Phil Meloy

Nonsense - haggis is fantastic. Some of the best ones are made by Charles MacSween in Edinburgh. They don't have intestines in them but rather are a mixture of minced sheep liver, heart and lungs mixed with oatmeal, onion, suet and spices and sewn up in a sheep's stomach. Yum! Haggis is traditionally served with mashed potatoes and swede.

I have been informed by a completely unreliable source that this appeared in the Maryland Live Journal on 27/5/04. "The little missus was away at a Tupperware convention, so I had to do my own laundry," Klansman Arnie Stevens told reporters outside his house in Pigeon Hole, Oklahoma. "But I'm not used to washing clothes, and they say this has happened because I didn't separate my whites from my coloureds. A Cincinnati Reds tee-shirt must have gotten into the wash, that's why my robe turned pink. This just goes to show that segregation is the way of the Lord. In laundry and also in life." Stevens was speaking after trying to attend a Ku Klux Klan rally, dressed in a pink hood and pink robe, and being ordered to leave. "I only have one robe and hood, so I had to wear them. But the others told me to go home immediately, because they said pink made me look like a faggot." "Unfortunately, my fellow Klansmen judged me solely on the colour of my robe. But I can't help what colour my robe is, can I? It's what's inside that counts."

Brownie have you ever tried Devilled Kidneys? They're fried with Worcester sauce, mustard powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper and traditionally eaten for breakfast. I know croissants are nice but they really don't stack up against a plate if these on toast first thing in the morning.

Now you're talking Bev. Tripe and onions. I think tripe's pretty popular in France too. Years ago a mate of mine worked on a vineyard in France for a few months when he left college and it turned out tripe was the specialty of the lady of the house where he stayed so he got served it near enough every day. Needless to say he was over the moon. Great stuff Rainy Day....

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - another British pudding for Rainy Day - Steak and Kidney Pudding....

Why RDK?

Bev are you sure you didn't want the Argggghhhhhh thread?

Thanks SEK If anyone's interested here's some info on the C452 from Audiolab's site... NAD C452

Stilton

For the benefit of our American chums "bangers" are sausages. For the benefit of any Australians "sausages" are "snags".

Hi jazzshrink - yeah I checked out those two threads but unfortunately there wasn't much info that was specific to The NAD C542 - understandable I expect since I believe the NAD C452 only became available in the USA last December. I was hoping someone had bought one since you posted your thread in May. I'm not considering any other model NAD. I have come across this review in a New Zealand audio mag which is pretty positive: http://www.audioenz.co.nz/2004/nad_542.shtml Also someone has mentioned that the September issue of What Hi-Fi has a comparison between the Arcam DiVA CD73T, the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C, NADC542 and the Rotel RCD-02. I haven't had a chance to check it myself yet but apparently all but the Rotel got 5 stars with the Cambridge winning mainly on price/value for money, but the NAD offered a better midrange while the Arcam topped on sound quality and upgradability.

I'm going to purhase a new CD player. My old Technics is on the way out as some of you may have gleaned from my earlier thread. Does anyone have any experience of or comments regarding the NAD C542? I can get it from Richer Sounds for £279 (that's pretty close to $500 US). It'll be combined with a NAD C352 integrated amplifier and a pair of Mordaunt Short 906 Avant speakers. The Cambridge Audio Azur 640C and the Marantz CD7300 are possible alternatives and are slightly less expensive £30 less for the Cambridge and £50 for the Marantz but from the reading I've done I think the NAD might have the edge and may be well worth the extra. Thanks for any advice you might be able to offer.

This is sheer genius.

Sorry can't with a link on the men's 200 relay but you should be able to catch it on some highlights programme. Thorpe swam a sensational last leg but the the Australian first three had left him with just a little bit too much to do. As far as Van Der Hoogenband goes both he and the current World and Olympic record holder Alexander Popov of Russia were both surprise non-qualifiers for the 50 metre freestyle semis this morning.

Thanks Leeway - I'm pretty much resolved to getting a new CD player but am hoping to hold out until January when I should be able to pick one up at a good price in the post Xmas sales. I'll probably start a thread in a couple of months with regards to opinions on one or two that I'm considering. I've just upgraded the amplifier to a NAD C352 so I don't want to outlay any more right just now.

You mean Pieter Van Den Hoggenband. He was the reigning Olympic champion at the event having won a bit of a suprise victory over Ian Thorpe at Sydney 2004 when he broke the Olympic record in the semi-final and then went on to equal his own new record in the final to take gold. Thorpe reversed that result in pretty commanding form this time though and broke the Olympic record again. Should be a good one later today between the USA and Australia in the men's 4 x 200 freestyle relay. Probably have to tip Australia to win with both Thorpe and Hackett in their team. Don't see many real challengers to these two in this event but you never know there could be an upset. I'm sure both the USA and Australia were hoping to do better in the 4 x 100 relay.

The men's 200 metre freestyle final in about 6 hours from now should be a great race.

Looks like they're there too Jim. The invasion of the fire ants The World Today Archive - Thursday, 21 June , 2001 00:00:00 Reporter: Ian Townsend JOHN HIGHFIELD: Let's go to that story on the fire ant now. Three American scientists are packing their bags today, heading homewards after spending 10 days in Brisbane, Australia - looking at ants. This morning they issued a final, chilling warning about an introduced pest that they describe as a monster. The fire ant spreads quickly, its sting kills, it smothers crops and destroys native animals. And as Ian Townsend reports for The World Today, it could be about to break out of the Brisbane valley and overrun the country. IAN TOWNSEND: You've probably heard about the fire ant. Someone mowing the lawn noticed unusual ants at the port of Brisbane, four months ago. Nests have since been found around the city's south and west. But imagine this. You're at a backyard barbecue in Melbourne or Sydney or Perth or Adelaide, and hundreds of ants swarm all over your legs. You jump, and they all sting you, in unison. That's the fire ant. It could be in your backyard in a few years time. And it can kill. BART DREES: The individuals that are at highest risk are very elderly people and very young children. The one per cent of the population that's hypersensitive, where one sting can cause anaphylactic shock and death, they're rare but they do happen. IAN TOWNSEND: Professor Bart Drees has been battling the fire ant in the United States, where the damage bill is a billion US dollars a year. He's been looking at Brisbane's outbreak, already covering 200 square kilometres, and says disaster looms. BART DREES: The projections that have been made with computer models indicate that most of the continent will be infested eventually. This is not a Queensland problem, this is not a Brisbane problem. It's really not a neighbourhood by neighbourhood problem. This is really the continent's problem and, really, the southern hemisphere's problem because of the trade occurring in this area. This is a critical point in time. And decisions need to be made. But once decisions are made, total support and commitment and understanding that this is a serious treatment to a serious infection, if you will, on this part of the continent. IAN TOWNSEND: The Queensland Department of Primary Industry says it'll cost more than $100 million, over the next five years, to try to crush the ant. Queensland wants the rest of the country to chip in. Manager of Plant Health, with the Queensland DPI, Ken Priestly, says the rest of Australia doesn't seem to realise the terrible threat of a fire ant plague. KEN PRIESTLY: The absolute devastation that this pest can wreak on the environment, the lifestyle and of course agriculture. And I think that message needs to get to the rest of Australia, given that the modelling that's been done indicates that the pest could very well populate by far the majority of the Australian continent. IAN TOWNSEND: So what happens now? What do you need to do to persuade other states and the federal Government to chip in for this? KEN PRIESTLY: What we've got is, we've got an assessment that's been made for the National Consultative Committee which has basically outlined the technical feasibility of an eradication program, and put on the table the likely economic viability of such a program. IAN TOWNSEND: Sounds like a bit of a bureaucratic process though. And you need this to be done as quickly as possible. KEN PRIESTLY: Certainly do need to be done as quickly as possible. The longer we delay, and the longer a decision is delayed, obviously means the greater the chance the pest has to spread from its existing base. And that obviously increases the cost of eradication. IAN TOWNSEND: Texas fire ant expert, Bart Drees, agrees. A massive poisoning campaign now, and possibly aerial baiting around Brisbane, might be the only way to stop the ants. BART DREES: The time element is working against the possibility of succeeding right now. If these decisions, and the support, doesn't come almost immediately so that the Department can tool up for applications that really need to go out this coming Spring, the horse may have bolted already. JOHN HIGHFIELD: Bart Drees is a Professor of Entomology in the State of Texas, in the United States, and a specialist on the American fire ant. He was speaking with Ian Townsend in Brisbane.

Since my previous post my CD player has essentially been operating fine although on a number of occassions it has begun to skip. Each time I have used the cleaner disc and the problem has been corrected. What I have now noticed over the past few months however is that it only seems to occur when I play a new CD that has just been delivered through the post. Most of the ones I buy come from the USA to the UK. This may be complete nonsense but could these CDs have picked up some kind of electrical charge in the post from a scanner or some such device which is interfering with the CD player? After I play them once they don't seem to skip again. Has anyone experienced this problem with new CDs? Perhaps my player is worn and a bit over sensitive anyway. Like I said it's not a great problem as the cleaner disc seems to work.

Also just stumbled across this on ebay... 1991 GRP - IMPULSE, "LIVE IN JAPAN" (4 CD set) PRINTED IN AUSTRIA This very interesting four-CD set contains two sets of music by the 1966 John Coltrane Quintet, recorded in Tokyo, Japan. Most of the music had not been released in the United States until 1991. Coltrane (heard on tenor, soprano and alto) engages in some ferocious interplay with Pharoah Sanders (on tenor, alto and bass clarinet), pianist Alice Coltrane, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Rashied Ali; fans of Trane's earlier records may not like these atonal flights. However listeners who enjoy avant-garde jazz will find many stirring moments among the very lengthy performances. The shortest piece is the 25-minute version of "Peace on Earth" and "My Favorite Things" goes on for over 57 minutes. 1 Afro Blue - Santamaria 12:22 2 Peace on Earth - Coltrane 26:25 3 Crescent - Coltrane 54:33 4 Peace on Earth - Coltrane 25:05 5 Leo - Coltrane 44:49 6 My Favorite Things - Hammerstein/Rodgers 57:19 (PS. Thanks for the PMs ubu and gary. Will respond when time permits.)

Happy birthday Gary.

There's four tunes from that concert including MFT included in the box set David. They appear to be also available on the "Live in Stokholm 1961" Le Jazz release. However "Live in Sweden 1961" (Newsound) includes: 1. Impressions 2. Traneing in 3. Blue train 4. Naima 5. Spiritual 6. My favourite things I suspect that these are the same four recordings with "Traneing in" and "Spiritual" added. Does anyone have any further info on this.

Also found this article on the net.... Jazz Sales Up Again in 2003 Norah Jones Debut Tops 5 Million Units LOS ANGELES, Jan. 1—Sales of jazz albums increased for the second year in a row, while overall CD sales decreased in 2003, according to information released Wednesday by Neilsen SoundScan, the entertainment industry’s data information system that tracks point-of-purchase sales of recorded music product. Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me topped 5 million units in 2003. According to SoundScan, 23,060,000 jazz albums were sold in the past year, a 1.8 percent increase over the 22,642,000 sold in 2002. Overall sales of CD albums dropped by about two percent from 2002, to 635.8 million units. Jazz albums represented over 3.6 percent of total music sales during 2003, up from under 3.5 percent the previous year. Blue Note’s all time top-selling release, Norah Jones' debut crossover CD Come Away With Me was the second best selling album of 2003, with 5,137,468 units sold. Jazz, Latin, and Alternative genres each saw sales increases in 2003, while all other categories dropped. Sales of classical albums dropped by 12.4 percent from 2002.

Thanks ubu - that explains it.

Hi ubu - I'm getting a little confused about this "On Stage 1962 CD which is supposed to feature Eric Dolpy. This is the one I'm refering to: On Stage 1962 The tracks are: 1. Improvisation 2. The Inch Worm 3. Everytime We Say Goodbye 4. Impressions This can't be the same one you're refering to as Mr. P.C. isn't on it? I can't find The "Live at Birdland" CD 1ngram is refering to at all.