CAR WASH AT 5:45AM? WHAT?

Now as you all know I'm pretty obsessive about maintaining a clean car (inside and out). I feel driving a dirty car is like wearing a wrinkled or stained shirt or worse. I shake my head in disgust at people that have a filthy car. When looking at the inside of some of these cars it appears a bomb has gone off inside as there is stuff all over the place! Anyway back to the reason for my post, I get up at pretty early in the morning to drive to work. Usually I drive by the local self-serve car wash at about 5:45AM! Yep, I know most of you still have your heads on the pillow and are sound asleep. As I drive by the car wash I will usually always see someone washing their car at the time of the morning. What? You didn't have time to do this on the weekend? You decide to do it now? I applaud the people for wanting a clean car but I think at this time of morning is a little odd not to mention the people that live right next to the car wash that have to listen to this. HAHA!

SONG OF THE DAY - SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES

I haven't posted a Song of the Day for quite a while. While laying on my butt watching football with my laptop and listening to iTunes, I heard this song from Smokey Robinson and The Miracles titled "Here I go Again". Now this has to be one of my favorite Smokey songs and any version I've heard (including this one) is a definite winner. Anyway, check out this classic love jam on this cold and dark afternoon and I'm sure you will agree with the song of the day.

IS THAT A CD PLAYER? - WHAT?

The other morning i was driving to work and I noticed an early morning person jogging. Now what caught the eye of SAXOMAN was what this jogger was carrying. What? Yep, you guessed it! A portable cd player! What? Yep, I kid you not. Now I can honestly say that I haven't seen a portable cd player in quite a while let along see someone jogging with one.  I mean that's almost like jogging with a Walkman. You juast don't see this any more. Now I remember I paid big money for a portable cd player many, many years ago and would also take it with me many places. The only downside was how many cd's I would have to carry around with me. HAHA! Anyway, seeing this jogger with the cd player brought back many similar memories such as the people that would wear the headphone radios haha! Man how times have changes.

YOUR DOG SPEAKS SPANISH? - WHAT?

Many years ago I remember being over my father-in-laws house as he gave several orders to his dog. Things such as Sit, Lay Down, Fetch, and others. Now what was amazing to me is he did all of these commands in Spanish! I watched in amazement as the dog followed all of these commands. What the? I looked at the dog, looked back at my father-in-law, looked at the dog again and then blurted out "Your dog speaks Spanish?". HAHA. What a knucklehead I am sometimes. HAHA!

WHERE'S SAXOMAN?

Yes, it was bound to happen. Once I got my iPhone I started checking all my e-mails on my phone instead of pulling out my laptop. So my blog has been sorely neglected. Now don't worry my many readers. SAXOMAN is still alive and well and enjoying the four day weekend. I will post some more riveting topics soon so stay tuned!

YES, IT'S HALLOWEEN AGAIN

OK now all of the faithful readers of my blog know that Halloween is not SAXOMAN's favorite holiday. Harmless ghosts and goblins have given way to flesh eating zombies, vampires and everything else imaginable. Now being a somewhat squeamish guy (as you all know) these bloody types of "entertainment" are just not my cup of tea. I see all the latest horror movies are currently out in the theaters and SAXOMAN will not be seeing any of them. HAHA! Now there is one upside to this holiday that I see and that is all the leftover candy that people bring to work and that I have left over. Things like Kit Kat's, Almond Joy's, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and more (oh yeah!) Now other than that Halloween is not for SAXOMAN.

TIME WARNER - WHAT'S UP?

OK, now for those of you that don't know we are being held hostage here in Los Angeles by Time Warner. They currently hold the exclusive rights to all Laker games and us fans are left out in the cold unable to see the games. The NBA season opens on Tuesday and so far no deal is in sight. What do I do? Cancel my Direct TV and go to Time Warner? Anyway, we are all being told a deal is in the works and that these things typically go down to the wire. We shall see. Right now it is nervous time as we all want to see the new, revamped Lakers. Come on Time Warner! Get a deal done with Direct TV and Dish Network! Let's go!

SAXOMAN - ROCKIN' THE iPHONE 5 - WHAT?

What? Yep,  you heard right. SAXOMAN is rockin' the iPhone 5. Now I can tell you that this is a major upgrade over the crappy phone I have been using for the past few years. Now how I convinced the wife that I needed this major upgrade is beyond me but whatever works. Now there's still a lot to learn for me but the important things like adding music are already done HAHA! So now I can take photos and videos wherever I am. Will this blog become obsolete? Will I post mindless thoughts to Twitter or worse yet, post mindless nonsense on Facebook like what I'm eating for lunch? Only time will tell but right now SAXOMAN is livin' large! HAHA

FASHION ARREST - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

OK, now I've blogged about guys that wear a Snuggie (What?) and guys that wear fanny packs (Yes, really) but one that I've forgotten to mention is one of the most common fashion arrest items that I see on a daily basis. Yes, it's people that wear their phones on their belt (see photo) for all to see. Now many of you reading this know who you are and yes, I am talking about you! Now maybe it's just me but I just don't see where a phone becomes part of your wardrobe like a belt, a scarf, a jacket. I dunno......I just don't get it. So, if you ever see SAXOMAN wearing his phone on his belt (which you won't), smack me in the head and knock some sense into me! HAHA!

RECOMMENDED VIEWING - BREAKING BAD

There are lots of hugely popular shows on tv that are watched by millions. Shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, The Voice, X-Factor, etc...etc... Now for some reason these shows have never really appealed to me and I just don't watch them at all. One show that I had heard good things about but never watched is the show titled Breaking Bad. I had read that this show had been nominated for 63 Emmy's and won over 32. Now I saw that I had this show on Netflix and I could watch all four seasons. The wife and I decided to give it a shot and if we didn't like it after a few episodes we would bail out. Well needless to say we got hooked on the adventures of school teacher Walter White and his exploits in cooking crystal meth. Now I don't typically recommend tv shows but this one gets two thumbs up from SAXOMAN and is definitely recommended. Now as we wind down watching the last few episodes of season four we realize we will now have to wait until next summer to see the final season five. Oh well........check out the trailer for the show and check it out!

HEY MAN, CAN I BORROW YOUR COMB? WHAT?

Now I remember way back in High School I had just finished gym class and was looking in the mirror and combing my hair. I then hear a guy next to me say "Hey man, can I borrow your comb?" I was stunned, shocked! I mean who asks to borrow another mans comb? I looked over and it was a guy from my gym class but I didn't recognize him. He had what is known as a "process" (aka a "conk" or a "Tony Curtis") Now for those of you that don't know this is where the hair is straightened and slicked down like the photo here of the early Temptations. Now I don't know why in the world this guy would have this done to his head because this was the early 70's and the time when afros were as big as can be. Anyway, I looked over at the greasy pile of hair on his head, looked at my comb, shook my head and said "No way man!" and quickly took off. HAHA!

MEMPHIS BARBECUE BURGER - OH MY!

Now I don't know what it is about this commercial but it really makes me want to try out this new Carl's Jr. Memphis Barbecue burger! A burger with pulled pork? i mean what could be better? Oh yeah, this is the director's cut of the commercial that they don't show for some odd reason. My oh my! HAHA!

GYM CLASS - NOT FUN FOR ALL

Now on a serious note - I was thinking the other day way back when I was in Junior High and had to go to gym class. Now for me gym class wasn't a big deal or a traumatic experience because I was a somewhat athletic kid. I was good at baseball and pretty good at other sports as well. No, what really sticks out in my mind was the kids that weren't so lucky to be athletic or may have been a little overweight. These kids had it really tough and I remember feeling sorry for these kids. These were the kind of kids that were the last ones to be picked when team were selected. As a class you typically would all have to line up and do the particular activity of the day (rope climbing, high jumping, the horse, running, hurdling, etc.) Now the kids that couldn't do these activities well were typically made fun of as well as being publicly humiliated before the entire class. We had to do these activities several times adding to the trauma. I remember seeing a chubby kid try and do the high jump, landed on the bar and then the stand holding the bar ends up falling on him. Really bad stuff......Anyway, I don't know if gym class is the same today or if things have changed. I only hope that these kids are ok today and not scarred for life as gym class was for some, not a very good experience.

WHY NOT THE L.A. RAMS?

I see the L.A. City Council today approved the way for a football stadium to be built in Los Angeles. All they need now is to find a team that wants to move here. The deal is actually for two teams to share the stadium kind of like the Lakers and Clippers share the Staples Center. So all I can say to this is why not my beloved Rams move back to L.A. where they belong! I mean it's a natural fit after they left us high and dry and moved to St. Louis. Come on Rams, come on back home! I forgive you!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - JOHNNY COLES

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week was a recent surprise i stumbled across in the used cd bins. The cd is titled Little Johnny C and is by trumpeter Johnny Coles. As I was reading the liner notes for this cd I noticed it had one of my favorite tenor sax players (Joe Henderson) on it so I quickly scooped it up and put it in my overflowing basket. Although I can honestly say at the time I wasn't very familiar with the name Johnny Coles, I quickly discovered that he had played with Eric Dolphy and Charles Mingus to name just a few. Anyway, like I said a real pleasant surprise and deserving of the Jazz CD Pick of the Week. Anyway, here's just one of many of the swingin' tracks from this cd. Check it out!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - MY WAY

It has been a rather slow period for Asian cinema lately so that's why there hasn't been a pick of the week in a while. Anyway, this Korean movie titled My Way was a real pleasant surprise. Now although I had heard about this movie I hadn't been aware it was available. So to my surprise my brother in law of all people lent me this movie that he had just rented from Red Box. What? Yep, the unhip hipping the hip! HAHA! Anyway, a really good movie that I throughly enjoyed. At the climatic ending tears were streaming down my face. A very emotional part of the movie. Based on a true story here is the trailer for My Way. Check it out and go rent it!

SAXOMAN - NEVER A SELLOUT

Now I must admit that I frequently receive e-mails from people wanting me to plug a band or an artist. Typically the e-mails will promise me a cd or a download of the music. Now as I've listened to some of these i have always politely declined to blog about these artists. They really haven't been very good or are typically not my style of music. I mean how can SAXOMAN stay true to his millions (2? 3?) of readers and shamefully plug some artist that I do not really like? This got me to wondering what other journalists do when a group flies them to an exotic location, puts them up in a posh hotel and then puts them backstage. Do these journalists feel obligated to write a good review after something like this? Well I can assure you that SAXOMAN will never fall into this trap and will never be compromised or sell out! SAXOMAN is a man of integrity that will not be compromised! AMEN brother, say it loud!

COMING SOON - THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS

Whoa what have we here? A martial arts movie with a blockbuster cast and presented by my man, Quentin Tarantino. Starring the RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan (rap group) with Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. My oh my! Now I stumbled across this while checking to see when Quentin's next movie (Django Unchained) is coming out (soon, very soon), Now if you've listened to many Tarantino and Tony Jaa dvd commentaries you know that the RZA is a big martial arts fan. I'm glad to see he finally decided to make this movie. Anyway, here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema that SAXOMAN will definitely be checking out!

BROOKSIDE PARK ON A SUNDAY AFTERNON

Now way, way back in the day the place to be on a Sunday afternoon was Brookside Park in Pasadena, CA. Situated right next to the world famous Rose Bowl this was a weekly ritual and the place to be. There were some that actually preferred Farnsworth Park in Altadena but that wasn't really where it was at. Now actually no one ever hung out inside the park but the actual spot for everyone was the outside parking lot. Here guys and girls would strut their stuff while the guys would show off their rides. I would see people early in the days washing and waxing their cars while girls and guys (what?) would have their hair in curlers getting ready for the day. Now because this was in the "Superfly era" you would see a lot of big pimpin' cars such as Cadillacs, El Dorado's (my fave) and Lincoln Continentals. You would also see various low riders (typically Chevy Impalas), the New Breed car club with their lowridin' Volkswagons and occasionally the Chosen Few ( a motorcycle gang). You would also see a variety of sports cars such as MG's, Fiat's and Triumphs where brothers would proudly cruise proclaiming "look at me, I'm not a tack head". What? HAHA (sorry but this is probably more of a local joke). You know who you are! A quick trip to Ike and Sam's Liquor Store in Altadena would get you hooked up with "The Bull" (Schlitz Malt Liquor). Anyway, SAXOMAN spent many a Sunday afternoon hangin' out, leanin' against the "ride" and trying to look hard! HAHA!

FADS I DON'T GET - BLACK SOCKS AND SANDALS

Now I must admit that there are a lot of fads that come and go. Many of these fads have me scratching my head wondering what in the world people are thinking. Now one fad I've noticed lately but realize it's been around a while is sandals with black socks. What? Yep, I kid you not. Now typically these sandals are a Nike or Adidas slip on sandal similar to the one shown in the photo. I must say that because it is Summertime I am seeing this more and more. Now I can see wearing this if you are 75 years old and playing bochi ball but for a youngster? I just don't get it. Now the more I think about this I'm wondering why or when you would ever wear sandals with socks. I dunno.....maybe I'm the odd one but this is one of many fads I just don't get.

NEON IS BACK - WHO KNEW?

Now I'm not sure if you've noticed or not but neon is back. What? Yep, I kid you not! Now I have recently spotted neon colored shoes, sunglasses, shorts, tops, etc. among many of the items carrying the bright neon colors. Now I happen to recall when neon was first in and I believe it was about 1991 or somewhere around there. Anyway, I must admit I bought into the fad back then and had the neon shorts, the neon (Burger King) sunglasses HAHA! and the neon Nike's What? OK, let me explain. The Nike's weren't all Neon like the photo here or like you saw people wearing in the Olympics. No, these just simply had some neon trim. Well guess what? The neon fad quickly faded and I was stuck with some severely out of style shoes. So as I watch the latest neon craze I'm saying no way that I'm buying into this again. I mean a pair of Nikes will last me for years. The neon fad? I say it's over by the summer HAHA!

HOT...HOT...HOT.....

OK now, enough is enough! This is getting ridiculous! It has been scorching hot now for an entire week! I've seen temperatures as hot as 105 degrees! What? Yep, I kid you not. It has been unbearably hot and I've had enough. Now yesterday I escaped to the beach and it was a "mild" 85 degrees so that was a little bit of relief and the cool ocean water was a welcome relief. Today I saw the weather forecast and it's going to be hot all week long! I only hope that my plants, and grass can survive this heat and that my air conditioner continues to help keep me cool.  Enough already please.......

SUPERMAN COMES TO L.A.

WHOOHOO! That's all I can say! After many months of trade rumors my beloved Purple and Gold (L.A. Lakers) have signed Dwight Howard! Now this is a really big day for Laker sport fans. Dwight is without a doubt the best center in the NBA. Now I must say when first I heard the proposed trade yesterday I was a little bit skeptical because the rumours were that the Lakers would be giving up Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard. I didn't think this was a good deal at all and hoped that it didn't go through. I must say that I figured this was just one of the many Dwight trade rumours I had heard about and really didn't pay it much mind. Later that night I went to put gas in the wife's car and the radio made it sound like this was a done deal but without giving up Gasol! What? Could this be true? Could Superman be going to L.A.? Joining my beloved Lakers? This can't be true can it? I waited until today to make sure the deal was final since I remember the last time I got excited about a Laker trade only to have Commissioner Stern squash it. Anyway, all I can say is Welcome to L.A. Superman! I look forward to the start of the season and watching many, many hours of basketball! Whoohooo..........

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - HORACE ANDY

This weeks long overdue Reggae CD Pick of the Week is Horace Andy with his cd titled Skylarking. This is an early Horace recording and shows why he went on to become one of Jamaica's top Reggae singers and is still going strong today. Now this cd is not to be confused with another of Horace's cd with the same title (what?) Anyway, I have had this cd in the car since I bought it a while back at Amoeba. Now I don't know why I see copies of this on Amazon going for $45 because I think i paid about $7 for my copy. Oh well.......Anyway, not hip to Horace Andy? Come on know and widen your listening horizons and check out Horace Andy.

BLACK DYNAMITE THE CARTOON - WHAT?

There other night I was laying in bed flipping through the channels. Now I typically never browse the cartoon channels but because there was absolutely nothing on I decided to see what i could find. To my surprise i saw something called Black Dynamite. Now being a fan of the movie and yes I own the DVD too, I decided to check it out. To my surprise this was a cartoon version of the Black Dynamite character. Now the episode I was watching was hilarious in that Michael Jackson was an alien and his large Afro wig and big nose were just a disguise to make him look somewhat human. What? HAHA! Anyway, I am looking forward to some more of these episodes as they were really funny but made for adults. Check out the trailer here!

SNOOP LION - HUH?

OK, now I must say I was quite surprised when I read yesterday that rapper Snoop Dogg has now changed his name to Snoop Lion. What? Yes, it's true. During a recent trip to Jamaica "Snoop" had an awakening and now feels that he is Bob Marley reincarnated! What? Yep, I kid you not. Anyway, gone for now are the gangster raps of Snoop Dogg which will be replaced by some smooth reggae beats. Anyway, I look forward to how this all plays out. My thoughts? I think Snoop was smoking' way too much ganja while in Jamaica. HAHA!

GREAT FOOD AND A HORSE IN A RESTAURANT - HUH?

On my recent trip to Peru some people took us to a restaurant that had recently won an award for some of their food. Now I must say that this restaurant (Warmy's) served this pork that was to die for! See photo of the pork that I  had eaten at this restaurant. Anyway, this pork was crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. This was truly a real treat! Now as I was finishing up my meal I looked up and a man was leading a horse through the restaurant. What? I stopped, looked up and then my mind starting racing. I looked at the food again, then back at the horse. All kind of thoughts started flashing through my head. Did I just eat a horse, I thought! What's going on? I quickly took my camera and followed the horse to see what was going to happen and snapped a photo. Anyway, the horse pictured here was safe and sound and no they did not serve this up as a meal. I guess it was just my paranoia kicking in. HAHA! Anyway, I must say it was quite an experience.

My succulent mouth watering pork

Yes, this is the actual horse

SORRY ABOUT THOSE TOENAILS - HAHA

I was thinking the other day about something that happened a long time ago when the wife and I were still dating. I was over her apartment and noticed she had some good toenail clippers. Not wanting to miss this opportunity I proceeded to cut my somewhat overgrown toenails and deposit the clippings in her ashtray. What? HAHA! Now that's only half of the story. It seems the next night the wife was hosting a Tupperware or Crystal party (something like that) and someone went to use the ashtray. Yep, you guessed it! The lady shrieked AAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!! GROSS! OH MY GOD! Yep, my toenails were quite a hit at the party. Oh well....HAHA!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - WYNTON KELLY

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is a winner I recently picked up while browsing the used bins. This is recorded live and is the Wynton Kelley Trio with Wes Montgomery on guitar! This cd is titled Smokin' At The Half Note and that's exactly what this cd does! Now I have to admit that I don't have a lot of Wes Montgomery's music but everything I have bought is a definite winner. Anyway, this is a nice recording that I have been listening to in the car for the past few weeks. Anyway, for those of you that aren't hip, check it out! Anyway, here is one  of the many fine tracks from this smoking'
cd. Check it out!

IT'S A GAS STATION NOT A CAR WASH - WHAT?.

This morning I was doing my typical Sunday chore which is to gas up both of the cars. Now for some reason this is something I have been doing for years. I religiously fill up my car and the wife's car so they will be full for the week. I think this goes way back to when I didn't make much money and made sure I would at least have a full tank of gas to get back and forth to work all week. Anyway, back to the reason for my post. As I was putting gas in my car I noticed the lady across from me washing her windows. No big deal I thought because people do this all the time. I finished pumping my gas, went to pay and then noticed this same lady was using the window squeegee on her hood and then the top of the car as well, and on and on it went. Having just come from washing my car I can say I didn't get this at all. I mean it's not a car wash lady. Jeez........people do the nuttiest things.

PASSING GAS IN PUBLIC - WHAT?

Yes, SAXOMAN is back! I know I've been slacking off with the blog lately but I still got plenty to say. OK, now you'll notice this blog topic of "Passing Gas in Public". No, no I'm not talking about myself although I have been known to silently slip out deadly fumes from time to time. No, I'm talking about people that just pass gas and let it fly with no regard for anyone in it's path. I mean, who does this?  Like a hurricane or a tornado, a deadly killer that can wipe out city blocks. HAHA! Now I write this post because SAXOMAN witnessed this first hand today. I was at the PCC Flea Market browsing the used cd's and dvd's and then all of a sudden I hear a loud, brrrrriiipppp, brrrrrrrriipppp, brrrrrrr. I stopped, looked up, horrified and looked around. What the ??? Are you kidding me??? Did I hear right? I looked around and I believe I spotted the culprit. An older woman who was asking if this dvd had Donny Osmond in it (Jeez, gimme a break!) Now there were a lot of people standing around and they all went on with their business as if nothing had happened. Me. no way I can let this pass can I? I stared at all the others hoping someone would look up and acknowledge this unpleasant act. No one moved or said a word. Now as much as I was tempted to say something I remembered the old saying "he who smelt it dealt it" Huh? So fearing I would get the blame somehow I kept quite and vacated the area as to avoid passing out from the noxious fumes. SAXOMAN was not amused.

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - HENRY FRANKLIN

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is a great release by bass player Henry Franklin titled The Skipper. Released on the Black Jazz label this is one of several fine releases on this label. Now I actually remember this when it originally came out and am glad to add to my jazz library. Now a few years back I was in downtown Riverside checking out Christmas lights with the wife and we walked into the heavily decorated hotel in the downtown area. There was a small lounge and hearing some jazz I peeked my head in to see what was going on. To my surprise Henry Franklin was there performing with his group. My oh my! What a pleasant surprise. Anyway, for those of you not hip to "The Skipper", check it out!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE

This weeks coveted DVD Pick of the Week is a recent release with Jet Li titled Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Now I must say that this brought back memories of the kung fu movies of the 80's and 90's with lot's of action, swordplay and people flying through the air! HAHA! My kind of movie. Anyway, here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Check it out!

SPOON FED? NOT FOR SAXOMAN

One of the things that bothers my is when the wife and I are out eating. She will usually say "Mmmm, this is good, try it" and then proceeds to stick a spoon (or fork) of food towards my mouth for me to try. Now I don't know what it is but this is always very awkward for me and never seems to work out at all. Usually my mouth doesn't connect with the food and I end up spilling it on me or on the table. I twist my head trying to orient it in the proper location to get the mouth towards the spoon but usually it is with no luck at all. Like I said, it just never seems to work. Lately when the wife has tried to do this I have politely declined and said I will try it myself. My wife then just looks at me like I'm a weirdo or something. Anyway, call me a weirdo but I really don't enjoy being spoon fed. HAHA!

LATIN CD PICK OF THE WEEK - WILLIE COLON

I had seen this early Willie Colon cd (from 1968) many times in the past but didn't pick it up for some odd reason. I mean I'm a big fan of Willie and have a ton of his music. I especially like the things he did with vocalist Hector LaVoe. Anyway, this cd then went out of print and you couldn't seem to find it any more except for some ridiculously overpriced ones on Ebay. Anyway, my good friends at Fania records saw my problem and re-released this gem once again. My oh my! A classic cd I am glad I have finally been able to get my hands on. So this weeks coveted Latin CD Pick of the Week is Willie Colon with his cd titled The Hustler. Now there are classic uptempo salsa numbers as well as some classic boleros. One of these slow boleros is one that I never get tired off. Here is the haunting Que Lio. Check it out!

BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AND DRIVING - HUH?

OK, now I have to admit that I have seen all kinds of things while driving the freeways. I've seen guys shaving, girls putting on eye make up, people reading (What?) and people texting all the time! Now today I must admit that what I saw was a first. Today while driving to work I saw a guy brushing his teeth while driving! What? I stared in disbelief. I mean, who does this? Why would anyone do this in the car and not at home? Are you in such a hurry that you would do this while driving?Where do you rinse out your mouth and spit? I mean, I really just don't get it at all. All I can say is that driving the L.A. freeways is always an adventure.

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - SOUL POWER

This weeks DVD Pick of the Week is surprisingly not an Asian movie! What? Yes, during my recent shopping spree at Amoeba I had picked up a copy of the great dvd titled Soul Power. Now for those that aren't hip this is a documentary about the great concert given in Zaire, Africa as part of the classic "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Another great documentary regarding this fight is the dvd titled When We Were Kings. This dvd however focuses on the concert as well as all of the behind the scene struggles to make this concert a success. And what a success it was! Featuring The Spinners, Bill Withers, The Crusaders, B.B. King, Sister Sledge, The Fania All Stars and James Brown, this was a concert that is a must watch. Now I can only imagine the electricity in the crowd as these artist showed their stuff! A great concert and a SAXOMAN recommend dvd. Check it out! Now with all that being said I do have one major complaint. This was a three day concert event so where is ALL of the footage. I want the complete, entire, uncut concert! Come on now!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - BOOKER ERVIN AND DEXTER GORDON

I have been overwhelmed with my recent cd buying lately so I decided I should at least post a Jazz CD Pick of the Week. This recent purchase is a definite winner! Titled Setting The Pace this features two great tenor sax players, Booker Ervin and Dexter Gordon. My oh my. Oh, there's also the All-Star rhythm section of Jackie Byard, Reggie Workman and Alan Dawson. Although this cd only has four tracks they are all smoking'. Now I wasn't able to find any tracks from this cd I thought I would at least hip some of you to the fine sax playing of Booker Ervin. Here's Booker from another one of his great cd's titled The Trance. Check it out!

LOOKIN' HARD

Back when I was a young kid I used to practice what's known as looking' hard. I would try to look tough and mean. With a scowl on my face I gave the impression I was not to be messed with. I remember one day slowly walking home from school and as always I was looking' hard. An older gentleman watering his lawned looked at me with my sour face and said to me 'Hey, smile". I narrowed my eyes and gave him an even harder look! HAHA! What a clown I was. Now I'm sure many of you run across young people who walk around practicing the art of looking' hard. I just look at them now and shake my head. HAHA!

TIME FOR SOME AMOEBA SHOPPING

It had been way too long since I had taken a trip to my favorite music store, Amoeba. Now for those that haven't been, all I can say is that Amoeba is the best, hand down! See the photo to see what I'm talking about. You know I know some so-called music fans that have never been to Amoeba! What? You know who you are! Anyway, the best selection of new and used cd's, records and dvd's. It is truly heaven and I feel I will pass out from music overload when I go there. I hopped the train and in a short while there I was. I walked in, grabbed a basket and my mind started to race. Where to go first? The Soul section? Reggae? Latin? World? Jazz? Head upstairs to check out some Asian dvd's? Well I spent a lot of time in the Latin and Jazz sections and quickly had my basket overflowing with cd's. I decided to skip looking at the dvd's and had to put a few things back due to not having enough cash. So what did I do next? I decided I needed to go back the following weekend and buy more! What? HAHA! Yep, so last Saturday SAXOMAN went back and picked up another basket full of jazz and latin cd's. Oh yeah, I also picked some nice dvd's like Soul Power, Wattstax and The Fania All Stars Live in Africa. I've been on a cd spending spree lately. Now I just have to find time to listen to all of this music!

AND CHINESE AND ITALIAN TOO - HUH?

Now I'm sure that you have all seen many signs that say Se Habla Espanol (We Speak Spanish) however today I saw something a little different. While driving home on the 60 freeway I saw a sign on a car dealership that said Se Habla Espanol and Chinese too! Now this reminded me of a recent trip to New York where the tv commercials (also for a car dealership) said Se Habla Espaol and Italian too! HAHA! You gotta cater to your customers!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - YAMADA

This weeks DVD Pick of the Week is a recent Thai movie titled Yamada that I had picked up on a recent trip to Chinatown. I don't see a lot of Thai movies but have stumbled across some good ones at times. It has been a somewhat slow period for Asian (Hong Kong and Chinese) cinema so this one is getting my coveted pick of the week. Now not by any means a great movie but there is still plenty of action to keep most entertained although a little bloody at times. Anyway, here's the trailer for Yamada. Check it out!

THE ART OF LOOKING BUSY

I've worked at various company's in my lifetime and no matter where I go I always seem to find someone who has perfected what's known as "the art of looking busy". What? OK, now let me explain. There always seems to be certain people at the company who you will see always walking around with papers in their hands, walking fast and also with a frustrated look on their face This gives the impression that they are annoyed, in a hurry and extremely busy. There are also those that stack papers a mile high on their desk and always have an annoyed, overworked expression on their faces. This gives the impression that they are overloaded and too busy to be bothered. These people always appear to be too busy when you ask them a simple question. HAHA! Slackers! Now I don't really know how some of these people are able to keep their jobs but I guess some managers are easily fooled by this trick. Now I'm sure many of you have noticed this and for those that haven't, keep your eyes open because they're out there. HAHA!

FRONTIN' THE ATHLETIC LOOK

I was thinking the other day of something I did when I was young and single. I fronted the athletic look. What? OK, now let me explain. You see, I wanted to look somewhat athletic but didn't really play any sports while in my early 20's. So wanting to look like I played tennis I stopped off at Big 5 and bought me some white (very short) tennis shorts and a Poncho Gonzalez tennis top. I was styling'! I looked just like a tennis pro! Like I had just stepped off the court. I was quite a site for the ladies looking for that athletic man. HAHA! Now I'm not quite sure what prompted this somewhat odd behavior from me but I just chalk it up to being young and dumb. Frontin' the athletic look HAHA! What a clown!

WHAT IT BE LIKE - HUH?

Now I know I have blogged several times in the past about people that use old slang and I am sad to report that there is just no end to it. People seems to do this all the time! The other day at work someone said to me "Hey SAXOMAN, what it be like". Huh? What? Are you talking to me? Now I have to say that I haven't heard this expression in many, many years. I was stunned! Shocked! I didn't know how to respond. I was speechless. My co-worker just looked at me, shook his head and walked away. I guess he figured I was just ignoring him. Little did he know that I was shocked at this retro slang being thrown my way. HAHA!

PAJAMAS IN PUBLIC - WHY?

Now I'm not really sure when people found this an acceptable practice but I have noticed more and more people wearing pajamas in public. Now typically these pajamas are usually just the pajama bottoms but I still don't get it. Now I see girls doing this but have even seeing guys doing this as well! What? Yep, I kid you not. Now I can honestly say I don't get this at all. Why would anyone go out of the house wearing pajamas? Maybe if your 5 years old but other than that? Come on now! I mean there has been the rare instance where I needed to run to the market on a Sunday morning to get something for breakfast but I would still get dressed although with a hat on my head. Anyway, maybe it's just me but I just don't get this new fad at all. Not at all.....

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - LEE MORGAN

Now I have to say this is one of my favorite cd's by the late great trumpeter Lee Morgan. This classic cd titled the Gigolo is one that I owned on vinyl way back in the day and is a cd that I never get tired of listening to. Featuring an All-Star cast of Lee Morgan (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Harold Mabern, Jr. (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums) this is some serious jazz! Now I found it extremely tough to narrow it down to one selection so I listed several tracks from this cd. Although the title track is one that gets the most airplay I always liked the tune You Go To My Head. A great tune a featuring wonderful solos by Lee and Wayne. A classic! Anyway, here's some of the many great tracks off this cd. Check it out and hip up!

NAPKINS - WHAT'S UP WITH THIS?

Now at the cost of offending the wife and sleeping on the sofa let me just say that that as I've traveled the world I seem to have a problems with napkins in other countries. Now I'm not saying what countries so let me just say several countries, OK dear? HAHA! Anyway, what I've noticed it that they take a regular size United States napkin, open it up and then cut it into four squares! What? Yep, I kid you not. So you are then left with this 1/4 of a napkin that is then folded in two. Now I don't know about you but this just does not get the job done whatsoever. No way! I usually end up using all of these napkins and then having to ask for more. Jeez, why can't I get a full size napkin anywhere? Next time? I'm bringing a roll of paper towels everywhere I go! HAHA!

CHEESY ALBUM COVERS

Over the years I have seen a pretty fair amount of cheesy album artwork. Now I don't know what it is or what people could be thinking when they put out an album with this cheesy artwork. I just don't get it. Now I truly believe that the Fania label put out some of the best Salsa music ever recorded in the 70's. True classics that will live on forever. Now some of their album covers are a whole different story. I don't know if the artist that made some of these covers was related to the label owner or what. All I know is these are some of the cheesiest album covers that I have ever seen. Here is just a small selection so you can see what I am talking about. Here are some Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon covers from the Fania label that are just pure cheese. Check them out! HAHA!

RUNNING OUT OF SPACE.....

Because I am a serious music collector I have finally reached the point where my two custom made cd racks are completely full! Yep, SAXOMAN has reached full capacity! So now I was faced with a serious dilemma here. What should I do? Should I (gulp!) downsize and get rid of some of my cd's? Why that would be like cutting off a finger (or two) and I just can't do that. Now I know I have my cd's all on iTunes and on my iPod but sometimes I want to hear them in all there glory thru my massive speakers and surround sound system. Anyway, I found a viable solution. After much research on-line I decided to go with something called Jewelsleeves. Anyway, these sleeves enable me to keep all of my precious cd's and reduce the storage space so I can still continue to buy more HAHA! These sleeves have three compartments. One for the front cover, one for the back and a padded one for the cd. Nice! Now I personally think these sleeves are a little pricey and shipping is overpriced as well but at this point what options do I have? The other downside is you can't view from the side what's what so it may take a little time to find things that you are looking for. Now I hate to even think what it will cost to convert my massive cd collection so I will probably have to do it a little bit at a time. Anyway, here is my first batch of 25 sleeves in the photo and you can see the difference in a cd case and the space that these Jewelsleeves take up. Very nice! Now this conversion only represents my Cannonball Adderley collection so I've got a long ways to go.......