JSngry

Gotstabe the Comcast Digital.

The Philly Joe.

Thanks for the tip. Just got done watching this film. "Low budget", but/and worthwhile. Cecil is a trip.

Jimmy Piersall Bill Lee Dizzy Dean

I know more than a few teachers who gave up simply because the money wasn't enough to make up for the lack of success they were having due to them having to deal with kids from broken homes with slack (if any) discipline, and a lack of willingness on the part of administrators to actually expect kids to learn. And that's a problem right there - low expectations, the notion that these kids are so "disadvantaged" for whatever reason that there's only so much that can be done with them. Just get them out the door with as little conflict as possible. Politically pragmatic, surely, but hardly the foundation for creating a strong future. Yeah, it's a tough situation, and yeah, teachers shouldn't have to be baby sitters. And sure, "super humans" are in short supply these days, always have been. But that's what it's going to take to get this shit back together right. Nobody I know goes into teaching for the money - they go into for the satisfaction of seeing young minds stimulated and nurtured. If they can't get that satisfaction, hell yeah, they bail. Who wouldn't? If the idealistic impulses of an adult can be crushed so easily, what hope do those of a child have? Raise teachers' pay, absolutely. But don't expect that to really change anything other than the budget, not unless and until a commitment is made to no longer treat kids like commodities and jsut pass 'em through w/o any concern for how they come out. That's going to take a total overhaul of the educational system, the social services system, and a willingness to tell some "parents" that they're their own child's worst enemy. And then back it up by offering a consistently viable attitudinal alternative. And yes, that means losing some kids. But it also means raising the bar for those who don't get lost, and it means doing so with every intent of seeing to it that they get over that bar. Feeling wil get hurt, and political opportunists of all stripes (the real enemy here, imo) are going to need to either cut the crap and deal or else get the hell outta the way. By any means necessary. It'll take money, guts, and love, and the transition ain't gonna be pretty. But failure to transition is gonna be even uglier.

From that site: (Sigh...)

If Junior Walker ever played something like "Fun" or "Hippodelphis", I'd like to hear it! Really, though, I've always been a bit puzzled by the general notion that Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! was Cannonball's big "sellout" album. Other than the title cut, there's absolutely no material on there that would be out of place on a live Riverside date such as the Jazz Workshop sides. Many of the Capitol sides prior to this one were at least every bit as "commercial" (and some, like Great Love Themes were significantly more commercial!). Great Love Themes, the various sides with the singers, even Fiddler On the Roof (great side though it is), these are all defintely albums that were produced with "commercial" intent, and one could argue that they are all more blatantly commercial than was Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!. Now, the next few Capitol albums immediately following Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! definitely took their cue from the success of that album's hit song. But Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! itself, outside of that one song, is actually a really solid jazz album. Time for a critical re-evaluation, I think!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread. This is music with which I have only passing familiarity, and I'm taking notes for future reference. Speaking of Dudu, I recently picked up an old Impulse! 2-fer LP collection of Hugh Masakela's Blue Thumb sides, which are neither fish nor fowl in terms of any one genre or commercial targeting, but which nevertheless feature Pukwana rather prominently. It's interesting, to put it mildly, to hear his unique "syntax" in such a context. And of course, there's Dyanni's epochal Song For Biko, with which the participants in this thread are no doubt intimately familiar. But Pukwana's playing sings on this session, and anybody who doesn't have it is urged to remedy that deficiency ASAP. It's one that I've found appeals "across the board" - even die-hard boppers find it damn near impossible to resist. Again, thanks for a most interesting AOTW choice and subsequent discussion. I have done been learned!

Shake Keane Willie the Shake Sam Cooke

Orson Bean Mr. Bean Black Adder

Discouraging discernment is definitely a ploy, no doubt, but the question also becomes this - are people being "encouraged" to feel that the power of discernment in and of itself is more trouble than it's worth? And if that's the case (and I believe it is), does that then lead to the creation of a citizenry that doesn't even bother to exercise those powers (and eventually lose them altogether) in less "complicated" scenarios? Again, I believe that it does. It's a given that the more open your eyes are, the more you see, and that the more you see the more you have to sort out. That can at times be overwhelming, sure, but a certain degree, that's just the cost of being a rational human being with the power to make informed choices in matters of everyday life (such as being able to tell if the amount of a check and that of a coupon are identical or not, or not having to ask somebody if they want fries with that when they've already said that they don't). When people feel overwhelmed and put upon to do simple, basic tasks such as that, something is horribly wrong.

Well, there you have it right there. The people "running the show" have always been about using numbers to their advantage in some form or fashion. Simply as a matter of self-defense, the rest of us need to understand what their game is, if for no other reason than to keep from getting screwed. Never mind that the ability to recognize the fact that two "scenarios" which on the surface might not be dramatically different in fact actually have different "factors" at play, and that these differences are real and in fact translate in the need for different actions might just be a marketable job skill... What we're talking about is the skill of discernment, not of the esthetic (although that comes into it eventually, but of the concrete. And discernment calls for engagement, actual personal engagement in the specifics of what you're doing. I'm seeing a staggering number of people who aren't engaged in anything other than showing up and executing a physical "task" without having any interest and/or ability to engage in anything resembling even mild discernment. Net result - people whose "skills" are roughly that of a semi-well-designed machine, sometimes not even that developed. It's always been so, I know. There's always been a large number of people who either prefer or just don't have the capacity to do anything more than "execute". But I swear, I'm seeing more of them today than ever, and I know that a lot of them have more critical thinking abilty than they practice. But they come out of schools that don't develop it and then go right into business environments that discourage it in all but hte "chosen few", who get tapped for "management" (and even there, the game is to execute to the benefit of the immediate bottom line, and little else. Long-term benefit and "quality of life" impact are not to be considered). It's depressing, man. As generally opposed to outsourcing as I am, I can definitely see where those in charge are coming from. If you're going to be satisfied with having a workforce that can only do one thing not particularly well (and the fact that a business can not only survive but thrive with such a workforce is a separate-yet-related issue), why would you not prefer to pay such a workforce $5 a day rather than $7 an hour? Knowledge, as they say, is power. Without going off on a rant about the various institution ploys to distract and divert "most people" away from getting real knowlede/power, just let me say that once you enter into the workplace, if you display the abilities and skills of a mule, and if you don't show any interests and abilties beyond that of a mule, don't be surprised if you get treated like a mule. For damned sure don't go whining about it when you do. Or would you like to swing on a star?

That's Mr. Ratliff...

I've heard it now, and I like it more than I love it. There are moments, though.....

Well, in order to know about the bird, you'd have to recognize that the bird even exists, as well as recognizing that not all birds are the same. There are people today, plenty of them, who would find that to be too much of a challenge.

BOOLAH BOOLAH!

Yeah, I go see my dad's grave from time to time. Not for him, or for anybody else, just for me. It's not that the site itself is important, it's just a good focal point for reflection on things that I want/need to reflect upon.

Just heard New Africa Suite and very much enjoyed it. Had a really sweet vibe to it. Never heard, or heard of, Alaadeen before. What's the scoop? Did a little websearch and got the basics, but would like to hear from the KC contingent. Thanks!

Personally, I'd have liked to have heard Dizzy on a Buick Riviera.

If downloading is helping sales, how come there's next to no used CD stores left in my area, and why are the remaining brick and mortar retailers focusing more and more on less and less music? I know that downloading/file-sharing/etc. are not entirely to blame, but surely they're a factor. You can't tell me that all the business that supported all these places has just shifted to online purchasing.

It's your money. You would know better than I!

For one thing, it teaches you to memorize... And it teaches the recognition of history, of sequences, of patterns, of cultural evolution. It teaches all sorts of things besides simple raw data. The data itself may or may not be something you'll need for everyday life. But the processes involved in committing the data to memory can make the difference between being a creature who's actually able to reason and evaluate on the fly as they go through life and one who merely shows up and unquestioningly takes whatever comes along because they don't even realize that have the option to do otherwise.

Hubcap Carter Jack Carter Tyra Banks

Correct! Now, would you like to keep your money or trade it for what's behind Curtain #2?