Jim Alfredson

I don't see how any power conditioner could turn on a component. That doesn't make any sense.

I see; so I can't comment on books because I haven't written one? I'll remember that the next time you criticize a film or TV show, Chuck. If the artist was using extremely rare books of which only few copies existed in the world, I could see the outrage. But he's using mostly encyclopedias and other technical tomes, books that were mass-printed for educational purposes, of which I'm sure thousands of copies are still residing safely in public school and university libraries across the US. Or maybe, most of them are being thrown in the landfill due to the internet. And in that light, I think it would be hard to argue that being turned into art is the more offensive fate.

I got turned on to Andy Goldsworthy through Peter Gabriel's album Us. He's amazing. I think the offense taken at the book art is a bit melodramatic.

Whoa. Really cool! Thank you!

There has been a little bit of discussion about these guys on the forum, but not much. I'm becoming a fan. I have yet to pick up any of the ECM releases; I plan to do that soon. But I'm really enjoying the videos on YouTube, like this one: I really like what these guys are doing; rhythmically intricate, fresh, almost trance-like minimalist music with jazz undertones and timbres. Which recordings are the best so far?

This is a REALLY good idea.

Palm's Playhouse in Winters, CA tonight!

Another thing about that graph that hurts the "downloading killed music" argument, is the blue line that represents video sales. You'll notice it follows the CD sales to a T. How can that be, since ripping off videos is a relatively new phenomenon due to the masses finally having access to high-speed internet? You certainly could never download a full movie on a dial-up connection in the early 2000's. I believe that the peak in CD sales was an anomaly. And as I said before, the rise of alternate forms of entertainment competing for one's time and money contributed to the sharp decline of CD sales. I also believe that more music is being consumed today than ever before; the difference is that it is coming from sources that the RIAA has no control over, doesn't pay attention to, and certainly doesn't have data on. Namely, local shows, blogs, indie websites, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. I recently read that the much maligned Justin Bieber has never had a song in the Billboard Top 10, and yet he's got millions upon millions of views on YouTube and is certainly making a lot of money. The fact of the matter is, the old guard of the music biz is just that... old and antiquated. The RIAA had the chance to seize the idea of digital delivery but instead chose to sue grandmas and college students. I hold no sympathy for them. Musicians will find ways to make their art and survive in spite of all the technological changes. And people will still pay for good music. Right now, it's about finding and exploiting a niche.

I'm glad I found this thread because I wanted to update my progress. Since isolating my allergy to food dyes, I've done a lot of research on them and also on the "hidden" ingredients in foods that have dyes. I've also found that I'm allergic to sulfites, nitrites, and nitrates. Just tonight I was reading more about these things and found this: http://www.sweetpoison.com/food-additives-to-avoid.html When you start researching this stuff and paying attention to food labels, it gets pretty depressing. But my wife and I have made a concerted effort to not buy pre-packaged food, to remove all lunch meats / processed meats from our home, and pay very close attention to the labels. I mentioned earlier that my symptoms have cleared up and that's true. I still have limited break-outs now and again, mainly from hidden ingredients; it's especially hard to avoid since I'm on the road all the time. But I'm getting wiser at knowing / sensing / assuming things have dye. As a result, I've lost about 20 lbs, weight that I've certainly needed to lose. Mainly it's because I can't eat anything sweet and I used to have an outrageous sweet tooth. Even things like chocolate candy bars are off the list for me, but not necessarily because of dyes. Surprisingly, since I've cut so much sugar out of my diet, I can't eat regular candy bars (think Snickers, Hershey's, etc.) simply because now they taste way too sweet to me. Too much "sugar" (actually high fructose corn syrup usually). Nasty!!! The other surprising thing is that some issues have cleared up that I did not think were related. Namely and without going into to too much detail, my digestive system is much more regular than it's been in the last 10 years. Seriously. I thought I was lactose intolerant, but now I can eat ice cream (Breyer's only... no dyes, no artificial ingredients) or have a bowl of cereal without any digestive issues at all. If I tried that before, my stomach would be doing back-flips all night and the ... ahem ... end result was not pretty. The other issue that has cleared up is my jaw, which was clicking loudly and sometimes painfully when I ate. And I swear my other joints feel better, too. This is probably due to the fact that I'm eating better overall, but I honestly think my body was trying to tell me "Enough of this shit!!!" I mean, I've always ate vegetables and fruits but I think I was putting so much other crap in my body that it didn't matter. So... I'd like to urge y'all, if you're having some unexplained issues, try removing some of the nasty by-products that are in processed and pre-packaged foods from your diet. Even if you're not having issues, I guarantee you'll feel better.

Yes it is! On the plane to LA now. Would be great to see you at the club tomorrow.

If you read what I wrote, I said that I think the educators did the right thing as well, except maybe calling the police. However, I admitted that perhaps calling the police is something they have to do by law. I don't know. I place the blame for the situation getting totally out of hand on the police.

Obvious to you because that's the simplest explanation. As usual, the truth is a bit dirtier. That was also when video games started becoming a HUGE industry. Yes, they were popular in the 80s and 90s, but from 2000 to 2007 or so, the industry experience unprecendented, massive growth, and mass appeal (no longer just for nerds) thanks to the proliferation of new, low-cost consoles from newcomers Sony and Microsoft, as well as the old stand-bys Sega and Nintendo. Blast From The Past, yo! It's easy to say "digital downloads killed record sales" and certainly that contributes to some part of it, but how many people actually had fast enough internet connections / the technical know-how (it wasn't that easy to get mp3s off the web in the early 2000s) and the wherewithal to lead to such a steep decline in the early part of the 2000s? According to this chart, 80% of US households had dial-up connections in 2001. You ever try to download an mp3 via dial-up? The facts are much more varied than just "mp3s killed music". There are so many more options for entertainment now days, most of which started coming into fruition in the 2000s, and all of which compete for people's time and money. Yes, there are mp3s. There's also video games, DVR, smart phones, home theaters, Blu-Ray, YouTube, Netflix, etc. etc.

You could look at that chart and come to several conclusions. You could say "Oh man, downloads have killed music sales." Or you could say "Wow, the CD thing was kind of an anomaly, like the dot com boom." Or you could say "There was a recession in the early 80s, when sales dipped, and there's a recession now. People just don't have the money to spend on luxury items like music."

I have not heard anything. I wish I knew... it seems they are over-due for a new model.

The software developers that make this board, Invision, also have a blog software the integrates with the forum and of course all the social media sites. I've been thinking of purchasing a license for the software, since it would be a good way for me to maintain a blog, something I've been wanting to do anyway. I would also open it up to members, so you could create your own personal blog hosted by this site / server. Is that something any of you would be interested in? This is the default look. The skins can be fully customized. http://community.invisionpower.com/blog/1174/entry-5842-ipboard-320-new-admincp-style/

I'm hitting the road with Janiva Magness starting this weekend in San Francisco and going up the West Coast the next week and a half, ending in Vancouver. Come out and see one helluva blues singer and a killer band! 25 San Francisco, CA Biscuits & Blues 26 Winters, CA Palms Playhouse MARCH 2011 1 & 2 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley 3 Portland, OR KINK-FM Bing Lounge 3 Portland, OR Jimmy Mak's 4 Tacoma, WA Jazzbones 5 Port Townsend, WA The Upstage 6 Vancouver, BC (Canada) The Yale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMby1Vb308

Folks may have updated their avatars but your home computer's cache is old.

What do you mean, "Where were the parents in all this?" They've been helping the kid with therapy and his therapist tells him to draw rather than lash out physically, so that's what he does. It sounds like the parents are doing the best they can. I would say even the educators did the right thing, except calling the police but maybe they are mandated to do that. The police, on the other hand, acted completely out of line. I'd be suing the police department right now for wrongful imprisonment among other things.

No, but there should be a new mobile skin in place for regular browsing. http://community.invisionpower.com/blog/1174/entry-4977-ipboard-31-update-mobile-skin-improvements/