papsrus

Huffpost comment: Sounds like the first time I watched porn.

Double rainbow guy. Still can't figure how to embed videos.

Still raining here. It's like living in an aquarium.

I just have it on order as of today. Not yet arrived. By all accounts above, though, it's the one to get. It apparently covers most of the much rarer Pumpkin album (all but four tunes, I guess) plus additional material.

Why does that guy always try to eat the trophy?

Have had James P., Fats, Willie The Lion, now Tatum playing much of the day today. Spurred me to snag the somewhat pricey Lambert Storyville disc, and a second disc by a player not in the stride camp, but nonetheless: Jimmy Yancey -- Complete Vol. 1, 1939 - 1940 (Document)

Watching the Orioles and Tigers play softball this afternoon. It's 7-6 Tigers in the bottom of the 2nd. EDIT: Make that 8-6 and counting in the bottom of the 2nd. Wonder what the over-under was on this thing? Orioles pitchers have combined for 80 pitches through 2 innings.

It has been overcast, damp and dreary here since I returned from New Orleans last Monday -- a full week! Dribbles of rain here and there over the past 7 days. The skies opened up this morning with a steady rain.

FWIW, Buster said today he didn't think the Yankees would be looking for starting pitching, but rather bench depth (kinda vague). Rays take 3 of 4 from Twins. I am loving Sean Rodriguez at 2B. Great range, above average arm, and he has been getting sharper and sharper at the plate (.292 over the last 10 games, went 3-5 today). ... And how about my boy Joyce's pinch-hit granny last night? Rays lead the majors in road wins but are one game over .500 at home this season, I believe. That has to change.

I think Americans 'get' the whole flopping and diving routine, they just for the most part don't dig it. I agree that it's part of the tradition of soccer though. Draw your own conclusions.

Yes, I can see that there is a fairly transparent agenda in Marsalis' argument, and that it's hardly a new argument. And yet ... There are musicians today who are admired more for the mastery of their instruments than for the innovation/emotional depth of the musical ideas they're expressing. His brother may very well fall into this category, ironically enough. It's the "this is serious music" thing. Well, fuck that. It sounds just like the last 10 albums they did. But (big 'but') Marsalis' argument evaporates when considering any of a wide number of others -- Keefe Jackson, Josh Berman, Mike Reed, that whole gang, for instance. These guys seem to have "ideas" they want to develop and express. Their music is infused with that certain "something" -- a sense of adventure; they want to tell you something, show you some pearl, make you laugh ... something besides "holy crap, what a super fast solo!" But again, it likely all just boils down to a matter of taste in the end. While I might find Potter, for example, to have brilliant command of his instrument but very little new to say, others I'm sure would disagree vehemently.

I took the general thrust of the argument to be that technical wizardry had been elevated above all else in some improvised (hence jazz) music. Putting aside whatever political agenda people may find in Marsalis' sentiments, as a listener I find myself somewhat sympathetic. Maybe it all boils down to a matter of taste, but there can be a certain "sameness" to some modern improvised music. A certain emphasis on technical wizardry at the expense of ______ . (In Marsalis' case, at the expense of swing and blues). If I can play fast and clean, that's the important thing. The musical ideas expressed become secondary. Maybe he overstates the problem a bit, or even a lot, but it's not completely baseless, is it? In closing .... ah, fuck it.

Wasn't an emergency in my case. In fact, the appointment was originally scheduled for two weeks ago and his office called me the day of the appointment to cancel because the doc had to go to the hospital. While I was in the waiting room today, a young, attractive woman came in and was ushered directly to the inner sanctum. I assumed she was a salesperson. My previous doctor was quite good about being prompt with appointments. Rarely more than a 5 or 10 minute wait. And once in the examining room, he was always pretty quick to come in. I was in this guy's examining room for almost 45 minutes -- and that's after more than a half hour wait in the empty waiting room. On top of all that, he was unprepared for the specific nature of my visit once I finally got to see him. He's a dip-shit and I'll be looking for a new doctor.

I had a 2:40 appointment today. Walked in to a deserted waiting room. Last patient to sign in before me was at 1:30. Still waiting at 3 p.m., started getting pissed. At about 3:15, asked the receptionist how much longer. Just then, door pops open and I'm finally invited in to one of the examination rooms for a quick blood pressure check, etc. -- then I wait, and wait, and wait. At 3:45 I open the door and say I have places to go. Can't stay here all afternoon. Doctor appears just before 4 p.m. 4-fucking-p.m. for a 2:40 appointment. (This is a new doctor, btw, due to new insurance not covering my old doctor). Pissed doesn't begin to cover it. I figure 20 minutes max is about the norm, even though it's still not acceptable. So how long would you sit in an empty waiting room for the doctor to stop scratching his balls and see you?

While he paints with a little too broad a brush for my taste, I find it hard to disagree with Marsalis' views that individual virtuosity and compositional and/or improvisational complexity have at times been elevated in jazz or creative improvised music beyond their merit. They sometimes become the main feature or point of the music, rather than a vehicle for it. I don't fully agree that the only good music is that which acknowledges the past; that it must incorporate swing and blues to be valid. But I think he makes a good point that showy solos and a lack of emphasis on ensemble playing can leave a listener feeling disconnected, fatigued even. Nate's comments on Han Bennink's seemingly self-indulgent displays at the Vancouver Jazz Fest, where he apparently had little or no regard for his band mates, let alone the audience, would fit along those lines. (See post No. 12 here.) Edit for typo and to insert link.

Fair to say Brazil self-destructed a bit? Own goal; red card; lots of bickering. They seemed at times more concerned with refereeing the game than with playing it in the 2nd half. Congrats to The Netherlands.

The reverse hexes are getting out of control around here. ESPN's MLB power rankings, fwiw: 1. Yankees 2. Red Sox 3. Rangers 4. Rays 5. Braves 6. Padres 7. Twins 8. Cards 9. Reds 10. Mets I might move the Braves and Padres up a notch, the Rays down a few -- more than a few, given their month-long fade. Add a Cliff Lee or Oswalt to the Rangers and things get real interesting. As for Zobrist, he's a much smarter bat than Upton, and can certainly figure out his way around CF. Plus he hustles. Case closed, far as I'm concerned. And if they keep Joyce in the mix, I see no need to put up with BJ's too often lackadaisical play.

Even though it was kind of an adventure at times, Zobrist did pretty well in CF tonight, and may have even gotten to a couple of balls that Upton would have watched fall. And I like Rodriguez at 2B, so moving Zobrist primarily to the OF would be fine with me. And maybe give Joyce a chance to see what he can do.

Guess that means Tiger's really worth around $1.5 billion. Stick that $750 mil settlement in a (series of) money market accounts paying between 1.3 and 1.4% interest and that's around $10 million annual income. But a highfalutin money manager ought to be able to squeeze at least twice that much income out of it in virtually risk-free investments, so more like $20 million annual income. Not too bad.

Suspected of being a Russian spy.

Best wishes to both of you.

Yes, nice photos Allen. I always wondered what the inside of one of those fancy recording studios looked like. But who's the guy sticking his face into the left side of the frame on that first shot?

Didn't he run into a bit of trouble in his opening match? ... Looking back, yeah he did struggle a bit out of the gate, before rolling in the final set. Federer vs. Alejandro Falla -- 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-1), 6-0. Highlights and scores from the Berdych match (4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6) seem to indicate he wasn't really in the match at all. Was that the case?

The Waller Transcriptions looks terrific! Thanks Bill.