You're a busy man, Ronald. I didn't know you were on the board of the Hartford Jazz Society. What's that like? Could you tell us a little about it, its activities, funding, etc.?

No, TStor. I can see the arguments that such and such played with so and so, or was influenced by, or was discovered by, and so on. NOT simply such and such put so and so's name in their album title. So what you're saying is "if a musician randomly cites the name of a better-known musician in ...

Well, if I had made a post like this I would have been accused of moving the goal posts. I don't see how I did that. I can't answer for anyone's posts but my own, and I was making no definitive declarations about anything. My main contention was about simply having Abbey in the title was some kind ...

Dedicating the record to Lincoln may have been perfectly sincere in terms of Carey's feelings about his former boss and done with the idea that it would tempt buyers who might otherwise have thought, "Huh, another solo jazz piano CD" and looked no further, but who, as Lincoln fans, decide...

Does anyone know this singer, Kristin Slipp of Maine? Her new album with pianist Dov Manski (also of Maine) is attracting attention. I heard about it from Allen Lowe on Facebook, who swears this is the best he's heard in a long time. A rave review can be found here . I haven't heard the album, just ...

It surprises me that you think there is no marketing dimension to "hommage to" records. It's a time-honored tradition.

Among jazz vocalists, Abbey Lincoln is a well-known name and her fans were loyal. Dedicating the record to Lincoln may have been perfectly sincere in terms of Carey's feelings about his former boss and done with the idea that it would tempt buyers who might otherwise have thought, "Huh, another...

I don't like music the less because I perceive the artist to be an asshole. On the other hand, I might like it better if I perceive the artist to be a fine human being. Illogical but there you have it. Meanwhile, if anyone is going to be a public person and broadcast their judgments through Downbeat...

Hi, Steve!

I'm listening to a Charlie Parker playlist I made myself. Bird lives!

Sometimes musicians are very opinionated, and when they happen to be topnotch musicians themselves, their confidence in their own judgment can resemble arrogance. Branford is very knowledgeable and I look forward to reading interviews, blindfold tests, etc. because I figure I'll learn something. But...

Thanks for finding the YouTube source, Rita! My suspicions are therefore correct, you can embed YouTube or Vimeo but not other videos. Oh well.

Couldn't get this to embed, but the video is here:

http://sciencefriday.com/video/08/05/20 ... topus.html

An amazing look at the way cephalopods use camouflage. Watch it, it's very cool!

For a long time I thought it was somehow important what position I took on a political or social issue. Similarly, I felt it was vital that I have a position on any political or social issue that came up. I gradually lost that conviction and can now be apathetic or cheerfully ignorant without feelin...

I think if I attempted twerking I would throw my back out and end up in the hospital.

But the attempt would certainly bring tears of laughter to anyone watching.

Scott, you quoted a private message, which is against the forum rules. You're banned.

1. Is it okay to look in your medicine chest for birth control medicine if you're not at home? Certainly not. Abstinence is the best form of birth control! 2. Do you need the dog walked once or twice a day? No. 3. Can I use your computer? Do you have a password? Can I read your email? Ask the NSA.

He did paint himself into a corner, but IF this thing works out, and assuming it was, as he reports, his idea, then you have to give him credit for finding a way out of that corner. Arguably: 1. He could have kept his mouth shut about the red line not to cross, then done nothing. Result: does nothin...

Jimmy, you would like my old man, whose mantra all his life has been, "People are no damn good." I try to temper that realistic assessment with annoying saintliness.

I'm with you on not leaping to my feet on arrival as soon as the seatbelt sign is off. Or, worse, BEFORE the seatbelt sign is off. Scofflaws!

And the usual etiquette anyway is to let the rows in front of you file out first. So what's the rush to stand cramped in the aisle impatiently waiting?

But Monte, he won the Pulitzer Prize! He must be really smart.

War is hell!

Gotta love how hundreds of thousands of civilians had already been killed in this battle, yet the second they break out chemical weapons it's suddenly an outrage. It's the one thing there's any theoretical consensus on concerning warfare: don't use chemical weapons. Shoot, bomb, bludgeon, stab, sla...

Geez, Tom. Are you talking about some type of plane that I've never seen? The seat reclines like 3 inches. I don't know. Maybe 3 inches is too much for me. I do know that I have had occasion to be very annoyed when the seat in front of me reclines so much that I can no longer get the little screen ...

OK, now the current situation: - Obama, in a quick meeting with Putin at the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg last week, suggested that Syria should turn over its chemical weapons to international control for eventual destruction, and then directed Kerry to "run this to the ground." - Kerry s...