Alexander

The reason I'm posting this now, even though this story broke in June 2003, is because I recently had a discussion with an otherwise sane individual who actually cited the so-called "Jesus Box" as historical evidence of the existence (at least in earthly form) of Jesus. Astonished, I said that the box was proven a fake years ago. His reply: "Really? I don't remember seeing that on the news." Well, he was right. The discovery of the alleged tomb was front page (or nearly front page) news, but the discovery of the hoax was buried on the back pages. I have since spoken to at least a dozen people who remember the story about the tomb's discovery, but didn't hear that it was a fake. So here's the story from CBS news... Oh, Brother: Jesus Box Is A Fake (CBS/AP) An artifact said to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever has turned out to be a fake. The inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" on an ancient stone burial box caused a stir last year, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger, because it was said to be the oldest reference to Jesus outside the Bible. But Israeli experts announced Wednesday that "the inscription is a forgery." Gideon Avni of the Israeli Antiquities Authority said the box is authentic and dates back 2,000 years, but the inscription was forged in recent times. "The inscriptions, possibly inscribed in two separate stages, are not authentic," the Antiquities Authority said in a statement. "This forgery was done sometime in the last decades, maybe in the last years," he told CBS News. The James inscription cut through the ancient limestone box's patina, a thin coating acquired with age, the experts said, proving the writing was not ancient. Avni said the decision by the authority was unanimous. In the Bible, Matthew 13:55 refers to James as Jesus' brother. He later became head of the church in Jerusalem, according to the New Testament. Oded Golan, the Israeli owner of the ossuary, dismissed the officials' findings as "wrong." However, Biblical language professor Avigdor Horowitz, who served on one of the investigating committees, said not one inscribed passage on the tablet was without a linguistic mistake. "The person who wrote the inscription was a person who thinks in modern Hebrew," he told a news conference in Jerusalem. "A person thinking in biblical Hebrew would see it as ridiculous." The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Jerusalem police launched separate investigations into the two items after Golan offered one for sale. The Yoash inscription is a shoebox-sized tablet from about the ninth century BC inscribed with 15 lines of ancient Hebrew with instructions for maintaining the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. When it was first disclosed two years ago, it caused a stir in the archaeological world, with some experts calling it a rare confirmation of biblical narrative. The existence of the James ossuary was revealed last November at a news conference in Washington by the Biblical Archaeology Review. Israel Antiquities Authority head Shuka Dorfman said the ossuary itself was not examined because its authenticity as an ancient burial box was not in question. The practice of reburying Jewish remains ended around A.D. 70. "The box is original; probably we have in our storeroom hundreds of the same or similar ossuaries. The inscription is false," he said. The artifact had been valued at $1 million to $2 million, based on the claimed link with Jesus. Golan said he bought the James ossuary in the mid-1970s from an antiquities dealer in the Old City of Jerusalem for about $200, but he said he could not remember the dealer's name. However, antiquities inspectors, who have questioned several Old City dealers, were also checking suspicions Golan bought the ossuary only a few months ago. In such a case, those involved in the sale could be prosecuted for dealing in stolen goods. The police investigation into how the box was acquired will continue regardless of the committee's findings. Dorfman said the antiquities experts made a purely scientific examination of the artifacts, without trying to prove or disprove any allegations against Golan.

Whoever I'm listening to at the moment! B-) Spitfire, there's no single "best" jazz musician, but some artists who rank in nearly every listener's top one hundred would include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, Jo Jones, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Lenny Tristano, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Warne Marsh, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Clifford Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Ton Williams, Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Cannonball Adderley, Josef Zawinal, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Amhad Jamal, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Lionel Hampton...I could go on and on. The point is that if you choose an album by one of the above named artists, or look for an album with one or more of the above listed as sidemen, you aren't going to go too far wrong.

Me too!

Are there any small screws near the pulley? Maybe the belt is riding in the wrong spot. Brand? Both good questions. The answer to the first is: "I don't know, but I'll check." The answer to the second is that its a Sony purchased at Best Buy, so it's pretty much the bottom of the line.

I guess I have no problem with an artist reserving the right to return to his earlier work. W.B. Yates and Samuel Coleridge both revisited and "tweaked" some of their most famous poems in later life (Coleridge altered "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" more than 20 years after its original publication). William Faulkner often revised pieces of short fiction when he incorperated them in to novels (one of the most famous examples, "The Bear," is also part of "Go Down Moses" and contains an extra section designed to integrate its action in to the larger piece. Too often this is the version high school students end up reading, and many of them wind up puzzled by the fourth chapter). But in all of these cases, the original work remains for comparisons sake (even if we've accepted that, in the case of Coleridge, the final version remains canonical). Unless some enterprising film scholar goes out of his or her way to preserve the original theatrical cuts of the "Star Wars" films, they will be lost or forgotten. I also have no problem with Lucas's "new" versions of these films on DVD, but I do wish he would ALSO release the theatrical cuts (as Spielberg did with his new version of "E.T.").

Okay, I will admit freely that I didn't know jack-shit when my wife bought me my turntable. The player she got me is belt driven, and I'm having trouble with the speed being somewhat inconsistant resulting in what I believe in referred to as "wow" (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a total novice at this sort of thing). Here are some questions I have: Is it possible to correct this? I've had it for less than a month. Should I return it and get a direct driven turntable? What are the pros and cons of direct drive vs belt drive?

Very funny! I've always thought there was more than a passing hint of Pythonesque humor in "South Park" (not to mention a bit of Gilliam's animation style).

Former Bostonian and, yes, a regular Stereo Jack's customer back in the day. I still make a pilgramage to Jack's whenever I visit Boston/Cambridge (once or twice a year. Hope to make a trip later this coming spring, in fact). Welcome to the board! It's like having a little piece of home...(snif)

The following are among the worst album covers EVER and are wonderful examples of bad guitar faces... Oh yeah! James Taylor is one BAD muthafucka! Okay, this isn't a "guitar face" per se, but the other Neil Diamond picture put me in mind of this one. What the hell is Neil doing with his hands? He looks like he's trying to channel Jim Morrison! This one has my vote for the worst album cover of all time. I mean, just look at him! He looks too damn happy! Did someone tell him, "Hey, Kenny! That picture where you look like the king of all fruitcakes is just the ticket to moving tons of copies!"

"Forget all about that macho shit and learn how to play sitar..." - J.C. Mellencamp

It seems to me that the function of liner notes has changed in the CD era. During the LP era, liner notes were printed on the back of the sleeve and could be read by a customer considering making a purchase. In that sense, liner notes acted as advertising as much as anything else (which is why you'll never read: "This album is pretty good, but not half as good [the artist's] last one." Everything is a masterpiece, no matter what). Nowadays, liner notes are (for the most part) printed in the CD booklet, which is sealed inside the jewelcase or digipack. Only a listener who has already made the purchase is reading the notes, so they immediately lose a large part of their original raison d'etre. I know that many Sony and Fantasy reissues have some sort of blurb on the back of the CD, but for the most part these are not full liner notes and are not intended to act as such. I also know that John Coltrane became increasingly disinterested in having liner notes on his Impulse albums, preferring to "let the music speak for itself." Given Trane's influence on subsequent generations of musicians, it's quite likely that many younger artists (Osby, Moran, Harris, et al) have, at least in part, made the decision to forgo liner notes for similar reasons. Finally, the fact is that liner notes can be pretty tiresome. Stanley Crouch's liners for Wynton Marsalis's albums are deadly dull, as well as full of exaggerated praise. Unless a liner note adds something to the listening experience, or is otherwise engaging (like Brad Mehldau's polemics) there's really no point in having them there at all...

Very sorry to hear this. I've always loved "The Spirit," "Contract With God" and other Eisner masterworks. At least he lived to see his name attached to a major industry award! In any case, he will be missed but his work will be celebrated for decades to come. Rest in Peace, Will.

Funny!

If this is available on vinyl, I'd love a copy!

I finally, FINALLY got the CD. I just wanted to say: Great job, guys! Fantastic disc. Great playing all around. "Jimmy Smith Goes To Washington" is my favorite track at the moment!

Another post-christmas baby! Happy B-Day to you!

See, I don't think you're MEANT to sympathize with them. You're meant to laugh at them. I know that being a person fairly like Miles (aspiring writer, English teacher, depressive, on medication, short, paunchy, balding, obsessive jazz connoisseur instead of wine connoisseur) most of the laughs were of recognition. "Hey, that guy's just like me! How funny!" Thomas Hayden Church, on the other hand, was the kind of unselfconcious schmuck I could never be (and wouldn't want to be).

I saw this recently and LOVED it. Wonderful acting on all counts and VERY funny. It certainly could be about any kind of obsessive fandom (like jazz collecting, for example) not just wine. How many of us would go as apeshit over having to listen to David Sanborn or Grover Washington as Miles (!) does over drinking Merlot? Remember: Don't drink and dial!

Hell yeah! Maceo and Fred (as well as the Collins Brothers, Saint Clair, and others) made some damn funky-ass music while they were with JB. Haven't heard too much of their stuff outside of JB and Parliament/Funkadelic, though...

I just learned, over the weekend, that Jerry Orbach was a friend and neighbor of my cousin Cheryl (an actress herself). Very sad to hear of his passing. That would be the second family connection I have to L&O. My cousin Sadie went to high school with Jesse L. Martin (Detective Greene on the show).

I got the old CD edition, and my track four is "Black Coffee." Amazing disc, btw! Well worth picking up!

I knew Grey from his postings only, but I'm very, very sorry to hear of his passing. He will be missed...

Thanks!!! I promised myself I wouldn't cry...(choke)

This is, indeed, a tragic development and a sobering reminder of humanity's insignificance. I am reminded of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa which was equivilant to the detonation of a 200 megatons bomb (the largest man-made bomb ever detonated is 50 megatons). It completely atomized the island and caused the deaths of 30,000 people from the resulting tsunamis. Above is an image of the island before and after the eruption. A new volcano has been forming on the same spot and will undoubtedly erupt again with similar results.

I used to live in Rochester, and visited the Bop Shop often. It was in the same mall as my favorite comic book shop (Comics Etc.).