Hey all you pithecanthropes.  The IP just got back from his adolescent home of Rocket City, and boy, did he have a BLAST!  It was kind of a busman’s holiday for The IP as he lectured students and faculty at UAH about public history and the NPS.  But he also took some time to hit the thrift stores and hang with his sister and prestidigitating b-in-law, Owen. 

The IP gave his talks at the above Roberts Hall.  He actually used the building as a touchstone to explaining the historic preservation of “modern” architecture; such seemingly ubiquitous academic buildings will someday be historic in their own right.  The IP is actually acquiring a taste for the pseudo-brutalism of buildings like Roberts Hall (1969).

Thanks to Owen, The IP was clued-in to an amazing re-cycled building materials and home infrastructure store that also had a small-but-potent stash of used LPs.  One wouldn’t at first think he would find thrift store vinyl in such a place; but Owen knew it was there: 

Off in a corner, hidden amongst the old electrical parts, garbage disposals, sinks, tubs, doors, window frames, chairs, toasters, flooring materials, and electric ovens inside the above warehouse was a small double-bin table with about 150 vinyl LPs.  The gem-to-clinker ratio in these bins was one of the highest in the entire history of The IP’s thrift store record shopping.  This was made even more enjoyable because The IP spent the better part of that morning at a place that had a gem-to-clinker ratio of about 1-to-700.  More about that, perhaps, in another post.

For now, let’s take a look at some of the cool vinyl finds that The IP scored at the Restore:

Check out this German Decca pressing of one of The IP’s favourite musical Teutons, Werner Mueller.  It’s a great-sounding Phase-4 Stereo LP with “20-Kanal-Aufnahme!”  It actually sounds like that woman’s hat looks, if you know what The IP is sayin’.

Mueller really kicks out the internationally flavoured jams on this platter, with tunes originating from the countries of  Brazil, Hawaii, Germany, and Cuba, amoung others.  One even will hear a bit of early 70’s synth on a few tunes!  Mueller is unique in the world of easy listening for his pumped up, often experimental, interpretations of songs from the world’s pop music cannon.  Excellent German high fidelity sound too.  You should hear Mueller’s version of Spanish Flea.  WTF!  Herb Alpert would blush with jealousy.  This ranks up there in The IP’s soon-to-be-published 100 Most Awesomely Excellent Easy Listening LPs list.

The above is a queer gem from the already queer genre of Tuba jazz.  The role of the Tuba in marching bands has really distracted most folks from its musical versatility and subtlety.  Ray Draper was one of a few Tuba players to dedicate himself to the world of jazz, and this LP is a good primer of what the Tuba can do with an ensemble of hard-boppers.  Draper rocketed through the Space Age and eventually blew up like a failed launch; he had a Tuba-sized heroin habit.  Yet, while he was around, he created a catalogue of Tuba jazz that remains the high mark for those aspiring to equal any part of his talent and style.  It even has some dude named Coltrane playing sax.  This is the LP that you put on for yourself, not for the hottie mixing cocktails in the kitchen:

“Sorry babe, but can you call one of your friends and talk on the phone for awhile? You got my drink babe?  Ahhh.  Thanks.  I’ll come out after I listen to this side; okay babe?” *

The IP’s luck just kept getting better with this small record stash at the Restore store.  He was stunned to look down and see this two-group jazz LP on the always-interesting Jazztone label:

Jazztone was a small mail-order record club label.  Subscribers would be sent a cool jazz LP each month, often with original sessions made for the label.  It was only around for 3 years in the U.S., but managed to record some real heavies like Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and the two awesome bands on this LP featuring the hepcat drummer, Chico Hamilton, the legendary Brasilian  guitarist, Laurindo Almeida, and the cool, cool jazz saxophonist, Bud Shank.  On this LP, Chico sets the beat for some interesting “chamber jazz.”  The latter was made famous by small combos from the 1930s like John Kirby’s sextet.  Chamber jazz is usually flavoured with classical music devices, both in its arrangements and its instrumentation.  Chico’s quintet featuring cello, flute, clarinet, guitar, bass, and, of course, the leader’s drums, creates some movin’ music that requires one’s attention to really appreciate; as others have observed, this kind of music is for listening, not dancing. 

Or, in the case of the awesome movie The Sweet Smell of Success, it’s also for watching as Chico’s quintet play themselves in a great cameo appearance.  This is a great youtube of a rare 50’s jazz jam on film. Make sure to listen to the music in the background.  Watch Clip.   

Side two features another IP favourite, Brasileiro Laurindo Almeida.  This Jazztone session with West Coast sax man Bud Shank represents the very birth of the Bossa Nova wave that would soon swallow up much of popular music.  One can hear the ripples of that wave in the samba-inspired guitar of Almeida and the smooth-but-boppin’ sax of Shank.  If Gilberto and Getz hadn’t burst upon the seen a few years later, it could easily have been Almeida and Shank to introduce the Bossa Nova in the U.S.; although it would’ve lacked the vocal element.  

The IP found this cool clip of Laurindo playing with the MJQ; it’s a lot like the music found on the Jazztone record he found:

 Watch Clip

The above is a great youtube, but one (The IP?) wants to put a cap in the ass of the elitist Wanker who introduces and postscripts the performance.  What a dick!

And that’s just three of about 20 cool LPs The IP snagged in all! 

Thanks again to Owen and Marlone for hosting The IP, and here’s hoping that he’ll be by again soon for some more Whole Wheat Pizza (yech!) and intentionally over-cooked broccoli (yech!).  The IP’s just kiddin’ (kinda) wit ya.  Seriously, it was fun to hang at the University, go out to eat, and watch vintage episodes of It Takes a Thief and Alfred Hitchcock Presents on RTN, and debate the exploitative and loathsome photography of Kim Anderson.  And the research Owen and The IP conducted on Shamwow’s Vince proved the power of the Intar-Webs tubes.  A fun time was had by all.  You followin’ me camera guy?

*The scenario presented here is only a representation of a cliché associated with Space Age bachelors, one that casts them as ego-driven and heterosexist in the extreme.  It was inspired by the protagonist played by Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief.  It in no way represents the actual disposition of The IP.

This past rainy weekend The IP spent some time going through some of the stuff that remained stowed away since his move nearly a year ago.  In the process, he uncovered a cool Eames-designed chair he found in a trash pile in Evanston, IL.

It’s kinda cool that The IP found the chair before it ended up in the landfill.  They sell it today for around $300.  WTF indeed!

Seeing that chair again struck a chord with The IP since he had been thinking about Charles and Ray Eames recently while using Google Earth to tour some familiar and not-so-familiar places around the world; the experience reminded him of that awesome film Charles and Ray made entitled Powers of Ten.

The IP watched it again last night, and it has lost none of its cerebral impact over the many years since he watched it in Junior High School.  It remains a benchmark in film, in education, in concept, in, not surprisingly, design.

"The ultimate Eamesian expression of systems and connections..."

The IP remembers that the best thing about Powers of Ten is that it does not insult or pander to either children or adults.  The narration educates and entertains without sounding condescending…it’s amazing.  And the Elmer Bernstein music is curiously appropriate (Lowery Organ?).

Watch Powers of Ten.

 Learn More About Charles and Ray Eames

That would be Beatrix Fabiola, the Bouvier des Flandres:

Beatrix Fabiola is not The IP’s dog; he’s just “borrowing” her while his co-worker friend is on travel.  The IP will admit that he is smitten, however, mostly because of the incredibly high qualities the bitch possesses; not the co-worker, the dog (hey, The IP is just using the language of professional dog people). 

The IP didn’t really know much about BdF’s when he decided to take care of Beatrix Fabiola, but he can say that if he lived on a big farm, he would definitely get one.  Pound for pound, the BdF is the strongest dog The IP has ever encountered; he can lean like a falling tree while holding on to the leash and Beatrice will just hold him in place.  When Beatrix Fabiola wants to chase another dog, it takes all of his muscles to hold her back.

And Beatrix Fabiola has the most marvelous gait he’s ever seen.  Her rear legs and hind quarters evoke strength and grace while in motion, and her walking speed is a good 3mph, a bit faster than a human’s, so you always get to enjoy a vigorous jaunt each time you walk her.  And what can one say about that coat?  WTF?  Read what the American Kennel Club says about this breed:

The Bouvier des Flandres is a powerfully built, compact, short-coupled, rough-coated dog of notably rugged appearance. He gives the impression of great strength without any sign of heaviness or clumsiness in his overall makeup. He is agile, spirited and bold, yet his serene, well behaved disposition denotes his steady, resolute and fearless character. His gaze is alert and brilliant, depicting his intelligence, vigor and daring. By nature he is an equable dog. His origin is that of a cattle herder and general farmer’s helper, including cart pulling. He is an ideal farm dog. His harsh double coat protects him in all weather, enabling him to perform the most arduous tasks. He has been used as an ambulance and messenger dog. Modern times find him as a watch and guard dog as well as a family friend, guardian and protector. His physical and mental characteristics and deportment, coupled with his olfactory abilities, his intelligence and initiative enable him to also perform as a tracking dog and a guide dog for the blind.

Granted, the AKC probably has nice things to say about most breeds, but that description is almost perfect for a dog in The IP’s opinion.  Hey, The IP doesn’t want to say that dogs like Tomitron’s mixed-breed Guinness is not a good dog too, but there really is a certain sense of pride that comes with walking Beatrix Fabiola down the street.  She evokes stares and questions on each walk in The IP’s neighborhood.  Beatrix Fabiola is not perfect, what with her impulsive jumping and tugging every time another dog comes around, but that just shows her spirit.  And there is one thing about Beatrix Fabiola that makes taking care of her really easy:

She loves to sleep.  Big, deep, heavy, long naps.  It’s fun to watch her slowly get to that dog dreaming state where you can tell she’s chasing a dog or jumping up and down…in her dreams, of course.

SPECIAL BONUS AUDIO CLIP (some things are too good not to share).

Well, The IP has to go walk the Wooly Bear. 

Blog at ya later!

When it comes to lasting good friends, The IP asserts that only two categories exist: the dog, and the well-built radio.  In fact, the latter usually outlasts any dog, and when working properly, provides more hours of pleasure and enjoyment than the former. 

The IP has such a friend in his magnificent-if-worn-around-the-edges Panasonic RF-2200:

Even when wedged, as it is above, in the crotch of a three-trunk Maple tree, the RF-2200 retains its utilitarian glory and magnificent sound.  The Nipponese engineer who designed the speaker of this radio alone deserves accolades.  The IP has NEVER heard a more perfect speaker, one that can broadcast both high and low frequencies with startling clarity and power, as that which is enclosed in the incredulously beautiful chasis of the RF-2200.  And this is an opinion shared by the most knowledgeable of radio enthusiasts.  Why else would this radio be showered with terms like “legendary” and “The Holy Grail of  analog portables” and “the best portable radio ever made”? 

Oh, what a friend indeed!  The IP purchased this radio back in 1979.  1979!  It has been on road-trips, camping trips in all weather and temperatures, keg parties, etc.  It has substituted for a regular car radio when the latter was on the fritz, and it has and continues to provide awesome reception and sound quality up to today.  How nice to listen to jazz while reading the Sunday NYT on his front stoop.  The IP will not hesitate to state that the RF-2200 is one of the ten-best electronic devices ever built in the 20th Century.  It’s right up there with Radio Shack’s “cube” radio series, also from the 1970s:

Machines and devices always make better friends and partners than people.  They last, they perform as intended, they don’t ask questions or propose conditional agreements, and they look the same year-in and year-out.  They don’t get jealous, they don’t create animosity with their “behaviour” unless they go on the fritz; which, if they do, you can just dump them without regret and get a new one (or repair them).  People like to think you can do the same with actual people, but that is neither true nor ethically correct.  That is why your best bet is to stick with machines and devices (or a dog).

Hey all you pithecanthropes.  Don’t get all upset because The IP thinks devices are better than people.  That doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate his friends and family; it’s only that when, in times of trouble and despair, in times of need, sometimes the only things that you can count on 100% are machines and/or electronic devices.  Maybe this post can inspire a wave of revolt, a surge of emotional declarations from humans that reafirms the tenuous idea that you can trust humans as much as machines and devices (or dogs).  If that is the case, more ”power” to you.  But you’ll never understand that power like you do when you see the signal meter on an RF-2200.

Listen to the experts.

Have a blessed day!   

A lot of Atlanta pithecanthopes are saying “WTF!” today.  All they have to do is look out their windows:

Not exactly bbq weather.  

The low has a nice circulation, so we may get several inches out of this one.  You know, it’s been said of Boston’s weatherman, Dick Albert, that no matter how much snow he predicts, his wife gets one-to-two inches every night.  Sorry folks, you know The IP can’t resist that one.

The IP heard that on his death bed, Paul Harvey turned to his loved ones and said:

“I’ve reached the last page…Good day!!”  And he just passed quietly to the other side.

What The IP finds interesting in all the critiques of the Jindal response is how they note the actual screenplay of it all, how he walks down a hall, how there’s a spiral staircase in the background, the way he looked and sounded.  The IP heard some of the critique on The BBC, but he doesn’t really want to watch the whole thing.  Enough is enough.  But if you missed it:

How a smart young Hindu names himself after a Brady Bunch character and becomes a Catholic Republitard nutjob is beyond The comprehension of The IP.  And it’s not like he expected the guy to sound like Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, but his Southern accent is really off-putting.

Why The IP Hates Cops?

Because, except for a small minority, cops are ego-driven, power-crazy, hyper-hetero asstards.  They are always on the brink of “blowing up” because of their deep insecurities.  They are often psychotic, especially here in the U.S.  Give them an inch and they take a mile.  The IP hopes these particular cops are thrown into a prison…they’ll find out how “tough” they are when they are getting REDACTED up the REDACTED by their cell mates.  Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s true.

On a nicer note, here are The IP’s neighbors, Lauren and Jordon, enjoying a rare Atlanta snowfall:

They are building their first snowman as The IP writes this.

OK pithecanthopes; blog at ya later!