Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2010

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My taste in music is eclectic. On any given day, you might catch me groovin’ to a diverse mix that might include B.o.B, Bruno Mars, The Black Eyed Peas, and Dianna Krall. Of late, though, I’ve been mostly into Jazz. In the process of checkin’ out which albums to add to my stash, I came across several diverse 2010 Top Ten Album lists. Among those listers are Spinner, Slate, Jazzology, Mike Luriguen and Geoffrey Himes. Let's add my Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2010 to the mix.












1. Jason Moran, 'Ten' (Blue Note)












2. Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green: Apex (Pi)



3. Marc Ribot, 'Silent Movies' (Pi)




4. Maurice Brown "The Cycle
Of Love"



5. Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden, 'Jasmine'




6. Guillermo Klein, 'Domador De Huellas'



7. Steve Coleman and the Five Elements "Harvesting Semblances and Affinities"



8. Geri Allen, 'Flying Toward The Sound'



9. Dave Douglas & Keystone: Spark of Being (Greenleaf)



10. Fred Hersch, 'Whirl' (Palmetto)



10. Matthew Shipp, '4D' (Thirsty Ear)


There was a tie for tenth place on my list, so I guess, technically, it's a top eleven list. You might want to check out my Top Ten Jazz Albums of All Time.

Today's News: Government Leaks & Name Changes

Changing Names. I was thinking, "What kind of name is 'The Situation'?" It's not all that, if you know what I mean. Then, I see some preacher changed his name to "Captain Awesome." Duhhhh. How 'bout Captain Douche Bag. Me, not to be out done, I'm changing mine, too. Here's my new driver's license:

That's Me - Man Witha Plan

Government Leaks: I know I may soon be facing charges of Treason, but what the heck. With all the talk lately about the deficit, I thought I might expose you to a bit of reality - the deficit goes up every year regardless of who's president and what party they represent. Here're some stats going back to 1975 when the deficit was just over half a trillion dollars.

09/30/2010 09/30/2009 09/30/2008 09/30/2007 09/30/2006 09/30/2005 09/30/2004 09/30/2003 09/30/2002 09/30/2001 09/30/2000 09/30/1999 09/30/1998 09/30/1997 09/30/1996 09/29/1995 09/30/1994 09/30/1993 09/30/1992 09/30/1991 09/28/1990 09/29/1989 09/30/1988 09/30/1987 09/30/1986 09/30/1985 09/30/1984 09/30/1983 09/30/1982 09/30/1981 09/30/1980 09/30/1979 09/30/1978 09/30/1977 06/30/1976 06/30/1975

13,561,623,030,891.79 11,909,829,003,511.75 10,024,724,896,912.49 9,007,653,372,262.48 8,506,973,899,215.23 7,932,709,661,723.50 7,379,052,696,330.32 6,783,231,062,743.62 6,228,235,965,597.16 5,807,463,412,200.06 5,674,178,209,886.86 5,656,270,901,615.43 5,526,193,008,897.62 5,413,146,011,397.34 5,224,810,939,135.73 4,973,982,900,709.39 4,692,749,910,013.32 4,411,488,883,139.38 4,064,620,655,521.66 3,665,303,351,697.03 3,233,313,451,777.25 2,857,430,960,187.32 2,602,337,712,041.16 2,350,276,890,953.00 2,125,302,616,658.42 1,823,103,000,000.00 1,572,266,000,000.00 1,377,210,000,000.00 1,142,034,000,000.00 997,855,000,000.00 907,701,000,000.00 826,519,000,000.00 771,544,000,000.00 698,840,000,000.00 620,433,000,000.00 533,189,000,000.00

See ya soon on the 6 o'clock news.

Best Gift for Children: The Gift of Reading

Sure, I sell books and children's books online at aceswebworld.com, but I've given more books away than I'll ever sell. Simply put, I believe that kids should be encouraged to read. Regardless of what kind of environment children find themselves in, books can impact their lives positively. Whether books are read to instruct, to illustrate or simply to escape, the offshoot of an acquired love for reading is an improved ability to read and communicate with words, an ability that will serve children well througout their lives. Below, I've gathered quotes by people more well known than me on the subject of reading. Enjoy.

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwald

"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." — Marilyn Jager Adams

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." — Jacqueline Kennedy

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” - Victor Hugo

"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She will not want new fashions nor regret the loss of expensive diversions or variety of company if she can be amused with an author in her closet." — Lady Montagu, on raising her granddaughter, 1752

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations--something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.” - Katherine Patterson

"You may have tangible wealth untold. / Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. / Richer than I you can never be – / I had a mother who read to me." — Strickland Gillilan

"Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!" — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943

“Everyone probably thinks that I'm a raving nymphomaniac, that I have an insatiable sexual appetite, when the truth is I'd rather read a book.” - Madonna (1991)

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." — Walt Disney

"We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading." - B. F. Skinner

“The nonreading children are the greatest problem in American education.” — Glenn Doman, "How to Teach Your Baby to Read"

"There is no substitute for books in the life of a child." - May Ellen Chase

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” - Groucho Marx

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” - Maya Angelou

So it is with children who learn to read fluently and well: They begin to take flight into whole new worlds as effortlessly as young birds take to the sky.” - William James

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." ~ Anna Quindlen

"TV.  If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six.  Open your child's imagination.  Open a book." - Author Unknown

"A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up children without surrounding them with books... Children learn to read being in the presence of books." - Horace Mann

"Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different." — Steven Pinker

Spotlight On Hiroshige, Lynch, Pollock, Johns and Klee

The number of artists featured at AcesWebWorld.com just increased by a five-spot. Check out our pages dedicated to Hiroshige, Brent Lynch, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns and Paul Klee.

Artist Brent Lynch in renown for his passionate imagery and fearless originality create the fascinating mystery woman in “Evening Lounge.” A powerful figurative and landscape artist, Lynch defies convention with bold strokes of deep reds, blacks and grays cast in shadows and light. His vivid technique weaves a smoldering storyline around his subject. Pairs intriguingly with its sister painting, “Cigar Bar.


Famous Japanese Ukiyo-e artist, Ando Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) is known for his poetic interpretations of ordinary landscapes. Assuming his father’s firefighting job when he was orphaned at age 12, Hiroshige was inspired to become an artist when he saw the works of the rennowned Hokusai. Starting out as a protrait artist, he ultimately achieved fame for his landscapes. His artwork, including his masterpiece, “Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido,” used unique perspectives, bold colors and realistic depth. When tourism boomed, Hiroshige was inspired by his own travels to create an incredible 5,400 prints.


Abstract Expressionist pioneer Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) poured and dripped paint onto canvases, challenging the traditional use of an easel and brush. Deceptively childlike, Pollock’s work was actually astoundingly complex and sophisticated. Compelled by inner turmoil, Pollock used dramatic movement to pour, drip and hurl paint onto huge canvases attached to the floor. Pollock, who was influenced by Picasso, Miró and the Surrealists, expressed subconscious thoughts through his motions, and revolutionized a style of painting in which the work has no identifiable parts or focal point.


Jasper Johns was an important 20th century artist instrumental in the development of Pop Art, Conceptual Art, and numerous other movements in Europe and the US. Though a series of flag and target images that outraged the art world, Johns transformed ordinary objects into fine art. Johns, who began his career in commercial art, challenged and altered the basic principles of painting, and has explored countless unconventional art forms. He often repeats the same subjects with different techniques to examine the relationship between an image and its medium.


Paul Klee (1879 – 1940) was an ingenious modern art master with an extensive stylistic range. Klee created small, delicate works, filling them with traces of dreams, music, poetry, and stylistically blended primitive art, Surrealism, Cubism and children’s art. Klee’s initial pen-and-ink drawings were transformed after he visited Tunisia and became smitten with the color and light he found there. Fusing abstraction with reality, Klee fills his work with complex symbols derived from the unconscious. Klee’s work and innovations profoundly influenced 20th century Surrealism, Abstract and Nonobjective art.

Veterans Park: Going To The Dogs

I enjoy walking and jogging around Veterans Park off Hicks Road in Hudson, Florida. It’s part of the Pasco County park system:

I’m not alone – others enjoy it, too.

By 7:45 AM, many people have already hit the trail:

 During my walks, I’ve seen Bald Eagles, Pileated Woodpeckers and, of course, Sandhill Cranes:

Of course, there are rules:

But, as they say, rules were made to be broken or, in this case, changed:

To: Frederick J. Buckman, Parks and Recreation Director,
Martha S. Campbell, Administrative Services Manager,
Brian W. Taylor, Parks & Recreation Mgr (Area I & II)

Subject: Dogs at Veterans Park
When my wife and I arrived at the park this morning, at about 7:45 AM, for our walk, we immediately observed people walking around the park with their dog. Since, as they often are, a sheriff car was sitting in the parking lot, I approached the officer and asked if it was within his power to do something about the dog. He advised me to find a county park employee and inform him of the dog's presence. There was a man in the main building cleaning up so I informed him. He advised me that the policy had changed and that people were now allowed to walk their dogs as long as they stayed on the asphalt. If that's true, it's a sad day for park regulars who already have to deal with discourteous bike riders and roller bladers. Now, we have to dodge dog droppings, too. Anyway, the dog in question was being allowed to run all over the place. The park employee didn't seem to care about the dog. As for me, I've always taken comfort from the signs that inform visitors that the policy is "no alcohol and no animals." If this is no longer the case, I'm sorry to hear that.

The Reply:

Dog in park at Veterans Memorial Park
Mr. Toscano:
 I am Terry Hamby, Park Operator at V.M.P. and have been asked to address this with you. At the present time, dogs are allowed at V.M.P. only on the trail, and signage is in the process of being created to define areas where they are permitted, while the current signs will be modified to reflect the change in policy. Dog owners have approached the county and requested that they be allowed to walk their animals at this facility, the results of which you have witnessed. However, dogs must remain leashed, and the owners are expected to clean up any mess their pet may leave laying around. In the near future we may be able to provide pet bags for this purpose, but until then pet owners are responsible for their own clean up supplies.
 In the case this morning I also saw the dog, and did nothing about it due to the change in policy and the fact that the dog was leashed, although it was a very thin retractable style leash that from a distance looked near invisible.
 When I am asked by pet owners where they can take their dogs, I recommend  to them Crews Lake or Jay B. Starkey Parks, both of which are better suited for this activity and have pet stations. When they ask if they can come to V.M.P. I tell them they must stay on the train and clean up after the pet.
 I am sorry you had this experience, but rest assured we are trying to maintain a clean facility for use by our citizens, and will endevor to keep this park clean and dog dropping free.

Regards,
Terry G. Hamby
Park Operator II
Veterans Memorial Park
Pasco County Parks and Recreation department

The thing with those retractable leashes is that owners can let their dogs roam off the path when they think no one is around, then reel their dogs back in when someone approaches. I’ve seen it already, on three occasions.

Doggy does its business.

The woman, seen above allowing her beloved bow-wow to run, restrains her dog everytime I pass by. Afterwards she praises her mutt by chanting “Good girl, good girl,” as though the act of not attacking me was praiseworthy. This, btw, is the same "leashed" dog Terry G. Hamby referred to in his email.

Of course, I have questions. Like, what was the decision-making process? Was there a decision-making process? Or, is asking all it takes? If so, I'd like to have my car washed and waxed on Wednesdays. And, how many inquiring dog owners does it take to get the policy changed? Who, exactly, are these dog owners? And, who do they know? Did anyone consider polling those of us who are already using the park before they changed the policy? And, how many bike owners will it take before the signs are changed to read “Pedestrians Must Yield To Bicycle Traffic?” Two? Three?

No Dogs. No Bull.

I’m not happy about this change, mainly because I know dog owners. Back when I was a telephone man, time and again when customers let me in their house they’d tell me not to mind their dog because it didn’t bite. Guess what – they didn’t bite their owners, but they sure as hell didn’t mind sinking their teeth into me. Up to now, I’ve seen three people at Veterans park walking their dogs. Two of them have violated the rule about allowing the dogs off the path. It’s only a matter of time before the dogs start lunging at people and barking at the cows and the cranes and all the other wildlife. After all, that’s what dogs do.

UPDATE: March 10, 2013 - The dog situation continues to deteriorate. People don't pick up after their dogs. People don't think their dogs need to be confined to the path or, for that matter, need to be leashed. And, worst of all for us bird lovers, dog owners think it's great fun to let their dogs loose in the area of the pond on the west end of the park, a pond that had been a haven to all kinds of wading birds, so that their little lovable pooches can cause the birds to scatter and fly away which they have, permanently, to somewhere outside the park. Contact the park authorities, you say? You have to be kidding. They usually confine their activities to the smoke free sections of the park, where, by the way, they can be found with cigarettes dangling from their lips.

The Story Continues… Unfortunately

I watched Blood Bloods once. The new CBS cop series featuring Tom Selleck revealed a continuing story line dealing with who and why one of his sons was killed. Boring. Not interested. Show me a crime, solve it in one episode or you’re going to lose me.

Even the Red John bullshit involving Patrick Jane of The Mentalist is starting to turn me off to what was once my favorite show. I mean, I can accept some continuing nuances like Temperance Brennan’s relationship with Booth in my current favorite series Bones. Or, in a new favorite like The Defenders, starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, I can live with the fact that Belushi’s character Nick Morelli is going to mix it up with the wife he is enjoying a separation from. Well, he’s not really enjoying it, but it looks like he better get used to it.

Anyway, Back to Bones, the series keeps getting better and better. The frank, literal and always honest Temperance is one of the funniest characters on TV, even though the show is not, strictly speaking, a comedy. I tried to read a couple of the Kathy Reich novels upon which the series is very loosely based and found them completely boring. The Temperance Brennan of the novels bears very little resemblance to the unique and brash Temperance of the Fox series. Thank goodness.

Lone Star: Channeling George Clooney

Josh Lucas

 This is weird: I decided to give the new Fox series Lone Star a shot, mainly because I didn’t see anything too appealing up against it, and recorded it along with the NBC show Chase. Well, we, my wife and I, weren’t far into the first episode of Lone Star when an actor pops up who strikes me as familiar. “Hey,” I said, “isn’t that the guy who played Reese Witherspoon’s husband in Sweet Home Alabama?” My wife said she didn’t know. Well, from another angle, it was obvious that this was not Josh Lucas, the guy I had been thinking of.

Cole Hauser

 Next, we watch Chase. As soon as character Jimmy Godfrey appears on the screen, I say to my wife, “Well, I’ll be damned! There he is. That’s the guy who played her husband. Can you beat that? I thought he was in the other show and, now, he turns up in this one.” “That’s weird!” she agreed. Of course, as it turns out actor Cole Hauser was not the guy who played Reese’s husband, either. But, like I said, it’s weird. In my defense, Looking at their pictures, it looks like their noses are similar.


Putting aside indications of my diminished mental capacity, we gave the two shows mixed reviews. Before it was cancelled we had already made up our minds not to watch Lone Star again. It just wasn’t offering the kind of story I could get into on a long term basis. The only thing mildly interesting, aside the obligatory hot girlfriend, was James Wolk’s Clooneyesque facial contrivances. What the hell, if you have aspirations of being a heartthrob, who better to mimic.

It’s sort of ironic that the show is being replaced by Season 3 of Lie To Me, another show that me and my honey removed from our potential watch-list after seeing the first episode. Go figure.