absolute bollocks.                 Time will tell.           Meanwhile people’s opinion will come and go, birds will fly, fish will swim       and polar bears will do whatever it is polar bears do.          So my dear Joanna, let people say what they want, insults breed nothing but contempt and statements like,             It really turns my stomach to read about your opinions.          Don’t say much for freedom of speech, do they.                       Bye,                         Rob

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