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Just wrapped up Macho Camacho's Beat Not really my cuppa. But it definitely made me nostalgic for the old days when Avon/Bard had a substantial line of Latin American (and Brazilian) fiction. That's where I went for Vargas Llosa, Garcia Marquez and Amado.

I will consider this, but in the meantime, I thought that this box set of orchestral and choral works was quite a bargain, with Roge playing piano in many cases. Amazon link

Yes, this is a nice set. I picked one up for about $20. This actually reminds me that my order for Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7 conducted by Barbirolli was never delivered and I was ultimately refunded my money. Guess I should try again now.

I bet it's the day he fought zombies! Memorialized in Miles Runs The Voodoo Down!

Couldn't we just get Spike Lee to remake Mo' Better Blues and call it a day?

I was wondering about that. It sounded as if she might well have been under the influence even then. Certainly was hard to see what the fuss was all about, going from that track.

Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear things have made it out ok. Everything has been mailed with the exception of a couple of overseas packages, which should go out today. Thanks again. I am starting to take CDs to the shops, but there still are many CDs left, looking for good homes. Between today and Sept. 13 (when I shut down selling for good), I am offering the following reductions from the original prices, even in the last chance list (though much of that has gone to CD shops) -- Between $2 and $6, 1 dollar off. Above $7, 2 dollars off. The only other change is that you must buy 6 or more CDs to get 10% off the new prices. Still free shipping to the US with 3+ CDs. Eric

THAT would be a first for an album by Gigi Gryce! Hope this CD will sell in huge numbers! One can always dream Sometimes 10 (or 3) in sales is enough to sell out at DG. But they are pretty good about restocking the current titles.

I was only marginally interested in this, but almost a whole CD of unreleased Louis Armstrong (and a bit o' Ella) makes it far more tempting. I'll ponder this for a while. The price is definitely on the high side, however, even for 2 CDs -- $36!

They sent me the message last night, but I totally forgot about it. I put in an order this morning, but they may have already sold out. I'll know soon...

Has anyone bought and/or listened to Vieux Farka Toure's The Secret? This landed relatively recently, and I've heard a couple of tracks on the BBC world music shows. I have one waiting for me at Reckless Records, so I should be able to hear the rest this week. Looking forward to it.

3 discs plus 1 DVD -- and I'm betting the DVD will not replicate material from the CD's. Still a touch more that I'd ideally like to spend, but then again, what isn't. Well, I certainly wouldn't pay $45 for this, but if I can catch it when the prices drop I might consider it. Miles is on fire, huh?

So several packages went out today, and the rest should follow tomorrow. Thanks again! BTW, did anyone request Shepp's Down Home New York from me? I can't see it in the PMs, so I guess that means it's still available. I'm going to recuperate for a few days, then consolidate lists and perhaps drop prices one more time. Then it will be the local shops...

I've been pretty good lately (with far more outgoing than incoming CDs!). But I couldn't resist this for under $3: Jim Hall Concierto (CTI) I will probably see if I can use up my soon-to-be-worthless Borders cards on CDs that are actually in stock, since I have had no luck with their on-line shopping.

Perhaps so, but it still sounds like the piano and drum lines were lifted wholesale from Take Five.

No, please, watch the entire skit. It's one of the finest TV comedy endeavors ever! Speaking of been there, done that. I had no idea that one of the cable channels is showing The Richard Pryor Show (it might even be BET). Wow. Talk about mind-blowing. I do like me some Dave Chappelle, but Richard Pryor was even more daring and waaaay ahead of his time. I think I'm going to have to pick this up: Pryor Show at Amazon.

So I am listening to Prairie Dog and it jumps into "The Fakir." It is basically "Take Five" with a few minor twists. In fact, for a short minute I thought I had loaded in a Brubeck CD instead. Does anyone recall if he indeed got any flak from Brubeck/Desmond or their publishing company? Aside from that, it's certainly an impressive line-up -- Harold Vick, James Spaulding, George Coleman, Johnny Coles and Mickey Roker (dr).

I've heard it long before. The slightly more interesting twist is when the blind man doesn't realize he's Black. This has also been done many times before, perhaps most amusingly in the Chappelles Show skit "Black White Supremacist." Chappelle show The skit is a little too long, but it is worth fast-forwarding to the final joke.

Except the joke itself is lame and has been recycled hundreds of times, which when you think about it is pretty typical of a Jay Leno routine.

There is an urban legend (among sociologists) that if you say (truthfully) that you have a Ph.D. in sociology you will always be dismissed by the prosecution because you will have such a jaundiced view of the criminal justice system. Never had to try it out so far.

Let's try this one: JazzWax

Damn, I hate it when you're reasonable. Now I gotta go and find somebody else's ass to bite! Still think it is likely that she is guilty, but not only did the prosecution not prove its case, there was clear misconduct, so indeed, the verdict is the correct one. For my part, I am having to (painfully) eat a bit of crow over the DSK case where the witness has been less than forthright about the whole situation. DSK is still a scumbag, based on his behavior prior to the hotel incident, but he indeed may not be guilty at all here -- and for sure it is unlikely he would be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

So it looks like the very last gasp for Borders -- Borders liquidation What thoroughly pisses me off is that I found my gift cards and ordered three books, all of which should have been "gettable," but after pissing around for a month they inform me that they are cancelling the orders -- and they will only give me the funds back on a gift card. I've gotten two of three gift cards back, but then again can't find much of interest. I guess if I can't get it in the stores in the next week or so, then I am getting diddly/squat. Obviously not worth placing any new internet orders for anything vaguely of interest that isn't in stock.

I was also having trouble coming up with the title. I saw this at Film Forum in Manhattan during one of their periodic film noir series. Curiously, this is one of the hardest noirs to actually get on DVD. There is a Spanish-import and a much better quality French-import, both quite pricey. I'll probably hold off a bit longer to see if it is released in R1 at a more reasonable price.

Nice cover. Never seen that particular edition. I can't seem to link to it, but I have City with the 1981 cover (you can see this on Amazon: City) Anyway, I decided this would be a good book to read one last time and give away. I'm just not enjoying it nearly as much this time around. I think it's because he is sort of a utopian at heart (at least in this book). If food was unlimited and energy was unlimited, there would be huge surplus workforce. In a utopian society, people would have near-infinite leisure. In a distopian society, unproductive people would be culled. Given what I have seen over the last twenty years, I know which way the U.S. would go, and it wouldn't be in the direction laid out in City. For me, the most convincing futurologist is the very distopian Paolo Bacigalupi, who has a couple of novels out now. My gut feeling is that a clear majority of SF writers end up with futures that are mostly utopian in terms of the political economy that governs the overall society, even if that society is then threatened by internal or external forces (particularly bug eyed monsters). I'm also halfway through Jack Hodgins' Innocent Cities. It's a little slow going at first, but it definitely picks up. Here's a pretty decent summary: This book in particular strikes me as having similarities with Peter Carey's work, specifically Oscar and Lucinda and The Tax Inspector. So if you are a Peter Carey fan, this might be one to check out.