ejp626

I have this exact edition. Haven't cracked it though. I have kind of a long-term agenda of getting back to the Russian classics, starting with Anna Karenina this spring and then probably Dostoevsky next year. I've read many of his books but not in the Pevear/Volokhonsky translations. Definitely worth a peek in to their translation of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Anyway, was 2/3 through Powning's The Sea Captain's Wife, which I was not enjoying that much, seeing it as high-toned chick lit, when she threw in a plot twist that was so incredible/unbelievable that I actually felt insulted. Decided I am not going to read another word. On to Malone's Handling Sin, which is a fun romp...

Yes, CTI put it out in 2011. http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moses-Records-Anniversary-Edition/dp/B0057FWU3I/ref=tmm_acd_title_0 I actually paid a somewhat unreasonable price for a used copy of the import, only to find (a bit too late) that the last track was damaged. So I was quite glad when it was reissued.

Just became aware of this. I'll probably try to snag it one way or another soon. Cheaper for me to import it from the UK than apparently any other option.

You really don't see the problem in trying to force everyone to work to your notion of how office productivity should work? And that this is far more about upper management imposing their will because of their insecurity and inability to know who is productive and who isn't (and thus call for blanket policies with no exemptions). I am certainly opposed to rigidity and bad management practices, and this checks both boxes for me. Maybe Google does enforce a no telecommuting policy, but many/most tech companies do not. And the best people will probably walk. Anyway, I am not worried about myself, but it is quite obvious that in my company morale has suffered tremendously already and it will certainly negatively impact productivity. I feel badly for the coworkers that have fewer options that will be stuck in a bad situation.

I was happy with Fremeaux -- I have sets #6, 7, 8. But I am also not an audiophile.

This is probably too inside baseball (and about a company that is hardly relevant anymore), but I find the larger issue quite interesting. Marissa Mayer has decided to shake things up at Yahoo and says that because in-office collaboration is so critical to Yahoo's success that she is unilaterally cancelling previous arrangements that allowed a fairly high level of telecommuting. It actually strikes home for me in a lot of ways, since my office is relocating to a really shitty location (adding 25 minutes of commute time each way) and the managers have been told to really crack down on telecommuting. As it happens, I very rarely telecommute, but I was considering doing it more to make the office move a bit more tolerable, and then this is thrown in our face. Consequently, I am now in the early stages of bailing, and, not to toot my own horn too much, I have more options than the typical employee because I have technical skills that are far more in demand than the majority of my officemates. I would say there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this, and both Yahoo and my company seem determined to go down the wrong path. There are already some threads devoted to this -- here and here. The second link is Farhad Manjoo over at Slate. Personally, I find the actual column pretty reasonable. In short: not everyone does their best work in an office setting, and that, particularly for a tech company, some people really are vastly more productive working from home. A good manager should be able to tell who is delivering without requiring people to be chained to their desks. Oh and BTW, the best people are the ones who are probably going to be really insulted by this high-handed change and will probably walk out the door. And he (and the more reasonable responders) is not even calling for 100% telecommuting and for an end to face-to-face meetings, but that professionals be able to use their own discretion and telecommute up to 1-3 days week. But then you see the awesome nature of the internet (and I mean its awesome awfulness) and people are willfully misconstruing this or getting all offended and blowing things out of proportion. I was really surprised at the number of people who simply say: lump it or leave it, basically the enabling suck-ups that make it possible for CEOs to be so arrogant and out-of-touch. Then there are some that seem to be so offended that anyone can telecommute (because assembly plant workers can't work from home, you know) and that apparently no one should be able to. They are probably just trolling, but you never know. And just an overall inability to actually read what's in the post and then to consider a situation outside of one's own.* And an unwillingness to engage in any level with some of the research that Farhood does link to, showing the impact of telecommuting on productivity. Oh, and unbelievable pettiness/nit-picking and the ever-present typo crowd. (Honestly, give it a rest already. Maybe we can have Seth McFarlane sing a song like "You Spelled It Wrong" and finally drive this into the ground where it belongs.) What can I say? Regardless of how representative internet chat rooms are or aren't, this is depressing. I can see why the politics/religion threads get so derailed all the time (definitely not worth reading at WashPost in particular), but a thread on telecommuting policy? So much heat, so little light. * This really has to be the root of 80% of all flame wars. The unwillingness to consider other positions than one's own as valid at any level.

That's my feeling as well. I don't have a lot of the earlier recordings and some is of no interest to me (all the operatic stars) but I'm glad they are putting it out there. Probably my single favorite EMI box is the Melos Ensemble. It's interesting how much overlap there is between the Milstein and Steinberg sets. I am leaning a bit towards the Steinberg, just because I like a bit of orchestral variety rather than violin or piano concertos over and over. I probably will get the Fourier, but just program it so I only hear one disc at a time.

No kidding. I've gotten a good price on a lot of these sets on sale, but, wow, in a few cases, I wish I had held back. The Mackerras EMI set for under $10! Ogdon for $32 (maybe not that much lower than I paid). They even have a good deal on the The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts RCA set that Ubu is thinking of (and I may spring for as well). It looks like the sale will go until the very first days of April, so I have a little while to make up my mind. Have any recommendations? Honestly, I have been happy with all the EMI Icon box sets I've picked up. Well, the recording quality on the first couple of disks of the Kreisler were off-putting and I ended up de-accessioning that one. I do think the Toscanini is redundant if you have the big shoebox set, but maybe not a bad idea if you don't. I'm not that interested in the Jochum set because I already have his Bruckner cycle and I don't need another Beethoven cycle, but if you are looking for those symphonies (paging Dr. Ubu!), this is a good way to go. I like the John Ogdon set because he goes into a lot of rarely recorded pieces. I also really like the Melos Ensemble box. (This is on sale, but doesn't seem reachable through the EMI sale page, but you should be able to find it here.) Let's see, I have the Richter, De Larrocha, Sir Colin Davis, Mackerras, Vernon Handley, Heiffetz, Guido Cantelli, and Silvestri boxes. I don't think I have the Fournier. I will double check and possibly order that.

Makes sense to me. I have three cats and no irons. I don't even golf... Ha Ha! And I bet at least one of your cats is fat. I know this thread is about cats/dogs and not Monopoly but the iron should have been replaced with a gold or silver bar. Iron has little value.........especially with all the wrinkle resistant fabrics available now. Quite a number of tokens have little to no relevance for today's children, though perhaps they didn't have that much relevance for us as children either. The shoe is incredibly old fashioned (though at least some versions of the game have a tennis shoe/sneaker/runner). Indeed, it is a button-hook type shoe. Family lore goes that my grandfather made these kind of shoes, and then went bankrupt when the shoelace craze swept the nation. (Apparently, he had some health issues that made it harder to make the changes to adapt.) So anytime anyone goes on about not feeling sorry for buggy-whip manufacturers or other free market losers, I just want to give them a little kick in the ankle. Good thing that when Obama was talking about downsizing the cavalry, he didn't say anything about the huge savings from not buying horse shoes, or he definitely would have lost my vote. Anyway, cats were the only pets I could have that fit my lifestyle (well, or gerbils I suppose, but let's not go there). I refuse to be chained down to the schedule of a dog and drop everything to come home to walk it. I realize that isn't as much of an issue in the 'burbs, but all these city dogs? Just crazy to me.

No kidding. I've gotten a good price on a lot of these sets on sale, but, wow, in a few cases, I wish I had held back. The Mackerras EMI set for under $10! Ogdon for $32 (maybe not that much lower than I paid). They even have a good deal on the The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts RCA set that Ubu is thinking of (and I may spring for as well). It looks like the sale will go until the very first days of April, so I have a little while to make up my mind.

I'm going with a strap for a knife he uses to fight off sharks. Or groupies. Same difference.

I think it's fine that she is doing well for herself. The business is the business. So I've seen her live and heard a couple of radio concerts. And her work leaves me absolutely cold. And the hype somehow does make it worse for me. I mean I don't dog her out in mixed company or anything, but if I can help it I won't listen to her again in this lifetime. Am I a "hater"? I guess so.

I do try to listen to different versions, but I am starting to wonder about how many versions do I need to own. Generally, one or two is sufficient, though with the rise of the mega box sets, I do have close to a dozen versions of Dvorak #9 and probably even more of Beethoven #5. Sadly, Spotify and most of the other streaming services still haven't made it up here to Canada. Which means I often have to take the plunge and buy a CD if I want to listen to a different conductor's interpretation. The library does have access to the Naxos library and I am starting to indulge in that a bit more seriously.

Always been a cat person, but haven't had any since my son turned 1. (Had to give them up for unrelated reasons...) Am hoping in a few years to be back in a place where I can keep a cat or two. (Vancouver landlords are notoriously anti-pet, and they definitely have the upper hand out here!)

Well, it is pretty hard to just keep up with forthcoming CDs, since after some time, the ones in the thread will just be new and not forthcoming. I also don't follow classical enough to be on lists where I get up and coming releases. Thus, I'm going to bend the rules a bit (i.e cheat) and consider CDs less than 1 year old as well. This one was pretty interesting: Orango by Shostokovich conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

I have to admit without access to Netflix (for me streaming just doesn't cut it) or a local DVD shop, I kind of go 6 months between checking the Criterion/Eclipse releases. There are certainly some interesting Eclipse sets, including Robert Downey Sr. and one on key films of the Czech New Wave. Maybe by now my library will have them. They do have many of the older Eclipse sets. Anyway, there is a promising upcoming Eclipse set called Masaki Kobayashi Against the System, but I think I'd only really like two of the films enough to watch a second time (let alone buy them): The Inheritance and Black River. Also, there is a box set coming from the regular Criterion line in April that looks even more interesting: Pierre Etaix. From the product description: "This collection includes all of his films, including five features, The Suitor (1962), Yoyo (1965), As Long as You've Got Your Health (1966), Le grand amour (1969), and Land of Milk and Honey (1971)." I may actually pre-order this one, though I'll have to figure out some new shipping arrangements.

Until about ten years ago, I could never get more than a few pages into any Dickens book. Apparently, as I got older, someone changed the content of the books as I enjoy them now... Same thing happened with me about eight years ago with Trollope. Beginning with "The Eustace Diamonds" -- a lucky choice because the central figure, Lizzie Eustace, is such a fascinatingly detailed and psychologically plausible (by any standard) "monstrous" character that the notion that Trollope was complacent or a fuddy-duddy was instantly erased. Since then I've read a lot of Trollope with unfailing pleasure; he's one of the greats IMO. I'd read "Barchester Towers' in college because I had to and had no clue at the time; Trollope's probably not for guys in their early 20s. I think Trollope is almost criminally overlooked. I find that it takes a week or so to really adjust to Trollope's rythmes. Probably a slightly harder adjustment than Dickens. I basically read the Palliser series and one or two others. I do hope in a year or two to go through the others that I own (Barsetshire Chronicles, The Three Clerks, He Knew He Was Right, The Way We Live Now and a few others) and then maybe will be ready to reread the Pallisers (I did read them in my 20s and would pick up on very different aspects of the books now).

Touché. I rarely think about such things when deciding whom to listen to, esp. if the artist has passed on. For me, Mingus is the bigger challenge, since he did some awful things, esp. to a few fellow musicians, but his music is so important to me. On the whole, we probably do give artists too much leeway and buy into the tortured genius thing too much. (I personally thought the slant on the Turk article was very troubling.) At the same time, people have the right to draw their own lines in the sand. And there are a few artists I do refuse to listen to and certainly will not pay to see.

And I saw a man pigging out while walking!

I'm interested to know what/how many titles are on the Pettiford (13), Thomas (14) & Monk (16) discs - these will be mighty short if it's just the 10" tracks Does the Wilen (20) disc contain 15 titles as in the Vogue black digipak release (ie alternate takes) - BTW AFAIK this was never released as a 10" LP If the Wilen disc does contain all 15, it would be worth buying the box just for this disc - going for decent sums now This site seems to have a bit more detail: http://klassik.sonymusic.de/Various/Jazz-On-Vogue-The-Perfect-Collection-35-Original-Albums/P/2690812 The Konitz is 11 tracks (some alternate takes) and clocks in at closer to 35 minutes. There are a number of CDs that are really on the light side, including the Monk, Mulligan, the Schifrin, On the other hand, the Wilen does have all 15 tracks, and it appears to be a straight reissue of Tilt. I'm just torn. The presentation is so much nicer than what I have currently (and there is at least some material I don't have), but would it really have killed them to include some of the sets on the Bebop in Paris 1 and 2? The Foster, Gryce and McGhee sets are all fairly short and wouldn't have been out of place filling in some of the shorter CDs. I think I just have to hold back and see if the price comes down or a used set comes up before I take the plunge.

Another short piece here. Unless I am mistaken, Wyatt fell out a window at a party that Ayers' was throwing (maybe he was not the only person throwing the party?), which probably did put some massive and perhaps unspoken stresses on the friendship. There was some documentary about a Canadian athlete who was paralyzed in an auto accident (his friend was driving). The main focus was on how he became a powerful advocate for the disabled -- even traveling the Great Wall of China in his wheelchair -- but part of the story was how hard it was for the two to get past the guilt/anger and remain friends. Not that I am implying Ayers' ought to have felt guilty about Wyatt's condition, only that such feelings are common in tragic situations such as this.

I know this is totally a tangent, but I remember looking through the used CD rack and they were charging through the nose for a very marginal (but OOP) rock/pop CD. Yes, it was OOP, but even a quick glance at Amazon would tell you that the going rate was about $2! I have lost a lot of respect for DMG over the years and basically never even think of shopping on-line with them anymore. Even when I am in Manhattan, I rarely drop into the store.

That would be something. Not sure the most current composer they've done. I was going to say Lutoslawski, but that was an immersion thing, not Composer of the Week. They have done John Adams, I guess. And Philip Glass. Still not a likely choice. Anyway, I was wrong, at the moment, Max has two weeks and Fiona has two weeks on Late Junction (I vastly prefer his shows, but I still listen to hers). Assuming he hasn't pre-taped it, he might be able to add a track to tomorrow's show. I'll keep a look out.

I think Max Reindhardt's week is up at Late Junction at BBC Radio 3. (I think he has one week a month, but not sure.) Otherwise he would be fairly likely to do a tribute. I guess there's an outside chance Jazz on 3 will play a track or two off of a Soft Machine LP.

I just gotta have more hi-hat!