Shawn

Doctor Who - Deep Breath, Series 8, episode 1. Overall an odd episode in tone, but it served the purpose of introducing Capaldi and now that's over with we can see how it progresses going forward.

Sin City 2 is flopping, badly. It will be lucky to crack $7 million at the box office this weekend, which is less than half what was predicted. With a $60 million budget it's looking exceedingly grim. The first film brought in $30 million on opening weekend in 2005. The lesson learned? Don't wait 9 years to do a sequel....

Interesting. Does that mostly happen on rock/pop records, or does it extend to other music? It extends to other forms, though I've primarily been purchasing rock albums for the past several years. Some other recent examples: That great Sound City documentary about the legendary Los Angeles recording studio? The CD was squashed to 6db of dynamic range, the LP has 12db of dynamic range. The entire Opeth catalog (aside from Heritage and Pale Communion) is squashed beyond belief, in almost every case the LP has more than double the dynamic range of the CD. This website is invaluable: http://dr.loudness-war.info Another recent release: Deep Purple's Now What. CD has 6db of dynamic range, LP has 11db of dynamic range. It's not just LPs either, check out these numbers comparing the CD release of Tom Petty's Hypnotic Eye with the hi-res versions... CD = 6db Blu-ray = 13db HDtracks = 13db

For anyone "still on the fence" about the new Opeth album you can stream the entire album on Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/advance/519-pale-communion/

One of the main reasons I stopped buying CDs and started buying LPs again is compression/digital limiting/brickwalling that takes place on most CDs released these days. I could have bought the latest Black Sabbath album on CD, but then I would be stuck with 5db of dynamic range...whereas the LP version has 11db of dynamic range and sounds MUCH better because of it. That to me is more than enough justification for buying the LP instead.

HBO signed an exclusive deal with Amazon Prime for streaming rights. Here's the list of shows offered: http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_mg6y2B0000_ZPS_brwse_p_v?_encoding=UTF8&node=9097393011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0EZANK2Q78AXXRQQR8KM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1865737962&pf_rd_i=2676882011

You're right, I forgot to redo the list. I'll get on it and post some suggestions here and on Facebook.

Netflix offers a lot of really good independent films available for streaming, a good way to catch up on movies that weren't "commercial enough" for a large theatrical rollout. I've found a LOT of good films to watch on Netflix, don't just randomly dismiss something because you haven't seen billboards all over town.

Netflix (like all streaming services) gets limited time licensing for films from the studios. The studio can decide to pull any title at any time (this goes for both streaming and physical titles), they can also make mistakes like they did with Fringe season 5 which they asked Netflix to put up prior to the DVDs being released, it was on the site for 1 day and then vanished for several months. I remember at one point several years ago they added Dexter to streaming and I got all excited and started watching, about 2 weeks later it was pulled...Showtime changed their mind. A lot of people complain about Netflix and the depth of their catalog (particularly on the streaming side), but the finger should actually be pointed to the movie studios and their tight-fisted hold on what they will make available.

Season 1 was a major struggle for me, but I loved the finale once Ms. Acker made her appearance...same goes for the beginning of season 2, totally gripping...then once she's gone I lost interest again. Here's the thing, I don't really like any of the characters except for her, makes it very hard to get into when she's not part of the story.

This was my introduction to his genius, a 1978 HBO special taped at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. I don't think he ever reached these heights of improvisational insanity on his later standup specials. Sadly this concert was only released briefly on VHS in the early 80s and has never been reissued anywhere else. Thank you Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsIh5z7oYyY

A terrible film actor? He may not have been Laurence Olivier but he was fine, believable and relatable to a very large audience of people. That's a gift.

I haven't bought a newspaper or magazine in YEARS. The only paper I get regularly is the LA Weekly and it's free.

I did tech support for Apple for about a year and during that time I took 3 different "my cat walked across my laptop and now my screen looks weird" calls. Cats have the ability to hit the strangest keyboard shortcuts...

That is interesting, Shawn. I remember seeing Stanley T. back then at Jazz Alley but never heard who was in the band so I might have seen him. What a great evening that was. Must have been around 1994/95. Very sorry to hear this news - I think I also saw Kenny Drew Jr. as part of the Mingus Big band here in the UK some years ago. He was very, very good. Truly a tragedy - RIP. It was later when I saw him, probably '99, I remember it being only about 6 months before Stanley passed away.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Yeah, this is really sad. I was lucky enough to catch him playing with Stanley Turrentine at Jazz Alley in Seattle back in the 90s, talked to him after the show and he was a very friendly and gracious guy. R.I.P.

You forget Keith Jarrett and his mumbling.

Happy Birthday!

Much Ado About Nothing

People read stuff like this... The saxophone sounds horrible. Like a scared pig. I never learned the names of most of the other instruments, but they all sound awful, too. Drums are O.K., because sometimes they’ll drown out the other stuff, but it’s all pretty bad. ...and couldn't tell it was satire?

I went on the Warner Bros. studio tour a few months ago, they have the entire coffee shop set from this series preserved. They take people in and let them snap photos while seated on the couch.

You can add me to that list, I've seen a few clips here and there but purposely avoided seeing a full episode. I hated the male cast members so much I wouldn't watch that show if my life depended on it.