Dave James

BFrank - Thanks for the props. I didn't think anyone else would remember Blodwyn Pig. Does Augur's "Streetnoise" include the tune "Ellis Island"? Man, I sure remember that one. Up over and out.

Blodwyn Pig - Be-Bop Deluxe - Lynn County - Keef Hartley - Pink Fairies - Nick Drake - Batdorf & Rodney - Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - The Who Live at Leeds - Blue Cheer - Iron Butterfly - Vanilla Fudge - John Martyn - Upp - Sad Cafe - Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks - Sons of Champlin - the very first ZZ Top album - pre-soft rock Fleetwood Mac - Nazz...I could go on and on. Up over and out.

Among my Mosaics, there are a handful that don't move the needle. Those would include the Jacquet (too much honkin' R&B), the Shank (it may be possible to be too laid back musically and it is definitely possible to play too much flute), the Kenton Presents (I just find that one boring), the Mildred Bailey (as hard as I try, I can't seem to get into her little girl voice), the Berigan (my word, some of the songs on the first few discs are so corny and sung so poorly, I'm too overwhelmed to enjoy Berigan's trumpet), the Jimmy Smith (I think I was just expecting a lot more than this one was able to deliver) and last but not least - drum roll please - the Ellington Capitol (it simply pales in comparison to his '40's material and, trumpet- wise, there's too many examples of Ferguson-esque excess). While there is some excellent music on all of these sets, I think if I had to do it over again, I might have passed them by. Up over and out.

I'm kind of surprised they would sell Mosaics over the counter. Euclid Records in St. Louis used to sell them OTC or by phone, but they have long since gone to listing them on e-Bay to maximize the return on their investment. Maybe JRM is more altruistic than Euclid, but if I owned that business and it was my decision, they'd all be up for auction, especially if they're OOP and in good condition. Up over and out.

It's official. Kevin Brown is a Yankee. He went for Weaver and two unidentified minor leaguers. With regard to the next Yankee manager, word is they may be grooming Donnie Baseball for that role. That can't make either Randolf or Bucky Dent too happy. Up over and out.

Question for AfricaBrass. How did you go about becoming a listener again? I fear that sometimes I'm way too much the collector and not nearly enough the listener. I also seem to be "acquisitionally" hardwired. Don't get me wrong, I love to listen, but when I think about the number of unlistened to or just listened to once items in my collection, I get a little concerned that I've gotten upside down with the music. Up over and out.

I think the Dodgers would be positioning themselves for a run at Nomar if they move Brown for Jeff Weaver. Up over and out.

If they caught me in a moment of weakness, I might just do this for free. Unless of course, the coke turned out to be of pharmaceutical quality. Then I'd have to charge them. Up over and out.

We're on Comcast cable with AT&T. There's a station called GTV (Goodtime Television) that shows F-Troop fairly regularly along with all those brutal Warner Brothers private eye and cowboy programs from the late '50's and early '60's. Shows like 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside 6, Sugarfoot and Bronco. They also ran Ozzie & Harriet (which I dearly love) for awhile. We don't get this channel in our package but you can still see what's on. F-Troop sure brings back some memories. Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and Ken Berry. I think the indian tribe was the Hikowies or something like that. Bruce mentioned Leave It to Beaver. That's my all time favorite. Eddie Haskell has to be one of the most memorable TV characters ever. Speaking of Beaver, the guy who played Whitey (Stanley Fafara) lived here in Portland. He was recovering from a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse when he died a few weeks ago. Big story in the local newspaper, The Oregonian. Up over and out.

One word when it comes to tamales: raisins. Up over and out.

Dan, Well the timing couldn't be worse, that's for sure. I think if Pettite had made the call a couple of days ago, Bartolo Colon might still have been in play. I'm very surprised that the Yanks didn't counter the Astros' offer with one of their own that he couldn't refuse. I'm thinking he must've told them not to bother, that playing close to his home and family was more important than money. There's no doubt he'll be missed. While he'd stub his toe every now and then in the post-season, there hasn't been a more reliable guy during this run than him. I agree with you about Brown. No one better when he's healthy, but how many years has it been since he's pitched a whole season without being on the DL? Given the slim pitching pickin's that remain on the table, though, he's probably the cream of the crop. I'm guessing The Boss is not a very happy camper today. Up over and out.

The signing of a John Thompson, while at the same time saying good-bye to Greg Maddox, Javy Lopez and Gary Sheffield only serves to remind one of the prickly path one walks when one merges one giant company with another. Anyone who thinks this isn't fallout from the marriage of Time Warner and AOL needs to start paying more attention. IMO, there's a very strong possibility that the Braves string of divisional championships will not be extended this year. Wait...hold on...I need a 20 second time out to wring the tears from my hanky over that one before can I continue. OK, I'm fine now. For sure, I don't think it would be much fun to be a Braves fan right now. Up over and out.

Definition of an optimist. A trombone player with a pager. Seriously though, I've always been very partial to Frank Rosolino. A top of the line technician but, as Jim R mentioned, always upbeat and a bit off center. I guess he had a terrific sense of humor. I enjoy his vocal work as well. If you've seen any of the Jazz Scene USA videos, there's one segment that features his band. Really good stuff. I always wonder how someone who seemed to be so happy could have wound up so sad. Up over and out.

I'm trying to think if there's anything that's quite as sweet as someone opening up a can of whupass on the Cowboys. And then to have it be my Eagles. It doesn't get any better than that! Up over and out.

If Boston does figure out a way to sign A-Rod (and apparently they have until the 19th of December to do so) I'm not sure what The Boss might do. Not sure there's much left out there player-wise that makes any sense, but he's been what you might call fairly reactionary of late, and this would require a reaction of Brodbinagian proportion. Maybe sign Vlad Guerrero just for spite? I'll tell you one thing, MLB used to consist of about 25% "haves" and 75% "have-nots". It's pretty clear now that we're down to just two "haves". Up over and out.

Berigan, Without a doubt, one of the most difficult decisions you'll ever face. I've had to confront this a number of times with both cats and dogs and it just tears you up. Just keep thinking about quality of life. I know that doesn't make it any easier, but it has helped me rationalize the choice. Also, if you're in a position to get another pet soon, that can be very theraputic. For what it's worth. Hang in there. Up over and out.

Just shared this game with one of my co-workers. Her porn name is Buffy Shaver. I'm not sure there can be too many that are better than that. Up over and out.

I'm likin' my chances. Pinky Coronado. Up over and out.

I twisted my ankle last night and I'm having trouble walking. Up over and out.

Hang onto your hat, Danno, the Yankees are starting to fire back. ESPN has just reported a trade involving the Expos that will bring Javier Vasquez to New York. Going West are the following young men: Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera, Randy Choate and the infamous player to be named later. The Yanks are also said to be pursuing Kevin Brown from the Dodgers in a trade involving Jeff Weaver and others. So, within the last 7-10 days, the Yanks have acquired Gary Sheffield, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill and the aformentioned Mr. Vasquez. Not bad. I have this vision of Theo Epstein and George Steinbrenner playing a game of high stakes Battleship trying to the extent their collective pocketbooks will allow, to blow the other guy clean out of the water. This is insane...and fun. Don't know about you guys, but I can't wait until the Spring. Up over and out.

In my time, I've pitched a ball game or two. I could even throw some reasonably good junk, but a screwball goes way beyond anything I'd ever even want to think about. It's like throwing a curveball where you pull you hand down as you twist your wrist clockwise. Not a physically challenging proposition for most anyone. To a right handed hitter, the ball breaks down and to the left and away. A screwball is thrown in just the opposite manner. A right handed pitcher would start with the same pull down motion but rotate the wrist counterclockwise. To a right handed hitter, the ball breaks from left to right and down and in. Just try doing that without a ball. Then try doing it with a ball. Sorry...no workee. It's no wonder Hubbell wound up the way he did. Up over and out.

Up until about two years ago, I was listening to jazz exclusively. That had been the case for at least the 10 years prior to that. Around that time, I was on my way to a reunion of some college buddies, and I thought it might be fun to bring along some of the music we listened to when we were in school. So, I stopped by a local indie store here in Portland and picked up some Zeppelin, Doors, Allman Brothers, Paul Butterfield, Santana, Creedence and King Crimson. Of course, that meant I had to listen these along with everyone else, and when I did, I was pleasantly surprised by 1) how much I missed this old music and 2) by how good it was. That kind of launched me on a musical bender of sorts that included getting into the Grateful Dead for the first time in my life and revisiting some of the Philadelphia soul music I was so partial to in the late '60's and early '70's. Now, while I still listen to jazz probably 90% of the time, I'm pretty much all over the board when it comes to other kinds of music. I even spend a fair amount of time with Dean Martin. If anyone had told me two years ago that that would be the case, I would have thought they'd taken leave of their senses. BTW, great topic. Why can't I ever think of these? Up over and out.

If you want to hear some primo Dizz, check out his OJC release, "Asia Minor". How can you lose when you hook him up with the likes of Joe Farrell, Cecil Payne, Hank Jones, Ron Carter and Charlie Persip? Answer: you can't. At the risk of having my Blue Note credentials revoked, this is my favorite Dizzy Reece on record. Up over and out.

In my back room - what we call the computer room - I have an old (and I do mean old) Marantz 2270 integrated amp, two of the Bose cubes w/ a subwoofer and, can you guess, a Thorens TD 160 turntable. I've had the amp and turntable for at least 30 years. I don't listen to a lot of vinyl although I do own the Hodges 51-56 and the Maynard Ferguson Mosaics on LP. Not to mention maybe 1,200 LP's out in the garage. The Thorens is running a very old ADC XLM Mark II cartridge / stylus. I had the stylus looked at about a year ago and the guy said it was fine, but I'm not convinced. I'd like to replace the catridge and stylus, but frankly with the amount of vinyl listening I do, I really don't want to spend $500 for a new setup unless I absolutely have no choice. I've taken note of the equipment others are using with their Thorens tables, but what would you recommend I do if I replace the ADC? Also, where would on go online to get the best deal? By the way, my mom is sitting on a complete Macintosh set-up...amp, pre-amp and tuner... that she's had since the late '50's. Two JBL 14" speakers also from the late '50's round out the system. At some point, but hopefully not too soon, these will be mine. Whoa doctor! Thanks in advance for the assistance. Up over and out.

Dan, I agree with everything you're saying. I think until the Sox actually beat the Yanks, they'll do just about anything. There can be no doubt that adding A-Rod and giving up Manny (a guy they already ran through waivers) is a giant step in the right direction. Bringing in perhaps the best all-around player in baseball and a good citizen to boot and giving up a clubhouse lawyer who just happens to hit well can only make things immensely better both on and off the field in Beantown. They do need to move quickly though, cuz when 2005 rolls around and all these guys contracts are up, something has to give. Theo has to know he's on a short leash. This has to happen quickly, or it won't happen at all. Still, I'd peg the chances of Alex winding up in Boston at no more than 20%. Up over and out.