kenny weir

Only one answer for me, born and bred in NZ, a country where the only native mammals are bats and the only poisonous critter is a not-very-scary spider: YEEEEECH! I've only seen one snake in the wild. It was about 25 years ago in Crete. A harmless grass snake seen from a distance of about 50 feet. I just about crapped myself.

Jim - not tragic at all these days, we've done real well, really. Bennie's just turned 5 and he rocks seriously and I have him 3 nights a week and holidays. But thanks anyway. One good thing - support payments + rent = a helluva lot less than the killer mortgage that crushed us = $ for CDs! Interesting thread - as I've come to discover, there's not much black and white about these issues. There are changes coming in Australian family law, and rightly so as there's myriad dads who've been fucked over. But I have an almighty dread that altering the balance even a little is going to see even more women and children killed by assholes

I don't wish to comment on this particular case, but ... As a dad whose marriage ended very, very badly about a year and a half ago, I've found myself paying a LOT more attention to things such as family law and so on. And not necessarily supporting such characters but certainly empathising with many of them. In my case, I feel it's pretty fucked up that there is potentially a financial incentive for my ex to restrict my access to our son.

I didn't have time to really study it, as I had to "borrow" a colleague's terminal - and even then it was stopping and starting!

Is this news? I certainly haven't heard of it, but that don't mean much. The link was posted on the Australian site ozjazzforum this morning. Bird performs with Hawk backed by Hank Jones, Ray Brown and Buddy Rich. The section then performs alone before being joined (sans Hawk and Bird) by Bill Harris, Prez, Sweets, Flip and Ella. Wow. http://www.dailymotion.com/alternativa/video/53031

Still deciding about San Antonio Rose ... But in the meantime I have snagged the Floyd Tillman set, which is simply fabulous - providing you dig the dude's voice! Unlike many BF single artist sets, there's a lot of diversity - western swing, flat out honky tonk, neo cajun and rockabilly and even an unplugged blues session.

Presley WASN'T black?

This is really stupid. The most popular thread on a jazz forum is about a band , albeit led by a brilliant improviser , which amassed a massive fan base primarily consisting of folk looking for escapes from reality. Jazz is all about courageous response to the cold harsh nature of reality for most on this earth -- not an escape. How many deadheads do I know from my past who destroyed their lives with that "lifestyle" ... ... ok, all my right-[hand fingers all up and now I'm counting on my left. Actually, I love this post. A classic of its kind. It has a kind of imbecilic purity that really impresses.

My bad - music is all about escapism for me, so tomorrow I'll hock all my jazz CDs. Mosaics anyone?

I don't what they're calling themselves these days, but it's always officially been known as the New Orleans Jazz AND Heritage Festival. As someone who has attended it many times, I'm not in favour of the likes of Paul Simon and so on getting a gig, but it should be noted that it has never been billed simply as a jazz festival - the likes of Fats, zydeco, cajun, Mardi Gras indians have always been integral to the festival.

Here's my gleeful tip: England's Sven woes mean their team's chances of winning the World Cup are close to zero. Zip. Cactus. Gone. How can the players respect such a slippery character? The sole Oz-based Socceroo, Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson, has joined PSV, where he will hopefully keep in good nick and under the nose of coach Hiddink

I have only two albums with her performing. One, Now as Then, is an organ project that is a pretty good album. The other, the Jim Knapp Orchestra's Secular Breathing, goes close to classic territory and is one of the albums I have enjoyed most this year. It's a Seattle outfit, and thanks to Phil kelly for the tip. A 13-piece outfit doing great, souldful, hard-boppish tunes - big band sound with small group suppleness. Get it HERE

My vote goes to Roger Miller.

Tonight in the office: Chicken, sausage and okra gumbo.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, before my marriage was blown asunder by the mortgage from hell and numerous ugly incidents, I was thinking of taking up a martial art! A year after separating, and having seeminly reached some sort of equilibrium with my ex, especially regarding our son, I'm back at it. After much internet browsing, reading and shopping around, I have committed to a particular Melbourne aikido dojo, and have been to four classes. For someone in my age group and lifestyle, aikido seems just about right. The instructors I have had so far are all, no surprise, much younger than me, but the welcome has been generous. I have explained my lack of fitness and being slightly overweight, fear of long-term injury etc etc and all that has been taken on booard. There is ample warmup for each class, and I have no qualms whatsoever about making a complete ass of myself. Last night I wasn't in the mood and just about called in to cancel, but I persevered - and felt great afterwards. Watching the senior students, I'm a little in awe - there's a world of learning and practising there.

Agree about the box - mine's ripping already. Actually, I only got this set so I could get another copy of the Lomax book.

On the basis of Dick's Picks and other live stuff I have, personally I'm in the Velma camp over the Donna camp any day of the week.

Relax John - I'm sorta in the same neighborhood now. But, yep, that very cool map makes you and I look kinda like a bit of a freakshow!

Done!

Well, a certain amount of arrogance on Brazil's part is quite understandable! But any team actually entering the World Cup with anything that smacks of that sort of comfiness is asking for it. Let's face it - there's 32 teams chasing 16 second-round places, which means some very, very highly lauded teams are gonna miss out.

I agree with all this. If Japan and South Korea even go halfway to repeating their previous efforts, it will be an amazing feat. Australia CAN finish second in their group. Whether they WILL remains to be seen.

No complaints from me. If the Socceroos get to Brazil needing a draw or a win, they're not good enough. So ... it's simple: Beat Croatia and Japan. I'm hopeful (very) and confident (a little, but that will surely grow!) I have a lot of faith in Hiddink to make the players make this happen for us. Other groups: C: Tough! D: Looks tight. E: Nightmare for the US. G: Lucky France. H: Another tight race.

Maybe, but ... I'd still be happier if the Socceroos play Switzerland.

Kenny's wish list: Mexico or Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad/Tobago, Australia. Oh yes. Please oh please. Everyone's nightmare: Landing in the same group as Brazil AND the Netherlands.

Well here's how it's shaping up so far: Soc: Dutch left out of World Cup top eight seedings Soccer World Seeds Nightlead LEIPZIG, Germany, Dec 5 AP - Spain and Mexico were the surprise choices on Tuesday among the eight seeded teams for the World Cup draw, while the Netherlands was left out. Host Germany and defending champion Brazil were automatically seeded for Friday's draw. Also making the list were four other former champions - Argentina, England, Italy and France. FIFA based its seedings on results at the last two World Cups and the world rankings of the past three years. Based on that rule, Brazil topped the standings with 64 points, ahead of England with 51, Spain with 50 and Germany with 48. The fifth-ranked team was Mexico with 47, followed by France with 46 and Argentina and Italy tied in seventh with 44 points. The United States fell just short of the top eight with 43 points, while the Dutch were well back with 38. Brazil was given top spot in Group F because it can play in Berlin, Munich and Dortmund, the biggest of the 12 World Cup stadiums. Germany was already seeded to head Group A and will play at the same venues. The Netherlands, a two-time World Cup runner-up, failed to make the seedings despite being third in the FIFA rankings behind Brazil and the Czech Republic. Spain and Mexico have never reached the final at aWorld Cup. Spain, a perennial underachiever, only qualified through the European playoffs. Mexico was runner-up behind the United States in the North and Central America and Caribbean group. The Czechs failed to qualify for the previous three World Cups. The draw was also set up to prevent teams from the same continent landing in the same group. Europe, with 14 of the 32 teams, is the exception. But no more than two European teams will be paired in the same group. The field has four teams each from South America, Asia and the CONCACAF region and five from Africa. Australia represents Oceania. The World Cup draw will be completed in Leipzig onSaturday morning (AEDT). AP Pool One: Germany (hosts), Brazil (champions), Italy, France, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, England Pool Two: Australia, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia, Ecuador, Paraguay Pool Three: Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine Pool Four: Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, United States Special pot: Serbia & Montenegro