Just the other day, I watched a movie called Shattered Glass. For those who don't know about this movie yet, it's about the story of Stephen Glass, an aspiring writer for the New Republic during the late 1990s. Gifted though he was, he completely/primarily fabricated over 2 dozen of the 40 or so articles he wrote during that timeframe: he concocted sources, quotes...yes, even whole stories for that matter. In short, he didn't give his readers the truth & nothing but the whole truth about his articles. All he gave was a bunch of fictional mumbo jumbo (or gobbledygook as I prefer to call it). Of course, he was able to deceive his colleagues & higher-ups @ the New Republic but not for long: his deception would soon be unveiled & he would receive the ultimate fall from grace as a result of all his fraudulent reporting.
If there is something valuable we could learn from this movie as well as from Stephen Glass himself, it doesn't pay to plagiarize. And it sure doesn't pay to use a "stranger than fiction" approach to writing a paper or groundbreaking news article as Glass did way too often in his attempt to take a shortcut to fame. As we can see, Glass' efforts in this mode were downright frauds; at worst, they were an unacceptable sacrilege to genuine journalistic reporting in general. A lot of folks thought he was pursuing the office agenda, the expectations which his employer asked of him. But in actuality he was pursuing his own agenda & expectations & having these lofty visions of success on his mind 24/7, he used his charm, smarts & knowhow to make up stories which were in a sense larger than real life. And as anyone who has discovered can concur, they were straight up works of fiction with almost no shreds of truth in them.
For starters, to avoid falling into the same deep pits which Stephen Glass found himself in each time he had to explain about certain holes/discrepancies in his articles, here's some crucial advice to take into consideration:
(1) Note to self: if you're quoting from secondary sources, italicize what they said/wrote in quotation marks to ensure the reader that it wasn't you who put those words on the page for them to read, seriously. Also, when you're doing papers which require footnotes & other whatnot, make sure to put down where you got your quotes from, etc. That way, the reader can be doubly sure that you're not guilty of copying someone else's stuff ad verbatim & passing it off as all yours...plagiarism is just wrong, period.
(2) With #1 in mind, keep the primary sources in mind as well, as well as notes you may have taken in regards to your article, references, so on & so forth.
(3) Speaking of primary & secondary sources, don't invent them off the top of your head. Be sure to get the whole book titles, journals, etc. written down, along with page numbers, notes if necessary. That way, the Chuck Lanes of our day can see to it that your papers aren't full of holes. Not only that, your sources are actually legitimate even if they happen to be out-of-print or hard to come by at the used bookstore.
(4) Writing papers can be a tedious task, no doubt; it's happened enough with me. But don't try & get it all done in one fell swoop like you're a raging workaholic!! Yet at the same time, make sure to keep what you've done at such & such a point as backup to keep your writing process going more smoothly...eventually after tons of proofreading & reworking stuff your paper(s) will turn out to be awesome.
Looking back on Shattered Glass, I can't help but wonder why people like James Frey (author of A Million Little Pieces), Stephen Dunphy & Jayson Blair made the exact same mistakes which Glass helped make famous before they even stepped onto the scene. Some folks just don't learn; I could be wrong here. But this movie really sets the record straight on not only journalistic do's & dont's; it also reveals a striking example of how anyone - not only people in the world of media but in large corporations as well - will do anything to get beyond their 15 minutes of fame, even if it means cutting all ethical corners in the attempt to make a name for themselves.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
This summer, the world of professional sports has been hit with a bad rap.
First of all, we have to deal with Barry Bonds as he attempts to break Hank Aaron's home-run record. If the rumors that Bonds used drugs to attain this extraordinary success are found out to be true all along, & he should happen to pass Aaron on the all-time home runs list, his accomplishments thus far would become illegitimate & MLB commissioner Bud Selig's having enough trouble going to sleep just thinking about the whole situation.
Secondly, in the NFL, we've got Michael Vick who is indicted on charges that he orchestrated a dogfighting ring which treated sub-par performers with unspeakable cruelty...for those who love dogs as much as I do, treating your animals like Vick & his cohorts did is plain unacceptable & downright callous. Include Pacman Jones in the mix as well, along with those other NFL players who are always slipping up with law enforcement.
Finally, in the NBA, we've got a referee accused of hobnobbing with gamblers.
Through it all, we should be grateful that someone like Tony Dungy has maintained his integrity & dignity in an otherwise dark time for professional sports. With my beloved Indianapolis Colts, he has won consistently & given us plenty of reason to love him not only as one of the NFL's most awesome/respected head coaches but as a fellow Hoosier. This isn't to say that his road to success with Indy has been a cakewalk:
Like a modern-day Job, Dungy has endured every trial & tribulation you can think of: first of all, he was fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs; but this crisis would pale in comparison to what would happen a few years later, when his son committed suicide. After such a personal tragedy, Dungy didn't cry "Retreat!" He didn't say, "I can't cope." Instead, he helped other parents cope with the loss of their children to suicide. And through it all, Tony Dungy kept his faith. At the same time, it only grew stronger.
Not only has Tony Dungy held strong to his integrity & dignity; he has given the youth of our day a role model they can look up to. In the world of sports, even more so this summer, it seems that there are no real idols to look up to, much less emulate. Yet the Colts & especially Tony Dungy have given us hope at a time when shame seems to be ruling the headlines of every sports page around.
And for that, we should be proud that Dungy is continuing to offer rays of hope without all the superfluous fanfare we're used to hearing these days.
First of all, we have to deal with Barry Bonds as he attempts to break Hank Aaron's home-run record. If the rumors that Bonds used drugs to attain this extraordinary success are found out to be true all along, & he should happen to pass Aaron on the all-time home runs list, his accomplishments thus far would become illegitimate & MLB commissioner Bud Selig's having enough trouble going to sleep just thinking about the whole situation.
Secondly, in the NFL, we've got Michael Vick who is indicted on charges that he orchestrated a dogfighting ring which treated sub-par performers with unspeakable cruelty...for those who love dogs as much as I do, treating your animals like Vick & his cohorts did is plain unacceptable & downright callous. Include Pacman Jones in the mix as well, along with those other NFL players who are always slipping up with law enforcement.
Finally, in the NBA, we've got a referee accused of hobnobbing with gamblers.
Through it all, we should be grateful that someone like Tony Dungy has maintained his integrity & dignity in an otherwise dark time for professional sports. With my beloved Indianapolis Colts, he has won consistently & given us plenty of reason to love him not only as one of the NFL's most awesome/respected head coaches but as a fellow Hoosier. This isn't to say that his road to success with Indy has been a cakewalk:
Like a modern-day Job, Dungy has endured every trial & tribulation you can think of: first of all, he was fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs; but this crisis would pale in comparison to what would happen a few years later, when his son committed suicide. After such a personal tragedy, Dungy didn't cry "Retreat!" He didn't say, "I can't cope." Instead, he helped other parents cope with the loss of their children to suicide. And through it all, Tony Dungy kept his faith. At the same time, it only grew stronger.
Not only has Tony Dungy held strong to his integrity & dignity; he has given the youth of our day a role model they can look up to. In the world of sports, even more so this summer, it seems that there are no real idols to look up to, much less emulate. Yet the Colts & especially Tony Dungy have given us hope at a time when shame seems to be ruling the headlines of every sports page around.
And for that, we should be proud that Dungy is continuing to offer rays of hope without all the superfluous fanfare we're used to hearing these days.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Beginning of the End
John Coltrane & his bandmates for a few years running - McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass & Elvin Jones on drums - were using the recording studio as a workshop to try out new compositions; not only that, but Coltrane in particular sought to see how far he could take his music, even if they played only two notes worth of stuff. In 1965, the studio seemed like forever as Trane virtually recorded on a biweekly basis, as if he was itching to get music out the very instant he heard it mentally. At the same time, he added fresh faces into the scheme of things, raw & untried talent which he felt could take the music to new & more intense heights, heights never reached before.
In the late summer of 1965, the Classic Quartet lineup was not only in a state of flux but also in constant tension as well, given how much accumulated change was taking place in the music they were performing. If Sun Ship & First Meditations reveal this group sitting on a supersonic powder keg, Meditations would prove to be the final breach in the dam, as it were, this lineup near the brink of permanent disintegration.
Yet Meditations is also the last cry of glory for the Classic Quartet, a cry which continues to resonate & speak volumes well over 40 years later. Featuring tenor saxman Pharoah Sanders (whose appearance on Ascension was the first groundbreaking work he did with Trane) & Jones' future replacement, drummer Rashied Ali, this album despite what its title suggests is as aggressive & turbulent as much as it is serene & peaceful, intense as much as it is calm. By the same token, it was the start of something big, as it were, for Trane's last quintet (of which Ali & Sanders were members) which would spring into life just over a short time later.
Trane's soloing on such tracks as "The Father And The Son And The Holy Ghost" & "Love," as always, is intense, charged-up, passionate & violent on occasion...everything you ever wanted to know about Trane's playing in an emotional aspect. But then, his sidekick Sanders on the former track & "Consequences" might come across as a furious screamer, scribbling out some supersonic mayhem on his horn; yet Sander's playing, in all of its majorly vocal glory, is equally forceful & inventive, a perfect study of contrasts. Tyner on "Compassion" & "Consequences" is at the top of his game on the ivories, pushing everything out tonality-wise; Garrison on his solo in "Love" shows why he was one of the better bass soloists of his day when going it all alone, questing & probing for a spell before JC makes his grand entrance. What of the drumming duo of Ali & Jones? Well, Ali proved to be a brilliant polyrhythmic counterfoil to Jones' thunder-&-lightning approach to his kit...thrown together, they perform up to the task, however charged up the atmosphere at Rudy Van Gelder's studio may have been at the time of this monumental recording.
In retrospect, Meditations would not only mark the last hurrah for the Classic Quartet; it would also prove that if Trane's bandmates for four years running were to go out gracefully, it would be through this album that they would leave in style. For 40 minutes, Trane & company did exactly that, leaving a trail of supersonic debris in their wake & a fresh trail from which the man himself would begin his last & far freer musical journey.
In the late summer of 1965, the Classic Quartet lineup was not only in a state of flux but also in constant tension as well, given how much accumulated change was taking place in the music they were performing. If Sun Ship & First Meditations reveal this group sitting on a supersonic powder keg, Meditations would prove to be the final breach in the dam, as it were, this lineup near the brink of permanent disintegration.
Yet Meditations is also the last cry of glory for the Classic Quartet, a cry which continues to resonate & speak volumes well over 40 years later. Featuring tenor saxman Pharoah Sanders (whose appearance on Ascension was the first groundbreaking work he did with Trane) & Jones' future replacement, drummer Rashied Ali, this album despite what its title suggests is as aggressive & turbulent as much as it is serene & peaceful, intense as much as it is calm. By the same token, it was the start of something big, as it were, for Trane's last quintet (of which Ali & Sanders were members) which would spring into life just over a short time later.
Trane's soloing on such tracks as "The Father And The Son And The Holy Ghost" & "Love," as always, is intense, charged-up, passionate & violent on occasion...everything you ever wanted to know about Trane's playing in an emotional aspect. But then, his sidekick Sanders on the former track & "Consequences" might come across as a furious screamer, scribbling out some supersonic mayhem on his horn; yet Sander's playing, in all of its majorly vocal glory, is equally forceful & inventive, a perfect study of contrasts. Tyner on "Compassion" & "Consequences" is at the top of his game on the ivories, pushing everything out tonality-wise; Garrison on his solo in "Love" shows why he was one of the better bass soloists of his day when going it all alone, questing & probing for a spell before JC makes his grand entrance. What of the drumming duo of Ali & Jones? Well, Ali proved to be a brilliant polyrhythmic counterfoil to Jones' thunder-&-lightning approach to his kit...thrown together, they perform up to the task, however charged up the atmosphere at Rudy Van Gelder's studio may have been at the time of this monumental recording.
In retrospect, Meditations would not only mark the last hurrah for the Classic Quartet; it would also prove that if Trane's bandmates for four years running were to go out gracefully, it would be through this album that they would leave in style. For 40 minutes, Trane & company did exactly that, leaving a trail of supersonic debris in their wake & a fresh trail from which the man himself would begin his last & far freer musical journey.
Friday, July 27, 2007
What It Is, Part Two
Some folks are up in their new digs tweaking up their rooms, etc. to strike an impression into the hearts of many (if they haven't been doing so already). Some folks are enjoying themselves whether it be back at home or on vacation. Others have already moved into their respective off-campus residences, riding out another month of monotony. And every one of them is counting down the days before they move back to their respective campuses & school officially begins.
As an alumni, I sure miss those days with a passion: the longing, the anxiety of not being back on familiar turf...& who doesn't? But that doesn't mean I've fully abandoned my love for college, especially when it comes to Greek life. And how can I since Greek life has always held a special place in my heart? I can't do it, no matter how hard I try. This year, I'll make the most of my downtime by showing my full, heartfelt support for my fellow Greeks any way I can, dedicating what energy & effort is at my disposal to keep my support strong & alive. Not only will people know the difference but they'll also be able to feel it as well. And that's sincerely saying something, for serious.
In roughly a few weeks, & at various points during Fall semester, I'll be back at it in terms of showing my Greek pride; not only that, but I hope my fellow Greeks, wherever they are, are doing the exact same thing.
But why? Some might ask & I'll answer them straight up:
Being Greek is not for four years alone but for life!!
As an alumni, I sure miss those days with a passion: the longing, the anxiety of not being back on familiar turf...& who doesn't? But that doesn't mean I've fully abandoned my love for college, especially when it comes to Greek life. And how can I since Greek life has always held a special place in my heart? I can't do it, no matter how hard I try. This year, I'll make the most of my downtime by showing my full, heartfelt support for my fellow Greeks any way I can, dedicating what energy & effort is at my disposal to keep my support strong & alive. Not only will people know the difference but they'll also be able to feel it as well. And that's sincerely saying something, for serious.
In roughly a few weeks, & at various points during Fall semester, I'll be back at it in terms of showing my Greek pride; not only that, but I hope my fellow Greeks, wherever they are, are doing the exact same thing.
But why? Some might ask & I'll answer them straight up:
Being Greek is not for four years alone but for life!!
Hitting the (used) books: conclusion
Yesterday I decided to head off to a book fair which my local library helped sponsor & did I ever get some awesome bargains. In all, I was able to grab about a dozen books for peanuts; yeah, they were in pretty nice shape but they came awful cheap...gotta love that!! (Such is the life of a major bookworm...lol...yeah, I know I am.)
If I could get them all read by year's end (that is, if I do at all) I'd be exceeding my own personal expectations when it comes to getting great books to read. For now, they're looking for a permanent spot in my already immense collection. And that's as good as things are going to get.
If I could get them all read by year's end (that is, if I do at all) I'd be exceeding my own personal expectations when it comes to getting great books to read. For now, they're looking for a permanent spot in my already immense collection. And that's as good as things are going to get.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
O Atlanta, where to next?
Bobby Petrino, the new head coach for the Atlanta Falcons (& former Louisville head coach - go Cards!!), really thought that things were going his way for awhile: he was formulating an offense which was best suited to Michael Vick's fancy (& could work well in his favor, given his dazzling playmaking abilities). Like a lot of folks out there, I really felt that the Falcons, come regular season, would have something to prove after last season's debacle of underachievement & inconsistency.
Boy, was I wrong.
Vick, facing the music for dogfighting, is out of the question this season. The next best QB whom the Falcons could have saved as backup, Matt Schaub, got sent over to the Houston Texans. Which adds up to one great big "oops" for the entire Falcons organization in terms of sound decision-making & knowing who & who not to trade.
Now it's Joey Harrington's turn to step up & make a difference for Atlanta. However, this will be a test of his faith & a trial by fire thrown into one since Vick's not likely to play this season. And considering the fact that he's a first-round bust extraordinaire (with stints @ Detroit & Miami), he's got a huge chip on his shoulder to contend with. Can he cut the mustard in a Falcons uniform? We shall see, we shall see. Harrington knows he has the confidence to do great things for Petrino & staff, not to forget his fellow players. But from looking at his track record, you can't help but ask yourself: Is this the best we could do? Harrington's no Michael Vick. And it could take some time for him to get adjusted to the very system Petrino devised to suit Vick's trademark playing style. If he's the right man for QB, Joey Harrington will definitely have a full plate of responsibilities to worry about coming into regular season action.
As for Vick, his days as a NFL player at worst are numbered - the end result of bad decision-making which he could have easily avoided. For Petrino, he is left to wonder on how well his team will respond to adversity & how confident his new signal-caller is in the current scheme of things. All this with the regular season just over a month or so away.
Where to now, O Atlanta?
Boy, was I wrong.
Vick, facing the music for dogfighting, is out of the question this season. The next best QB whom the Falcons could have saved as backup, Matt Schaub, got sent over to the Houston Texans. Which adds up to one great big "oops" for the entire Falcons organization in terms of sound decision-making & knowing who & who not to trade.
Now it's Joey Harrington's turn to step up & make a difference for Atlanta. However, this will be a test of his faith & a trial by fire thrown into one since Vick's not likely to play this season. And considering the fact that he's a first-round bust extraordinaire (with stints @ Detroit & Miami), he's got a huge chip on his shoulder to contend with. Can he cut the mustard in a Falcons uniform? We shall see, we shall see. Harrington knows he has the confidence to do great things for Petrino & staff, not to forget his fellow players. But from looking at his track record, you can't help but ask yourself: Is this the best we could do? Harrington's no Michael Vick. And it could take some time for him to get adjusted to the very system Petrino devised to suit Vick's trademark playing style. If he's the right man for QB, Joey Harrington will definitely have a full plate of responsibilities to worry about coming into regular season action.
As for Vick, his days as a NFL player at worst are numbered - the end result of bad decision-making which he could have easily avoided. For Petrino, he is left to wonder on how well his team will respond to adversity & how confident his new signal-caller is in the current scheme of things. All this with the regular season just over a month or so away.
Where to now, O Atlanta?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Hitting the (used) books
It's about that time of year again. The local library which I visit regularly is hosting a book fair which begins tomorrow & like the past couple of years, I've always had a fetish for finding some great reads @ bargain prices while there. When I need to take a break from visiting used bookstores to find some good books, this book fair fits the bill perfectly.
To be honest, I find plenty of bang for the buck at this book fair...considering how my favorite used bookstore (which I will always love!!) is equally honest at providing me with great reads at affordable prices. Sometimes I just can't win for losing, it seems...aw well. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to stumble across some more books to add to my collection, maybe I won't. At any rate, it's going to be an exciting day for me to get pumped up about!!
To be honest, I find plenty of bang for the buck at this book fair...considering how my favorite used bookstore (which I will always love!!) is equally honest at providing me with great reads at affordable prices. Sometimes I just can't win for losing, it seems...aw well. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to stumble across some more books to add to my collection, maybe I won't. At any rate, it's going to be an exciting day for me to get pumped up about!!
Ah, the joys of vinyl!!
There's something intriguing about listening to a phonograph record which isn't apparent on a compact disc; not only that, there's something awesome about vinyl that has never lost its charm on me.
First of all, in terms of sound quality, vinyl captures all the highs & lows which only now are starting to be fixed & improved on drastically (in the case of remastered compact discs for instance). Secondly, just looking at the cover art can be a revelatory experience in itself: in the case of compact disc booklets, recapturing & reproducing the original cover art in all of its pure glory (as well as lyrics) can be a chore & a half. In the case of vinyl, however, you can find that same art & other whatnot gloriously retained in full. Third, records are a rare commodity these days; for the vinyl connoisseur, finding an album that's in excellent condition is a big deal indeed. Even the scent of the latest find one has found in the crates can offer up a hypnotic qualiy as strong as the music itself...the aroma of old records which somehow have never gotten old (speaking in terms of relevance) but only endured like fine wine over the years. Finally, vinyl back in the day was the sole format of choice in which music could be heard, prior to 8-tracks & regular cassettes stepping onto the scene. So, naturally enough for those who were weened on nothing but records, vinyl has that lasting impact which is not merely one-of-a-kind but rather special (& I honestly meant that too).
And I only brought up the pros on how awesome records are. And now, I have to bring up the cons about all beloved phonographic records. First of all, they, like compact discs (which BTW eventually supplanted the album in terms of preferred formats) have a tendency to skip here & there so you have to treat them with the same care you would with CDs...should I say with extreme care, cleaning them with the appropriate items on hand when necessary, keeping them inside their covers to ensure they don't become temperamental/crappy looking because of time & the elements along with folks simply overplaying them to death. Secondly, because of whatever material the manufacturers used, they have an issue with breakability. Third, because of time constraints (the average album side could only hold up to 25 minutes of music at most) you can't listen to certain songs in their unedited glory. (The CD would eventually rectify that problem with listening to lopped-off performances in a matter of time.)
Pros & cons aside, vinyl can be a joyous thing for those who truly love it & for those who were actually raised on listening to records. And that's truly saying something. It's not just a museum piece of sorts, but an important part of musical history which should not be neglected or downplayed in any way. A good old slab of vinyl on the turntable sure beats rifling through a 5-CD changer any time of the week. Or year, depending on your inclinations.
There's something intriguing about listening to a phonograph record which isn't apparent on a compact disc; not only that, there's something awesome about vinyl that has never lost its charm on me.
First of all, in terms of sound quality, vinyl captures all the highs & lows which only now are starting to be fixed & improved on drastically (in the case of remastered compact discs for instance). Secondly, just looking at the cover art can be a revelatory experience in itself: in the case of compact disc booklets, recapturing & reproducing the original cover art in all of its pure glory (as well as lyrics) can be a chore & a half. In the case of vinyl, however, you can find that same art & other whatnot gloriously retained in full. Third, records are a rare commodity these days; for the vinyl connoisseur, finding an album that's in excellent condition is a big deal indeed. Even the scent of the latest find one has found in the crates can offer up a hypnotic qualiy as strong as the music itself...the aroma of old records which somehow have never gotten old (speaking in terms of relevance) but only endured like fine wine over the years. Finally, vinyl back in the day was the sole format of choice in which music could be heard, prior to 8-tracks & regular cassettes stepping onto the scene. So, naturally enough for those who were weened on nothing but records, vinyl has that lasting impact which is not merely one-of-a-kind but rather special (& I honestly meant that too).
And I only brought up the pros on how awesome records are. And now, I have to bring up the cons about all beloved phonographic records. First of all, they, like compact discs (which BTW eventually supplanted the album in terms of preferred formats) have a tendency to skip here & there so you have to treat them with the same care you would with CDs...should I say with extreme care, cleaning them with the appropriate items on hand when necessary, keeping them inside their covers to ensure they don't become temperamental/crappy looking because of time & the elements along with folks simply overplaying them to death. Secondly, because of whatever material the manufacturers used, they have an issue with breakability. Third, because of time constraints (the average album side could only hold up to 25 minutes of music at most) you can't listen to certain songs in their unedited glory. (The CD would eventually rectify that problem with listening to lopped-off performances in a matter of time.)
Pros & cons aside, vinyl can be a joyous thing for those who truly love it & for those who were actually raised on listening to records. And that's truly saying something. It's not just a museum piece of sorts, but an important part of musical history which should not be neglected or downplayed in any way. A good old slab of vinyl on the turntable sure beats rifling through a 5-CD changer any time of the week. Or year, depending on your inclinations.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
What It Is: Part One
In just a matter of time, the great adventure of Greek life will be up & running in full stride. But what some folks don't realize is that this adventure is reliant on one thing to help keep it operating effectively: recruitment.
What's more, recruitment is a year-long process, not something we all of a sudden decided to bring into the spotlight during our respective Rush Weeks. Back home, if we happen to keep in touch with duders who just graduated from high school & those guys are planning to attend the same universities as we are, we should inform them about how awesome Greek life is. This is not to say that we should pressure them to go Greek after addressing the positive benefits Greek life can provide but we could at least give them a chance to check things out & let them see if joining a fraternity is a good call. If so, there are three key stops your prospective recruits should make along the way:
(1) activity fairs which introduce the incoming freshmen to all these organizations & clubs, along with plenty of fraternities & sororities on hand to offer information about their chapters & other valuable information which could prove useful in the long run;
(2) fraternity/sorority-related events;
(3) Rush Week/Sorority Recruitment.
But we should once again know that Recruitment isn't just for two semesters a school year; it's a yearlong deal & this approach is key in finding out if we're getting the best of the best (in regards to duders who would fit perfectly into our fraternities). If we're looking at Recruitment as a joke or bypassing it until Rush Week, indeed, we've got a lot of work cut out for us then. More info about this matter on one of my upcoming posts.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Down But Not Out
The Cubbies might have lost two straight games to Arizona this weekend, but don't discount the fact that they've gone 7-3 in their last 10...sweet!!
To be perfectly honest, they paid their dues to go 7-3 in their last 10 games. Last month, just going 7-3 (& on a 19-7 run) would have seemed impossible for the Cubs. Barring any further letdowns, chances are they could continue playing some pretty awesome baseball. This past weekend, luck wasn't in their corner; hopefully it will be for their next round of games.
You might say the Cubs are down (now 3 1/2 games behind Central leader Milwaukee) but don't ever count them out; as of late, they've been playing up to their potential & one only hopes that they keep the fire burning for the remainder of the season.
To be perfectly honest, they paid their dues to go 7-3 in their last 10 games. Last month, just going 7-3 (& on a 19-7 run) would have seemed impossible for the Cubs. Barring any further letdowns, chances are they could continue playing some pretty awesome baseball. This past weekend, luck wasn't in their corner; hopefully it will be for their next round of games.
You might say the Cubs are down (now 3 1/2 games behind Central leader Milwaukee) but don't ever count them out; as of late, they've been playing up to their potential & one only hopes that they keep the fire burning for the remainder of the season.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
10,000 strong
The Philadelphia Phillies not very long ago made baseball history & set a record of immense proportions. But of course, both were for the wrong reasons: they're the losingest ballclub (if you can actually call them that) with 10,000 losses, the most in their existence @ Philly.
The nearest competitors with a lot of work cut out for them in even trying to chase Philly in this feat are the Braves & who can forget them lovable losers, the Cubs?
Oh well, this isn't to say life in Philly is all that awful. But when it comes to supporting a franchise with 10,000 losses under its belt & still showing your ballclub lots of love, that takes plenty of faith - not like rooting for the Cubs, but pretty close to it anyways. The Phillies may have broke the 10,000 losses mark already yet you can't count them down & out. They're still alive & kicking; only trouble is, their good name is bad news to all those loyal baseball fans who can't believe what has just been accomplished:
10,000 what?
The nearest competitors with a lot of work cut out for them in even trying to chase Philly in this feat are the Braves & who can forget them lovable losers, the Cubs?
Oh well, this isn't to say life in Philly is all that awful. But when it comes to supporting a franchise with 10,000 losses under its belt & still showing your ballclub lots of love, that takes plenty of faith - not like rooting for the Cubs, but pretty close to it anyways. The Phillies may have broke the 10,000 losses mark already yet you can't count them down & out. They're still alive & kicking; only trouble is, their good name is bad news to all those loyal baseball fans who can't believe what has just been accomplished:
10,000 what?
Out Of The Red in Cincy
Some time ago, the Cincinnati Reds were the worst team in Major League Baseball, the essential "in the cellar" ballclub. Hoping to find change in an revolving-door organization where General Managers entered & then left as quickly as team managers, the Reds higher-ups canned Jerry Narron & Pete Mackanin took over as the interim manager.
Well, what has changed back in Cincy? The Reds may have lost to Florida 10-2 yesterday, but don't doubt that they've made progress since the last time I wrote about 'em (at which point they were 31-51). They've gone 10-5 since then, & for a team who has been a bit overdependent on home runs, a oh-so-much-crap pitching corps & bullpen, as well as a longsuffering fanbase which despaired at the state of affairs which their favorite ballclub was in, that's saying something. Question is, can they keep improving, can they keep working more wonders with each passing game? Of course. That's the thing. At this point of the season, they should keep improving, knowing that they still have a lot to prove to their hometown.
Then again, at season's end, where to next? Only the Reds management knows that & if they can keep Mackanin at the helm, who knows what the future for the Reds might hold? So far, Cincy's showing signs of life which were if not absent, barely there 15 games ago & there are still games to be played. Yes, even in a weak division like the NL Central, anything could happen between now & the regular season finale.
Well, what has changed back in Cincy? The Reds may have lost to Florida 10-2 yesterday, but don't doubt that they've made progress since the last time I wrote about 'em (at which point they were 31-51). They've gone 10-5 since then, & for a team who has been a bit overdependent on home runs, a oh-so-much-crap pitching corps & bullpen, as well as a longsuffering fanbase which despaired at the state of affairs which their favorite ballclub was in, that's saying something. Question is, can they keep improving, can they keep working more wonders with each passing game? Of course. That's the thing. At this point of the season, they should keep improving, knowing that they still have a lot to prove to their hometown.
Then again, at season's end, where to next? Only the Reds management knows that & if they can keep Mackanin at the helm, who knows what the future for the Reds might hold? So far, Cincy's showing signs of life which were if not absent, barely there 15 games ago & there are still games to be played. Yes, even in a weak division like the NL Central, anything could happen between now & the regular season finale.
How 'bout them Cubs!!
How about them Chicago Cubs!!
Lately, everything seems to be going the Cubs' way, whether it be in terms of lineup, pitching, hitting...& even with Derrek Lee, Daryle Ward & Cliff Floyd being sidelined, they're still finding ways to win. Yesterday they beat the D-Backs 6-2 @ Wrigley Field, their 19th win in 24 games. And like I anticipated, they could make noise in not only their division, but also make an impact when the NL playoffs begin. It's a bit early to say that they'll get into the playoffs in some way or other but from the way they've been playing there's hope that they'll do just that.
Go Cubbies!!
Lately, everything seems to be going the Cubs' way, whether it be in terms of lineup, pitching, hitting...& even with Derrek Lee, Daryle Ward & Cliff Floyd being sidelined, they're still finding ways to win. Yesterday they beat the D-Backs 6-2 @ Wrigley Field, their 19th win in 24 games. And like I anticipated, they could make noise in not only their division, but also make an impact when the NL playoffs begin. It's a bit early to say that they'll get into the playoffs in some way or other but from the way they've been playing there's hope that they'll do just that.
Go Cubbies!!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Special Update
In my last two posts, I've gotten a bit more feisty; perhaps it has always been in my nature to let off some steam in my writing & touchy topics like immigration & Michael Vick's latest legal dilemmas were the two most perfect ways to clear the air. Now it's time to chill on out, regroup & still keep it real as I've always been accustomed to doing.
When I first began my blog, my goal was to write whatever my heart's desire felt like committing to my site. And I feel I've fulfilled my initial objective in this regard. My favorite topics have been about history, sports, music, Greek life (even as an alumni, Greek life has held high value & worth for me; anyone who has checked out my articles pertaining to Greek life can relate to this), as well as current events. Of course, past events find their way into the mix which is my blog. By keeping things open, I have not only been able to write to my heart's desire about those interests which I enjoy the most but I have also been able to provide as best I can some greater insight & wisdom to those issues or topics of note.
But that doesn't mean I'm short on surprises. Far from it!!...lol. Eventually I'll introduce some of them into my upcoming posts; exactly when I'm at a loss to say. For now, it's back to what I do best & I'm keeping humble in the meantime.
When I first began my blog, my goal was to write whatever my heart's desire felt like committing to my site. And I feel I've fulfilled my initial objective in this regard. My favorite topics have been about history, sports, music, Greek life (even as an alumni, Greek life has held high value & worth for me; anyone who has checked out my articles pertaining to Greek life can relate to this), as well as current events. Of course, past events find their way into the mix which is my blog. By keeping things open, I have not only been able to write to my heart's desire about those interests which I enjoy the most but I have also been able to provide as best I can some greater insight & wisdom to those issues or topics of note.
But that doesn't mean I'm short on surprises. Far from it!!...lol. Eventually I'll introduce some of them into my upcoming posts; exactly when I'm at a loss to say. For now, it's back to what I do best & I'm keeping humble in the meantime.
When it comes to the issue of immigration laws & stuff pertaining to immigration, there is plenty to get me riled up (I've got a little bit of an Irish streak in me...lol). But seriously, what some folks just don't understand are the factors which serve as the drive for why people regularly enter the United States, be it illegally or no. I'm not solely talking about Hispanics, but also Africans & Asians along with Europeans & the premises for why they come to seek better opportunities here.
The first & foremost reason I could think of right away is that the employment opportunities in their respective homelands are limited, if not scarce or nonexistent. The United States, they feel, is a place where the possibilities of finding work are endless & by coming here they could improve their fortunes drastically. This isn't to say that everything will be a breeze in terms of landing that perfect job but by coming into the USA, their chances of making a more promising living will increase exponentially (since their chances of eking out a decent living back in their native countries aren't exactly the best).
Reason #2 is: they're fleeing from oppressive governments, civil war, ethnic violence & other war-related conflicts. For these particular individuals, their chances of living out a free life over here without having to look over their shoulders at every turn are outstanding. So it is without surprise that they flock to the USA, feeling that it's a safe haven, a "land of the free."
The final reason, first & foremost, is: just to survive as best they can. Knowing firsthand that back in say, Brazil, mere survival was a daily concern, they come into the United States doing whatever they can to maintain their well-being & existence. (although I don't condone some of their approaches which they use to, as it were, "get by.") Taking advantage of the loopholes which they see in our immigration laws, naturally enough they flock into our country in droves in pursuit of the good life, something which they felt they were prevented from living to the fullest back home.
So where does this lead us? If someone gets caught doing this crime or that & is found to be an illegal/foreigner who hasn't fully attained American citizenship, que mas? Why is it that we have to declare them persona non grata & deport them from the United States? Not all illegals/foreign nationals/etc. are as bad as we make them out to be; like you & me, they're awesome, law-abiding citizens, doing their best to live the promise of a better life which brought them to the USA in the first place. When we deport them, we're not only taking away their dignity & humanity; just think of the horrors we're subjecting them to if they end up back in their native countries (that is, if their nations want anything to do with them). We're also taking away their freedom in the process. And in a free country, this is unacceptable. People whose nationality is not the same as ours should not be seen as "undesirables" or whatever condescending tag we choose to place on them: they're our fellow human beings & deserve to be treated as such.
What some folks don't understand is that these individuals didn't arrive here to escape reality; far, far from it. They arrived in hopes of making a new, more hopeful start which was totally out of the picture in their homelands of origin. Will it take building a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border to filter out illegal immigrants? What's next, building a wall which separates Florida from the Caribbean to keep out the influx of Cubans/Haitians who hope to seek redemption here? Please give it a rest. Neither plan will work any wonders. When it comes to understanding
the factors behind why individuals from Latin America, Asia, Africa, etc. enter our nation to pursue the American dream, it seems that there are those who still don't get it. And some unfortunately won't. Until the immigration laws are improved/rewritten, who positively will?
I dunno...what I do know is that something has to give & deportment/exile are not acceptable solutions to the issue of immigration in general.
The first & foremost reason I could think of right away is that the employment opportunities in their respective homelands are limited, if not scarce or nonexistent. The United States, they feel, is a place where the possibilities of finding work are endless & by coming here they could improve their fortunes drastically. This isn't to say that everything will be a breeze in terms of landing that perfect job but by coming into the USA, their chances of making a more promising living will increase exponentially (since their chances of eking out a decent living back in their native countries aren't exactly the best).
Reason #2 is: they're fleeing from oppressive governments, civil war, ethnic violence & other war-related conflicts. For these particular individuals, their chances of living out a free life over here without having to look over their shoulders at every turn are outstanding. So it is without surprise that they flock to the USA, feeling that it's a safe haven, a "land of the free."
The final reason, first & foremost, is: just to survive as best they can. Knowing firsthand that back in say, Brazil, mere survival was a daily concern, they come into the United States doing whatever they can to maintain their well-being & existence. (although I don't condone some of their approaches which they use to, as it were, "get by.") Taking advantage of the loopholes which they see in our immigration laws, naturally enough they flock into our country in droves in pursuit of the good life, something which they felt they were prevented from living to the fullest back home.
So where does this lead us? If someone gets caught doing this crime or that & is found to be an illegal/foreigner who hasn't fully attained American citizenship, que mas? Why is it that we have to declare them persona non grata & deport them from the United States? Not all illegals/foreign nationals/etc. are as bad as we make them out to be; like you & me, they're awesome, law-abiding citizens, doing their best to live the promise of a better life which brought them to the USA in the first place. When we deport them, we're not only taking away their dignity & humanity; just think of the horrors we're subjecting them to if they end up back in their native countries (that is, if their nations want anything to do with them). We're also taking away their freedom in the process. And in a free country, this is unacceptable. People whose nationality is not the same as ours should not be seen as "undesirables" or whatever condescending tag we choose to place on them: they're our fellow human beings & deserve to be treated as such.
What some folks don't understand is that these individuals didn't arrive here to escape reality; far, far from it. They arrived in hopes of making a new, more hopeful start which was totally out of the picture in their homelands of origin. Will it take building a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border to filter out illegal immigrants? What's next, building a wall which separates Florida from the Caribbean to keep out the influx of Cubans/Haitians who hope to seek redemption here? Please give it a rest. Neither plan will work any wonders. When it comes to understanding
the factors behind why individuals from Latin America, Asia, Africa, etc. enter our nation to pursue the American dream, it seems that there are those who still don't get it. And some unfortunately won't. Until the immigration laws are improved/rewritten, who positively will?
I dunno...what I do know is that something has to give & deportment/exile are not acceptable solutions to the issue of immigration in general.
Being doggone
When it comes to bad judgment, Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick has been able to evade it like a poor tackler on the football field. That is to say, until now.
At the center of an illegal dogfighting ring, which took place on property that he owned, you can't help but wonder: will he explain away his involvement in dogfighting like, "Well, I had nothing to do with it so cut me a break?" Will he keep smiling & telling us that he doesn't want to disappoint his coaches & teammates in light of all these charges? Atlanta Falcons VIP Arthur Blank & NFL commissioner Roger Goodell both told Vick to fess up, tell them what they needed to know, you know, be straight up honest with them...& of course Vick with the mindset of an elusive quarterback that he is would put the spin moves on both men, among countless others.
That is to say, until now.
He's facing serious charges on the federal level; not only that, but his career with the Falcons is in major jeopardy. Unlike the football field, he won't have any of his offensive linemen to protect him & provide the best defense possible against his adversary (that being the court system). And he won't be able to use his trademark burst of speed to bail out of these charges either.
He could have avoided this predicament earlier if he regarded all the risks & taking these risks
into account, turn himself into law enforcement & explain to the authorities what went down in this dogfighting ring. But since he brushed off all of the above, the possibility of jail time is looming over Vick's head like a black cloud along with the likelihood of Goodell suspending Vick indefinitely.
Even if he doesn't get suspended right off the bat Vick still is in trouble & must face the music; if
he doesn't know that he is by now Blank certainly does. That's the thing: if Goodell takes action, he won't be taking it lightly & Blank, as Vick's boss & owner of the Falcons, knows full well that Goodell is going to be no-BS with anyone charged with criminal conduct - his own star QB included.
The suspensions won't be the same for Vick as they were for Pacman Jones (all season) or for Tank Johnson & Chris Henry (each sitting out 8 games). Things this time around are a lot worse; & in regards to NFL business affairs, Jones, Johnson & Henry don't get any respect. (And I thought the NFL wasn't supposed to be the "faceless league" it has become, to quote Washington Post writer Michael Wilbon.)
But why? You might ask. Vick is one of the few faces in the NFL which actually register with anyone: among the others out there who do, Peyton Manning & T.O. are two faces whom we can think of. Donovan McNabb is yet another as well as Tom Brady. How many people actually know who Pacman Jones is? Or Tank Johnson? That's the problem. Everyone knows Vick; nobody knows who Pacman & Tank are in terms of significance. As a quarterback, Vick is a significant player of monumental importance for not only his team but also the rest of the league. With this avalanche of charges, in a football sense, the Falcons are in a state of 911.
This isn't to say that Vick will automatically get hit with a guilty verdict; the whole premise of the criminal justice system is that one is innocent until proven otherwise. Or the evidence will come across as too flimsy for the grand jury, leaving them unconvinced that Vick was involved in illegal dogfighting at all...& that's only a best-case scenario. If there is anything we could learn from the case of the Duke lacrosse players, it's this: not to jump to conclusions based on charges which cannot yet be proved.
Guilty or no, Vick's life will not be the same. The Falcons won't be the same, this much is for certain. Bottom line is this: Michael Vick is in a world of trouble which even his skills as a quarterback won't save him from.
At the center of an illegal dogfighting ring, which took place on property that he owned, you can't help but wonder: will he explain away his involvement in dogfighting like, "Well, I had nothing to do with it so cut me a break?" Will he keep smiling & telling us that he doesn't want to disappoint his coaches & teammates in light of all these charges? Atlanta Falcons VIP Arthur Blank & NFL commissioner Roger Goodell both told Vick to fess up, tell them what they needed to know, you know, be straight up honest with them...& of course Vick with the mindset of an elusive quarterback that he is would put the spin moves on both men, among countless others.
That is to say, until now.
He's facing serious charges on the federal level; not only that, but his career with the Falcons is in major jeopardy. Unlike the football field, he won't have any of his offensive linemen to protect him & provide the best defense possible against his adversary (that being the court system). And he won't be able to use his trademark burst of speed to bail out of these charges either.
He could have avoided this predicament earlier if he regarded all the risks & taking these risks
into account, turn himself into law enforcement & explain to the authorities what went down in this dogfighting ring. But since he brushed off all of the above, the possibility of jail time is looming over Vick's head like a black cloud along with the likelihood of Goodell suspending Vick indefinitely.
Even if he doesn't get suspended right off the bat Vick still is in trouble & must face the music; if
he doesn't know that he is by now Blank certainly does. That's the thing: if Goodell takes action, he won't be taking it lightly & Blank, as Vick's boss & owner of the Falcons, knows full well that Goodell is going to be no-BS with anyone charged with criminal conduct - his own star QB included.
The suspensions won't be the same for Vick as they were for Pacman Jones (all season) or for Tank Johnson & Chris Henry (each sitting out 8 games). Things this time around are a lot worse; & in regards to NFL business affairs, Jones, Johnson & Henry don't get any respect. (And I thought the NFL wasn't supposed to be the "faceless league" it has become, to quote Washington Post writer Michael Wilbon.)
But why? You might ask. Vick is one of the few faces in the NFL which actually register with anyone: among the others out there who do, Peyton Manning & T.O. are two faces whom we can think of. Donovan McNabb is yet another as well as Tom Brady. How many people actually know who Pacman Jones is? Or Tank Johnson? That's the problem. Everyone knows Vick; nobody knows who Pacman & Tank are in terms of significance. As a quarterback, Vick is a significant player of monumental importance for not only his team but also the rest of the league. With this avalanche of charges, in a football sense, the Falcons are in a state of 911.
This isn't to say that Vick will automatically get hit with a guilty verdict; the whole premise of the criminal justice system is that one is innocent until proven otherwise. Or the evidence will come across as too flimsy for the grand jury, leaving them unconvinced that Vick was involved in illegal dogfighting at all...& that's only a best-case scenario. If there is anything we could learn from the case of the Duke lacrosse players, it's this: not to jump to conclusions based on charges which cannot yet be proved.
Guilty or no, Vick's life will not be the same. The Falcons won't be the same, this much is for certain. Bottom line is this: Michael Vick is in a world of trouble which even his skills as a quarterback won't save him from.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Coltrane in Closing
All of the above posts which I've done about John Coltrane aren't merely insightful looks into the work ethic of the man himself or what made each of the albums I assessed my special favorites in the first place. Surely, I didn't provide a cursory look into each of the recordings I reviewed & leave it at that...I actually listened to them pretty thoroughly before putting in my own words why they stand out as my favorite Coltrane releases ever.
Of course, some of Coltrane's music is not for everyone (one particular case in point being his late-period output); to some, he might come across as a man screaming out demons on the tenor (occasionally soprano) saxophone. Some might think of his playing as forceful, aggressive, just downright intense as intense can be. Some may remark that his playing is a ton of sonic dreck. Yet others sincerely regard Coltrane as a pure lyrical & musical genius, as good as jazz musicians ever got in their lifetimes. Either way, the best way to know more about the man is to approach his music with an open heart, an open mind & open ears.
Just a brief list of the must-haves to make your Coltrane collection stand out:
Giant Steps
My Favorite Things (both albums serve as the peak of his work on the Atlantic label)
A Love Supreme
Live At Birdland
Ballads (Trane was a master of ballads & this recording shows just why he was)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (an awesome flippin' classic!!)
At any rate, Coltrane released a prolific amount of recordings but the ones which I just mentioned are a good starting point to delve into his music. Wherever your ears go next in the Coltrane discography is up to you to decide.
Of course, some of Coltrane's music is not for everyone (one particular case in point being his late-period output); to some, he might come across as a man screaming out demons on the tenor (occasionally soprano) saxophone. Some might think of his playing as forceful, aggressive, just downright intense as intense can be. Some may remark that his playing is a ton of sonic dreck. Yet others sincerely regard Coltrane as a pure lyrical & musical genius, as good as jazz musicians ever got in their lifetimes. Either way, the best way to know more about the man is to approach his music with an open heart, an open mind & open ears.
Just a brief list of the must-haves to make your Coltrane collection stand out:
Giant Steps
My Favorite Things (both albums serve as the peak of his work on the Atlantic label)
A Love Supreme
Live At Birdland
Ballads (Trane was a master of ballads & this recording shows just why he was)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (an awesome flippin' classic!!)
At any rate, Coltrane released a prolific amount of recordings but the ones which I just mentioned are a good starting point to delve into his music. Wherever your ears go next in the Coltrane discography is up to you to decide.
Simply (one of) the best
In 1964, John Coltrane recorded only two albums, one of them being of course A Love Supreme. The other album, Crescent, although it didn't receive the same amount of accolades, is an equally impressive classic in its own right. And of course, it reveals an understated beauty & glory which only a duder like Coltrane could create.
The title track is a great way to kick things off; it's one of the finest ballads Coltrane ever wrote & one of the best in Trane's later style. "Wise One" continues the streak of consistency, taking the listener on a journey of full-on emotion, longing, seeking & eventual reconciliation (words which could best describe John Coltrane himself, BTW). "Bessie's Blues" is 3 1/2 minutes of straight up, no-nonsense blues. "Lonnie's Lament" features a sparkling piano solo by McCoy Tyner plus an awesome bass solo by Jimmy Garrison, sans any accompaniment; while "The Drum Thing" is self-explanatory: Elvin Jones' time to shine & lay into his kit with an explosive exposition on drums.
With Crescent, one finds that besides revealing his spiritual side, John Coltrane could open up the listener through his lyrical side as well. And the contributions of his bandmates cannot be neglected either, as the previous paragraph amply illustrates. A Love Supreme may have gotten all the glory but Crescent has a rightful place in the Coltrane discography as well: without question this album is an essential effort which sowed the seeds for A Love Supreme & his late-period performances in a more accessible form.
The title track is a great way to kick things off; it's one of the finest ballads Coltrane ever wrote & one of the best in Trane's later style. "Wise One" continues the streak of consistency, taking the listener on a journey of full-on emotion, longing, seeking & eventual reconciliation (words which could best describe John Coltrane himself, BTW). "Bessie's Blues" is 3 1/2 minutes of straight up, no-nonsense blues. "Lonnie's Lament" features a sparkling piano solo by McCoy Tyner plus an awesome bass solo by Jimmy Garrison, sans any accompaniment; while "The Drum Thing" is self-explanatory: Elvin Jones' time to shine & lay into his kit with an explosive exposition on drums.
With Crescent, one finds that besides revealing his spiritual side, John Coltrane could open up the listener through his lyrical side as well. And the contributions of his bandmates cannot be neglected either, as the previous paragraph amply illustrates. A Love Supreme may have gotten all the glory but Crescent has a rightful place in the Coltrane discography as well: without question this album is an essential effort which sowed the seeds for A Love Supreme & his late-period performances in a more accessible form.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Heart of The Matter
When it comes to a coach like Ronny Thompson stepping down from his post after a mere year or so with the Ball State men's basketball program, one can't help but draw parallels with another (& more noteworthy coach), Billy Donovan from the University of Florida.
In his first two years @ Gainesville, Donovan had to endure two consecutive losing seasons, yet he didn't lose faith in his team or decide he was going to jump ship when the going got rough: in the first two seasons of Donovan's career at the U of F there were signs that his teams were destined for greatness & when they registered their first 20-plus win season, this served as proof that the best was yet to come for the Gators.
And one season after the next, the 20-plus win seasons kept proliferating...& of course, you have to give the Gators praises for winning two straight NCAA hoops titles!!
On the other hand, Thompson's only year at the helm with the Cardinals was filled with more negatives than positives: the most obvious of them all being one of the worst seasons to date, along with record losses (9-22). Who knows what could have been if Ronny stayed on? No one can say for certain, but if Ronny only found the heart to persevere, despite facing NCAA sanctions as well as a fanbase which felt he was too standoffish, who knows of all the good things that could have happened? This isn't to assume he would have the same level of success as Billy Donovan has had, but he could have taken his team in an upward direction, to heights they once thought they weren't able to reach...bottom line is, Ronny Thompson could have made believers out of the most skeptical BSU hoops fan if he waded it out & didn't call it a day so abruptly. The question of how & by what means Thompson & his players would achieve that success is beside the point; the fact is Thompson had so much to prove & no one gave him the time of day for him to maintain he could translate his philosophy into victories.
Now it's time to find a new head coach & with that search a restoration of sorely needed credibility which Ball State's athletic program in a sense is in desperate need of. The question is, will the new coach be on the same page as the players he's reaching out to? Or will it be just like old times? I'm not positively sure. But what I am sure of is this: he could learn a thing or two from checking out Billy Donovan's record at the University of Florida to learn some newfound secrets of success.
In his first two years @ Gainesville, Donovan had to endure two consecutive losing seasons, yet he didn't lose faith in his team or decide he was going to jump ship when the going got rough: in the first two seasons of Donovan's career at the U of F there were signs that his teams were destined for greatness & when they registered their first 20-plus win season, this served as proof that the best was yet to come for the Gators.
And one season after the next, the 20-plus win seasons kept proliferating...& of course, you have to give the Gators praises for winning two straight NCAA hoops titles!!
On the other hand, Thompson's only year at the helm with the Cardinals was filled with more negatives than positives: the most obvious of them all being one of the worst seasons to date, along with record losses (9-22). Who knows what could have been if Ronny stayed on? No one can say for certain, but if Ronny only found the heart to persevere, despite facing NCAA sanctions as well as a fanbase which felt he was too standoffish, who knows of all the good things that could have happened? This isn't to assume he would have the same level of success as Billy Donovan has had, but he could have taken his team in an upward direction, to heights they once thought they weren't able to reach...bottom line is, Ronny Thompson could have made believers out of the most skeptical BSU hoops fan if he waded it out & didn't call it a day so abruptly. The question of how & by what means Thompson & his players would achieve that success is beside the point; the fact is Thompson had so much to prove & no one gave him the time of day for him to maintain he could translate his philosophy into victories.
Now it's time to find a new head coach & with that search a restoration of sorely needed credibility which Ball State's athletic program in a sense is in desperate need of. The question is, will the new coach be on the same page as the players he's reaching out to? Or will it be just like old times? I'm not positively sure. But what I am sure of is this: he could learn a thing or two from checking out Billy Donovan's record at the University of Florida to learn some newfound secrets of success.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of John Coltrane's passing. Not only was he one of the greatest masters of the tenor saxophone, but he also changed the course of jazz & with it blazed a trail for other like-minded musicians to follow. At the same time, he helped write a new chapter for popular music as well:
If it weren't for Coltrane (among others), the very idea of jam bands would be out of the question-no Dead, no Phish, no Cream, no!! (In jam bands such as the ones whom I just mentioned, improvisation & musicianship were always a big deal.) But Coltrane helped make the birth of jamming possible in some way or other & for that we should be thankful. Likewise, without Trane, a whole chapter of popular music (& with it, a key period in the history of jazz) would remain incomplete & we would come to the point where looks are important & musicianship is irrelevant. Finally, without Trane, we wouldn't have musicians who have the same initiative, drive & commitment to keep growing and bettering themselves on their respective instruments. Believe it, John Coltrane always found ways to better himself & keep growing as a musician up to his sudden passing.
And today is the day to pay our honor & respects to one of jazz's most important trail-blazing musicians.
If it weren't for Coltrane (among others), the very idea of jam bands would be out of the question-no Dead, no Phish, no Cream, no!! (In jam bands such as the ones whom I just mentioned, improvisation & musicianship were always a big deal.) But Coltrane helped make the birth of jamming possible in some way or other & for that we should be thankful. Likewise, without Trane, a whole chapter of popular music (& with it, a key period in the history of jazz) would remain incomplete & we would come to the point where looks are important & musicianship is irrelevant. Finally, without Trane, we wouldn't have musicians who have the same initiative, drive & commitment to keep growing and bettering themselves on their respective instruments. Believe it, John Coltrane always found ways to better himself & keep growing as a musician up to his sudden passing.
And today is the day to pay our honor & respects to one of jazz's most important trail-blazing musicians.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The Real Deal
After giving plenty of assessments on some of my favorite John Coltrane albums, I felt that it'd be high time to shift the attention to one of his bandmates in the Classic Quartet, pianist McCoy Tyner.
Tyner spent several years making history with Coltrane, among others (Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter). Yet he somehow found time to make a name for himself as a leader in his own right. While under the auspices of his boss' longtime label, Impulse!, he released several albums but most of them were in a trio format mode (since Impulse! placed so much emphasis on the piano trio thing to begin with). If that weren't enough, his output up to that point didn't present a complete picture of the man himself, much less which direction his music was going to take. When he left Trane's group at the end of 1965, he played briefly with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, unsurprisingly some folks were curious to see which path Tyner would take now that he was striking out on his own.
His first album for Blue Note, The Real McCoy, provided the answer without hesitation & stands out as the crown jewel of his discography, even now. Not only is this a break from the norm (& all the things associated with his Impulse! releases), this is the first album which he recorded with a quartet configuration. And all five of the compositions were written by none other than Tyner himself, revealing a full-fledged personality at work. Yes, it even features his former bandmate, Elvin Jones on drums, Ron Carter (of Miles Davis fame) on bass, & Henderson on tenor saxophone...leading to five-star performances which (as the album title offers without further explanation) are the real deal.
Two of the leading tenor sax players for the Blue Note label (the aforementioned Shorter & Henderson) explored the tenor & rhythm combo with Tyner & Jones in tow (in the case of Shorter, Juju & Night Dreamer; with Henderson, In 'N' Out & Inner Urge). And each of these above albums offered a great deal of flexibility & consistency which Tyner & Jones as a team accomplished in spades. Carter's more fluent style on bass, Henderson's ability to ALWAYS KNOW how to get a composition started up, Tyner's amazing work on the ivories, Jones' drumming...all of these factors equal one of Blue Note's best albums of all time. And yet they also equal Tyner's brightest shining hour as a bandleader as well.
Tracks like "Passion Dance," "Contemplation" & "Four By Five" reveal how galvanizing Tyner & his teammates were in the field of improvisation. "Search For Peace" is a tranquil ballad which his old mentor & boss would have nothing but good lines for; then the high-spirited "Blues On The Corner" closes things off with style.
If there was one McCoy Tyner album I wanted to take along with me on a road trip or a desert island, The Real McCoy would be the one. And of course, Tyner with this session proved he was the real deal...then again, he always was; it just took a little more time to find his own voice as a musician but TRM was worth that wait. For four decades, TRM has remained the real deal for sure, a jazz album which is not only filled with all-star performances but also all-star musicianship from veterans who know how to make things swing (Tyner included!!). A must-have for any jazz/music collection.
Tyner spent several years making history with Coltrane, among others (Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter). Yet he somehow found time to make a name for himself as a leader in his own right. While under the auspices of his boss' longtime label, Impulse!, he released several albums but most of them were in a trio format mode (since Impulse! placed so much emphasis on the piano trio thing to begin with). If that weren't enough, his output up to that point didn't present a complete picture of the man himself, much less which direction his music was going to take. When he left Trane's group at the end of 1965, he played briefly with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, unsurprisingly some folks were curious to see which path Tyner would take now that he was striking out on his own.
His first album for Blue Note, The Real McCoy, provided the answer without hesitation & stands out as the crown jewel of his discography, even now. Not only is this a break from the norm (& all the things associated with his Impulse! releases), this is the first album which he recorded with a quartet configuration. And all five of the compositions were written by none other than Tyner himself, revealing a full-fledged personality at work. Yes, it even features his former bandmate, Elvin Jones on drums, Ron Carter (of Miles Davis fame) on bass, & Henderson on tenor saxophone...leading to five-star performances which (as the album title offers without further explanation) are the real deal.
Two of the leading tenor sax players for the Blue Note label (the aforementioned Shorter & Henderson) explored the tenor & rhythm combo with Tyner & Jones in tow (in the case of Shorter, Juju & Night Dreamer; with Henderson, In 'N' Out & Inner Urge). And each of these above albums offered a great deal of flexibility & consistency which Tyner & Jones as a team accomplished in spades. Carter's more fluent style on bass, Henderson's ability to ALWAYS KNOW how to get a composition started up, Tyner's amazing work on the ivories, Jones' drumming...all of these factors equal one of Blue Note's best albums of all time. And yet they also equal Tyner's brightest shining hour as a bandleader as well.
Tracks like "Passion Dance," "Contemplation" & "Four By Five" reveal how galvanizing Tyner & his teammates were in the field of improvisation. "Search For Peace" is a tranquil ballad which his old mentor & boss would have nothing but good lines for; then the high-spirited "Blues On The Corner" closes things off with style.
If there was one McCoy Tyner album I wanted to take along with me on a road trip or a desert island, The Real McCoy would be the one. And of course, Tyner with this session proved he was the real deal...then again, he always was; it just took a little more time to find his own voice as a musician but TRM was worth that wait. For four decades, TRM has remained the real deal for sure, a jazz album which is not only filled with all-star performances but also all-star musicianship from veterans who know how to make things swing (Tyner included!!). A must-have for any jazz/music collection.
Getting On Board
The late summer of 1965 was a rather busy one for John Coltrane & his Classic Quartet bandmates; at the same time, it would also prove to be the beginning of the end for a group who performed as a unit for a good four years (& FYI: one of jazz's most important working bands ever!!). Change, an ever-constant trademark which defines Trane's entire musical career, accelerated exponentially during that period & his bandmates naturally felt a bit leery at the directions which he wanted to take the music.
But that didn't stop Trane & company from checking into the RCA Studios in New York City to pull off the next-to-last recording as an actual Quartet, Sun Ship. By this point, the passion, fire, intensity & aggression which defined many a Coltrane performance were already becoming synthesized into something more akin to a heavy trip in sound. And on August 26, 1965, John Coltrane pushed ahead into his late period, still the restless, searching soul when it came to using his tenor saxophone as a means of heartfelt expression. And the changes which brought about the dissolution of his quartet would not have been possible without his bandmates adapting their roles as they do so outstandingly on this particular session.
The title track immediately reveals those changes with full force; Trane's solo, in particular, just destroys. In fact, he sounds like he's delivering a beatdown with his tenor saxophone. Elvin Jones, one of jazz's greatest drummers, & best known for powerhouse swinging, sounds like a god with drumsticks, a man possessed. "Dearly Beloved" is one of the group's more intense, more passionate ballads but with a freer vibe; "Amen" keeps things swinging & Trane again brings the pain during his solo stint (which like the title track flat out is pure unadulterated aggression at its finest). "Attaining" is an equally stellar track in its own right. Then we have the final track, "Ascent." Jimmy Garrison starts things off with an unaccompanied bass solo which like any of his all-by-his-lonesome solo moments with the group, is just plain awesome; it eventually sets things up for Coltrane's entrance & does the man ever make good on his ascent (if I must say so) into the highest reaches of the tenor saxophone's stratosphere & beyond.
Sun Ship, even after all this time, is a document of the John Coltrane Classic Quartet in the autumn of their existence but still delivering powerful music like none other. Chip Stern, in an Amazon review, remarked that on this album, "...the quartet comes on like the Book of Revelations --completely absorbed in the spirit of sonic exploration." And did Trane & company ever sound so immersed in these five musical excursions; leaving the listener awash in forceful waves of sound, they also created one heavy trip which all too few have been able to surpass. For the record, Sun Ship is John Coltrane writing another chapter in the art of intense sonic exploration, another milemarker in a long spiritual journey of which he was the captain & fearless leader.
But that didn't stop Trane & company from checking into the RCA Studios in New York City to pull off the next-to-last recording as an actual Quartet, Sun Ship. By this point, the passion, fire, intensity & aggression which defined many a Coltrane performance were already becoming synthesized into something more akin to a heavy trip in sound. And on August 26, 1965, John Coltrane pushed ahead into his late period, still the restless, searching soul when it came to using his tenor saxophone as a means of heartfelt expression. And the changes which brought about the dissolution of his quartet would not have been possible without his bandmates adapting their roles as they do so outstandingly on this particular session.
The title track immediately reveals those changes with full force; Trane's solo, in particular, just destroys. In fact, he sounds like he's delivering a beatdown with his tenor saxophone. Elvin Jones, one of jazz's greatest drummers, & best known for powerhouse swinging, sounds like a god with drumsticks, a man possessed. "Dearly Beloved" is one of the group's more intense, more passionate ballads but with a freer vibe; "Amen" keeps things swinging & Trane again brings the pain during his solo stint (which like the title track flat out is pure unadulterated aggression at its finest). "Attaining" is an equally stellar track in its own right. Then we have the final track, "Ascent." Jimmy Garrison starts things off with an unaccompanied bass solo which like any of his all-by-his-lonesome solo moments with the group, is just plain awesome; it eventually sets things up for Coltrane's entrance & does the man ever make good on his ascent (if I must say so) into the highest reaches of the tenor saxophone's stratosphere & beyond.
Sun Ship, even after all this time, is a document of the John Coltrane Classic Quartet in the autumn of their existence but still delivering powerful music like none other. Chip Stern, in an Amazon review, remarked that on this album, "...the quartet comes on like the Book of Revelations --completely absorbed in the spirit of sonic exploration." And did Trane & company ever sound so immersed in these five musical excursions; leaving the listener awash in forceful waves of sound, they also created one heavy trip which all too few have been able to surpass. For the record, Sun Ship is John Coltrane writing another chapter in the art of intense sonic exploration, another milemarker in a long spiritual journey of which he was the captain & fearless leader.
Friday, July 13, 2007
A Closer Look At Mama
For John Coltrane, 1965 was a rather prolific year in terms of how often he recorded; just the sheer volume of recordings alone reveals a musician at the top of his game. Of course, Impulse!, his label for a few years running, couldn't release every session which he decided to record as if he had nothing to lose. No surprise, then, that he left a motherlode of unreleased material which was for the most part issued posthumously (& certainly not inferior either). In the case of his 1967 album, Kulu Se Mama, however, this was a whole other story; Trane himself selected the original album's three tracks prior to his death & believe me, it's all good, given the range & intensity which his output for 1965 too readily illustrates.
Again, Kulu Se Mama is the same relentless searching which was part & parcel of Trane's career; & in light of the material recorded prior & afterwards (A Love Supreme in December 1964, Ascension midway through 1965; then Meditations a few months later) Kulu Se Mama stands out in more ways than one: augmented instrumentation, freer compositional structures...in essence, everything which defined the late-Coltrane era in a nutshell.
The 19-minute long title track, with additional percussionists & reed players, is an epiphany of all things African, all things swinging...a colorful fabric of sound which is the supersonic equivalent of storytelling. On the other hand, the album's remaining two tracks (done on June 10 & June 16), "Vigil" & "Welcome," are everything one has come to expect from the John Coltrane Quartet: "Vigil" is a drum-tenor sax duet which delivers nothing but raw energy, out-for-blood aggression, power & passion which always marked the best of Trane's performances & foreshadowed a drastically different set of duo recordings which he and Elvin Jones' successor, Rashied Ali would do in the winter of 1967 (Interstellar Space).
By contrast, "Welcome" is just that: a peaceful, serene ballad which deserves to be heard after constant battling & struggling, absolutely up there with the Classic Quartet's slower stuff & what a way to wrap up an album which is diverse as much as it is a fresh look at John Coltrane in his musical pursuit during 1965.
To be honest, the 2000 release of Kulu Se Mama is a snapshot of late-period Trane unlike any other we've seen/heard before (& still all good, BTW); it also reveals the Classic Quartet (with additional special guests) running the end of their course as a group but on the verge of going out with a bang in doing so.
Again, Kulu Se Mama is the same relentless searching which was part & parcel of Trane's career; & in light of the material recorded prior & afterwards (A Love Supreme in December 1964, Ascension midway through 1965; then Meditations a few months later) Kulu Se Mama stands out in more ways than one: augmented instrumentation, freer compositional structures...in essence, everything which defined the late-Coltrane era in a nutshell.
The 19-minute long title track, with additional percussionists & reed players, is an epiphany of all things African, all things swinging...a colorful fabric of sound which is the supersonic equivalent of storytelling. On the other hand, the album's remaining two tracks (done on June 10 & June 16), "Vigil" & "Welcome," are everything one has come to expect from the John Coltrane Quartet: "Vigil" is a drum-tenor sax duet which delivers nothing but raw energy, out-for-blood aggression, power & passion which always marked the best of Trane's performances & foreshadowed a drastically different set of duo recordings which he and Elvin Jones' successor, Rashied Ali would do in the winter of 1967 (Interstellar Space).
By contrast, "Welcome" is just that: a peaceful, serene ballad which deserves to be heard after constant battling & struggling, absolutely up there with the Classic Quartet's slower stuff & what a way to wrap up an album which is diverse as much as it is a fresh look at John Coltrane in his musical pursuit during 1965.
To be honest, the 2000 release of Kulu Se Mama is a snapshot of late-period Trane unlike any other we've seen/heard before (& still all good, BTW); it also reveals the Classic Quartet (with additional special guests) running the end of their course as a group but on the verge of going out with a bang in doing so.
To Be Perfectly Honest, Epilogue
Ronny Thompson is stepping down after just one season as Ball State's men's basketball coach & his resignation in a sense comes across as disappointing, disheartening to say the least.
The next question is, who will take charge of the Cardinals for this coming season?
It's anyone's guess; for the moment, it's time to start moving ahead. Thompson's tenure was filled with more low points than high points, but I never held out hope for the man; he knew he & his staff loused up but this wasn't to say that his team couldn't better themselves & find ways to improve on their 9-22 record last season. (If only he could have improved his reputation by recruiting hoops players from right here in Indiana...another low point to think about.) I at least believed that the Cards could pick themselves up from rock bottom, somehow, someway.
But now Ronny's leaving, in light of the NCAA infractions & racist notes he & his staff received (see the other To Be Perfectly Honest posts for more details). Where the Cards will go from here remains to be seen but at this point the only way ahead is up. And the controversy still rages on.
The next question is, who will take charge of the Cardinals for this coming season?
It's anyone's guess; for the moment, it's time to start moving ahead. Thompson's tenure was filled with more low points than high points, but I never held out hope for the man; he knew he & his staff loused up but this wasn't to say that his team couldn't better themselves & find ways to improve on their 9-22 record last season. (If only he could have improved his reputation by recruiting hoops players from right here in Indiana...another low point to think about.) I at least believed that the Cards could pick themselves up from rock bottom, somehow, someway.
But now Ronny's leaving, in light of the NCAA infractions & racist notes he & his staff received (see the other To Be Perfectly Honest posts for more details). Where the Cards will go from here remains to be seen but at this point the only way ahead is up. And the controversy still rages on.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Climbing Up The Ladder
Just past the midway point in 1965, John Coltrane was definitely making a case for himself as one of jazz's premier musicians, period. But on the week just prior to the 4th of July, Trane would create a great deal of genuine controversy when he & 10 other musicians flocked to Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio in New Jersey to create one of his most ambitious & challenging sessions to date, Ascension. Along with his regular rhythm section, he added mostly raw, untried talent into the musical equation but the immense number of musicians should not detract one from the galvanizing force & power which Trane's compositions, even prior to this point, offered in droves. Think of this album as one 40-minute jam session gone wild!!
Sheer power: I couldn't describe this music any better way. Or should I say an intense musical maelstrom? I dunno. But those phrases are the ones which I could best describe Ascension as being: purely controversial music which isn't for the faint of heart. And yet it's so beautiful, one chapter of an ongoing spiritual journey which Trane was taking through his music.
Of course, it's purely controversial stuff. Some dismissed it as complete, inaccessible noise; others thought it was too "out there," too incoherent or chaotic for the uninitiated listener; yet others sang praises, feeling Coltrane reached new heights which to this day remain unreachable through Ascension. At any rate, this is furious, aggressive music which takes multiple listens to wholeheartedly appreciate or write off as sheer cacophony as some critics have done. (And BTW, those same critics missed the point of what Ascension is all about.)
Doing two versions of this composition of course posed problems for Trane when it came down to which version he wanted to release (back in the day when LP formats ruled): with two editions out simultaneously, it seemed that he at least found some closure to that dilemma. (The CD includes both editions, thank heavens.) Haggling aside, on June 28, 1965, Coltrane scaled a Mount Everest from which (for him) there could be no returning. And even though a few more recordings were done with the Classic Quartet, the accelerated pace at which his music was changing proved to be more than his CQ bandmates could bear. Ascension, in a sense, is the meridian line where Coltrane said, "Love me or hate me; I am taking my music places I want it to go so there." And did he ever take his music to unchartered territory; this is controlled mayhem at its finest & a great way to begin his later, much freer musical excursions.
Sheer power: I couldn't describe this music any better way. Or should I say an intense musical maelstrom? I dunno. But those phrases are the ones which I could best describe Ascension as being: purely controversial music which isn't for the faint of heart. And yet it's so beautiful, one chapter of an ongoing spiritual journey which Trane was taking through his music.
Of course, it's purely controversial stuff. Some dismissed it as complete, inaccessible noise; others thought it was too "out there," too incoherent or chaotic for the uninitiated listener; yet others sang praises, feeling Coltrane reached new heights which to this day remain unreachable through Ascension. At any rate, this is furious, aggressive music which takes multiple listens to wholeheartedly appreciate or write off as sheer cacophony as some critics have done. (And BTW, those same critics missed the point of what Ascension is all about.)
Doing two versions of this composition of course posed problems for Trane when it came down to which version he wanted to release (back in the day when LP formats ruled): with two editions out simultaneously, it seemed that he at least found some closure to that dilemma. (The CD includes both editions, thank heavens.) Haggling aside, on June 28, 1965, Coltrane scaled a Mount Everest from which (for him) there could be no returning. And even though a few more recordings were done with the Classic Quartet, the accelerated pace at which his music was changing proved to be more than his CQ bandmates could bear. Ascension, in a sense, is the meridian line where Coltrane said, "Love me or hate me; I am taking my music places I want it to go so there." And did he ever take his music to unchartered territory; this is controlled mayhem at its finest & a great way to begin his later, much freer musical excursions.
To Be Perfectly Honest, Part Three
Seven months after getting shafted as Ball State's volleyball coach, Randy Litchfield surmises that his coaching days are over. As he himself states,
"When a male who has coached women is fired under mysterious cicrumstances I can personally confirm that that male's coaching days are over...I have applied for over a dozen jobs, some not even good jobs, and I got 'ding' letters almost immediately. My feeling is my coaching career has been ruined."
The question is, how come? Why did Litchfield lose his job as BSU's longtime women's volleyball coach? Sure, they had a losing season in 2006, but that doesn't give his former employer an excuse to terminate his contract & with it his livelihood. It's not a matter of playing the gender card or race card either. Somewhere, someone is asking, there has to be a justifiable cause behind Randy's firing, right?
He and his former coaching staff witnessed the first salvo of violations which the men's basketball coaching personnel committed; perhaps this could be a factor which led to his firing but this is no excuse to send Litchfield packing while he's ahead. I mean, he & his staff did what they felt was the right thing in reporting those violations in the first place. But nope, the only thanks which he & his staff ended up getting was no thanks at all...& in a sense, his old employer ruined his reputation & integrity in the process. And it was ruined through no fault of his own; talk about someone whose unfair termination has left him with only bitterness (if not animosity) toward the university he has called home since 1980 & you can sense his pain & despair at losing pretty much his whole life's work:
"Sadly I'm finished...It's (Ball State) been my home since 1980. I played there, I starred there, I graduated there. It's essentially the only place I've ever worked. To know that's all gone now is pretty painful."
And Litchfield is looking forward to turning a new leaf somewhere else soon; Muncie, however, is not the place for him to make that fresh start, since he no longer has any love left to show Ball State. After being unjustly booted for doing what he felt was the right thing by showing up the faults of the men's basketball coaching staff, can anyone blame him for not wanting to stay? To be perfectly honest, you can't; he is now hoping to continue to satisfy his need to compete, to bring on the competition. His need to compete, from the looks of things, won't be in the field of sports; yet entrepreneurship is the next best thing to the world of athletics & I'm wishing him the best of luck here.
"When a male who has coached women is fired under mysterious cicrumstances I can personally confirm that that male's coaching days are over...I have applied for over a dozen jobs, some not even good jobs, and I got 'ding' letters almost immediately. My feeling is my coaching career has been ruined."
The question is, how come? Why did Litchfield lose his job as BSU's longtime women's volleyball coach? Sure, they had a losing season in 2006, but that doesn't give his former employer an excuse to terminate his contract & with it his livelihood. It's not a matter of playing the gender card or race card either. Somewhere, someone is asking, there has to be a justifiable cause behind Randy's firing, right?
He and his former coaching staff witnessed the first salvo of violations which the men's basketball coaching personnel committed; perhaps this could be a factor which led to his firing but this is no excuse to send Litchfield packing while he's ahead. I mean, he & his staff did what they felt was the right thing in reporting those violations in the first place. But nope, the only thanks which he & his staff ended up getting was no thanks at all...& in a sense, his old employer ruined his reputation & integrity in the process. And it was ruined through no fault of his own; talk about someone whose unfair termination has left him with only bitterness (if not animosity) toward the university he has called home since 1980 & you can sense his pain & despair at losing pretty much his whole life's work:
"Sadly I'm finished...It's (Ball State) been my home since 1980. I played there, I starred there, I graduated there. It's essentially the only place I've ever worked. To know that's all gone now is pretty painful."
And Litchfield is looking forward to turning a new leaf somewhere else soon; Muncie, however, is not the place for him to make that fresh start, since he no longer has any love left to show Ball State. After being unjustly booted for doing what he felt was the right thing by showing up the faults of the men's basketball coaching staff, can anyone blame him for not wanting to stay? To be perfectly honest, you can't; he is now hoping to continue to satisfy his need to compete, to bring on the competition. His need to compete, from the looks of things, won't be in the field of sports; yet entrepreneurship is the next best thing to the world of athletics & I'm wishing him the best of luck here.
A Love Supreme
Some of the most enduring masterpieces, whether in the fields of art, literature or music, coincided with the details & demands of one's daily life. That's true inspiration in a nutshell: balancing one's creative impulses with the usual routines that one goes through on a daily basis.
In 1964, for John Coltrane, as Ashley Kahn would put it in June 2002, "...inspiration coincided with dirty plates and diapers." No surprise then that Trane, trying to balance family matters with his own creative urges, took some breaks in the action to come up with one of jazz's (& popular music's) most enduring masterpieces of all time, A Love Supreme.
As his best-known album ever, A Love Supreme remains an ever-ascending pathway which Trane himself continued to take up to his passing, the high-water mark of his work with the Classic Quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison & drummer Elvin Jones. At the same time, if you want to know about the man himself, this album is a perfect self-revealing statement: well before hip hop stars gave God the glory & lots of shout-outs to the Almighty in their liner note credits, Coltrane stepped outside of the box of jazz elites to give God credit where credit was due. In his own words, he wrote: "I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music...I feel this has been granted through His grace." This is a seminal gift to God, a 4-part song of praise which has stood the test of time in more ways than one.
And from the first opening notes of Part One, "Acknowledgement," Trane & his bandmates confirmed their place in the annals of jazz history once & for all. Near the end of this particular track, Trane's chant of "A Love Supreme" makes its presence felt & still leaves an impact long before the last notes of Part One fade away & Garrison takes up a double-stopped bass solo which serves as a segue into Part Two, "Resolution."
Part Two is where Tyner gets a chance to step out into the spotlight & deliver as always a cooking solo; then Coltrane re-enters to drive the point of this particular section home. As has almost always been the case with his Classic Quartet recordings, this shows us just how tightly linked Tyner & Trane were solo-wise, but that would be an understatement: this also reveals how closely bonded the Classic Quartet was as a unit of stellar musicians.
Part Three, "Pursuance," starts off with Elvin Jones getting things in order (when it comes to awesome drum soloists, Elvin is one of the more explosive around!!). Then Trane establishes a theme, Tyner again delivers a brilliant solo; Coltrane returns at full throttle, never letting up the steam for 2 & 1/2 minutes. And like a spent runner, he jumps into the restatement of the theme; Jones closes things off with a fusillade of snare & cymbals, then Garrison takes over with a solo of his own. If there was any jazz bassist who could go it alone on a solo & keep things interesting, Jimmy Garrison was always the man for the job & for roughly a few minutes he proves his case as one of the top bass players of all time.
Garrison's presentation leads up to A Love Supreme's last section, "Psalm." And does Trane ever sound as urgent as he does reflective & serene in his incantatory delivery. In fact, he's baring his soul on tape in a way few artists have ever done. This is an awesome point of closure for an already awesome album, as good as dramatic performances could ever get.
For over 40 years, the general public & music industry have continued to speak superlatives about A Love Supreme & whoever hasn't heard this album yet needs to get this CD. Yes, it's that powerful but it also reveals John Coltrane & his quartet at the height of their powers & yet it reveals Trane taking another immense step on a continuing spiritual journey, giving God the glory as he went along.
In 1964, for John Coltrane, as Ashley Kahn would put it in June 2002, "...inspiration coincided with dirty plates and diapers." No surprise then that Trane, trying to balance family matters with his own creative urges, took some breaks in the action to come up with one of jazz's (& popular music's) most enduring masterpieces of all time, A Love Supreme.
As his best-known album ever, A Love Supreme remains an ever-ascending pathway which Trane himself continued to take up to his passing, the high-water mark of his work with the Classic Quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison & drummer Elvin Jones. At the same time, if you want to know about the man himself, this album is a perfect self-revealing statement: well before hip hop stars gave God the glory & lots of shout-outs to the Almighty in their liner note credits, Coltrane stepped outside of the box of jazz elites to give God credit where credit was due. In his own words, he wrote: "I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music...I feel this has been granted through His grace." This is a seminal gift to God, a 4-part song of praise which has stood the test of time in more ways than one.
And from the first opening notes of Part One, "Acknowledgement," Trane & his bandmates confirmed their place in the annals of jazz history once & for all. Near the end of this particular track, Trane's chant of "A Love Supreme" makes its presence felt & still leaves an impact long before the last notes of Part One fade away & Garrison takes up a double-stopped bass solo which serves as a segue into Part Two, "Resolution."
Part Two is where Tyner gets a chance to step out into the spotlight & deliver as always a cooking solo; then Coltrane re-enters to drive the point of this particular section home. As has almost always been the case with his Classic Quartet recordings, this shows us just how tightly linked Tyner & Trane were solo-wise, but that would be an understatement: this also reveals how closely bonded the Classic Quartet was as a unit of stellar musicians.
Part Three, "Pursuance," starts off with Elvin Jones getting things in order (when it comes to awesome drum soloists, Elvin is one of the more explosive around!!). Then Trane establishes a theme, Tyner again delivers a brilliant solo; Coltrane returns at full throttle, never letting up the steam for 2 & 1/2 minutes. And like a spent runner, he jumps into the restatement of the theme; Jones closes things off with a fusillade of snare & cymbals, then Garrison takes over with a solo of his own. If there was any jazz bassist who could go it alone on a solo & keep things interesting, Jimmy Garrison was always the man for the job & for roughly a few minutes he proves his case as one of the top bass players of all time.
Garrison's presentation leads up to A Love Supreme's last section, "Psalm." And does Trane ever sound as urgent as he does reflective & serene in his incantatory delivery. In fact, he's baring his soul on tape in a way few artists have ever done. This is an awesome point of closure for an already awesome album, as good as dramatic performances could ever get.
For over 40 years, the general public & music industry have continued to speak superlatives about A Love Supreme & whoever hasn't heard this album yet needs to get this CD. Yes, it's that powerful but it also reveals John Coltrane & his quartet at the height of their powers & yet it reveals Trane taking another immense step on a continuing spiritual journey, giving God the glory as he went along.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
For the longest time now, Greek life & its many benefits have been a topic of immense interest not only for me but for those who may check my blogsite out.
It'd be pointless to bring up movies like Animal House & Old School for the umpteenth time, but from what I can see, each of these flicks parodize every good thing about being a member of a fraternity/sorority. How many of these movies' actors, screenwriters, producers, directors, etc. ever went through school & decided to go Greek for all 4 or whatever years? How many of these same folks have actually witnessed firsthand all the positive aspects which Greek life has to offer in spades outside the social realm? And how many of them had biased views on Greeks in general, based on all the second-hand info that their friends told them about fraternities/sororities?
Dang if I know, but movies where Greek life is the main topic of the day are portraying the Greek system inaccurately & inadequately. Perhaps this is my own personal opinion but I surmise others are echoing my sentiments as well: when it comes to being Greek, it's not about who can get the most girls, who can act the fool the most at the bars, who can guzzle down the most alcohol, which house throws the best parties, who can put up the biggest brawls, ad infinitum.
Give me a break because Greek life isn't about all of those things.
In summary, it's all about initiative & involvement.
How many folks would want to go Greek if the only preconceptions that they have of us is that we like to party every week & get all promiscuous (as well as subject our new members to indignities no one should have to go through in order to get fully immersed into the Greek community)? My best bet is that barely anyone would consider rushing or sorority recruitment if this is how we portrayed ourselves on a regular basis, or from what Z-level movies depict us as being. And for those non-Greeks who are set in their ways in regards to their misgivings about Greeks, such behavior wouldn't change their minds one whit.
When it comes to how the Greek community is portrayed, folks in the entertainment industry, I feel, haven't done their research or drew from their own personal experiences as undergrads to reveal how life was for them back in the day at say, Phi Delts or SAE (in a stereotypical yet humorous way). Don't get me wrong; I do love Animal House & Old School with a passion. Thing is, Greek life isn't what people believe it is in the movies. Or even that show GREEK which airs on ABC.
These are my views & I am sticking to them.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
2 years ago, Zimbabwe got a lot of news headlines, thanks to Robert Mugabe & his government unleashing Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Trash). Mugabe & his cronies tried to explain this operation away as some effort to restore economic order & stability. But there are plenty of critics of Mugabe who are willing to refute these explanations for sending about 25,000 city dwellers out into the rural areas, rendering them homeless & destitute.
Many feel Operation Murambatsvina was another attempt to diminish anti-Mugabe sentiments; almost 100% of the urban areas at this point were completely opposed to his administration. And in a nation where there is almost no tolerance for venting one's views against Mugabe personally or through rival political parties, this urban sweep really served as proof of how far Mugabe & his gang of spooks will go to keep running the show in Zimbabwe.
2 years later, the media in some form or other may have put Zimbabwe off to the side but we cannot dismiss the current situation. With an inflation rate of about 2000% (the highest in the world) & an average life expectancy of 38 years, the nation is struggling to survive, much less find ways to sustain itself. More than 85% of the nation is unemployed, and even for those families who have a source of income, basic necessities are difficult to come by (like eggs & flour).
Food itself is in short supply as the government wants no part of foreign aid which could aid the nation considerably.
Health care is another urgent issue to deal with. More professional workers (doctors & nurses included) are leaving the country, posing an even greater dilemma for those who need to go to the hospital. Without adequate supplies, proper sanitation & other whatnot on which hospitals must operate effectively, many patients naturally opt not to go to the hospital at all confirming one's worst fears on how drastic the situation has become: they may never get the treatment they need if they did go.
And one question continues to arise: "How can we help?"
One good place to begin would be writing to a senator or congressional representative in regards to persuading Zimbabwe's neighbors (as well as allies) to limit trade & eventually pressure Mugabe to stop all the corruption which has tainted his administration for ages. Yet there are other means by which we can help, & with time limitations I can't go into all of them here.
But there is something we can do to heal Zimbabwe's pain, a way to reach out & make a difference that Robert Mugabe never made for almost three decades.
Many feel Operation Murambatsvina was another attempt to diminish anti-Mugabe sentiments; almost 100% of the urban areas at this point were completely opposed to his administration. And in a nation where there is almost no tolerance for venting one's views against Mugabe personally or through rival political parties, this urban sweep really served as proof of how far Mugabe & his gang of spooks will go to keep running the show in Zimbabwe.
2 years later, the media in some form or other may have put Zimbabwe off to the side but we cannot dismiss the current situation. With an inflation rate of about 2000% (the highest in the world) & an average life expectancy of 38 years, the nation is struggling to survive, much less find ways to sustain itself. More than 85% of the nation is unemployed, and even for those families who have a source of income, basic necessities are difficult to come by (like eggs & flour).
Food itself is in short supply as the government wants no part of foreign aid which could aid the nation considerably.
Health care is another urgent issue to deal with. More professional workers (doctors & nurses included) are leaving the country, posing an even greater dilemma for those who need to go to the hospital. Without adequate supplies, proper sanitation & other whatnot on which hospitals must operate effectively, many patients naturally opt not to go to the hospital at all confirming one's worst fears on how drastic the situation has become: they may never get the treatment they need if they did go.
And one question continues to arise: "How can we help?"
One good place to begin would be writing to a senator or congressional representative in regards to persuading Zimbabwe's neighbors (as well as allies) to limit trade & eventually pressure Mugabe to stop all the corruption which has tainted his administration for ages. Yet there are other means by which we can help, & with time limitations I can't go into all of them here.
But there is something we can do to heal Zimbabwe's pain, a way to reach out & make a difference that Robert Mugabe never made for almost three decades.
Monday, July 9, 2007
To Be Perfectly Honest, Part Two
Not too long ago, I posted an entry in regards to harassing notes which Ball State's men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson & his staff received. Of course, in light of this incident, rumors are flying as much as truth is & what's worse, we're bound to believe the rumors & take them as true.
Fact: In Ronny's first year at the helm, BSU ended up 9-22 & in the process claimed the most losses ever in a single season.
Fact: Ronny & his staff committed some minor infractions which the NCAA eventually got wind of.
Fact: Ronny walked into his office (among others on the coaching staff) & discovered racially fueled notes left by some anonymous coward/cowards.
But if the truth doesn't raise any eyebrows, the rumors already are doing their work, yet how many of them actually have validity? (i.e. How many of those rumors can we actually believe?) If Ronny was thinking about leaving Ball State after all this, he would have told us so personally. But since he hasn't, the news we're hearing is speculation & nothing more.
The best thing that Ronny could do is stay around & see where he can lead his team a few months from now. For him to leave, even after a cowardly, spineless individual decided to commit such a dignity-robbing act, is to me the equivalent of giving up on his team. And what kind of example is Ronny setting by quitting? If he considers abandoning his role as head coach, he's only encouraging his players to adopt the same mentality, that it's good to give up when the going gets tough & when the situation calls for someone to step up & save the day.
Bottom line: winners never quit, quitters never win. At this point in time, the one thing Ronny cannot be, as with his own players is just that: a quitter. Adversity has a way of making or breaking people's integrity, that much is for certain. But the worst case scenario in terms of how to handle adversity is when someone faces tough times, they tuck their tails between their legs & walk away as if to say, "Why bother?" In such instances, this is where someone special must enter the picture (Ronny) & help steer his team back in the right direction, back on a path which his predecessor Tim Buckley filled with enough winding curves & hazards to make the most diehard BSU hoops fan stare in puzzlement.
There is always hope. But the one hope which the men's basketball team has now is Ronny & if he splits, what hope is left for the 2007-08 roster? It's hard to say but the outlook would at the least look just like last year, filled with underachievement, inconsistency & etc. which drove the Cards to their nadir (at 9-22). If I could say these words to Ronny, they would be: "Stay on. Your team needs you. Leaving is the easy way out of this situation. What good are you gaining by leaving while there's so much your team can prove to Ball State?"
When the easy way out of a situation equals the same thing as the right way out of it, this is where everything goes haywire. The right way out of this situation for Ronny Thompson goes beyond all the rumors buzzing around, & it is up to him to decide what side his heart truly is on.
Fact: In Ronny's first year at the helm, BSU ended up 9-22 & in the process claimed the most losses ever in a single season.
Fact: Ronny & his staff committed some minor infractions which the NCAA eventually got wind of.
Fact: Ronny walked into his office (among others on the coaching staff) & discovered racially fueled notes left by some anonymous coward/cowards.
But if the truth doesn't raise any eyebrows, the rumors already are doing their work, yet how many of them actually have validity? (i.e. How many of those rumors can we actually believe?) If Ronny was thinking about leaving Ball State after all this, he would have told us so personally. But since he hasn't, the news we're hearing is speculation & nothing more.
The best thing that Ronny could do is stay around & see where he can lead his team a few months from now. For him to leave, even after a cowardly, spineless individual decided to commit such a dignity-robbing act, is to me the equivalent of giving up on his team. And what kind of example is Ronny setting by quitting? If he considers abandoning his role as head coach, he's only encouraging his players to adopt the same mentality, that it's good to give up when the going gets tough & when the situation calls for someone to step up & save the day.
Bottom line: winners never quit, quitters never win. At this point in time, the one thing Ronny cannot be, as with his own players is just that: a quitter. Adversity has a way of making or breaking people's integrity, that much is for certain. But the worst case scenario in terms of how to handle adversity is when someone faces tough times, they tuck their tails between their legs & walk away as if to say, "Why bother?" In such instances, this is where someone special must enter the picture (Ronny) & help steer his team back in the right direction, back on a path which his predecessor Tim Buckley filled with enough winding curves & hazards to make the most diehard BSU hoops fan stare in puzzlement.
There is always hope. But the one hope which the men's basketball team has now is Ronny & if he splits, what hope is left for the 2007-08 roster? It's hard to say but the outlook would at the least look just like last year, filled with underachievement, inconsistency & etc. which drove the Cards to their nadir (at 9-22). If I could say these words to Ronny, they would be: "Stay on. Your team needs you. Leaving is the easy way out of this situation. What good are you gaining by leaving while there's so much your team can prove to Ball State?"
When the easy way out of a situation equals the same thing as the right way out of it, this is where everything goes haywire. The right way out of this situation for Ronny Thompson goes beyond all the rumors buzzing around, & it is up to him to decide what side his heart truly is on.
One More Stellar Offering
On February 15, 1967, it was business as usual for John Coltrane & his bandmates (his wife Alice on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, & Rashied Ali on drums) when they checked into Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio in New Jersey. Yet it also would be one of his final days in the studio as well; around that same time frame, he made compositions which would find their way on to Expression, a drums-tenor duo called Interstellar Space...what of the other recordings which he committed to tape that day?
For almost 30 years, the master tapes were in Alice's care, but the end result, Stellar Regions, finally saw the light of day in 1995 & Alice saw to it that these recordings (almost all of them unreleased, with the exception of "Offering," which appears on Expression) were not left out of the picture any longer.
As on Expression, the performances on Stellar Regions reveal how Coltrane's constant musical searching was leading him further out. And yet the pieces are shorter, more focused & disciplined...& of course, they each reveal an aching beauty which has only grown stronger with further listening. And truth be told, they reveal Trane in a mellow mood as well.
Like the titles suggest, each piece could be best described as Trane heading out for not only the outer reaches of space but also beyond it as well: "Seraphic Light," the title track (one of the best ballads Trane ever did in his late phase), "Tranesonic" & "Sun Star" are proof of that from the get-go. Even if he was no longer playing music you could tap your feet to as he relied exclusively on free tempo & pulse at this juncture, John Coltrane could still deliver the goods as these outtakes reveal more closely.
One of the highlights of this whole affair would have to be "Offering." Starting out with a phrase of a few notes, echoing the introduction to A Love Supreme, Trane sounds not only passionate & urgent as always but more sharper than ever, sensing that he still had something to prove to the jazz community. And two-thirds of the way in, a blazing drums-tenor duo takes "Offering" to new heights; surely, this piece for me is pure sonic exploration at its finest.
Only a few months later, on July 17, John Coltrane would pass on but his music has still found ways to endure & keep enduring over time; one only wonders which direction he would have taken his music had his life not ended so abruptly. (Tomorrow will mark the 40th anniversary of his passing.) Yet with a release like Stellar Regions, one can also sense where Coltrane was headed musically: further out, still searching, still restless as ever.
For almost 30 years, the master tapes were in Alice's care, but the end result, Stellar Regions, finally saw the light of day in 1995 & Alice saw to it that these recordings (almost all of them unreleased, with the exception of "Offering," which appears on Expression) were not left out of the picture any longer.
As on Expression, the performances on Stellar Regions reveal how Coltrane's constant musical searching was leading him further out. And yet the pieces are shorter, more focused & disciplined...& of course, they each reveal an aching beauty which has only grown stronger with further listening. And truth be told, they reveal Trane in a mellow mood as well.
Like the titles suggest, each piece could be best described as Trane heading out for not only the outer reaches of space but also beyond it as well: "Seraphic Light," the title track (one of the best ballads Trane ever did in his late phase), "Tranesonic" & "Sun Star" are proof of that from the get-go. Even if he was no longer playing music you could tap your feet to as he relied exclusively on free tempo & pulse at this juncture, John Coltrane could still deliver the goods as these outtakes reveal more closely.
One of the highlights of this whole affair would have to be "Offering." Starting out with a phrase of a few notes, echoing the introduction to A Love Supreme, Trane sounds not only passionate & urgent as always but more sharper than ever, sensing that he still had something to prove to the jazz community. And two-thirds of the way in, a blazing drums-tenor duo takes "Offering" to new heights; surely, this piece for me is pure sonic exploration at its finest.
Only a few months later, on July 17, John Coltrane would pass on but his music has still found ways to endure & keep enduring over time; one only wonders which direction he would have taken his music had his life not ended so abruptly. (Tomorrow will mark the 40th anniversary of his passing.) Yet with a release like Stellar Regions, one can also sense where Coltrane was headed musically: further out, still searching, still restless as ever.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Whenever John Coltrane and his bandmates performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, the motto was plain & simple: "We came to play." And did Trane & his bandmates ever live up to that credo of coming to play each time they came into town. From the first time he played at Newport in 1958 (as a member of Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue-era sextet), to the last in 1966 (with a totally different lineup), his ties with the Newport Jazz Festival stand as an important part of his legacy which doesn't deserve to be overlooked any longer.
And with good reason. Yesterday I picked up a copy of his My Favorite Things: Live at Newport CD out of curiosity & after much haggling around trying to find an awesome CD to buy. It's a collection of two performances which he made at the above location, one in 1963 & the other just 2 years later. Believe me, these recordings have stood the test of time, now that they're together in one place. Not only that, they're nothing short of amazing, revealing Trane & company in a whole new light.
The first round of Newport recordings (July 7, 1963) reveals some insightful facts never mentioned before:
(1) Before Trane can kick things off, emcee Willis Conover begs the crowd to calm down, unsurprisingly after the previous set (courtesy of organist Jimmy Smith) was pretty boisterous, & Smith, perhaps inspired to show up one of his old sidemen, got the audience all pumped up...too pumped up, for want of better words to say about his whole performance in general. So the first track, "I Want To Talk About You," BTW an awesome ballad, helped quiet down everyone for the time being, & stopped the huge wave of frenzy which dominated the set before.
(2) We have a wonderfully restored, previously unreleased (& extended) version of "Impressions." For the first version (which appeared in 1993 on Newport '63), Tyner's piano solo was absent as well as a short-order intro courtesy of Trane himself. And of course, there was a long-rumored bass solo which Jimmy Garrison did after Tyner's solo; however, because of major amounts of distortion, a good deal of it was rendered unusable....WTF? At least, a portion of Garrison's solo is included here as well, enough to provide us with a pretty awesome performance for the ages.
(3) Roy Haynes sat in on drums for Elvin Jones for this whole concert.
(4) And of course, no Trane concert would be complete without an audience fave, "My Favorite Things." Again, the quartet kicks some tail with this classic Rodgers-Hammerstein tune; so much has been said about this composition already so I'll leave it at that.
The next round of performances (July 2, 1965) were a whole other story, similar script:
(1) Jones was back as drummer;
(2) the music itself was beginning to change considerably (which I focused on in a prior post on John Coltrane);
(3) the Classic Quartet of Trane, Tyner, Jones, & Garrison was nearing the end of its life cycle;
(4) Because of lousy weather, the quartet had only 30 minutes of playing time before calling it a day...bummer!!
Nonetheless, on this night, Trane & his bandmates delivered the goods within their limited performance time, with "My Favorite Things" closing things off & of course, at song's end, complaints from the audience wanting the Classic Quartet to play more. Unfortunately, this classic lineup would never play again @ Newport although Trane came back one last time in 1966 with Garrison in tow; his wife, Alice on piano; Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone & piccolo; and Rashied Ali on drums.)
For a final assessment of this whole CD, these are some of the best performances John Coltrane ever made in a live setting & hopefully we'll see more additional releases of the Last Giant emerging from the Impulse! archives this year. Kudos to Impulse! for issuing these stellar performances; let's hope they continue releasing/reissuing more material now that the 40th anniversary of his passing is just around the corner.
And with good reason. Yesterday I picked up a copy of his My Favorite Things: Live at Newport CD out of curiosity & after much haggling around trying to find an awesome CD to buy. It's a collection of two performances which he made at the above location, one in 1963 & the other just 2 years later. Believe me, these recordings have stood the test of time, now that they're together in one place. Not only that, they're nothing short of amazing, revealing Trane & company in a whole new light.
The first round of Newport recordings (July 7, 1963) reveals some insightful facts never mentioned before:
(1) Before Trane can kick things off, emcee Willis Conover begs the crowd to calm down, unsurprisingly after the previous set (courtesy of organist Jimmy Smith) was pretty boisterous, & Smith, perhaps inspired to show up one of his old sidemen, got the audience all pumped up...too pumped up, for want of better words to say about his whole performance in general. So the first track, "I Want To Talk About You," BTW an awesome ballad, helped quiet down everyone for the time being, & stopped the huge wave of frenzy which dominated the set before.
(2) We have a wonderfully restored, previously unreleased (& extended) version of "Impressions." For the first version (which appeared in 1993 on Newport '63), Tyner's piano solo was absent as well as a short-order intro courtesy of Trane himself. And of course, there was a long-rumored bass solo which Jimmy Garrison did after Tyner's solo; however, because of major amounts of distortion, a good deal of it was rendered unusable....WTF? At least, a portion of Garrison's solo is included here as well, enough to provide us with a pretty awesome performance for the ages.
(3) Roy Haynes sat in on drums for Elvin Jones for this whole concert.
(4) And of course, no Trane concert would be complete without an audience fave, "My Favorite Things." Again, the quartet kicks some tail with this classic Rodgers-Hammerstein tune; so much has been said about this composition already so I'll leave it at that.
The next round of performances (July 2, 1965) were a whole other story, similar script:
(1) Jones was back as drummer;
(2) the music itself was beginning to change considerably (which I focused on in a prior post on John Coltrane);
(3) the Classic Quartet of Trane, Tyner, Jones, & Garrison was nearing the end of its life cycle;
(4) Because of lousy weather, the quartet had only 30 minutes of playing time before calling it a day...bummer!!
Nonetheless, on this night, Trane & his bandmates delivered the goods within their limited performance time, with "My Favorite Things" closing things off & of course, at song's end, complaints from the audience wanting the Classic Quartet to play more. Unfortunately, this classic lineup would never play again @ Newport although Trane came back one last time in 1966 with Garrison in tow; his wife, Alice on piano; Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone & piccolo; and Rashied Ali on drums.)
For a final assessment of this whole CD, these are some of the best performances John Coltrane ever made in a live setting & hopefully we'll see more additional releases of the Last Giant emerging from the Impulse! archives this year. Kudos to Impulse! for issuing these stellar performances; let's hope they continue releasing/reissuing more material now that the 40th anniversary of his passing is just around the corner.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Going Greek: Personal Reflections
When I first thought about going Greek as a sophomore, I felt it was not only a plus to do all the research I could & in the process overcome any leftover stereotypes I may have had about fraternities & sororities as a whole. It was also imperative that I learn as much as I could about Greek life personally before taking the plunge headlong into the Greek system.
And to be honest, though it took some time to accomplish, going Greek was one of the most life-altering (as well as most rewarding) decisions I ever went about making & for all the right reasons too.
During my freshman year, I was pretty green & didn't quite have a grasp on what fraternity/sorority life was all about. Ironically enough, as a result of my indecision, the issue on going Greek didn't come up at all. It was only later, when I attended my first home game (& my first tailgating deal as an undergrad) where the initiative to delve into all things Greek really began in earnest. Academically, for my freshman year, my grades weren't the greatest by any means, so improving them exponentially was a huge priority once Fall 2002 rolled around.
So when Fall semester began, I decided to give Rush a go once & for all. Though I didn't get a bid, I saw a lot of positives about Greek life which I never saw before, and made sure that any doubts I had about going Greek were completely unfounded. Of course, it didn't hurt that I kept doing my homework when it came to fraternities & sororities. Unsurprisingly, there was a presentation for COMM 210 which I did that focused on all the superlative stuff about Greeks which I accumulated in such a short amount of time that sent the floodgates wide open for me. Then & there, I thought, I'm giving going Greek one more shot or bust.
After an awesome Fall 2002 semester grade-wise, that's exactly what I went about doing for Winter 2003. This is where Sigma Chi really entered the picture & rushing Sigs was one of the best calls I ever made. Also, going Greek in earnest really fueled my motivation in more ways than one: academics, seeing how I could get involved not only within the chapter but also outside it...the possibilities to get involved were endless. Even after initiation, which was one of the most defining moments ever for me from the standpoint of an undergraduate, Sigma Chi was the best thing that could have ever happened to me & at the right time as well.
There are those incoming freshmen who without a doubt will say, "Is Greek life really for me?" I'd say to them, without ever pressuring them to go rush this house or that, "Give it a try & see what you think." If they stay on as members of the Greek system, fully committed to their fraternities'/sororities' expectations & guidelines, chances are great that going Greek, such as my case confirms, could be one of the best choices they ever ended up making.
And to be honest, though it took some time to accomplish, going Greek was one of the most life-altering (as well as most rewarding) decisions I ever went about making & for all the right reasons too.
During my freshman year, I was pretty green & didn't quite have a grasp on what fraternity/sorority life was all about. Ironically enough, as a result of my indecision, the issue on going Greek didn't come up at all. It was only later, when I attended my first home game (& my first tailgating deal as an undergrad) where the initiative to delve into all things Greek really began in earnest. Academically, for my freshman year, my grades weren't the greatest by any means, so improving them exponentially was a huge priority once Fall 2002 rolled around.
So when Fall semester began, I decided to give Rush a go once & for all. Though I didn't get a bid, I saw a lot of positives about Greek life which I never saw before, and made sure that any doubts I had about going Greek were completely unfounded. Of course, it didn't hurt that I kept doing my homework when it came to fraternities & sororities. Unsurprisingly, there was a presentation for COMM 210 which I did that focused on all the superlative stuff about Greeks which I accumulated in such a short amount of time that sent the floodgates wide open for me. Then & there, I thought, I'm giving going Greek one more shot or bust.
After an awesome Fall 2002 semester grade-wise, that's exactly what I went about doing for Winter 2003. This is where Sigma Chi really entered the picture & rushing Sigs was one of the best calls I ever made. Also, going Greek in earnest really fueled my motivation in more ways than one: academics, seeing how I could get involved not only within the chapter but also outside it...the possibilities to get involved were endless. Even after initiation, which was one of the most defining moments ever for me from the standpoint of an undergraduate, Sigma Chi was the best thing that could have ever happened to me & at the right time as well.
There are those incoming freshmen who without a doubt will say, "Is Greek life really for me?" I'd say to them, without ever pressuring them to go rush this house or that, "Give it a try & see what you think." If they stay on as members of the Greek system, fully committed to their fraternities'/sororities' expectations & guidelines, chances are great that going Greek, such as my case confirms, could be one of the best choices they ever ended up making.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Whenever a movie or a TV show comes out & it's about Greek life, 9 times out of 10, it seems that they're rehashing the same stereotypical gobbledygook which non-Greeks portray us as being: party animals, woman-chasing louts, liquor-swilling lunatics, the list goes on. GREEK, a new show brought to us by ABC, is only perpetuating that myth like a broken record: new cast of characters, but with the same storyline which made "frat" movies like Animal House & Old School so famous (along with many other B-level frat flicks).
So it is without any surprise that when shows like this come out, they portray the Greek community & with it all of our successes & accomplishments in a negative light. To be painfully honest, they're giving non-Greek viewers an inaccurate portrayal of everything Greek life stands for, as well as the core values which we live by on a daily basis; this gives them a reasonable excuse to see fraternities/sororities from the Animal House perspective in that we love to party, haze the tar out of our members-to-be, do drugs, dismiss academics like some kind of joke, & of course, drink lots of alcohol.
And what's disheartening is that those same non-Greek viewers who might check GREEK out won't change their minds anytime soon about Greek life in general. Trouble is, unless they're fortunate enough to see the positive things & values which are part & parcel of being Greek, they never will. Now to go off on a small tangent:
A lot of incoming freshmen, once they set foot on their respective campuses on their very first day away from home, are looking for ways to get involved any way they can. When it comes to Greek life, this is where they really need to do their homework (as it were, their research) on the fraternities/sororities they're planning to join. Chances are, if they take both the time to research Greek life & find the initiative to give fraternity/sorority recruitment a go, they'll gain a fuller insight & understanding of what we as Greeks are all about. Not only that, but their 'rents, if they take a closer look at all the good things which Greek organizations have accomplished over the years, will be equally happy campers if their children decide to stay on as Greeks (not for four years alone but for life!!!).
But the last thing these folks need to deal with when it comes to a honest portrayal of the Greek community, is having shows like GREEK ruining the fun. It's the same old song we've already heard before: a distorted take on Greek life at some fictional college which isn't what we as Greeks truly represent & seriously do not condone.
So it is without any surprise that when shows like this come out, they portray the Greek community & with it all of our successes & accomplishments in a negative light. To be painfully honest, they're giving non-Greek viewers an inaccurate portrayal of everything Greek life stands for, as well as the core values which we live by on a daily basis; this gives them a reasonable excuse to see fraternities/sororities from the Animal House perspective in that we love to party, haze the tar out of our members-to-be, do drugs, dismiss academics like some kind of joke, & of course, drink lots of alcohol.
And what's disheartening is that those same non-Greek viewers who might check GREEK out won't change their minds anytime soon about Greek life in general. Trouble is, unless they're fortunate enough to see the positive things & values which are part & parcel of being Greek, they never will. Now to go off on a small tangent:
A lot of incoming freshmen, once they set foot on their respective campuses on their very first day away from home, are looking for ways to get involved any way they can. When it comes to Greek life, this is where they really need to do their homework (as it were, their research) on the fraternities/sororities they're planning to join. Chances are, if they take both the time to research Greek life & find the initiative to give fraternity/sorority recruitment a go, they'll gain a fuller insight & understanding of what we as Greeks are all about. Not only that, but their 'rents, if they take a closer look at all the good things which Greek organizations have accomplished over the years, will be equally happy campers if their children decide to stay on as Greeks (not for four years alone but for life!!!).
But the last thing these folks need to deal with when it comes to a honest portrayal of the Greek community, is having shows like GREEK ruining the fun. It's the same old song we've already heard before: a distorted take on Greek life at some fictional college which isn't what we as Greeks truly represent & seriously do not condone.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
One For The Road
For the month of July, I was planning to go all out in terms of seeing how many random road trips I could do. And of course, as is the case with me from time to time, preparing for the unexpected doesn't hurt either. Lousy weather or not, it never fails to be ready for anything that might come up...such is the case
On my day off today, I did just that & much more: took another trip down to Sidney, OH & headed back up north with stops along the way in Wapakoneta & Lima - just got back in enough time to get this entry up & running :-) (& if that's not enough, I took more pics of the Big Four (CSX) bridge while in Sidney & near the end of a torrential downpour...hope they turned out good for all the trouble I had to go through...lol.)
Besides having an awesome 4th of July, this is the second straight day full of fun & excitement...can't get any better than this & I still have this weekend to deal with: time to chill out at the lakes perhaps? ...lol. So far, this month is definitely looking rosy as far as road trips go; then August'll be coming up before we know it: this summer should shape up to the best one that I've had of late.
On my day off today, I did just that & much more: took another trip down to Sidney, OH & headed back up north with stops along the way in Wapakoneta & Lima - just got back in enough time to get this entry up & running :-) (& if that's not enough, I took more pics of the Big Four (CSX) bridge while in Sidney & near the end of a torrential downpour...hope they turned out good for all the trouble I had to go through...lol.)
Besides having an awesome 4th of July, this is the second straight day full of fun & excitement...can't get any better than this & I still have this weekend to deal with: time to chill out at the lakes perhaps? ...lol. So far, this month is definitely looking rosy as far as road trips go; then August'll be coming up before we know it: this summer should shape up to the best one that I've had of late.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Cincinnati: In The Red
With the worst record in the Major Leagues (at 31-51), Cincinnati desperately needed changes for the better. On pace for a seventh straight losing season (as well as a chance to wind up with 100 losses this season alone), the Reds higher-ups fired Jerry Narron on Sunday, & Pete Mackanin is filling in Narron's shoes as interim manager.
If there were any kind words to say to Mackanin about the situation he's presently in, they wouldn't just be, "Now it's your turn to see how losing feels." No, folks would also be saying, "It's not too late to turn this boat around." The question is no longer about maintaining stability to a team which has home run fever way too often, a bullpen which is one of the Major League's worst in losses, a team that can't do the fundamental things they need to do in order to win games. It's about change in every aspect of the organization, & if it means boosting sagging morale (as well as game attendance), so be it then. But is it too little, too late to turn things around back in Cincy?
For a good 25 years, the Reds have been going off-course like a wrecked ship without any rudder or sense of direction whatsoever. (The only exception to this was when they won the 1990 World Series.) The last time they ever were in the playoffs was back in 1995. So far, they're 16 1/2 games or so behind Milwaukee in the NL Central division. If Cincinnati ever found a bad time to hit rock bottom, that time is now.
And yet, and yet it's not too late to pick up the pieces & salvage what is left of this season; the Reds already sense that there are still games to be played, that there is still hope, however much hope is left to redeem their season. The question is, will Mackanin make the one difference which Narron never made for not only his team but also the Reds fanbase? Only the Reds GM knows for sure, & in an organization which could be termed as a revolving door for managers & General Managers to pass through at will (& at one's own risk), it's hard to say just how long he'll stick around to make that difference possible.
If there were any kind words to say to Mackanin about the situation he's presently in, they wouldn't just be, "Now it's your turn to see how losing feels." No, folks would also be saying, "It's not too late to turn this boat around." The question is no longer about maintaining stability to a team which has home run fever way too often, a bullpen which is one of the Major League's worst in losses, a team that can't do the fundamental things they need to do in order to win games. It's about change in every aspect of the organization, & if it means boosting sagging morale (as well as game attendance), so be it then. But is it too little, too late to turn things around back in Cincy?
For a good 25 years, the Reds have been going off-course like a wrecked ship without any rudder or sense of direction whatsoever. (The only exception to this was when they won the 1990 World Series.) The last time they ever were in the playoffs was back in 1995. So far, they're 16 1/2 games or so behind Milwaukee in the NL Central division. If Cincinnati ever found a bad time to hit rock bottom, that time is now.
And yet, and yet it's not too late to pick up the pieces & salvage what is left of this season; the Reds already sense that there are still games to be played, that there is still hope, however much hope is left to redeem their season. The question is, will Mackanin make the one difference which Narron never made for not only his team but also the Reds fanbase? Only the Reds GM knows for sure, & in an organization which could be termed as a revolving door for managers & General Managers to pass through at will (& at one's own risk), it's hard to say just how long he'll stick around to make that difference possible.
Monday, July 2, 2007
What the...?
What the...?
Mike Hargrove resigned as manager of the Seattle Mariners on Sunday & his departure came at an unlikely time for everyone within the Mariners organization & also raised plenty of eyebrows as well.
Why leave when your team has played some of its best baseball ever? And if that's not enough, the Mariners are 12 games over .500 with plenty more games to be played in the months ahead!! To resign so abruptly when Seattle could be making some noise in their division...it just doesn't fly with me & doesn't make any sense.
Perhaps it's been 35 years of stress, 35 years which Hargrove has been vigorously toiling away through the best & worst of times with managing stints in both Baltimore & Cleveland; perhaps he was fearing the worst from Mariners GM after two straight last-place finishes in the AL Western division & couldn't face being in the hot seat again. Hargrove may have stated that "...This has been my decision...I have no reason to lie," but whether his resignation was for personal reasons or not, the move came at an unlikely time. Not only is Seattle paying their dues & playing some awesome baseball (4 games behind the Angels!!) but they could be making a statement in the AL along the likes of Detroit last year. This could either be a bad call or a good one depending on how we look at the situation; at any rate, Hargrove felt that it was time to move on.
But why?
It's beyond me; as Hargrove gets a spanking-new red pickup truck to drive down the Pacific coast, his old ballclub & so many more folks are left to pick up the pieces which he left behind back in Seattle, unanswered questions & all. But then again, he & he alone could provide a full explanation for why he flaked from his team so soon & when they had so much to prove in the AL West.
Mike Hargrove resigned as manager of the Seattle Mariners on Sunday & his departure came at an unlikely time for everyone within the Mariners organization & also raised plenty of eyebrows as well.
Why leave when your team has played some of its best baseball ever? And if that's not enough, the Mariners are 12 games over .500 with plenty more games to be played in the months ahead!! To resign so abruptly when Seattle could be making some noise in their division...it just doesn't fly with me & doesn't make any sense.
Perhaps it's been 35 years of stress, 35 years which Hargrove has been vigorously toiling away through the best & worst of times with managing stints in both Baltimore & Cleveland; perhaps he was fearing the worst from Mariners GM after two straight last-place finishes in the AL Western division & couldn't face being in the hot seat again. Hargrove may have stated that "...This has been my decision...I have no reason to lie," but whether his resignation was for personal reasons or not, the move came at an unlikely time. Not only is Seattle paying their dues & playing some awesome baseball (4 games behind the Angels!!) but they could be making a statement in the AL along the likes of Detroit last year. This could either be a bad call or a good one depending on how we look at the situation; at any rate, Hargrove felt that it was time to move on.
But why?
It's beyond me; as Hargrove gets a spanking-new red pickup truck to drive down the Pacific coast, his old ballclub & so many more folks are left to pick up the pieces which he left behind back in Seattle, unanswered questions & all. But then again, he & he alone could provide a full explanation for why he flaked from his team so soon & when they had so much to prove in the AL West.
Just Getting Started
It's about that time of year again: the 4th of July is coming up, a much-needed day of relaxation to do whatever...wow!!
This isn't to say that my weekend didn't go well; on the contrary. I was able to take advantage of the nice weather yesterday & embark on a scenic drive which included stops in Angola, Williams County (OH), among other places. And of course, it was time to get started taking scenic pics again...good times!! I've only taken several so far with my newest camera but from the looks of things I hope they turn out fantastic.
For the rest of this month, things should look interesting: I'm slating stops in Sidney, OH (again!!), Wapakoneta (about 20 minutes or so up the road on I-75), Lima (climbing up the I-75 ladder), Muncie, Indy, who knows where else...time for some more random road trips & plenty of photo ops along the way!!
Yet the 4th of July & the day after aren't out of the question either; depends on what vibe I'm going to be in or how the weather's going to turn out. Anyways, it's about that time of year & I'll make the most of my downtime for the good ol' month of July, I'll definitely see to that :-)
This isn't to say that my weekend didn't go well; on the contrary. I was able to take advantage of the nice weather yesterday & embark on a scenic drive which included stops in Angola, Williams County (OH), among other places. And of course, it was time to get started taking scenic pics again...good times!! I've only taken several so far with my newest camera but from the looks of things I hope they turn out fantastic.
For the rest of this month, things should look interesting: I'm slating stops in Sidney, OH (again!!), Wapakoneta (about 20 minutes or so up the road on I-75), Lima (climbing up the I-75 ladder), Muncie, Indy, who knows where else...time for some more random road trips & plenty of photo ops along the way!!
Yet the 4th of July & the day after aren't out of the question either; depends on what vibe I'm going to be in or how the weather's going to turn out. Anyways, it's about that time of year & I'll make the most of my downtime for the good ol' month of July, I'll definitely see to that :-)
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