AfricaBrass

I'm back to my regular avatar. I tried to post the original image, but it's too big to post. Sorry!

It's my new avatar! I also saved the original, but it's at work. I'll post it tomorrow. :rsmile:

You guys have probably seen these already, but they're funny anyway.

That Dave Harris record is cool! I love Raymond Scott's music. Back to the topic, I sure hope someone told the descendents about this head touching thing. I'd hate to read about another family tragedy.

Sorry Ray! Sometimes ol' James T. Kat freaks me out too. At least he isn't as scary as this guy:

Happy Birthday, John!!! A birthday just isn't a birthday without a new Mosaic set. Enjoy!

No argument here.

Rouse to me, was very spirited. I think back to our first album of the week, Donald Byrd's "Byrd In Hand" - Rouse was a real highlight for me. I do agree that he sacrificed a lot to play with Monk.

What are you thinking? Chaney think, monkey do?

Ahhhhhhh, watch out for the greased up Scotsman!!

Be careful where you step! If you're an archeologist, I advise digging somewhere else.

avatars can be deceiving. I actually look more like a can of beer. AfricaBrass - you must need a hell of a big litter box! How'd you guess? Meow

Thanks for the link, Lon! That was a fascinating comic. It's been years since I read about PDK. Reading the comic, I can understand the mania that overtook him. The way that I describe the way I became a Christian is "my head was spun around" I never imagined believing what I believe today. This thread has been interesting for me. It's really got me thinking about how crazy I must appear to some. I'm sure I have that wild eyed look. Like Icarus flying to close to the sun. There are just some things in life that are miles beyond any words. I really am going to read some PDK again.

Thanks Sidewinder! I knew I had read that they played together, but since it was in '65-66 it doesn't answer the initial question, but I can see how it may have effected his later work.

The first PKD book I read was, The Man in the High Castle. I really liked it. Other PKD favorites for me are Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said and Ubik. You guys are making me want to fish out one his books and do some reading.

I bet you and your father have had some interesting discussions. It's neat that he respects your desire to investigate these things. I studied the same books myself. I was a comparative religions major at one time and my professor had written about the Essenes and the Dead See Scrolls. I love learning about early Christianity. It's a fascinating time. I got in trouble after reading Wilson because I took the "everything is relative" approach about as far as I could. He always stressed the idea of not believing in anything. The irony of this is that I ended up believing in not believing in anything, but didn't believe in anything else. Wilson's Cosmic Trigger books really took me to some strange places.

I wish I would have done that! The Illuminatus Trilogy was good readin' Edit: You too with 23. It seems to really be taking off. I started paying attention to it about 15 years ago. Now, it's everywhere.

Scott, You bring up a good point. Do any of you guys picture people as their avatars. Example, I always think of Clinton as Groundskeeper Willie. I half expect him to look like that. John B is Furley to me. And it is true, I do have the head of a cat and I wear Star Trek uniforms.

Actually I was pretty crazy to start with Edit: To clarify what I said before. I took Wilson's approach of not believing in anything to a very extreme place. Studying Crowley didn't help me much either.

Lon, I was interested in the same subjects in the late 80's through the mid-nineties. Did you reach much of Robert Anton Wilson's writings? He seemed to have a similar experience as Philip K. Dick in the seventies. I went pretty crazy myself studying these things, but thats another story.

I thought iTunes' $1 a song fee was insane. I've always thought of mp3s as being second rate. My experience with mp3s is that they have functioned as a way of finding new music. I find that if I really like something, I'll buy the cd. Emusic was great for that. I found a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally have heard. 65 downloads for $15 just isn't worth it to me. When I first read this thread, I thought is was 65 albums a month for $15. I still thought that was too much. I've really been spoiled by the unlimited downloads. I'm canceling my membership. And yes, I can barely download anything this morning. I'm having a lot of things time out on me.

I used to be a huge fan of his writing. I still enjoy his books, but I don't as many opportunities to read (since I'm a parent now). That biography, Divine Invasions, is pretty interesting. He really seemed to crack up at the end. Believing he was receiving transmission from Sirius, etc... I've tried reading his last book, I believe it is VALIS, but it's pretty out there. I do have the volumes of his short stories, which I really love to read.

I don't download at home. I don't have the free time. That's what work's for. I guess the good thing about emusic going to the dogs is that the high-speed connection at work will be high speed again.

I'm done with Emusic. I was afraid that they might follow the example of Apple's iTunes and charge a dollar a song. I guess that's where the whole mp3 thing is going. I guess it was nice while it lasted. I need to get busy and finish the Fantasy catalog.