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What I had forgotten (or repressed) is that the ending is basically a several page-long homophobic screed. Really brought me down with a bang. I'm through with Reed -- he's just such a hateful, pitiful person (I still vividly remember what a d-bag he was when he started dogging out Alice Walker and other Black female writers) and that always ends up coming through in his writing.

Was fortunate enough to catch two exhibits in Edinburgh -- one on the closing weekend, so it was pretty crowded. This was Van Gogh to Kandinksy: Symbolist Landscape in Europe 1880-1910 at the main exhibition space. At the Modern Galleries, they had Picasso & Modern British Art. I thought both were pretty decent exhibits, but I didn't feel compelled to buy the catalogues in either case. There was a somewhat similar exhibit at the Whitney called Picasso and American Art (or something equivalent) and I thought the American artists were stronger than the British artists in this exhibit. In this exhibit, really only Ben Nicholson came at all close to holding his own. I did find it more than a little ironic than in 10+ visits to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, I had to travel to Edinburgh to see their copy of the Picasso print La Minotauromachia. It is pretty stunning work when seen up close, so it is unfortunate that it is so rarely in public view.

So I got about halfway through Mill on the Floss. (I probably could have finished it up on the plane ride home, but after they dimmed the cabin lights, my personalized light actually shone on my neighbour's seat -- so frustrating!) I think Mill on the Floss is a pretty good book, but one that I admire a bit more than I enjoy. The father is just too stubborn for me to really care for him, and I really don't care for Tom, who seems a right prat on top of being pretty thick. I probably can relate a bit more to Maggie now, given that my daughter is a pretty willful child (like Maggie, she even cut off a bit of her hair, which is not that uncommon for young girls apparently). I'm also about halfway through rereading Ishmael Reed's The Freelance Pallbearers. (Appropriately enough, this is a bathroom book. I know, TMI, but if you've read the book, you'll understand why this is relevant.) I liked the book a bit more the first time around, but I still like it a lot more than Flight to Canada, which we were discussing a few weeks ago. The verbal exuberance and general craziness is about the same, but Reed's targets of scorn are a bit more generic, i.e. he isn't attacking any specific politician or religion. As shallow as it sounds, I really could not get past his purile put-downs of Abraham Lincoln in Flight to Canada, though I disliked a lot of other aspects of the book. But the same general problem remains in that Reed seems to take down everyone and everything he comes in contact with (organized religion, Black nationalists, fifth columnists, double agents, lesbians, government workers, social workers, etc.). I'm genuinely curious if he views anyone or anything in a positive light. I find it exhausting being myself, and I am probably only 25% as critical of the world as Reed is.

I'm thrilled for you guys. Given the built-in audience you have, definitely consider Indiegogo next time (maybe less nail-biting), esp. if the admin fees are lower, and extending the pledge period just a bit more.

Track listing for Philips OJC collection here I think I am finally done with the big boxes. I still listen to the Living Stereo quite a bit and pull now and then from the Decca Sound Box. I very rarely delve into the Harmonia Mundi box, and when I look over this box, there is precisely one CD I would listen to with any regularity. Definitely diminishing returns for me (though I will see if I can order that one CD as a single...)

I can recommend The Corrections, but you'll need that time! Well, I'm flying from Vancouver to Glasgow and back, so I figure 10 or so hours that aren't spent sleeping or on the laptop... It was a bad series of plane rides today. Not only did we have to deplane because of a fuel leak (second time in 3 months, am I unlucky or what. Yes, better to catch it on the ground, blah blah blah, but seriously WTF is wrong with maintenance now). I strongly disliked Gentleman Death, though I finished it. And I hated The Corrections and left it half unfinished in an airport lobby (then went on and bought The Mill on the Floss for something more to my taste for the return trip). If I could point my finger on what bugged me about the book is that Frazen (to me) has a lot of barely concealed contempt for the characters, who make all kinds of terrible life-choices (many of which struck me as frankly cartoonish). A good novelist should have more genuine compassion for his characters, and I didn't sense that at all. But I suppose I have been in an unusually grumpy mood for quite some time, maybe related to my own life-choices. For better or worse, I disliked Frazen's early novel The 27th City, so I probably will just avoid him from here on out.

I can recommend The Corrections, but you'll need that time! Well, I'm flying from Vancouver to Glasgow and back, so I figure 10 or so hours that aren't spent sleeping or on the laptop...

Let me know what you think. I honestly wasn't that taken with Oscar Wao (which the rest of the world seemed to love), so I don't think this is going to be my thing either. Anyway, still reading a ton of poetry (though some days it seems it is more skimming than anything else). Of all the poets I have been introduced to, it has been a couple of Canadian poets that will probably stick with me and join my personal pantheon -- W.H. New (from Vancouver) and Al Purdy. I'll pick a poem or two to add to the Poetry Cosmos thread. For the upcoming trip, I am going to be reading Gentleman Death by Graeme Gibson and then The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (I have a lot of time on planes this trip). After this, I was thinking of tackling something a bit lighter -- Faulkner's The Reivers, which was his last novel.

Not sure about that, but you can change your level of pledge (and decline additional gifts), which has the same effect.

I think eventually Kickstarter will fail due to this. There are already competing sites that aren't so strict and you get the funds even if you don't quite cross the finish line. Indiegogo is probably the best of this bunch.

I finally wrapped this one up on a plane ride, appropriately enough a return flight from Toronto. I don't really know the problem, but this started stalling about halfway through. It is just too long and there is so little actual plot. The book flashes back and forth between the narrator's life in Toronto and his previous life in Czechoslovakia, and I naturally thought it would end with a scene describing how he managed to defect, but instead there were two letters from people describing a former bandmate's last days. So underwhelming. Maybe that is the worst -- a novel that starts strong and ends pitifully. I've picked out a couple of novels for my next flight (about a week away), but haven't decided what to read in the interim. I should pick something light and fun, but am not sure I have anything like that at hand. In a pinch, I might reread Read's The Freelance Pallbearers.

Just a handful of CDs to add: 40 Ornette Coleman Beauty Is A Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings 6 CDs set. CDs in good condition. Outer box has quite a bit of wear to corners and edges. 3 Sonny Rollins Worktime (OJC) not sure of year but not 2009 remaster As a note, I'll be out of town until late Sat. so I will only be able to respond to PMs intermittently. I'll be looking over some additional sets to price when I return.

I think there's a more recent thread, but this is what I turned up. Looking at the back of James Moody's Moving Forward on Novus, the piano bench is filled by Kenny Darron. This is actually repeated again on the inside in the liner notes (such as they are).

Should have most of these still. Let me go take a look.

Am slowly taking CDs in post #47 to local CD store. Can offer 25% discount on anything on that list still in stock. HOLD Africa 50 years box ($45 plus shipping - see post #16), The 5 CD set of Jelly Roll Morton from JSP ($15) A few new listings: *3 Willie Bobo Talkin' Verve *5 Art Farmer Plays the Compositions of Gryce and Quincy Jones (OJC/Prestige) HOLD 12 Hank Mobley Newark 1953 (Uptown) 2 CDs HOLD 2 Monk Straight No Chaser (Columbia - 1996 remaster) HOLD 2 Monk Criss-Cross (Columbia - 1993 remaster) HOLD 3 Monk Monk (Columbia - 2002 remaster) 12 Monk Monk in Tokyo (Columbia - 2001 remaster) 2 CDs I have some classical as well (piano-oriented) but don't plan on listing unless there is real interest. Thanks for looking!

Ok, I'm in @ $30. Assuming all goes well, just PM me if a Canadian shipping address doesn't pop up when you are getting ready to ship. Thanks!

Me, I'm more of a The Creator Has a Master Plan kinda guy.

I can't seem to get this to work, but the browser may be so outdated. I'll try again from home. I do have the same name as an actor with 4 degrees of Bacon, so I figure that puts me at 5.

Same complaint here. They're doing it to get their hands on the money asap, a disadvantage of the current Amazon Marketplace system. This happened to me one time as a seller. I was out of the country. I don't get a lot of orders and had forgotten to suspend the account. If I had waited to hit the ship button until I had actually shipped, it seemed Amazon was going to cancel. However, I contacted the buyer and explained that technically I should cancel and have her reorder in a few days. She was ok with me clicking I had shipped a few days early, but the main thing is to actually ask the customer ...

I really like the idea of what she is doing, i.e. some of her concept albums. And I've seen her around Chicago a few times, and she seems like a great musician/person. However, I just can't get past the flute playing -- and so very rarely enjoy the music itself.

Looks very promising! I should be able to do the $30 level to get the bonus download tracks. Do let me know if the shipping to Canada is going to be a problem (or require some additional adjustment). If so, I can live with the downloads only. Good luck, guys!

The main advantage I see to not worrying about duplicate threads is that it encourages those not only new to the board, but those new to jazz. The boards I go to that seem to be growing, living boards don't worry about duplicate threads, and newbies seem to stick around a lot more, growing in knowledge and in contributing to the board. The boards that worry about duplicate threads and insist that newbies use the search feature, post on the appropriate thread, etc., seem to run of the noobs quickly, and soon become an "old gang" board. I agree with Tom Storer in that, in this day of facebook, bulletin boards may be up against it, but there are boards that are doing fine. Of course, the other advantage to not worrying about duplicate threads is less work for you... As I see it duplicate threads are a nuisance when they're posted shortly after the original thread, especially when there's a discussion going on in the earlier one. The starting point here is to keep all info and opinions on a particular subject in one thread as much as possible, which makes a discussion a lot easier to follow (and take part in) than when it is fragmented between threads and it also makes it easier to do a search. I actually agree with both points. Active duplicate threads ought to be merged and posters should at least make a quick attempt to see if there is another thread. I usually start from the New Content screen, so it is usually pretty obvious. But I really do think there should be a moratorium on hectoring posters about using the search function, particularly if the other thread has been dormant for 6 months or more.* And more acceptance of having tangential threads on their own, so they are shorter and we don't have quite as many threads that go on for over 100 pages. * These things do go in cycles, but at the moment the climate on the board is noticeably less open than it was a year or two ago and it does feel like a closed shop. Maybe that is a defensive reaction to the death spiral of the music industry (on the reissue front anyway) or it might be something else entirely.

I've been delayed in finishing up The Engineer of Human Souls due to reading/browsing a lot of poetry for my (potential) anthology. I did manage to finish Pitouie on a ferry ride, and it was an entertaining read though it had some plot holes, which I can't really discuss for fear of spoiling the plot. I would recommend it for anyone looking for light entertainment. Hard to say what has really stuck out the most from all this poetry. In Cars by Kimmy Beach was pretty great - a book-length exploration of her teenage years in rural Saskatchewan where the only thing to do was drive around aimlessly and then go to the roller rink. (Not so different from my teenage years, though we had a mall and the roller rink had past its prime in my teenage years and video arcades were the up and coming thing.) I also found Mortal Arguments by Sue Sinclair kind of snuck up on me and I found myself thinking about it a bit after I had finished reading it (a good sign). She's even got a good poem in there about taxis (maybe I'll post in the poetry thread after this is all over). I've also just discovered W.H. New, who is a Vancouver-based poet. I particularly like his collections Stone | Rain and YVR.

Sometimes a joke is just a cigar.

Toshiko Akiyoshi Some/many sessions are quite easy to find. Some very difficult or at least expensive, like Monopoly Game and Four Seasons of Morita Village. Quite a few recordings never released outside of Japan.