theryugobuddy

I just remember hearing about him with 10 inch fingernails, long hair and stench after he died, with all the mystery about his fortune. This is a great biopic, and Scorsese does an incredible job showing what a renaissance man/genius Hughes was. And a brave SOB he was, piloting his own planes on their maiden flights, facing down Senate hearings after the onset of his illness, and spending stupid amounts of money to get things right. This movie seems shorter than it is--there is so much to be told. Dittos that they tried to cover too much ground, I wondered often how he got to there from here-- Leo is very very good--the bathroom scenes washing his hands made me cringe--the poor man! And Cate Blanchett channels Hepburn. Lots of surprising cameos too--I was surprised to see Willem Dafoe and that No Doubt chick--for short scenes. And how 'bout the bombs on the 15 year old girl he dated!

I've been using some Monster interconnects for years now--I might have spent $30 a pair for them back when. I'm investigating updating them but not spending alot of $$$-- I need some long interconnects to the get music from the computer to the system--probably 10 feet, and 3 to 6 feet lengths for CD player, DVD player, amp, pre-amp, D to A converter, and cable box. Any recommendations for brands, makes, models ? There are so many out there--I've looked a Parts Express Carol cables on the web but I'm not sure which to choose--can I spend 40-50 per pair and get a big improvement?

I not only liked how the back plate looked, I appreciated how easy it made it to re-install it. The lime/mint green color is quite fetching--Did I have a choice of colors? Just kidding--it makes a much better vibration-free installation with the extra board and padding than just screwing the board to the back of the cabinet-- I'm listening to Zappa guitar solos right now through the B&K amp--I've alternated between it and the ADcom 60-watt. They both sound great, but I notice that the speakers have a much better response at low and high levels -- bass is deeper and cymbals are smoother, not to mention the separation and clarity at low volume---

I've had my KG5.2s for more almost 15 years. They have survived possible replacement by a Bose system (!) and three moves in the last six years where there were always doubts by my "better" half whether they should be kept in the family. I refinished them -from alot of advice on this forum-so they would match our big armoire. So they are dark Bombay stained and polyurethaned oak finish because they couldn't stay if they didn't match! Anyway, a Yamaha receiver pushed them originally until I realized that Frank Sinatra sounded like crap when it was turned up. I upgraded alot exclusively from eBay over the last few years trying 5 different power amps and 7 different pre-amps and adding an Adcom D to A converter--again with alot of help from this forum. A B&K ST202 amp and PT3 preamp push them now. All SS with no plans yet for tubes. I tell you this because I've never considered getting different speakers and they have stayed while everything else in my system has gotten upgraded. Probably the biggest improvement in their sound, though, came from upgrading the crossovers through DeanG. I just got them back from him Wednesday (after he had them just a few days), re-installed them and hooked the speakers up to my system cold. The difference right out of the box was sublime. I managed to work at home the rest of the week so I've really gotten a chance to listen to some music.I listen to alot of old blues, jazz, pop, and 70's prog along with current rock and alternative. So, in the last few days its been Pat Metheny, Champion Jack Dupree, Clapton, Bill Frisell, Louis Prima, Lightnin' Hopkins, Nora Jones, Gabriel-Genesis, Yes, Hooker, Nektar, Dave Matthews Mastodon, and some classical CDs. These crossovers make a very nice difference in all of them, and the badly-recorded ones sound much closer to being exceptional. Much smoother highs that go behind and around you more, and separation between instruments seems a tad more pronounced. Low-low frequency bass is lower and smoother wihout punchiness. Separation seems better yet both sides sound more in synch. I run DVD sound through the D to A converter, and "Maria Full of Grace" sounded fuller last night than any movie I've played yet. Sorry for my lack of techie talk-- As its been mentioned, I don't think this upgrade would matter to someone who doesn't listen to music much. But for us who are yearning for that next oomph of improvement to our sound, I recommend this highly--I feel like its a new set of speakers for a little over $200. By the way--I did pay full price and receive no compensation for this yarn. DeanG just does good work--

I've had my KG5.2s for more almost 15 years. They have survived possible replacement by a Bose system (!) and three moves in the last six years where there were always doubts by my "better" half whether they should be kept in the family. I refinished them -from alot of advice on this forum-so they would match our big armoire. So they are dark Bombay stained and polyurethaned oak finish because they couldn't stay if they didn't match! Anyway, a Yamaha receiver pushed them originally until I realized that Frank Sinatra sounded like crap when it was turned up. I upgraded alot exclusively from eBay over the last few years trying 5 different power amps and 7 different pre-amps and adding an Adcom D to A converter--again with alot of help from this forum. A B&K ST202 amp and PT3 preamp push them now. All SS with no plans yet for tubes. I tell you this because I've never considered getting different speakers and they have stayed while everything else in my system has gotten upgraded. Probably the biggest improvement in their sound, though, came from upgrading the crossovers through DeanG. I just got them back from him Wednesday (after he had them just a few days), re-installed them and hooked the speakers up to my system cold. The difference right out of the box was sublime. I managed to work at home the rest of the week so I've really gotten a chance to listen to some music.I listen to alot of old blues, jazz, pop, and 70's prog along with current rock and alternative. So, in the last few days its been Pat Metheny, Champion Jack Dupree, Clapton, Bill Frisell, Louis Prima, Lightnin' Hopkins, Nora Jones, Gabriel-Genesis, Yes, Hooker, Nektar, Dave Matthews Mastodon, and some classical CDs. These crossovers make a very nice difference in all of them, and the badly-recorded ones sound much closer to being exceptional. Much smoother highs that go behind and around you more, and separation between instruments seems a tad more pronounced. Low-low frequency bass is lower and smoother wihout punchiness. Separation seems better yet both sides sound more in synch. I run DVD sound through the D to A converter, and "Maria Full of Grace" sounded fuller last night than any movie I've played yet. Sorry for my lack of techie talk-- As its been mentioned, I don't think this upgrade would matter to someone who doesn't listen to music much. But for us who are yearning for that next oomph of improvement to our sound, I recommend this highly--I feel like its a new set of speakers for a little over $200. By the way--I did pay full price and receive no compensation for this yarn. DeanG just does good work--

I'm a big Ben Folds fan. His latest CD, "Songs for Silverman" is just primo Folds. Alot of ballads, but the disc still has an edge. Its piano rock from a great singer-songwriter. He's the piano in a power trio very much like his old band Ben Folds Five. There are so many singer-songwriters out there that lack punch or deep melodies -- He delivers on both counts. Great songs and voice--

My six year olds and I saw this last night. Wow--from the very start the effects were pure eye-candy. The battles and swordfights are just plain dazzling, and when two separate swordfights are going on at the same time its riveting. Annakin's immature droopy whining in the past two episodes became a stylishly lethal combination of brooding and killing. Yoda is funny, powerful, and his dialect is charming. But, for Lucas to have presented this last great installment in the middle of the actual story of all six episodes is genius. Darth Vader has been an icon of ultimate evil for 25 plus years now, and to see him here in his prison in the form of a black helmet and cape at the end screaming out the last of his humanity is tragically powerful -- We know where he goes from here. Acting --schmacting! A great movie all around--

Yes--and they seemed to show how he'd had a hard time finding a place--so much so that the only place he could find was a unit no-one else wanted next to that loud schoolyard-- Florida is trying to make the distance more like a mile. Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) wants to restrict all sex offenders from living anywhere in their entire county! Florida also just made their sex offender website very easy to use. Put in your zip code and you get a list with pictures and offenses-- This issue is sensitive around here being that we've had two young girls killed within the last few months--both by repeat offenders within blocks of their victim. One was across the street. Sick jerks--for lack of a better word acceptable to the forum.

---------------- On 5/14/2005 2:30:24 PM Allan Songer wrote: My favorite review of this show: My mentor in the movie prop business said this after seeing the original production in New York years ago. "I liked it just fine. I thought BOTH songs were good." Damning with faint praise at it's BEST! ---------------- So true -- all the songs sound almost like different versions of the same song all "Andrew Lloyd Weberized". I liked this DVD, though. Mainly because there are so many elements outside of the opera house that give background to what is a timeless story. And Miss Rossum is a goddess--And Minnie Driver is the ultimate diva-- Using the captions enhances the experience because almost all the dialog is sung and the accents are strong, so its easier to follow what the characters' words are -- I sure would like to see more good musicals and rock operas in the movies--

I don't think Kevin Bacon has ever done a better acting job--this was hard stuff. My jaw dropped when he had the talk with the little girl in the park (I'm not saying any more than that!) We have a bill now in Florida that would restrict convicted sex offenders from being within a certain distance from schools, and this characters window looked down on a schoolyard-- Amazing job to make a sex offender somewhat sympathetic. The special features has an interview where the producer tells of receiving a death threat for making this movie-- Very hard to watch but you don't want to miss it--

---------------- On 5/17/2005 9:39:25 PM ben. wrote: One of the cleanest rock/pop albums I've heard is "Bellybutton" by Jellyfish. Released in 1990, they had a pretty big hit with "That is Why". The production strikes me as what Queen might have sounded like if they weren't so dramatic and impressed with overdubbing vocals. Maybe a bit more about a good pop song, too. These guys were into stupid outfits, but the music really is fantastic. http://www.zhaocd.com/lib_b/12021115jell2.jpg" align=right border=0> Born2RockU, you should hear the drum sounds on this record. They are the ideal of a fat, natural tom sound and a great acoustic room sound in a rock setting. The track "I Wanna Stay Home" reminds me of an American XTC without synths, if that makes any sense. Sparkly acoustic guitars and a great trumpet counter-melody are highlighted. Of course, great production values and good songs also bring to mind Beatles comparisons, and this is no exception. The influence is apparent without being derivative, I think. ---------------- Just picked this up due to your fine words, and it was in the used bin cheap! The rastafarian behind the counter said, "Oh yeah -- Jellyfish!" Very good sound and songs--I'm still listening. The first few notes you hear are big and you know its going to be good-- Thanks for the recommendation--

I thought they got this documentary wrong. Tom Dowd was an astonishing man--a talented genius. I'm a big fan , but to have him narrate almost the entire story of his life really grated on me after awhile-- Yes, I know if you did it,it ain't bragging, but maybe Clapton, or Gregg Allman, or number of his cohorts could have narrated alot of the story for him. He sure has alot of reverent admirers. That said, this movie is chock full of killer video of R&B and rock gods which is very entertaining. You hear alot of things about many of the artists that you hadn't heard before, and their is alot music biz and technology talk that illustrates how innovative he was. Its definitely worth the time, but when Tom is singing about how much he loves his piano, you'll wonder why the editor left it in.

---------------- On 5/13/2005 8:56:27 PM dragonfyr wrote: Just out of curiousity, has anyone been listening to the Ginger Baker Quartet, etc? While many may not be aware of some of their work since Cream, with the exception of Clapton who has become a J.J.Cale clone (he could definately have picked a worse role model!!!!), they have not simply faded away. And Jack Bruce is still one of the premier rock vocalists to ever approach a mic! With egos aside, it has the potential to be a remarkable event...If........ ---------------- I've got a Ginger Baker quartet CD "Going Back Home" with Bill Frisell on guitar and Charlie Haden on bass that is one of my favorite jazz CDs. Ginger swings on jazz with a rock feel in places. I'm sure Cream re-united would be a one-off thing for all three of them, but the possibilities would be interesting.

I need a subwoofer, but I've never had one. Off of our dining room, we have a small porch where I've put our smaller less-used system for dinners, entertaining etc. Its a SS Adcom 60-watt 2-channel amp and B&K pre-amp with CD player and two small Niles speakers. The sound isn't full, and the wife doesn't want big speakers in this small porch, but a small somewhat obscured subwoofer would work. There are so many subs out there, including Klipsch, but I'm not sure what would go with what I have. What kind of wattage should it have? Would 200 watts be too much? Or 100? And, the Adcom does have Speaker A/B outputs -- but I'm not sure how I would hook it up-- Any sub experts out there?

I always like this: He finds fault like there's a reward for it!

If its da blues, I gotta jump in wit' Charlie Musselwhite's "Stand Back - Here Comes the Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band", I believe his first back in the 1967 -- Harvey Mandel plays some of the most bluesy greasy guitar leads imaginable, and Charlie's vocals and harp are passionate yet laid back. Charlie learned from the best in Chicago-- Great sound that's amazing for a 40-plus year old recording. Most from that label, Vanguard, was beautifully recorded then, too -- "Chicago-The Blues Today" is also an excellent old blues 3 CD set--

Just saw this tonight--I got a little misty--its good. Johnny Depp is hit-or-miss for me, but he really filled the role here--a very real Irish (?) accent. The best I've seen of him -- and I loved "Pirates..."

After watching this, the next few days thinking about it--I was annoyed by it. Morgan Spurlock is just a few more movies like this away from becoming Michael Moore. All the dramatic portrayals of the big corporation (McDonalds) scheming to kill the little man with their food are right up Michael Moore fans' alley. Why did he have to show his barf after he spewed his dinner out of the car window? Why did he overeat to get to the point where he had to blow chunks anyway? His nutritionist was too gorgeous to take seriously, and his "vegan" girlfriend was a real whiner. Bet they don't like Bush and his corporate cronies!! That's the next movie-- There are alot of good points made--the french fries looking fresh after a month is scary--but this kind of documentary with an agenda doesn't inform. It preaches. And I think most people that want to live a few years know to stay away from fast food--

For women in general: Why do husbands usually die before their wives? Because they want to-- Why do women have "womenhoods"? So men will talk to them---

Your sister is so loose, she needs handles on her hips so everybody can get a turn!

Your mother is so fat, that she irons her dress on the driveway!

This is one of Jackie Chan's earlier movies and the best that I've seen. The action and martial arts choreography is riveting and amazing. I love watching the guy climbing walls and using household items as weapons. The newer, English spoken movies of his I have not enjoyed as much as this--"Drunken Master" looks dubbed but seemless, and its set in China. The acting is much better and the comedy is not so forced. The mother is a riot. The "drunken boxing" displays are both funny and action packed. And the camera work to get all those punches, kicks, and smashes is in your face.

Along these lines, you have got to see "Supersize Me", a documentary about the ills of McDonald's food. The filmmaker eats nothing but Mickey D's food for a month, and he gains alot of weight and supposedly has health risks during the taping. The movie was nominated for an Oscar, and it does keep your interest with alot of details about fast food, and Morgan Spurlock is a funny guy. It does resort to some cheap dramatics to make their point (barfing up food and then showing it, showing moldy old food, etc), and the nutritionist and vegan girlfriend are quite pious and annoying, but it makes a good point: this food is not healthy. Even the McDonalds' salads have alot of sugar in them-- Now if I could just find a healthy food drive-thru for meals when I don't have time to prepare a meal-- !

Charlie Mingus "The Great concert of Charles Mingus" --2 CDs. Hard bop that swings like hell. Amazing what five talented guys can do with basic instruments. I've always been a fan of "Orange was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk", a deep blues with jazz solos, and this is a great version. Eric Dolphy and Clifford Jordan are soulmates on sax, and Jaki Byard, Danny Richmond with Mr. Mingus are stellar. One of the few hard bop type recordings that tows the line between dissonance and swinging fun music. These guys had alot fun playing this at the Champs d' Elysses more than 40 years ago, so much so that it still sounds fresh--

Dittos on the popular music comments-- I love older R&B, too, but the R&B now has no life to it --it doesn't touch my imagination. Whenever I hear lyrics rhyming "fire" with "higher" and "desire", "love" with "above" and "one I dream of", or "you" with "true" and "you(!)", I turn the channel. Real artists find new ways to talk about love in songs, instead of cliche and dreck. Amazing that the biggest stars out there feel they have to use first grade language to sell their music. Lenny Kravitz' latest is an embarrassment. In fact, most pop suffers from cliche--it takes alot of effort to find good stuff because it sure isn't on the radio!! From a recommendation on this forum, I picked up Badly Drawn Boy's "Bewilderbeast",--- which sounds like it was made in the guys bedroom--- that is incredibly good music. His voice is a little rough in spots (so he's not on the radio), but the songs just resonate. A little techno, a little acoustic-- I never listen to a CD more than twice at a time, and I played this in the car for two weeks. I got used to the voice-- What's a good Eno to get -- "Apollo..."?