Brownian Motion

Some claim to see the image of the Virgin Mary is this fish's skin. To me that's just another fish tale.

Well, there is that. Of course some might argue that in this regard leaving ebay might be a case of jumping from the fire into the frying pan, since ebay seems to tacitly encourage scamming through such devices as "private auctions", 'hidden feedback", and "hidden bid historys".

....but we still have quite a way to go.

Sorry to burst your bubble here but this sounds an awful lot like the ideas people get in trying to topple Wal-Mart. Boycotts are rarely effective unless they are complete. People love to bitch about Wal-Mart.......usually on their way home from Wal-Mart. Seems like the same thing here - I doubt there would be enough people willing...or able to give up eBay. And that is the exact rationale eBay has in upping their fees. Just as most folks in the BNBB diaspora wound up at Organissimo, so too could disgruntled Ebayers set up a permanent home at another auction site. The most vexing problem would be making sure that everyone migrates to the same alternative site. That is why organization would be necessary.

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?ebayfee The above links to an online petition asking eBay to not increase its fees, as the company plans to do in February. Although at last count 16918 people had signed, many of them also threatening to quit eBay should the fee increases not be rescinded, smart money says that both increases and most of the dissatisfied will still be with eBay 6 months from now. What is particularly interesting about this, to me at least, is that this is a battle that ebay sellers could win and win handily: all they would need to do is organize a union ( a relative snap with the internet and email at their disposal) so that they could bargain collectively. Arrogant ebay could be made to crawl, and sooner rather than later. But unions are foreign to the American culture we have constructed over the last quarter century, and they are no longer seen as engines of equalization between corporate power and employee power. So the ebay sellers will continue to whine and plead and beg, and ebay will continue to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze.

Thelma White, 'Reefer' Star, Dies at 94 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: January 18, 2005 LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17 - Thelma White, an actress best known for playing a drug addict in "Reefer Madness," a 1936 antimarijuana propaganda film that resurfaced decades later as a cult classic, died here last Tuesday. She was 94. The cause was pneumonia, said Michael Homeier, her godson and only survivor. She died at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in the Woodland Hills section. Advertisement Ms. White played a hard-boiled blonde named Mae who peddles "demon weed" to unsuspecting young people in "Reefer Madness," a low-budget cautionary tale written by a religious group. In the film, she lures high school students to her apartment for sex and drugs, turning them into addicts who shoot their girlfriends, run over pedestrians and go insane. A musical and comedy actress who made more than 40 movies, Ms. White was horrified when RKO Studios picked her for the antidrug film. But because of her contract, she had little choice but to accept the role. "I'm ashamed to say that it's the only one of my films that's become a classic," she told The Los Angeles Times in an interview in 1987. "I hide my head when I think about it." Born Thelma Wolpa in Lincoln, Neb., in 1910, Ms. White was a carnival performer as a toddler before moving on to vaudeville, radio and movies. "Reefer Madness" was destined for obscurity, but in 1972, Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, discovered it in the Library of Congress archives, bought a print and screened it at a New York benefit. Robert Shaye, founder of New Line Cinema, saw the film and recognized its appeal as an unintentional parody. He re-released it through his then-fledgling company, holding midnight showings. Ms. White twice saw an off-Broadway musical that spoofed the movie. The musical "was campy and over the top, and she loved it," Mr. Homeier said.

Leonard and his ersatz blues lyrics--very annoying. But not as annoying as his piano playing--how many sessions Leonard organized did he ruin with his clunky, inert approach to the keyboard?

Sonny White Marlowe Morris Ken Kersey Fletcher Henderson TeddyWeatherford Herman Chittison Ralph Burns

I started a thread about Profit on the AAJ Board. Here's a link: http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/showthread....clarence+profit

Straight man or curvy woman?

Here's a few before and after the tsunami photos, taken from a satellite. I believe these are the real thing. http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/2.html

I believe this is a composite photo.

Do you have more possessions or items in your life than you can handle comfortably? Do you find it difficult to dispose of many things, even those you haven't used in years? Do you rent storage space to house items you never use? Do you spend time looking for things that are hard to find because of all the clutter? Do you find it easier to drop something than to put it away, or to wedge an object into an overcrowded drawer or closet rather than find space for it? Do you bring things into your house without establishing a place for them? Is your clutter causing problems in your relationships? Are you embarrassed to have visitors because your home is never presentable? Do you hesitate sharing about this problem because you are ashamed of your cluttering? Are you constantly doing for others while your own home is out of order? Do you miss deadlines or abandon projects because you can't find the paperwork or material to finish the work? Do you sometimes get buried in details, making projects take much longer than is really necessary? Do you procrastinate about cleaning up because you believe you must do it perfectly or you won't do it at all? Are you easily side-tracked, moving from one project to another without finishing any of them? Do you have problems with time management and estimating how long it takes to do things? Do you believe there is all the time in the world to clean your house, finish those projects, and read all those piles of old magazines? Do you use distractions to escape from your clutter? Have you tried to clean up from time to time but find yourself unable to stick with it? Does the problem appear to be growing?

Congratulations, Johnny.

Happy Birthday!

It was Wingy Manone.

No, sorry. A trumpet player but not a great trumpet player.

You're getting closer. It was a trumpet player.

Good guess but no cigar.

Who said "Here comes that Chu-boy with his saxophone"? (On record, no less.)

I think (I could easily be wrong) Condon was referring to Bix's cornet tone.

Eddie Condon speaking about Bix Excellent! But can you be a little more specific?

Meanwhile, who described what as being "like a girl saying 'yes'"?

Give a hint. Was it a musician?

Philip Larkin?