Noj

I dig it! Funky, spacey fusion. Heritage, featuring the song "Inside You," is another favorite. :rsmile: :rsmile:

Ouch! A scathing review.

Noj is Jon backwards. Feel free to call me by either one. It stems from "talking backwards," something my friends and I would do when we were in junior high. We would pronounce words as if we were reading them backwards and communicate in code--sort of a pig latin type thing. I still have the same friends, and while we don't talk in code anymore, they still call me Noj.

GUN is my fave off this bad boy--"...The philosophy seems to be (at least as near as I can see), 'when other folks give up theirs, I'll give up mine.' This is a violent civilization..."

What I was saying is the problem can be addressed entirely in terms of finance without involving race whatsoever. We don't have poor black Americans and poor white Americans and poor Mexican Americans, etc. We have poor Americans. If the poorest ones happen to be black, by all means help them in a proportionate manner.

What I find interesting with the Affirmative Action thing is that it actually is addressing race. Couldn't a program be enacted which helps people on a strictly financial basis? The most deserving people of the lowest tax bracket? Why do we need to address it racially, when it could be addressed financially?

You're lean, you're mean, and I bet you're not too far between are you? The Man With The Golden Arm killed me with that one!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...people_stack_dc Thanks for the laughs in the all-time classic movie Airplane. RIP.

A friend of mine has been raving about Jaga Jazzist and their The Stix album (link). Listening to the music on the ninja tune site, I must admit: I am impressed. Sorta like a modern day Zappa on downers. Animal Chin? As in Powell Peralta? As in Bones Brigade? http://www.teampain.com/Chin/Chin_1.html

I was going to make a joke about the alias. I was going to mention that George Lane fellow and how much Eric Dolphy ripped off his style. Why would an artist do this alias thing? Contractual reasons? Are there other examples of this?

...It is also luck: did you grow up with good friends? I am generally against laws which offer advantages to the disadvantaged. I am opposed to affirmative action, for example. To me these laws just foster a culture of underachievement. We should have a social safety net for sure, but we should not encourage low standards. It's not what you know, it's who you know. So true! And no one gets anywhere without motivation, you're right. Instead of affirmative action I would support measures to raise the bar of education and accelerate learning in public schools. I think our children will perform at the level we set the bar. They're sponges, they just need to more to soak up and proper motivation. I would also support measures which would raise the bar on what is expected of teachers. I think curriculum should be FAR more challenging and LESS repetitive.

I just recently got The Complete Blue Hour and I agree with Dan, it is excellent! Now I need to get those other Turrentine BNs...

CRIKEY! Funny what usually isn't mentioned about these tongue-enhancements (piercing, splitting, etc.): it is done specifically for the purposes of oral sex.

I gotta get that Patton!

Jack McDuff's Down Home Style and Moon Rappin' Grant Green's Alive and Carryin' On Donald Byrd's Electric Byrd is a nice companion to Kofi One I haven't heard suggested that is essential in my book is the four cd compilation Blue Note Break Beats which is right in line with the Rare Groove series. I found it very informative, as good as a compilation series gets. :rsmile:

LA has neighborhoods that are mostly populated by a certain ethnicity. My city Burbank used to be nearly all white. Glendale has many Armenians. Alhambra, Asian. Inglewood, black. San Fernando, Hispanic. There are Russian areas, Jewish areas, Korean areas, etc. So, yeah, I think I do live in a hyper-segregated city. Funny, I think some of the most diverse neighborhoods in LA are the richest ones. I have met very wealthy people out here of all ethnicities--there is some hope in that. This also lends credibility to a belief I have that there are few exceptional individuals who make things happen for themselves, and there are many unexceptional people who do not. Race cannot impede the success of the very determined, the very gifted, the very intelligent... It is the gray matter that matters, know what I mean? :rsmile:

I have this and a compilation I can't find an image for. Not my favorite stuff, but I've kept them both for further listening. Maybe they will sound better to me further down the line.

I think your statement best summarizes the good intentions we were discussing.

I dunno, maybe when he figured out he is in that top 5% of the country that can afford the tickets he gets?

"I guess it all depends on the intent behind the expression of pride in one's self, when that pride stems from something other than individual achievements." That was the jist of what I was getting at. "Intent" has a lot to do with it. "...foods, music(!), decorations, dance, folk-art, folklore, and shared history..." It is important to recognize that history is entirely "shared history," which goes hand in hand with having the right "intentions." Also, these items you list represent perfect paths leading everyone to relate to each other. With the right intent one appreciates the flavors of foreign foods, the intricacy of foreign dances, the aesthetics of foreign folk art, etc. A side note from my ever-random brain: Women are the real antidote to racism. I've seen sexy ones from all corners of the world! :rsmile: :rsmile:

I have "One From The Vault" and "Two From The Vault" and both are excellent. I'll second the recommendation of "Blues For Allah" and add "Workingman's Blues," my favorite studio Dead album.

Rooster Ties, thanks for taking the time to address this with me. I hope I don't come across badly, this is a touchy topic. It was my thinking that if we collectively abandoned these cultural identities and were only proud of our own individual accomplishments then we would be closer to judging everyone by their individual merits. I certainly am not blind to the way white racism created the black power movement. Surely a reaction of that sort is necessary in the face of such oppression. Every person is an individual, yet we categorize each other mercilessly. If cultural pride doesn't say "we're better than everyone else," what does it say? Why "proud?" Without intending to it is still exclusive.

Lucky Thompson Lucky Strike Jackie McLean Lights Out! Johnny Lytle Nice & Easy Yusef Lateef Eastern Sounds Idris Muhammad LOAJ Pat Martino East

Noj, if I'm reading your post right, here's an answer. (If not, it won't make the least bit of sense, but oh well! ) What you have to keep in mind when dealing with issues of "cultural pride" is that the culture of the United States routinely downplays the contributions of nonwhite cultures. There is no need to celebrate the cultural heritage of those of us who come from white European stock; it's already done by the society as a whole. On the other hand, African-Americans, Hispanics (whatever that term means!) and Asian-Americans see their contributions to society routinely ignored by the press, history books, etc. The celebration of their cultural heritage is their way of saying "hey, I count too!" When living in a racist society, it simply isn't fair to expect a minority to react to the situation in the same way as the majority. I can see the motivation. That's what I meant by "defensively." It is a reaction. I still see it as an obstacle to unity.

Jack is at nearly every Laker home game, and has attended for a very long time(before the Lakers started winning again). In fact, his movie contracts stipulate that no meetings or filming be scheduled during Laker games.