Volume 84
19 Jun 2008
I really must remember to start a new volume soon. And redesign the site. And many other things.
Playing with a Creative Vado - a small tour of some of the stuff in my office. Rivets of course, paper tape equipment, a PDP 11/45 front panel, a brain or two and a quick view of the Hoppings from my window.
emusic download day - a whole ton of Dexter Gordon recordings and a little Sonny Criss.....
Shops - an interesting number of them have clearly shutdown : good at names but not at business perhaps.
18 Jun 2008
17 Jun 2008
RIP Cyd Charisse
16 Jun 2008
RIP Esbjörn Svensson
15 Jun 2008
14 Jun 2008
13 Jun 2008
12 Jun 2008
11 Jun 2008
10 Jun 2008
RIP Bill Bolick
9 Jun 2008
Excellent - sort of gambling (and I strongly disapprove of all forms of gambling) but not really. Probably only works in the USA anyway.
8 Jun 2008
7 Jun 2008
6 Jun 2008
*sigh* miss time with your RSS feeds and they soon mount up : 854 unread
Apologies for absence - classic distributed systems problem : a machine you didn't know existed crashes and brings down your server.
5 Jun 2008
4 Jun 2008
Home from Costco with a bale of toilet rolls. Described as "now even quiltier". Quiltier??????
Windows in Newcastle had a top of the range Eastman mandolin in so I had a wee shot on it - very nice.
Cripes, there is a helicopter flying straight at my office window.
3 Jun 2008
RIP Bo Diddley
2 Jun 2008
1 Jun 2008
31 May 2008
30 May 2008
Saw McCoy Tyner Trio with Joe Lovano at the Sage, Gateshead last night. Depressingly the place was almost empty for such great musicians. Also the sound mix was not good - I was sitting behind the sound man and I could hear it was off so I hav no idea what he was doing. Tyner didn't look very well and was angry about something - either the piano or the sound or his hands. Lovano was amazing as was the bass player. The drummer played much too loud (he wasn't even in the PA according to the guy on the desk) and was good but his style was not to my taste. Some very fine music though.
Saw McCoy Tyner Trio with Joe Lovano at the Sage, Gateshead last night. Depressingly the place was almost empty for such great musicians. Also the sound mix was not good - I was sitting behind the sound man and I could hear it was off so I hav no idea what he was doing. Tyner didn't look very well and was angry about something - either the piano or the sound or his hands. Lovano was amazing as was the bass player. The drummer played much too loud (he wasn't even in the PA according to the guy on the desk) and was good but his style was not to my taste. Some very fine music though.
29 May 2008
28 May 2008
It was a Simpsons that I hadn't seen tonight : Duff the official beer of NASA - the National Association of Sellers of Alcohol
good grief, I just saw an etch-a-sketch goatse.......
You probably saw the Astaire/Jackson mashup on BB this morning. This one is more interesting I think. However it doesn't compare to the real thing, not even slightly.
Bop Bassoon - I'm not sure that being described as "doing for the bassoon what James Galway did for the flute" is a compliment. Anyway, he must have an insane amount of technique.
27 May 2008
Jazz Improv TV - a lovely version of Minor Swing in the gypsy section played with a slightly boppy feel that takes the solo out of the normal gypsy licks. In fact it's fantastic - I'm listening as I type this.
26 May 2008
25 May 2008
24 May 2008
23 May 2008
Still at Thinking Digital - very dull session at the moment
22 May 2008
21 May 2008
Woot!!!!! 9 today! I just noticed. And I beat coldclimate by several weeks - the author is sitting next to me and just told me.....
I signed up to BookRabbit but I am not impressed. The interface is clunky and the "buy a book" thing is entirely in your face. Sure, it is about selling books, but do it by stealth, don't make it so blatant. They also need to Ajax it up a bit - it has a Web2.0 look but a Web 1.0 implementation.
I'm at the Thinking Digital conference at the Sage for the next couple of days.
20 May 2008
2 dudes, an accordion, a balalaika and a chick He appears to be singing in French for some reason.
19 May 2008
Went to see the Mandolinquents at the Sage, Gateshead last night. Lovely playing, and very nice people (I had a chat with a couple of them) but there was something not quite right about it. It felt a little over rehearsed (particularly the comic banter) and everything was played as written - there didn't seem to be a place for any improvisation. A bit too much classical as well : I'd have liked to hear them do some jazz and folk pieces (which they do on their CDs of course). The audience was really rather surprising - there was only on eperson I knew there and only a couple of others I recognised. It felt like some kind of concert party.
17 May 2008
I'm trying out Firefox 3 RC1 - it is noticeably faster than FF2
Failure - a bit over-egged but it is certainly true. (Though I am not sure about Edison having a pleasant personality)
16 May 2008
Finally watched the last episode of Heroes Series 1!!!
15 May 2008
14 May 2008
13 May 2008
Two colour photos of me in today's Guardian in the Live to Learn supplement, and a little article. (not on the website though)
12 May 2008
11 May 2008
Lovely warm sunny day ruined by the stench of charring meat. BBQs should be controlled if not made outright illegal.
10 May 2008
Usual deal : I have 8 invitations for mento.info - another link sharing community thingy. Comments if you want one.
9 May 2008
8 May 2008
It looks as though I can invite people to the Filter, so the usual applies. (I can't say that I am even slightly impressed with it at the moment - painfully slow, doesn't seem to work with FF, crashes IE, crashes Windows Safari, dreadful selection of artists....)
Just got a beta invitation for The Filter - doesn't seem to work in Firefox very well. Trying it in IE at the moment but Windows has decide to install something for no apparent reason. Is it it worth? Probably not - after all it is just another recommendation engine and I've never found one that can cope with the vagiaries and inconsistencies of my personal tastes. Ah. IE Crashed.
7 May 2008
Bumblebee - at 1.04 he drops his pick, but I am not sure whether or not it is deliberate given the way he goes into all those rasguedos at the end.
6 May 2008
5 May 2008
Night in Tunisia (well, Finland actually) - you would need to have a lot of confidence to go up against Gillespie like this trumpeter does, and he is very, very good, but Diz really does just blow him away. He makes it look and sound so easy (mind you, he's probably played this tune a few times before....)
4 May 2008
3 May 2008
I suspected that Moleskine was pronounced in the Italian fashion but only checked today. The trouble is since everybody I have ever heard say it says "mohlskin", saying "molaskeena" makes you sound like a pratt.
2 May 2008
Damn I missed the weblogiversary : it was on Wednesday (when I was in Plymouth). We are 9.
On the train to London.....
1 May 2008
29 Apr 2008
I just found two Paul Glasse CDs that I don't have listed on the net but I can't find where to get them - I have his double CD and it is one of my absolute favourite mandolin albums. He's a stunning player.
I hate it when you get a discount voucher for a service you already use and like, and it says "new customers only".
28 Apr 2008
27 Apr 2008
Nice - stonking guitar solo (my guitar looks just like that BTW) and knacky mandolin solo too.
Just back from the "Mali to Mississippi" show at the Sage, Gateshead. Supposedly about the banjo. Most disappointing, and, to be frank, really rather dull. Nowhere near enough banjo material. (To be balanced there were loads of people clapping madly and cheering at the end, but I really have no idea why)
26 Apr 2008
RIP Jimmy Giuffre (also 86)
Ray Price - everyone is slightly over dressed and looks uncomfortable. Also, note the way that they all clap, just *before* the ends of all the solos - a man with a sign methinks.
RIP Humphrey Lyttleton
25 Apr 2008
I have 10 invitations for twine - if anyone wants one just leave a comment. (Twine needs to combine with evernote in some way I think)
24 Apr 2008
Is Scoble really Perez Hilton? The image at the top of his page does suggest this.
23 Apr 2008
Damn, the comment spammers are getting through again I think.
22 Apr 2008
Still nobody selling beard shampoo in the UK
The Bebop Shop - some good things but why would anyone want a John Coltrane Mellow Moods keyring?
21 Apr 2008
Hmmm, my disc is full
20 Apr 2008
19 Apr 2008
Good grief, the Dilbert site make over is horrendous. I am almost tempted to register in order just to moan about it. (But only almost)
I tried one of these today (with a guitar) - amazing sound for something so small. I need to try it with the mandolin though to see how it goes. Much the cheapest of the good acoustic amps at the moment.
Why do people use rapidshare? Just use one of the other services that actually lets you get at stuff!
18 Apr 2008
My twitter feed is very dull - I need more people to follow. Otr to stop running it.
I didn't know I was the 2nd Lindsay on Google. The first two items are Lindsay Lohan, and then me. I wonder what they changed.
Mike Wallace Interviews - I've never heard of him, nor of many of the people he is talking to, but it is a great collection of 50s stuff.
17 Apr 2008
16 Apr 2008
What's with all this new "You have 1 Message" phishing spam that is suddenly around today? Very odd
15 Apr 2008
"Not only am I unintimidated by litigation; I sometimes rather miss it" - missing link. Sorry! It's the Monster v Beta cable story that is now widespread.
14 Apr 2008
Let me recommend the Hotel Antonius in Kaprun to you if you are ever there. The food is amazing and the staff are very friendly.
I was sitting on a bus driving through the Austrian Tyrol and I was listening to John Coltrane, specifically My Favourite Things. Which was a little too appropriate I felt.
Why had I not heard that one of the missing Blind Blake records had been found? They are good too. There are still two tracks missing so keep looking!!!
13 Apr 2008
nslookup 69.69.69.69
Well, Hi ate us, but we got out.
4 Apr 2008
The giant Hi! And he is hungry!
3 Apr 2008
I had some Earl Grey chocolate today - very nice indeed. Definitely tea flavoured with that bergamot twist.
2 Apr 2008
1 Apr 2008
31 Mar 2008
I'm having a play with Nexus radio which seems OK apart from a ridiculous sign up form. I'm glad to see that steelradio.com is still running!
Interesting - some of the slow versions do sound much better to my ear, though Love in Vain does not. The guitar sounds more like a guitar generally.
30 Mar 2008
So. If you had a device that could let you see and hear back into time (*not* change it) what would be your list of essential things to see? Tell me in the comments.
28 Mar 2008
Stuff christians like (via Neatorama) It's a shame that it is a christian poking fun rather than being genuinely satirical since it is only mildly funny. In fact some of the comments are funnier, particularly when they appear to be meant seriously.
27 Mar 2008
Odd - looks like my cat, though he is much too cool (and lazy) to think about doing anything as attention seeking as this.
25 Mar 2008
22 Mar 2008
Academy?????? - Plato is spinning. (that's an o not an e) I assume that "Federally recognised" is some code for "in the phone book" or "we are on a list somewhere"
21 Mar 2008
Horrible, horrible weather here today
20 Mar 2008
19 Mar 2008
17 Mar 2008
16 Mar 2008
15 Mar 2008
This is a much better link for the Robert Parker programmes. Note that they are *not* in Real Format at all as the page suggests - a little digging and you can get them all as mp3s.
14 Mar 2008
Jazz classics in digital stereo - I heard the original Jazz classics in stereo on the BBC years ago when it was first broadcast. This seems to be a different version but it's still essential listening. (I'm listening to the first show - it's amazing. The Bix track is just so clean and clear.)
Strange Lucky Millinder version of Washington Phillips Denomination Blues called That's All just came on. Very odd hearing such a delicate song as a short of up-tempo shout.
13 Mar 2008
12 Mar 2008
11 Mar 2008
10 Mar 2008
Ugh, flu-ness
9 Mar 2008
8 Mar 2008
The aviary invites slipped my mind - so busy at the moment! I've done them today. I still have a couple left if anyone still wants one.
Sexy Album covers - some good design some astonishingly poor design (if there was any design to start with)
7 Mar 2008
I bought some Armageddon cheese today, and it said on the packet. 'Best Before End'
5 Mar 2008
4 Mar 2008
Nice - lovely looking mandolin and a favourite tune of mine (I really ought to learn it too). This is the best sounding youtube version I could find. I was looking round the Ginseng Sullivan versions (same tune of course) but the sound is terrible on almost all of them.
3 Mar 2008
2 Mar 2008
Hmm, missing posts....not sure what has happened to them. Not many but there definitely were some.
27 Feb 2008
I didn't hear or feel the earthquake here - I was asleep, but people up the road from me did. There was a huge branch off a tree next door that I thought had been shaken off but that was wind damage.
Zukiludoshimikachikute shikirukuchiari (via j-walk) I don't really understand the algorithm it is using (if any) to map letters into syllables
26 Feb 2008
I wonder if I should get some Bifurcated Rivets T-shirts made?
I forgot to mention another of the weird questions : "I live on a houseboat yes/no/don't know"
I am filling in a questionnaire for one of the survey people and they ask a set of questions looking for specifc people at the end. One of the questions is "I have spent a holiday in Lesotho : yes/no/don't know"................
This is so true - people holding, and indeed just pretending to hold, flutes with both hands facing in the same direction is what does it for me.
25 Feb 2008
24 Feb 2008
23 Feb 2008
22 Feb 2008
I'm looking at a leaflet from British Gas that says "make sure you and your family are safe and warm from carbon monoxide poisoning". What?
I have 53 beta invitations for Aviary if anyone wants one....
21 Feb 2008
Time for a new volume I thought