Guy Berger

GA, the unemployment rate is defined as the number of people without jobs and are actively looking for one, divided by (people with jobs + people without jobs and are actively looking for one). That is just north of 9%. There are also various measures that try to capture underemployment. For example, one common measure (that is somewhere around 17% I believe) includes the marginally attached (people who don't have a job, would like one, but are not actively looking) and those working part-time for economic reasons. Neither of these categories falls under the category of "unemployed". Additionally, you have some people who are not working for a variety of other reasons (too young, in school, in prison, not interested in a job) and they are not captured by these measures, but would dent the employment/population ratio (which is around 60%). The confusion with unemployment insurance is because usually to claim UI you need to be looking for a job. So it could be that many people defined as "unemployed" would actually not bother looking for work if they weren't eligible for UI. If those people run out of UI, the unemployment rate could fall down because either they (A) take a job or (B) stop looking actively. There are hundreds - probably thousands - of tragic deaths worldwide every day. This is just one. I don't see any moral justification for why, aside from voyeuristic sensationalism, that this one should suck up all the media oxygen that it does. It's tragedy p-rn. Guy

The unemployment rate is above 9%... the Middle East is experiencing a round of historical ferment (along with much bloodshed)... lots of other actually important stuff is happening... and yet this is what occupies the airwaves. Sad.

Very cool. Thanks for posting.

I love this thread... my girlfriend and I have been talking about adopting a rescue for some time and will finally be taking the plunge in about a month. We're thinking probably a lab puppy given their abundance. It will be exciting! More amusingly, I tend to get very excited whenever I see a puppy while walking around the neighborhood. (There are a lot.) My girlfriend finds it amusing though sometimes has to whisper "you're STARING!" Anyway, as soon as we adopt I'll post a picture. Guy

Ha - Mr. Tepper could have had all of it insured if he kept it in a non-interest-bearing account. But more seriously, he could be so loaded that this is a logical investment - I mean, if he has a net worth of several billion then this could just be part of his cash holdings. Guy

I was listening to the Superbird reissue of Discovery and Nirvana. Nirvana is a mixed bag but Discovery is fantastic! Lloyd plays a lot better than on many of the Atlantics. Guy

Miles and Coltrane are conspicuously absent!

That was great... sometimes you wish lesser musicians (human beings!) than Sonny shared at least some of his humility. Guy

I really enjoyed the movie. It was charming, funny, sentimental in a good way. And I agree with MartyJazz on Rocky, really not my thing. Guy

Is there any substantive evidence on this? I've read plenty of innuendo and speculation on this subject but no actual evidence. Guy

Shawn, hang in there.

Listening to the Shrine recording from 1954 for the first time. Great music. Love hearing Getz and Bob Brookmeyer weaving around each other! Not as emotionally "deep" as the 80s/90s music, but it makes up for that with the enthusiasm of youth. Guy

Thanks Jim. Your comments on both threads seemed superficially similar to me, so I was curious. And elsewhere: I used to have the same "problem" w/Hawk when I first started checking him out, but when I wasn't looking, it all fell into place fr me and I started hearing the other things in his playing that I still marvel at, notably the way that his tone fits inside his lines perfectly, and how even though his lines are predominately steady eith note oriented (but not as consistently as you might think, depending on the session), his accents and subtle-but-very-real tonal variations create a tension/release within those eight notes (and within his harmonic dissections) that is quite engaging once one becomes aware of it (and it's not always obvious, that's for sure). I'm just a listener, not a musician. Do Murray and Hawkins's rhythmic approaches have anything in common? Guy If there are any, I don't think there's any meaningful comparisons to be made of them.

And elsewhere: I used to have the same "problem" w/Hawk when I first started checking him out, but when I wasn't looking, it all fell into place fr me and I started hearing the other things in his playing that I still marvel at, notably the way that his tone fits inside his lines perfectly, and how even though his lines are predominately steady eith note oriented (but not as consistently as you might think, depending on the session), his accents and subtle-but-very-real tonal variations create a tension/release within those eight notes (and within his harmonic dissections) that is quite engaging once one becomes aware of it (and it's not always obvious, that's for sure). I'm just a listener, not a musician. Do Murray and Hawkins's rhythmic approaches have anything in common? Guy

My "issue" with Ascension is with the soloists which are IMHO a mixed bag - I love the ensembles, love Trane's solo - would have rather had an avant-garde concerto for Trane. Guy

Listening to this for the first time. It really highlights Hawk's influence on the early 50s R&B saxophonists.

Chewy, thank you! That's a hilarious story. Pete Townsend has good taste.

Amazing that there was a time that the sales of an experimental, avant-garde jazz album could have been measured in the tens of thousands. Didn't Pharoah Sanders's Karma sell something like 50K? And of course Bitches Brew and A Love Supreme were huge sellers.

I'm a dilettante in this subject. I do love Beethoven's solo piano music - particularly the final 5 sonatas and the Diabelli Variations. Scriabin is brilliant as well - my faves are the last 2 sonatas. And Debussy's solo piano music is brilliant. On the other hand, Chopin doesn't really excite me. In general I greatly prefer solo piano music to piano concertos.

I've generally slotted this into the "historically important, but not especially good" category. I love much of Ornette's music, and have nothing against this particular "format" - Ornette did it a lot better on "Happy House" over a decade later, and I think Don Cherry's Symphony for Improvisers is great. But while I respect it for taking a big first step, I think it is primarily of historical interest. (I would pass similar judgment on Ascension, but for different reasons.) Opinions? Guy

Does Cam already have these in stock? I might actually order all 4 - I'm not at the maturity level where I want all that Braxton, but I definitely want his duos with Roach.

I'll get the Konitz.

Listening to Blue Skies on Concord... I think I like this one better than the admittedly great Serenity and Anniversary. Some absolutely gorgeous music. Seems to anticipate the Lloyd ECM recordings, which might turn some people off. I also introduced myself to the Laurindo Almeida collaboration for the first time. Very nice! Guy

Agreed, this is a great box - I've never had similar interest in, for example, the non-album portions of the Bitches Brew box (though I've heard much of its contents via Big Fun and other sources, and don't feel like I am missing much). And it's interesting that what went in (the "unedited-ish") is so different from what came out, and was presented as Miles/Teo's vision. Guy

Has anyone else seen his duo of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the Taiwanese Susan Boyle? Also - I like his Sarah Palin covers. Guy