Rooster_Ties

Keep lookin'!! I found a used McLean mosaic once for $40 (this was as recently as about a year ago, 18 months ago tops). I already had it, and gave it to a buddy of mine for two crisp $20 bills. At that time, it had gone for as much as $250 on eBay, and nearly always at least $200.

I was just about to post this here, from the other thread. Just an example of how the Political threads can sometimes have an effect on the board as a whole. Food for thought.

Not on the board in general, not by a long shot. But in a disturbing number of "Political" threads, quite a few had devolved into some pretty serious knockdown drag out fights, which have often gotten very personal. I would agree that things have gotten worse since Greg joined (sorry Greg, that's the way I see it). BUT, it takes two to tango, and more than two are tangoing (sp?) with Greg - and sometimes tangoing with each other as well. I'm not saying we all need to suddenly be PC about everything. (Gack!!!) But man, some of the more heated threads have really gone way too far. For instance, check out where the thread I originally referenced has gone, just since I started this thread??? Link: Suicide Bomber Kills 20 on Israeli Bus, Let's blame Bush here as well!

I wholeheartedly agree. I totally agree (really I do!!), but when's that gonna happen?? When??? Somebody tell me there's any kind of real chance that the people we're talking about here (not gonna name names), are ever gonna change their behavior - without some threat of real consequences for their actions. I mean, set the bar really high ---- but as it exists now, there is no bar (or nearly none). And in my opinion, a very small handful of blowhards are sometimes making it impossible for most of us to participate in any kind of reasonable discussion. (Note, I said "sometimes" - I'm not suggesting the sky is falling.) I'm totally for free-speech, 100% - but this isn't a truly "public" forum, and frankly b3-er has the right to handle things however he likes, whether we like it not. He's done such a great job in being hands-off in nearly everything, except when truly necessary --- that I trust that he's capable of implementing fair standards with reasonable expectations of behavior, and a fairly high threshold (number) of offences necessary before any kind of action is taken. And the fact that he can presumably ban someone from one particular forum is particularly good, in so much as this kind of shit rarely happens anywhere but in the politics forum.

Agree with you on both counts, ABrass, 100%. Maybe it'd be nice to have a "Politics" forum, and a "Current Events" forum.

What is in the center of the hub cap? It looks like a U-boat with the crew standing on top. Clue me in man! Looks like a factory to me, presumably the factory where the cars get builted. :rsmile:

Is this really such a bad thing to expect from people?? I mean, I don't think anyone has suggested anything close to censoring language. I mean, what the fuck?? (Just testing. ) How about we set the threshold pretty high, like 10 personal attacks (as determined by the judge, jury, and executioner himself, b3-er), and if you get any more than that - you're kicked out of just the Political forum for 2 weeks. Then after those two weeks, you can get let back into "Politics", and then with only 3 more personal attacks - you're out for a whole 2 months. I'm throwing around some pretty big numbers here - I mean "10" is quite a lot of personal attacks for someone to play with, before they get the boot. And getting the boot (initially, at least) would only be temporary. ( And heck, with thresholds like that - you could still call people "fat fucks" every now and then, without any real loss of privileges. ) Or anyway, something like that. But having some kind of systematic process in place would give b3-er a chance to apply some sense of fair justice to situations like this, where otherwise he would simply have to rely on his gut instinct.

I absolutely LOVE the cover of this one - - nearly as much as a few "classic BN titles", if you must know. I mean, look at the reflection in the center of the hubcap. This may be one of the coolest non-BN covers I've ever seen. But you gotta read the description of it: What a cool concept!! Wish it had turned out better - but man, what a cool idea!!

This is EXACTLY what I'm saying. TOTALLY!! Thanks for hearing me out. I really appreciate it!! As far as the rest of your suggestion goes, I would have to think about it some more, especially about the details. But even without having given it too much thought, I do find the idea intriguing. The trick would be to set up the rules to be loose enough so as not to unduly stifle free speech (which, believe it or not, I believe in very strongly). Tricky thing to do, but perhaps it could be done. Let me think about this some more and get back to you, via this thread.

I guess I'm just too thin-skinned. But I will say that sometimes the Political forum reminds me of a big gathering of people, where there are a very small number of people in one corner having a huge shouting match which drowns out anything anyone else has to say if they try to get in on the same discussion topics. And if anyone else starts a similar discussion elsewhere in the room, then loudmouths join in and drown out that discussion too. Isn't always the case, but it is more frequently than I'd prefer. And "Politics" is the only forum where this is the case. I probably ought to shut up about this now. I often wonder the same thing.

I beg to differ. You must place quite a bit of importance on them, because you (and others) devote so much energy towards creating those very same squabbles (in great numbers, I might add). After all, it's not like all this Political talk (from any of us) really does any good in the world, in terms of really changing anything. And certainly not the extreme arguments we see around here frequently.

I agree Jim, it's not too hard to avoid Politics completely around here. I do often do that. But as someone who'd like to engage in some of that discussion (in some kind of meaningful way), it's kinda difficult when the inmates are controlling the insane asylum. (Then again, that describes most of this board, so why should Politics be any different. ) 'Cept some of the inmates in Politics are different, and don't seem to be nearly as good natured as the rest of us folk. We've got guys here who 80% and 90% of their posts are in Politics, and in some cases - well over half of that is reposting article after article from other sources, with no additional commentary of their own. Strange place this is.

A classic. Just for the record, me and Andrew Hill really look like this:

Most of the time that's me too, though I would like to participate in the politics forum more than I do. BUT, I do happen to know of a number of people who make AAJ their home specifically because of volume of political discussion here. (One is a guy I know personally from the Kansas City area, and he flat-out ignores our board because of it.) Some days it's nearly half of all the active posts on our board, and it's mostly just a very small handful of people who are driving it. Again, I'm not suggesting we nuke the politics forum, or ban anybody.

and then... No, not enough. There cannot be enough condemnation when a bus full of children is specifically targeted to be blown up. Comprende? And rooster, can you be any more petty. You're pissed off because of your idiotic theory that we lose some "good jazz people" because of these posts when innocent people are missing their limbs? How fucked up is that? Greg. I don't really know how to respond to this yet. Other than to say that a very small number of people (from both ideological sides of the fence - yourself included) are sometimes making it all but impossible for the rest of us to engage in any kind of meaningful discussion of some kinds of topics. While it isn't every single political thread, this also isn't just an occasional thing either. I'm NOT suggesting anyone be banned from the board. But I would ask that everyone consider what kind of climate this kind of political banter (if that's what you call it), creates for the rest of us on the board. And also to consider what good it can create where just two or three or four people are engaged in what amounts to just a huge pissing contest. That's all I'm gonna say for the moment. Again, I'm not suggesting anyone be banned from the board. I'm asking for some calm, level-headed introspection from the people who I think know who I'm talking about. It's not just a few on the Right - it's a few on the Left too.

Go read this thread: (seriously) Suicide Bomber Kills 20 on Israeli Bus, Let's blame Bush here as well! And then let's discuss what having Political threads here does to the character of the board. I'm NOT suggesting a ban on the discussion of politics. But I do think we need to discuss this. Personally, I love to be able to have a place for some reasonable discussion of world issues, but lots of times a number of the Political threads spin out of control, and it makes it impossible for any of us "middle-of-the-roaders" to participate in any kind of meaningful way. And usually this is the result of just a few posters, perhaps as few as 2 or 3 or 4. And also, I really do think this has some kind of impact on the board, not all of which is positive. Again, I'm not suggesting we suddenly axe the Politics thread, but I do wonder how many good jazz-interested folk have come here on a day when the political rhetoric is high, and said "fuck that", and then they never come back. Or people that have joined, participated at a moderate level, and then just got tired of all the bullshit. Or lurkers who just drift away and never join. Some days are worse than others (we all know that), so I'm not suggesting this problem is always something that's critical. But sometimes it is pretty bad (and in more than just a couple threads), and I think it does have a cumulative effect on the nature of the board, over time. I don't have a solution, but it deserves to be talked about. Discuss...

Don't know if this error is related to the recent board upgrade or not. Thought I'd post it here, and see if Use3D or b3-er could take a look at it. He's probably registered under the same name here - "PFunkJazz". Thanks in advance for looking into it!! I gots PFunk's e-mail address now, and I'm about t' send it to b3-er and Use3D, so theys can break down the walls that's keepin' our poor funky friend trapped outside, in the cold and most decidedly unfunky realms of the world. He don't deserve that!!!! - Don't none of us do. Please help. The funky-ness of this very board may hang in the balance!!!

I haven't (nor do I own a DVD player, at least not yet). I've heard on-line that there are some interesting and/or cool "bonus" features/material on the DVD. Anyone care to share what that might be???

There's a cool classical store with some jazz (as I recall) right in the downtown area, not terribly far from the conservatory (or at least that's where they get half or more of their business from, I gather). Was there once for a wedding. Picked up some seriously cool used 20th Century classical CD's, as I recall, including a couple titles I later found out were normally really hard to find. Somebody from Baltimore can surely provide the details. Did/do they have any jazz - or am I just remembering wrong???

Wow, I never new until your post that this was about a contemporary ship wreck. I've heard the song before, but never paid to much attention to it. I was born in '69, so it was never on my radar in '75. (I just found this link: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online.) I had always assumed that it was about the tragic sinking of a ship from one or two hundred years ago. Seriously!!

You're killin' me, Jim... Keep 'em comin'!!!

Oh.... THAT'S why I'm so confused. ( ) I knew it was a studio recording, so I never thought to look for it on an album titled "Live at....". Thanks!!!

Cool new feature, you can include a picture (or a link to a picture) with your profile. Click on the button just below this post, to see mine!!