J Larsen

That's how it seems to me, just based on reviews and word of mouth... which is why I'd rather purchase individual albums when I can find them. And the one with Groove Holmes on it would be one I'd buy. Yes, I enjoyed that one more than I expected to. (I'm not an anti-organite, but Holmes has never been among my favorites.)

That is a reasonable choice, depending on how easily you think you can find the individual albums. But I also have to say that there seems to be quite a bit of variability within certain sessions.

Man, the chasm between the best and worst of this set is immense. It ranges from sublime to downright embarrassing. But the best of it justifies purchasing before it disappears.

Damn Ben, that was horrifying to even read about. Glad you are relatively okay and hope your mother recovers quickly. I don't know if you remember her, but the girl I dated for most of high school was in an equally horrible accident on the highway last summer and was seriously brain damaged. She had to relearn how to speak. PS: I know I've said it before, but it looks like there is a good chance I will be out there in Sept. We should hit up Pancho Villa or something. We'll take the bus.

I only made it for Tuesday and Wednesday. Every other night I missed due to work and/or flu. Tuesday night's opening set was astonishing (IMO). The second set was... dare I say it... a bit bland by comparison. Wednesday night's first set never really got any momentum going for me. But the second set was incredible. I really wish I could have gone more nights.

Belated thanks... I miss spending time around here. This whole having to work for a living thing is rough.

Thanks!

I'd like to pick up an album or two of Balinese Gamelan music. A DVD would be even better. I'd just buy a couple at random, but I'm afraid of inadvertently picking up something catering to the perceived tastes of western audiences -- a common problem I've found with "world music" albums. Any recommendations? Thanks.

How does it manage to be both lossless and smaller? Does it drop some of the rendundant data used for error correction? That would make sense.

Thanks. I need to research the formats a bit. I just want to make sure that all the data from my cds make it to my speakers. The impetus for this is that I have around 3,000 cds and a 600 sq ft apartment. This results numerous piles of discs, which means I can never find the one I am looking for.

Thanks. I've noticed that one tends to be in all the online audiophile shops.

People need an entry point, and I think this list does a reasonable job. But Genius of Modern Music v. 1 over v. 2? I don't know...

I am considering ripping a thousand or so cds in uncompressed format to a very large harddrive (or a couple of very large harddrives). I would then like to set up the following configuration: External Harddrives -> MacBook -> DAC -> Stereo Amp. Obviously the sonic success of this project is entirely dependant on the quality of the DAC. Any recommendations? I can go as high as a couple grand, but only if the marginal benefit warrants it. Thanks!

Pretty sure Bigelow is independent. They are still based out of the west village and have a really nice store on Sixth Ave. I use all Art of Shaving products. They may be a bit overpriced, but they work better than other things I've used and never irritate my skin.

I saw the documentary and attended a Q&A session with the filmmaker. It was quite good.

The black hole thing is a little silly, but one very serious issue with these experiments is the amount of energy consumed. These facilities consume an amount of energy on par with a good sized town, and because the physical phenomena observed at these energy levels is vasty (mind-bendingly) different from what is observed at "normal" energy levels, there is very little prospect for high-energy physics to accomplish anything more than satisfying the curiosity of a few nerds like me. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is incredibly important that human curiorisity be encouraged and pursued. However, at some point you have to evaluate the costs, financial and environmental, of certain lines of research.

That's a great store, but you really have to go just about every day to score the big finds. They have a knowledgable and ravenous customer base. I spent a substantial fraction of a national science foundation grant at that store.

Speaking as a person whose live music attendance has probably decreased about 60% since Tonic closed, the issue really isn't so much that there is no other place in lower Manhattan for "alternative musics," it's that there is no substitute for Tonic. That's not to say that the real estate situation isn't a problem for anything non-mainstream (a very, very small no-frills commercial space will run you $30K to $40K/month in lower Manhattan), but there are places like the Stone and Knitting Factory (which has somewhat returned to its more underground/experimental roots over the last several months) that are still around. They just aren't Tonic. Not the same vibe, not the same sense of community, not the same stupidly cheap drinks, not the same sense that you could just drop in on any random night not knowing anything about the performer and be sure that you were going to have a good time regardless.

Interesting. I always just assumed it was a way of distinguishing the product and of allowing manufacturers to use cover art in the same general proportions as a movie poster. That said, it always seemed wasteful to me.

I think you're right about this. Heading east is harder on the old internal clock than heading west. Maybe it has something to do with gaining a little time as you head west? Even flying to Europe (not a terribly long flight) can be tiring once you arrive. Coming back seems much easier. It's simple: it is easier to stay up late and sleep in than it is to go to bed early and wake up early. Same principle.

I try to keep it down to four. Five is pushing it, IMO, but sometimes it is hard to avoid. Certainly if it is five or more, there should be some way to characterize some of the points as sub-points of others, which helps the viewer understand the organization of the argument and makes the slide less overwhelming. Also, some people don't like slides that merely summarize what is being said (I am not one of those, I think it helps people focus especially if the material is difficult). So you might want to consider not making bullet-point slides, which tend to fall into this category, and instead make demonstratives that visually illustrate the material.

Disposable razors seem like a lot of unnecessary waste to me (and I personally find that the blade quality tends to be inferior).

The goods just arrived - thanks. BTW, do yo have a cat? I ask because mine has had his nose glued to the sets since I unwrapped them.

The old CBGB's is going to become a John Varvatos store.

Cell phones are not anywhere near comparable to radios. Cell phones operate at microwave frequencies, totally different ballgame. Plus you hold them right next to your head. However, digital phones (which includes all those sold in recent years) emit far less powerful radiation, because it is pulsed. I would be mildly surprised, but not incredulous, to learn that there is still a danger. BTW, according to SEER the brain/nervous cancer incidence rate is about .007% (i.e. about 7 in 100,000). However, I wouldn't take too much comfort in that. If the devices really do increase the risk, then you have to wonder what other effects they may be having.