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Yeah, I've had this happen from time to time. It is frustrating. I actually find that a middle setting (not highest or lowest speed) is more reliable. Other things to watch for -- are all the files coming from one location or are they on different drives? Sometimes waiting 10 minutes after a successful burn for the next one may help (the burner may be overheating).

So I've been checking out the Vancouver library. It's pretty nice for a city roughly the size of San Francisco. I was impressed by their poetry section. They seem to have almost the entire run of August Kleinzahler's recent works and a pretty complete set of Charles Simic. They even have one I haven't gotten to yet (Master of Disguises), so I checked this out. Several sections are very similar to Simic's previous work, which strikes me as a kind of melancholy urban reverie (not totally dissimilar to Ben Katchor). I like the start of this poem -- "Worriers Anonymous" The middle section, however, is more of a rural melancholy, which doesn't work as well for me. In any case, one thing that is different is that many of the poems (in all the sections) struggle with the idea of the divine and the absence of the divine for a confirmed skeptic (who may in fact wish for the comforts of faith but is denied them). This may make the book more or less interesting for those who are more used to Simic as a poet who has a bit of a smirk about him. And I wouldn't say that Simic has really pulled off the effort of tackling such issues in any depth. Here's one example: "I'm just a shuffling old man,/ Ventriloquizing / For a god / Who hasn't spoken to me once." I guess I'd say this seems a bit forced. He pulls it off a bit better in the title poem, however. Definitely not my favorite collection by far, but certainly worth checking out (if you can find it at a library)...

That's kind of how I feel. I have an awful lot of the previously issued material (and I've have to give away another set of his "Time" albums, but never say never. Anyway, perhaps discussed elsewhere, but the Getz Complete Columbia set: http://www.popmarket.com/stan-getz-the-complete-columbia-albums-collection/details/25809734 looks like it has far more material not on CD before or at least not in the US. AFAIK, the only material here I have or even have listened to is Captain Marvel. Anyone have an opinion on the rest of the set?

So in addition to Herb Geller's Fire in the West (which seems to be the same as That Geller Feller), I got Two of a Kind, which is a compilation of the EmArcy LPs of Herb and Lorraine Geller. Looks pretty interesting, even though I am not terribly familiar with Geller. Kind of a lesser known figure over here at least (probably a lot better known in Germany).

About halfway through The Geometry of God by Uzma Aslam Khan. Am also reading Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide on the bus. After this, I will probably tackle some Canadian lit. I recently learned that Robert Kroetsch died in a car accident this past summer. I've read perhaps half of his novels, and I think I'll go back through them chronologically. The Studhorse Man is one that people should definitely seek out, and I plan on rereading this for certain. After that, perhaps Jack Hodgins, who writes a lot about BC. And possibly read some of Timothy Findley's novels (only read about 1/3 of those).

The Onzy Matthews Select is great! It took repeated listens to really enjoy it. Great composer/arranger and his bands were top notch. I see that the Jonah Jones is Last Chance, thoughts on it? Don't have it. I love the Onzy Matthews set. Don't know about the Jonah Jones. Just listened to the sound samples liked them but not crazy about them. Might change my mind... I do have the Onzy, though I haven't spun it in a long time. It appears that the Jonah Jones is also available as an MP3 download at Amazon, and that's probably the route I will take (in the next couple of weeks perhaps).

This may be more South American, but seemed in the spirit:

Does that mean the code expires or that the MP3 value expires after the code has been activated? They can be different. I hope it's the former not the latter, as I probably cannot dl from Amazon.com for the next few weeks. But thanks anyway!

I used to enjoy his commentary, but that was a looo-oong time ago (and even then he was a bit of a cranky old man chasing kids off his lawn). Probably should have hung it up 10, even 15, years ago.

No new news on this, other than the majority of scientists (contacted by the Guardian) appear to believe the researchers have made a measurement error: Guardian science page I do like this quote:

I've generally been pretty good, selling off far more than I've taken in, though I couldn't resist a few on my last trip through DG, selling them $100 worth of LPs but picking these up: Heck of a line-up: Curtis Fuller, Kenny Dorham, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Mann and Ahmad Abdul-Malik. We'll see how it coheres. Sadly it is on the short side -- just around 42 minutes. Then just for a lark

I've seen quite a few. I saw the interlocking exhibits of the Summer of China up at Milwaukee Art Museum. My absolute favorite was the contemporary Chinese print exhibit (Emerald Mountains: Modern Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection). I took my son up on Amtrak for the day and we had a really nice time. The I saw Joseph Cornell at the MCA:Cornell. This runs through mid Oct., so a few more weeks. While the Cornell boxes they have on display area generally not as impressive as those over at the Art Institute, they were drawn from private collections, mostly in Chicago. So there is definitely something to be said for seeing pieces that will never be more widely displayed (and in fact I think it's a shame that there isn't a show catalog). They then alternate the Cornell boxes with other art from the MCA collection. This works best in the southern half of the exhibit. Certainly worth checking out if one is in the area. (One of my favorites was William Copley's Blue Mood, which is part of the MCA collection, but not available on line. I'll have to double check if it is in their big collection guide, but I doubt it is.) Also, worth checking out is the newly reopened DePaul Art Museum. Unlike the old one, hidden away a few blocks away, this one is literally next door to the Fullerton Red Line stop. It's still not an enormous space, but they can put on more substantial shows, like their re:Chicago show, focusing on Chicago artists in their collection. Anyway, they have two of the really great Art Shay prints on view, as well as a stunning (to me) photo of part of Cabrini-Green midway through demolition, looking like a doll house (because the outer wall has been removed and you can look right in) with the Hancock Building in the background. Finally, yesterday I went to the new exhibit at Intuit (the center for Intuitive and Outside Art here in Chicago): Intuit This was not a happy experience. It started off really badly when two vagrants were sitting on the stoop outside the gallery, completely blocking the entrance. One was smoking and really quite belligerent, so I just had to wait a few minutes until he picked himself up and left. They were sort of concerned when I told them this inside, but seemed to also think I just wasn't being tolerant enough of the locals. I thought the art was pretty sucky and left after 5 minutes. So a huge thumbs down for Intuit and I would strongly avoid going there under any circumstances. Kind of a sour note for my last Chicago art exhibit, though I'll be back in town frequently through Jan. at least and will probably catch something else (maybe Scott Reeder at MCA).

Yeah, I'm definitely taking this news with a grain of salt. Seems highly likely to be measurement error or even contamination from some other source.

I guess you can build a better mousetrap!

I don't want to look like I am soft on vandalism or anything, but what are they supposed to do with this house? I can sort of see preserving the house where an adult artist/writer/musician lived, though honestly for a musician, I would imagine most of the "art" happened elsewhere, with perhaps a lot of practicing at the home itself. But who is going to travel to East St. Louis to look at this boyhood "shrine"? And why should this house matter more than the one in Alton, Ill.? Or the various apartments that Miles might have lived in NYC? Do we identify 10 or 20 great jazz musicians and preserve one residence from each? I guess I am just cranky today and am thinking how much we (specifically jazz fans) are stuck in the past anyway. I do think there is something to be learned from visiting an artist's studio, but with writers what matters is where they actually wrote (so going to Joyce's apartment is a waste of time -- he wrote in cafes) and with musicians, what matters is the clubs at which they played. Their homes are entirely secondary. At least that's my take.

Not sure when this came out, but it looks like another winner, with an interesting mix of warhorses (Mozart, Beethoven, Shubert's Trout), slightly less frequently heard pieces, particularly various Octets, and mid-Twentieth C. chamber music. Again, almost certainly will pick this up. (At the moment, Amazon.co.uk may be the cheapest.) Melos

Just ran across these (might have overlooked them upthread) and they are awfully tempting. Giulini in Chicago (EMI) Giulini in America-Chicago (DG) Giulini in America - LA (DG) The first one is cheapest on Amazon.com The second two Amazon.co.uk seems cheaper than Amazon.com or Blowitoutahere, even with shipping. I imagine I'll be scarfing these up soon.

You can edit the thread title yourself by clicking on "edit" and "use full editor". Done. Thanks Hans. Yes, they offer it for £41.76 and I believe it will be cheaper. Currently, it is $48.33 as a pre-order on Amazon.com. That's certainly more in line with what I would pay, though I certainly don't need it and should show some restraint.

My impression is that almost all of Netflix's deals expire within a year, and then their streaming choices will get worse, so I don't think that's going to go over too well...

40 Acres & A Burro" by Arturo O'Farrill to go alongside recent acquistions of Ninety Miles by David Sanchez, Stefon Harris and Christian Scott (CD/DVD) and a download-only of Blueprints by Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (saw CALJE last night at the Green Mill -- they were pretty good and a few songs were excellente!)

I guess my experience with brick and mortar is mixed. I do miss the days of the mid-sized shops that specialized in used CDs -- four or so around Lincoln Park/Lakeview. But then my experience at the Chicago shops that did not specialize in jazz and mixed new and used CDs (Dr. Wax and Reckless) has been decidedly mixed with clerks playing truly horrid music at ear-shattering volumes and being just general shits to deal with (making you wait 10 minutes before deigning to answer a 5 second question). Of course, not every clerk was this bad, but many were. Sadly, the store with the worst track record (in my opinion) -- Reckless -- is basically the sole survivor here in Chicago. In the jazz specialist category, I personally much prefer dealing with the folks at Dusty Groove than Jazz Record Mart. But if I wasn't trying to sell off physical product, I would probably never set foot in a brick and mortar again -- at least certainly not one that was primarily focused on rock/pop with a small jazz section.

Starting to sound like something I would order. Just when you think you're out, they drag you right back in...

Are they confiscating your library card? Well, I have lost (and had to replace) more than my share of books. But actually I am moving to Vancouver in just under two weeks.

I.B. Singer's Satan in Goray His first novel, set in 1649. Just starting Uzma Khan's The Geometry of God. Probably the last book I'll check out from the Chicago library.

I have Deep Dark Blue Centre (ever since Whatmusic (re)issued it on CD) and a few of his other works on download (eMusic had most of them at one point). Can't say that I studied them extensively (just more of a casual listener), but I did like what I heard, esp. DDBC. RIP.