Lebron: I think Cleveland and LAL are the most likely scenarios.

• Philadelphia was a sexy pick for a while, but I think for the good of the future of the franchise, they shouldn't go that route. Ben Simmons is a ball-dominant, generally non-shooter. Adding the equally (more?) ball-dominant Lebron James doesn't make a lot of sense, and while Lebron has become a pretty good shooter, he's far too good a creator to use off the ball in a spot-up shooting role or something.
• Boston is a sexy pick in some circles now. This makes a lot more sense for some reasons, especially in that they have what it would take to work out a trade that Cleveland would find attractive (if Lebron were willing to do it as a sign-and-trade or opt in first). You could send Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, and a pick; or maybe move Jaylen Brown. You could even (hilariously) send Kyrie, Marcus Morris, and Brown. Whatever: Boston has a lot of options. And Lebron would be REALLY interesting in that almost positionless, ball-movement offense full of creators. And speaking of...
• Golden State. Nope. They simply don't have the money, so unless it's done as a trade it is impossible. And would the Warriors REALLY be willing to break up the core of a multiple-title team for a possibly one-year Lebron rental? You'd have to move Klay Thompson AND Draymond Green, or some such thing. That or Lebron would have to be willing to sign for an exception or minimum. Ahhhhhh no. He's not going to give up money. Nor should he be expected to.

I disagree about the problem of players controlling their own futures though. If some 22-year-old is a brilliant programmer, does anyone say he ought not go work for Apple or Google because they already have too much talent? Do we insist he go work for some Ukrainian semilegal hacker? People deserve to have some degree of control over their own lives, including their careers. The rules in the NBA (and pro sports) are already set up in a way that would be illegal in every other industry: they have been given exceptions from antitrust laws, basically.

I also disagree that it's bad for basketball. Watching Golden State is the most fun I've had in decades. The last teams that even approached them from a fun standpoint were the early '00 Sacramento teams, which weren't anywhere near as good. And I think back to those Bulls teams of the 90s and the Lakers-Celtics rivalries of the 80s very fondly. Nobody really spends much energy complaining that the 80s weren't fair. But look at the Finals: only the Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, Pistons, and Rockets made it. Twenty Finals spots were filled by a total of five teams. The Lakers and Celtics filled 13 of those 20 spots.

And it isn't as if Golden State steamrolled its way to the title. Houston had a really decent shot this year, and both NOP and SAS each stole a game. It's just that Cleveland wasn't a very good Eastern Conference representative, Lebron notwithstanding. And he played with a broken hand. I think Boston would have won at least one, if not two, games. (And that's without their two best players.)

I think we're in a new golden (no pun intended) era of NBA basketball. The players are great, some teams are great and really good, and there aren't any massive scandals going on. Yes, the players are looking at their own "personal brands" (the most annoying, overused term on earth) and business, but it's not like the gang-culture-periphery of the 90s of coke-heads of the 80s and 70s. I'll take relatively professional, well behaved players putting on a great show night in and night out anytime.

I think with respect to the intro, keep in mind that the show was from the mid-1970s: the "cheap" look wasn't unusual for programs of that time, it was just a lower-technology time. And the theme song was one of female empowerment, which was a political issue at the time ('70s) and fit the plot of two single working women (rare in the '50s).

Re "big industrial city vibe," it was meant to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Which is to say that was a (somewhat) big, industrial city at the time the show portrayed, the postwar industrial era of the late '50s.

Then there would be message boards on which people got overly excited about questions like what if they hadn’t, what if it hadn’t, and what if it were.

It's fun, it's harmless, and it allows everyone here with satellite radio access (not everyone, but a reasonable group) to share in the songs that we love. It highlights more obscure tracks, solo work, and gives us something positive to chat about

I agree with that, too.

Thanks, everybody, nice polite answers. But, I must say it doesn't thrill me as it does the others that this channel will introduce new fans to BBs & that it's "communal experience". Sure, it's good to see BBs getting exposure but it's not the thing I care about plenty like many of you. Just casually. Ultimately, Sirius isn't available here, maybe it would help to get what you exactly mean if I listened to it with my ears. As such, I shall leave you enjoying the channel & its discussion.

I actually agree with you 100% or thereabouts. (Except that obviously Sirius is available in my “here.”)

I think it might be unfortunate in some ways that Americans (and those from most of Canada, the UK, etc.) have had the "advantage" of much of the world learning English as the lingua franca. It's harder to convince people to learn another language when they know that many or most people outside their country already speak and understand English.

But I have to admit I'm just as lazy as the next guy: I had four years of Spanish in high school and two of Latin in college, but in both cases I've really let them slip. I am considering teaching myself koine Greek, but that's not really of much use in daily life.

I started reading Walter Bauer's "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity" after finishing Hans Fallada's great novel "The Drinker."

RRA1 - I know you didn't ask me, but since I'm here, foreign language requirements tend to be a low priority in the USA, especially in public schools. Usually at least for college--and maybe in some high schools, though certainly not mine when I went there--do require a year or two of one language, but that tends to be all many people ever take. Spanish is the most common, with French and German probably the next two. But once you meet adult Americans, they often barely recall whatever (typically minimal) language they took in school and mostly just speak English. Often badly.

they do become very interested in the internal goings-on of a country when they are a target for US military intervention. I don't think we could go more than a minute without hearing about the horrors committed by Saddam Hussein or the repression carried out against the people of Iran throughout the 2000s. And, for different reasons, we have heard quite a lot about the internal politics of Russia over the past few years.

Also, in my view, Israel is not so much a friend as much as they are a satellite or a colony, which should make the American people concerned about what goes on there.

Re the objects of our aggression, I’d assume that’s because the media tends to cover stories basically as fed them by the WH, the Pentagon and similar sources during those periods, to ensure some level of public support. The 03 Iraq war may be the best modern example.

As for Israel, I just meant to share the narrative, not the truth.

I think Americans really don't focus on anything outside the borders of the country, with a few occasional very broad-stroke narratives. And in this case, "Israel = special [do-no-wrong] friend" is one of those narratives, and "Muslim bad guys" is another. So even if they did realize what and where Gaza is, and know what is going on there ... they generally won't know what's going on there, because it's so shaded, if not entirely obscured, by the narratives.

The most recent Intercepted podcast has a nice Norman Finkelstein interview on the topic.

OH--and my initial "top answers" post should have probably included something about the Iran nuclear deal. That would definitely be among the top responses, in some way or other.

My entirely honest--I know this will read otherwise, but I'm not being sarcastic--answer is something like this (in order of most common answer to "how are you feeling about what is happening in Gaza right now?"):

1. "What's Gaza?"
2. "What's happening in Gaza?"
3. "That's the Muslims, right? Israel has a right to self defense against terrorists."
4. Probably something about Obama's [Syrian] red line.
5. Maybe a Saddam Hussein reference?

Bill Doss died five or six years ago.

I don’t believe Jeremy and Kevin Barnes are related: where did you hear that?

Robert is a math grad student and teaching assistant at Emory University these days, not doing music anymore.

In Wake The World, what is the sound that goes of at 0:24? It sounds a bit like when swords are drawn in movies, but I cant figure out what it is!

I asked that once, maybe in the early days of this board. As I recall, S. Desper said it was string noise. (I thought it sounded like something sliding across a music stand, e.g., a pen or pencil.) I still have my doubts.

I don’t really enjoy gardening or yard work so much as I enjoy having done it. My main motivation is the kitchen: fresh herbs (and berries, tomatoes, peppers, and rhubarb) for a tiny fraction of the cost at the store make the exercise worthwhile.

While, yes, three weeks ago I was complaining about the nearly two feet of snow that fell, I've spent the past two days (and a few evenings last week) doing yard and garden work, because we've now had a couple weeks of temperatures in the 60s, 70s, and even 80s.

I raked up whatever was dead throughout the yard after the winter; tilled and added new soil and manure to the garden; transplanted a few tulip plants to make room for some edible plants in a new area of my yard; put down plenty of grass seed; planted three varieties of tomatoes, two of chili peppers, two of basil, two of oregano, as well as cilantro and dill, which will accompany the perennials of chives (suddenly a shaggy mass grown in no time), a couple types of thyme, mint, rosemary, sage, and savory; and watered everything.

I'll be drinking on my patio this afternoon, though also making a vegetable noodle (homemade noodles!) soup.

One of my friends sent the link yesterday to me and another friend with the subject line "you boys like getting mad?"

That more or less says it all.

It's kind of a clickbait exercise, a time-tested way to get everyone to read and then talk about an article, as no two lists will ever be alike ... and usually not even similar. (For example, like KDS I was annoyed to see Nirvana so high, and I'd add the Sex Pistols as laughably overrated, yet he and I would argue about the definition of rock and roll and whether rap merits a spot, not to mention no doubt over the merits of even many "pure" rock bands.) So I try not to say much about these things. Because, really, why? My blood pressure is fine. I'd like to keep it that way.

I also enjoy hearing about cultural differences, especially of everyday things. And because I enjoy a lot of (mostly 19th century) Russian literature, I’ve loved by had a particular interest in Russia. Thanks for the post.

I’d read about the rebranding too, but thought that was more recent, eg well after the financial writing was on the wall. That said, I don’t pay much attention to the gear world these days, much less their makers’ financials, so I won’t pretend to be informed enough to really discuss it.

The sub-brand phenomenon is an interesting one, though. I’m in marketing (in a very different market, admittedly), and you see it all over, not just in instruments. Trying to bifurcate your potential market and sell the Epiphone (in this case) as just as good, while selling the Gibson as superior, its name worth the cost, is rough. I think the seemingly inevitable commoditization of most products and services causes a hollowing out in the middle: you’re left with low-margin intro products for a bigger market and huge-margin luxury products...for a tiny, tiny market (usually of fetishist collectors more than regular users). That’s my general take on the phenomenon anyway.

No question. Even in the late 90s when I was working at an independent music store, the owner was beginning to focus on DJ gear and church/school audio equipment because guitars, amps and the stalwarts of traditional rock were not selling as well. Things definitely haven’t improved.

Nice song--actually one of the better ones on the somewhat disappointing album (said the Monae fan). I like the song and Wilson's part.

We began season 2 of Handmaid’s Tale last night. Everything this season is beyond what the book included, so it’s interesting how they imagine new plots in Atwood’s world. But through the first two episodes, I am less excited and impressed than I was with the first, book-centric season. It’s still worth watching, though.

Pretty dynamic performer too. Here’s her network tv debut, on Letterman in 2010, with Tightrope (from ArchAndroid).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZnao2fbRQ

I’d rather be their Scott Layden.

That’s like arguing whether cricket or rugby is more popular in the USA!

Carnie?

Talking positivity about rap, I think we’ve just turned off 80% of the board. 😀