Big Wheel

Well, we could always use the Jim Sangrey mode of dealing with telemarketers on them (call them up pretending to be very interested in starting an account and just waste time for as long as possible)...maybe they'll realize that time is money and pay up. Do they have a toll-free number? I've got some free time!

I did the fix mentioned in that PCMag article--Control Panel-->Admin. Tools-->stop Messenger and disable it on startup. Is that equivalent?

Saint Vitus: it appears you were on the right track. If the few sources I found are to be trusted, the problem is tied to taking advantage of a network messaging feature only on Windows XP and 2000, "Windows Messenger." Here's the most informative article I found: http://www.mckendree.edu/scripts/nph-proxy...9,990145,00.asp Seems like a relatively new problem (all the posts I turned up with Google about this are from the last 3 weeks or so.)

SV: I don't use MSN Messenger, and AFAIK it isn't running out of the systray. I was just about to install AIM on this computer but haven't yet, so I don't think messaging software is the culprit.

Mnytime: I just ran Ad-Aware again, this time with everything else closed (at least, all other windows were closed; don't know if any "processes" were running in the background). Clicked on "WebUpdate" and it said I was all updated. Ad-Aware didn't find anything new this time, either. I noticed on the 4vsoft website that you can email them to "opt-out" your IP address...but if they're big enough dickheads to create stuff that sends me this crap in the first place, I can't help but wonder if they'll just sell my email address to spammers instead of opting me out.

Strangely enough, that site sells marketing software--and the claims it makes for its product are exactly what I am experiencing--the window titlebar reads "Messenger Service", it comes up above all open windows (and stays on top until closed), and it claims it works without browsers. Could it be taking advantage of some Windows network security hole?

Don't use Kazaa (partially for that very reason), but do use an older version of RealPlayer (v.8, not RealOne). That could be the culprit, though I use RealOne on my other PC and I think used to use version 8 as well (and without any pop-up issues). But from what I remember, any ads I'd get under those would be pretty mild--whereas this one half the time asks me if I am "SICK OF ANNOYING MESSAGES LIKE THIS ONE? THEN VISIT WWW.ANTIMESSAGE.COM!"

Nope, just did that. But this doesn't look like an Opera pop-up window, based on what I've seen of them.

Sometime in the last week, my PC became afflicted with an odd sort of pop-up window. The message changes from time to time, and it comes up every few hours or so. I use Opera 7.0 and it's usually running when the thing comes up--but I think there were one or two times that it came up when a browser window wasn't running. It's just a nuisance, but I'd really like to get rid of it, and strangely enough, I downloaded Ad-Aware 6 and it didn't detect anything unusual even when the pop-up was on my screen. I also ran my (updated) version of McAfee Viruscan for good measure and it didn't pick up anything...I'm running Windows XP on this machine, so I can use the task manager to try and identify it, but I'm not sure what to look for. Any ideas?

Soul Manifesto is a decent record and you can't go wrong with Lonnie Smith and Idris Muhammad but I find myself listening to Maceo Parker's LIFE ON PLANET GROOVE much more when I want to hear something fun-kay with Jones and Parker. Plus you get the JB horns and Larry Goldings! The only flaws in this record are the presence of Candy Dulfer and a couple of tunes in the middle that are a little too smooth, but the band grooves so hard you barely notice.

I seem to remember that every once in awhile they'd feature this kind of place on Hard Copy or Inside Edition. Pretty scary shit.

I was checking the website for a Boston club and they mentioned that Alexander had a new "Blue Note cd" coming out: http://www.scullersjazz.com/coming.htm. AFAIK, Blue Note never mentioned signing Alexander (and he doesn't really seem to fit their profile these days either, though perhaps the Marsalis and Blanchard signings are changing the trend). It's certainly possible that this is not on the Blue Note label, but was rather recorded in one of the Blue Note clubs. Anyone got the inside scoop?

Spider-Man here.

Yeah, that feature is pretty stupid, although I'll bet that you could work around it by closing and restarting the player. Also, even with the "All Classics" option selected nothing changed--I was still hearing Pat Martino and Kurt Elling. Does anyone know how to get the thing to work on Opera?

I'm pretty sure they only made it onto "The Latin Bit." Those tracks are not on the Complete Quartets set.

I believe they are uncle and nephew although some websites mistakenly say they are father and son. Cachao is Israel Lopez and Cachaito is Orlando Lopez. The whole Lopez clan is known for playing bass.

I've had this for quite awhile and it is tight, although I confess that the last 3 or 4 tracks sometimes blend together and make me lose focus on the music. The Jamaican organ playing is trippy.

Hooray for Wal-Mart (Now THAT's one sentence I never thought I'd say). Why couldn't Cuscuna make the booklet fold out to full LP size? (Or how about dorm room poster size?)

They appear to be definitely cheaper--the Hodges set, which sells from Mosaic for $96 plus shipping, is $80+free shipping at Deep Discount. However, I would use caution until people post positive reviews of this shop--I think have heard that people have problems with backordered discs which take forever to arrive.

You ain't the only one. A low point for all concerned, IMO.

Kevin, I have friends from Manila. Not really jazz fans, but I'll see what suggestions they have.

Looking forward to hearing this one. Maxjazz is a great company with a president, Richard McDonnell, who couldn't be nicer.

Strangely enough, I was on a pretty long bike ride yesterday and I couldn't get "Pinball Wizard" out of my head (which would have been fine had the chorus not repeated itself about 108 times). Maybe a spill would have put some Stan Getz on the mental jukebox! Only joking--hope you're feeling better today, GoM.

Classic.

There is more, but not much at this point. It's important to distinguish between sessions marked in the BN discography as "unissued" and those marked "rejected." Cuscuna has shown a willingness to reevaluate and often release those in the former category; those in the latter rarely, if ever, see the light of day. One I can can think of is the Kenny Dorham/Grant Green session that a few people clamored for on the Blue Note board. Not sure if it was "rejected", though, or merely "unissued." The rejected Tyrone Washington "Train Wreck" session will probably never make it out while Cuscuna is still running the show.