HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gak@wrs.com (Richard Stueven)
Subject: Re: People Magazine Worst Books
Reply-To: gak@wrs.com
Organization: Wind River Systems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:29:07 GMT

In article JJx@willamette.edu, bbrown@willamette.edu (Brian Brown) writes:
>
>I am not going to defend People magazine, but did you really think that
>_Dave Barry Does Japan_ was that good?

I just bought it yesterday, so I'll let you know.

Same for O'Rourke's "Parliament of Whores".

have fun
gak

---
Richard Stueven       AHA# 22584 |----------|
Internet:            gak@wrs.com |----GO----| Disclaimer: I'm not allowed to
ATTMAIL: ...!attmail!gakhaus!gak |---SHARX--|             have opinions.
Cow Palace:            107/H/3-4 |----------|
From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Date: 26 Jan 93 23:19:20 GMT
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)

In article <2B65B5C0.20857@news.service.uci.edu> dan@cafws2.eng.uci.edu (Dan Harkless) writes:
>In article <1993Jan26.164748.18368@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>>
>>So it's a sort of musical version of "Naked Came an Ape," huh? Now I 
>>understand! Thanks for finally revealing one of the great mysteries of
>>music (10 to 1, though, that musicologists 100 years from now will 
>>still be debating about what McArthur Park means).
>
>	Hmm?  What's "Naked Came an Ape"?  I realize what type of thing it
>must be by allusion to McArthur Park, but what is it, a fake text on evolution
>or something?

It's a book written by a group of people who figured that a novel didn't 
have to make any sense if it had enough graphic sex in it. Thus each 
person wrote their own chapter with minimal continuity with the book 
as a whole.
-- 
John Switzer             | 1/21/93 - Clinton fails to follow through on promise
                         | to have economic legislation ready the day after the
Compuserve: 74076,1250   | Inauguration. Programmers rejoice because he gives 
Internet: jrs@netcom.com | them an excuse to further slip their schedules.
From: dap@portal.vpharm.com (David A. Pearlman)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Date: 27 Jan 93 16:14:59 GMT
Organization: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

In article <1993Jan26.231920.6376@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>In article <2B65B5C0.20857@news.service.uci.edu> dan@cafws2.eng.uci.edu (Dan Harkless) writes:
>>In article <1993Jan26.164748.18368@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>>>
>>>So it's a sort of musical version of "Naked Came an Ape," huh? Now I 
>>>understand! Thanks for finally revealing one of the great mysteries of
>>>music (10 to 1, though, that musicologists 100 years from now will 
>>>still be debating about what McArthur Park means).
>>
>>	Hmm?  What's "Naked Came an Ape"?  I realize what type of thing it
>>must be by allusion to McArthur Park, but what is it, a fake text on evolution
>>or something?
>
>It's a book written by a group of people who figured that a novel didn't 
>have to make any sense if it had enough graphic sex in it. Thus each 
>person wrote their own chapter with minimal continuity with the book 
>as a whole.

An interesting-but-probably-irrelevant piece of trivia is that Jimmy
Webb, who wrote "McArthur Park", also wrote the soundtrack to the
film "The Naked Ape." Which probably has nothing to do with the
book you mentioned, but then again it might...

dap
-- 
=============================================================================
    David A. Pearlman

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.                     email: dap@vpharm.com
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: ash50842@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Avumede)
Subject: People Magazine Worst Books
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 02:44:44 GMT

Pardon me if this was discussed over Winter Break, but I was flipping through
a People magazine (I don't subscribe I swear!  I was just bored!) and they
had a list of the Worst books of the year, and P.J. O Rourke was in there
with his book (I don't remember the name) and Dave Barry got a runner-up
spot with "Dave Barry Does Japan".

I couldn't believe it.  I can't vouch for P.J. O'Rouke's book, but Dave's book
... well we all know how good it is.   It certainly is probably one of the 
BEST books of the year (at least in the humor field).   Who makes that list?
Well, it's People magazine, no one really has an respect for them or their
opinions anyway.

Incidentally, all the BEST books were books that I've never heard of, and
sound VERY dry and boring like "A Study of Southern Tibet in the 12th Century"
or stuff like that.

-Avumede
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: cazuzek@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (Zuzek, John E.)
Subject: Re: I'm a loser...
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: 25 Jan 1993 10:14 EST  

In article <3187@tymix.Tymnet.COM>, filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM writes...
>Well, DB listed the also-rans this week.  The song I suggested for all-time
>worst ever (Alone Again (Naturally)) was mentioned among the songs that were
>bad but not bad enough.
> 
>Anybody make a suggestion that he _didn't_ mention?  Meaning it might be
>the worst song ever (according the the keeper of bad taste, Dave Barry,
>in any event)?

I sent in the horrid "Seasons In The Sun" but it wasn't mentioned.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Zuzek                         |"The federal government is basically
NASA Lewis Research Center         | one enormous, ongoing Meeting From
-----------------------------------| Hell"  
cazuzek@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov       |                        -- Dave Barry
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: gks5336@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Subject: Re: I'm a loser...
Reply-To: gks5336@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Organization: Montana State University
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 22:40:54 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.175836.7339@news.unomaha.edu>, rescigno@cwis.unomaha.edu (Michael V. Rescigno) writes:
><EWN1@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>> In article <3187@tymix.Tymnet.COM>, filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM (Fil Feit) says:
>> >Anybody make a suggestion that he _didn't_ mention?  Meaning it might be
>> >the worst song ever (according the the keeper of bad taste, Dave Barry,
>> >in any event)?
>> 
>> Well, I nominated "I'm Your Boogie Man" (by KC and the Sunshine Band?
>> I can't remember), and he didn't mention it in Sunday's column.
>> Somehow I don't think it'll be a winner, though.
>> *************************************************************************
>>  Ellen Newman                     | You can name your own salary here --
>>  LCS - Library Computing Services | I call mine Fred.
>>  ewn1@psuvm.psu.edu               |       - taken from a Ziggy cartoon
>>  ************************************************************************
>
>   My vote goes to S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night by the infamous Bay City Rollers --
>who were hailed, and I'm not making this up, as the second coming of the
>Beatles.
>
Obviously, there are simply too many horrendous songs to fit in one of Dave's
columns, hence the need to print the bad ones last Sunday and the really bad
ones this week.  I am sure Dave was sorry he ever asked for those nominations,
if the volume was proportional to the number of excrutiatingly bad stuff listed
here.

BTW, my personal choice would have been "Leader of the Pack", with its stupid
lyrics and dumb motorcycle sound effects.

Just my opinion.

------------------------------
Kerri Skinner
Montana State University
GKS5336@trex.oscs.Montana.edu
-------------------------------
From: paul@eunet.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: UK fan
Date: 21 Jan 1993 21:56:41 +0100
Organization: EUnet EDV Dienstleistungs GmbH A-1010 Wien Austria
NNTP-Posting-Host: hp4at.eunet.co.at
Keywords: WHere?

In article <30544@castle.ed.ac.uk> epat19@festival.ed.ac.uk (A Brown) writes:
>As a UK Dave Barry fan, I have only really come across any of his stuff
>when reading excepts which people have posted on the net.
> WHere can I get hold of more?

Try the weekend (Sat/Sun) edition of the International Herald Tribune,
on the back page of the front section.  Unfortunately they edit out some
of the good bits, so I log onto a BBS in New Zealand to get my dose
through ClariNet (which is a wonderful service!).
-- 
Paul Gillingwater
Home system: paul@actrix.co.at (Waffle)
From: hkelly@tantalum.eds.com (Kelly Shuldberg)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Date: 27 Jan 93 15:15:26 GMT
Organization: EDS Research, Albuquerque, NM

In article <C1HLs4.n4x@world.std.com> carols@world.std.com (Carol Springs) writes:
>In article <1993Jan26.071043.17781@clarinet.com> brad@clarinet.com (Brad 
>Templeton) writes:
>
>>They were successful, but such should be disqualified for a worst song of
>>all time contest, which should pick as a winner a song that was stupid
>>but which the artists involved actually meant seriously.
>
>How could you prove they meant it seriously?
> 
> 
>-- 
>Carol Springs                      carols@world.std.com

As I recall, the song was written by Jim Webb, who wrote Wichata Lineman
and By the Time I get to Pheonix for Glen Campbell (I hope I'm right on
this), among other rather serious-type songs.  Since I've always thought
that MacArthur park is in San Francisco, and this song was written during
the hight of the Haight-Ashbury days, I've always assumed that it was
inspired by a really bad acid trip.

h. kelly shuldberg
hkelly@edsr.eds.com
From: john.slater@uk.sun.com (John Slater)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Dave Barry's favourite songs
Date: 25 Jan 1993 10:01:53 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: john.slater@uk.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: scroff.uk.sun.com

->British entrant: some horrible thing which includes the words "snap what
->a picture, what a photograph."  Horrid.  Hear it once, and the lyrics
->linger for years... :-o
->-- 

Aaargh! It's re-invaded *my* brain now!

It's called "What a picture". It was sung by that appalling
professional cockney Tommy Steele in the film "Half a Sixpence".
Utterly execrable.

For a flavour of the full horror of it, I'm including all I can
remember of the chorus :

Hold it! Snap, bang, wallop, what a picture!
What a picture, what a photograph.
[blah blah blah - I've forgotten these two lines]
[blah blah blah - wish I could forget the rest of it]
Clap hands (clap clap clap clap), stamp your feet (stamp stamp),
Bang on the big bass drum (boing).
What a picture, what a picture,
Rum-tiddly-um-pum-pum-pum-pum,		<- this is the worst bit for me
Stick it in your family
al-bum.


Wishing you many years of listening pleasure,
John

Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: pelton@ecf.toronto.edu (PELTON MATTHEW ALAN)
Subject: Re: Humorous quotes?
Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 03:17:41 GMT

In article <C18oC8.6qG@coral.cs.unm.edu> sgupta@coral.cs.unm.edu (Sarang Gupta) writes:
>In article <1993Jan21.085703.4214@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> flournoy@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Raymond Suke Flournoy) writes:
>
>>"See, when the GOVERNMENT spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when
>>the money is left in the hands of TAXPAYERS, God only knows what they
>>do with it.  Bake it into pies, probably.  Anything to avoid creating
>>jobs."       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   			 -- Dave Barry
>I thought this was "throw it into the bushes"?
>      

  I thought it was "rake it into big piles in your back yard, set fire to
it, and dance around it naked until they haul you away."  But I could be
wrong.


Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:47:48 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.071043.17781@clarinet.com> brad@clarinet.com (Brad Templeton) writes:
>But you don't understand.  According to what I have heard, McArthur Park
>was the result of an attempt to see how insipidly stupid a song could be
>made into a hit if it had famous people behind it and a good tune.
>
>They were successful, but such should be disqualified for a worst song of
>all time contest, which should pick as a winner a song that was stupid
>but which the artists involved actually meant seriously.

So it's a sort of musical version of "Naked Came an Ape," huh? Now I 
understand! Thanks for finally revealing one of the great mysteries of
music (10 to 1, though, that musicologists 100 years from now will 
still be debating about what McArthur Park means).
-- 
John Switzer             | 1/21/93 - Clinton fails to follow through on promise
                         | to have economic legislation ready the day after the
Compuserve: 74076,1250   | Inauguration. Programmers rejoice because he gives 
Internet: jrs@netcom.com | them an excuse to further slip their schedules.
From: bh419@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ted B Samsel)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Bad Songs (TED SAMSEL MESSAGE IS SPOILER)
Date: 26 Jan 1993 12:38:44 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Master Kevin is peeved. Why and wherefore? T'was in the paper.
It's not like I saw an unreleased episode of Ren and Stimpy or
(yukk) STTNG.....
  Calmate chico.
-- 
Ted....
From: sueba@pogo.wv.tek.com (Sue Bartlett)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: People Magazine Worst Books
Date: 26 Jan 93 22:46:48 GMT
Reply-To: sueba@pogo.wv.tek.com
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville,  OR.

In article <C1ExJK.32v@sdf.lonestar.org> labamba@sdf.lonestar.org (Peter Steiger) writes:
>> I've read other Dave Barry books I like better (Dave Barry 
>> Turns 40, Dave Barry's Bad Habits, Dave Barry's Greatest Hits)
>> but I liked Dave Barry Does Japan.
>
>What I've noticed is that his "theme" books aren't as good as his collections
>of articles.  Even after all the other books, _Bad Habits_ remains my 
>favorite.

I'm not sure I should admit this, but the Japan book is still sitting on
the floor by my bed waiting to be read. (more patient than a dog...)

I have to say that the book that got me started on this road to ruin is
"Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, or what you can do in just nine months
with tools you probably have around the house".  I picked it up one day
in a book store and fell immediately to the aisle in laughter.  I judged 
that they'd probably make me pay for it anyway, so I bought it.  I now
feel it is a requisite gift to all new parents although I find that it
is parents that now have older kids (and are properly distanced from 
infants) who appreciate it the best.  None have hit me quite like that one
and I don't even have kids.  Maybe that's why.  could be marketed as a
birth control product....

-- 
--------------------------------------------
Sue Bartlett  (sueba@pogo.wv.tek.com)  503-685-3706
Tektronix, P.O. Box 1000, MS 63-356, Wilsonville, OR 97070
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry,rec.radio.noncomm
From: gleason@scf16.scf.loral.com (Robert Gleason)
Subject: Re: Dave Barry's picks for worst songs on _All Things Considered_ ?
Organization: Loral Space and Range Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 15:51:55 GMT


Dave Barry's worst picks:

3. "Havin My Baby" by  Paul Anka (?)
2. "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy"
1. "MacAurthur Park" (far and away the winner)

Honorable Mentions:

Escape (the Pina Colada Song)
that tune by the Archies
3 or 4 others that really made me want to retch.

 This was a very good NPR piece.

Robert Gleason





Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: kjmiller@mitre.org (Kevin Miller)
Subject: Re: Bad Songs (TED SAMSEL MESSAGE IS SPOILER)
Followup-To: alt.fan.dave_barry
Organization: MITRE
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 21:07:47 GMT


Next time you post a spoiler Mr. Samsel, PLEASE TITLE IT AS SUCH!!!!!!!!!
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: labamba@sdf.lonestar.org (Peter Steiger)
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Organization: sdf public access Unix, Dallas -- 214-436-3281
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 13:20:28 GMT

> Did anyone read Barry's column this Sunday - on the bad songs?
> I laughed until I couldn't laugh anymore - "Ain't no woman like
> the One-Eyed Gott"!

My wife laughed up a storm, too, until she noticed how many of HER favorites
were in the list (she's a big Barry Manilow fan, not something I ordinarily
admit in public).

Has anyone seen the video showing Dave and other writers doing garage-band
music?  The idea of Stephen King plugged into a massive amplifier scares me...

Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: brad@clarinet.com (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Organization: ClariNet Communications Corp.
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 07:10:43 GMT

But you don't understand.  According to what I have heard, McArthur Park
was the result of an attempt to see how insipidly stupid a song could be
made into a hit if it had famous people behind it and a good tune.

They were successful, but such should be disqualified for a worst song of
all time contest, which should pick as a winner a song that was stupid
but which the artists involved actually meant seriously.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Sunnyvale, CA 408/296-0366
From: sgupta@coral.cs.unm.edu (Sarang Gupta)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Humorous quotes?
Date: 22 Jan 93 04:55:23 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Department, University of New Mexico

In article <1993Jan21.085703.4214@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> flournoy@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Raymond Suke Flournoy) writes:

>"See, when the GOVERNMENT spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when
>the money is left in the hands of TAXPAYERS, God only knows what they
>do with it.  Bake it into pies, probably.  Anything to avoid creating
>jobs."       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   			 -- Dave Barry
I thought this was "throw it into the bushes"?
From: finifter@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Tracy E. Finifter)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Worst Song Poll
Date: 26 Jan 93 00:05:50 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

Does anyone have the complete lyrics to MacArthur Park?  I ask this of
morbid fasination, and the fact that I know the music intimately (it
was part of our field show my sophomore year of high school marching
band) but I've never heard it sung.  The only line I know is "Someone
left the cake out in the rain" (which we modified to "Someone left the
band out in the rain".


Any help is appreciated in advance.



-- 
* Tracy E. Finifter                     * My .sig's stuck in 1956 with a     *
*  finifter@gandalf.rutgers.edu         * brain like swiss cheese and I'm    *
*  Douglass College, Rutgers University * experiencing technical             *
*  New Brunswick, New Jersey            * difficulties in retrieving it.     *
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: saj@gozer.psyc.Virginia.EDU (Steve Jacquot)
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Organization: University of Virginia
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 03:56:27 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.231920.6376@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>In article <2B65B5C0.20857@news.service.uci.edu> dan@cafws2.eng.uci.edu (Dan Harkless) writes:
>>In article <1993Jan26.164748.18368@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>>>
>>>So it's a sort of musical version of "Naked Came an Ape," huh? Now I 
>>>understand! Thanks for finally revealing one of the great mysteries of
>>>music (10 to 1, though, that musicologists 100 years from now will 
>>>still be debating about what McArthur Park means).
>>
>>	Hmm?  What's "Naked Came an Ape"?  I realize what type of thing it
>>must be by allusion to McArthur Park, but what is it, a fake text on evolution
>>or something?
>
>It's a book written by a group of people who figured that a novel didn't 
>have to make any sense if it had enough graphic sex in it. Thus each 
>person wrote their own chapter with minimal continuity with the book 
>as a whole.

That's "Naked Came the Stranger", by Penelope Ashe (pseudonym for a
bunch of writers from Newsday).
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
From: flournoy@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Raymond Suke Flournoy)
Subject: Humorous quotes?
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 08:57:03 GMT


  This might be slightly inappropriate for this group, since I'm not
looking for DB quotes specifically, but I was looking to collect a
small handful of light-hearted quotes to use during an interview.
Essentially, I want some conversation starters, but ones which aren't
too heavy.

  I have 3 criteria for the quotes:

	1)  They should be light-hearted,
	2)  They should be about something, whether it is a specific
issue, or just a philosophy of living,
	3)  They shouldn't be completely over the top; there should be
an element of truth to them, and not be pure farce.

  Examples of some that fall into these categories are:

"See, when the GOVERNMENT spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when
the money is left in the hands of TAXPAYERS, God only knows what they
do with it.  Bake it into pies, probably.  Anything to avoid creating
jobs."          					-- Dave Barry

"As far as I'm concerned, if something is so complicated that you can't
explain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway."
                                                              -- Calvin

"I think it's about time we voted for senators with breasts.  After
all, we've been voting for boobs long enough."  
                         -- AZ senatorial candidate, Claire Sargent


  Can anyone help me?  The P.J. O'Rourke quotes that people posted
before have fallen off my system, else I would peruse those.

  Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions!


--Raymond Flournoy        
======================================================================
flournoy@cs.stanford.edu         "For reasons I cannot explain
Computer Science Dept.            There's some part of me wants to see 
Stanford University, CA           Graceland"               -- P. Simon
From: camdna@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Darren Natale)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: Bad Songs
Date: 27 Jan 93 14:39:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1993Jan26.071043.17781@clarinet.com>, brad@clarinet.com (Brad Templeton) writes...
>But you don't understand.  According to what I have heard, McArthur Park
>was the result of an attempt to see how insipidly stupid a song could be
>made into a hit if it had famous people behind it and a good tune.
> 
>They were successful, but such should be disqualified for a worst song of
>all time contest, which should pick as a winner a song that was stupid
>but which the artists involved actually meant seriously.
>-- 
>Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Sunnyvale, CA 408/296-0366

'S funny--I heard that very same thing about "I never promised you a rose
garden". It is composed almost entirely of cliches, yet was a big hit. I don't
think "MacArthur Park" was a hit its first time out. It didn't become one
until ... Agh. I can't think about it, it's too painful!

DN
From: bhjelle@carina.unm.edu ()
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dave_barry
Subject: Re: I'm a loser...
Date: 22 Jan 1993 23:14:22 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
NNTP-Posting-Host: carina.unm.edu

In article <1993Jan21.221715.7417@clarinet.com> brad@clarinet.com (Brad Templeton) writes:
>I must say I am a bit disappointed by the winner for worst song.  You'll
>find out in 2 days, but suffice to say this is a song that was deliberately
>written to be a bad song, and as such I think Dave should have disqualified
>it, even if it got the most votes.
>-- 
If anyone *dares* to reveal the worst song, they should be
electrically shocked by e-mail.

Thanks for keeping quiet, Brad.

Brian