Kevin Bresnahan

Hey! They made the web: Ogre-sized M&M's. This web page says that they are 65% larger! Later, Kevin

Erdinger Weißbier Mit feiner Hefe (Hefe-weiss) is my favorite by far. Make sure you check out the section of the web site with the diections on how to pour their beer. It is a must that you get all the yeast out of the bottle or the taste is just weird. I agree that Franziskaner is good. Hacker-Pschorr is good too (sold as Pschorr-Weiss) but be aware that nearly all of these are made by Paulaner, sometimes called "The Budweiser of Germany". They bought up all kinds of breweries and kept the old name but most of them are all the same. FWIW, I don't like Paulaner's Hefe-weiss. Too tangy. Later, Kevin

It sounds like you need to look into a receiver/DVD combo machine and couple that with a standalone VCR. As I said, DVD players are far more reliable than VCRs so this combination would likely save you some space while giving you the playback you want. I see that Crutchfield has a cheap Panasonic unit that would fit the bill here but I would look around. Panny's aren't the best these days. Onkyo makes a really nice looking receiver/DVD combo unit but it's a bit expensive (around $550). BTW, the best deals in this realm are for "home theater in a box" systems but that would mean getting 5.1 speakers and a combo receiver/DVD player which may be more than you want or need. Sony offers a whole bunch of these but like their other product lines, there is a question about the quality. Later, Kevin

I have been told that these 3 sessions were licensed by Concord and have since reverted back to the Kamuca estate. The Kamuca family apprently hasn't licensed them back out. Later, Kevin

Sorry to say, but once you move out of Sony's EX line, build quality goes way down. Their VCRs have dropped in quality at an alarming rate. I used to buy Sony and Sony alone for years. The last VCR I bought died in about a year. The one before that was about 2 years. I am now on my second Mitsubishi unit. It's a Super VHS model and the picture quality is miles ahead of standard VHS. As for combo players, I bought one for my mother-in-law's room last year. The first one was a Go Video player... that wouldn't play... right out of the box! I was shocked at that one. I looked at the Sony units and almost pulled the trigger but I did some research and remembered the trouble I'd been having with their VCRs and took a step back. I bought a Hitachi model. Other than it being a bit confusing (to her), it has been pretty good. I wouldn't rave about it. BTW, it goes without saying that to cram 2 players into one box for under $200, some shortcuts will be made. You would be much better off buying a separate player for each if only for better quality build. Also, if one of the players dies, you don't have to replace both. I'd bet a lot that the VCR croaks way before the DVD player. The really aren't making these things very well today. Later, Kevin

I've seen this article all over the web. I have to wonder if the music industry isn't behind its publication. What better way to scare people away from burning CDs? As I've said in other threads, I have many CDs which I bought in the early 80's and all of them look & play fine. I also have many CD-Rs that I made in the early 90's and all are fine, both data & audio. In everything, there is a probability of failure and that includes CDs and CD-Rs. However, I haven't gotten stung myself and I personally have yet to see a problem in any of my friends' collections. Later, Kevin

I agree that this Denon 3803 is quite the machine. It just has way more playback options than I am interested in. I tend to use the reciever in 3 modes. Stereo. Multi-channel audio. Dolby Digital. Everything else is superfluous. Maybe DTS is the next best thing to sliced bread and maybe I will need it in a few years, but right now, I don't. Of course, the reason I bought it was because it comes highly recommended for audio and true-to-form, it kicks major booty on audio. I may just Ebay the thing. I figure I can get around $650. That's not really enough. The Rotel is around $900, even on Audiogon. Maybe I should consider Cambridge Audio's new surround receiver? Later, Kevin

Earlier this year, I got a chance to get a Denon home theater receiver at a big discount so I jumped at the 3803. While it is an incredible machine, it has way more features than I want and I am thinking about swapping over to a Rotel 1055 receiver. Anyone here got an opinion on this? Am I nuts for thinking about making this change? Anyone here in the market for a killer Denon 3803 that I could swing them a sweet deal? Later, Kevin

I can't help wondering ... related to Big John? Jeb Patton is the very young white guy behind Jeremy Pelt. If he's related to Big John, it's through a couple of generations! BTW, I caught Patton at Birdland where he was in the band backing Jimmy Heath. The kid can cook. Later, Kevin

I talked to Scott and he says he kind of got caught off guard with these sets. He thought they would be able to run another pressing but was told earlier this week that he couldn't. They have around 200 of each set as of today. I was planning to get these for Xmas but obviously, they won't be there that long. Time to check the finances. Later, Kevin

These Impulse release are back in jewel cases then? I wonder if they are re-pressed copies of the 20 bit remasters or if they're now putting the latest 24 bit remasters into jewel cases? If they are the newest remasters, at 1995 Yen, I may be spending a little dough here. Kevin

Well, last night I popped open the bag of ogre-sized peanut M&M's. While better than regular-sized peanut M&M's, they were nowhere near as good as the ogre-sized regular M&M's. I also bought 3 more bags of the chocolate ones at Walmart. I plan to stash them in a nice cool dark place and crack one every now & then. How long does chocolate keep anyway? I wrote M&M/Mars using their "Contact Us" link at their web site and it's been 4 days without even an acknowledgement! Maybe I should find an M&M web site and drum up support for my petition with some other chocoholics? Later, Kevin

Scott tells me that this set may have sold out over night via Internet orders so your order may not get in. However, if you did miss out, he does have a partial of discs 1-3 ($48) with box & booklet. Later, Kevin

Now it looks exactly like Jazz Corner's Speakeasy! Now, when I switch sites, I'll have to look at the header to tell which one I'm on. Kevin

The person over on Jazz Corner's Speakeasy now using the handle "Chaz Lounge" used to go by "Bright Moments" for years... I believe it was his handle on the old Jazz Central Station board. I may confuse Evan with this person every now & then. It's tough to get old. Later, Kevin

They're in Walmart! Now I can get 'em cheap. I picked up a bag of the peanut version yesterday but I was way over my recommended daily allowance for chocolate so I haven't opened it yet. M&M's and port wine go together like Abbot & Costello. Later, Kevin

Yes, they do! What to do? I may go back to my store and buy about 10 bags of each and stash them in the cupboard.... These are good and it won't take long before the chocoholics like myself realize this. They will sell out of these in no time. BTW, "ogre-sized" to M&M/Mars means about 1/3 bigger but oh, that extra 1/3 is all chocolate. Kevin

Oh man!! Are these things heaven! To promote "Shrek2", M&M's has come out with over-sized M&M's. They call them "ogre-sized". Sooo much chocolate. I haven't had M&M's this good in 41 years. My mouth is watering just thinking about more. I have to get more. I may have to buy out the whole store. Anyone on a diet who's a chocolate freak must avoid these things at all cost! Must resist... can't reach for the bag... no... no... I'll balloon up to whale proportions... ahhhh!! Murmph... smack... mmphf Kevin

Oooo, I did leave that there, didn't I? I wonder if the transfer engineer would rather I take this down? Since you caught it, Weizen, what do you think? Should I take it down? BTW, I have this as a Power Point file if anyone's interested. It cuts up nicely and fits like a charm. Funny thing is, I was just putting the finishing touches on a "Dance With Death" cover before this announcement. Later, Kevin

FYI, this might be another Internet rumor just like Joe Henderson. Joe was reported dead on the 'net almost 2 years before the actual event. It was pretty bad then, and it would be pretty bad now if we let it. The rec.music.bluenote newsgroup started talking about this rumor yesterday and here it is a day later and no official word? Not looking good. I say let's wait for the official confirmation before starting an "RIP Elvin Jones" thread. Later, Kevin

My "Take Aim" came out like this:

Weizen, I've done a very nice cover to "Take Aim". I think it came out nice. I used this picture of Land from a web site: I tinted it green and used a yellow font for Land's name. It looks OK but I bet couw could do a better job. I have it at home on the PC. I'll post it tonight. BTW, this picture looks like it came from the photo shoot for Land's "Harold In The Land of Jazz": Later, Kevin

Either way, I still think it's a sucky title! I re-did this artwork and called it "Quintet". I suppose "Den Tex" has possibilities... hey, couw, how about doing one off od the song titles? Later, Kevin

Sure Weizen, you dumped my artwork quick enough! Can you send me a copy of the red version big enough to fit in Power Point layout? BTW, here is the version I did with "In A Capricorian Way": Kevin

I don't know if I agree with the predictable aspect of this... I had been told that Hill doesn't like "Dance With Death" and asked that it didn't get reissued. I was pretty surprised when I saw this on the list. As for the cover art, they will be designing one for "Dance With Death". I guess BN would only budget artwork development for one title so the Ervin got the axe. BTW, the other reason they chose to axe the Ervin over the Hill would be that (sadly) Booker doesn't sell well at all. Apparently never has and still doesn't. I never understood this. I love his stuff. Also, if they do reissue that Ervin date, I would really doubt it would be titled "Back From the Gig". That was Horace Parlan's date and just happened to be combined as a two-fer on LP with this Ervin session. I'm betting it'll be called "Quintet". The song titles kinda suck as LP titles. I once created artwork for my CD-R and called it "In A Capricorian Way" as a joke. Later, Kevin