Alexander

OMG! I just watched the preview, and it looks AWESOME! Can't WAIT to see this!

Well, you all know how I feel about the subject. Jim is absolutely right when he says that its all speculation at this point. But it is also true that no objective historical evidence for the existence of such a person exists. No letters, no eyewitness accounts...nothing at all. And lest you think, "Well, it WAS 2000 years ago. I'm sure written records were pretty sparce back then," think again. Contemporary Roman and Jewish records were excellent. Had such a person as Jesus existed (with a multitude of followers, performing miracles), there would be some record. And yet, nothing exists. Not even a statue. Curious.

My understanding is that the new disc *is* culled from the three disc set. Of course, I didn't know about the existence of the three disc set until I bought the single disc. Might have to grab the three disc set at some point.

I got both of these when they were released last week. The new Redman solo disc, backed by his "Elastic" band, is much better than his previous release. Yahel seems to have more opportunity to stretch and all the guest stars help stir the pot a bit. The SFJazz Collective disc is fantastic. Really worth checking out. How can you go wrong with a line-up consisting of Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Miguel Zenon, Nicholas Payton, Brian Blade and Renee Rosnes?! Exceptional playing and writing all around. About half of the album (which was recorded in concert at various dates last spring) is made up of Ornette Coleman compositions, and they really go to town. It's particularly nice hearing Bobby Hutcherson do "Una Muy Bonita" again. Anyone else hear these? Have an opinion? I give them

Add to that the fact that the Beatles never *intended* for the solo from "In My Life" to be somehow "unplayable." All they were trying to do was create the sound of a harpsichord. There wasn't one available, so George Martin played the part slowly on a regular piano. When they sped it up, it sounded like a harpischord solo played at normal speed.

This is gonna sound strange, but if I found such a thing, I don't think I'd sell it.

I'm ashamed to say that as much as I've always enjoyed Jimmy on the Billie Holiday Verve Box, I don't own anything by him as a leader (except for the album Getz produced on Columbia, and even that is technically under Getz's name). Any recommendations?

Andrew Hill "Live at Montreaux" and the the recently reissued "Homage."

Well, I'm currently looking for a teaching job, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I don't know what everyone else's excuse is...

"If you've enjoyed hearing this song, and would like to know more about Finland, why not ring Mr. Griffiths of Hemel Hempstead. He and his charming wife Edna would be glad to answer any of your questions and who knows, may show you some of their unrivaled collection of Scandinavian credit cards."

I disagree. First of all, just because a person is too young to vote doesn't make him or her too young to have an uninformed opinion. I've met plenty of 11 to 17-year-olds who thought they understood politics enough to support the president, for example, in the 2004 election. Similarly, just because a person is old enough to vote but normally doesn't do so is not an indication that one is apolitical. Supposedly the so-called "values-voters" were the deciding factor in the last election, and these are people who normally *don't* go to the polls because they believe the politics is too corrupt for them to bother. These people are Carrie's audience. They live in the South, believe in God, support the troops, and love contemporary country radio. Carrie is their ideal daughter. If she started dressing like Christina/Brittany or admitted to liking the Dixie Chicks, they'd drop her in a cold minute.

Let the record show that on April 15th, Alexander correctly predicted the outcome of this year's "American Idol." I correctly predicted that 1) the black candidates would all be bumped in the end (although I did predict in a later post that the final three would be white, so I did goof in that respect), and 2) that Carrie would win. Why did I make such a prediction and why was it virtually certain to come true? What it comes down to is politics. A victory for Carrie is a victory for the Red States. She's cute. She's clean. She believes in God, mother and country (music, that is). She comes from the Heartland AND the Bible Belt. She's got rows and rows of sparkling teeth. She's practically guaranteed a spot in W's iPod. Bo, although he came from a Southern State, was a long-haired drug-user. He was the Blue State candidate by default. Although he was clearly the stronger singer and the better performer, he couldn't beat the killer combination of teeth, religion, and Republicanism. It's all political, folks!

Just for shits and giggles, I decided to see with people like Michael Medved made of "Sin City." There's some really funny stuff at the site: Christians Review Sin City For those who don't feel like scrolling through the whole thing, it seems that many Christian viewers felt that "Sin City" was full of bad things that "good people" shouldn't see...but other than that they seemed to enjoy it a whole hell of a lot! "...From a technical standpoint: it is one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. From a moral standpoint: it's so deep in the gutter, there's absolutely nothing redeeming about it. It's a movie I appreciated, but it's not for everyone. I would only recommend it to mature adult christians who are not easily offended. ...As a comic book fan (in my younger days) I have to agree that this is the most faithful adaptation of a comic ever. It literally brings the Frank Miller series to life...ripping it right out of the graphic novel and pasting it on the screen. Rodriguez is a visual genius. The almost completely black-and-white movie is electrified with the intense splashes of color introduced into blood, lips, eyes, shoes, etc. I was drooling over how beautifully it was shot and rendered. As an idealist, my mind was racing with the thought of a christian filmmaker with this kind of visual talent! It's really unbelievable. And I'm not going to lie and say the 3 stories weren't interesting. Frank Miller is a wonderful comic book writer and artist and he knows how to write a gritty, hard-boiled story." But other than that, it stinks and anyone who sees it will be condemned to hell. It seems that a big part of being a Christian is denying yourself the things you enjoy. "Yeah, it's a kick-ass movie with great acting, striking imagery and superb directing...but Jesus wouldn't want me to see it, so I guess I'll go home and sing hymns." Funny stuff!

Can't draw? Ok, I can see that. Not everything is to everybody's taste. Miller's style is very quirky, and I can see it wearing on somebody's nerves (not mine, but somebody's). Have you ever read any of the "Sin City" books? The visuals in those comics are some of the best and most striking I've ever seen. Can't write? Can't help ya there. Miller may not be Alan Moore, but he's one of my top five favorite comic book writers. What does someone have to do to be able to "write" in your opinion? Do it while suspended by his teeth over a pit of boiling lava?

I agree. Fascinating article. I know I'd hate to be the one to arrest my musical hero. This man strikes me as being very brave.

Well, it does look horrid, but I don't think the Spielberg film looks much better. I'd much rather see a film set during the late 19th century than one set in the present. Has anybody read the second volume of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?" It's set during "The War of the Worlds" and features the League going up against the Martians. It's pretty freaking awesome!

Yep. Great stuff. Worth searching for. The title is "Deep Dead Blue."

I'm a huge Costello fan. I have everything. I mean everydamnthing. I've got all of the albums. I've owned them in every format and in every version available (starting with the Columbia cassettes and moving on to the Columbia CDs, the Rykodisc CDs, and now the Rhinos). I even have "Get Happy!!" on vinyl. I've got soundtrack material that hasn't even been collected yet (how many people do YOU know who bought the "Nottinghill" soundtrack just to get Costello's version of "She?"). I've got live bootlegs. I've got interview discs. I've even got the Japanese import of "Painted from Memory" just so I could get the bonus live disc. I've got the classical album. Right now I'm saving up for a copy of the Costello/Nieve live boxed set (rare, out of print, and currently selling for a human kidney on eBay). It's all worth getting. All of it. Every scrap. "Almost Blue" was my introduction to country music. I made it my mission to track down the original versions of every track on that album. So what else to get? If you liked "King of America," you should consider both "Almost Blue" and "The Kojak Variety." "Get Happy!!" is, indeed, essential. A copy should be issued to everyone at birth. You won't be able to get "Secondary Modern" out of your head once you hear it. Get "Trust." Get "Imperial Bedroom." Get "Spike," "Mighty Like a Rose," "Brutal Youth," and "All This Useless Beauty" and be patient with them. Let them grow on you. Costello's WB period is a difficult one, but worthwhile if you've got the ear for it. Above all else, enjoy the process of discovery. Costello is one of the true modern musical masters. He's got very big ears for all kinds of music, and it all finds its way into his work.

Same thing at B&N. When I managed the music department, I made sure that all of the new releases were sale stickered and ready to go for Tuesday morning. Brian P., who sometimes posts hereabouts, was the Tuesday opener and he was always sure to get everything shelved and displayed by the time I came in at 11. I often find myself wishing that other record stores were as dependable as we tried to be!

I saw this a second time over the weekend with a friend who's not into comics. He seemed to enjoy it, although the non-chronological structure threw him off at a couple of points. I actually liked it better, if that's possible, than the first time I saw it. The first time I was a little disappointed by the "tongue-in-cheek" approach Rodriguez took. The graphic novels aren't "tongue-in-cheek" at all. They display tremendous wit, but they're not meant to be "ha ha" funny, and I felt that there was a little too much that was being played for laughs. But watching it a second time through I was just dazzled by the sheer spectacle of it all. Another filmmaker might have played it straight and just made film versions of the stories in Miller's comics, but Rodriguez and company made movies of the comics themselves. It is a (not entirely successful) projection of the "Sin City" comics onto the big screen, and however else you may feel about the film, it looks amazing. There are so many images that just leap out at the viewer: Kevin's eyes (or lack thereof); Marv's bandages; Goldie's hair; Jackie-Boy in Dwight's car; little Miho... I think if you accept it as 1) a pure asthetic experience, and 2) a comic book literally brought to life it works better than if you go in expecting to see something containing subtlety and nuance. Miller is a master of many things, but subtlety ain't one of them...

I've had the first volume for some time and have always enjoyed it. Sigh...I guess I'm gonna have to go find the other four...damn you all!

Strange as this may sound, my wife and I generally don't talk about things we don't want our daughter to understand. If you mean we're trying to keep a surprise from her, we'll generally spell out the word(s) in question: "Shall we get some I-C-E C-R-E-A-M later?" Otherwise, we wait untill she leaves the room (if we're talking about something that might disturb her, like a recent kidnapping or something). In the good old U S of A, its generally considered rude to converse in another language in the presence of someone who doesn't speak said language...

I submitted a piece of short fiction I wrote a few months ago. It guessed male. Female Score: 3692 Male Score: 4335

I have my English students read comic books in addition to great literature. Surely there's a place for a fun song like "Louie, Louie" along with Beethoven and Ellington, isn't there?

I'm not planning on picking this up as I have all of the softcover books, but it is nice to see a great piece of American art published in a durable form such as this. My question is this: Will the set contain Watterson's watercolor art, often used on back covers, and the poems (with accompanying art) that were only published in the large anthologies?