Re: Gaffa

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (Chris Williams)]

>>    Do you really believe that a song that Kate has described as
>> being about struggling with personal limitations is *more* about
>> tape than mistakes? 
>
>No, of course not, that's why I used the word "superficial".  Perhaps
>that wasn't the right word to convey precisely what I was getting at
>(I had in mind icebergs, you know: 10% on the surface but the bulk
>under water).  In any case, as I pointed out in my other message,
>"Gaffa" clearly has multiple levels of meanings; all I was trying to
>say was that at one level, it refers to gaffer tape.

   It is possible that "gaffer's tape" was a background thought when
she was writing the song, but no more than any of the other minor
background meanings. She just found that it was a great easy way
of explaining a very complex song. She has produced simple explanations
of complex songs before when talking to particularly think-headed
journalists. I need to search through the archives to find the context
of each time she explained _Suspended In Gaffa_. I believe that her 
tendency to simplify is related to the quality of the other questions.

>I interpreted your message as saying that _at no level_ did it refer
>to gaffer tape, and you stated that this was merely a "joke" that Kate
>thought of later.  If that wasn't what you meant, I apologise.

   I mean that I believe that "gaffer's tape" was a joke that Kate 
thought of later.

>>    Kate lies and simplifies. Read a bunch of interviews and that will 
>> become obvious. She also has a somewhat impish sense of humor.
>
>I wonder if this is a cultural thing.  I mean no offense by this, but it
>is commonly held in the UK that Americans are incapable of appreciating
>irony - obviously this is a gross over-simplification, but I dare say
>that British people may well be more alert to such signals.

   Whoa there with the generalization! I've been a fan of British
comedy and SF since I was a wee tyke.

   Actually, this is a case of an American being *more* sensitive
to Kate's sense of humor, rather than less.

>In my book, at least, saying "I use latex" is in no way a lie, it's
>simply an amusing way of avoiding the question.  If you tell me that
>saying gaffa refers to gaffer tape is a similar joke, all I can say is
>that it's not very funny!
>
>>    She exaggerates her height, claiming to be 5' 3". Does this make 
her
>> 5' 3"? Not, as Merideth once said even in "high-heeled rollerblades."
>
>I wouldn't know about that.

   Vickie and I have met her in person several times, shaken her hand, 
etc. As I have Vickie here, I can compare her height to Kate's. Vickie
clearly remembers *looking down* at Kate. Vickie is 5' 2". I am 6'.
Kate was wearing heels, which Vickie never wears.

>>    When asked about the identity of her boyfriend, long before her
>> relationship with Del was public, she wouldn't say. But she said that
>> "...he's *not* a musician" in the "Company" interview.
>
>Drukman may well agree with that :-)

   Drukman will have to answer that for himself, but I thought that he 
didn't believe Del was an *engineer* or *producer*. I don't remember
Drukman disparaging Del's musical ability.

>>    She claimed, in an interview in a kids magazine, that she did not
>> smoke.
>
>If you say so (I haven't seen it), but how do you know she hadn't
>given up at that time?  It's hardly unknown for smokers to give up
>for a short time and then start again.

   We don't know, but she has defended/rationalized her smoking before.
I don't know if she has given up the vile habit (it killed my father),
and I really hope she does. But, at this point, it has to count as
a deliberate mis-statement.

>>    Are all of these things true because Kate once said them?
>
>Well yes, probably.  She didn't say 5'3" in bare feet, did she?  Maybe
>Del had taken up interior decorating for a while?  You don't know all
>the facts; Kate deserves the benefit of the doubt.

   Kate is a human being (IED and I disagree on this, Andy and I agree.)
She's said so herself. (Scenes from "Life of Brian" flash through my 
mind.)

   Everybody lies. Kate wouldn't be 5' 3" in Fee Waybill's "Quay Lewd" 
platform shoes.

   Even Kate. She has never claimed to be a paragon, and she has 
indicated that she does not appreciate being put on a pedestal.

>Obviously the spelling is open to question, in fact, I believe it is
>deliberately misspelt so as to be reminiscent of a place name (see my
>other message).  I quite believe you have never heard anyone call it
>"gaffer" (no "'s") tape, but I have, and Kate probably has, because
>that's what it's called in this country.

   You are almost there. If you can just make one more tiny little
jump, you will be able to accept that "gaffe", a word very descriptive
of the sort of thing that Kate describes struggling with, is the
*principle* meaning of the song. 

>>    Narrowmindedness, in this case, is insisting that only one of 
>>Kate's various explanations of "gaffa" is the correct.
>
>If that's what I'd said, your riposte would be accurate, but that was
>certainly not my intention, and not what I believe I said.

   Then, do you believe that "gaffa as a plural of gaffe" is a
reasonable explanation? At some point in the future I'd like to
ask Kate "is gaffa a plural of gaffe?"  

   I really have trouble believing that people have so much trouble
accepting that Kate would deliberately dissemble. Doesn't anyone
remember how long Kate played with people about the words at the
end of _Get Out Of My House_? She had a *lot* of fun with that
one.

>>    BTW, what we refer to as "gaffer's" tape and what we refer to as 
>> "duct" tape are a bit different. "Gaffer's" tape is a lot less sticky, 
>> and is designed to come off of surfaces easier.
>
>Gaffer tape certainly doesn't set hard, and it is removable, although if
>you leave it on for a while it does tend to leave marks at the edges.
>I'd always thought that duct tape was the stuff with silver backing,
>whereas gaffer tape has a white adhesive side and a black cloth backing,
>but I could well be wrong about the duct tape.

   Both gaffer's tape and duct that are sold in this country. Gaffer's
tape usually has a matte finish and a cleaner-releasing adhesive. It
comes in a wide variety of different colors, although silver, black and
white are most popular. It's very popular in the film, stage and audio 
business. Duct tape usually has a shiny coated silver finish and an
adhesive that is not designed to come off as readily. It's used to
seal the seams on heating ducts.


                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)