Off-Topic Chat Thread

[Tarantula]

I used to have a 8 track deck that recorded. Candle made a few. My mother had a ton of country 8's that she never listened to and gave them to me. Love music, some country but not a lot of it. Funny enough the tapes could be recorded over. I did find a 3m blank 8 track tape. I recorded all my favourites and in duplicate as my 76 Grand Marquis had a 8 track deck that ate tapes. No problem, take the tape out and toss it, open the huge glove box and just fire the second copy in.

Odd things, the seconds of silence when the tape flipped tracks didn't occur on the recordings and the recording deck auto stopped after the last track, recording and playing.

I would love a true audiophile system but I instead spent my dough on instruments and recording equipment. Couple of nice Gibby Les Pauls including a reissue of the 1958 version, Epiphone double neck. Two small 35 watt Marshalls that are driven by a Roland guitar pedal, stereo sound as I have the amps separated. Fills the room nicely.

Bandmates/housemates laugh as my car is a mess, my room is a mess, but all my guitars are shiny and polished. All the equipment is covered and dusted. Frankly my guitar hygene is probably better then my own some days.

 

[sr edler]

Regarding the accusations of homerism towards different posters in the ongoing Top 100 Hockey Players of All-Time project, I encountered an anecdotal example of said phenomenon at my work place this last week. Let's tell the story.

Because of the oncoming Yuletide/Christmas festivities every department was given the chance to compete for a (to me unknown) prize by building a gingerbread house. I've never done this thing before myself, but because no one else at my department took the challenge, and because I had some time to kill, I decided to give it a shot. It's a relatively fast experience because the melting sugar (the glue that keeps it all together) solidifies pretty quickly.

Regarding the finished product, let's just say it looked a bit more like this

than it looked like this

But, here comes the twist. No one at the department dared to say one critical thing about our house, despite my humble/self-critical hints to the obvious. One individual even said she was gonna vote for our (mine) house, without even having seen the other houses!

When our house finally stood against the other contestants, it became more obvious than ever that the emperor was indeed naked. But, not even then one single person dared to speak truth. We didn't win the (unknown) prize, obviously, and when I came home I had a good laugh about it.

The moral of the story is that... people sometimes play favorites? (for various reasons)

 

[Tarantula]

No but I have the full discographies of the Beatles, solo Beatles (yes even Ringo), Rolling Stones, Mick and Keef, Dylan, Floyd, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, U2, Radiohead, Cheap trick, Rush, Metallica, Oasis, nine inch nails, Megadeth, Rammstein, Matthew Good, the Mars Volta and many other personal favorites.

I like a lot of music but don't always have the attention span to dive into full catalogs on a regular basis. My next project will be Zappa. That will take me over a year.

But if I can't or don't want to get into am artist's full discography, I am always sure to cover that base with a compilation - typically 2CD, career spanning. That's what the whole top row is. Right from the early jazz, Blues, folk and country greats, up to newer stuff like the Trews and Coheed and Cambria, and everything significant from in between.

Huge Zappa fan, but mostly musical. His guitar playing is unique and his sound bursts out of the speakers on his solos. Incredible producer as well.

 

[frisco]

I have a bunch of old complete TV series on DVD at home, that my uncle gave me.Series from the 60s/70s and the likes.I probably won't listen to most of it, looking to sell most of them.

One series that caught my attention was a huge box entitled Space: 1999.Being a Star Trek fan this looks decent.Anyone saw it?

Space 1999 was massive. Especially Season One. Very cerebral plots and almost painstakingly depressing but in a good way. They were doomed and every episode was one more chance to get back to earth only to have their attempts rebutted. Sort of like Gilligan's Island of science fiction but serious as a heart attack and very thought provoking.

My Best-Carey

 

[wetcoast]

Interesting. Personally, Ive always rated Playmakers, he who has the vision to initiate, conceive of, imagine & execute, start the digit counters rising above those who finish with the actual goal itself. Anyone with a voluminous Assists total and frankly, wish the Keepers of the Records went further, 3rd & 4th Assists. Rebound "garbage goals", that to me a Goalie and or Defensive error. Some tandem, Dynamic Duo Goals (Gretzky & Kurri for eg) to me a separate category again. But a guy thinking 3-4-5 players & plays ahead with the knowledge & instantaneous visualization of what each opponent is likely to do in reaction? K?. Sheer genius. Were talking the full, total & complete weaponization of pre-cognition here ehhdler. Into the realms of CIA-KGB Remote Viewing capabilities. Ingo Swann territory. Dark Side of the Moon.... Blind you say?.... Dont think so.... Whoo-ah....

You had me up until dark side of the moon, Wish you were here is timeless perfection.

 

[Killion]

You had me up until dark side of the moon, Wish you were here is timeless perfection.

I'm sorry wetcoast... sorrier still to now understand that you were hobbled, imagination blinkered, 6th senses handicapped from a young age... Babysitter the idiot box, television. ... You should have been exposed to glare ice Son... blank canvas of a pond, lake, river, slough... allowed, permitted to let your imagination run wild, free. To enjoy the kind of freedom and build the confidence, invincibility & mastery of a Bobby Hull or a Bobby Orr be it on the Bay of Quinte or Georgian Bay. Or like Sylvanus Apps. Grand River, Watts Pond outside of Paris... Ontario. Not Texas. Sure as shootin not France... Instead? Chez Helene. The Friendly Giant. Captain Kangaroo. Don Cherry's Rock em Sock em Video's. ... And you demean, ridicule me for bringing up the possibility of Alien bases on the entirely artificially created, towed into place hollow satellite spy platform that you call the Moon?... Deeply offended. Post Reported.

 

[wetcoast]

I'm sorry wetcoast... sorrier still to now understand that you were hobbled, imagination blinkered, 6th senses handicapped from a young age... Babysitter the idiot box, television. ... You should have been exposed to glare ice Son... blank canvas of a pond, lake, river, slough... allowed, permitted to let your imagination run wild, free. To enjoy the kind of freedom and build the confidence, invincibility & mastery of a Bobby Hull or a Bobby Orr be it on the Bay of Quinte or Georgian Bay. Or like Sylvanus Apps. Grand River, Watts Pond outside of Paris... Ontario. Not Texas. Sure as shootin not France... Instead? Chez Helene. The Friendly Giant. Captain Kangaroo. Don Cherry's Rock em Sock em Video's. ... And you demean, ridicule me for bringing up the possibility of Alien bases on the entirely artificially created, towed into place hollow satellite spy platform that you call the Moon?... Deeply offended. Post Reported.

Sex Dolls, Kiss, The Who, Early Van Halen,Smiths, Duran Duran (pre release cassette), Skinny Puppy, courthouse, bumpers...westcoast lifestyle and those flying V alien yellow home jerseys at the coliseum, Denis Kearns rants from grade 7 teacher...classic STEAMER and THE MESSAGE from Grandmaster...old man how do you hear the grasshopper at my feet?

 

[Killion]

Sex Dolls, Kiss, The Who, Early Van Halen,Smiths, Duran Duran (pre release cassette), Skinny Puppy, courthouse, bumpers...westcoast lifestyle and those flying V alien yellow home jerseys at the coliseum, Denis Kearns rants from grade 7 teacher...classic STEAMER and THE MESSAGE from Grandmaster...old man how do you hear the grasshopper at my feet?

... oh ya... D.O.A. & Joey Sh*Thead. Riots at Kerrisdale Arena. Were you part of or leading the mayhem wetcoaster?... Plaid shirts rumbling in East Van & so on.... New West Broons..... Violence and anarchy a way of life... Right on.... thats rock n' roll Man... from that time & place, generation are ye' Grasshopper?

 

[wetcoast]

... oh ya... and D.O.A. & Joey Sh*T Head. Riots at Kerrisdale Arena. Were you part of or leading the mayhem wetcoaster?... Plaid shirts rumbling in East Van & so on.... New West Broons..... Violence and anarchy, a way of life... Right on.... from that generation are ye'?

Gen X, better lifestyle than famed book.

Joey is now a green party guy, believe he married Dale Walters sister.

 

[sr edler]

Agreed. Truth be told, only seldom was a football striker really considered the best player on the pitch and in the world, that is, before Messi and C Ronaldo. And neither of them is a typical forward anyway.

If we look at Ballon d'Or winners pre-Messaldo, off the top of my head, only Ronaldo, Owen and Shevchenko fit the stereotype of scoring-only guys. And both Owen and Sheva were considered weak or somewhat flimsy winners.

Whenever a playmaking midfielder had a case , they usually took it from scorers rather convincingly in the last twenty years (Zidane, Figo, Rivaldo, Nedved over Henry, Kaka, etc.)

So thinking that playmaking and assists in football are considered even less important than assists in hockey just because football nerds track no TP stats is way, way off.

Some nice names, I agree, but Kaka was a versatile set-up guy, and I liked Shevchenko a lot. He could bring it from back field sometimes. But yes, there’s a reason a guy like Ibrahimovic was never voted top 3 for the Ballon d'Or.

Back when I was younger Davor Suker was one of the best strikers, and he was also not considered the best in the world at any time really. Salvatore Schillachi? Best in the world? Michael Laudrup was thrice the player Schillachi.

[MOD: In-depth soccer talk moved over from another thread.]

 

[VanIslander]

If I may be allowed to substitute an NFL example for the most recent soccer parallel:

Is Mahomes the league MVP for leading clearly in both yards gained and touchdowns thrown? Or should Brees get a sort-of lifetime achievement nod for never before having won the MVP award but the old guy has quarterbacked a team whose combination of defense and offense has resulted in the just barely best record.(?)

 

[Michael Farkas]

Not sure Rivers isn't a better choice for doing it with no one around him...he's had a whale of a year. Though I don't know what the numbers look like for anyone...

 

[VanIslander]

Not sure Rivers isn't a better choice for doing it with no one around him...he's had a whale of a year. Though I don't know what the numbers look like for anyone...

Lol. See his last game. Baltimore embarrassed him. It took him from darkhorse to horse meat. He has ZERO chance after that game.

It's either the statistical juggernaut in young Mahomes or else the nostalgic nod to the elder Brees whose defense and special teams play as well as he does.

 

[Michael Farkas]

I mean, I guess...hard to think that invalidates a whole season especially considering Rivers took it out and slapped it on the table against Mahomes in a primetime spot the week before and beat him...

If it's whoever plays last wins, then Brees is out as he won't be playing much in week 17...

 

[Captain Bowie]

Lol. See his last game. Baltimore embarrassed him. It took him from darkhorse to horse meat. He has ZERO chance after that game.

It's either the statistical juggernaut in young Mahomes or else the nostalgic nod to the elder Brees whose defense and special teams play as well as he does.

Or maybe the defensive juggernaut Aaron Donald. But we know how defencemen get shafted in MVP voting...

 

[VanIslander]

I mean, I guess...hard to think that invalidates a whole season especially considering Rivers took it out and slapped it on the table against Mahomes in a primetime spot the week before and beat him..

Lol. Rivers made a come-from-behind touchdown late against the league's WORST defense, yet Mahomes-led team remains ahead in playoff seeding.

That ONE game team win against Mahomes' Chiefs is ALL Rivers had to hang his MVP hat on. But losing to Baltimore so convincingly ended Rivers chance. Seriously, on what basis does Rivers have ANY edge now?

It's like quoting head-to-head stats Roy vs. Hasek, which was ignored around here in a heartbeat!

 

[Michael Farkas]

ALL Rivers had to hang his MVP hat on

Oh.

For the record, I know he won't win because context isn't often used by media members...but to say he had nothing to offer besides that one game pretty much sums up Rivers season and career to date, insanely underrated for what he has brought to the table...

 

[Sentinel]

Even in soccer I always preferred strikers. Miroslav Klose was THE man.

 

[sr edler]

Even in soccer I always preferred strikers. Miroslav Klose was THE man.

Uh, yes. Most preferably in the group stages in blow out wins against some weak ass opponent like Saudi Arabia. Outside of the 2010 World Cup (3 goals), he never scored more than 1 goal in the knock out stages in any World Cup tournament.

2002 WC – Group stage: 5 goals | Knock out stage: 0 goals
2006 WC – Group stage: 4 goals | Knock out stage: 1 goal
2010 WC – Group stage: 1 goal | Knock out stage: 3 goals
2014 WC – Group stage: 1 goal | Knock out stage: 1 goal

Klose is the archetype of an opportunistic striker leeching off of a strong team and feasting in blowouts against weaker opponents. Just came back from YT where I saw his 5 goal game in Serie A against Bologna. 1 goal (the 4th) was impressive. The rest were just garbage tip ins, more or less. He would never in a million years have scored those goals in an important game against a reasonably strong opponent, or on an underdog team. I just hate players like Miroslav Klose. Sorry.

 

[Thenameless]

If I may be allowed to substitute an NFL example for the most recent soccer parallel:

Is Mahomes the league MVP for leading clearly in both yards gained and touchdowns thrown? Or should Brees get a sort-of lifetime achievement nod for never before having won the MVP award but the old guy has quarterbacked a team whose combination of defense and offense has resulted in the just barely best record.(?)

It would feel awkward for Brees to retire without ever having won an MVP - I didn't know that he hadn't yet. I don't know if he's been shortchanged in the past, or if others have had better seasons when he was exceptional, but I know he's had some monstrous 5,000+ yard passing seasons. I'm not into cheating Mahomes out of a clear and deserved victory, but if it's fairly close in the end, I'd want to give it to Brees. Mahomes should have many years left in his career to compete.

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

As for classical, luckily I have a more varied taste; Chopin, Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel and Shostakovich are the huge favourites, not so much the 'big three' of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

All right, since 'Van' didn't take the bait re: Ludwig "Van's" 9th, I'll accept your further discussion concerning the three bolded, above.

I'll open with the following: I've got a vintage Mengelberg/Concertgebouw rendition of Debussy's Fantasie for Piano & Orchestra (featuring Gieseking) that I've taken in frequently. Previn is an underrated Ravel conductor, and his Royal Phil recording of Valses Nobles at Sentimentales is a gem. Got a hard-to-find version of Stokowski/Philadelphia in Shostakovich's Symphony #10 that might be my favorite Shostakovich recording, period.

 

[Sentinel]

Uh, yes. Most preferably in the group stages in blow out wins against some weak ass opponent like Saudi Arabia. Outside of the 2010 World Cup (3 goals), he never scored more than 1 goal in the knock out stages in any World Cup tournament.

2002 WC – Group stage: 5 goals | Knock out stage: 0 goals
2006 WC – Group stage: 4 goals | Knock out stage: 1 goal
2010 WC – Group stage: 1 goal | Knock out stage: 3 goals
2014 WC – Group stage: 1 goal | Knock out stage: 1 goal

Klose is the archetype of an opportunistic striker leeching off of a strong team and feasting in blowouts against weaker opponents. Just came back from YT where I saw his 5 goal game in Serie A against Bologna. 1 goal (the 4th) was impressive. The rest were just garbage tip ins, more or less. He would never in a million years have scored those goals in an important game against a reasonably strong opponent, or on an underdog team. I just hate players like Miroslav Klose. Sorry.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you twist the legacy of greatest goalscorer in the World Cup history. Scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the semifinals, practically dragging his team to the semifinals, etc. The reason why Germany has been underachieving in the last four years is because they don't have him any more, and losers like Lopes can't put the ball in the net.

One of my favorite players of all time.

 

[unknown33]

Scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the semifinals, practically dragging his team to the semifinals, etc.

Is this a joke I'm missing?

 

[Uncle Rotter]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you twist the legacy of greatest goalscorer in the World Cup history. Scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the semifinals, practically dragging his team to the semifinals, etc. The reason why Germany has been underachieving in the last four years is because they don't have him any more, and losers like Lopes can't put the ball in the net.

One of my favorite players of all time.

It was a 7-1 game

 

[sr edler]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you twist the legacy of greatest goalscorer in the World Cup history. Scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the semifinals, practically dragging his team to the semifinals, etc. The reason why Germany has been underachieving in the last four years is because they don't have him any more, and losers like Lopes can't put the ball in the net.

One of my favorite players of all time.

There’s value in a player like Klose, you're just overstating it. Germany early on in Klose's international career was more reliant on players like Ballack/Lahm, then Özil took over Ballack's role. Thomas Müller has held the same scoring pace/role as Klose both in the WC and with Bayern München. J. Klinsmann held the same scoring pace as Klose on the national team and in the World Cup, just in fewer appearances and in a lower scoring era/environment. He was better than Klose.