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Nope. I'm boycotting it. It's so tainted it isn't of any interest to me. Maybe if the IOC Board is completely dismantled and refurbished I'll pay attention again.

Yes, I would prefer a minor league system and getting major athletics out of universities. The problem is that state legislatures have proven over the past 10 years to be such lousy stewards of their systems that this would probably be the last straw. Half of them probably only supply any state funds at all just so they can root for the teams. It's a sad state, but it is what it is. If the unionization thing really took off, the economics are such that these guarantees they are seeking over medical benefits and scholarships would probably force all the non-revenue producing sports to simply shut down.

Just out of curiosity, why not? If they figure they're getting a raw deal, why not band together (they are a team, after all) to try to rectify it? I think the practical logistics will be a problem. What if the players union at some point decides that they will only compete against other unionized teams? I really hate the emphasis many unions have on work rules, and think this would eventually creep in here as well. But mostly despite all the issues involved with being student-athletes, they still are students and I don't think undergraduate students should be in unions, Conversely, if this movement really took off, it would probably at some point doom college sports at smaller universities. And this is something that I would like to see.

There's a lot more over at the Trib. Now they claim they are only interested in shoring up access to medical coverage but also to have more say over scholarship guarantees, which is a pretty huge red flag. I would be awfully surprised if they succeeded, not least of which is that Northwestern is a completely private university. They might have had more success starting this movement at a public university. I generally don't think student players should be unionized, but realize there are plenty of problems with the status quo.

Now that might of interest -- if somebody recommended their favorite 3-5 recordings that are also on emusic.

Quite a few of his books have a humorous twist to them, esp. Maureen Birnbaum: Barbarian Swordsperson. I'd say When Gravity Fails et. al. is his most serious series, which sort of tapped into the whole Neuromancer/Snowcrash cyberpunk world. I might actually save them for last, as I think they are probably his highest achievement.

I don't think I've read this one, though I read a fair bit of his other work. Have you read When Gravity Fails, and then the rest of that Trilogy? I remember liking the first one a lot.

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil. I have to admit I didn't really think much of this novel. It is totally disorganized, with the point of view skipping around from the clients in this opium den, to the owner, to some of the employees and back. I'm truly astounded that it was shortlisted for the Booker. Anyway, to complement this, I am finally reading de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. This version goes back to the original, punchier 1821 version but then has long sections from the 1856 revision printed at the back.

Made it up here to Canada. Thanks! Lots of listening over the next couple of weeks...

How about some of the instruments that P.D.Q. Bach featured in his various compositions? I'm thinking mostly of the tromboon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tromboon#Tromboon), but there were others just as ill-advised. Re: #10 on this list, I really don't think I want vegetable soup made from the vegetables that musicians have been beating and presumably blowing on and/or through...

In terms of price/CD, this is quite a bargain, but I haven't decided if I am going to bite or not: 51 CDs for under 50 pounds (Sir Colin Davis: RCA Legacy) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GWE4NQU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0JK1H0WYA20PB61583NV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455344027&pf_rd_i=468294 Looks like quite a lot of Mozart, Brahms, Schubert and Sibelius, mostly symphonies and a few concertos. Vocal pieces, such as arias, requiems and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, round out the set.

Yeah, I saw that. I figure it will probably come back in stock (at a higher price), but I am a little peeved today.

Leaning towards getting the dl rather than waiting. Can somebody indicate which tracks feature Wilkerson and which feature Cobb? Thanks!

Do you mean you "got" a physical copy, or you got in on the pre-order price? I almost pre-ordered a copy and am kicking myself a bit. On the other hand, sometimes Amazon just cancels pre-orders in these cases where the price and availability change radically. But not always...

I think this is one where I will pass (on the Richter). I just tend to prefer his non-solo work, as well as tending to think that his earlier work with Russian orchestras (on the Russian Classics series) is preferable.

Ricky: This is indeed exciting and I'll definitely be ordering, though probably not pre-ordering. I do have a question about the 1955 Milan material. Everything that was recorded (and saved) is going to be on the set, or only the material that wasn't on the album (I presume Ambassador Satch)? What about anything that was issued from that missing reel? Thanks. Eric

Yours was the first post I saw when I opened up the thread to post my latest reading, Iris Murdoch's "Nuns and Soldiers." A Murdochian coincidence. I read Conradi's bio last year and generally liked it, although I thought it could have used some editing to slim it down. Plus I think he spends too much time on her pre-novel writing days, and too little on the period when she became a novelist. Still, I found it very informative and highly useful to understanding the novels. I've been on an extended traversal of all of Murdoch's novels. I've come to know most of her "moves" but I enjoy reading them quite a bit. I had read a few Murdoch novels in the 60s, but recently read or re-read the first eight. I definitely thought there was a falling off in quality/character in the last two, The Unicorn (1962) and The Italian Girl (1964), so decided at that stage to go no further. However, on reading Conradi's bio I find him agreeing with me, but also praising the novels of what he calls her maturity in the 70s. So I expect to be reading The Sea, The Sea, The Black Prince and A Fairly Honorable Defeat sometime soon. Yes, those last three are quite good, although "The Black Prince" is rather grim (although not without humor); it's her Dostoyevskyan mood it seems. I agree on "The Italian Girl," rather stunted, almost like a novel that failed to develop. I would say my faves so far are "The Philosopher's Pupil," and "The Book and the Brotherhood" (these two late works), and then "A Severed Head," "The Nice and the Good," and "The Bell." I've still got a few left to go though, then maybe re-read some Well, Bill's walk through her books has intrigued me. I decided to get Under the Net (her first) and The Sea, The Sea. I guess this will allow me to judge her early and then mid-career peak to decide if she is an author I wish to follow or not.

I think I'm gonna give this one a pass...

Am wrapping up Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. It's definitely a bit slower paced than I normally read, and about a type of person (rural pastor) who is not generally on my radar screen, but I do like the narrative voice (as I said, shades of Garrison Keillor) who is simply decent with a lot of insight into human motivations. After this, Molly Keane's Full House. This makes the 4th of her novels I have read (I'm reading them roughly in the order of composition). I've enjoyed Taking Chances and Conversation Piece the most. This one doesn't strike me (initially) as quite as good, but we'll see. Then I will turn to a darker novel set in Mumbai (or rather Bombay and Mumbai): Jeet Thayil's Narcopolis.

I missed one of the Von Freeman-Ed Petersen tenor battles at the Green Mill because of a huuuge blizzard. This was probably 1999. I actually called and they said they would be open. But it kept snowing or something. At any rate, I didn't call a second time, and I headed over to the club through snowdrifts and such only to find the club was shut down. I did see them battle it out at least on one other occasion, but I had three or more times to see the battle over the years around New Year's, but I lived further away and just couldn't be bothered. So that's a bit of a regret. I also regret never going down to the old Velvet Lounge to see Fred Anderson in residence. I definitely should have, particularly that year that I lived in Hyde Park. But I just never did. Now I did see Vonski on several other occasions and Fred Anderson 2 or 3 times, so it could have been worse, but I definitely should have taken more opportunities to see them when I could have. I was supposed to see David Fathead Newman at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago but he didn't make the gig, and he died roughly two or three weeks later. That was particularly disappointing, as I was going to bring my father-in-law, who was a fan of Fathead.

I do not understand why you say that technically he didn't really have to. Copyright is there to protect artists. A photograph is a work of art just as well as a recorded song. Because this should be considered sufficiently transformative to fall under fair use. Furthermore, the balancing test would (or certainly should) indicate that this would have no "market harm" to the copyright holder.

There are certainly artists I decided fairly early on not to follow so intensely, precisely because they have just too much output to consider buying it all.

For a while I was picking up everything put out by Vijay Iyer as well as Rudresh Mahanthappa. It helps that they have a fair number of releases but not (perhaps) an overwhelming number. I'm generally finding that I am less interested in where they are heading now, and this is particularly true for Vijay. I was quite underwhelmed with his recent performance at the Vancouver Jazz Fest (with Tyshawn Sorey). I probably do have a Fieldwork recording (with Sorey), but I doubt I'll pick up any more by that particular ensemble.

Thanks Lon. When I ordered it on Amazon from a marketplace seller the description said 2 cds... but it showed up as one. Maybe if the performances aren't that great I will not return it or attempt to get the 2 cd set. Well, I enjoy "Free Man in Paris," but I don't know how much bother it is worth to obtain it. I do think it is really odd they would be removing previously issued material. Sorry, ignore what I wrote. I was thinking of the original Court and Spark CD and not Shadows and Light. No idea how that sounds.

Hu? Can't quite follow ... to go live in Germany is to go and die soon? I think he meant given the distance he was waiting for more verification?