Guy Berger

I have a Walmart about 10 min from here...I wonder what the dif is. Supercenters have a full supermarket (meat, seafood, produce, etc) inside the store, unlike regular Walmarts. Not sure if there are other differences. Guy

I just made my first ever visit to a Walmart Supercenter. Goddamn, it's a big store. Guy

Happy birthday, Lon! Guy

It's very weird to me that people get agitated about genetically-modified plants, given that we've been genetically modifying plants for hundreds or even thousands of years. Guy

Preface: I don't have the time to read the article until the weekend, so I don't know what it says. I'll try to comment once I read it. What Moose is saying is largely true for the US. (The conventional wisdom is that ethanol subsidies have held up to a large degree because of the importance of the Iowa Caucuses in securing either party's nomination.) However, AFAIK, Brazilian ethanol (made from sugar) is much cheaper than corn ethanol. We have very high tariffs on sugar ethanol so it isn't imported. Guy edit: One additional comment. (Perhaps this is a point mentioned in the article.) We frequently hear that ethanol is necessary to create "energy independence". In one sense of the term, this is feasible -- in an extreme emergency where there is a real worldwide shortage of energy (and we are willing to strictly enforce restrictions on exports/smuggling), having a homegrown source of energy will give us "independence". However, in all other scenarios, we will never achieve independence -- energy from fossil fuels and energy from ethanol are substitutes, so an increase in the price of one will drive up the price of the other. (Thus, even if we entirely stop importing petroleum, events in the Middle East will still affect US energy prices. In fact, AFAIK only a small fraction of currently imported gasoline (US) comes from the ME.) Guy

I don't think the Celts are a lock to make the conference finals, but if their big three stay healthy it won't be that hard in a conference where the two best teams are Cleveland and Detroit. Guy Reading a Q+A on ESPN this morning, the majority of their "experts" pick Chicago as the best team in the east. Not a crazy pick, but I'll believe it when I see it. Have they made any major changes to their lineup during their offseason? Guy

He was in Paul Motian's quintet with Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Ed Schuller, appearing on one album (Psalm, ECM) and a few live recordings. Guy

I don't think the Celts are a lock to make the conference finals, but if their big three stay healthy it won't be that hard in a conference where the two best teams are Cleveland and Detroit. Guy

I dug out the Blind Faith album this weekend. I stopped it before the jam, but those first five songs are GREAT. It seems like Winwood couldn't do wrong in those days. Guy

I finally got through the British version. Excellent stuff. I found the Special to be somewhat disappointing, though it was necessary to tie some loose ends. Next up: the American version. Probably not as good as the UK one, but very funny nonetheless. "Diversity Day"! Guy ps I can't believe they managed to record this scene without bursting into laughter.

I tend to be somewhat skeptical of case studies, but this was nevertheless an interesting article.

Man... I think it is definitely the best thing on the Lamb, and one of the best things the band ever did. Great vocals by Gabriel and Collins, beautiful melody, gorgeous arrangement. I'll take it over "The Battle of Epping Forest" or "Return of the Giant Hogweed" any day. It's a shame that none of their later pop songs were as good as this one. Guy

Tonight my brother and I, along with two friends, went to the Cheesecake Factory here in Charlotte. We're waiting for our table when my brother says, "I think that's Jason Richardson." Sure enough, it was; we said hello, told him we were huge fans, and that I was psyched about the fact that he now plays for the Bobcats (since I live here). Anyway, hopefully we weren't too annoying, but it was awesome nonetheless. Guy

I think this is pretty much it, or at least the most reasonable inference. (Though I think you could make an interesting argument that Wayne Shorter's playing "Miles-ified" during his years with the group.) FWIW, I disagree with Rooster's placing of George Coleman's playing with Mobley. On those recordings George has a very robust sound. Guy

Why? Guy

Not sure who else is familiar with the News of the Weird column, but I've been reading it off and on since I was 14. Some classic stuff on there. From this week's edition:

Damn, if those are the ladies Mr Milicic hangs out with, he's going to have a great birthday. Guy

Culture shock? I'm in yuppy central, so not so much. I have been shocked by the number of beautiful women walking around, but I have been living in New Haven for the past seven years. Guy

It doesn't seem like that big of a drop. Guy

Really? I've never heard anybody suggest this. Guy Pardon my phrasing...over-recorded is not what I meant to say. I've heard some small gripes from fellow jazz lovers that although everyone loves this group, they wish that some live recordings of other Mingus groups would surface as opposed to just this group, who already has many recordings availiable. I'd like to hear more live material from other phases of Mingus' life as well, but don't get me wrong....I think this was his best group and I hope they continue to find/release more! This new release is wonderful...an incredible discovery. Well, that I can't disagree with -- I would love more recordings from the 1959 band. (Though maybe I should listen to that 1959 Newport Festival recording that I downloaded a few years ago and never listened to!)

Well, I'm down here. Lots of boxes to unpack. Guy

Let's just say that it would take a lot of corrupt refs to change the outcome of that one. Guy

He did this on The Great Concert of Charles Mingus as well. I'm guessing this was a regular "routine", but am not that familiar with other recordings from this tour. Guy