Chalupa

Former Sixer talks about regrets with career in Philly PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson planted a real kiss on the 76ers logo at midcourt and blew imaginary ones to the fans. With a packed Philadelphia crowd standing and roaring in appreciation for their former MVP, Iverson had to wonder if his career would be different had he simply kissed and made up with the Sixers last season. "I had a big hand in me getting traded," a reflective Iverson said Wednesday night. "I always wanted to finish my career here in Philadelphia. The opportunity was there for me to do it. In a lot of ways, I made sure that didn't happen." All of Iverson's arguments with former coach Larry Brown, the complaints about practice -- practice! -- and his falling out with coach Maurice Cheeks that led to his trade to Denver were forgotten the moment he walked into the Wachovia Center for the first time as a visitor. Iverson hugged security guards, embraced Cheeks, kissed the team logo and joked about not knowing where to go inside the Wachovia Center. He took a different route to the arena than he did in his years with the Sixers, dressed in a new locker room and sat on the visitor's bench. "That is a locker room that I never wanted to end up in," Iverson said. Not everything was strange in Iverson's first game in Philadelphia since he was traded to the Nuggets in December 2006, like the earsplitting ovation that greeted him when his was name was called first in the pregame introduction. All anyone in the packed arena could hear was "Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back, from Georgetown University ..." before the rest was completely drowned out by the wild cheers. Iverson waved and saluted the crowd, then blew some kisses. He cupped his hand to his left ear and the ovation only become louder and longer. He pointed to all four corners of the arena and clapped his hands in approval. Only the rest of the lineup cut short the appreciation. Iverson seemed touched to receive the reaction he wanted to hear. "I want to feel appreciated," Iverson said before the game. "I don't think there's nobody that plays this sport that don't care about what the fans think of them and think of what they gave on the basketball court. I hope it goes the way I dreamed it up." Iverson was cheered after all his baskets early and had 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting at halftime. He sank a 3-pointer that tied the game at 113, missed a potential tying shot with 6 seconds left, finished with 32 points and watched the Sixers ruin his return with a 115-113 win. Iverson was open and honest, about his time with the Sixers and accepted some of the responsibility for the bitter split with the Sixers. In a wide-ranging press conference, Iverson touched on fatherhood, his maturation in Denver, his indiscretions, and how he also "did a lot of things right" being a Sixer. "I don't make mistakes and do some of the things I was accustomed to doing anymore," he said. "I don't want to be the person that I used to be. I don't regret any of it because I felt going through what I went through here, my ups and downs, helped be the man I am today." Iverson had "THXPHILA" imprinted on his sneakers and the fans responded with their own tributes. Iverson's No. 3 jerseys dotted the crowd and a few fans held signs of appreciation. One read "We Miss You A.I." and another said "The Answer Deserves Brotherly Love." "I don't think this is a day for anything negative," Iverson said. "I feel like I want to make this day a positive point in my life. I want to make it a day I'll always cherish and remember for the positive things about it, not anything negative." Iverson posted the highest scoring average in team history (28.1), is second on the points list (19,583) and holds the record for 3-pointers (877). He was a seven-time All-Star, won four scoring titles, two All-Star game MVPs and the league MVP award in 2001 after taking the Sixers to the NBA finals. "I don't have nothing against this organization," Iverson said. "Obviously, they made me a household name, known all over the world because of this organization. They enabled me to take care of my family for the rest of my life and theirs." Some of his family made the trip to watch him play. When Iverson hit a jumper late in the third for an 84-82 lead, his mother, Ann, stood and raised the roof. Ann Iverson watched from a second-row seat wearing a glittery custom-made jersey that read "Iverson's Mom" and a No. 3 on the front and "Nuggets" and 3 on the back. She signed autographs for fans at halftime. "We love Philadelphia, we love Philadelphia fans," she said. "They've been real good and kind to my son. When he came here he was a boy and now's he's a man." Iverson heard his first boos midway through the fourth when he went to the free-throw line with the Nuggets down six. He sank both free throws to make it 99-95. Iverson entered the Wachovia Center for the first time as a Nugget with a crush of media worthy of a playoff game waiting his arrival. There was a similar horde in the press room where Iverson, with a Denver yellow headband wrapped around the cornrows, spoke for nearly 20 minutes. Iverson hugged arena employees, but did not cross paths with Cheeks. Iverson and Cheeks had a splintered relationship -- it was Cheeks who banished A.I from the team -- that was one of the catalysts for the former MVP getting traded. The two had not spoken since the trade, but Iverson went over and shook hands with Cheeks shortly before tip. "It's time to move on, the Sixers and myself," Iverson said. "It's time for both of us to move ahead and look for more positive things." Iverson joked with his Denver teammates in the locker room before the game, then had to take care of some business. "Where the bathrooms at?" he said, laughing. "I ain't too familiar with this area."

If you haven't heard it already you should check out the rehearsal tape of Attics from 1976. She sounds great on it. They were attempting to bring it back into the rotation but for some unknown reason decided against it. Alas.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workout-Music-Mobl...l/dp/0955090881

How weird. Someone just returned to the library a copy of "The Man in the Crowd".

Muhal Richard Abrams - Sightsong (Black Saint)

Sunny Murray - "Applecores" (Philly Jazz)

Chuck - just a little confused - which of the Leo Smiths is coming out? 'Procession of the Great Ancestry' is absolutely stunning. I love that one! Never heard Spirit Catcher though, so I would love for it to be that one... I believe Chuck still has copies for sale of Spirit Catcher on vinyl.

Waiting for Chewy....

In the feedback, there appears to be a buyer who gave him positive feedback and the seller reciprocated. I suppose that could be done to set up a future scam, but that seems like a lot of trouble to go through. I think it was just a uninformed seller - or maybe just a seller who had no clue how much he paid for them and missed the '3' in front of the 600 on the receipt. That smells really fishy, IMHO. As my grandpappy used to say,"If it looks too good to be true...." well you know the rest

Well, I'm now finally past dealing with personal stuff and can get back to reissues. The first half of the new year should produce "Nonaah" (with some new material added), "Saga of the Outlaws", Wadada Leo Smith's "Spirit Catcher" and one or two others. Bump.

Barack O'bama

EAC. :tup :tup

Allen - update?

Just got my ticket for this... http://www.chamberorchestra.org/concerts/concert8.php and just saw this.... Free in the Plaza! Join us for a free performance featuring Terry Riley one hour prior to performance time :excited: :excited:

I saw "Sun Rings" last year - amazing. I wish they would issue a recording of it.

Yes, I know. I told you about it almost two years ago, remember??? http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...mp;#entry525431

The Sixers beat the Spurs??? WTF?

Happy 68th Birthday wishes to Phil Lesh!!!

Sixers beat the Pistons last night in Detroit????

Not really sure where to put this but I figured this thread was a good spot. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...1718581,00.html

March 10, 2008 Another DVD Format, but This One Says It’s Cheaper By ERIC A. TAUB No sooner has the battle for the next-generation high definition DVD format ended, with Blu-ray triumphing over HD DVD, than a new contender has emerged. A new system that is incompatible with Blu-ray, called HD VMD, for versatile multilayer disc, is trying to find a niche. New Medium Enterprises, the London company behind HD VMD, says its system’s quality is equal to Blu-ray’s but it costs less. By undercutting the competition in production, replication and hardware costs, it thinks it can find a market among consumers with less disposable income, particularly outside the United States. An HD VMD player costs less than a Blu-ray because it uses the red-laser technologies found in today’s standard-definition DVD players. The Blu-ray and HD DVD machines use a more-expensive blue laser system. “We do not intend to take on Blu-ray,” said Shirly Levich, New Medium’s vice president and product development manager, in an e-mail message. “We see VMD as a natural extension of mass market DVD product enhanced to HD capabilities. We shall not rekindle the format war.” The industry and consumers may not see it that way, given that the company is promoting its price advantages. While Blu-ray players typically cost more than $300, an HD VMD unit is priced at $199. Sales through Amazon are scheduled to begin in five weeks, the company said. No talks have been held with the big-box retailers, like Wal-Mart Stores, to carry the product. New Medium thinks its secret weapon is Michael Jay Solomon, one of Hollywood’s best-known film distributors, who has been named its chairman. Although he has yet to approach the studios, Mr. Solomon, a former president of Warner Brothers International Television, said his long tenure in the industry would help him succeed in licensing movies for HD VMD. “It’s a combination of my good experiences and continual relationships,” Mr. Solomon said in a telephone interview from Shanghai, where he was visiting with company engineers. No matter how cheap a player is, it is useless unless major movies are released using its format. To date, New Medium has come up short. Just 17 movies are available to customers in the United States at the company’s online store, including little-known ones like “The Enigma With a Stigma” and “Kandukondain Kandukondain,” a Bollywood production. Its major suppliers to the American market are Anthem Pictures, Eros Entertainment and SFM Entertainment, all independent distributors. Some bigger movies, like “Apocalypto,” are available in other territories. Neither Walt Disney, Universal Studios nor Warner Brothers would comment on their interest in releasing movies on HD VMD. But even without major studio movies, Mr. Solomon thinks the company will be successful. The low cost of producing HD VMD master discs, from which the consumer products are made, and the inexpensive consumer players have attracted the owners of movie rights in China, India and Spain, Mr. Solomon said. He said Australia, China, India, Central Europe, Russia and Scandinavia would be major markets. “We can sell players for $90 and make a profit,” he said. In the United States, Mr. Solomon believes that producers of lesser-known movies, like religious organizations and independent filmmakers, will see HD VMD as a cost-effective way to create high-definition versions of their programming. The Blu-ray camp is unimpressed. New Medium’s price strategy will fail, said Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, a trade group, because it relies on a false assumption: Blu-ray technology will always be more expensive. “When you mass produce blue lasers in large quantities, hardware costs will absolutely come down,” Mr. Parsons said. “I’m sure we’ll eventually be able to charge $90 for a Blu-ray player.” The HD VMD camp “is pitching a solution at a market niche that does not exist,” said Carmi Levy, senior vice president for strategic consulting at AR Communications, a Toronto research firm. “And even if it is a niche, you will never sell enough to make it a business.” Mr. Solomon dissents. “Our idea is to create a player that people can afford. There is room for the two of us.” Unfortunately, those consumers who bought HD DVD players that are now orphaned may not agree.

FYI... Wednesday, April 9 | 6pm Sheets of Sound with Francis Davis Kelly Writers House University of Pennsylvania 3805 Locust Walk Free Admission Event Description: Please join Ars Nova Workshop for a very special event featuring acclaimed writer Francis Davis, who will discuss his work-in-progress "Sheets of Sound". Mr. Davis will read from his highly-anticipated book, and discuss his writing practices, research and challenges while constructing the first major biography of the great saxophonist John Coltrane (1926-67). Sheets of Sound (the title is the critic Ira Gitler’s phrase for the rush and simultaneity of notes in Coltrane’s solos) will be the first Coltrane biography to give a sense of place in his detailing his childhood and adolescence in High Point, North Carolina (a segregated Southern town founded by Quakers, with no legacy of slavery) and his musical apprenticeship in Philadelphia. It will also be the first to draw extensively from the journals of one of his lovers, an Isabel Archer-type who was his closest confidant for eight years beginning in 1957. Francis Davis is a Contributing Editor of The Atlantic, a columnist for the Village Voice, and the author of In the Moment (Oxford University Press, 1986), Outcats (OUP, 1990), The History of the Blues (Hyperion, 1995), Bebop and Nothingness (Schirmer, 1996), Like Young (Da Capo, 2001), Afterglow: A Last Conversation with Pauline Kael (Da Capo, 2002), and Jazz and Its Discontents: A Francis Davis Reader (Da Capo, 2004). Mr. Davis was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1993. The following year, he received both a Pew Fellowship in the Arts (for Literary Nonfiction) and a Morroe Berger-Benny Carter Fellowship from the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Newark. In 2001-2, he was a Senior Fellow in the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University. In 1989, he received a Grammy nomination for his liner notes (co-authored with Martin Williams and Dick Katz) to Jazz Piano, an anthology released by the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings. He has won five ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music journalism since 1998, most recently in 2007 for “The Singing Epidemic,” an essay published in The Atlantic. Also in 2007, he received an award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism from the Jazz Journalists Association, only the ninth writer ever to be so honored. Explaining how on earth he dropped out of Temple University in 1969, without earning his B.A. in English despite completing honors work in Irish Poetry and Drama, and in Psychoanalysis and Literature, Mr. Davis usually says “It was the ‘60s” and lets it go at that. He has returned to the classroom on numerous occasions since, but always as an instructor or guest lecturer, never as a student. He taught a combined graduate and undergraduate course in Jazz and Blues in the Department of Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 and ’96. He has read from and spoken about his work, and participated on or moderated panels at Reed College, Columbia University, Yale University, Long Island University-Brooklyn, and his alma mater as well as at Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard, and the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. He was plenary speaker at the seventh annual conference of the Modernist Studies Association in Chicago, in 2005. Mr. Davis has also been active in radio and film, writing scripts for National Public Radio’s Jazz Alive and Jazz Profiles, conducting interviews for the San Francisco-based series City Arts and Lectures, and hosting and producing Interval, a weekly program of jazz criticism, for WHYY-FM (Philadelphia), from 1978 to 1983. He was the jazz critic for the NPR program Fresh Air in 1987. He produced a jazz film festival for the Ritz Five Theater, in Philadelphia, in 1982, and served as Music Consultant for Saxophone Colossus, a 1986 film biography of the tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Mr. Davis lives in Philadelphia with his wife, the radio host and producer Terry Gross. He is currently at work on another collection of his profiles and essays, and a biography of the saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, to be published by Alfred A. Knopf.

I'm starting to think that Atlanta might be my pick in NL East this season. Sigh.

Not again..... Phillies' Eaton shelled; says he has bad back CLEARWATER, Fla. - Adam Eaton remains the front-runner for the fifth spot in the Phillies' rotation. But his hold is slipping. Eaton allowed five hits, four runs and one home run in two innings during yesterday's rain-shortened 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Bright House Field. In two starts this spring, Eaton is 0-2 with a 15.75 ERA. His shaky start follows a miserable 2007, when he went 10-10 with a 6.29 ERA in 30 starts - an effort so poor that manager Charlie Manuel removed him and his three-year, $24.5 million contract from the postseason roster. More... http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/200803...s_bad_back.html

Update on Bootsie Barnes.... http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/03/...ves-a-challenge