ejp626

Oops, I guess I'll post them separately. My fingers are in this photo where he was about a month old.

Thanks a lot, man. Yes, jazz lovers have beautiful children. I think Kendall is the perfect combination of our attributes. What I haven't said on this board yet is that I am in an inter-racial marriage, and, to this day, I can't figure out how Kendall ended up with my color rather than more of a blend. I'm not saying it matters, I am just curious about the genetics behind it. I was worried about how he was going to fit in as a biracial child, and now it is more that no one in the Black community is going to believe he is Black. A few more of the best photos (he rarely takes a bad photo). My fingers are in the first photo.

Here is a non-political picture of my son, Kendall. He is just five months old.

And why didn't they? More cowbell, baby!

How was Steve Martin in Novacaine? I caught about 5 minutes before I had to leave, and I'm wondering if it is worth renting. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation was great, though it did seem a bit like cheating, since he was sort of playing his off-screen self. Some people have suggested the movie plays a lot better on the big screen (where I saw it) than on tv. Any comments? I've yet to watch it all again on DVD.

Well, I wish I had rolled out of bed earlier. My polling place is in the lobby of my building (a really big apartment building). I got there at 8, and it took 45 minutes to get through. Normally it takes about 15 minutes, so unfortunately I didn't bring anything to read, but the people standing in line were pretty cool and we talked about work and other things. One student was prepping for the GRE and got some encouragement from us. This being Chicago, tempers were fairly cool, since everyone knew that 85-90% of the people in line were for Kerry and especially for Obama. Even the two Republicans behind us just made jokes about being the minority for once and that was it. The election judges were pretty surprised at the turnout, which was about 4-5 times higher than normal. (Actually, I do wonder where they come up with enough Republican election judges.) Chicago still uses punch cards which you punch out behind a rickety election lecturn. Then you run it through a scanner which checks for overvotes and undervotes, which does seem to cut down somewhat on mistakes. The main problem is trying to decide on judicial retention, when there are around 75 judges "running."

I took a gamble and grabbed the Jazz Studio and Jazz Lab CDs from Lonehill once Dusty Groove stocked them. I am favorably impressed. I particularly like the varied instrumentation on the Jazz Studio albums. It seems like there was quite a demand for jazz French horn players in the 1950s. Who knew? In addition to John Graas and Julius Watkins playing the field around this time, a third jazz French horn player shows up on Jazz Studio 4. But no cowbell!!

I think, but would have to double check, that this material was released as part of the Jazz in Paris box, but another a different musician's name. I know it's surfaced somewhere recently. But yes, a good date.

It does seem particularly sad after a lot of recent activity reissuing MPS albums and getting them into the US. I picked up Jazz Works (a sampler), Jazz Re-Works (the remix obviously), and a more serious issue Clarke/Boland Big Band All Smiles from Dusty Groove recently. All Smiles is over in the sexiest covers list, but more importantly it's a great line up. Johnny Griffin, Ronnie Scott and Tony Coe all on tenor! (though it is too bad that Griffin only solos on one track). I hope that they can continue to issue this kind of work.

I think I am largely in agreement with jazzshrink. Corporal punishment is generally not effective and there are better alternatives. That said, I do not like the trend I see, in Europe particularly, of criminalizing even minor instances of corporal punishment. Maybe I just feel the pendulum has swung too far towards permissiveness, and many of today's parents do not assert control and raise spoiled brats. While these are slightly separate issues, they both have a root a feeling/sense that parents don't have the right to assert authority (that's so patriarchal). Not all children can simply be reasoned with. I was a miserable failure as a teacher when I tried to be reasonable and fair to students. They interpreted that as weakness, and walked all over me. I would have been much better off as a tyrant -- though I would never have dreamed of touching any of them.

The mystery deepens. This is the Vernon label from Mount Vernon, NY.

Well, it might be Musicraft. Here is the track listing for those interested. It doesn't match any Carnegie Hall Concert I am aware of, but the titles could be completely wrong or changed to protect the guilty. Side 1: Inferno 1 Overture to a Jam Session Part 1 Overture to a Jam Session Part 2 Inferno Blues #1 1/2 Inferno Blues #17 So Slow, So Hot Side 2: Zonce Helenzee Li'l Glow Bug To a Sweet Dream Misty B The whole thing clocks in under 35 minutes.

And this is completely off topic, but I am converting over LPs onto CDR, starting with Ellington and some solo Hodges stuff. I am wondering if any of the following had a US (or Japanese) CD release: Ellington Jazz at the Plaza II At the Bal Masque (kind of amusing, particularly when they swing Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf) Drum is a Woman Hodges The Eleventh Hour (arranged by Oliver Nelson) Don't Sleep in the Subway I am pretty sure none of these has had a US CD release, but I could certainly be wrong. I guess the most surprising is leaving Jazz at the Plaza in the can, since it features appearances by Jimmy Rushing and Billie Holiday (actually I should perhaps check my Columbia Holiday set, since those two songs might have been issued there). Drum is a Woman is kind of cheesy, though I suspect that is going to be in the next batch of Columbia Duke CDs. I really think the Hodges albums listed above are quite good, and it would be a shame if they haven't been rereleased. Some of this stuff I am listening to for the first time, since I bought the vinyl in anticipation of getting my record player fixed.

Hmm. I am trying to track down some information on this LP. It is Inferno! on Vernon records. I guess it is Vernon 517. Looks pretty much like an old bootleg LP. I have the LP in my possesion, so I do have track listing, but there are no details on the musicians. The very brief notes claim (or rather imply) this was from a Carnegie Hall concert, but there is no date anywhere in the notes or on the LP. It's an ok date. It will probably grow on me. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Eric

Fraid not, it was just snakes, snakes, snakes for the first three days. Then an ashtray. Then Adam.

I saw her follow-up explanation on a morning show on NBC, and it was more of the same. It was her dad's idea, she was sick, she's never sang to a backing track before, it was still the drummer's fault. I find her inability to just shut up and accept some deserved criticism is what is so upsetting. It's hard to hold her personally responsible for a culture that celebrates talentless young women (and her benefitting from it by going on SNL), but she certainly is a symbol of what is wrong with the music/entertainment industry. So of course I am glad that she was shown to be a hack. It's one of those few moments when the curtain slips. It didn't take long for celebrities like Carson Daly to start circling the wagons around her, but it doesn't change the fact that we know she's a hack.

Definitely amazing, and not what I expected at all. One of the SI writers echoed a comment above, about how hard the Sox batters make pitchers work. Most of the Cards pitchers averaged over 18 pitches an inning. Most of today's batters swing for the fence on all kinds of terrible pitches.

I have to admit that the first time through, Black Water didn't grab me that much. I'm sure that is mostly because I have the volume fairly low. I did get Panoptic Modes and like that a lot. Best of all, I must have gotten a copy that was originally for a radio station. They suggest some cuts to play (9, 6 and 2), and then helpfully provided a pronunciation guide -- VID-jay EYE-yur.

I also recently purchased Easterly Winds, along with Now and Dance with Death. I certainly like the Wilson date, but I have to listen to it again. My comment has more to do with the first photo in the liner notes. Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins look completely stoned off their gourds. And perhaps that was the case, but perhaps a little cropping would have been in order.

Ok, I'll bite on the Tolliver. PM on its way.

Well, I didn't like the Gangsta name, but the pirate name was ok: Crafty Wallace Bellamy. Running that through the Gangsta generator, I got: No-pants Shrinky Nutz which I suppose is appropriate, it being late fall in Chicago and all.

Recovering data is another issue. If it is truly a mechanical failure with the hard drive, it is possible that nothing can be recovered. This happened to me only two months ago. The technician couldn't even get the hard drive to access the data; it was complete scrap. If it is more of a formatting problem (a crucial read sector got wiped for example), then you might get some or all of your data back.

You wouldn't believe some of the crap I save. I have some stuff from when I was a math teacher 10 years ago! I keep thinking that I will use it as background for the novel I want to write (don't laugh). I actually have started this novel, and if I quit my job next month as planed, I will work on that at least. (No, I am not so deluded to think I can live off an advance. I just need some time away from the many idiots I deal with. Yeah, you got me Catesta.) But I do get around to using a lot of what I have saved, including the 3000 or so non-fiction books I own. Still, if I only knew now what I would use in the future, I might actually get somewhere.

I work in transportation planning, and we deal with lots of different computer programs. I'll walk someone through the steps once, wait for them to forget and come back. If they can't get it after the second time around, I think they probably need to be in a different line of business. That doesn't mean I won't try to solve their problem, but I just don't think well of them after that, and that probably shines through. I am difficult to live with, and I am amazed that my wife sticks with me. Whenever I think about that, I bring her home flowers. (At least, I've never needed to bring her home flowers, let alone jewelry, for bad behavior.)

I do have a temper. I hate to lose. I hate it when my causes lose out. I don't have much patience. I am willing to explain techniques and protocols to people twice. After that if they still don't get it, I write them off as idiots. I carry grudges too far. I can't keep my office straightened up. I have thousands of pages of reports I won't read, but I can't throw them out.