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^ There are some fun live shows on Youtube. Here Rosinha de Valença's Um Violão em Primeiro Plano. Full

Sorry. Not sorry.

A few highlights... The already mentioned in music thread James Kaplan's 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and The Lost Empire of Cool (2024). A blast to read, though that may depend a little on existing knowledge of the reader. The three paths up to Kind of Blue and after, though many others are also covered. Really a portrait of a culture changing. Also heroin bad. I don't read enough fiction any longer for the following to carry any weight at all. Really, but Stephen Markley's Ohio (2018) is the best thing I've read by an author not named George Saunders or Cormac McCarthy in probably 15 years. Lots of people screamed at the time that this, not Hillbilly Elegy, was the text to read to understand Midwest disgruntled feelings and Trumps rise to power, and while that's probably unfair, it's a far better book (I hated Vance before it became popular!). Bias warning although it takes place in a fictional town of New Canaan, Ohio, though from references it can't be further than two counties from where I was born and raised. I don't think that's all of it though considering NYTimes, NPR, and other reviews. I "read" at a busy work time, so moved between the paperback and the audiobook and will say as the stories shift perspective between characters, the audiobook with its different voice actors, may help a little there. Heroin still bad. Gigi Otalvaro-Hormillosa's Erotic Resistance: The Struggle for the Soul of San Francisco (2024). I haven't finished this yet and I swear Melissa or Esmé may have confiscated my copy, but a fun read with lots of references to an earlier San Francisco and where the city differentiates from other US cities (more geo-bias). I'm cheering it on, but we'll see by the end. Can read about a related exhibit here. Some fun historical posters included in book. Heroine very good here.

Was: Wes Montgomery, Tequila (because what else would I start with?) Is: Wes Montgomery, Movin' Will be: Wes Montgomery, Bumpin' (I couldn't find those compendiums on Tidal, so just going to listen to a whole bunch of Wes Montgomery instead.)

Anyway, this show really turned out to be special. Here’s a little making of video if you’re interested.

R.I.P. Pete Byrne Naked Eyes by Naked Eyes (1983) https://open.qobuz.com/album/m4rz8tz0qib5b Example: I didn't follow them past their 83 first album, but it was enough. (RIP)

We saw this guy last night in Grass Valley. I've been listen to him since high school, so it was nice to finally see him live.

A while back I bought a little widget to make music listening on iPhone less painful. This was before I got my AirPods Pro Max II AKA My Idiot Neighbor's Life Insurance Policy. The unit is a Fiio KA15. It's a tiny thing with a USB-C gozinta and 3.5mm single ended and 4.4mm balanced gozoutas. When I wasn't looking, 4.4mm balanced became the New Hotness. I picked up a 4.4mm Senn cable a while back as part of a larger purchase. Every review says the Fiio works with iPhones. Me: [connects Fiio to iPhone via USB-C to Lightning cable] "See anything?" iPhone: Nuh-uh. Me: What I if I let you upgrade to the new version of iOS you've been after me about for like a fucking month now? iPhone: Dunno, we'll see. Me: [upgrades] iPhone: SUP, bro! You've got liquid glass now. Wanna take a tour? Sure ya do! Check out thi... Me: [tries widget] iPhone: Still nuh-uh. iPhone: Hey, now'd be a GREAT time to finish setting up your iPhone! Me: ... iPhone: ApplePay is right here, you should totally set it up! Me: I will literally throw you into Jernegan Pond. Meanwhile, Google: Hello! Yeah, we're tracking your every move. Did you know you scratch your nose with your left hand more often on odd numbered days? Anyway, yeah, foobar2000 for Android is a thing and since you're signed into Google here, you can remotely install it on your only Android device (don't worry, we know all about that, too!) with one click. Android tablet: This Fiio widget works just fine. We'll make foobar use it by default. Foobar2000: Yeah, I see all these mp3s on the SD card. Did you know you put the same Alcest album in there twice? Me: [exasperated Malcolm Reynolds dot gif

The legendary ‘Tiberi Tapes’ reveal new sides of John Coltrane, even to his biggest fans https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/coltranes-shadow-tiberi-tapes

Thanks for the suggestions Peter. I had earlier searched for a reasonably priced used Sun Bear set, but not recently, so just checked again, and unfortunately the same (outside Encores). Will keep an eye out. Streaming until found. For Miles holes, great nudge. There’s ever so slight overlap with Ultimate Miles, but not enough to stop me. Also related, there were two recent box sets I forgot to include in the photo and one of those was his The Original Mono Recordings Columbia set. No overlap with the Prestige collection, just a smaller Miles hole. All open for suggestions.

Nice! Just a suggestion: Sun Bear is my favourite Keith Jarrett bar none. Going to listen to those two Wes Montgomery compendiums (I need to discover him more). And this is possibly peak middle period Miles Davis: https://www.discogs.com/master/976004-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet-The-Legendary-Prestige-Quintet-Sessions It's like a superset of the G-droppin' albums: Cookin' Relaxin' Workin' and Steamin' And ... and ... and ... Sorry, I'm just excited for you, vicariously.

Brothers in Black. A twink Johnny Cash tribute band. What's not to like! Seriously though, the middle kid has a so so voice, but I love watching him play the stand up bass, especially that slapping technique. The youngest with the long hair is a pretty good picker, but the oldest and quietest is the most talented among the three IMO.

I'd give them high praise if they used a more relevant leaf for the background of their PCB photos. They also missed an opportunity to use 420(unit) parts in every possible location. A 420pf cap could even be pronounced as "puffs". This makes me sad. I strongly dislike how they/you used the transformer hold-down bolt for your IEC ground. It can create a shorted turn in the wrong conditions. Give it its own screw, or use one of the screws to hold the IEC socket in. What is with the heatsinks in your last photo? Discrete opamp?

The new comment editing widget and I do not get a long, which makes sense as I didn't get along with the old one either. What I'm talking about with the EF 50mm F/1.4 and IR 5D:

Pork experiment. Hatch Chili pork butt. Pre-Seasoned wet rub from Costco. 14 hour low temp smoke on the pellet grill, the last 3 hours wrapped in paper. and then rested for 2 hours. Shredded just a couple handfuls for supper.

Well this is fun

x2

Gwar co-founder Chuck Varga, aka "The Sexecutioner" https://metalinjection.net/news/gwar-co-founder-chuck-varga-a-k-a-the-sexecutioner-dead-at-68