From: "Heather" <heather-AT-teknopunx.co.uk>
Subject: Re: primitivism and anarchism
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 20:47:23 -0000


Have you ever caught Ben Newman? I rated MT tops, but I tell you, Ben Newman
beats the pants off him
H
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Iain McKay" <iain.mckay-AT-zetnet.co.uk>
To: <anarchy-list-AT-lists.village.Virginia.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 7:02 PM
Subject: Re: primitivism and anarchism


hello all

Dave Coull wrote:
> > Shame that Mark Steel is (a) a SWP member
> > and (b) not as funny as he thinks he is.
>
> Look, Iain, I think many of P.G.Wodehouse's books
> were funny, despite him being an upper class snob
> who did radio broadcasts from occupied Europe
> on behalf of the Nazis. What P.G.Wodehouse
> and Mark Steel have in common is that both
> of them have written things that made me laugh
> out loud when I read them. There is no objective
> measure of "funniness". All I can say is that
> I found his book both funny and interesting.

I've read Steel in the Independent and saw him on
"I have got news for you." Neither experience had
me thinking he was that funny. He had a few funny
moments (and that was not "Big Yin" levels, you
understand). As I said, he is not as funny as he
thinks he is. As for being in the SWP, well, that
does not automatically preclude having a sense of
humour, but... :)

> > And I doubt that his book can remotely be anywhere
> > as good as Kropotkin's "Great French Revolution"
>
> I have never read that. However, while I am sure
> it is very good politically speaking, in my experience,
> from the things by Kroptkin I  _have_  read,
> he has never made me laugh out loud.

for my part, nothing I've read by Steel has done the same.
But everyone *is* different ("I'm not!")

Now, Mark Thomas and Mike Moore, they *are* funny!

Iain