Dan Gould

Well, if you must know, it happened after dinner when we headed to a theater in Williamsburg, only to find that the show was a couple of hours later, and I happened to glance across the street and saw a CD store, and my wife, being the loving woman she is who only wants me to be happy, was more than happy to head over there.

You heard it here first: If the Yanks don't perform, Torre will be fired before the All-Star break. (Think about it-he's already said he doesn't know if he wants to return, this is his last year otherwise-Steinbrenner will make the move early if the team isn't where its supposed to be ... just like old times!

I found this on my honeymoon two years ago. Definitely a winner.

That's what I heard, too, Tom.

What time's best for you?

I realize there are other possibilities, but these seem to be the most popular. I think the biggest question is whether Jim, Joe and Randy would be willing to travel or if they would prefer to have people come to them.

Actually, this isn't a bad idea-Hey Rooster, I've got a Wynton CD I've been thinking of taking to the used cd emporium

Supposedly, the Yanks offered three million more per year.

And now, Pettite is on his way home to Houston, and the Yanks are trying to nail down Kevin Brown ... http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1683732 Stunning. And while Brown can be a great pitcher, to count on someone who's been down so many times lately, I am shocked. He can certainly match Schilling when healthy, but Schilling has been a horse, aside from last year's freak injuries and Brown has been hurt over and over again. Meanwhile, it leaves Posada, Jeter, Williams and Rivera as the only holdovers from the Championship run (who were there for all of them). I think the Yanks are in big trouble, losing the player they called their "number one priority" and apparently, a lot of it had to do with the way they approached their "number one priority"-not even talking to him til the last day of the 15 day exclusive window to sign before free agency.

I agree, Rooster, it sounds pretty bad. Not only do I like the one-by-one method, but I also like the personal delivery we do at our house, no piles of packages, ours are hand-delivered. Can anyone tell I've gotten into the Christmas spirit?

1. The reed squeaks give it away-this has got to be Bird. You know that's why he got the nickname, right? 2. Smooth yet rough, yin and yang in equal measure. Considering that she does everything "rough" I'm going to say its Tina Turner with Yanni. 3. Theme from Mighty Mouse, but this is the Jim Carrey version. Sweet!

"Lexington Avenue pressing, with dog slobber on it but makes a nice play copy." Oops, sorry, wrong parody.

And with two weeks to go, it'd have to be quick!

Really as far back as I can remember, its always been quite civilized in my house-one at a time (sometimes two if Dad felt things were dragging) so that each gift got its moment in the sun.

Methinks the "when we get to it Christmas Day" crowd all are childless! When I was younger, it was a huge, endless process, because in the morning we would do the "Santa" gifts to each of the kids, followed by brunch, followed by the equally lengthy exchanges of personal gifts from family member to family member. That reminds me of another poll topic ...

I think you answered your question with your description of BN as a "Larger" company: Large companies don't innovate very often and adopt so quickly to new selling systems, plus larger companies are likely to institute tighter controls on inventory costs and therefore require certain minimum sales which, if not met, lead to deletions. Maybe in that wonderful digital future I keep hearing about ....

Personally, I've never understood the Christmas Eve thing.

Who says it has to be two days, POTRICIA? And WHO named you Queen? There is one single determining factor that no one has mentioned: Would the members of Organissimo be willing to travel to hang? They are the linchpin-if they are willing to travel, then it ought to be majority rule.

A bit sensitive aren't we??? I just went looking for a Belushi pic to go with the "EXCUUUUUUUUSSEE MEEEEEEEE!" line and happened to find that one. Do whatever you want whenever and wherever you want. But aside from the supposed symbolism, what possible purpose is served by Lansing? Think any non North Americans are gonna make it to Lansing? At least they can actually book a flight to St. Louis.

There's something wrong with a city that's easy to get to, is a major metropolitan area, has a significant jazz history, and is located pretty darn close to the center of the US? Well EXCCUUUUUUUUUSSSEEEE MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And what a small world, Burt ended up at Florida State University, where I would matriculate 20 years ago! But did you know that back then he was "Buddy" Reynolds????

Nah, I'm saving my energy in case we have the much discussed Organissimo "get together". I'll duct tape you to a tabletop and play Evan Parker and Johnny Dodds for a couple of hours. Will that be simultaneously, or will I not be able to tell the difference? And if you'll look at the get-together thread, it looks like we're circling around St. Louis, possibly in June, so you might get your shot. Of course, it might behoove me to stop losing weight between now and then, it might be tougher for you to pin me down on that table.

Jim, you shouldn't have the impression that I was "unhappy" with your discs. Just because your tastes are wider than mine-I mean, I'm not pissed off at hearing Threadgill or Braxton or whoever. I just happend to learn many years ago that, among many, those are two artists (assuming they were on the test as some have guessed) I don't get into. I think that my Don't Know, Don't Care (DKDC ) shorthand was taken as an indication that I was offended or annoyed. Rather, I was simply hearing styles that I am not fond of. Is that so wrong? After all, we're all entitled to our likes, as well as our dislikes. So, don't promise anything on your next test, and I for one promise that I'll sign up for it when the time comes. After all, we've shared enough music that I just know you've got good stuff to put on one of these!

Happy Birthday, Dmitry!

As my rather harsh reaction to certain elements of Jim's test has triggered some discussion about the "boudaries" of jazz, etc., I'm wondering what people are getting out of these things, and what they are hoping to get (aside from cool compilation disc(s)!) Are you looking to discover mindblowing connections between seemingly disparate music? Or just good tunes you didn't know about and may lead you to buy music you wouldn't otherwise have heard? Myself (and I can hear Chuck getting ready to slam me as I write), I am mostly hoping for exposure to music I don't know but would enjoy. I don't think I have the acute hearing to pick up on the things that others may find, but I do hope to hear good music I haven't heard before. A perfect example is Jim R.'s choice of the Guaraldi track. I haven't tried old Vince aside from the Peanuts music, and so this was a great introduction which will definitely lead to a purchase-I'm just trying to keep my buying down right now. I am more than willing to hear music outside of my comfort zone on these things but I don't anticipate radical re-working of my jazz interests. And its not because I'm shut off or rigid-I spent the early years of my jazzing exploring all sorts of styles, including many of the artists on Jim S.'s disc (if the guesses so far are close), and after 15 years of listening to this music, I think I know what I like. So what do you get out of the Blindfold test? New music Interesting juxtapositions free tunes or something else?