About ten years ago, my father took all of us on a cruise to Cozumel.  It was part of a group of individuals he’d known from a restaurant/lounge that he frequented, and to him it sounded like fun.  And for us, it was a free trip.  Having said that, though, it was probably the least enjoyable trip I was ever on.  Why is that?

Yesterday, a friend of mine mentioned being interested in Pat Metheny’s music.  It occured to me that for someone who’s just starting out, tackling any large catalog of music can be overwhelming.  Where do you start?  I’ve sometimes started with the newest or oldest recordings of an artist, or starting somewhere in the middle with one of that artist’s most popular recordings.  With Pat Metheny’s music, you have to acknowledge his multiple musical paths, and choose those that may sound the most interesting to you.  This post is a primer of Metheny’s wide body of recordings, and  I will keep it simple for the sake of this discussion.

I had avoided Facebook for awhile, mainly because it had the perception of being a clone of the dysfunctional MySpace phenomenon.   But, I had one friend persistently asking me to join, which I did.  I’m glad I signed up, but Facebook is not without its shortcomings.

A few years ago, I grabbed an RCA Victrola 45 record player, model 45-EY-3.  This is a self-contained record changer that plays only 7″ 45RPM records.  It was built around the early 50s, so it is at least 55 years old.  Over time, the rubber deteriorates on many of the changer parts (idler wheel, cam, mounting grommets, etc.), as do the capacitors and a few other electronic components.  So, what do I plan on doing with this little antique?