No show today

It's the last Sunday in February, time for the annual Black History Month special program. I'll be back next week.

Hell Yeah! Goalie Fight!

Sabres vs. Senators. Best hockey fight this season. Now if we could only get Senators Clinton & Obama to put on the skates & sweaters.

Well-fed rats

The Gothamist reports on the New York TV news swarm upon the discovery of rats in a Taco Bell-KFC location on Sixth Avenue at 4th Street. I'm shocked, shocked to see rats in a New York restaurant!

Technorati tags: rats

Prisoner of War

I posted earlier about the state of war between the rats and me. Yesterday I caught my first prisoner. She was a female with what appeared to be a broken back. I don't know how she was injured. She was sitting on the floor, shaking, either too scared or in too much pain to move. I put her in a cage with some food, water and a towel for nesting. She died a few hours later.

Technorati tags: rats

Birds

Temperature: 11°F

While I was watching the large breakfast crowd this morning, I caught a flash of brilliant red in the bush. Mr. Cardinal was in the neighborhood, and much to my delight, landed on the snow. He flew away quickly, but almost immediately after I received another surprise: a large patch of rust in the bush. Robins don't usually hang out near the feeder, but for some reason there was one today.

Technorati tags: birds

Playlist, February 18, 2007

Set One
John Hicks; The Things We Did Last Summer; Sweet Love of Mine (2006 JazzDepot)
The Leonisa Andizzone Quartet; Anthropology; Afraid of the Heights (2006 Ardijenn)
Chad Rager Groove; Squid Cakes; 21st Century Groove (2006 Strokeland)
Reuben Wilson; Wait A Minute; Movin' On (2006 Savant)
Ken Nordine; Cat and Bird Blues; A Transparent Mask (2001 Asphodel)
Ondar; Kargyraa Rap; Back Tuva Future (1999 Warner Bros.)
Neville Brothers; Fever; Live at Tipitina's (1999 Rhino)
[mic break 10:40 a.m.]

Set Two
Count Basie; Seventh Avenue Express; Brand New Wagon (1990 BMG)
Art Tatum; Tea For Two; The Complete Capitol Recordings Volume 1 (Capitol)
Stan Getz & the Oscar Peterson Trio; Ballad Medley; Stan Getz & the Oscar Peterson Trio (1958 Verve)
Oscar Peterson; Teach Me Tonight; Oscar Peterson and the Bassists (1977 Pablo)
Oscar Peterson; Teach Me Tonight; Oscar Peterson and the Bassists (1977 Pablo)
[mic break 11:17 a.m.]

Set Three
Oscar Peterson Jam; Perdido; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
Dizzy Gillespie Jam; Here 'Tis; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
Count Basie Jam; Freeport Jump; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
[mic break 11:48 a.m.]

Set Four
Dizzy Gillespie; Cool Eyes; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie; Confusion; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie; Pile Driver; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Orchestra; Con Alma; Dizzy's Business (2006 MDG jazz)
Mingus Big Band; Wham Bam; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
Mingus Big Band; Opus Four; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
[mic break 12:31 p.m.]

Set Five
Mingus Big Band; Celia; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
The Ed Palermo Big Band; Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (2006 Cuneiform)
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Orchestra; Blue "N Boogie; Dizzy's Business (2006 MDG jazz)
Jeff Baker; Billie's Bounce; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Jeff Baker; In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Andrew Distel; The Window Across the Way; Stepping Out of a Dream (2007)
The Bobs; Through the Wall; The Bobs (1983 Kaleidoscope)
[mic break 1:18 p.m.]

Set Six
Jeff Baker; All Blues; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Wycliffe Gordon; Shhh!!! (The Band is Trying to Play); Cone's Coup (2006 Criss Cross Jazz)
Kenny Garrett; Tsunami Song; Beyond the Wall (2006 Nonesuch)
Yonder Mountain String Band; Girlfriend is Better; Mountain Tracks Volume 4 (2006 Frog Pad)
[2:00 p.m.]

Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

State of war

A state of war now exists between the rats and me.

The upstairs rats are adorable pets for the wife & kids, but the downstairs rats are destructive beyond belief.

A couple of days ago I noticed water on my basement floor. I quickly figured out that it was coming from the condensate pump on the furnace. After making a call and finding out it was $99 for a tech to come out, I took a closer look at the pump. The drain tube leading from the furnace to the pump had been chewed away above the pump, no doubt by a varmint looking for a water supply. It was an easy repair, and I had the right tube on hand.

As Bugs Bunny (and Groucho Marx) was known to say, "Of course, you know, this means war."

Technorati tags: rats

Birds

Temperature 24°F

• WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY
• ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON, WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NO LONGER IN EFFECT
• WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING

Nasty weather, but it's not stopping the birds from visiting the feeding station.

Technorati tags: birds

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

Robot plays Coltrane

Here we have a creepo, many-fingered Japanese robot playing John Coltrane's solo from "Giant Steps." Sure, he's got the chops, but just doesn't seem to capture the emotion of the piece. After the robots dominate the human race will they torture us with such lifeless renditions of all our once-sacred tunes?

Technorati tags: Coltrane, robots

Birds

Temperature: 16°F, winter storm warning tonight.

The little gray songbirds are out in force today--several nuthatches are loading up on food, along with the chickadees and titmice.

Technorati tags: birds

Playlist, February 11, 2007

Set One
Grateful Dead; Weather Report Suite; Dick's Picks 14 (1999 Grateful Dead Productions)
Renaissance; Things I Don't Understand; Turn of the Cards (1974 Sire)
Dar Williams; Comfortably Numb; My Better Self (2005 Razor & Tie)
Bethany & Rufus; Samson and Delilah; 900 Miles (2006 Hyena)
Coinrag Herwig; Seven Steps to Heaven; Sketches of Spain y Mas (2006 Half Note)
[mic break 10:57 a.m.]

Set Two
Dave Holland Big Band; Happy Jammy; Overtime (2005 Dare2)
Eliane Elias; Nostalgia in Times Square; Everything I Love (2000 Blue Note)
The Persuasions; Ain't No Sunshine; A Cappella Dreams (2003 Chesky)
Ellas Fitzgerald; Night and Day; The Cole Porter Songbook vol. 2 (1984 Polygram)
Bob Dylan; Rainy Day Women #12 & 35; The Best of (2005 Columbia)
Dr. John; It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing; Duke Elegant (2000 Blue Note)
Tonty DeSare; Kiss; Last First Kiss (2007 Telarc)
Lou Lanza; Break On Through; Opening Doors (2004)
[mic break 11:44 a.m.]

Set Three
West Montgomery; Twisted Blues; Impressions of Paris (2000 Recall)
Jackie McLean; I Can't Get Started With You; Nature Boy (2000 Blue Note)
Coleman Hawkins; April in Paris;
Chick Corea; Tones for Joan's Bones; The Best Of (1993 Blue Note)
Hendrick Meurkens; I Can't Get Started With You; New York Samba Jazz Quintet (2007 Zoho)
[mic break 12:26 p.m.]

Set Four
Vic Juris; Dancing Shadows; Blue Horizon (2004 Zoho)
David Hazeltine; Somewhere; Modern Standards (2005 Sharp Nine)
Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle; The Blame Game; Battery Milk (2007 Hyena Records)
Dr. John; Caravan; Duke Elegant (2000 Blue Note)
Mike LeDonne; Could It Be I'm Falling In Love?; Mike LeDonne
Sonny Stitt; You Are The Sunshine of My Life; Work Done (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 1:23 p.m.]

Set Five
JC and the Jazz Hoppers; Our Delight; Chillin' at Home (2007Jazz-Hop)
Easy Star All-Stars; The Great Gig in the Sky; Dub Side of the Moon (2003 Easy Star)
Mothers of Invention; What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?; We're Only In It for the Money (1995 Rykodisc)
Stravinsky; The Augurs of Spring: Dance of the Young Girls (Le Sacre du Printemps); Michael Tilson Thomas/Sanfrancisco Symphony
Frank Zappa; Reagan at Bitburg; Civilization Phaze III (1993 Barking Pumpkin)
Grateful Dead; Stella Blue; Dick's Picks 14 (1999 Grateful Dead Productions)
[2:00 p.m.]

Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

Separated at birth?

Morris O'Brian and Squidward Tentacles

Technorati tags: 24, Squidward

Birds

Temperature: 19°F. The air may be arctic, but the bright sunshine and blue skies of winter high pressure makes this one of my favorite times of year.

Technorati tags: birds

Birds

Temperature: 16°F
I have one starling picking relentlessly at the suet today. These guys can make short work of a suet cake when they get together. He has a bright yellow bill, but some spotting on his plumage. It's hard to tell if he's breeding or not.

It's not quite 55°F in my basement office, and I am going to have to abandon it for upstairs where it's warmer. It's just too hard to type down here.

Technorati tags: birds, starling

Playlist, February 4, 2007

Set One
Sonny Stitt; How High the Moon; It's Magic (2006 Delmark)
Daniel Smith; Sister Sadie; Bebop Bassoon (2006 Guild)
Michael Rabinowitz; Star Eyes; Bassoon on Fire (1995 Cats Paw)
Woody Shaw; Bye Bye Blackbird; Live Volume Four (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 10:34 a.m.]

Set Two
Cedar Walton; Skylark; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
Cedar Walton; Every Time We Say Goodbye; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
Cedar Walton; On Green Dolphin Street; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 10:57 a.m.]

Set Three
Paquito D'Rivera; A Night in Tunisia; The Jazz Chamber Trio (2005 Chesky)
Clarinet Summit; Perdido; Southern Bells (1987 Black Saint)
Eric Dolphy; Densities; Vintage (1994 GM Recordings)
Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray; One World Family; We Is (2004 Delmark)
Benny Goodman; I Got Rhythm; Live at Carnegie Hall (1938/1988 Columbia)
Benny Goodman; I Got Rhythm; Live at Carnegie Hall (1938/1988 Columbia)
Duke Ellington; Red Shoes; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
Duke Ellington; Red Carpet Part 1; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
David Murray Latin Big Band; Blue Muse; Now Is Another Time (2003 Justin Time)
[mic break 11:51 a.m.]

Set Four
Dave Valentin; Easy Street; Come Fly With Me (2006 Highnote)
Hubert Laws; Windows/Fire and Rain; At Carnegie Hall (1973 CTI)
Yusef Lateef; Love Theme from The Robe; Eastern Sounds (1961 Prestige)
Yusef Lateef; The Three Faced of Balal; Eastern Sounds (1961 Prestige)
The Jazz Crusaders; Latin Bit; The Young Rabbits (1975 Blue Note)
[mic break 12:31 a.m.]

Set Five
Steve Turre; My Funny Valentine; Keep Searchin' (2006 Highnote)
The Jazz Crusaders; Congolese Sermon; The Best Of (1993 Capitol)
New Yorkestra Big Band; One Finger Snap; Urban Soundscapes (2002 Sea Breeze)
The Brecker Brothers; Dream Theme; Collection Volume One (1990 BMG)
Flat Earth Society; Anthem 2004; Psycho Scout (2006 Rykodisc)
Michael Murray; Prelude in C major ("Fanfare"), BWV 531 (J.S. Bach); Bach Organ Blaster (1995 Telarc)
Radam Schwartz; Serenade In Blue; Conspiracy for Positivity (2004 Blue Ark)
University of Kentucky Mega-Sax; It's Lovely Once You're In; Full English Mower (2004 Sea Breeze)
McNeely/Sill/Spencer; Ernie Banks; Boneyard (2007 Origin)
[mic break 1:23 p.m.]

Set Six
Groove Holmes; Minor Inconvenience; Blues All Day Long (1989 Muse)
Duke Ellington; Tymperturbably Blue; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
Brian Melvin Trio; Tokyo Blues; Standards Zone (1990 Global Pacific)
Pat Metheny; Sirabhorn; Bright Size Life (1976 ECM)
Frank Zappa; RDNZL; You Can't Do That On Stage Any More, vol. 2 (1988 Rykodisc)
[2:00 p.m.]

Technorati tags: WPKN, playlist, Morning Maniac Music, radio

Yum-o!

I'm concerned about what my children eat for snacks.



Exhibit A: Oreo Snack Packs. Exhibit B: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo.

Separated at birth? You decide.

Technorati tags: Mr. Hankey, Oreos