Rooster_Ties

If I lost all my Sam CD's, I'd definitely replace the Florida "Aurora" big band disc -- and probably not the RCA's (much as I love Sam). That we're suddenly getting THREE more discs of that kind of material, is a huge and wonderful surprise!!

Perhaps give the recent Florida Big Band disc a try first?? I found the RCA 'all-star' group discs (from '99) more than just a bit impenetrable at first (for a few years, actually), but have grown to like them (though I wouldn't go so far as to say 'love'). The Florida big band date, on the other hand, knocked me on my ass from the git go. The key difference, for me, was the rhythm section. Sam's got an electric bass player (saw him with Sam in Topeka a few years ago), who also plays with his local big band. I was skeptical at first (electric in that kind of context?), but he/they soon won me over. He and the drummer were very tight. To be perfectly honest, I'm probably a little more excited about this Rivers Select, than I might have been with his 70's small-group recordings. Anybody else got Aurora, can you help me testify?!!

That Sam Rivers Florida big band disc they mention (which they misspelled, it's "Aurora") is just about THE most outrageous thing I've ever heard. Think of Schoenberg as performed by a big band, with James Brown's rhythm section (or at least bass-player). The Sam Rivers RCA big band material is good, but the Florida big band is off the charts!! AND, am I understanding right that the new Tolliver Select is also going to include both of the earlier Strata East big band dates?? ("Music Inc. & Big Band" and the Strata East "Impact"?? -- note, there's also a live quartet release called "Impact" on enja, which is totally different.) If so, this is VERY good news. The CD issues of those two Strata East dates have had atrocious sound. I'll be getting both of these for sure!!!

The importance of community as a whole is generally far greater than the importance of the individual (or even one's family unit). I'm certainly no expert on Japanese culture, but this comes through in nearly every report I'm hearing. For instance, vending machines with water and beverages NOT being broken in to, despite people having gone 4 days with little food or water -- because culturally, such things are simply not done in Japan. Humanity probably could learn a great deal from their reaction during this time of crisis.

FWIW, early on I feared being an annoyance to people with all my BN inquiries, and bought the 2001 Cuscuna/Ruppli BN discography, for what I vaguely remember being about $135 or so (sometime around 2003 I think). Reminds me, what's the story on Michel Ruppli? (the co-discographer of The Blue Note Label. I'd always wondered what his connection was to BN, though looking at Amazon, it appears he's done quite a number of these label-based discographies.

True story. I was scanning the spines of CD cases in a used classical section once, and saw an el-cheapo release of... ...the classical composer named "Schuberth". (Ranks right up there with seeing a 'Yo-Yo Ma' CD filed in the rap section once. )

The IAEA introduced a system for rating nuclear events in 1990, called INES (International Nuclear Event Scale). Chernobyl was rated "7" which is the highest level. The last official statement from Japanese authorities regarding the INES rating seems to be from three days ago when it was rated "4", but the French nuclear safety authorities (among others) have upgraded the rating to "6". Here's a summary on the IAEA website: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html Thank you for that information. I had heard a BBC radio report of what was apparently that IAEA scale, and was trying to parrot what I vaguely remembered. Crap, a "6" (out of 7). When it was at a "4", my mind was a little more at ease, but every day things seem to be getting more and more serious. And now a fire at a 4th(!) reactor -- a scenario that surely wasn't on ANYBODY'S radar. Though not Chernobyl (and it appears it can't possibly get that bad, since that involved an explosion of an operating reactor without a containment structure), this is still a frighteningly serious situation.

Wouldn't have expected that one.

Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers.

Damn it, now the 2nd reactor (the one that appeared to be the most stable) is now perhaps in the worst shape of all three that are failing. Another Reactor Now Crippled The Times also quotes a senior nuclear industry executive as saying that "full-scale panic" has set in among Japanese power industry managers. "They're in total disarray, they don't know what to do," the source told the Times. Sorry to be linking to TPM about this (a tertiary source at best), but their's is the quickest summery I could find -- and is well sourced. I'm quoting the blog post in full (it's so short, but all of it is relevant), but you'll have to go to the TPM page to get the NYT link.

I've had tubes in my ears twice (both times as a teen). Unless you're having a long term (over the course of two or more winter seasons), and reoccurring problem -- I cannot imagine a doctor recommending you get tubes. And frankly, if they did, I'd go get a second opinion, unless you've tried some other options without success. To start with, take an OTC sinus decongestant, be careful to blow your nose gently, do NOT 'sniff up' the stuff your nose is clogged with, and wait it out. If you have a more significant sinus infection that lasts more than 6-8 days, you should definitely go to the doctor and get a prescription to fight it, probably with something probably like Amoxicillin or Augmentin.

Try yawning, both opening your mouth super-wide -- but also try yawning while keeping your top and bottom teeth at most about half an inch apart (so keep your mouth 'mostly closed' while you yawn). I've found my ears will 'pop' a lot more easily by yawning while trying not to open my mouth very much. Above all, do NOT use a paperclip.

Fuck. I didn't even think about that (the impact on adjacent reactors). I'm trying not to be alarmist about the nuclear situation there, but it does appear to be slowly getting worse by the day. On a scale from one to ten, with "10" = Chernobyl -- I'm getting the sense from everything I'm hearing (BBC & NPR and on-line), that they're at a good solid "6" at the moment -- and headed, albeit slowly, in the wrong direction. The "experts" I'm hearing are saying that at this point, it can't get as bad as Chernobyl (because the reaction is stopped, the reactors are already cooler with a lot less pressure than Chernobyl), so maybe an "8" on the scale I just made up is as bad as it can get. Still, very little positive news seems to be happening with regards to these reactors.

Had the same problem flying back from DC in mid Feb. The bad cold you had likely has your left Eustachian tube blocked. You probably have fluid behind the eardrum, an often natural symptom of colds with sinus congestion. Blow your nose gently, and over time that will help reduce some of the negative pressure that keeps the fluid up behind your eardrum. Also, resist the urge to 'snuff' (sorry, can't think of a better verb) your runny nose, which is the worst as far as creating suction which gets you that fluid in your ears. My mother was an audiologist, and I also had a history of ear problems growing up -- so I (unfortunately) know more about the mechanics of this stuff than I otherwise would have. It may take a full week or two to unblock. I think it was a good 10 days after I got back from DC before my hearing fully returned to normal.

Edit: Another pic of the same...

How, exactly, does one get that kind of gig??

Cute cowgirl outfit!

Looks very interesting; added to my half.com want-list. On a side note, I just realized I hadn't seen the cover to "E.S.P." in eons, such that I'd completely forgotten what it looked like. (My 'go-to' recordings of this material is the 65-68 box, and I guess I hadn't paged through it (or at least where the album-cover repros are) in eons.)

Free shipping!!

Confession: I've never heard Pet Sounds, save for two or three tracks (and probably not more than 6-8 Beach Boys tunes ever, at random times over the years). That said, "God Only Knows" is an absolutely beautiful tune. I had someone arrange it for the handbell group I directed, and it's really a stunning tune.

Anything ever come of this?? (I checked the parallel Steve Hoffman thread (linked elsewhere in this thread), and nothing was mentioned there either. I may give that thread a bump too, asking the same question.)

Listening to NPR off and on all day, and it sounds likes the consensus is that this was a quake of nearly unprecedented size (at least quakes near Japan). The last one as big in that region may have been around 976 AD, according to this scan of NY Times article from Aug 5th, 1881 - I can't believe I'm linking to an article from 1881 for an event that's relevant to today. The question then, of course -- from an engineering and emergency planning perspective -- is how do you prepare and build things to withstand a "1,000 year" event?? Sending thoughts and prayers, as events unfold -- especially that nuclear situation, which sounds far from over (and may be actually getting more dangerous. )

Wow! Quoting it in full, just so it's preserved somewhere...

FWIW, according to an eBay listing, it appears Ranelin is also on this 1981 Hubbard LP too: Mistral (that's how it's spelled)

Anyone know of any guides (on-line or otherwise) to his output? This is the best I've yet found (which does give some personnel and/or track-listings for perhaps 30% of the total of his self-produced output). I'm seeing in this Wikipeda article that he has 'over 48' self-produced recordings, which all seem to still be available (on LP) from White himself (according to the article this thread originally posted to). Any idea how much he charges per LP? Only a tiny handful are mentioned on the AMG, and virtually none of them have actual reviews. Could be interesting to look him up when I get to DC in a couple months. If folks here can recommend him (and his LP prices aren't too sky high), I could easily see picking up a good half dozen LP's from him (perhaps to start with). Edit: Here's a 2001 article on White from JazzTimes. The first couple paragraphs are a hoot... Sounds like a real character. More on him here (this is Part 2, I can't seem to find a Part 1) <<== source