Big Al

Really?

Here's a link to the aforementioned discussion on the Sony box.

It also depends on how much you're willing to live with. IIRC, a lot of the scorn for the Sony set came from completists who were hoping for a complete set. However, if you're looking for a fantastic-sounding overview, the Sony set is about as nice as they come! Back to the topic at hand, the thing that I love the most about the present set, and for that matter ANY of Basie’s work, is Freddie Green. It’s so subtle as to be almost inaudible, but take it away and it’s like taking away someone’s backbone. It’s THAT important! And does anyone else find Jimmy Rushing an acquired taste? Maybe my aversion has more to do with wanting to hear more of the instrumentalists than having to hear someone sing. Just my two cents.

B-)

That's right! I forgot all about that collection. I need to check that out!

Ever heard her do "Not Mine" with Benny Goodman? Gives me the chills every time! On the same collection (Volume 3: All the Cats Join In) is THE version of "Why Don't You Do Right." Stayin' away from HER bad side!

Voted for Grant Green cuz he's my favorite of those listed. Of those not listed, got two words for ya: MELVIN SPARKS The cat lives up to his name!!!!

Saw the RVG at Tower last night for $12.99! New! Figured what the hell, even if I don't like it, the trade-in would be about half of what I paid, so it's worth a shot. Put me on the side of the bunch that likes it. I agree with a lot of what's already been said: loose, ragged, rowdy, exciting, fun, all those things. All I know is it made for some EXCELLENT drivnig music while driving down I-30 last night! Somethin' about that "Pensativa" groove....

The whole thing? No, I think I've reached a point where I'm gonna end up alienating people, and I don't want that. When I start writing out of frustration (usually as a result of not being able to communicate properly what is in my heart), then the heart gives up, the mind takes over, and starts spewing all sorts of venom. I don't want that to happen again. I value my friendship with you, and it's not worth jeopardizing over our differing interpretations of the Bible. I love and respect you much more than that. I don't know if it's obvious, but I do struggle with this, and absolutely hate it that this one sin in the Bible is taken so far out of context as to exclude others, when there are so many more sins that the Bible speaks of that are infinitely worse out there, so much more destructive. I hate it that this person so close to you feels outcast, and I'm sure the church is a fair amount of responsible for your friend's feelings. I hate it that what happened to this person has caused you to lose your faith. I would love to continue this dialogue with you via e-mail or PM, but completely understand if you wanna let it go. I apologize if my emotions get in the way of sound reasoning; especially since I cannot begin to fathom what you and this person are going through, and am speaking from little to no experience in this area. Are we cool? (edited cuz I forgot to rnu the spellckech)

Me too, and I'm the one writing this stuff! Talk about the blind leading the blind here..... If you believe that God is omniscient, then He can tell the truly repentant from the ones who are just trying to see what they can get away with. Going to church is no guarantee of admittance into Heaven, Icantellyouthat! Once again, JSngry nailed it on the head--because we'd fuck it up just like we did last time we tried!

It's not their sexuality that makes them sinners. In terms of sinfulness, they're no more sinners than my wife and I, who are straight. In the eyes of God, we're all equals on that plane known as "humanity," nobody more sinful than the other. I understand (or at least I think I do) that Jim's point is that homosexuality isn't a sin. On this, I can only agree to disagree. But the point I've made all along is that it's not anything we do that makes us sinners; it's our being. It's the fact that we are imperfect (assume for a moment that the only perfect being is God), but being imperfect does not make us or anyone else "bad people."

And if one fails to overcome that temptation, then what? You're doomed forever? I'd hate to think that God is so petty as to overlook an honest, contrite, and repentant heart because someone failed to escape from one sin! I don't believe He is. I'll use the example of my lesbian friends again, who worship Christ as their Savior, bring their daughters to church practically every Sunday, teach them the Commandments and the example of Christ. Do you honestly think that God is looking down at them with some holy scorecard and saying, "Yeah, you worship my Son and call Him your Savior, but yer still a coupla queers. See ya in hell, babes." I know there's a lot of Christians who think that; I'm not one of 'em. I'm not saying he overlooks their sin, but then He doesn't hold their sin against them any higher than anyone else's sin. Jim is absolutely right. But isn't it our nature to wanna pick and choose how we wanna live? Does our pickin' & choosin' diminish the importance of the Bible? I honestly don't think so. And this is where I see the true beauty of Christ, as His life and sacrifice serve as that reconciliation between the way I wanna live and the way God expects me to live. It's rarely ever the same, unfortunately. Heaven would be a pretty barren place if the only people up there were those that lived completely sinless lives.

Absolutely not. If churches only welcomed non-sinners, they’d be empty. Like Christ said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17, non-KJV) BTW, why only quote verse 9 from 1st Corinthians? There’s more sinners listed in verse 10: thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers all will get their due. Do any of us NOT fall in any of these categories? Are we all going to Hell in a handbasket? There’s this mistaken notion out there that if you accept Christ as your Savior, that you automatically stop sinning. To focus on the topic at hand, there’s an even more dangerous misconception out there that says something to this effect: if you accept Christ as your Savior, you’re cured of your homosexuality; conversely, if you’re still a homosexual, then you must not be a “real Christian.” (I live in Texas; I see it all the time) To that, I offer a resounding BULLSHIT!!!!! It’s usually the idolaters, slanderers and swindlers making that dangerous claim to begin with! So what do we do? Say, “Well the Bible got it wrong on this one?” No. But at the same time, Christians absolutely MUST NOT exclude one person because of their sin, but casually ignore the sins of the other. This is the true essence of “Judging not others, lest you yourself be judged.” Or as Jesus also said, when a woman caught in sin was brought to Him, “Sure, I’ll condemn her; right after the first one of you lot COMPLETELY WITHOUT SIN casts the first stone.” None of them did. Christians condemn themselves when they (and I) cast that stone as well. As for Leviticus, well..... don’t get me started! Mainly cuz I’ll get even more lost than I already am!

Cool! Glad ya like it! I sold my copy to a fellow board member, and he's "happy as can be." B-)

I had this conversation once with the mother of a friend of mine. I asked her basically the same thing, only her answer was more direct: she believed that only Christians were going to heaven; no one else. I didn’t think of it at the time, and I wish I had: so then, why does Jesus say, in John 10:16 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” I’m no theological scholar, but it seems to me that He’s referring to the “good folks” you mention. Why this verse isn’t bandied about more often by religious folk is beyond me. This, to me, is one of the more hopeful verses throughout Scripture. I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through, or what this person went through. I can only surmise that something happened in a church, rejection of this person, very likely. But I can offer two examples of the heart of Christ at work: 1) At my church, we have a pair of lesbians who have adopted two little girls from Guatamela. They are at church EVERY Sunday, and are very active in the church. Their oldest daughter is one of the loveliest children in the world, very pleasant and unbelievably snuggly (plus, she absolutely glows when she giggles!) Now, I’m sure there are people in my midst who disapprove of their coming to church, but they are few and far between (and anyhow, why SHOULDN’T they be welcome into a church? If someone is gonna say they’re such horrible sinners in the first place, I would think that the FIRST thing they would do is invite them to church.). For the most part, these two are embraced and loved by everyone they come in contact with. 2) My sister belongs to a church in Austin that is part of the “Reconciling in Christ” community. (See the brochure here. It’s on the left). They have an AIDS Outreach ministry. This church is even more open to gays & lesbians than my church is! My point is, there are many MANY churches out there who welcome gays & lesbians with open arms. Staying away from the cold rigid legalistic churches is easier than finding the loving open churches, I’ll grant you that; but for my money, finding them is worth the search. Religious people (Christian or otherwise) may use fear, but I guarantee that the basis of Christianity is love, despite the efforts of some of its so-called followers to practice otherwise. Look, I’ll be honest: I’ve rarely personally been exposed to the bad side of a church, though I know it exists. (I guess that’s one of the perks of being Lutheran: we basically don’t care, we just wanna see you in Heaven.) And as I said, I cannot even begin to imagine what this person you know went through. Any rejection of him is wrong, IMHO, and it angers me deeply when people who call themselves Christians reject or condemn a person because of their sexuality. Why isn’t this kind of condemnation being leveled at adulterers?

d. Floor it!

No kidding! That shit was even worse than Crystal Pepsi! I just wonder if this Black Dew will have all the caffeine as the regular stuff!

That was a KILLER drum solo!!!

I hear ya, brother; at the same time, I hope that one day you’ll find in the Bible something to latch onto and bring you back to what you first believed in, before it became tainted and clouded by those who would use the Bible as a weapon. It certainly wasn’t ever intended that way. Not for nothing did Jesus say “Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” It is my hope that one day, you’ll be able to do that; to let go and get past all the religious bullshit and focus only on Him. (And as I read that, it looks terribly condescending and I don’t mean it that way at all. In fact, I wish we were at Vitale’s having this conversation over a few beers, where things sound better when they’re spoken as opposed to being written.) I also wanna echo what JSngry said: Truer words were never spoken.

That's what happens when I read a thread from back to front!

Yeah, and played back-to-back with Prayer Meetin’, they make for a nice healthy dose o’ greeeeaze!

Me too!

As the old Kay Kyser, would say, “That’s right! You’re wrong!” It’s definitely not from the album you listed, but I could sure see how you might think this is Mr. T! And maybe it is “Little Miss Cott” playing piano. Dan try to trick us on a BFT? NAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

YESSS!!!!!!

Pity. Had he lived, he coulda been the sixth Byrd (can you imagine him playing on "Eight Miles High?")