T.D.

Very attractive, but I just can't spare the $ right now...

+1 on that. Years ago, I bought Geoff Dyer's But Beautiful on the basis of some good reviews, and couldn't stand it (didn't even finish it, which is unusual for me). Dyer's recent piece on Coltrane reinforced my opinion that he's an author to avoid.

Scottish sour candies. Never eaten them, but Jim seems right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soor_ploom http://www.scottishsweets.com/shopexd.asp?id=89

I've sworn off the mega-boxes (despite cheap per-disk prices, I don't wind up listening to them often enough), but Berkshire is selling this interesting 30-CD Casadesus collection (on the Scribendum label) for $119.70: http://www.scribendumrecordings.com/our-shop/4583959841/sc506-30cd---the-art-of-robert-casadesus/8724523 With the usual dilemma: if you already own a bunch of the constituent recordings, how much do you want to spend to fill in the gaps (and also acquire some likely marginalia)?

I like the Otter Crest disc (very cheap on Amazon iirc), but don't know where it ranks among GH recordings. I think his Live at Maybeck solo piano CD is excellent; one of my favorites in the Maybeck series.

Tom, I think that's recording engineer Richard Alderson rather than Barry. Alderson messed up a whole bunch of good recordings IMO; his efforts seem to be characterized by out-of-tune pianos with a weird timbre that I think of as "underwater". And I don't usually pay a lot of attention to sound quality.

Wow awesome to hear the CL for free! I really enjoy their recordings of Villa-Lobos and Ginastera.

I stopped watching TV over 5 years ago. What a pleasure to not see any of this crap! Pity it still gets covered on the Internet. I do recall Jenner as an Olympic decathlon gold medalist.

Not a Trekkie and didn't see the show when it originally aired, but went through a period of digging it on late-night TV in the '80s. I've only seen the original series, not the many sequels. The shirtless Shatner is a bizarre first-season artifact (as were some Kirk fistfights iirc) - I figure the network was searching for an audience and trying to draw the female demographic to the sci-fi genre. I loved the twofer "Menagerie" premiere episode, but apparently it was kind of a mash-up after the original pilot was rejected by the network as "too cerebral". Uhura's a staple throughout, and overall there are many women in skimpy '60s attire. Couple of things: the Romulans are fearsome badasses, and there's a cool episode in which Spock goes into the Vulcan equivalent of heat and has to return home for a mating ritual.

I suggest ignoring all the TV/showbiz weather personalities and learning how to navigate the National Weather Service website. Predicted snowfall for NYC area: http://www.weather.gov/okx/stormtotalsnow The predicted heavy stuff has been shifting slightly East. My area (western Ulster Co., NY, well northwest of the City) is now pegged for only 6-8", which seems too good to be true!

RIP. I suggest the Swingle Singers recording of Berio's Sinfonia, but that's probably very hard to find (maybe the piece isn't to everyone's taste, as well... ). Added: Granted, various later recordings of Sinfonia are generally regarded as better, but the original one with the Swingle Singers is "of historical significance".

Over the years, I've seen many stories about Elway's lack of business acumen. Here's a summary I dug up: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_16330251

Hard to believe that Cardale Jones of OSU was a third-stringer! Some pundits are now saying he should go pro. No opinion here, but the big precedent among Urban Meyer QBs (the Caucasian Tim Tebow) was not a hit in the NFL.

PM sent on Coltrane : the complete 1961 village vanguard recordings VG++ $25 shipped in USA

I preordered from Barnes & Noble last week (with a gift card I got for Christmas). No word of shipping yet.

Very much agreed. The two solo piano albums are outstanding IMO. I listen to this set far more often than to the Pullen Select, because of the "forward leaning" aspect.

15:15. Many were absurdly easy, but two or three required some serious thought. [Disclosure: For a couple of years, my job required extensive technical writing, and my stuff had to pass muster with serious hard-ass professional editors.]

Believe it or not, Arnold Schoenberg wrote a very nice Christmas piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR94CiqtFLs

Finishing up with the Jazz Crusaders. Will soon start on Hank Mobley.

Kmart's owned by Sears Holdings. Both Kmart and Sears appear doomed, and are the subjects of much debate in the financial press. The holding company is owned by Edward Lampert, a hedge fund type. My best guess is that Lampert doesn't really give a s**t about retail, and owns the company as some kind of real estate play.

Calgary, 65 pts

Bill Moody's jazz mystery novels seem pretty good: http://billmoodyjazz.com/books.html I've read a couple, including the Chet Baker. Wardell Gray and Clifford Brown are featured in ones I haven't read.

Steve Buscemi? Christopher Walken? Gary Busey (if he's still around)?

Just a wee bit...

I've heard Gergiev conduct live several times, orchestral and opera. Not a large sample size, but I was never very impressed (this was in NYC, Gergiev got huge profiles in the N Y Times, and I recall thinking that he had a great press agent). I have a couple of recordings, but based on my live experiences I didn't pursue more. At that time, I found that he had a lot of passion, but the performances were sloppy, and I speculated he might have been spreading himself a bit thin, as he was doing an exceptional amount of globe-trotting. Disclaimer: My experiences were on the order of 20 years ago, so I have no idea how Gergiev's career has evolved.