Matthew

I've become more interested in American history lately and what I would really like is a book with a good overview of the history of the USA. I don't care how long it is (is Page Smiths 10,000 volume history any good?), just that it is well written, no political axe to grind, and would get me up to the 21st century. Recommendations eagerly sought! edit: spelling

I flew into Newark last Monday.... and woke up 7/4.... sorry.

Yep, it's this week! I got an email Thursday saying mine had been dispatched, so I'm hoping mine shows up on Monday. Really looking forward to this too! My signed cd finally arrived in the mail this morning (sorry SW, you have a long way to go to catch up with Andy & Colin), and I'm going have to listen to this a couple of times this weekend. Aggie, how do you like it so far?

I was there when Ozzie Smith made THE FIELDING PLAY against the Braves. It's been called the greatest fielding play ever, we gave him a standing O when he came off the field for that one.

Hard to explain what I hear in Small Talk, some of the lyrics are very dark, to say the least, and they offer a contrast to those moments when Sly is trying to convince himself that life is fine. Seems that Sly Stone had this picture of what life could offer him, and yet the reality of what was going on in his life was dragging him in a different, darker direction. To use a biblical image: Sly sees two paths ahead of him, he knows what road he should take, but something is driving him to the other path. It strikes me that there is more to Small Talk that just the farewell of Sly...

I just listened to it this morning and found it depressing as hell. I was about to post a question of "Was there any reason to include this album in the box? Other than to show how far Sly had fallen since Stand?" IMO, it's not any good as an album, much less as a Sly album. Fresh, OTOH, now THAT is one funky-ass album! Got it groovin' right now! I listened to it this morning and I liked it. I'll have to give it a couple of more spins to see if I'm way off base on this.

Nobody's talking too much about Small Talk but I find that it is a beautiful album with wonderful musical touches throughout. Matthew says: This is worth checking out.

Ditto your thoughts. Thankfully, John Updike seems in good shape right now -- it would be nice if he got some love from the Nobel committee....

Does anyone else see a Walt Whitman influence in Sly's lyrics? Reading through them, I sense a definite link there...

Poor Mariner's, another rain out today...

This is very sad news I bought The Best And The Brightest a while ago and I was very impressed, as you could see the modern implications of the book given the war in Iraq. Always enjoyed his other books also.

Sly and the Family Stone: The Collection.

Hey, if I'm not mistaken, this is the week for Fear Of A Blank Planet to be coming out! I haven't looked forward to a release this intensely since Apple Venus. I hope Newbury Comics is sending this one quick.

Finished, for like the one hundredth time, my all-time favorite coffee table book: George T. Simon's Simon Says: The Sights And Sounds Of The Swing Era 1933 - 1955. It's a collection of a lot of his articles, interviews and reviews that he wrote for Metronome magazine. It really is a journey back in time and quite interesting. Of course, it's long OOP, but it comes up on Ebay every now and then, a couple of years ago I was able to get a copy in mint condition and it's traveled with me ever since. If you like the big band era, and kind of corny writing, this book is a goldmine. Just some excerpts from the book to give you a flavor: The famous 1938 Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert is headlined with this. Benny and cats make Carnegie debut real howling success. Shorthairs Shag, Longhairs Wag, Walls sag, as Goodman's gang transforms ancient hall into modern swing emporium. Love this from a review about Ellington at the Cotton Club: The Cotton Club draws many ickies who pester Ellington to play pop tunes that were hardly intended from him to attack. He plays them, and the fact that he plays them well enough to satisfy those ickies, and to draw there applause, should be added to the plus rather than to minus side when computing Duke's final score. Just very interesting to read these "you are there" accounts of historic jazz bands and figures. Highly recommended.

Sorry I missed the fun, I was in New Jersey. Happy Birthday!

Now I know why there's not too many Texas Rangers fans around here. Jose freaking Vidro hits two home runs!?!? And he needed oxygen at second base before he could continue with his home run trot.

The story of the Funk Blast: Sexson’s got the funk – and the groove to go with it LARRY LARUE; The News Tribune Published: April 4th, 2007 01:00 AM Richie Sexson became a funk master Monday. It wasn’t entirely his doing. Over the years, the Seattle Mariners’ marketing folks have come up with any number of ways to celebrate a home-team home run on their big scoreboards. They’re always looking for new ideas. This offseason, they came up with one. It wasn’t entirely their doing. It began when one of the team’s public-relations executives, Warren Miller, had a CD on his desk – “Funk Blast,” a greatest-funky-hits of the 1970s. General manager Bill Bavasi, prowling the offices, saw it and borrowed it. “Pretty cool,” he told Miller. Then the Mariners’ vice president of marketing, Kevin Martinez, wandered into Bavasi’s office and saw the CD on his desk. “I saw ‘Funk Blast’ and immediately thought about home runs,” Martinez said. So the team decided, for fun, to work “Funk Blast” and a song from Parliament, “Give Up the Funk,” into its celebrations. Enter Sexson. Monday, Sexson homered – his and the team’s first home run of the season. As Sexson went into his trot, the scoreboard beyond left field lit up with the words “Funk Blast!” and fans rocked to the tune “Give Up the Funk.” Sexson didn’t notice. “It said what?” he asked. “Maybe I should wear tie-dye the next time I hit one.”

Well the Dodgers are like the west coast Red Sox what with Grady "i'm gonna stick by my pitcher" Little, NomaH , Derek Lowe. Padres too with Cla Meredith, Wells, Bard. Sox should have never traded Meredith and Bard ! That's why you guys need to hop on the Mariner bandwagon before it gets too crowded. Besides what other team announces a home run with a ......

This might sound crazy, but I feel differently about downloads, as if they're not real, cheap, disposable, no quality to them. It's a feeling I can't shake. I prefer something solid in my hands.

I love the results of the Mariner seven game road trip: 1-1

Hernandez was getting the calls last night, but it's that old baseball axiom, "if you're around the plate, you'll get the calls." Anyone trying out MLBtv? They have this five day trial offer for internet broadcasts and they're not too bad at all. I used one of my parents credit card, since my parents live in the Bay Area I could get the Mariner broadcasts (MLB blacks out local teams), which is great because I have to do a lot of stuff on my laptop at night. A good way to make time go by easier.

Felix Hernandez is the man, great game. That deserves.....

IMHO: MLB should never had retired #42 across the board. There were players out there who took it as a great honor to wear that number. Now Robinson is safely on outfield walls all over the league. I really never liked that decision....

It's the Clash Of The Titians today: Dice-K vs. Hernandez. Should be interesting, to say the least. I have a feeling it'll wind up 2-0 for Boston. The Mariner offense is horrible right now. Imagine having Jose Vidro as you #3 hitter.

I'm starting to really enjoy the Columbo DVDs that are out there. They're from the 1970s, and the production values of the series is incredible. Locations, filming, writing, directing, you get a wonderful feel of what NBC could do with a series when they pulled out all the stops and of the major talent behind the camera. Only downside is that they don't have the very cool opening with the man waving the flashlight, set to Mancini's music. PS: Found the opening on YouTube, of course.