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I had one year living in Toronto and going to grad. school where I felt I really fit in. I also was going on dates with many women. I had a great time, but I didn't go on to do the PhD (at that time). Mixed in were also some tough times, including some emotional anguish over the woman I liked the most. Also, leaving the program on bad terms was unpleasant, though I have gotten over that. My first year working in New York was a good time, because I helped develop an important piece of software still in use by the NY government. I've never quite gotten back to that level of importance at work, though some projects come closer than others. There were flashes in Europe when I was traveling that I couldn't quite believe I had gone to this place or that place, esp. Prague and Madrid. Those were terrific moments, mixed in with a lot of unhappiness about my living situation in England. I suspect looking back, I will think this is a good time, as I have two healthy children, though they are still young enough to be hard to deal with. I will probably be a little happier (or at least less tired) when they reach 5 and 3. In the grand scheme of things, I do have a good life, but I tend to dwell on small irritants and negatives. I have been making a conscious effort to turn this around and remember the big picture, as well as the better things in life -- like being able to go to museums and listen to music.

I can't believe he couldn't get Norah to sing on a track or two.

I'm the oldest. My mother always thought that my brother had a little bit more raw intelligence, which annoyed me to no end, though we both are above average. But that I was far more driven, as well as being willing to channel it into conventional channels. Thus, I ended up with a PhD (and 2 Masters in other fields) and he has an MBA.

Given that many employers kind of expect managers to be on call well beyond the 40 hour workweek, it probably isn't that unreasonable to take a couple of pens home, since they'll probably be used 50% of the time for work anyway. At least it is that way for me. I'd say I am pretty good about not pilfering, though I do occasionally use a blank CD or a work envelope to mail something. I always pay for my own postage though. And if I am making a lot of personal copies (not often), then I actually do buy my own paper and bring it in. Yeah, I guess there is still electricity and some marginal cost of ink and so on, but it seems pretty low (to me). I do have a stapler from an old job, but that was a case where they were closing down an office and everything was being thrown away, so we could salvage pretty much whatever we wanted. I'm sure stealing time is a much bigger issue than stealing supplies for nearly all office workers, as the article notes, and it is that way for me (some weeks better than others of course).

The irony is that I was about to sell these on the board, since I am desparately trying to pare down my collection by 100-200 CDs, but now I am listening to the Ashby again, and it is pretty interesting. I suppose I might as well face the fact that I won't ever be able to get my collection down to a manageable level. Eric

I can guarantee you that Dusty Groove has started this small boutique label and currently has 4 re-issues on it. We'll see where it goes next (though I do think if they had to choose between their own re-issues and Lonehill/Gambit/etc., they would probably stick with the pirates -- just a hunch).

Some say that the best version is still the original laser disc - especially those who don't like any of Ridley's Director's cuts. Do you mean the original theatrical release? The laser disc version was the original release, as far as I can tell. It definitely has the original ending, as well as the voice over narration to begin the film. I'm somewhat partial to this version, but I realize many people think the voice over is weak. I don't know too much about the 25th Anniversary edition, but I would wait a while until enough fans review it to see if it is actually that different from the last director's cut. Speaking of director's cuts, what do people think of the Apocalpyse Now Redux? I believe most critics thought it was a better film, though I think the vote is still out among the general public. To be honest, I haven't sit through the entire thing in one sitting, which I think I should do before finally making up my mind.

I can weigh in here. I have two of these sitting on my desk. They are CDs, not CDrs. They are definitely licensed from Universal, and there is a little logo "Universal Music Special Markets" on the back. They are pretty much a straight transfer from the original LPs, with original cover and back reproduced on the insert, then the liner notes are repeated inside in larger type. The main difference is inside the insert, there is the Dustygroove website. Funky Skull even has a little of that faux ringwear on the cover. I think they have 4 CDs so far on the Dusty Groove label. I could definitely see DG trying to license more of the Cadet material in particular. As far as I can tell, the majors have given up on this issue (Europe PD laws), at least as far as trying to keep it out of US stores. I can't think of many places you can't get this material. Jazz Record Mart carries Proper Boxes, and I bought Blue Moon sets from them as well. As far as on-line sites go, Amazon and CD Universe have virtually all the Lonehill/Definitive imports available. eMusic even has some of this available for download in the US. So I think it is close to pointless trying to roll this back -- it will only get worse. I half suspect Google will digitize all music everywhere and you will be able to listen to random tracks once you are a registered member (and then some hacker will figure out how to rebuild the old Napster/Kazaa). It really does seem like flogging a dead horse everytime this issue comes up. Anyway, I am very curious to see what gets licensed next.

Mosaic just sent out an email saying that this was an upcoming release (June/July), so I think there's hope. It looks like something I'd have to pick up. Fingers crossed.

Now, here's a man who knows what's important in life. Well, my wife doesn't have too much to complain about this month. We moved, and in the process, she ended up with a modern kitchen (left by the previous owners) and new bedroom set and couch and rug that I just ordered. The only thing used was the dining room table. I also set up a 529 for my son and daughter (for college). So I'm probably covered for a while. If I had a $200 bonus, it would probably go to a $50 book -- Visions of Japan: Kawase Hasui's Masterpieces -- and the rest towards tickets at the Chicago Symphony or theatre tickets. (But I'll probably end up getting these anyway.)

I've read Ulysses twice, but never made it more than 5 pages into Finnegan's Wake. Perhaps one day. There are a number of useful guides to Ulysses. Probably one of the more useful hints is that the style shifts each chapter, getting closer to modern English and therefore easier to read as the book progresses, though then the last chapter is a wild stream-of-consciousness piece with almost no punctuation. Does the public radio in New York still broadcast staged readings of Ulysses? I remember listening to it a couple of times. I did make it to Dublin, though I missed most of the Joyce tour. My wife just wasn't that into it. We did see an exhibit on Joyce at the National Library, including a mock-up of his apartment in Paris. Really hard to believe he lived like that (so cramped). No wonder he and so many other authors did all their work in cafes.

My Cohn/Newman/Green Select also arrived. Only listened to a bit of it, but it seemed mighty nice.

I don't know how it stands up as a film, but I Want to Live has a great soundtrack. Also, I don't think Gilda has been mentioned. I like it quite a bit, though there is one bit of clumsy editing (probably ordered by a studio head) that does undercut the suspence towards the end.

I used to shop at Schoolkids and some of the other places, though many of them don't sound familiar, so they may have been after my time. I couldn't afford a lot of music in my college days, but I did get some Monk and Miles back then. I hope the used book stores are still in business, since that is always a major draw. Many of the smaller used CD stores have shut down in Chicago as well. Pretty soon it will just be Jazz Record Mart, Dusty Groove, Dr Wax and Reckless Records. I can definitely envision a time 10 years from now where there won't be any CD stores and it will all be on the internet selling from some warehouse. If CDs are even still a viable business. I think it is a shame though.

So I deleted my last post, as Greg answered one of my questions (why the bonus tracks were not on the JiP release). I spent a bit of time checking it out and the bonus tracks also show up on Stitt's Only the Blues. However, if anything this is even rarer than Sits In ... I found that a few of the tracks of Only the Blues show up in the Verve Vault on iTunes, but not the relevant tracks. This is really strange. I will go ahead and email Verve to ask them to put the rest of the tracks up for download or to put Sits In in the Vault. But I am still torn. I have just about the complete JiP set, except this one and the new Lafitte CD. But it seems stupid to buy the JiP version of Stitt-Peterson when the import is available (though a bit steep at $20-25). Has anyone listened to the bonus tracks, and are they worth holding out for? Thanks. Eric

It was an awesome show. I wonder if anyone else made it. I have to admit, I wasn't that crazy about his solo show about 3 years back, but this was a septet with Eric Alexander, Wallace Roney, Donald Harrison, Steve Turre, Eric Gravatt, and Charnett Moffett. The concert was loosely based around Tyner's Impulse compilation. They played quasi-standards, including several Coltrane pieces. I am almost certain they played Giant Steps and Impressions (though maybe it was Cousin Mary) and probably one other Coltrane piece that I can't name right now. And one of Tyner's originals called Blues on the Corner ?, as well as an uptempo piece from one of Tyner's live albums. I'm almost sure it was Enlightenment, but I can't check right now. It has a great repeating bass line though. For the most part, Tyner was pounding the keys (and had to have the piano retuned during intermission) but trying a few new things. It was sort of slanting the melody, playing a bit more angular and changing the tempo a bit, playing against the drummer and moving the melody ahead or behind the beat. Anyway, I definitely enjoyed it, and I imagine there will be a formal review, so I can find out exactly what was played later. He was looking pretty good overall. I saw Dave Brubeck the week before and he didn't look nearly as good, even compared with two years ago. He put on a good but not great show. Most of the time, I was thinking of the movie Going in Style, as three of the four in the quartet look like they might drop off at any time.

McCoy Tyner Septet at CSO. I think it should be a good show.

Yes, free. I was scanning the Chicago Reader and came across this: So I immediately emailed Stop Smiling and was put on the guest list for Tues. How cool is that? Best of all, this venue is walking distance to Dusty Groove, so it looks like I am set for Tues. Unfortunately work is going to prevent me from going to the Wed. show at the Velvet Lounge. Let me know if you plan on going on Tues. Eric

Don't have too much to add, other than in Jan (I think) I stopped in the Pompidou Centre and they had a exhibit devoted to Herge and Tintin. It was sort of interesting, though I didn't have the patience to try to mentally translate the text. I find the style of Tintin a little bland to my taste, but maybe if I read a whole story, I would like it more.

That's so funny. I saw her feature song and was utterly, utterly bored by it. I couldn't wait for her to stop singing. But I hate country in all its manifestations. I thought Taylor's performance was far more interesting, even though I was not a big fan of his on last season.

Mark, if I only visited one location, which would you recommend (looking for vinyl, specifically)? If you are only going to one place to check out vinyl, I would probably say Jazz Record Mart, not least because Dusty Groove is pretty good about keeping their inventory on-line.

Was at the Bastids over the weekend. I was hoping to get the last 3 JiP to complete the set, but they were out. Instead, I got and . The second one {Grand Bahama Goombay} is very different than I expected. I was expecting a bit more of a world groove, but it really is essentially James Brown visiting the Bahamas. A funk groove and some particularly strange covers, including Mustang Sally practically turned inside out and a very fast take on Take Five. While I find Take Five kind of compelling, I suspect after a few more listens I will be tired of it. It doesn't seem to have as much staying power as other songs on the disc. I think my favorite two tracks are "Words to my Song" by Dry Bread and "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall. The later one is basically a song warning young women that if they touch "that thing," their belly will grow ...

They're just mad because the last U.S. news bureau in Canada closed, so we will get even less news about our northern neighbors from now on. This is just a (desparate) call for attention.

Yeah, it's a stack about 2 feet high. I sort of think, you really ought to listen to all of them at least once. Then I remind myself that 1) I don't really listen to that much r & b, 2) I've got almost all the core Motown and Atlantic singles on CD already, 3) I'm a little worried about setting up the record player again while my son is still at the stage where he would pull it over and 4) most look like they have a bit of wear and tear. Anyway, I am keeping the best, including a bunch of James Brown and the Famous Flames 45s, some Sly and Family Stone (and even this is stupid since I just got the remastered box) and anything that was remotely jazz (including a Jack McDuff Blue Note 45). But I hope someone will take the rest. Otherwise it will be Goodwill in June.

My father-in-law was a DJ in various clubs in Chicago since the 1970s I guess. Anyway, he is starting to pare down his stuff and is getting rid of his 45s. These are things you would have seen in bar jukeboxes in the 1960s and 70s -- a lot of Motown, some Atlantic, some Stax, some Brunswick, etc. For the moment, I am keeping about 1/3 of them until I have a chance to listen to them and maybe digitize the best of them, but am giving away the rest, the vast majority of which are soul and R & B. I'd say there are still 100-200 45s I would be giving away right now. The catch is I am not shipping them anywhere, so it probably only makes sense if you are in Chicagoland and want to try to arrange a pick-up. I would prefer to get rid of them by the end of May, but could do early June. I'd rather anyone interested just take the whole box rather than pick through them. Finally, I make no guarantees about the condition of the records. A lot of them are kind of roughed up, as you might expect from a lounge DJ and they are just in stacks (no paper sleeves). I'd say the nostalgia is a big part of the appeal for me, as 80-90% of this is on CD. So let me know if interested. Eric