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I was a bit on the fence but bought it when it moved to Running Low. It was probably sal who said I couldn't live without it.

And new construction would probably include asbestos if it was still allowed because it was such a cheap and efficient insulator, but as a society we agreed that it was too harmful. I think we're well past the point where we can simply allow people to buy SUVs with such shitty gas mileage. Whether that means command and control legislation to force improvements in fuel economy, or doubling or tripling of the gas tax, I'm for it. Obviously it won't happen in the U.S., much to our shame. Our grandchildren will forever curse us as the worst generation to walk the planet, since we knew global warming was a problem but were too greedy to do anything about it.

I can't speak for Jim, but I used a push mover, which was human powered.

Definitely thinner on certain musicians than I would like, though I usually have at least one or two CDs by the various giants of jazz . I suppose the only major gaps are Fletcher Henderson and Woody Herman.

If it has reopened, the Walker Arts Center is terrific.

His style does change (and mature) with each novel. The latest ones have not been comic at all. I would read Zuckerman Bound next after Portnoy.

Just rented I Am Cuba by Mikhail Kalatozov (1964). Definitely interesting. I'm still deciding what I think about it. I guess I generally agree with the reviews that call it a stunning artistic achievement - fantastic camera work heavily influenced by La Doce Vita -- that strains against the political agitprop content of the movie. It's certainly a good looking film, shot in black and white. Worth a look I'd say.

I have many of these, but not the Silver Doin' the Thing or the Hubbard and Another Workout only on LP. Still am looking forward to them. It does seem like almost everything in the vaults comes back around some time or other. Maybe if I had known that I wouldn't have gotten some of these at outrageous import prices. Oh well ...

No, they will ship to foreign countries, including the EU. You just need to email them first and flag up your order.

I thought Year of Silence was ok but not as good as Waiting or Doctor Sleep. The Washington Square Ensemble is ok as well. That one has some curious parallels with Motherless Brooklyn, though the situations the main characters get into (and choices they make) are bleaker than those in MB. I must admit the Haiti trilogy doesn't sound that promising to me, but I may read it some day. (I generally don't read historical fiction and think that Bell is writing so far outside of his own experience I don't see how he could keep it up for three books.) I would like to get around to reading his short stories. Lethem's short stories are often interesting.

Would agree on Motherless Brooklyn. I actually introduced a book club to it, and it went over really well. I've read many of Lethem's other books, but this is the one I like the most. The bit where his OCD turns on this woman he briefly dates is very funny and of course also very sad. Lethem reminds me a bit of Madison Smartt Bell, who wrote some wonderful books in the 1990s. My favorite of all is Bell's Waiting for the End of the World, which I may try to reread this year. Doctor Sleep is also quite good. Am currently working on book 6 in Anthony Powell's Dance series.

Honestly, I was amazed Hayes was even still with the show. There've been almost two seasons gone by where Chef isn't in any episodes or just sits in the background and doesn't talk. I guess a handful of the newest episodes had him in there, but I assumed he was long gone.

That's quite a rant. Anyway, I hardly see why one has to choose between Mozart and Shostakovich. I'd hardly say that the BBC has shunted him to the side. They have aired the entire symphony cycle over the last two months, recorded live in Manchester this year, and this week they are airing his string quartets, also live concerts. So in essence they have supported brand new performances of all these works rather than just playing CDs. I think that's very cool, and I have enjoyed this immensely. While I like Shostakovich a lot, one could argue that, despite his use of irony, ultimately he buckled down and wrote music in the service of an unjust state, not so different from Mozart.

Hmm, that reminds me that Season 1 or 2 of SCTV has a song or two by the Plasmatics. If I remember correctly, in the commentary they mention how Wendy O. Williams wasn't wearing an outfit acceptable to the network censors, so they had to add some tape.

Coming up this Friday is the first in a two-part series on Warne Marsh on BBC Radio 3. Some details here: BBC Radio 3 The nice part about BBC Radio 3 is you have up to 7 days to listen again to the show. You will probably need RealPlayer to listen, however.

It could be worse. Here in the UK, the government is running a series of commercials indicating that it is your fault if your car is broken into if you leave it on the street (as if there were 10% of the garages you would need to park cars off the street). An even more annoying set of commercials indicates it is your fault if your cell phone is stolen because you actually talk on it in public. Maybe they could go around and hire some police with the funds they wasted on these moronic and demoralising ads.

Chuck's mention of the Burning of Stones piece with 3 harps reminded me of a "World Music" group I enjoy called Koto Vortex, which is a quartet of 4 women playing the koto - a traditional Japanese instrument of 13 or 17 strings. They put out two albums Koto Vortex I and Koto Vortex II. Not jazz certainly, but really interesting nonetheless.

Probably the most well-known is Dorothy Ashby, whose Afro-Harping is still in print.

And this version is on emusic.

I agree it's tricky, but I think the majority of people want something new (and hassle-free), and on the whole you are better of on Amazon. Plus for the most part, the free shipping Amazon offers when you bundle a couple items together is the deciding factor. It has to be a very large price differential for me to go with the used copy. What I do like about the used items is that a fair number of things that are OOP show up there, so it's one more place to look at in addition to eBay and Gemm. (Also I can no longer order through half.com because of their payment policies.)

I suppose I'm simply more used to sort of grey market items showing up on eBay (like Asian DVDs not intended for the US market), but for the first time I got one on Amazon (through the used offerings). I ordered the Broken Flowers DVD and didn't get the US version. In fact the DVD plays fine and is region 1 NTSC, but doesn't have all the bonus material and the subtitles are in Chinese and Thai rather than French/Spanish. I think it is sort of legit and not simply a pirated version, but I guess it is hard to tell. I can live with this edition, and certainly the hassle of sending this back to the US and reporting it to Amazon is too high, but it is annoying. I certainly would have sent it back if the US version had a commentary track (maybe there will be a Deluxe edition later on). I suppose I will leave neutral or negative feedback. Is anyone else noticing the spread of these these eBay tactics (selling Asian imports or screener copies) onto Amazon or other sites? I wrote somewhere else that the rising number of scams and general headaches of dealing with eBay had turned me off, and yet I just bought a great box set on eBay with no problems and got this sort of shady item from an Amazon seller, so I guess you just never know.

Maybe he'll take a money order like in the old days.

I think Joshua Redman was definitely overhyped when he hit the scene in the early 1990s. Hard to say if any of his early albums will hold up. But I think he has retreated from that a lot, and I definitely like his work with the SF Jazz Collective. I think Osby's Invisible Hand will definitely hold up -- from roughly the same time period -- but he wasn't really marketed as a Young Lion, unless you count being part of Blue Note's New Directions band.

Well, somebody has just reissued these two on vinyl, and there appears to be a Fresh Sounds CD to be released March 7. CD Universe Walt Dickerson Quartet -- Vibes In Motion (Jazz Impressions Of Lawrence Of Arabia/Plays Unity) . . . CD . . . $12.99 Audio Fidelity/Fresh Sound (Spain)

Every time I work my way down through my Saved for Later list, something else comes along. Not complaining, but it looks like I'll be a subscriber for a lot longer. One CD mentioned in the re-issue thread is here -- Hank Jones The Talented Touch on the Okra-Tone label (the legit version of this material). The tracks are quite short, but I think I'll get it in a month or so. I'm also enjoying the VSOP additions, though I wish they had added the John Graas International Premiere in Jazz album (a Third Stream piece). It is actually out on CD but not on emusic. Maybe I will email them to ask what's up with that.