Alexander

bingo. It may be the law, but it's an unenforceable law. Illegal downloading is one thing to try to control, but can you imagine the hassle of trying to make sure that every person who ever owned a CD and ripped it to his or her iPod still has the "hard copy"? What are they going to do? Periodic spot checks? Unlike file sharing, there is NO WAY this could ever come back and bite somebody in the ass. Does that make it legal or even ethical? No, but it's essentally the RIAA's version of the blue laws. No one is going to make sure that you're not drinking before noon on a Sunday, and no one is going to make sure that you own every MP3 on your computer. It's not something that I would do. I have also run out and bought hard copies of things I've bought off of emusic and iTunes. I like to have the physical CD or LP. But if these people want to do this, why bitch about it?

Jeez! Hard to pick! I think my all time favorite moment is when Julius shoots the guy in Bret's apartment and says, "I'm sorry. Did I break your concentration? You were saying something about 'best intentions'? Oh, you were finished? Well, allow me to retort..." That and the music. Great music in that movie!

How did you pick up on that little detail and miss the homoerotic encounter between Kirk and Spock (from the same episode)?!?!? Wasn't there a homoerotic encounter between Kirk and Spock in EVERY episode? Isn't that why Spock and McCoy didn't get along? They were both after Kirk, right?

Agreed, DS9 was pretty freaking great, especially after Worf joined the crew. I lost interest after Jadzia died, though.

I've been trying to get some of Monday's stuff for quite some time, but as has been noted most of what's available is import only and quite expensive. And I can't figure out how to sign on for the artist share site. Anyway, someone on the AAJ board was offering "Routes" for trade, and I e-mailed him and offered to buy it off of him. He accepted, and I am now listening to "Routes." I think it's a wonderful CD (I think it's very cool that Henry Hey is the keyboardist. He's a terrific pianist) and I have to wonder why she doesn't have a record deal in the US. The CD appears to have been manufactured for the Japanese market, but like all Japanese imports it comes with a Japanese insert that translates the English text. I understand this practice when the CDs are Japanese versions of American or British albums, but this was made in Japan by a Japanese record label. Why is the booklet in English? Is the idea that the album will sell to English speaking listeners abroad?

I like when Kirk is being tracked by a TV antenna at 0:33.

I know that I'm revealing myself to be the world's biggest geek when I say this, but this episode was from the second season of TNG. It really wasn't until the fourth season that the show really hit its stride (you can tell this is from the second season because Poulaski is the doctor instead of Crusher). The first season is the overall worst (worst special effects, worst costumes, worst storylines (many of which involved Wesley saving the ship) and a beardless Riker). The second season wasn't much better (although Riker had grown the beard by this point). Notice that the crew is still wearing those annoying "low-collar" uniforms. The better "high-collar" uniforms didn't arrive until the third season, which is when things started to pick up (the show didn't REALLY get good until they sent Wesley off to Starfleet Academy).

Did you check out her version of "Seven Nation Army"? Pretty freakin' great!

I'm not sure that this qualifies, but sometimes I find that doing something spontaniously has better results than the things that are fully thought out. The lessons I make up on the spot are often better (and connect with the kids better) than the ones I spend hours trying to think through.

You ought to check her out, if for no other reason than to be able to form an opinion. I think her apparent popularity reflects today's lowered standards. There was a time when an artist could rise to the top based in large part on his/her talent, today they either have to be super-hyped or strenuously bizarre to stand out. That's MHO. The thing is (at least in the US), Winehouse was already standing out through her music. I know she's been tabloid fodder in the UK for some time, but in the US people didn't start paying any attention to her problems until her music got wide exposure. Have her problems brought her more exposure than she might have had otherwise? Sure. Is it the wrong kind of exposure? Most definitely. Would she still be famous if she weren't so messed up? I think she would be. She stood out in the 21st century pop scene because (like Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, and Mick Jagger before her) she's a Brit who effectively performs American R&B. It sounds different from other American pop music at the moment.

I'll have to listen to "Sexy Sadie" in the Maharishi's honor.

I'm one of those weird people who will often buy compilations because I like the way the material is presented. In some cases, I own compliations in which I own ALL of the music in the original context, but I like hearing the music OUT of that context. I own several Beatles compilations (on LP and CD) even I though I own ALL of the Beatles albums (on CD and LP, in both British and American configurations).

Holy crap, that was funny! Did you see Jack Benny? I thought Cos was gonna kill him!

I certainly expected that I would but the fact is I've given this newest CD three listens, and my reaction each time is a great big 'meh'. World class vocal chops and a tight band, but ... maybe I'm missing the point (shaking your ass) but I expected better songs. There was only a single song that I wanted to play a second time. BTW, did anyone else notice "Ian Hendrickson-Smith" on bari in the credits? Checking the info on the Cellar Live website for his live CD, its the same guy who records for Sharp Nine. Not that you could tell by his playing on the CD. I enjoyed "100 Days, 100 Nights," but I don't think that it's the best of the Jones/Dap-Kings discography by a long shot. For me it would probably be "Naturally," which features the mighty duet "Stranded in Your Love" with Lee Fields. The first album, "Dap-Dippin'" is great as well, but I thought that "Naturally" is overall the stronger album. Some people are going to have a part of their brain that can't stop regarding this music as "inauthentic." Since I care absolutely nothing for authenticity, I don't have any issue whatsoever, but if you wonder why anyone would listen to a bunch of 20 and 30-somethings playing 60s/70s soul music, then this probably isn't for you.

Pats fan here, and I'm VERY disappointed. I really wanted to see them make that 19-0 record. They still had an amazing season, but this is a real antii-climax. I will say that the Giants played a great defense tonight.

My wife once e-mailed this to me. She fully endorses it and claims that it has completely cracked her code. Now I watch my back whenever I ask her what's the matter and she replies, "Nothing."

No, his death was not "romantic." But, as an actor, he is very much to be admired. Similarly, I wouldn't recommend checking out like Kurt Cobain, but I admire the hell out of his music.

I think that, like vinyl, CDs will probably never completely die. Even while most of us enjoy the freedom that digital music and digital music players offer, there will always be a subset that wants to have a "hard copy" at home, if only as a backup. Vinyl is proof that no matter how "outdated" a technology may be, there will always be enough people to keep it afloat. I'm sure that, somewhere, there are people who are devoted to laserdisc, betamax, or even eight-track tape. I don't know where they get these things, but as long as there is a demand, someone will fill it. But the marketplace will change, as it has changed before. How it will change is hard to predict (as it always has been). No one could have forseen, when the internet was filled with arguments over SACDs vs DVD-A, that the predominent format would become the humble MP3 file. Record stores will vanish from the landscape. Big Box stores will shrink their music sections. But websites that sell CDs and LPs will still exist, and will probably continue to do so as long as people own CD players and turntables. And people will continue to buy CD players and record players as long as they have something to play on them. The paradigm of the music industry has changed in ways that no one could have predicted when CDs entered the marketplace in the mid-80s. When CDs emerged, they were supposed to supplant tapes and LPs. Everyone in the industry was in agreement on this point. After a time, LPs and tapes would no longer be manufactured and sold, and that pretty much came to pass. What they could not have forseen was the way the internet (just emerging in the late 80s) would allow collectors markets to thrive. What would have had to surivive in print ads at the back of collectors magazines, limited in circulation and scope, could now exist in real-time and accessable to anyone with an internet connection. Had the internet existed during the 50s, I am convinced that the 78 market would have allowed for the manufacture of new 78s on a large scale.

I saw it last night and absolutely loved it. I should note that I am NOT a P.T. Anderson fan. I very much disliked "Boogie Nights" and haven't bothered to see any of his other films.

In short, the "President" was little more than the modern day Speaker of the House (if our system didn't include an independent executive). The Constitutional Convention was called to "amend" the Articles, not junk them. Fortunately, the members managed to do so, and the states were called upon to ratify a completely new, and totally different set of ground rules for the young nation. So, under the Constitution, Washington was the first President. There were previous presidents under the Articles of Confederation. Exactly!

This was my favorite part, especially the part about the Articles of Confederation! Ever wonder why we never hear about the presidents before George Washington? Samuel Huntington (March 1, 1781 – July 9, 1781) Thomas McKean (July 10, 1781 – November 4, 1781) John Hanson (November 5, 1781 – November 3, 1782) Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783) Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 – October 31, 1784) Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 – November 6, 1785) John Hancock (November 23, 1785 – May 29, 1786) Nathaniel Gorham (June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786) Arthur St. Clair (February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787) Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 – November 2, 1788) I also LOVE the Hiroshima bit! So true!

"You know...for kids!"

Have you ever noticed that no one ever robs restaurants?

Actually, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), is much more attractive without the makeup and costume...

It's the end of an era. Not a very important era, but an era nonetheless. I guess the ground is officially cleared for Elvira's comeback (remember that Vampira attempted to sue Elvira for ripping off her schtick).