jstoyz

Umm, Jesus nor God killed that little girl......This woman has free will and allegedly chose to commit an evil act. How about all of the great things that Christians do every day all over the world? BTW, what's a Huckabee bitch? Is that different than a Clinton/Obama/Code Pink bitch? Just wondering....... Well if you have free will, and God can't do anything for you, whats the point in believing in him? if this lady was doing his work, then she is a represenative of him, just like if you work for a company, so regardless of all the great work christians are doing all over the world, Id have to say this knocks it down to it's foundation, and by the way, if I may ask, why is it God only gets credit for the good things, but when something bad happens you attribute it to "Free Will"? im just very curious. And Yes a huckabee bitch is just as worthless ass a clinton obama bitch, even know I like the govenor! Without delving (too deeply) into philosophical considerations that generally aren't proffered, discussed, or even popular on this message board, I'll say that Christianity distills down to one fundamental concept--> FAITH. Faith that there is a God, that He is just and wise, and that through the new covenant brought forth by his Son, we, as hapless and flawed as OUR FREE WILL and poor decisions allow us to be, can find redemption. So, why then does someone affiliate with a Christian community and allegedly murder a child? I necessarily cannot have an answer to that beyond free will and see below paragraphs (LOL), but I can say that she was not behaving in a Christ-like manner. Further, although part of Christianity entails celebrating with others (i.e. church services), it is at it's most fundamental level a personal and spritual experience. Thus, logically, the sinful actions of one "believer" do not and cannot condemn another's spiritual foundation of faith. The Christian Church serves solely as a bedrock source of knowledge and inspiration from which it's practitioners can discover God, accept Christ as savior, and grow spiritually, but it cannot stop individuals from sinning nor from committing crimes against society. As a believer, I am asked and expected to adhere to the the roadmap set forth in the New Testament, but I am not forced to comply. Rather than admonishing God for not enforcing compliance (a.k.a. for not creating a world of all good deeds all the time), I find it indicative of His unending generosity toward "man" that all of us are granted the intellect to choose between right and wrong, even when the chosen outcomes are often so horribly wrong. We are forced, however, to live with the consequences of bad behavior. So then, what can God "broadly" do for "you" (anyone/everyone)? Well, alot, including extending an offer of eternal salvation, but you first have to want the assistance. That doesn't mean that He won't reach out in gentle, unexpected ways from time to time, but the final choice is always "yours." To use your analogy of a company--> when was the last time a company was held culpable for the renegade actions of an employee who chose to murder his/her co-workers? Or a school was deemed responsible for the actions of a school shooter(s)? In general, we are a forgiving society and do not hold the many accountable for the actions of one. I would offer that logic and reason have as much or more to do with that observance as religious philosophy. Why credit God for good deeds and not abhor him when things go wrong? Well, there is not a simple answer to that but I'll take a stab........I don't subscribe to the notion that each and every good deed and outcome is divinely coordinated by God. I feel that He has a plan for each person, that He wishes each to fulfill that plan, and that fulfillment of such will lead to maximization of individual and collective potential. But each chooses (via free will) his/her final pathway to the destination, including all works, good and bad, that lead toward or away from, respectively, that desired outcome. When one has wandered astray thru sin, a major tenet underpinning the Christian faith, namely God's merciful forgivness, allows such individual to regain a foothold on the intended path, and again travel in the "right" direction and away from sin. But again, that choice is made at the level of the individual. Further, I believe that one may acknowledge the opportunities and blessings bestowed upon him/her by a Creator that allow for accomplishment and achievment, and that said Creator will provide aid along the way when/if/how He deems it necessary (which is one reason believers pray), without attributing all happenings to divinity. I personally acknowledge that God helps me accomplish positive "deeds" by granting me certain talents and capabilities, but I've been given full autonomy over the final execution of said deeds. Why would God allow for suffering? Volumes and volumes have been written on this subject, by some of the most esteemed Christian and, amazingly, secular philosophers throughout history. I would encourage anyone genuinely interested in this topic to seek out some of those books and writings, C.S Lewis' "Mere Christianity" being a very good starting point. Lewis was a brilliant defender of atheism before becoming a brilliant defender of christianity....From the bias of my Christian viewpoint, I believe that through suffering I can more fully relate to the suffering that Christ endured for humanity. I am not likening myself to a Christ-figure, far from it, I've done some stuff I ain't too proud of. But I am especially comforted by this approach when patients whom I have cared for medically suffer and die. So, do I need to suffer to know God? No, but suffering sure does remind me how IMPERFECT this world is as compared to the PERFECTION of God's heaven that lies, I fervently hope, at the end of my life's journey. And I can personally attest thru the activities of my profession to having many opportunities to alleviate physical pain and suffering, so by granting humans such strong intellectual capacities, God isn't exactly leaving us defenseless and incapable of improving the human physical condition. Finally, I also believe that suffering and loss can be looked upon as "gifts" to stimulate individual and communal growth by engendering and amplifying positive human characteristics such as compassion, kindness, empathy, sympathy, etc.. At the conclusion of such experiences, maybe we are collectively better people, with or without a God.........Sorry for the long post, but these are not simple issues and as you can tell, I don't have any simple answers, maybe not even persuasive ones. It wasn't my intent to offend, preach, nor force my personal beliefs onto anyone else....I was just answering questions posed by another board member based upon my point of view.......Jeff.

Umm, Jesus nor God killed that little girl......This woman has free will and allegedly chose to commit an evil act. How about all of the great things that Christians do every day all over the world? BTW, what's a Huckabee bitch? Is that different than a Clinton/Obama/Code Pink bitch? Just wondering.......

I once had to sit through a 1 hour lecture in my Pathology course in medical school where the topic was the post-mortem detection of sexual abuse in homicide cases (how to examine the tissues and officially report the findings in autopsy reports)......There was a mixture of slides presented, some of which were pre/post-autopsy shots of murdered children (many cases unsolved, and in a handful of such cases, the identity of the victim had never even been determined). It was a truly horrific and sickening experience and was one of the factors that turned me off to Pathology as a profession......In subsequent years I've witnessed child abuse so devastating that I've wanted to "throw a beat down" on the parents in front of everyone in the ER, and most of those kids actually survived........ Some Forensic Pathologist is, by law, combing through the remains of that little girl from CA this week in order to determine cause of death and whether sexual abuse was inflicted, and I'm genuinely glad that person isn't me, b/c I have a pretty good idea of what's involved. I'd rather be the guy who selects the tree from which to string up by the balls the sick f*ck responsible. And no, that wouldn't be a quick death.......Jeff.

Man, all the really cool music stores long ago went out of business in northern Colorado. Used to find some really great stuff for bargain prices........Denver has a bunch of great second-hand music stores, but I never have time to get down there....In my town of nearly 100,000 people, we have an fye retail store, a Best Buy box store, and a dumpy/crappy Angelo's CDs outlet which way overprices anything that's brought in on trade. Sorry, I won't pay $8-$11 (or $.01) for a used Alice in Chains LP, or music of that type, which is all they seem to have. LMAO, I live in a post card picturesque community at the foot of the Rockies that musically is a barren wasteland.......Jeff.

Back ya on that issue, the counterfeiting technology coming out of Greece seems to be very high quality, and I'm sure some of these boots trade hands multiple times with no one knowing the difference. That said, I have bought CDs from a few (3-4) Greek sellers who were OUTSTANDING in every way possible, but "Buyer Beware" has never been more applicable when buying CDs online.......Jeff.

Interesting photos, real or not. I for one am a big fan of paranormal shows (Ghost Hunters on SciFi channel is cool, though not always credible) and would actually like to join a scientific based paranormal investigation someday. A true story and my only personal "paranormal" experience.....Back when I was a third year medical student (I'm a physician) I was on call (meaning myself and some very weary resident doctors took care of all the patients overnight so the staff doctors could basically work 8am-5pm) one night in an old Catholic hospital. I was completing a progress note in a patient's chart sometime around 2-3AM while standing at an empty nurses station in a very quiet internal medicine ward. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed what appeared to be an elderly woman in a hospital gown, about 150-200 feet away, approaching down a dimly lit hall to my left. As I turned my head and looked up, she moved to her left and disappeared out of sight down an adjoining hallway. I took off down the hall after her since elderly in-patients walking around late at night on their own is VERY BAD (falls, broken hips, etc.). I figured she might be looking for a nurse, doctor, or might even be confused/delirious. When I reached the intersection where I lost sight of her, I found closed and LOCKED double doors (with windows) preventing entrance to the pitch black adjoining hallway that the lady HAD TO HAVE just entered. Confused as h*ll at that point, I went to track down a ward nurse ASAP to help me find the woman when I was paged to the ER to help transfer a couple of new admissions up to my ward. Here's where it gets creepy: I was so busy for the next 3-4 hrs. that I never could properly follow-up with anyone about the wandering patient. About 9 AM I went into morning report with all the other doctors and the second case that was discussed entailed an elderly woman who died in the surgical ICU overnight at approx. 2:15 AM, which was located on the opposite wing of the same floor I had been on when I saw the wandering lady. After briefing, I mentioned my encounter to a couple of colleagues and nurses and was informed that the hallway with the locked double doors used to adjoin the medical and surgical wings before renovations, but that it had been sealed off for several months. Only a couple administrators, both at home that night, and the maintenance dept. had keys. And I definitely didn't see any janitor types walking around up there b/t 2-3 AM. I also found out that no patients had left their rooms or been reported "AWOL" overnight on the particular floor in question. So, in the early afternoon I headed down to the morgue with my attending physician (my boss) to look at the lady who had died overnight since her body was still in-house......I'll never forget the gossebumps and chills I felt when I gazed upon her corpse- her general body features (build, weight, height, hair length and color, general facial features) all matched the profile of the lady I had seen in the hallway (who, by the way, had looked pretty damn solid vs. transparent). My attending seemed to actually believe that I saw something "out of the ordinary," in part b/c, as he confided to me as we walked upstairs, as a teenager his family had lived in a "haunted" house for a few years where apparitions had been observed on numerous occasions......We then spent the next 45 min. or so discussing over lunch how one would/could investigate the paranormal using the scientific method, how the concept of a "soul" or "spirit" might be explained by physics and neurobiology, as well as other "metaphysical" stuff......Was an interesting BS session, but I don't recall us actually solving the question of "life after death" (LOL). And I've never experienced anything else that even remotely resembles a paranormal experience. Personally, I hope the elderly woman who died that night many years ago (and whose ghost I MIGHT have glimpsed for a brief moment) eventually found her destination and is at peace, wherever that may be........Jeff.

I kind of like this band, have a couple of their CDs......Haven't thought about them in quite awhile, will check out their MySpace page. Thank you for the updated info. JLP ! Cheers, Jeff.

Outstanding F/U album from an outstanding band.......Kiske really shines, if only his solo albums could have been on this level of brilliance. On the first album, there are a couple tracks I often skip past, but on "Streets Of Fire" I almost never skip past anything, unless I just want a quick "fix" from the up-tempo tracks while working out. Just my 2 cents.....Jeff.

Welcome aboard Shawn .......Unofficially--> I host a TGIF party at my place every week, complete with "beverages," cages, and stripp...ahem, "pretty ladies." Officially--> err, I umm, do drink a beer or two while waiting for my g.f. to get off work.....So, come on over and join in the debauch......er, "fun." The only house rules: 1) If you see a red Honda Prelude pull up driven by a pretty brunette, you must immediately proceed to the back entrance (as fast as possible). 2) DO NOT leave behind any Geoffadillos--> those buggers are definitely not domesticated !

I'll take an entire album of tracks like "December," and will then play the holy piss out of said album. Cool band, doubt I'll be seein' 'em live in Colorado, USA anytime soon though.......Jeff.

I suppose the tent encompassing my musical tastes is wider than that for many folks, as I listen to quite a bit of "soft" (jazz, classical, country, CCM) music in addition to hard rock. I've never really listened to much of Cher's material, not b/c I dislike her (loved her performance in the movie "Elephant Man" and my mom's her biggest fan) but b/c I've always been too busy listening to something else. That said, I've arranged to borrow all three CDs posted on the main page and will give them a listen. I generally really like projects involving Desmond Child, even if the final product is polished, slick and highly commercial. Before finding this site, I probably NEVER would have discovered stuff like T'Bell, 101 South, West Of Sunset, Vision Fields, and 1927 (don't get me started on this band, once the praise starts flowing forth it's hard for me to stop), all on the softer side but right up my alley. Given that my hard rock origins are rooted firmly in the late '80s offerings from the likes of Motley Crue, Poison, Ozzy Osbourne and Whitesnake, I'd say that my hard rock tastes have evolved a bit over time and become much more inclusive as well.......Thus, I respect all opinions expressed, pro and con, and at the end of the day I'm all about discovering more cool music. Would I add Cher to the database if Dan said the final decision was mine alone? Maybe not, but some other folks here do advocate strongly for her inclusion, so I'll roll wid it and check out her AOR stuff.......Jeff.

Cheers and enjoy your stay!

Had a great trading experience with Geoff as well........Gotta say, the 1927 disc I received in return went quite well with a perfectly grilled steak and a couple tall cans of Fosters lager. Already had the Fosters, usually have that on hand in fact, but my grilling skills did seem to be inspired by the smooth Aussie AOR thrumming in the background ......or, maybe it was the beer, but who cares? Cheers to a successful trade.......Jeff

Finally received the CD today, nearly 11 weeks after purchase. They never did respond to any of my 4 e-mails to them. A+ for the music, F- for the customer service..............Jeff.

That is some very funny sh*t. Seems in line with a previous thread where a board member mentioned that this Austrian guy (Thomas Ringseis, Walter Konrad, etc.) offers to trade low value CDs for rare discs. What a tool!

Fckin cool!

My better half likes this girl's music, so that damn song "has been in my head" far too often during car trips in recent days. Very HOT lady though.

Ummmmm......On closer inspection of the listed performers, there really are some dreadful acts lined up here (exceptions: EWF, Joe Cocker [+/-], Wynton Marsalis, Kings Of Leon). Of course, one can find authentic jazz/blues performances in Nawlins practically every night of the year--> oh, how I've had many wonderful nights of "debauchery" in the Jazz/Blues bars & clubs of ye olde French Quarter (pre-Katrina). Even had a semi-drunken philosophical discussion with an "escort," who claimed to be a graduate of BYU (a strict religious univ. in Utah, for those who don't know), one night outside the House Of Blues --> bought her a couple of streetside drinks, but was sensible enough to leave her at the door.............Ah, N.O. = GOOD TIMES .

Actually, I love jazz and was playing jazz long before I got into hard rock.........And I know several extremely talented jazz musicians who play professionally. That said, WTF does Bon Jovi bring to a jazz festival? He's put out a few bluesy rockers, such as the opener on "Destination Anywhere," but I don't see a correlation with jazz .

I hate to hear that. There seems to be very few that didn't have any problems. IMO it's just bullshit that you ask your customers/fans to pay upfront and not only do you not send right away but you don't have the decency to respond to emails. F#@kers. Which is exactly why they lost a potential customer in me. Backed........Had I read this thread BEFORE ordering, I wouldn't have made the purchase........Jeff.

I'm at a loss as to why a band would go through so much trouble to reissue a CD only to crap on their fans like this? I was one of the first people to order this from the band when they reissued it and it took 5 weeks for me to get my CD (and they didn't reply to any of my emails either). Barring any unforeseen troubles the band is having communicating with their fans, this is really unexcusably. These guys could be making so much more money if they allowed someone else (NEH, retrospect, stormspell, etc.) to at least distribute the CDs. I have no doubt that they would sell a sh*tload of copies. Plus, they wouldn't have to deal with the cust. service aspect that they so obviously disdain. EVERYONE would/should be more satisfied, esp. the fans, who, these guys seem to be forgetting, are ACTUALLY THE ONES BUYING THE DAMN PRODUCT!

I hate to hear that. There seems to be very few that didn't have any problems. IMO it's just bullshit that you ask your customers/fans to pay upfront and not only do you not send right away but you don't have the decency to respond to emails. F#@kers. Completely agree......If they're holding fast with their policy of only shipping when "enough" orders warrant a trip to the post office, in this economic climate I might be waiting a LOOOOONG time.....But at least I can afford gas to drive to the post office, so maybe I'm doin' alot better than these guys (LMAO!!!!!!).

Well, order placement must be at a standstill for Mr. Crosby and the Jones Street guys........2 months now since I ordered Dancin' With The Devil from their website--> no CD, no response to multiple e-mails. At some point down the road, I guess I could do a c.c. chargeback if all else fails, but what a stinkin' bummer that would be. Oh well, that's my problem, but I just wanted to let the community know about my experience....Jeff.

Wolf Creek--> Wow, that was one "carnageously" outstanding horror movie IMO. The movie claims people frequently go missing in the Aussie outback, but I'd imagine most meet their demise secondary to dehydration/starvation/angry wallabies (?sp.) rather than psycho killers. Just saying.

Backed re: Intuition, excellent album IMO and worth the $35 (IIRC) I spent on it.....Jeff.