The great Quail
was somewhat perturbed by initial reactions to his post......
LJ Lindhurst writes:
>This is obviously some sort of cliquish private joke. You know, you two >COULD flirt in private
and spare the rest of us our breakfasts. Hm. OK, Fegs, I'm sorry for the long and unwelcome post. It was not meant as any sort of cliquish private joke at all, just me blowing off some steam in the middle of end of the school year hell week. I just thought some folks might appreciate it, but I do suppose that this is a high volume list and people subscribe to it to read about Robyn and such stuff, and not to be bombarded by my nonsense. Again, I apologize. And if I gave the impression that I was flirting with anyone, existent or nonexistent, I am sorry - unless of course she is cute and welcomes such advances. >What is this, high school? I suppose you mean sort of in the vein of sophomoric pranks and/or self-serving and overly clever little excercises in intellectual masterbation? Point taken. That was not my intention. Again, I am sorry, and in the future I will refrain from making such long winded and non-RH content postings. I tend to stray a bit from List guidelines and such things at times -- reading Borges and Lovecraft tends to do that -- but I am not egomanaical enough not to know when I need to be reeled back in. I am sure I am already in more than one kill-file! I will refrain from this sort of thing in the future. Take care, The Quail
The Final Apology and Explanation Date: Sat, 7 Jun 97 From: The Great Quail Fegs and Feg-type friends, This is one more post to offer an apology and an explanation; then I swear I will be done. I am not writing this out of a sense of indignation or wounded pride, nor is this a "I'm taking my toys and going home" post. First of all, I recieved a host of private emails from various Fegs all expressing something more or less along the lines of annoyance at my "Diaries of Debbie Flosshilde" post. Please, let me say this in way of an explanation and a final apology: 1. There is no Debbie Flosshilde. Some people thought I was "lampooning" her, or in general being mean to her. I made her up - back in a post where Sydney asked if I was the chairperson to the Welcoming Committee. I made her up, and immediately consigned her to a fate worse than death on the poor Island of Guam. 2. I am *not* "using the list to flirt with Susan." I assure you that she and I do that quite nicely all by ourselves via private email ;) 3. The reason the "letters" were addressed to Susan was simple: she posted earlier that she had "contact" with said Debbie. This caused me to go, "Hm. What if . . . " And then as a joke, I concocted a false diary. It was to chronicle her adventures on Guam, as she became increasingly more involved in a cult there. The overall intention was to eventually work in many past threads, a few in-jokes, some spurious interpretations of Robynalia, and some gentle "making fun" of other list members, myself included. I was aiming for a Lovecraft meets Robyn sort of feel. 4. As to someone's accusation that I am "trying to dominate the list with postings that have nothing to do with the creation of the list," I am sorry. Please understand that I say this with NO sarcasm: I really am sorry. I know that the purpose of Fegmaniax is to discuss Robyn and his music, and I realized I may have abused the list. I'm used to doing that sort of thing (making up weird stories and such) in my correspondences with my friends, I guess I failed to make a distinction between "everyone knows each other" private list and a firmly established fan-based "we all have X in common" list. Believe me, as webmaster to a dozen sites, I get a lot of mail each day, and of all people I should understand that not everyone has time for this sort of thing. I was, however, alarmed at some of the nasty sniping that's been going on for the last few eeks, so I thought the best response was to inject some levity. Or I could just blame it on Skippy and the severed head of Andre Breton. Either way, I see that it was not a good idea. Please feel free to send me a case of New Coke as a punishment. 5. To address the comment that "the volume of little private exchanges was starting to get ridiculous," I again offer my apologies: but here I confess I do feel a bit unfairly pegged. My post was very long, true - but to be fair I only post a few times each week. 6. My spelling: it was pointed out by several people that I made a few spelling errors, particularly with the word "masturbation." I will now refrain from offering an explanation as to why I spelled *that* particular word wrong, heh. "I do not like that other world." Finally, I would like to say - in my defense - that I was *not* trying to "impress the list," nor was I trying to do a "Robyn story knockoff." I just have a hard time really keeping up on posts like "who's the best drummer" and "Who is Brian Wilson's therapist this week" and such and such. I do enjoy reading them, but I don't have the time to answer them all - nor do I like saying anything when I really have nothing original to add to the thread. I lurked on this list for quite a while before I began posting more - to be honest, this is the only list that I have not abandoned in despair. There are some wonderfully creative people here, and a truly diverse and excellent bunch of folks post regularly. I was not trying to make anybody say, "gee the Quail thinks he's so clever;" as a matter of fact, my favorite threads are when we all sort of make up weird stuff and go along for the ride. To me, that is the distinction between a unique and thriving creative community and a simple fanboy wanker list. So there is my explanation; I just want to be sure you all know that I meant no harm, that I was not just flirting, and that I was not just wanking my ego. (Hey - I like this word "wank." I could get used to it. It seems that I can spell it better, too.) Take care, for I am off to see U2 soon. If Bono covers "Star of Hairs," I'll let you know. I plan to shout out for more toast songs anyway. The Quail
From: guambat Date: Sat, 07 Jun 1997 >I made her up, and immediately consigned her to a fate worse than deathHey now! I can handle all the posts about wanking and things of that nature, but disparaging the innocent and misunderstood paradise island of Guam is stepping over the line! :) I expect a full apology for this, too! :) The Guambat
eEddie Tews) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 Subject: twirling one's finger in a can of baked beans this whole debbie flosshilde saga greatly reminds me of that magnificent penultimate scene from Barton Fink. Barton walks into colonel lipnick's office, and his script is sitting there on lipnick's desk. but lipnick says, "...i've got to tell you, fink: it won't wash."barton/quail responds, with steel in his voice and fire in his eyes: "with all do respect, sir, i think it's my best work."at which lipnick totally lights into him, telling him, among many other things, that he'd contracted for a, "wrestling picture. big men in tights. not some fruity movie about a man wrestling with his soul. well, maybe a little bit for the critics. but you make it the tail that wags the dog." and on and on.baron/quail, now almost totally broken, offers one list plea, his voice croaking, "i tried to show you something beautiful...something about all of us." but the colonel won't hear of it, telling barton/quail he wants him, "in town, but out of my sight," until he grows up.there is one major difference, though. wheareas throughout barton's ordeal, lou breeze was nothing but a yes man; several fegs came eloquently to quail's defense. the moral? fegs are superkeen. eddie
Subject: Re: The Final Apology and Explanation Allright, take this as you will. I know some of you are of the opinion that the Quail and I are part of a little clique, flirting with each other all the time and generally wreaking evil and havoc upon the land. So I suppose you can therefore cheerfully ignore this, as it is meant to be a considered defense of his actions. I think the problem is, again, misunderstanding about the nature of what a mailing list is supposed to be. Some think it should be entirely related to Robyn Hitchcock, and that nothing should be posted but things like "radio interviews at 8 pm on Saturday, could someone tape it for me?" or "I do/don't like Robyn's stage banter". Some treat it as a community of friends. The two camps are often in conflict round these parts. I suppose it's never going to be resolved. You may blame Quail for writing too much, but can't you see why it is that he might be just a little confused as to what's appropriate? We as a list are not of one mind as to what's appropriate. Some get flowers for writing those types of posts (anyone remember the Robyn/Ferengi scenario?) and some get nails. Some people are irritated and some people are entertained. That's just how it goes. I personally would get very bored if all we ever talked about was Robyn Hitchcock, because (believe it or not :)) he is not my entire universe, and I think there are a lot of creative, entertaining people around here with things to say about other subjects that might be of interest. If you think this stuff is irritating try subscribing to the Paul Weller list- all it ever is is "where can I get the Jam boxed set?" and "my favorite picture of Paul is the one from Smash Hits in '82" or whatever- now THAT'S a waste of time and bandwidth. I know there are others who feel the same way, and perhaps in the current hostile climate do not wish to come forward and say so, but I will. I've been flamed before and I'm willing to risk it again. Finally, I would like to add that the Quail's little story was chock full of Robynalia and had a lot more to do with Robyn Hitchcock than it did, say, Brian Wilson. Love on ya, Susan
Re: The Final Apology and Explanation From: Tom Clark On 6/7/97 10:03 AM, The Great Quail muttered: > asNo shit people! The beauty of this little community is the breadth of creative and insightful input. Not to mention the fact that nearly every posting is chock full of sarcasm - a fact which seems to be lost on many of late. El Quail Mejor has my vote.
From: Bayard Subject: Re: The Final Apology and Explanation I haven't finished reading The Quail's list-opus, but it looks intriguing so far. I think there's a market for robyn fanfiction on the web or something. I can collect things and put them on my web page (Mrs.Wafflehead will be available soon-- thanks Griffith)! ... now who's got a picture of antwoman?
(Runion, Michael R.) Subject: Re: The Final Apology and Explanation I finally got around to reading this today, and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I for one would like to see part 2. I can see where this sorta thing might get tedious, especially if everyone took a stab at it, but once in a while it's kinda fun and refreshing. Good work, Quail. Traipsing around the country like that and all...man...what dedication! Mike Runion, Cocoa, Florida you *sure* you're not the head of any cults?
JAMES DIGNAN BTW - you get my vote. Quit knocking the quail, folks. Sure the diary was a bit overindulgent in its length, but a lot of the time the Great Quail and this Mississippi Malcolm McDowell(1) person are the only people keeping this list on the right side of that boundary between genius and insanity(2)!
Nick Winkworth <winkworth Subject: Don't catch a crab. (Quail)Feather! Before I forget. My $0.02 on the Quail megapost issue 1) I have no objection to the *content* of the big Q's post. In fact that *sort* of thing livens up the list occasionally. I'd actually like to see more... 2) ...but not *that* much more!! My only objection is that it was about 10 times too long. I don't know about you, but I tuned out after the first couple of paragraphs anyway. My request is that if you are about to write the Great American Novel - however good and however much it may be filled with Robyn references - please don't post it to the list. Maybe someone can set up a web page where those that wish can download it. If you keep posts digestable (no pun intended, fellow digest-readers) I think you'll keep people's interest and be better tolerated if you stray into off-topicness. As always, just my opinion--and being free, it's worth what you paid for it. ~N
Gary Sedgwick Subject: Re: Diaries of Debbie Flosshilde It's a real shame that some list members get so upset by something a bit different from 'RH show review' or 'what he was wearing' in their In boxes. What IS all the fuss about? If you're on the digest, you can skip through it pretty easily (and it still makes up only a small percentage of the digest post), or if not, you read a bit and press delete. One message. Not a multitude about the usual 'saw Robyn play last night'. Just one slightly off-the-wall post. And I'm sure the arguments saying'it's off topic', or 'it doesn't interest most list members' will come flooding in - but the fact is it DID interest some us. I enjoyed reading Debbie's diaries more than most of the stuff that's been posted recently, and judging by some other replies, I'm not the only one. And even to a semi-lurker like myself, it was obvious that The Quail's motives were neither to show off nor to chat up Susan (and I'm sure for many others it is :)) Yes, if it ever gets to the stage when we're having a novel per day,there's a problem. But one refreshingly creative and entertaining post per week is far from it. One reason this list is so popular - it's populated by interesting people who post interesting things. If it was all gig reviews, tour news, tape trading etc., there'd be no cones - only the geeks would remain. :) gary
Eb Subject: Re: Diaries of Debbie Flosshilde Gary wrote: >It's a real shame that some list members get so upset by something a bitYeah. Why can't you folks be more easy-going, like me? ;) Eb
Subject: Thanks! (No nonfictional RH content) Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 From: The Great Quail I went out for a long weekend to see U2, and when I came back, there were many yellow ribbons tied around my oak tree. In other words, many people wrote and told me that I was not as evil as I had previously believed. This cheered me up; although it did somewhat put a damper on my new plans to emerge as the head of a Marilyn Manson tribute band. I With e-mail, we often find it easier to reply to something in irritation, and I suppose that I let the initial negative letters I did get sort of bum me out a bit. I agree with Susan, and not just because she flirts with me. We are a diverse group, all of us with different visions of what the List should be like. To those that wrote me in the spirit of buying me a drink and the local pub, I thank you. You made me feel better - I honestly thought that I was really overstepping the boundaries of the List. I see now that you really can't please everybody. I will continue to post as normal, which I promise will only be a few misguided e-pistles each week. For those of you that find my posts irritating, I am sorry. Just look for the sign of the quail and delete without reading. I will finish my transcriptions of Debbie's Diaries and post them soon. That is, if the Guambat's agents do not get to me first. The Quail
Hedblade Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 Subject: To serve Quail In a message dated 97-06-08 11:53:38 EDT, you write: << 4. As to someone's accusation that I am "trying to dominate the list withAnd that's EXACTLY what The Great Quail said on the GongFanWeb, and we all know what happened to that sorry bunch of grebos. Be warned, people!!!! Sincerely, Jay "who hopes he doesn't get flamed for bringing up an old Quail thread and then pointing out that the whole "cult" thing really expanded with his humorous muse and how we should all realize that these sorts of things are what make us want to stay here even if they get out of hand from time to time but for the most part this list keeps itself in check pretty well which is why we like it" Hedbalde
Here endeth the aftermath of the diaries of blah, blah, blah. click here to go to the final episode and read what happens to our heroine. |
