maren

I heard her play at the Vision Festival in NYC a few years ago in a quartet led by David "Fathead" Newman, with Winard Harper (and I don't remember the fourth -- oops!) -- but it was a beautiful set. She's also on Kevin Mahogany's 2002 CD "Pride & Joy".

At Tonic (107 Norfolk Street) on Friday Jan 23: "Paul Haines - jazz poet/writer/dj/video artist/friend - will be honored on the first anniversary of his untimely death by a partial roster of those who loved him and were always encouraged by him, including: Roswell Rudd, Evan Parker, Syd Straw, Karen Mantler, METRIC (Haines' daughter's band), George Cartwright" And at Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Ave at 2d St) on Saturday Jan 24 at 2 PM: "From the last chapter of Paul Haines' life (1932-2002) come four of his video works. Perhaps best known as the librettist of Carla Bley's magnum opus ESCALATOR OVER THE HILL, Haines has a more obscure past as soothsayer, documentarian and follower of improvised musics–a man on the scenes (New Orleans, New York, New Mexico, India and eventually Toronto) when so few were. The off-center wit and linguistic trap-doors that have endeared his poems (sung and printed) to a small circle of insiders suffuse his still rarer video essays, all produced originally on VHS. Most are having their New York premieres with this event. Musical input to the films from Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley, Evan Parker, Roswell Rudd, Jack Teagarden, Robert Wyatt." Videos included: JUBILEE (1992, 21 minutes) LEARNING TO COPE WITH HOPE (1992, 3 minutes) OUR RUDD'S GOLDEN CURTAIN (1992, 19 minutes) RICE SCENTED IN OUR ABSENCE (1983, 33 minutes) [Also at Anthology Film Archives from Wed Jan 21 through Sun Jan 25: A John Cage Film and Video Festival]

Ditta. Er, ditto. Also seltzer. NYC tap water tastes great. But where I grew up in northern Wisconsin, the water has a STRONG iron taste (just like the smell of rust) and leaves rust stains on the sink, washing machine, etc. Brita can't get ridda that -- need something out of a bottle.

Happy Birthday, Patricia! (The word-artist formerly known as Still-Life?)

Sadaharu Oh: A Zen Way of Baseball by Oh and David Falkner (1984). Out of print, but cheap used copies are floating around. Really unusual for an "as told to" book -- the details of improving skills, practicing, getting through and over a slump were fascinating, I thought -- plus there's what amounts to a little "flip-book" animating Oh's swing -- little pictures printed in the upper righthand corner of about 30 consecutive pages -- really cool.

Congratulations!!!

I swear by this stuff: "Developed by world renowned virologist Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, Sambucol Black Elderberry Extract is a natural product manufactured in Israel. It is derived from the black elder tree, Sambucus nigra L. Dr. Mumcuoglu discovered the key active ingredient in elderberry and patented a procedure for its correct standardization." It seems to really help fight things off if you take it when you first feel like you're coming down with something. Right now I have what feels like a medium-mild cold while everyone else at work has had the flu. At least it's a powerful placebo for me! Semi-mainstream testimonials from http://my.webmd.com:

for Davey Williams!

My best wishes to the whole Kartoffel-Hadi family -- hope you're feeling better SL, I guess the climate in Hawaii should drive away the remnants of cold&flu -- good luck. Me, I'm staying put in rainy NYC, with my son home from college for a couple weeks. Happy holidays, everyone.

Happy holidays, and happy return of the sun to the northern hemisphere! To everyone, thanks for making this board an indispensable part of my days, and a big "me too" on the extra special thanks-a-million to ORGANISSIMO! Best wishes for everyone's new year, too.

What. A. Drag. I finally got my ID theft cleared up (I think) in August 03. In November 02, my wallet was lifted from my pocket in a sweet little restaurant near work that I go to at least twice a week. Cancelled all my credit cards immediately, BUT -- my health insurance card uses social security number as ID number -- SO stupid. We had been complaining about this at work for years. But I still carried it in my wallet for convenience -- don't do THAT anymore. Well, anyway, with my SSN and birthdate/address (from driver's license), someone opened (and immediately maxed out) three store credit accounts: Best Buy ($1000), Lowe's ($2000 !!!) and Sam's Club ($750). In a way, I was lucky that the thief used MY home address and my name (reversing first and middle names) because the first bills came directly to me. Right after New Year's. The accounts had been opened a few days before Xmas. I immediately reported the fraud, and was told to call the credit-checking agencies (Experion and whatever) and told them not to allow ANY new accounts to be opened using my SSN. Filed an addendum to the police report from original wallet theft. Mailed this all with notarized forms. Sam's Club and Lowe's accepted my story and cleared it all up by March, but the first Best Buy investigator "didn't find it plausible" and they kept billing me (with growing interest and penalties) until August -- I really had to work hard on that one. The final break came when I found an investigator who listened when I said "look, I don't even KNOW where Holmdel New Jersey IS, and I can prove I was in Manhattan on that day; my mother's maiden name is "**********", you can look it up, and I'm sure this imposter didn't know her name; my work number is ***-**** -- is that what the thief told you? -- and I've worked there for 18 years; and I've lived at my current address for ** years." Thank God I reached someone who was in a mood to listen and consider the possibility that I wasn't scamming THEM, and who took the time to evaluate my evidence. It really was awful having that hanging over me. Since there are so many ways people can get your info, it's a good idea to get your credit report every so often to make sure there's no nefarious activity going on under your name or SSN.

can't say it any better than Johnny did, except maybe to quote what Johnny said LAST year at this time on the BNBB: "I love all of ya, even the conservatives!"

But sunc-TAST-ic!!!

Oh Yeah!!! Ooh, ooh! Drug of choice for cross-country driving!

Reminds me of a STORY in today's New York Times -- I was impressed with this Santa:

Never, I hope! The slips can be quite amusing and revealing! (once again, I invoke AchtungDrFreudCalling, with utmost respect)

Rooster, John and Chrome both gave great advice: TEMP-ING gives you valuable experience, and insight into what's going on in various businesses. It's a good way to get your feet wet without committing to a 9-to-5 lifetime in a place you're not sure you'll be able to stand. Also, it may surprise you and build your confidence -- if you're SMART and show up on time, they're likely to love you and offer you more work. Temps generally come in two varieties -- bright quasi-bohemian types who sell themselves short because of lack of "real-world" experience (sounds like you) -- and people with SERIOUS deficits. Well maybe there's a few more bright subtypes: beginners, returnees (mommy-track), laid-off/looking -- but there's wheat and chaff, and I'm sure you'll be among the wheat. And to hammer home Chrome's points, "powerpoint style": 1. craft your resume to focus on your specific skills that relate to the job you are applying for. 2. always keep a positive spin ... "My unique background allows me to bring a fresh perspective to blah blah blah." [An example that worked: when my boss was writing a letter of recommendation for a lab tech who was applying to a PhD program after age 40, I advised them both NOT TO REFER TO HIS AGE AS A DEFICIT, not like "even though he's old, he's still good." Instead we said something like "his years of experience prove his commitment to this field" -- and he got in to an exclusive program. Don't talk yourself out of something you really want. Because then you surely won't get it, and logically that should be just as disappointing as rejection -- and rejection is NOT inevitable.] 3. you CAN truthfully say that your time w/the KC Symphony Chorus gives you valuable insight into the workings of a non-profity type organization. Best of luck.

Is that Soul-less City?

I'm afraid some of that "make-up" might need laser tattoo removal...

I agree completely. Really -- I saw him promo-ing that thing on Letterman or SNL and had to change the channel.

Maybe they were fans of (Achtung) Dr. Freud...

Norman's is great. It's on 3rd Avenue between 7th Street and St. Mark's Place (aka 8th Street). Kim's is on St. Mark's between 3rd and 2nd Aves. (both are near the Astor Place subway stop on the 6 train). Then it's a short trip down 3rd Avenue (aka Bowery) to Downtown Music Gallery (342 Bowery between 2nd and 3rd Streets). And right next door at 344 Bowery is Sala, a Spanish (as in Spain) restaurant with great "platas" (bigger than "tapas" but smaller and cheaper than entrees). BTW, I have NO financial interest in any of these establishments!

My ex used to do news, documentaries and a late-night music and call-in show on WBAI in New York under the name "BUD STRUGGLE" -- a frequent listener and caller who soon became a friend and then an occasional studio visitor dubbed himself "AHMED STRUGGLE" -- in private, as "BUD'S" wife, I referred to myself as "CONSTANCE STRUGGLE" -- but that's a whole other story!

Seriously, this is pathetic. Like busting Margaret Sanger for peddling diaphragms a hundred years ago.