lETTERS
Born To Be Bad
Sandra Bernhard: giving till it hurts! Sure. but giving till it hurts what? Along with halfof Edinburgh's complement oftrendies I panted
along to her much-hyped show at the
Playhouse. I mean. I had to really. I‘d seen the poster. read the Lappin interview and seen a plug for her on TV. She was even featured in full
potato print glory on the front of The Z
List.
So what did we get? A cobbled together mishmash ofpretend danger: hey. let‘s point a torch at the audience and ask them if they're gay. Yeah. like I‘m so nervous I‘m jelly. Sandra. Some pretty cruddy singing saved only by the gutsy backing band. A load oftotally incomprehensible stage banter with a couple of token Scottish ‘jokes‘ about haggis thrown in. which were so stereotyped that they bordered on the racist. and a quick flash ofthe Sandra nipples.
The only bit ofme that hurt was my wallet which was fifteen quid lighter. Bernhard is not the Hype. she is nothing but hype.
Robert Anderson Eyre Crescent Edinburgh.
0n Dangerous Ground
As a meat-eater I very much resent Sandra Busell's facile accusation. ‘Most people would rather forget about the animals suffering. as they continue to munch on bits ofpieces ofcow. sheep. pig etc‘ (issue 181). On the contrary. I feel very deeply that animals should not suffer. and that we have a long way to go before our abbatoirs come up to standard. a beliefwhich is reflected. as far as possible. in my shopping.
How does Ms Busell divorce herself from this ‘disgusting cruelty‘ she accuses me and others of? I take it for granted that she rejects all products made out of leather. suede or wool. since it is no more wholesome to cloak yourself in a cruelly slaughtered animal‘s skin than to eat its flesh. is it? Anyway. what would we do with the animal's flesh. once we had divested it of its skin? Presumably she wears plastic shoes and coats and synthetic
What gets you hot? Our eighteen throbbing column inches with
clothes. avoids cakes and confectionery made with animal fat and checks her hair and skin products to see that they do not contain animal protein. She certainly won‘t eat dairy products or cheeses
made with animal rennet and
probably thinks twice about which
glue she buys. But what about those indispensable things? What about life-saving medicines which contain animal products? Lucky she isn‘t a diabetic. eh? Or are all diabetics guilty ofcruelty?
Our country’s growing urbanisation has been mirrored by our progressive. hysterical revulsion at the role to be played by animals in human life. Never have the British been as moved by cruelty to humans as they are by cruelty to animals — and that is really something to worry about. Ofcourse our exploitation of animals for food. clothes and medicine must be carried out under more ‘humane‘ circumstances. but don‘t confuse the issue. Animals are not human.
Jane Saunders Fettes Row Edinburgh
Hot Blood‘
Another year. another Festival and once again another pathetic and misinformed letter from Glasgow slating the festival currently taking place in Edinburgh. If Mr Egan (The List 182) ‘hates to disabuse the matrons of Marchmont and Morningside‘ (whatever that means?!) then I have no such qualms about abusing him and his blinkered views.
With regard to the Edinburgh Castle Concerts: OK. I can't explain
Julian Clary or swinging with Randy Hanson’s fine fingerwork perhaps? Ifyou’re breathing fire after Les Amants du Pont-Neuf don’t keep it all in: let rip with a letter to The List. The best one wins a bottle of Jose Cuervo Special Gold Tequila.
the popularity of Mike Oldfield but it seems strange that Mr Egan should choose to diss the citizens of Edinburgh for supporting Wet Wet Wet, one of his own city's most successful exports and. as for Nigel Kennedy. by staying away in such large numbers. the Edinburgh public have surely shown their taste and appreciation for real culture. Let‘s face it. ifanyone has dragged classical music into the gutter in recent years. then it‘s Nigel Kennedy. and if. as has been reported this is his last ‘gig‘ then I for one will shed no tears.
All this however. misses the real point. that the Castle concerts are but a sideshow to the International Festival. the Fringe and the Film Festival. Between them they represent the largest international festival in the world embracing theatre. dance. music. opera. visual arts and film. It's not that us ‘snooty toffs‘ think that Edinburgh is at the hub ofall things cultural: for three weeks every year it is at the hub of all things cultural. Fact.
Mark Howitt Morningside Road Edinburgh.
Run For Cover Moved by the qualified good review I recently watched Alien 3.
I found the major chase sequence
of the last twenty minutes very noisy.
badly filmed and confusing. . . but then I realised: the whole set up is simply to establish the scenario for an Alien 3 computer game.
The marketing pitch is back! Dave Henderson Royal Park Terrace Edinburgh.
Rebel Without A Cause herman de vires. What a pseud. I“ were Miranda France. (The List 183) I would have spelt his name HERMAN DE VRIES. just for being so numb as to reject capital letters as being hierarchical.
So what does he do with his life. mr HdV? He is an artist who writes the names ofvanished forests on a wall in childish scrawl. because he wants to constantly remind us ofour surroundings. So what good is that going to do? Like. are the forests going to magically re-appear in the Botanical Gardens as if beamed down from Star Trek?
This seems like a very sad human being to me. So what if he goes around talking about the ‘randomness and chance‘ of nature? That hardly justifies the statement that he is a scientist and philosopher. He says he has his blood let twice a year for health reasons. why not just get it let once and for all?
Craig Duncan Melville Street Glasgow
‘ JOSE ' CUERVU \/’
A nd for th is totally biased piece of vitriolyou have won yourselfa bottle of very wonderful Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila .’ Just come up to our offices Craig. where tlte bottle aii'aits. . .
Post Script
Address your letters to:
The List Letters at:
14 High Street.
Edinburgh EH1 lTE.
Of
Old Athenaeurn Theatre.
179 Buchanan Street.
Glasgow G1 ZJZ.
Of
Fax them to: ()31 557 8500.
We will not print your full address or phone number. but you must include them. Deadline is the Friday before publication. Lon g letters may be cut. The best letter next issue will win a bottle of 1 use Cuervo Tequila.
NEXT ISSUE OUT THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
Term of‘endearment: Essential Student Guide, totally free! School-boy humour: Columbus carries on! Get smart: Five sets of Angela Carter novels to be won!
ALSO ON THE CURRICULUM . . . Polanski (left) talks about Bitter Moon, Tom Kalin's Swoon, Patrick Swayze in City of Joy, Derek Jacobi on stage, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Cud, Suede, Young Spain, Y Cwmni . . . and lots more ORDER YOUR COPY NOW!
72 The List 11— 24 September 1992
Printed by Scottish County Press, Sherwood Industrial Estate, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. Tel: 031 663 2404.